Lack of sleep [Zagnos] • Hades

Chapter 4 | dreaming of romance

Zagreus lay in sleeps arms, having hugged him for too long and been put under the spell of slumber.

But he found himself waking in a completely different spot to where he'd fallen asleep. Somewhere that seemed to be in the clouds, that had constellations of stars above him and rivers of what looked like ambrosia or something similar. Was this mount Olympus or something?

"Oh you're awake, well... kind of"

Ah, he knew that voice.

Sitting up he found himself in front of Hypnos, who floated in front of him cross legged as if sitting on air.

"Where are we?" Zagreus asked.

"The dreamscape. You fell asleep, so I figured I'd talk to you through your dreams so your body can get some rest" Hypnos explained.

It wasn't often he got to see Hypnos' power in action, but it was always an impressive feat when he did get to see it.

"Oh that's right, your hugs have a rather... lullaby effect don't they?" Zagreus asked.

"Yeah, I got caught up in the hug and completely forgot. Next thing I know you've fallen asleep on me"

"This place... this is where you can see peoples dreams?"

"Yeah. If I ever have a child I'll probably give them this power. They can be the deity of dreams, we can work together on making sleep blissful for all who need it" Hypnos pondered.

Well, the gods do have many ways of creating children. Nyx kind of just... formed her sons out of herself rather than the usual child birth day. Zagreus wouldn't be surprised if Hypnos could do that to once he's ready for that responsibility.

"So my body is still by the river? Asleep and such?" Zagreus asked.

"Yep, our bodies are still asleep by the river. It's our spirit that's in the dreamscape. But everything that happens here we'll remember when we wake up, I can make sure of that" Hypnos explained.

"You see Hypnos, you have the power to do all this! It's honestly incredible. You definitely deserve more recognition"

Bringing the subject back to the original topic, Hypnos couldn't help but smile a bit at the compliment. The first ones he'd gotten in a very long time.

"Tell you what Hypnos, I'm going to chew everyone back at the house out for you. You aren't being treated right at all and I won't stand for that" Zagreus announced.

"W-what? No you don't hav-"

"No, I'm going to. You're clearly upset about it and I don't like seeing you upset like this. You deserve recognition for your power and work, you shouldn't have to overwork yourself for a drop of respect. You even put yourself at risk to help me with the little household sleeping stunt so I could snoop around. You've helped me, now I'm going to help you"

Zagreus was one of the only people that actually seemed to like Hypnos truly nowadays. Even though the relationship with his family was slowly mending, he was still much closer with Zagreus nowadays. Every run he'd walk out the Styx, stop to chat and occasionally hand over some Nectar or Ambrosia he got from god knows where. Every death was another excuse to talk to Zagreus, something Hypnos looked forward to. And every time Zagreus found himself dying a painful death and being swallowed by the Styx, he'd think 'well, at least I can see Hypnos'.

"Zag you're too nice to me, you don't need to go around telling everyone else off just because I'm upset" Hypnos said.

"Well too bad Hypnos, I'm going to weather you like it or not. You deserve love and that's that"

"Alright, alright. I can't stop you if you're that determined. But... thank you for being the only one that cares at the moment. Thank you for understanding that the initial wing incident has... shaped me into who I am now and not belittling me for it. You know what, just thank you for everything, I mean that" Hypnos thanked.

"Don't even worry about it Hypnos, you're just as important to me as anyone else in the house. Maybe even more honestly... you don't give me a hard time about my runs or ransacking the underworld. The most I get from you is a playful joke about my painful death and a bright smile to see me again. It makes dying worth it, you make having to start over fun" Zagreus explained.

There was a moment of silence in the dreamscape, the two realising their conversation had gotten rather... close. It started with 'hey where have you been' and ended up at 'you mean a lot to me'. It was pretty clear that the two of them had a mutual feeling of sorts, but neither of them were expecting it to have come out this way.

"Hey... we're on the same wavelength now aren't we? Like... with feelings and stuff?" Zagreus asked.

"I mean... we kind of just gushed about how much we mean to each other so... I guess so" Hypnos replied.

Zagreus looked up at the floating god before him, who seemed a little flushed at the sudden realisation at what they'd just said to each other. His grey skin made his blush more of a blue colour than a pink one. It was rather cute.

"We're on the same wavelength then... so if we're going to act upon these mutual feelings... maybe we should you know, not rush things. Work though it together" Zagreus explained.

Hypnos looked down at the prince, his mismatched eyes looking hopeful and the flames that made up his feet illuminated him in the darkness as he sat cross legged.

"Yeah... I'd like that" Hypnos smiled.

"Good... good. So it wouldn't be rushing too much to kiss you then would it?"

Slightly taken aback by how forward Zagreus was, it too Hypnos a moment to process those words. He blinked in disbelief, his cheeks turning a darker shade of blue.

"No, that wouldn't be too fast at all. I mean... I did say you looked tasty a while ago, maybe I can test that theory" Hypnos replied, making an attempt to flirt back.

"I had a feeling you'd say that"

Leaning up to his height, Zagreus placed his hands either side of Hypnos' head and cupped his cheeks. Pulling him closer and touching his lips to his. Hypnos didn't protest, having been waiting for this for longer than he'd like to admit. He didn't know exactly when he started falling for Zagreus, but after seeing him walk out of the Styx dripping wet and clothes sticking to his skin a ton of times anyone was bound to fall for him.

Zagreus was warm, his underworld roots showing in his body temperature. Hypnos was colder, being the son of the night gave a chill to him. But that kiss warmed him right up, outside and inside. He felt Zagreus touch the side of his head where the scar from the wing was, as if to say 'I love your flaws too'. It was comforting.

East to say, Hypnos felt a lot better after that.