Greek Tragedy ⋆ Moon Knight

𝟐𝟐. Boulevard Of Broken Things

"Tell me!"

She's not an idiot, she knows Zagreus must have secrets because of how long he lived, but she's never seen him that bothered about it. He'd change the subject when he didn't like it, yes, but this is completely different. She doesn't know what he's scared of her learning, but she feels like she has to.

Realising that he's not going to tell her, she stomps away, towards his past-self and the guy he's yelling at. Up close, she realises that he was crying.

"...mistake," he's shouting. "I can't be stranded here with that pathetic excuse of a human being!"

Noor blinks, the words going straight to her head as she realises that, really, there's only one person he must be talking about.

"Why's he saying that?" Steven asks, shocked.

Marc just turns to Zagreus, the actual one, eyes screaming bloody murder. Noor shakes her head. No, this must have been a long time ago. He's probably changed his mind, that's all. They did meet for the first time when she was crying, so he's probably right.

She looks up at him, eyebrows cinched and he looks back, pleading. "Please," he begs. "Please, let's just go."

Her gaze hardens. "Who is this?"

Zagreus closes his eyes, looking down. "My father."

"Is this a way to act?" Hades tells young Zagreus with an arched eyebrow. "Whining and kicking. You're not a child anymore, Zagreus, it's time to face the consequences of your own actions."

"Noor, please, I'm begging you."

"I can't go back," past Zagreus says at the same time. "Just give me another Knight, I can't go back."

The words hit again, but she knows that he changed, she knows that he loves her now, and that he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. He wouldn't. He wouldn't.

"Please, το μου μισό άμοιρη!"

"You can go back," Hades says, and the universe holds still. "You were always able to go back to hell and leave the Knight behind, you're just too scared."

Something breaks in Noor. She stares at the scene, not daring to move, not daring to make this real. He always was able to leave. He could have left her life, pretended like nothing ever happened.

She feels her nails dig in the skin of her palms as she balls her hands into fists. She breathes heavily when she looks back at him, unshed tears in her eyes.

"You said you couldn't go back," she starts, voice low. "You told me the Gates were closed." Then, an awful thought grazes her brain. "When was this?" Zagreus knows that it's over. No matter what he answers, this is over. And it's all his fault. "How fucking long have you been lying to me?" she cries out.

No answer. She looks towards the benches, a cold feeling seeping through her veins.

Sure enough, there she is. 16, crying on a park bench. It's raining.

The day Noor found Zagreus, it was raining. It was also her birthday, but it really didn't feel like it. She had been crying for a while too, but she couldn't remember how long, sitting on that bench on a Boulevard she couldn't remember the name of. She had been crying probably too long, probably her whole life, she wasn't sure.

This is the day they met. The very first time they met. He's been lying to her ever since he knows her.

All those years. All those years, she spent in psychiatric wards, moving in with her dad, losing her mum, losing her whole damn mind, and all this time he could have spared her. He would have spared her the pain, and the grief, the abuse, the depression, the anxiety and the suicidal thoughts, all of it.