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There’s something about Zagreus’s mouth that’s been stuck in the back of Thanatos’s mind for quite some time, and he doesn’t know how much longer he can feasibly stand to endure it.
Thanatos should be able to say that he’s grown more than used to such complications by now, for it’s not as though Zagreus had ever taken up an especially small portion of Thanatos’s mental capacity, but the fact of the matter is that he’s been even more distracted than usual as of late, and it’s honestly a miracle that he hasn’t been reprimanded for it thus far. He can’t even strictly claim to dislike the frequent daydreams, nor the extent to which he allows his body to move on autopilot as he spends countless hours fantasizing against his better judgement.
Thanatos never would’ve thought of himself as prone to developing an oral fixation, and yet he just can’t help but dwell on the way that the corners of Zagreus’s mouth always seem to quirk up into a heart-melting smile at the sight of Thanatos, or the way that Zagreus runs his tongue slowly through the seam of his lips when he’s hard at work, pouring the entirety of his concentration into battle. The way that he absentmindedly licks up the coppery flecks of blood that are often smeared across his flesh, and the way that he unintentionally tempts Thanatos into wanting to taste him by extension.
It’s all but enough to cause even the foulest of Thanatos’s moods to evaporate on a wisp of steam, like the sizzle of Zagreus’s heels on the slick tile of a fountain chamber, where the two have on occasion shared an illicit rendezvous. Thanatos doesn’t know whether to call it a skill or a blessing, but he’s found that Zagreus’s tongue is arguably even more of a weapon than anything within the arsenal that he’s been not-so-subtly accumulating in the courtyard.
It’s a realm of finesse that comes in the form of Zagreus’s witty, yet ever jovial banter, and the multitude of distinctly flirtatious remarks that he likes to toss out without warning, knowing full well that only he has the capacity to warm Thanatos right up to the very edge of his cold exterior. Thanatos is steadfast in his responsibilities, but Zagreus is just as persistent, and he’s often prompted Thanatos to let his guard down, although Thanatos would be lying if he were to say that he didn’t similarly long for the intimacy that Zagreus so openly bestows upon him.
Sometimes Zagreus will even slip past Thanatos’s barriers using his mouth in a very literal sense, dashing up to steal a kiss from Thanatos’s lips mere moments before one of his dutiful departures. It’s a sensation that surges down Thanatos’s spine and leaves him with a particular flavor of seduction that tends to linger in his blood, simultaneously sweeter than nectar and headier than ambrosia. It doesn’t help that Zagreus’s face is always outright glowing with ethereal delight whenever Thanatos unexpectedly arrives to aid him in battle, even if Thanatos were to insist that he was only in the area on business.
They fight well together, but Thanatos has truthfully taken to losing their contests on purpose so as to guarantee their typical exchange, which has by now been refined into a simple routine. Thanatos presses the Centaur heart fondly against Zagreus’s chest, and Zagreus kisses Thanatos with all of the passion that he can muster.
Fortunately or unfortunately, yet undeniably more potent than any of that is when Zagreus catches Thanatos alone and puts his mouth, his clever, plush, irresistible mouth on Thanatos’s cock.
It appears that Zagreus is fated to subject Thanatos to the latter this time around.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Thanatos still isn’t sure how Zagreus had managed to find him sulking in the most desolate corner of the House of Hades, for he’d abandoned his usual station at the lower end of the west hall as an attempt to locate some semblance of peace and quiet after an especially exasperating day, or night, or whatever time it is. Thanatos doesn’t even consider the possibility of being discovered until he senses that Zagreus has returned from the underworld, and by then it’s only a matter of minutes before he proceeds to track Thanatos down like it’s nothing out of the ordinary, greeting him with a smile that positively radiates with warmth.
Perhaps Thanatos would’ve shifted briskly away in the past, having once required complete and utter solitude to truly recover from a bout of irritability, but a lot has changed since Zagreus had put in the effort to win Thanatos’s favor, and Thanatos is now secretly grateful that Zagreus had taken the time to search for him rather than simply leaping back out into Tartarus for another round of ruthless and repeated ransacking, accustomed though he is to the job at this point.
Zagreus can tell that Thanatos is on edge, and so he hesitates before stepping too close, despite being aware that Thanatos would make his boundaries clearly known if Zagreus ever were to cross a line. It’s rarely been an issue in the past, but Zagreus tries to be mindful either way.
“Is everything all right, Than?”
“Sure, I guess,” Thanatos hears himself say, and he immediately grimaces at the heedless tone that slips out of his mouth, unintentionally lacing his words with terse coldness. He’s thankful that Zagreus doesn’t appear to be particularly fazed by it. “Sorry, I… look, I promise that it’s nothing serious, but I’d really rather not talk about it right now.”
The fiery crown of laurels that encircles Zagreus’s head glimmers in the pale light of Ixion, and a scattering of ashen leaves seem to twirl endlessly off the wreath’s supple curve, fading out into the atmosphere like embers strewn beneath a veil of night. Zagreus gives a sympathetic nod, and the motion causes another handful of cinders fall to the ground, fluttering through the air in tandem with the beat of Thanatos’s heart.
“Anything that I can do to help?”
“I’ll be fine, Zagreus.”
“All right. Well, I have a bit of free time, and I’d love to spend it with you, but I won’t take it personally if you’d prefer to be alone for a while. Just say the word and I’ll leave you to it.”
Thanatos takes a moment to contemplate the offer before it occurs to him that he can no longer imagine sending Zagreus away for any reason whatsoever.
“You don’t have to leave,” Thanatos says. “Just don’t expect me to be the one to entertain you.”
“That’s not a problem,” Zagreus smiles. “I enjoy your company either way. Do you mind if I…?”
Zagreus closes the distance and wraps his arms tenderly around Thanatos’s waist, and Thanatos only has but an instant to register the sensual simmer in Zagreus’s mismatched eyes before he’s leaning forward and setting his mouth against Thanatos’s pulse point, tonguing softly at the cool skin just below the cut of his jaw.
Thanatos has to bite his lip to stop himself from moaning beneath that first brush of contact, which is more than a slight embarrassment, but he ultimately finds no reason to complain when Zagreus draws even nearer and fits the length of his torso right up against Thanatos’s taller frame, filling in as much empty space as he possibly can, until Thanatos is pressed snugly between Zagreus’s firm chest and the smooth stone of the wall behind him.
Zagreus’s hair is still a bit damp from wading up through the pool of Styx, but Thanatos doesn’t mind the way that it tickles his cheek as Zagreus kisses up and down the line of Thanatos’s jaw, pausing briefly to nip at the shell of his ear. The gentle scrape of Zagreus’s teeth is enough to ignite something in Thanatos’s core, and he unwittingly tips his head back, conceding further access for Zagreus to ravage the underside of his chin, as well as a delectable sliver of skin that’s only barely visible above the edge of his gorget.
Thanatos’s neck has never been particularly sensitive, but his next breath still runs ragged in his throat as Zagreus works his lips wherever he can fit them, biting and sucking carefully, so as not to leave a mark.
Thanatos swallows thickly when he realizes that he’s been growing hard beneath Zagreus’s lavish attention, and Zagreus must’ve noticed it too, because he casts a slight smirk against Thanatos’s lips before canting his weight forward, slotting his thigh neatly between Thanatos’s legs to grind fabric and friction up and along the throb of his shaft. Thanatos chokes on a groan as the sudden spark of stimulation spreads across his flesh like wildfire, and his hips outright jolt when Zagreus angles against him with even more precision, stirring up a wave of white heat that ripples seamlessly through the pit of his stomach.
Thanatos is already starting to feel a bit lightheaded by the time Zagreus finally grants him a much-needed respite.
“It’s nice to know that you truly are happy to see me,” Zagreus teases, glancing deliberately down at Thanatos’s cock, which is now straining against the drape of his chiton. “Sometimes it’s difficult to tell.”
“Shut up, Zag,” Thanatos huffs. “Don’t act like this isn’t your doing.”
“I wasn’t intentionally trying to turn you on, believe it or not.”
“You’re joking, right?” Thanatos pinches the bridge of his nose, although the gesture serves less as an indication of genuine annoyance and more as a convenient excuse to hide the blush that’s now rapidly sweeping across his face. “You… ugh, you can’t just walk up to me and kiss me like that and not expect a certain… reaction from me.”
Zagreus’s smile softens, and Thanatos can feel his blood churning even hotter beneath Zagreus’s steady gaze, but he isn’t quite self-conscious enough to resist when Zagreus wraps his fingers gently around Thanatos’s wrist, pulling his hand back down before reaching up to kiss him chastely for a change.
“I’m sorry if I went too far, Than. Do you want me to stop?”
Thanatos’s brow twitches with dismay at the thought of Zagreus simply leaving him hard and wanton like this.
“I will personally throw you back into the pool of Styx if you stop now.”
Zagreus flashes Thanatos a devilish grin immediately begins working to free his cock from his clothing, tugging the lower half of his chiton out of the way and pushing his leggings down just far enough for Zagreus to have unrestricted access. Thanatos lets out a silvery moan as Zagreus caresses his shaft, and it’s truly little more than a slow, featherlight stroke, but Zagreus doesn’t have the patience to torture Thanatos in anything resembling an extensive manner, and so he’s not really inclined to hold off on dropping smoothly to his knees, leaning in to tease his lips up the inside of Thanatos’s thigh.
Thanatos gazes down at Zagreus with borderline reverence as he takes a moment to unclasp his greaves and toss them aside, settling comfortably onto his shins before glancing back up with a playful smirk that sends ichor flooding anew into a flush that darkens Thanatos’s cheeks. Thanatos briefly considers taking control of the situation, scooping Zagreus up and shifting over into his bedchambers to love him properly, but Zagreus seems intent on indulging Thanatos without reciprocation, at least for the time being, and so Thanatos ultimately decides to acquiesce and allow Zagreus to have his way with him.
Thanatos does nevertheless have to admit that Zagreus looks absolutely divine from this vantage point.
Zagreus’s breath puffs warmly against Thanatos’s flesh, and Thanatos can’t help but shudder when Zagreus eventually starts in with his tongue, dragging wet, hot circles over the head of Thanatos’s cock. Zagreus’s touch offers a shallow sort of stimulation, but it’s still enough to kindle a tremor in Thanatos’s blood, and Zagreus gives a sensual little hum when he feels it skim across Thanatos’s shaft, pulsing, quivering just beneath the surface of his skin.
Zagreus isn’t the least bit shy when it comes to expressing his more hedonistic proclivities, and so he doesn’t even think, much less care, about how lascivious he must appear in Thanatos’s eyes as continues on in earnest, lapping and laving lightly against Thanatos’s frenulum, then trailing his tongue back up and dipping it firmly into the slit at the tip of Thanatos’s cock, which is now salty and slick with arousal. It leaves a familiar, almost pleasant aftertaste on Zagreus’s palate, one that only serves to add even more fuel to his already plentiful motivation, bringing the carnal hunger in his chest to a slow, yet steady boil.
Thanatos has never seen Zagreus handle anything with such meticulous care, and so he’s honestly more impressed than he is frustrated as he watches Zagreus lower his head to lay a path of fleeting, open-mouthed kisses up from the base of Thanatos’s shaft, wetting his torrid flesh with a slippery coat of saliva. It’s a bit messier than Thanatos would otherwise prefer, but he still has to curse under his breath when Zagreus finally wraps his lips around the crown of Thanatos’s cock, sucking back and forth with flawless ease.
Zagreus hums around the weight of Thanatos’s shaft, reveling in the sensation of a full mouth, which probably shouldn’t turn Zagreus on nearly as much as it does. There’s just enough of a twinge in the stretch of his jaw that it triggers his masochistic streak and causes his blood to run hot like a furnace, but he still he wastes no time in arching his tongue against the ridge of Thanatos’s cock, searching for a reaction.
Thanatos responds by setting his palm against Zagreus’s cheek, his touch initially gentle, as if to coax the slide of Zagreus’s mouth further down the length of his shaft. His opposite hand provides extra encouragement, and Zagreus can’t help but moan when he feels the firmer tilt of pressure on the back of his head, fingers curling into the inky black of his hair. Thanatos’s grasp is a silent demand, a tangible trace of his tacit desire, and Zagreus is, as ever, more than happy to oblige his request.
Zagreus shuts his eyes tight and pours all of his focus into widening his jaw and relaxing his throat, pushing his head down slowly, until his lips are nestled right up against the base of Thanatos’s cock. Thanatos holds Zagreus steady as he rolls his tongue eagerly along the underside of Thanatos’s shaft, and his efforts are rewarded with a low groan from Thanatos, which shoots straight to Zagreus’s groin.
Zagreus had already been aroused at the mere concept of pleasuring Thanatos, but hearing it in his voice, feeling it in the throb of his cock… Zagreus doesn’t know if it would’ve even been possible for him to get this far without becoming as achingly, shamelessly hard as he is now.
Zagreus pulls back a bit, reaching up with his fingers to stroke Thanatos where his mouth fails to reach, and he swiftly finds a rhythm that flares all the way through Thanatos’s core, aided by a thick layer of saliva and the limitless enthusiasm that Zagreus brings to the task. Thanatos’s thighs twitch at the wet, filthy sensation of Zagreus working along every inch of his cock, and he can tell that he’s leaking profusely out onto Zagreus’s tongue, but even that is nothing to compared to the sizable damp spot at the front of Zagreus’s leggings, which is only growing darker as Zagreus uses his free hand to palm himself through the thin fabric.
Thanatos’s breath hitches in his throat when Zagreus finally frees himself from the restriction. He’s practically dripping onto the floor, and his cock is so hard that it’s slanting pathetically against his abdomen, the head of it flushed hot and red with neglect. Zagreus moans around Thanatos’s shaft as he touches himself directly, and Thanatos can perfectly imagine how captivating Zagreus would sound in coherence, begging, pleading for Thanatos to touch him too.
Thanatos has to try and hide the fact that he's getting close, but Zagreus is keen enough by now to recognize the signs of his impending release, and so he takes Thanatos deep again, choking a little as he all but swallows Thanatos’s cock. Thanatos lets out a shaky sigh that sets Zagreus alight with pleasure, and the knowledge that Thanatos may soon unravel by Zagreus’s hand only serves to spur him on with just as much fervor as the inherent abundance of determination echoing faintly in his blood.
It’s then that Zagreus feels it necessary to look up at Thanatos with that unyielding stare of his, and Thanatos is already struggling to keep it together, but he nearly loses himself when Zagreus takes the opportunity to meet his heavy-lidded gaze, overwhelming him with equal parts affection and something that Thanatos can only describe as ravenous enticement.
Zagreus is thrilled to find that Thanatos’s eyes are outright swimming with lust, swirling, shimmering like liquid gold seeping warmly through the cracks in his composure. Thanatos’s lips part around the silhouette of a moan, and Zagreus fears for a moment that his heart will flutter straight through his chest, but he still permits the butterflies between his ribs to fly freely until he’s left with nothing but the thought that he would gladly drown in Thanatos’s ardent stare. He would allow it to take him like the Styx, time and time again, if it meant that he could be the catalyst, the reason that Thanatos’s poise should briefly flicker and falter.
Thanatos fails to manage anything more substantial than a breathless groan even when Zagreus inevitably draws his mouth back around the crown of Thanatos’s cock, but he doesn’t give Thanatos much of a chance to cool down before he returns to sucking in smooth, methodical motions, using his fist to pump Thanatos’s shaft in the wake of his tongue. Zagreus’s own lust manifests in the blazing tempo that he easily maintains, and Thanatos can’t help but watch, mesmerized, as Zagreus makes a show of grinding his hips into his palm at the very same pace.
Zagreus suddenly feels a prickle atop his scalp as Thanatos tightens his grip on Zagreus’s hair, knotting his fingers firmly enough to hint at a promise of pain, like the tip of a blade teasing at the surface of Zagreus’s skin. Zagreus shudders through the contact, but continues with renewed vigor, and Thanatos is quickly reduced to trembling, panting out a warning with such erotic desperation that it almost drags Zagreus over the edge in turn.
“Zagreus, I’m—”
Thanatos interrupts himself with a soft gasp, his hips bucking around the coil of heat that weaves anticipatory tension all the way through his core. He moans deep in his chest as the swelter builds and builds, burning in his blood, and he’s already beginning to topple into the crest of his climax, but then Zagreus pushes down on him with reckless abandon, his throat contracting around Thanatos’s cock, and Thanatos promptly succumbs to the relentless flurry of pleasure.
Thanatos pulls at Zagreus’s hair with enough force that his lips slide abruptly off of Thanatos’s shaft, and that final sweep of friction causes the first of his release to spill out onto Zagreus’s face in pale, viscous ropes. Zagreus reacts just in time to catch the rest of it in his mouth, wrapping his lips tenderly around the head of Thanatos’s cock, until Thanatos feels as though his very pulse is being siphoned from his body, splaying out in spurts across Zagreus’s supple tongue.
Zagreus damn near sucks Thanatos dry, and Thanatos is spent before long, but Zagreus still makes a point of licking ceaselessly along the length of Thanatos’s shaft, stroking him through the entirety of his orgasm and then some, until hypersensitivity sets into Thanatos’s flesh at even the lightest trace of pressure. It doesn’t help when Zagreus swallows hard around Thanatos’s cock, downing the majority of his release all at once and leaving him with no choice but to pry Zagreus’s mouth away, lest the overstimulation truly become too much for him to tolerate.
Zagreus wipes his lips off on the back of his hand, but his face is still streaked with pearly slick that’s now trickling slowly down the slope of his cheek, framing his expression in such a way that he somehow manages to look even more pleased with himself than Thanatos would otherwise expect. Regardless, Thanatos pretends to ignore Zagreus’s admittedly endearing grin and simply tucks himself back into his leggings, straightening out the hem of his chiton before shifting smoothly away, returning seconds later with a washcloth from the towel rack that Zagreus had recently commissioned for the great hall.
“Here,” Thanatos says, tossing the square of fabric unceremoniously at Zagreus, who catches it out of the air with ease.
“Not interested in admiring your handiwork?” Zagreus jokes as he presses the washcloth to his face. Thanatos instinctively averts his gaze, blushing a little at the implication.
“…Maybe next time.”
Zagreus gives a gentle laugh and rises to his feet, and Thanatos can’t help but smile when Zagreus leans in to kiss him with ineffable tenderness, melting against his lips until his touch is all sated bliss that blooms into a shared breath, filling Thanatos’s chest with a placid flow of warmth. They fit together perfectly, like two halves of a whole, which is a thought that often rings out in Thanatos’s mind, but now it’s as if the words are playing on repeat, hovering precariously at the back of his throat.
I love you.
...
I'm incomplete without you.
Thanatos sometimes wishes that he could gather the courage to express such a vulnerable sentiment, but until then, he hopes that Zagreus sees it, and knows in his heart just how deeply Thanatos means it.
“I need to get going,” Thanatos starts, his tone rife with apologetic reluctance. “I’ll come and find you when next I’m in the area. And… I’ll return the favor as soon as I can.”
“You don’t have to do anything in return, Than,” Zagreus insists, even though he’s well aware that Thanatos won’t be dissuaded so easily. “I’m perfectly happy just knowing that I was able to bring you pleasure.”
Thanatos is the one to initiate the kiss this time, nipping carefully at Zagreus’s bottom lip, then coaxing his mouth open, so as to wholly savor the soft moan that slips out in response. Thanatos commits the sensation to memory before pulling away with the taste of Zagreus fresh on his tongue, and although the moment is regrettably short-lived, it serves as enough of a promise for the future that Zagreus can feel the flutter of excitement cascading through his core, raw and authentic, like the steady thrum of passion in his blood.
“I’ll see you around, Zag,” Thanatos says, and then he’s gone in a flash of light, leaving Zagreus with nothing more than the bittersweet shadow of Thanatos’s presence. Zagreus smiles wistfully to himself as the heat on his lips begins to fade, and the sudden weight of solitude settles beneath his palms in just the way that it always does when Thanatos disappears between leisurely blinks. Zagreus still hasn’t grown entirely accustomed to the slight twinge that fills his chest, missing Thanatos more and more every time the two are prematurely forced to part ways.
Zagreus had once said that he’d wait for Thanatos, however long it took, and while that oath has in several ways led to a vague sense of yearning, a dull ache that often lingers just beneath the surface of his skin, it may be for the best that Zagreus now spends so many hours waiting, never turning complacent, never taking Thanatos’s company for granted. He’s always looking forward to the moment that their paths should cross again, as swiftly or as slowly as the Fates would have it.
Zagreus opts to take Mort with him on his way out this time, just in case he happens to find himself with an irrepressible urge to speed up the process.