Work Text:
Valto Terma by Nikos Oikonomopoulos
Thanatos straightened his tie again, staring at the unadorned wooden door. The hallway was dimly lit, one of the fluorescents he'd walked under flickering in its death throes. He couldn't help but compare it to the bright house in Olympus he'd been in only once before.
It's not fair, to anyone affected by this shit, but Darkness, he deserves light, open spaces...
He readjusted the paper bag in the crook of his elbow, trying to steel his spine just a little more before he knocked. As a means of procrastinating another moment, he mentally catalogued the things he'd bought on his way here - some salty chips, some milk chocolate bars, some of those red chewy stranded candies that looked like twisted vines, and some cherry flavored energy drinks he was pretty sure he'd seen Hermes drink once or twice before.
He swallowed, hard, and shoved his hand at the door to knock. If he didn't do it now, he never would.
The rap his knuckles made could have been a mouse tapping on the wood. He tried again, making more solid contact this time, but he'd only gotten three swings in before the door pulled away. He overcorrected for no other reason than he was the world's jumpiest god with a coward's constitution, nearly dropping the bag of snacks.
"Than? What are you doin' here?" Hermes squinted at Thanatos, and it didn't take a genius to see the crimson god's face was blotchy, his eyes puffy with tear marks streaking his cheeks.
Thanatos stepped closer, just a half-pace. "Um, you weren't in the office today. I thought I'd come by and check on you?" He nudged the bag so it crinkled loudly in the empty hallway. "I brought you a few things. Snacks. Drinks." Hermes' eyes drifted slowly over the bag, almost like he was only just realizing it was there now. A slow blink, an even slower nod; the messenger god stepped back stiffly, letting Thanatos enter the flat.
He did his best to conceal his shock. The place was impeccably tidy; it looked like a staged display model from a brochure. The flat was also much darker than expected, only a table lamp beside the couch illuminating the main room. Thanatos thanked his own perfect nightvision as he walked to the kitchen counter to unpack the things he'd brought for the other god. Hermes hesitated, closing the door only when Thanatos was elbow deep in the paper bag, pulling out the box of candy bars.
"I didn't feel up to coming into work today. I'll be back tomorrow, don't worry about it." Hermes walked to the couch and straightened a throw pillow, the motion stiff and formal in what was obviously an unfamiliar way. Thanatos figured it was a semi-conscious attempt at regaining some sort of control over a life that had been turned upside-down, a reset button of sorts.
The problem was, Hermes was not a god of order, of tidy living rooms and perfectly straight throw pillows. He was wind-tossed hair, missing shirts, protective heart...
Thanatos stopped unpacking the bag but didn't look at Hermes directly; he wouldn't be able to think clearly if he did, and he had to say this right.
"I know this isn't easy for you, Hermes. I know you're missing your friends, and I know I haven't been the best person I could be to you before. But I want you to know you're not alone, and Hades will get this straightened out. For all of us."
He chanced a glance at Hermes then, saw the shine of tears glimmering in the lamplight. If his half-dead heart could break, it would have at the hopeless look Hermes gave him.
"It doesn't stop me missing my mom, does it?"
Thanatos leaped over the couch, wings invisibly unfurled to give him lift. He pulled Hermes against him, tucking the god's crumpling face against his shoulder. He petted Hermes' hair, murmuring quietly as they settled onto the couch, perfectly placed cushion be damned.
A few minutes went by before Hermes pulled himself together. Thanatos didn't resist when the other god leaned away, though everything in him screamed to hold on, to shelter and soothe. He stamped down his raging hormones and pulled a hanky from his breast pocket, flicking it open and handing it to Hermes.
That at least earned him a wet chuckle, which he logged away under the file in his mind reserved for "Hermes Smiles and Laughs." He'd stopped kicking himself for that particular folder a while ago, once he admitted to himself that his stupid crush wasn't going away. Now just wasn’t the time to dwell on it. . Every one of Hermes' smiles and laughs was different, and Thanatos was sure it would take him eternity to learn them all. He was happy to spend eternity learning them all.
Another dour chuckle, and Hermes spoke without meeting Thanatos' eyes. "Fuck, Than, I thought I was all weepy'd out. Guess I was wrong. Sorry 'bout your shirt..."
Thanatos shrugged, trying not to blush at how much he liked feeling the warmth of Hermes still trapped in the cloth against his skin. "It's okay. I know it's a big change; that's why I wanted to come check on you."
"Thanks. I just..." He sighed but squared his shoulders at the same time, starting to fold and unfold the handkerchief in his lap. "I couldn't sleep last night, and I woke up this morning hating the mess. I just kept thinkin', what would Mama say? So I got cleaning, and then cleanin' some more, and I couldn't stop." A deep maroon blush colored Hermes' cheeks, washing away the wan paleness leftover from crying, and Thanatos swallowed as quietly as he could, trying not to think of things he shouldn't be thinking of right now.
Like other circumstances Hermes would blush in. Like where else Hermes' body might flush with color. Like if the freckles that disappeared under the blush lived elsewhere on that crimson skin.
Stop it!
"I'll shoot off an email to the Boss and Hecate here in a bit, apologize for missing work without notice. I doubt they'll cut me too much slack, but whatever. It is what it is, I guess." The morose tone was back, and lithe fingers had stopped folding and unfolding the square of white linen.
Thanatos felt his hand on Hermes' wrist before he'd realized he'd moved it. He let the part of him he usually kept locked up tight in a little box, the part of him that felt too much and too clearly what others were feeling, speak for him, just this once.
"What it is, Hermes, is the purest kind of Olympian bullshit. Zeus made his choice, without any thought for literally everyone else in the pantheon, and we're all left to pick up the pieces. You're allowed to miss your mom, and you're allowed to miss your life before."
The look Hermes gave him was contemplative, a calculating look that shot straight through Thanatos like a firestorm. He pulled his hand away and got up from the couch, sure that if he stayed a moment longer, he'd combust. He went back to the snacks and tugged the energy drink cans out of the bag by their plastic rings. He opened the fridge to put them and the chocolate away, and when he straightened again, he felt a wide hand on the small of his back. He spun around, eyes widening like dinner plates as Hermes tucked the folded hanky back into his pocket, the back of his hand brushing against his belt.
"Thanatos... That was an extremely kind and understanding thing to say. Thank you. And thank you for the snacks..."
Their faces were inches away, and Thanatos knew Hermes was waiting for him to make a choice. The calculating look was still there in Hermes' eyes, impossible to mistake. But he had to be sure, couldn't mess this up. He opened his mouth, determined to see this through and not to be an idiot.
"... Hhhhnnnn..."
Hermes' smile crackled like fireworks over his face, sparkling in his eyes like stardust, and there was yet another laugh for Thanatos to catalogue, a snicker somehow blended with a throaty chuckle. The hand at his belt turned, a thumb brushing his stomach through his dress shirt; he was sure Hermes felt him tremble. Hermes' voice dropped an octave when he murmured, "It's a good thing I speak horny-boy..."
Hermes leaned in, closing the space between them, and their lips met softly, so softly Thanatos almost didn't realize it had happened before Hermes was pulling away. He whimpered again, mentally kicking himself for letting language desert him just when he needed it most, but Hermes pulled his other hand up to plant a finger over his half-opened lips. Thanatos froze instantly, obeying without question.
"I meant it, Than. Thank you for what you said. I'm not up for anything today, though. I'm exhausted, and if we're gonna have fun, I wanna be able to return the favor. If you want, we can have dinner Friday, and see where it goes?"
Thanatos nodded, an unfamiliar excitement lighting up inside his chest. Of course, Hermes wouldn't wanna fuck him today; he'd said he didn't sleep last night. Thanatos could behave, would behave.
Hermes leaned in again, and this time Thanatos responded enthusiastically, moving his lips against Hermes' mouth just enough to spark a little friction but not enough to bridge the space between their breath. If his words wouldn't work anymore, he was damn sure going to make sure his lips spoke in other ways.
When they separated again, Hermes was flushing again, and Thanatos felt a touch of pride that he wouldn't be the only one hungry for Friday. He enjoyed the breathlessness in his voice as he said, "Friday, then."
"Mmmhmm." Hermes licked his lips, stepping back from Thanatos and clearing the way to his front door. "I'll see you at work tomorrow, Than."
"See you, Hermes."
Something in him settled as the door to Hermes' flat closed behind him. It had been a long time since he'd felt so light. He felt powerful. He felt whole. Thanatos walked down the hall to the stairs, brushing his invisible wings against the dying fluorescent overhead to drain the last of the power and plunge the hall into darkness behind him.
Friday couldn't come soon enough…
Ola Moiazoun Kalokairi by Melisses
The week flew by with Thanatos trying his best to keep his head at his desk and out of his pants. Hermes was back at work the next day as he'd said, and though the red-skinned god maintained a professional attitude to match his newly stoic Cthonic persona, Thanatos noticed a few more stolen glances. From both of them.
The office they shared had never seemed so small.
Friday dawned as dreary as ever in Underworld, but Thanatos smiled brightly as his computer booted up on the gleaming desk. He almost didn't feel the ache in his lower back from the extra runs topside yesterday to catch up the soul-gathering. Since the trial ended just a couple weeks ago in that disastrous declaration from Zeus, Hecate and Hades had determined they couldn't condone a complete abandonment of psychopomp duties. However, Hermes as a technical traitor to Olympus could no longer be permitted to travel to the Mortal Realm. Which put all of the work he had been helping Thanatos with back on Than's shoulders alone.
But the Underworld also couldn't risk daily trips for Thanatos. It would run him into the ground, not to mention draw too much attention if soul-retrieval maintained its pre-split levels.
So Thanatos and Hermes worked in the office for two days, and Thanatos ran souls to Charon by himself on the third. It was enough to keep ghosts from flooding the Mortal Realm, but not so much that Olympus wouldn't feel the sting of the living mortals fear as their dead refused to rest.
None of that, stressful as it was to Thanatos, could stop him smiling brightly at Hermes when he spun through the door into their office this morning. It was Friday.
They had a date after work.
Than's computer dinged with the first email of the day: the Peloponnesus was reporting an earthquake, most likely Poseidon's doing, and while the numbers were still rolling in, the initial death toll was in the hundreds.
Thanatos sighed, and Hermes stepped to his side to read over his shoulder. A low whistle gusted against Than's bun, sending a chill down his spine. He couldn't stop the shiver that trembled down his arm as Hermes leaned closer on the obvious pretense of seeing the screen more clearly.
"That's gotta send a pretty damn clear message to the purple bastard, huh? Good." Hermes trailed a hand over Than's shoulder as he straightened back up.
Thanatos counted to twelve in his mind before he could breathe again.
It was going to be a long day...
~~~~~
Than adjusted the wineglass on the black silk tablecloth for the fifteenth time, trying to resist the urge to check his phone again too. Hermes had said he'd only be a few minutes late, and it was still a couple of minutes early. Thanatos had no reason to be so scared.
His phone buzzed, and he nearly knocked the wineglass, silverware, and candlestick over as his hand flew to grab the phone. He ignored the waiter who came over in a rush to make sure nothing actually fell over, thumbing the message bubble before it could fade into the notifications bar.
7:58pm Just around the block! Driver had to take a couple detours! Don't leave! <3 Hermes <3
Thanatos chuckled quietly, swiping his thumb over the keyboard to type one-handed as he helped the waiter straighten the tablecloth the rest of the way.
I won't leave until you come.
His finger tapped Send before his brain caught up with what he'd typed. Flushing furiously enough to send a neon-blue glow onto the silverware, he shoved the phone into his satchel. He forced his fingers to his throat, straightening - not choking, no matter how much he deserved it - his tie, and stared into the ferns bordering the corner booth.
Darkness help me, I'm turning into an idiot.
Shoving self-flagellation aside, he focused on breathing steadily until Hermes' voice floated over the murmuring diners and bright-voiced staff between the entry and his booth. Thanatos scrambled out from behind the table to be standing beside it when the host guided Hermes around the corner.
It was like watching summer glide over winter fields as Hermes walked toward him. The crimson god had changed out of his staid black suit and was wearing a sleek teal jumper over tight-clinging blue jeans. A simple, grey cashmere ascot wrapped around the neck of his knitted top, and gold hoops threaded through his earlobes. He carried a thin clutch-style wallet, pale cream with gold fittings.
Thanatos swallowed and gripped the edge of the table, wondering why it felt like the floor was moving under him in waves.
Hermes drifted toward him like dandelion seeds, leaning forward to peck a kiss on his cheek. Thanatos felt the mark like a brand against his blush, but he wrangled what he hoped was a not-goofy smile onto his lips as Hermes slipped past him into the booth. Thanatos followed as gracefully as he could, but cringed when the leather made the most gods-awful rumbling noise against his rear.
He froze, staring in horror at Hermes.
His date bit his lip, crumpling the plump folds under the sharp edges of his two front teeth, and reached to help Thanatos slide closer.
Thanatos managed the final few scoots, blushing more and more brightly as the leather continued to protest. It wasn't until Hermes' wool-clad arm was tight across his shoulders and their ribs heaved against each other that something in him settled.
This would work.
He deserved this.
Hermes smiled at him as the waiter left to bring their appetizer, and Thanatos smiled back, deeply grateful for his own personal summer in this dark, dreary world...
The door slammed open against the wall when Hermes unlocked it; the two gods fell through it laughing, barely keeping on their feet. Thanatos gasped for air he knew he didn't need as Hermes spun around to close the door. The crimson god put a finger to his lips, shushing the door as he pushed it gently back into place. They both fell totally silent to hear the latch click, and then they were hooting again, hanging off each other as they dripped rainwater onto the linoleum.
He couldn't be sure which of them took the first step, but after a few breathless seconds they were stumbling off the tile and onto the carpet of the living space. Hermes was tugging spastically at Than's belt, either trying to spin him around or guide him to -
Oh. Bedroom. Hermes had pulled him to his bedroom door. By the belt loops.
Hermes... wanted him… now.
Thanatos got his feet more steadily under him, put one hand on the door to shove it closed behind him, and put his other hand under Hermes' chin to hold him still. He covered the man's laughing mouth with his own, stepped into his space to bring them flush from waist to thigh, and swallowed Hermes' gasp as he took control of the night. The tension of laughter and surprise melted out of Hermes, turning him malleable and tender like fine clay. Thanatos let his lips drift to the side, mapping pulse points and angles of bone with the tip of his tongue. The gold hoop in Hermes' earlobe taunted him. He tapped it with the tip of his nose before letting his teeth click gently against the metal. Hermes shivered; Thanatos reveled.
Thanatos leaned just closer enough to whisper directly into Hermes' ear, "Do you have a preference, sunbird?" The red-chested nectar-loving birds reminded him of Hermes, he'd realized over dinner; flighty with focus, brilliant plumage covering sturdy musculature and delicate bone.
Hermes turned into Thanatos' neck, too, nibbling on Than's unpierced ear before murmuring, "Your mouth, for starters."
They dove into action, each of them tugging and prying at buttons and cloth. They got in each other's way as much as they helped, but in less than a minute, they were naked and falling onto Hermes' bed. A few small pillows bounced onto the floor as the crimson-skinned god reverse-wormed his way up the mattress, and Thanatos let his wings unfurl as he stalked after him on all fours.
Thanatos stopped only when his hips were between Hermes' thighs, his mouth hovering in a taunt over Hermes' heaving chest. Freckles dotted sunset skin like the inverse of stars, and Thanatos remembered his earlier wish to catalogue the position of each and every one. He dropped his head, tongue drifted over his bottom lip, and kissed the dipped hollow of Hermes' collarbone. The scent, the taste, of him was something bittersweet, like browned butter or oil and vinegar. There was an alcoholic tang, too, probably from his cologne. Thanatos inhaled through his nose as he tilted his face, eyes seeking Hermes' face.
A warm hand cupped the side of his face, long fingers lacing through his loosening hair. Hermes' eyes were sparkling like Domaine Karanika wine, effervescent and alight. "I suppose if you wanna work your way down, I won't complain."
Thanatos curled his tongue back behind his teeth, relishing the thick swallow it earned him from Hermes. "All you said was my mouth. The where is up to me, I'm sure."
Hermes collapsed backward, throwing an arm over his eyes dramatically and groaning in frustration. "Fuuuuuck, Than. You could have told me you were a mouthy top! Warn a guy!"
Thanatos only chuckled and went for a pierced nipple. The hoop was silver, the only such piece he'd seen Hermes wearing so far, and he wondered if he'd worn it just for the occasion. He flicked and swirled around it, enjoying every tiny gasp, memorizing the lay of the freckles as they danced across Hermes' pec, angling up toward his rounded shoulder and down over his defined ribs. Once the bud was swollen dark and gleaming with spit, he traced his half-open mouth to the other side. The same treatment earned him the hand in his hair again, but this time, Hermes' nails found purchase against his scalp in involuntary flexes. Thanatos struggled to hold back a whine, the feeling pushing tremulous sparks all down his back. He wouldn't be able to hold out much longer, not with how Hermes was starting to raise his hips and brush just the tip of himself against Than's belly.
Fine. He could take a hint.
Driving his wings down, he floated backward, dropping back directly over Hermes' hips. His hands flattened against corded thighs and angular bones, holding the god in place so his tongue could glide up the underside of that hot, heavy shaft.
Hermes' voice was breathless as he whispered, "Fuck-wow-damn-Than!" Thanatos smiled up at him before closing his lips over the slick tip of him.
After that, he lost himself in pleasuring his lover. Minutes were measured by Hermes' quiet gasps; seconds became the micro-movements of Hermes' legs and arms against the sheets. The symphony he played from Hermes' body with lips, tongue, fingers, and palms would have rivaled the Messenger's own skill with flute and lyre.
Thanatos fell so deeply into his focused mental space, he didn't realize Hermes had pushed up onto his elbows to watch him for nearly a minute.
"Gods..." Hermes' voice was hushed, but not breathless now. Thanatos blinked slowly, all his responses feeling dulled. He tilted his cheek further into Hermes' sweaty palm, humming faintly while he swallowed and drew back for another plunge down the throbbing shaft between his teeth. "Fuh! Could I - shit - could I take a picture of you there, Than'tos?"
A picture? Why not? Let him remember this forever that way.
He pulled back enough to nod, and Hermes snapped the fingers of his free hand. His phone was there, and then Thanatos blinked a few times before the flash half-blinded him. He tucked his chin after Hermes snapped the pic, the pleasant haze fading in the brightness. He didn't stop; he wanted Hermes to come.
He needed to make him come.
Both of Hermes' hands were on his head now, and the breathless neediness was back in his voice overhead. "Fuck, Than, I've been close for ages. Can I fuck your throat?"
Thanatos removed his fingers from Hermes' hips, bracing his elbows in the mattress, and nodded with Hermes' cock dripping on the back of his tongue. Hermes' lungs whooshed as he immediately began thrusting, shallow but faster than expected, plunging into Than's throat. Thanatos held his breath, the move practiced through the years.
Death didn't need to breathe, and this trick had kept partners coming back again and again. They could fuck his throat for minutes on end, and he wouldn't need them to stop.
His own cock throbbed with how Hermes was using him now. He pressed his hips deeper into the mattress, trying not to jostle too much and break Hermes' rhythm.
"Fuck, beautiful, just a - dammit! - just a little more!"
Three more strokes, and Hermes tugged Than down until his nose met the slick hairless skin of his pelvis. Hermes' cock jerked sharply in his throat as he came, and Thanatos let his own hips wriggle, so close himself that the mattress would do the trick in just a few seconds.
Than's scalp prickled as Hermes pulled him up and off; he didn't have a chance to get his lungs working again before Hermes had him under the arms and was tossing him up the bed and flipping him over. Thanatos struggled weakly, more out of shock than genuine dislike, as Hermes pinned him down and dove straight onto his cock without another word.
It was an embarrassingly short moment before Thanatos was arching against the bed, his wings juddering under his back as he spent himself down Hermes' throat. He vaguely registered Hermes swallowing and stroking him with a damp hand to be sure he was done, and then he was tucked securely against warm ribs and shoulder under a thin cotton sheet.
He started panting while Hermes' stroked his hair; the shoulder-length strands were clinging everywhere with static and sweat, but Hermes was putting forth a valiant effort to tame the snowy cloud. Thanatos blinked hazily, tilting his head, seeking Hermes' face. The Messenger was smirking smugly, staring at his phone.
"What...?"
"Wanna see?" Hermes angled the phone so Than could see.
He blushed again, worse than he'd done at dinner, worse than when he'd been a virgin a few thousand years before.
His mask had slipped while he drifted in the pleasure of sucking Hermes; his eyes were a hollow black, and the shadows in his cheeks made him look like a cadaver. His hair had faded at the ends to trail tendrils of shadows, and his wings had taken on a gravestone hue of grey, pockets of his father's realm clinging to the edges of the feathers. Even his fingers against Hermes' thighs - the knuckles of every bone were visible through waxy skin.
He'd looked like a corpse.
He groaned in horror, but Hermes only tugged him tighter to his side. There was something like pride lacing his voice when he said, "Maybe this place is getting to me, but I think it's pretty damn hot I nearly got sucked to death by Death..."
Thanatos groaned louder, burying his burning face into Hermes' shoulder while his lover laughed and kissed the side of his head.
Oh well. If it keeps him happy here, I guess I'll take it.