"He's out here ladies, heading towards the veranda!"

Hades appeared in a cloud of black smoke behind the door, slowly closing it as Phil followed the rabid fangirls out of the extravagant home.

Girls were so easy to manipulate… and the satyr was even easier.

Slowly, he moved through the home, gazing around at all the finery…. Only to spot feet peeking out from behind red, velvet curtains.

"Hmmmm… well, let's see what's behind door number one!" He pulled on the chord, and the curtains moved to one side and reveal a bedraggled looking Hercules. If those girls had been there any longer, they probably would have stripped him completely.

Not that that was a terrible thought.

"A-Aides!" Hercules nervously tried to adjust himself, "I-I-I- "

Hades couldn't help but chuckle, "Don't worry, the sea of raging hormones has ebbed."

He continued to move around the room, examining everything as Hercules stepped down from the behind the curtains.

"I-it's good to see you again!" Hercules nervously called out after him, "I-I really missed you."

Hades would deny it forever, but those words made his non-existent heart flutter, ever so slightly. He brushed it off though, lounging on one of the red chairs, "Hmmm, so this is what heroes do on their days off?"

"I-I'm not a hero."

Frowning at the hurt in Hercules's voice, Hades shrugged, "Of course you are. The whole of Greece thinks you're the best thing in a millennia and it takes a lot to impress them. Trust me, I know."

No matter how many miracles the Gods' bestowed upon some of these thankless mortals, they continued to moan and groan about how life was 'so unfair.'

"How are you finding it?"

There was a moment of silence from Hercules, before the boy sighed. "Not really… I can't do anything with being followed everywhere."

"Hmmm, you sound like you need a break… do you think your babysitter would go- " He squeezed the Phil figure until his eyes popped out, "… berserk if you played hooky this afternoon?"

"I-I really don't think- "

Hades rolled his eyes, sauntering over and grabbing Hercules's arm, "It'll be easier…" He whispered, drawing on his old powers of temptation, "… we'll slip out of the window, you lift up the back wall and we're gone!"

Eyes glazed over slightly, Hercules nodded silently.

….

Hours later, long after the sun had set in the sky, the pair walked through the gardens of Thebes, chuckling and chatting about all that they'd done.

"What a day." Hercules sighed happily, "That restaurant by the bay and then that play, that-that Oedipus thing?! And I thought I had problems!"

That was Zeus's favourite play… anything that involved sex was a favourite of Zeus's.

Hades chuckled in agreement, watching as Hercules continued down the stairs, until he heard a hissing next to him.

"Master!" A nearby bird stared at him, "Do you need any help?"

The look in Hades's eyes was enough to wipe any concerns they might have had out of their minds. When Hercules turned back to him, Hades was sure to look as innocent as possible.

"You know…" The hero whispered, "… I had a really good time today. I- thank you."

Hades winced, "Yeah well, don't think me yet."

He had to find out the boy's weakness, even if that meant a little bit of humiliation on his behalf. Taking a deep breath, he forced a cry through his throat, falling forwards down the steps, knowing that Hercules would catch him, which he did.

"Are you alright?"

Hades seriously misjudged this act… their faces were far too close now.

"Yeah… weak ankles, you know."

"We should sit down then." Hercules lifted Hades up into a bridal carry, not seeming to register Hades's yelp of alarm, "Here."

Gently, Hades was placed on a stone bench near the fountain, one of his shoulder straps slipping down his arm as Hercules took a seat next to him.

"So…" Hades smirked, "… Do you ever have problems like this?" He stuck his ankle up near Hercules's face, delighting in how the boys' face turned bright red. When all that Hercules could do would sputter and gape, Hades used the top of his foot to angle Hercules's back towards him, "Weak ankles I mean?"

"Ummm…" Almost reluctantly, Hercules pushed the leg back down, "… no, no I-I don't think so."

"None at all?" Hades shuffled closer, "No trick knee? No slipped discs?" He pressed himself up against Hercules, one hand on that muscular chest as he made sure his breath fluttered against Hercules's neck teasingly.

He didn't miss how that red flush spread down the hero's neck, probably to his chest as well.

"Ummm, no, no. Fit as a horse!" Hercules then fixed Hades's tunic, sliding the shoulder strap back to its original position, which Hades had to hide a frown at.

He'd never known anyone to resist the fallen shoulder strap technique before.

Sighing, he watched as Hercules practically ran away from him, heading over to the fountain. "Wonder boy, you really are perfect."

"T-Thanks!"

As Hercules tried to skim a pebble across the surface of the water, Hades couldn't help but cackle as the pebble managed to break the arms of the statue in the middle clean off.

"It looks better that way." Hades headed over to reassure him, the flush on the boy's cheek probably more due to embarrassment rather than arousal at this point, "No, really it does."

He turned to face Hercules, suddenly realising just how close they were.

The air felt electric between them.

Hades had never felt something like this before.

Up above them, a shooting star flew through the sky, breaking the spell between them as they pulled away from one another.

"You know…" Hercules whispered, staring up at the sky, "… When I was a kid, I would have given anything to be like everyone else."

"You wanted to be petty and dishonest?"

Hercules frowned, watching Hades walk away, arms wrapped around himself. "Everyone's not like that."

"… Yes, they are."

Hercules reached out for him, his frown deepening when Hades pulled away from him, "You're not like that."

"How do you know what I'm like?" Hades turned to face him, glaring up at him, not that Hercules seemed to care.

"All I know, is that you're the most amazing… wonderful person with weak ankles I've ever met."

Hades couldn't help but smile at that, carefully backing away from Hercules, only to hiss when he backed into a small statue… of Eros.

He just got stabbed by an Eros's arrow.

That little shit was going to suffer for this next time he saw him.

"Aides…" Hercules continued, voice soft and soothing, "… When I'm with you, I don't feel so alone."

"Sometimes it's better to be alone." Hade kept dodging the younger man, moving away to another area of the garden.

"What do you mean?"

"… Nobody can hurt you."

Hercules was silent for a few moments before he slowly reached out and gently grabbed Hades's hands, "Aides, I would never… ever… hurt you."

"And I don't want to hurt you." Hades was stunned when he realised that was true, not just another one of his emotional manipulations, "So let's do ourselves a favour and stop this… before…" Hercules's face was getting closer and that tension that was between them was building up once again.

Seconds before their lips connected, there was a bright light as Phil's voice echoed throughout the garden.

"Break it up! Brea it up! Party's over!" Phil stood on Pegasus's head glaring down at them, "I've been looking all over this place for you!"

"Oh, calm down!" Hades snapped, pulling himself away, "It was all my idea. If you're going to be mad, be mad at me!"

"You're already on my list!" Phil snapped, climbing off of Pegasus and storming over to Hercules, missing Hades's eyes flashed and the flame in the lantern on top of the winged horse's head flared blue before extinguishing, "You! You're coming with me and you're going to be put through the workout of your life!"

"Alright, alright!" Hercules sighed as he turned to Hades, an apologetic look on his face, "I'm sorry about this." Reaching up, he grabbed a branch, picking a flower from it and handing it to Hades, "He'll calm down soon."

When Hades took the flower from him, Hercules suddenly got a surge of courage and seized his opportunity, leaning over and kissing the other man on the cheek.

"Move it!" Phil yelled, "Move it, move it, move it!"

"I'm coming. I'm coming." Hercules sent Hades a shy smile, before climbing onto Pegasus, not taking his eyes off of Hades as they disappeared into the night.

Once they were out of eyesight, Hades snarled in frustration.

He hated this.

This feeling of weakness, of lo- no! Don't even go there!

"What's the matter with me…" He grunted, fingernails stabbing into the stem of the flower, expecting it to rot and die like every other flower he ever touched, "… Hostile takeover, remember?"

He pondered on the matter, moving through the gardens.

Every interaction they had with one another was cliché, that's how Hades intended it to be, and once Hercules got over this 'shy' stage, he would turn into a mini Zeus and that' not something Hades was willing to stick around for.

That didn't stop him from smiling when he saw the statue of Hercules they'd set up in the centre of the park.

Hercules hadn't changed yet… maybe he would be different.

"Alright…" He whispered, staring at the healthy flower still in his hands, "… Hades, you gotta face facts. You've fallen in love."

"How sweet."