+5 points to you if you can recognize the "boon" Zagreus has for his weapon!

Thanatos tucks his emotions away in a little box in the corner of his mind. He's already been reprimanded by Lord Hades, lost his cool with Zagreus, and let Meg drink him under the table. In a mere month. Too much has happened in too short a time, so he needs to compartmentalize.

Helping Zagreus try to escape is not an emotional decision. He is forcibly ripping away any emotional aspect from the action, because trying to figure out why he wants to help Zagreus makes his heart sink and his head spin and he can't make any sense of it. There is no meaning behind it, no intention.

At least, that's what he tells himself as he teleports to Elysium yet again.

A bell tolls to announce his arrival and Zagreus freezes mid-step at the sound. Thanatos gives the prince a cursory once-over, appraising him for any serious injuries. Miraculously, there aren't any this time around other than a few small cuts and bruises, so he lets his gaze slowly drift down to the blade in Zagreus' hand. Thanatos cocks his head and squints. The Stygian blade is different somehow - the shape is the same, but it looks as if it's been forged of obsidian, deep as night, glinting with starlight -

"Like what you see? Does that mean we're good now?" Smirking, Zagreus props his free hand on his hip and swings Stygius over his shoulder.

Shit.

It seems Zagreus isn't that miffed about what happened in the lounge. His heart lightens at the thought for mere seconds, then he swats the feeling away, annoyed.

Thanatos clears his throat. "Still at it, I see. You're stubborn," he says smoothly. He just knows Zagreus has an insufferably cocky expression right now, so he focuses anywhere but the prince's face, starting with the broad expanse of his chest - Wait, shit. A box in a corner. Emotions in a box in a corner. Thanatos groans. "And you are going to get me in a heap of trouble before all is said and done."

There's hardly any time for Zagreus to respond before the shades start materializing. The prince springs into action immediately and slams his blade down to the ground. A shockwave ripples out from the impact, stunning the armored champions and Thanatos alike. Well, not Thanatos, not really, because he's Death Incarnate and he can't be hurt, not physically at least.

He's stunned by the way Zagreus swings his sword with a new grace and fluidity, the way he plants his feet firmly and deliberately with each lunge. The way his eyes sparkle with every kill. Thanatos is rooted in place, noting that the prince's repeated failures have improved more than just his confidence. Suddenly, a witch's clump of spells splits mere inches from his face and snaps Thanatos out of his daze. He shakes his head, but finds it very hard to tear his eyes away from the warring prince.

Unfortunately, all of this does not escape Zagreus' notice.

"Enjoying the show?" he teases.

"Gotten better with that thing, have you?" Thanatos trades. Zagreus grins back, jovially slashing through a lingering Exalted soul, before darting away to cut down shade after shade at breakneck speed. Thanatos laments his own kill count and wonders if he's subconsciously holding himself back for the prince's sake.

There are more shades than usual for some unknown reason, but if Zagreus is winded, he is not letting it show. Aside from their brief banter, he is nothing but focused and determined to slay as many champions as possible before the reaper's scythe can complete its downward arc.

Soon, the clang of metal on metal slows to a halt as the last champion falls. Panting, Zagreus spins wildly, searching for an opponent, but there are none left. Finally, he looks to Thanatos. He did it.

The god of death lowers his weapon and smiles softly, conceding defeat.

The prince drops his blade, throws up his arms, and shouts to the heavens. "I DID IT! I won!"

Then, he collapses.

Thanatos is there in an instant. He catches the prince and lowers him gently onto the soft, grassy bank of Lethe, frantically scanning his body for any external injuries. Damn it, there had been too many enemies this time, he must have pushed himself too hard -

Zagreus, with his head cradled in Thanatos' arms, opens one eye and cracks an impish smile.

"Than, I think I'm falling for -"

With that, Thanatos promptly drops Zagreus onto the grass.

"You're perfectly fine, so why are you making such a fuss?" Thanatos grumbles, pulling in his legs to float cross-legged next to Zagreus' head. Chortling to himself, the prince rolls onto his side, propping himself up with his elbow to study Thanatos' gloomy countenance.

"I was trying to make a pun." Zagreus sticks out his tongue. "I think it was the rush. I've never won against you before," he muses.

"Right," Thanatos says thoughtfully. He extends his hand, palm up, and summons a centaur heart from the ether, presenting it to Zagreus. He looks back and forth between the heart and Thanatos' face incredulously, mouth agape. "For you. Good job."

Humming contentedly to himself, Zagreus gleefully accepts the heart, pressing it slowly into his chest to amplify his life force. Thanatos watches him fondly before quickly turning his head away to instead watch the cloudy surface of the river, stuffing his emotions back into their box in the corner.

"I should win more often if I get a centaur heart every time," Zagreus laughs.

Thanatos can't help but chuckle. I should let you win more often if you're going to be like this every time. His face warms and he stamps down the embarrassing, intrusive thought.

Zagreus stretches languidly, reaching his arms above his head. His fingertips lightly brush against the outside of Thanatos' thigh as he does. Thanatos stiffens. He has no time to question whether that had been accidental, much less to address this foreign warmth building in his stomach.

"Listen to me," Thanatos pleads gently, floating just out of Zagreus' reach. The prince watches him expectantly, arms still outstretched. Thanatos takes a deep breath, remembering what Meg said to him. You're allowed to want things, too. "I don't know how else to put this, but… I want you to come home. Voluntarily."

He keeps his eyes trained on the cloudy waters drifting lazily in front of him, but a rustling in the grass tells him that Zagreus is sitting up now. He swallows and continues, "It's not just you swept up in all this nonsense now. And, I know you didn't ask for me to get involved, but... what did you expect?

"...Than," Zagreus says softly. The silence stretches between them and Thanatos' heart pounds erratically, until he realizes that Zagreus is waiting for his acknowledgement. So, he exhales and turns his head ever so slightly to meet the prince's serious gaze. "Home is never going to be the same for me. There's no use trying to pretend. I have to go."

Thanatos looks back to the river. He feels like he's sinking beneath its depths, so he rises to his feet. "You don't have to do anything of the sort," he says, voice hardening. Get them back in the box, he wills himself. Box in a corner. He shoots Zagreus a weak glare. "You have no idea how good you've had it here. Maybe someday you'll come to understand."

Zagreus opens his mouth in protest, but Thanatos has already left.

Thanatos stares mindlessly at the sluggish currents of the river Styx, eyes glazed over, shoulders sagging. He is tired. He didn't know he could get tired. But the headache is back with its new friend, body ache, and he desperately wishes he could trade places with Hypnos for the next twenty minutes. He pauses.

Hypnos? As the god of death? Never mind.

Thanatos considers the possibility that it could be mental exhaustion. He keeps replaying his last encounter with Zagreus in his mind, wondering what he could have said or done differently. He entertains every potential route of conversation and action until his errant mind starts spiraling into the worst possible scenarios. He refuses to entertain those.

Plus, he'd been emotionally vulnerable with Zagreus. For just a minute or so, anyway. It was a big step for him. He put his heart out there, figuratively and literally - maybe not literally, it was a centaur heart after all, but - !

Point being, it took him considerably longer than just a minute or so to pack his emotions neatly in a box in the corner, and he does not want to lay them out again and try to understand them. But they keep trying their damnedest to escape and force Thanatos to acknowledge them. Foolish emotions, with their annoying headaches and body aches. Maybe that is what's exhausting him...

A raucous, high-pitched laughter interrupts him from his compartmentalizing. Oh. He didn't even notice Zagreus returned.

"A tiny - ?! You were slain by a tiny vermin !" He hears Hypnos wheeze from the Great Hall.

Thanatos doesn't know what that means and doesn't care to find out. He tries to calm down, taking deep breaths in and out, but the knowledge that Zagreus is back sends his emotions bouncing up and down the walls of his head. Hypnos is still laughing while Lord Hades' voice booms across the House, and his pesky emotions are squealing and squirming; Thanatos just wishes everything would shut up -

"Thanatos!"

The noise in his head softens, reduced to a faint buzzing. He peers around to find Zagreus holding out a bottle of … what was that, nectar? Where in the Underworld did he find nectar? Did he go out of his way to find nectar during one of his ludicrous escape attempts or did he trade for it at the Wretched Broker's?

Method of acquirement aside, the fact that Zagreus is giving him nectar makes him deeply uncomfortable in ways he refuses to acknowledge.

"You don't know how much that centaur heart helped me out there, and I just… It isn't much, Than, but I got you something," Zagreus says sheepishly, shifting from foot to foot, averting his eyes from Thanatos' discerning gaze. Thanatos' mind is screaming at him, throttling him by the neck. This is not what he needs right now, he's supposed to be compartmentalizing...

"You want me to take that off your hands, fine." He gingerly takes the delicate bottle from Zagreus, careful not to let their hands touch. He tucks the nectar into his chiton, willing it into the ether and summoning a jeweled butterfly pin in its place. Scanning the West Hall briefly for Achilles, he holds it out to Zagreus, insisting, "But you are taking this from me, and if anyone asks, we're even."

Zagreus' smile widens into a full, lopsided grin as he accepts the keepsake, regarding it with such curiosity and wonder, that Thanatos hisses, "Or, scratch that, don't tell anyone about this, understand?"

The prince looks up at him, touched at the sentiment. He's so shiny and bright that Thanatos has to look away. Embarrassment is close to wriggling its way into his head and detonating from the inside.

"You're in such a generous mood today," Zagreus hums, cheerfully pinning the butterfly to his chiton.

"I… I have to go," Thanatos stammers as he pulls his hood over his eyes and flushed cheeks, then teleports away.