Author's note: Alright here we are with chapter 3!
thanks again to dragon-overlord-yuu for the beta thanks so much ;w;
A few days had passed since the incident. Hades had stayed in his room the whole time. They had asked Melissa to look after him so that Apollon or Dionysus wouldn't have to skip classes every day to look after their uncle.
Hades felt empty. He sat by his window, staring at the yard, not able to eat anything. His nephews forced him to swallow something, but when left alone, he was unable to nourish himself.
On the fourth day after his suicide attempt, classes had been canceled by Thoth for some reason. Nobody really knowing why, they went home. It was a rainy day, so they preferred staying in their dorm or going to one of the dorm of the other pantheons'. Dionysus tried to get his uncle to get out, but nothing worked. Hades absolutely refused to leave his room, and nothing, not even strawberry rice cake could make him leave his place by the window.
Hades was laying down on his bed, looking at the ceiling, wearing nothing more than his pajama pants, when he heard something hit his window. Thinking it was probably just a branch or something that was carried by the wind, he didn't react. But after hearing it three, and a fourth time, Hades decided to investigate the sound.
Standing up, he walked up to his window and looked outside. He saw nothing and was about to go back to his bed when he saw a pebble hitting the glass. Surprised, he opened it and looked down.
In the rain was standing Takeru, completely wet, a bunch of small rocks in one hand. He looked up to see Hades glaring at him from his bedroom, and smiled.
"Finally!"
"What is it you want?" Hades grumbled.
"Just to talk." Takeru replied, letting go of his small rocks.
"Go home you'll catch a cold" the Greek god coldly replied, turning his back to the window.
"Wait! Please... It won't be too long. I just want to talk" he pleaded.
Hades, still showing his back to the window, was thinking. Should he let him in? He didn't quite want to see anyone right now… except Takeru. How troublesome. As much as he wanted to see him, he felt unable to face him again. Not after… what had happened. And not only at the infirmary. Hades had jumped both because he was tired of this world and because he wanted to keep the person he loved most in the world safe from his misery. Takeru could have been hurt when that shelf fell in the astronomy class, if Hades hadn't reacted in time. And it would have been his fault, just like it was his fault Takeru risked his life when he had jumped into the river.
"Hades?" the sea god called back. What was taking him so long anyway?
Even though he felt embarrassed for what he had done to him, Takeru was also worried. From what he heard, Hades wasn't doing any better. He couldn't stand by and do nothing. He had to help him.
"I brought strawberry daifuku" he added, in hope that this would convince Hades to let him in.
"I'm not-" Hades started to protest, but his stomach growled loudly. He was glad the storm made it impossible for Takeru to hear it.
With an angry sigh, he turned around and made a sign to Takeru to invite him in. The Japanese god ran to the door with a smile of victory on his lips. He patiently waited for Hades to come down and open it for him.
Meanwhile, Hades picked a random shirt that he believed was clean, and came out of his room for the first time since he had entered it. Apollon, who was going up the stairs as Hades was walking them down, looked at him in awe.
"Dee-dee! Dee-dee uncle is out of his room!" he yelled, running back from where he was from.
"What?" Hades heard Dionysus' muffled voice reply.
Without even looking at his nephews, Hades went straight for the door while the two boys looked at him in anticipation. Was he going outside? In his pajamas?
When he opened the door, they hold their breath and were surprised to see Takeru, completely soaked, waiting on the other side. The brothers looked at each other in surprise. They never heard him knocking! How could Hades have heard him if they hadn't?
Without even sharing a word, with anyone, Hades turned around and walked back to where he was from, this time Takeru following him. The smaller god waved at the other two, who waved back, still astonished. What was going on anyway?
Hades entered his room without even checking if Takeru was following him. He sat down on his bed, his back against the wall, hugging his knees. Takeru was standing in the doorway, looking at the decoration. It was a lot different from what he had imagined. He thought the room would be darker, and a lot less decorated than it was. Instead, he found a room with white as the dominant color, with posters of stars hanged everywhere and books on every table. Hades' telescope was out of its case and just waiting to be used next to the window. A violin case was resting against the wall, and a vase full of red roses added colors to the room.
"Wow, it's not what I thought I'd find" he whispered, surprised.
"Did you think it'd be all black with skulls everywhere?" Hades replied bitterly.
"No, I did not" Takeru half lied.
He did think it would be a lot darker. He hadn't imagined the skulls, but he wouldn't have been surprised if he had found some.
Takeru pulled the unique chair from Hades' study desks and sat next to the bed. He then put his hand in the bag he had been carrying and got something out. He handed the rice cakes to Hades, who took a moment to reach out for it. He opened the bag and munched on the pastry.
"I made them with Yui yesterday" the Japanese boy declared as his friend ate.
"Tell her thank you from me."
"What about me?"
Hades sighed "Yes, thank you too"
"Apollon said you wouldn't eat anything, but I guess you were too starved to refuse my delicious daifuku" Takeru tried to joke, without much success.
"What did you want to talk about?"
"A-about the other day" the boy stuttered, looking away.
There was a long moment of silence where none of the boy dared to talk. Takeru absolutely wanted to say he was sorry, but Hades wanted to forget the whole thing.
"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it, and to be honest I don't know why I did it."
He did know why, but telling that to Hades right now felt wrong.
"Forget it. Is that all?"
"Actually, it was but now that I'm inside, might as well chat longer"
Hades glared at him as he ate another rice cake. They tasted incredible, and it felt good to eat a bit. He had originally planned to let himself starve to death, but apparently that wasn't going to happen, if everyone kept offering him his favorite food.
"Go away, please. I ate something and you said you were sorry. I'm not really in the mood to talk"
"But I am. You don't have to answer or anything. Is that okay?" Takeru proposed.
Since the classes had been canceled, the Japanese god had gotten bored quickly. He didn't feel like doing pranks with Loki nor hanging out with his brother. He wanted to check on Hades, and he wanted to spend time with him. His crush was getting out of hand, wasn't it?
"Do what you want" Hades mumbled as he finished the last daifuku.
Takeru smiled widely. He started telling Hades about random stuff, mostly school stuff, and keeping him up to date with what they had seen in class the last days. Quickly, it became random rambles. Hades was not looking at him, and he didn't even appear to listen, but he was. And it made him feel a bit better.
It was not until a lot later that Takeru realized just how late it was. He had arrived around 11 AM and it was maybe 4 PM. His stomach growled, making him stop mid-sentence.
"You haven't eaten because of me" Hades spoke for the first time since he told Takeru to do whatever he wanted.
"Nah, I just got carried away" he laughed.
Truth to be said, even if he was hungry, he didn't want to leave. He just wanted to spend time with Hades, and even if this afternoon had felt one-sided, he enjoyed it.
"I could… ask Apollon to bring you food" Hades proposed out of the blue, still looking to the side.
He hadn't moved at all during the day, unlike Takeru who stayed inside the room but couldn't stay still for so long. He had walked around the room, changed places, sat on the desk, the ground, anywhere he could, except the bed. All of that while telling Hades random stuff.
Takeru didn't respond. He was too surprised by Hades' proposition. Finally, as the surprise passed, a smile appeared on his face. Hades was actually telling him he could stay. Heart beating loud in his chest, he agreed to the man's suggestion.
Without even a look at him, the Greek god moved for the first time in forever and walked to the door. He called Apollon, and when he received an answer, asked for him to bring food for Takeru when he could. The sun god, glad his uncle was letting someone in his closed bubble, beamed with a smile and agreed. Hades closed his door once more and went back to the bed, and sat back in his corner. However, his legs were stretched, unlike earlier where he had his arms wrapped up around them, hugging them to his chest. His arms were crossed, and his only visible eye looked at Takeru.
"Thank you" he whispered as he looked away this time, slightly embarrassed.
"For what?" the Japanese god replied, confused.
"For… for today."
Hades didn't want to say "for staying with me when I wanted to be alone", so he didn't add anything, but he was grateful. As much as he tried to cut himself from his friends, he still enjoyed their company. And Takeru staying here, talking about the sun and the rain and anything that crossed his mind, without expecting him to answer to anything, made him extremely happy, but also very sad. He loved him to pieces, but they could never be together.
"You should start coming back to classes" Takeru said, ignoring the joy he felt.
"I don't want to"
"I don't want to attend classes either, but if we don't all attend, we'll all be stuck here."
"I'll ask Zeus to make you graduate without me."
"But we don't want that! You know Yui's pretty worried? She doesn't dare come here because she doesn't know what to tell you. We're all pretty astounded by your suicide attempt. Even Loki! It's not the same without you"
Hades' look darkened "Whatever you say won't make me happy or anything. You don't understand half of how I feel. I'm sorry you all worry, but you shouldn't."
"And why is that?" Takeru harshly replied.
"Because I'm not worth worrying for."
Taken aback by the reply, Takeru sat down on his chair, since he had been standing. He looked at Hades in disbelief. How could this man be so broken that he believed he wasn't worth being cared about?
"I don't know what happened to you, Hades, and whatever makes you feel like you're not worth caring for, or whoever made you feel that way is wrong. You're amazing, Hades! And I-" Takeru stopped himself before he could confess. "And I just want to help you" he finished in a whisper.
Hades stayed silent. He was fighting back tears. That's why he didn't deserve to be cared for. His friends wanted to help him, and all he would bring them in return was misfortune and bad luck.
"I don't need it" he mumbled back.
Takeru sighed heavily. He loved Hades, but sometimes he could be so goddamn annoying. But he also knew that continuing like that wouldn't help anything.
"At least promise me you'll come back to classes" he asked, hoping that he would at least get out of his bedroom.
"I can't-" Hades started to reply, but he was cut off.
"Promise me" Takeru pleaded.
The Greek god sighed and finally dared look at Takeru. "Will you leave me alone if I do?"
"At least for a while, yeah"
The god of death considered his offer. Takeru had mentioned he would have to follow him around, because no one wanted to leave Hades alone. They were scared he would try to attempt at his life again. That meant he'd spend more time than he wanted with him. Even then he didn't want anyone but him to do it. Those feelings were getting really, really frustrating.
"Fine" Hades agreed. "I'll attend classes again, but that's all."
Takeru smiled, relieved. He was glad this at least worked. Presenting his hand to Hades, the Japanese god smiled.
"Let's shake hands, to conclude this" he proposed.
Hades reluctantly shook hands with him, looking slightly annoyed. But seeing Takeru's triumphant look, he couldn't help but smile. The thought of pulling him in for a hug traversed his mind, but he left that thought at the back of his brain. He couldn't show how much he cared for him. It would only hurt him more later.
Apollon chose that moment to walk in with a tray of food. On it was two plates, one for his uncle and one for Takeru, as Hades had asked.
"I'm not interrupting something right? Should I come back later?" the sun god worried.
"It's a bit too late to worry about disturbing us, y'know" Takeru mentioned. "Now give me the food I'm starving."
Apollon put the tray down on the table next to Hades' bed. The Japanese god took his plate and started eating. Hades looked at the food, but didn't touch any.
"If you need anything just tell me" Apollon concluded as he started walking toward the door.
Once he was out, Takeru turned toward Hades "He's acting like he's your mom or something"
Hades smiled as he reached for his plate. "Yeah. He's been acting like that for the past days"
Hades nibbled at the food as Takeru kept talking, just like he did during the day. A sort of peace settled between the two. It was strange, considering that both of them didn't want to see the other, and now here they were, eating and talking. Still convinced their feelings were one sided, the two gods were still going to try and be simple friends.