Chapter 4

Days passed without anything special happening. Hades wasn't really doing any better, but he was still attending classes and making simple conversation with his classmates. Even though he didn't want to start going to club activities yet, he was sort of forced to go since no one would leave him go back to his dorm alone. He had to stay with Takeru, who attended the astronomy club.

So every day after school they would meet up in their club room. Hades would sit at his desk and read, while the others discussed about stars. Every now and then they would ask their club president for information about a specific star or a constellation, trying to include him more in their activities. Unfortunately, it didn't work really. Hades would reply, yes, but his answers were short and simple. The less he interacted with them, the better he felt.

Hades still felt horrible. He couldn't chase away the feeling he should have died. He didn't belong in this world anymore. His time had come, or so he believed. He thought he was the best person to decide when he should die, and yet he couldn't do so. How… annoying.

"Hades-san!" Yui called from the other side of the room. "Can you help me with something?"

Hades sighed. He got up and walked over to the table where his nephews and his friends were looking at a map of the sky. They all had a puzzled look. Reluctantly, Hades looked at the map and asked them what the problem was.

"We don't quite understand the hemisphere, and to be honest we're not sure what stars are visible this season." The girl explained, looking at him over her shoulder.

Hades examined the map, quickly looked outside, and started pointing to a section of the map "These stars should be visible this season. The north hemisphere is the upper part of the earth, while the south hemisphere is the lower part of the earth. Depending on the seasons and where you are, you can see different stars. I do not know in what hemisphere we are so it's a bit hard to say exactly what we will see, but considering it is summer, these are the main stars we should see" he concluded.

"That's really amazing uncle! You're so amazing!"

"It's just... basic knowledge" he replied before walking back to his desk.

He felt extremely tired and worn out and simply wanted to go to bed straight away. That didn't escape Takeru, who was looking at him from his place. He had seen the wariness on Hades' face, and the man also seemed paler than usual, which was something to say as Hades' skin was fairly white.

"I'm kinda tired. Going home" Takeru announced, rising up from his chair. "Hades, you're staying or coming back with me?" he proposed, hoping the man would choose the later.

"I'll go with you" the Greek god seemed relieved by Takeru's proposition, his face softening a little.

They packed their stuff in their bag and wished a good night to the others. In silence, they walked through the corridors of the school. The sun had started to sink, painting the sky a warm orange shade.

"Thank you for… that"

"You don't look so well, and I knew you wouldn't ask to leave on your own because you know the two idiots love the club, and I know you can't face Yui alone either so. I was tired anyway, gym class was pretty rough"

Takeru was convinced that, in fact, Hades had feelings for Yui. After all, she was the one who got him out of his cocoon, before he returned into it. She got him to attend school, and helped him create the astronomy club and recruit members. They usually got along well, but since that time, Hades could barely look at her, ashamed of what he had done.

"You know, Yui likes you" he started, trying to prove his point even though it was hurting him.

"What?" Hades stopped in the middle of the hallway, looking at his friend in disbelief.

They were almost out of the school. They could feel the warm wind coming in from the open windows, ruffling their hair and keeping going through the school.

"Don't be an idiot." Hades added as he started walking again.

"Haven't you seen how she looks at you?" Takeru continued to argue.

"Even if she had feelings for me, I do not feel the same way about her. She's like… another niece to me"

"You treat her with a lot more respect than your nephews"

A small smile appeared on Hades face. "I'm always kinder to my nieces. At least, the ones who aren't scared of me. No, Yui and I wouldn't work. And she has been looking at me with concern, not love, idiot"

"You're not lying?"

"Why would I? I'm not Loki."

"Ouch, that was pretty harsh to say about someone who isn't there to defend themselves" Takeru laughed.

Hades shrugged. He looked straight ahead of him. He felt like he was about to pass out, and only wanted to get home. He hadn't eaten much in the past few days… He was almost at his dorm. He'd be able to lay down and sleep his hunger off. He'd eat a small something in the morning, just to please Dionysus and Apollon, but otherwise…

He arrived at his dorm, wished Takeru good night and entered the small housing complex. He was going to close the door, but Takeru blocked it.

"Can I come in?"

"Why?" Hades asked, not hiding his surprise.

"I know you barely eat and I want to make sure you won't just go to your bed without eating"

"Why are you so persistent with me?" Hades angrily replied, trying to shut the door.

Unfortunately for him, in his state, it was a lost cause. It was hard for him to compete with Takeru's strength normally, and now he was weak from the lack of food in his system and the poor nights of sleep he had. Takeru easily entered the house. Furious, Hades quickly turned around and walked toward his bedroom at the top of the stairs. As he almost reached the stairs, he tripped over his own foot and fell head first to the ground with a loud thump.

Takeru rushed to his side and tried to help Hades up, but the man pushed him away. He had the same look in his eyes than the other day, at the infirmary. It was the Japanese god's second time seeing the cursed eye, and he was a lot more curious about it than scared this time.

"Leave me alone! I don't need your help!" Hades spat out the words as he rose to his feet.

He went upstairs and closed the door to his bedroom. Takeru couldn't stop staring at the door from downstairs. He couldn't possibly leave Hades alone, but at the same time he was afraid of what the man would do if he kept pestering him.

Deciding he couldn't leave Hades alone, and without having eaten anything, Takeru headed for the kitchen. He looked in the fridge and picked ingredients out to make sandwiches. He made them and waited a little. He wanted to give Hades time to cool down before he went upstairs, so he ate his own sandwich. When he considered it had been long enough, he took the plate and climbed the stairs silently. He knocked on the door and opened it, not waiting for an answer.

"Hades?" he called out.

The room was very dark. Takeru waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He walked in, looking for Hades. He heard someone weeping in the bathroom. Leaving the plate of food on the table, he walked over to the door. No lights were lit, so it was hard to distinguish anything. The younger god opened the light, so he wouldn't trip over Hades and make things worse. He found him sitting on the ground, his head in his hands, crying. Takeru knelt down next to the god and hugged him. Hades slightly turned around, surprised, as the Japanese god hugged him tighter.

"It's okay, Hades. You can cry" he whispered, his fingers entangling in Hades' hair.

Slowly, Hades' arms wrapped around Takeru, burying his face in the smaller god's neck. He cried harder in the boy's arms. He was tired of living, tired of hurting, tired of everything. He just wanted to curl up in a ball and never wake up again.

Takeru fought back tears as Hades wept in his arms. He never wanted to see him cry again. Never ever again. He pressed a kiss to the man's head, hugging him tightly. Hades was still sobbing, but he slightly backed away, so he could face Takeru, and kissed him on the lips, much like the other god had done back two weeks ago.

"I love you" Takeru mumbled against Hades lips, unable to keep it in any longer "I love you so much"

Hades looked at him in disbelief "If you're saying that just to make me feel better-"

"No! I- I thought you didn't like me" he took a deep breath before talking again "I've had a crush on you for a while, and I thought it was just admiration and stuff, but- but it's not and I love you, I love you, I lo-"

Hades kissed him again, unable to hear more. They hugged for a little longer, before Takeru decided they should change place.

"Your bathroom floor is not really comfortable, can we move?"

The man nodded and waited for Takeru to get up before joining him. The Japanese god sat down on the bed, waiting for Hades to join him. When he did, Hades let himself fall on the bed, hugging Takeru's waist and burying his face in the boy's chest. Taken aback by the man's reaction, it took a few minutes for Takeru to react. Once the surprise passed, his hand started entangling itself in the man's hair.

Wow. It had happened all so quickly. Hades kissing him, him confessing, and now they were cuddling in Hades bed, all of that in what, five minutes? Ten? He didn't know… nor care. A dumb smile stretched across his lips as he kept playing with… wait were they officially dating?

"Hades? Does that mean we're dating?" he couldn't help but ask, a bit worried.

"I... guess. Unless you don't want to date me"

"No! I mean, I want to date you. Gods, I have wanted to date you for a while, but I thought you didn't like me in that way. And I was convinced you were in love with Yui"

"Which would explain earlier"

"Yeah"

Hades was confused. His feelings were a mess. He was happy, on one hand, that Takeru and him were dating, even if what happened had been a blur. He was also sad, because that meant he would have to break his heart. They couldn't be together. It'd only finish horribly by either one of them dying, or anything worse. And finally, he just felt… relieved. Being in Takeru's arms felt so… relaxing, like eventually, it'd be alright. He was so warm and… Hades couldn't quite pinpoint how he felt. It was like coming back home after a long, long journey.

"Why did you kiss me at the infirmary?" Hades quietly asked. "I mean… why did you lie afterward?"

"I thought it'd be better like that. I told you, I was sure you didn't like me. And I thought you only accepted me doing this kind of stuff because you needed someone to care about you" He explained.

"I would have stopped you. I mean, I did try, but not because I don't like you. Because I don't deserve you" Hades finished in a whisper, closing his eyes.

Takeru didn't quite know what to say. On one side, he wanted to deny that. Hades deserved happiness, and he hoped he could bring that to him. Hades deserved the world after what had happened to him. Being cast away to the underworld, without people visiting you must be extremely hard on a person's moral. Years of loneliness made Hades what he was today. So considering that, he understood why he felt like he didn't deserve him.

Even though Takeru had his lot of sadness in the past, he hadn't lived quite as long as Hades had. And even then, he hadn't been completely alone. His brother had been there for him. He had had people to help him. Not many, but still. Hades had no one, from what Apollon told them. He had been alone for so long…

Takeru kissed the top of Hades' head "It's okay. Someday you'll see that you do deserve me"

Hades stayed silent, but hugged Takeru's waist tighter. A few hours passed without any of them moving. It was dark outside, and the interrupter was too far for Takeru to reach, so they were completely enveloped by darkness.

Since they hadn't shared a word, nor move, the Japanese god suspected Hades to be asleep, though he wasn't completely sure about that. He didn't dare move, in case he was actually asleep, and he woke him up. Hades obviously needed sleep, just as much as he needed food.

Takeru was hungry too. He hadn't eaten in a pretty long time, and it was getting late… Takeru wondered if he could reach the sandwich he had left next to the bed. Slowly reaching out for it, he tried to make as little movement as possible. Unfortunately, he lost his balance, and Hades started moving in his sleep, stirring awake.

"Shhh, go back to sleep; it's okay" he whispered quickly, trying to sit back in the same position as before.

Hades' head rose sleepily as he tried to chase the drowsiness from his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked at Takeru, who couldn't resist but push the hair out of his face. Two eyes the color of garnet stared back at him, except one was enveloped in black. It was, yes, scary sight, but a very, very interesting one… and Takeru wished he could look at it for hours.

"I didn't mean to wake you up"

"I wasn't asleep" Hades whispered back as he rolled over to the other side of the bed, ready to go back to sleep.

"Hey, I know you're tired but… you should eat something"

Hades groaned, so the younger god gave up. He got up and went to get the sandwich he had left. He ate half of it, and left the rest in the plate, in case Hades' changed his mind.

He stood in the middle of the room for a few minutes, not sure what to do. Should he just sleep here? Or go back to his own dorm? Should he at least contact his brother…? He doubted Tsukito was really worried about him, and he was probably busy looking at the moon. Deciding on staying to take care of his boyfriend, the sea god laid back on the bed, curling up against Hades' back. He fell asleep in no time, a small smile on his lips.

Author's note: They've been in love for a while, and this story isn't about them falling in love so... sorry if you think this is rushed .-.

Also thanks to dragon-overlord-yuu for the beta as always!