Title: emotional spectrum

A/N: An unfinished wip. I just couldn't get the flow for this fic, especially as I was writing the Than and Zag scenes and just ended up rewriting the whole piece after. Though I do wish I had included the dialogue from the final scene in the finished fic.

Summary: If Zagreus were honest, he didn't need more than Thanatos and Megaera nestled in his arms, limbs tangled, insults flying through the air.

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Megaera did not get jealous. It was her moniker, it was her dominion, yet despite that, she knew better than to succumb to its folies. She'd seen mortal and immortal alike fall from jealousy's shackles, once proud heroes and kings turned pathetic, snivelling weaklings.

So she didn't mind when Zagreus stepped onto her battlefield, Thanatos's musky scent or Dusa's flora perfume clinging to him despite the various rooms he'd fought through to get here. It was better than the smell of blood and grave soil and definitely a step above his own pungent sweat. There were times when she could tell just which of their Olympic kin had graced him with their boons, especially when Lord Hermes's fresh scent or Lord Dionysus's sharp wine lingered on his skin, to the point she half-suspected a tryst or two.

And still, Megaera did not mind. She had lived through centuries, had affairs of her own, and it would take more than the odd fumble to bother her.

No, that was reserved for the scent that wafted in right now.

The musky scent of sex.

Aphrodite's particular possessive brand.

Megaera scowled as Zagreus pushed open the doors to her arena. The smell grew thicker, almost cloyingly so. It couldn't be on purpose—for all their power, the Olympic gods couldn't reach here. Zagreus had informed her of such when he'd first told her of his boons and plans. Yet, it almost felt like the aroma had a mind of its own. It wafted through the grand hall, spilling into every corner, brushing against her skin.

She shuddered and ground out, "Zagreus."

"Oh, it's you this time." Oblivious, Zagreus waved tiredly, His clothes were especially torn this time, exposing small glimpses at tanned skin and lean muscles. When he moved, the holes shifted, revealing a different patch of bruises and scars. "Hiya, Meg. Give me a moment to catch my breath?"

Megaera tore her eyes away from him and wet her lips. She was on the clock. This wasn't the time or place to think of this. There was a reason Lord Hades entrusted her with her position and she wasn't going to let a mere smell distract her. Clearing her throat, she taunted, "The rail this time? You're particularly inept with it."

"That obvious, huh? I have not gotten the hang of it yet. Especially with all the strange enhancements I added. Hopefully it's enough to beat you this time." Zagreus sighed as he rolled back his shoulders. His cuts had scabbed over, dried blood sticking to his skin, and there was something particularly tantalizing about the string of bruises on his collarbone as they disappeared beneath his tunic.

She couldn't deny that seeing him mussed and messy appealed to her.

The only problem was that above it all, she could still smell Aphrodite. She wrinkled her nose. She had to focus. "You need more than hope to beat me. I told you, I won't go easy on you."

"Yes, yes, you take your job very seriously, I know." Zagreus chuckled fondly. He flexed his fingers and rolled his neck. Taking a deep breath, he raised his rail, green-tinted from Eris. Maegra could feel that envious shade colouring her heart. "Alright, I shouldn't keep you from it any longer. Shall we?"

She shouldn't have let him have that break. Megaera took care of her work properly, not letting personal bias interfere with her duties. Woe to any god, demigod, or creature that suggested otherwise. Yet, today, she had found the one thing that could distract her from it all. Before she could stop herself, she asked, "Aphrodite visited you?"

Zagreus flushed immediately. Megaera ground her teeth; the goddess that affect on everyone except Lord Hades. Even those who knew better couldn't entirely resist her charms. Ares, Zeus, there were even rumours of Athena succumbing.

Even Megaera had, once, when she had been young and foolish.

She knew better now.

"She seems to have particularly favoured me this attempt." Zagreus rubbed his neck awkwardly. Somehow that reaction only made her angrier. Noticing her stiff posture and deepening scowl, he cocked his head. "Megaera?"

"It's nothing." The sooner she killed him, the sooner she could get rid of the smell. Maybe she could stop by Dusa's later and borrow some perfume. The scent had to disappear after Zagreus died, the way that all of his boons disappeared. Megaera raised her whip, schooling her expression to calm. "Let's see how bad your aim is."

Unfortunately, she'd forgotten that the new Zagreus was perceptive. And willing to ask questions. His eyes narrowed and he raised a brow. "It's clearly not nothing. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing is." And to think, she preferred when he used to be a dense, oblivious blockhead. "Quit stalling."

"It can't be the weapon or the fight…" Zagreus rubbed his chin as he considered the situation, ignoring her protests. After a moment, his eyes widened and he turned to her incredulously. "Aphrodite?"

She flinched before she could stop herself. "Of all the—I said it's nothing! Do you want to fight or what?"

He smirked slowly, his expression reminiscent of the times they used to sneak around the house together, getting themselves into trouble. Clearly he had spent too much time with Cerebus; Zagreus was acting like a dog with his bone, sinking his teeth deeper into the problem and refusing to let go. "It is Aphrodite. What happened between you two?"

"Nothing," Megaera ground out. She practically stomped forward, her whip raised threateningly. "Either you start this match or I will."

"She break your heart?" Zagreus guessed, not taking her seriously. His rail hung limply in his hand, his other hand still stroking his chin as he teased her. "Did she steal a lover? Or—"

Megaera's nose flared. "Shut. Up."

There was just something about her cousin that pushed her buttons.

"Make. Me," Zagreus goaded.

And this bastard knew it.

Megaera did not get jealous. Immortality had given her little need to. Yet, there was something about Aphrodite that set her off, that had her see green and curl her fists.

"You asked for it," Megaera growled, dropping her whip as she tackled Zagreus to the ground. Pinning him in place, she pressed close to him, her teeth and nails marking his skin as hers.

-x-

Thantos was used to solitude. It came with the job. Unlike Charon, the dead he ferried were the old and infirm, the ones that passed away peacefully in the middle of the night. Sometimes he handled children, sometimes he handled war-scarred warriors, but most of his charges were grey-haired with wobbly knees. There was only darkness when he worked, as he slipped into alleyways and bedrooms without so much as a word.

He could survive being alone.

He had survived being alone.

And then Zagreus started his ceaseless, useless trek to the surface and Thanatos finally understood what lonely meant.

He didn't know what ache hurt more: the sudden departure or the random meetings in the underworld. The former was a sharp, bitter pain, the latter an enduring ache. It had been months since it had all started and there were no signs that it would ever end. They had been brothers and now were lovers and soon, he feared, they would be nothing at all.

Once Zagreus reached the surface, once he left the underworld, would he ever come back? Would he feel the need to?

If Thanatos wasn't enough of a reason to stay, how could he be a reason to return home?

Sometimes Zagreus kissed him in Elyisum, slowly, gently, undoing Thanatos entirely. It only made him feel lonelier.

-x-

Zagreus was not sure what he was looking for. Only that he hadn't yet found it, that it might not be in the underworld at all.

But there were times when he got close. Like right now, in his bed, Thanatos and Megaera tangled up with him. Tired and sweaty, he lay there, more than content to just stay still after getting killed thrice in one day.

On his right, Megaera clicked her tongue as she ran a finger along his forearm She grimaced. "You still have blood on you."

He snorted. "That's because your sisters keep insisting on killing me." He turned his head slightly, shooting her a grumpy glare. "And you have blood on you too."

She glared back. "That's because you killed me."

Thanatos groaned and buried his head in his pillow. "You're both disgusting."

"(S)he's disgusting," Megaera and Zagreus retorted at the same time.

After a moment, Zagreus broke into laughter. There were few things he'd miss when he reached the surface. And this moment, this warm comfortable feeling would be one of them.

And maybe, he didn't actually need to reach the surface, didn't need to find his mother. Maybe he didn't need anything more than these two nestled in his arms.