Who: Zale & Hades What: Good News Where: The Lot Home When: BACKDATED. Feb 26, Forty Hours after Hades and Persephone learn the news of Demeter's rescue Warnings: None
School was a good healthy distraction, Zale had found in recent weeks, to the grief he'd been feeling over the loss of his mother. Certainly spending time with his uncle and eldest sister were more than fine, but having a steady supply of work and preparations for midterms kept his mind off more angst ridden thoughts.
So it would come as no surprise to anyone in the household that the sandy-haired boy was literally up to his ears in homework at the dining room table, two sets of history, math, English, and science books stacked on either side of him, along with various worksheets, notebooks, and a few pens and pencils.
Hades was simply unwinding after work. Writing reports was becoming the bane of his existence, but at least he had a laptop now to do so. However, right now he was home and refused to think about matters like work or paper work or how FOX was shocked that the Moment of Truth was so harsh. Just because it was his idea, did not mean he was responsible for the lives it shattered. But that was work stuff.
Now, he strolled through his house, walking across the various floors made of either marble or hard wood as he did so in his socks, playing with his DS. He hadn't had time to play it lately and he had a new game for it. “Objection.” he spoke into the microphone piece, before he glanced up at Zale. Oh, the young boy has consumed the dining room table again. He closed the DS and pocketed it. “How goes, Kiddo?”
Zale had been absentmindedly chewing on his pencil, which was already riddled with teethmarks, when he heard his uncle's voice. "Oh. Ok I guess. Just trying to work on an outline for a science report I hafta do." Then he gave Hades a quizzical look. "What are you doing home so early?" Zale looked for a clock nearby, completely oblivious to the fact that he had been so absorbed with his studies that he'd lost track of time and it was later than he'd realized.
“It's almost six.” Hades replied, moving to sit beside him and opened his silver pocket watch so Zale could verify this news. He almost smirked at the boy. Work was good for distracting the mind, but chewing on pencils was less than so. Wood and graphite sounded like horrible things to chew. Subtly he tried to nab the pencil from him and replace it with a pen. “It'll be dinner soon.”
The graphite maybe, but come on. Zale was part horse, and at least his pencils were the natural wood kind, not the stuff coated with that yellow paint that always flecked off when one chewed on it.
"Is sis home too?" he asked after marveling for a moment at the time. He was distracted enough that he didn't notice the subtle switch in his writing utensils.
“Stuck in traffic. She lost the daily race to me.” Hades pushed some of the stray blond hair from the boy's face before leaning back in his chair. “She'll be back soon. You can keep working on your homework if you want...” He didn't even know what they were eating. Something that had more than one course since he gave no instructions to the dead, ghostly chef in the second private kitchen. “Need any help?”
Zale stretched his arms over his head, wincing a little bit when he heard some vertebrae crack in his neck and spine. How long had he been sitting hunched over his books? "I dunno. Do you know anything about non-newtonian fluids?" He pulled out his science book and opened it up to a book marked page. "My science teacher is teaching us about this stuff. Supposedly if you take enough cornstarch and mix it into a large pool of water, it'll make it where you can actually run across the surface of the liquid, but if you stand still or move too slow, you'll sink.
Non-newtonian fluids? Hades blinked and blinked again. Science had advanced too far, even further than when he had actually gone to school, for him to know what those words meant. He took the book in hand and quickly scanned over the pages, wishing quietly that people still studied alchemy. Then he could teach Zale how to make lead into gold... But he put the book down. “You might be on your own with this one. Though I do know that putting enough cornstarch into your professor's swimming pool in France will net you a hearing in front of judicial affairs if they catch you.”
The boy blinked at his uncle, then started snickering. Smiles these days were a rare treat from Zale, and it was usually only happened around his family if anyone. "I take it you speak from experience?"
Hades smiled back. It was good to see the young horse whisperer smile. He did not mind confessing his less than law abiding actions to gain such a reaction. Leaning over, he whispered in the boy's ears, “Just a little. They didn't catch me, but oh did they threaten it to whoever was responsible.”
Zale laughed softly. "April Fools day is coming up next month. Maybe it's a prank that could be played on someone in the family?"
“I could piggy back you and have my helm on. No one will see us pouring the cornstarch until it is too late.” Hades laughed softly as well. He had it on good authority playful pranks are what family did and the idea of the boy who could become a horse being piggy backed around was just amusing. “We just got to find who has the best pool...”
Slowly Zale's smile faded a little bit. He knew who had the best pool in the family, and the memory of who it belonged to tended to leave the boy's stomach in knots whenever he thought about him.
Damnit. Hades blamed science for souring Zale's good mood. It made it easier to deal with than blaming himself for a thoughtless comment. He put an arm around the boy and kissed him atop his head, before lifting him from the chair completely and standing. “Study break.”
"Hey! But my homewo-" Zale tried to protest, but realized that it was probably not going to be very effective. Also... the boy enjoyed these close moments with his uncle. Though of course he loved spending time with his big sister, he still felt closer to Hades than anyone else in his extended family. "So what're we gonna do? Raid the kitchen? Play something?"
“Your homework will still be there when the break is over,” he murmured softly as he whisked him away from the dining room table. Distracting oneself with work is one thing, but Hades also knew from experience that that path could easily lead to madness. “I figured we could play something. Dinner will be soon after all. Got any preferences? I have the sudden urge to dangle you by your ankles, but that isn't really a game to play...”
Zale thought about things for a moment. "Can we go out and play tennis?" he asked. It had been awhile since he'd played, but he wasn't sure if his uncle knew how, to tell the truth.
How hard could it be? Hit ball with a racket. “Sure. You dodge being upside down another day. I think Dahlia has a set of rackets.” Not bothering to put the boy down he strolled over to the closet where they had stashed a good deal of things that would be better used outdoors and found a couple rackets and a ball. Though it suddenly dawned on him that he was a poor rich man, not owning his own tennis court. “We're gonna have to play in the drive way. Whacking around balls in the back with the Greenhouse sounds like a horrible idea.”
Zale gave Hades a sheepish look at that comment. "Yeah... I know," he said in that learned-it-the-hard-way-once-upon-a-time kind of tone. Still, he didn't complain in the least about being held still and brightened up when they finally found the ball and rackets. Then he thought for a moment. "Is there a side of the house without any windows? We could rebound the ball off and play it like racquetball."
Now that Hades did know how to play. He was good at games he could play alone. Which was a depressing thought. He shunned it away and nodded. “Yeah, the side with the garage.” Quickly, with the boy still in his arms, he brought them outside and only then did he put him back on his feet, handing him a racket.
Once by the garage, Zale slipped out of Hades's grasp and took up a racket and ball and bounced it on the ground a couple of times. Tennis and racquetball were pretty similar, so it was no trouble to get into the swing of things.
"Ready Uncle?"
Casually, Hades looked at his socked feet but shrugged, only shifting to pull the socks off and put them aside. The ground near the garage was hard stone and honestly, it always felt good under his bare feet. He clutched the racket firmly and kept his eyes on his nephew and the ball. “Ready when you are.”
The sandy haired boy smiled at his uncle, his competitive spirit starting to come out a little bit as he tossed the ball into the air and slammed his racket hard against it, sending it zooming towards the wall rebounding towards his uncle
The currently sandy haired god smiled back at his nephew, very willing to encourage that competitive spirit when he caught sight of it. But he also caught sight of the ball coming toward him and he whacked it back to the wall to rebound, making an echoing sound as the racket struck.
The boy's sharp eyes widened slightly at the sight of the rebound. It was a bit faster than he expected, but then again he was playing against an adult and god after all. Zale scrambled to make it to the ball and return it in kind. Just because he was playing against his uncle, didn't mean he was going to back down from the challenge
The god gave the ball a quick chase and whacked it back to the wall. He decided as the ball flew to the wall that it was good for the young horse whisperer to get some fresh air in his lungs, some activity that wasn't studying and being able to hit something with a glorified stick. But as the ball began to rebound to Zale, he heard the soft ring of the alarm on his phone. He would consider it later. A ball would be coming at him soon.
Zale was very much enjoying the match and being forced to work for the ball. He ran fast and swung at the ball as hard as he could before screeching to a halt when he heard the phone alarm.
Noticing the boy stop, Hades held still and dropped his racket in order to catch the ball. At the speed it was going, it turned the pale skin of his palms a soft red as he caught it. Now he considered the alarm again. He supposed it was forty-eight hours since he had set it and Persephone and he had agreed. Forty-eight hours one or both of them would tell the boy. He supposed it was his job. “Got something to tell you”
Zale watched his uncle catch the ball, clearly impressed by his bare-handed catch. Then his expression turned curious. "Something to tell me?"
The god knelt down to be more level with his nephew. He took a deep breath. Part of him selfishly did not want to do this. Speaking the truth would just send Zale from his home, and he did not want to give him back, but... It was the right thing to do. Being the good guy was probably going to suck, “Your mother is back and safe. She is stayin' at your uncle's hotel.”
The moment the words left his uncle's mouth, Zale felt his knees go weak, his stomach flip flopped, and he felt himself get light headed. "Sh-she is? Mom's safe?" He wavered on his feet as a wave of dizziness washed over him.
It was not something missed by Hades and he reached out to steady him, pulling lightly to draw him closer to his cool frame to help him balance in his shock. “Yes. She's shaken up, but otherwise fine.” ”I think.” The problem with having ghosts acting as spies was something details slipped through the cracks. But Thomas was pretty reliable about things like general health...
Zale leaned against Hades for support. It was all so much to get at once for him. He'd been so worried about his mother for so long now. he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "How did she get freed? Did someone rescue her? Can I see her?"
Hades began to whisper, “Her captor was not very bright in his hotel choices and brought her to the Jube Hotel. Zeus was quick about correcting the matter.” Not as the death lord would have, but it was a start. Unconsciously, his arms slipped around the boy, hugging him lightly. It was partly to protect him, but partly to enjoy the few moments he probably had left. “Of course. We should call ahead though. But when Persephone comes home we can call and see when you two can see her.”
Zale hugged his uncle back tightly. "I'd love that! Oh thank you Uncle Hades!" He looked up at his uncle adoringly. "When will Sis be home? Can we call now?"
Hades had finally defeated the instinct to flinch at hugs. It couldn't have come at a better time. He smiled down at his nephew. It was good that the boy was so happy; some much had happened to make him not. He was trying very hard to be happy with him. So damn hard. “She should be home any minute now. We'll call after dinner. If your mother asks, you can lie and say you finished your homework.”
Zale nodded and smiled. "Alright. I can't wait." He started to make his way towards the house again, but paused and turned back to his uncle. Then he went up and hugged him once more. "Thank you."
“You're welcome, Kiddo.” Part of him already regretted this, but that part was silenced... at least for now. Zale was too happy for him to not rejoice with him. “What else is an uncle to do?”
The boy looked up at his uncle, who was more like a father than even the one who had the biological right to that name. "Love you, Uncle."
Hades rose to his feet and ruffled the boy's sandy hair, another thing that he had finally learned to not be awkward about. “Love you, too.” Carelessly he dropped the tennis ball, allowing the ghost servants something to actually clean when they got around to it. “Guess we should get back inside and see if you can finish your work before Dahlia comes home.”
"I don't know if I can do any work now. I'm too excited," Zale said with a smile. "Let's just go in and play video games until she gets home."
Hades chuckled, and it was damn hard to get him to do so. “Think that can be arranged. My media room has been beggin' for some two player use.” A wicked smirk crossed him then, “First one there picks the game.”
And of course soon as that was said, Zale bolted for the house, nearly overshooting the door and having to skid and backtrack a bit to get to the doorknob. After being so consumed with worry and grief for so long, it was like he'd been reborn again into the kid he truly was. The long night for him was over
Summary: Zale had been busy burying himself in work to fend off the angst in his life, when Hades returned home and snatched the boy for a study break… and then told him his mother had been returned to the Greeks.