Who: Hades & Hypnos What: Park confrontations Where: a secluded park When: backdated. Tuesday, 5:30 PM Warnings: None
Hades sat on one of the swings in the secluded park in wait. Every so often he would glance up to see how the sun reflected off the Iron Queen Vodka billboard he could see from the angle. In his wait he tried to determine which he would prefer: Hypnos with a brain tumor or whatever the other option was. He was sure the other option would infuriate him.
With a soft sigh, he swung a couple of inches before stilling himself. It probably already looked liked a disheartening image. No need to swing by himself.
It wasn't dark enough yet for Hypnos to fly. So, he walked, the park wasn't that far from Persephone's place. He could spot the former king a mile off, and waved as he approached.
Hades flipped open his silver pocket watch when he saw him. Right on time. That was good. He thought... hmm. Drawing to his feet, he straightened out his deep black suit. On top business. “Feeling okay?”
Hypnos paused to consider. "I had a cup of coffee before I left. Yes. I feel alert."
“[I mean, lately.]” Hades put his hands in his pockets, but his eyes were locked on the sleep god. Studying him and his reactions, “[Anything wrong?]”
The sleep god blinked. "[No?]”
“[No confusion? Lack of mental clarity? General weirdness?]” Hades was trying. The record would show he tried.
"[Why are you asking me this,]" asked the other god with a sigh. He was the servant, yes, but his patience and confusion had a limit.
That limit was just above Hades' it seemed. The Dark One was up in a flash and grabbed the sleep god by the shirt, “[I was trying to determine why you would lie in my name.]”
Hypnos yelped, cowering. "[What?]"
Hades' black eyes narrowed, “[I sent you to Hephaestus to repair a television set?]”
"[Yes! I told you... about Persephone's broken TV. You told me you knew Hephaestus.]" To prove it, he pulled an address book out of his pocket. He kept it on his person, in case he ever fell asleep in public and they hauled him away, so they'd have people to contact. He held it out in evidence.
“[Lies!]” Hades shook the sleep god once before stilling himself again. No. No reason to lose his temper just yet. Just yet. But he didn't release him either, “[You never told me about her television and I would never say go have the god of the forge repair.]” His eyes moved to the address book, “[And I have no honest idea how you have that address.]”
"[I got it from you. Why would I lie?]" Really, lying to Hades was just idiotic.
His answer was going to be simple and classic. “[Then why am I shaking you if you are not lying?]”
“[Because. You. Want. To?]" squeaked the god fearfully in between shakes.
“[Yes. I want to spend my day shaking you. It's my new hobby.]” Hades growled before shaking him one last time and then shoving him away. “[I took that hobby up right after I took up the one of preserving broken electronics and not just buying a new one.]”
Hypnos scowled at him. "[It was not old or overused. It was a perfectly good item. Forgive me if I wished to save my queen even a few dollars.]"
Hades took a deep breath. He wouldn't mention the fact that he and Persephone thought flying thousand dollar sundaes from New York to them was a good idea... He had a feeling putting things into perspective would be lost on him. Besides, “[Then you admit it. It was your idea. Because if you had come to me I would have just bought her a new one.]”
Well, Hypnos wasn't a rich king, now was he? Some people actually valued and had to take care of their items. "[I did come to you. We were talking, as you said we should more if you do recall, and you were talking about Hephaestus.]" So there!
The lack of sense was going to drive the Rich One to drink. “[You never came to speak with me after I passive-aggressively texted you about not speaking to me. At all.]”
"[Yes. I. Did,]" sighed the god, rubbing at his forehead.
“[You have either gone mad, imagined something or have a death wish...]” Being lied to was quite a pet peeve to the eternal judge. One he once rewarded with Tartarus.
Hypnos probably should have been afraid. But instead, he was clearly growing frustrated with his lord. "[No offense, sir, but you are the one with the longer track record of that than I.]"
Too far. Offense was clearly taken. And it was expressed clearly when Hades backhanded his friend. It did make him pause though.
Falling onto his backside, Hypnos cried out, throwing up an arm in defense. He looked up at the death god, clearly stunned. And hurt.
Hades looked at his own hand when he realized what had just happened. Anger he was used to but being out of control he was not. It was something he strove to prevent at all cost. But Hypnos had pushed too far... But, he crouched down to be eye level again and hushed his voice. It seemed wrong to shout now, “[I didn't mean to strike you. I was wrong just now. I admit I have not been especially stable as of late, but now I'm worried about you.]”
Hypnos cringed away. Didn't mean to. Sure. Didn't mean to hit him, right after he didn't mean to shake him like a doll or didn't mean to call him crazy. Sure. The sleep god looked away from him. "[All I have done since I woke up was try to serve you. And instead, you treat me like a damned fool.]"
Shaking was acceptable. Everyone knows that. But Hades remained hushed, “[Do you remember the first thing I told you when you met me again?]”
The paler god could feel a bruise blossoming appearing on his cheek. It hadn't been too hard of a blow, but he was not accustomed to fights, and he was not dark enough to hide it. "[No...]"
Hades silently wondered if anyone listened to him when he spoke. People just came up with their own conclusion anyway. “[Not to bow to me. I told you to rise. Hypnos, I don't want you to serve me... I stopped being a king when I failed to protect my subjects. I wanted us to be friends, but don't seem to want that and I am very bad at it.]”
"... [I don't know what other purpose I serve,]" sighed Hypnos. "[I can't do anything else right. Well, let me fix that. I can't do anything right, including that. I don't belong in this time.]"
Oh, Hades knew this feeling. He knew it quite well. It still plagued his thoughts at times when he wasn't running from his past, “[I'm fifty years ahead of you on that set of thoughts. It doesn't get easier without denial and you can't deny anything in this town.]” People will come and drag you from your ignorance if you try. Hades knew that, too. But now he sat, “[We should settle this open wound first. Hypnos, I couldn't have told you who Hephaestus was... consciously or on purpose at least. I met him right before you put Persephone in the coma. Honestly, do you think I could speak about anything around that time so casually?]”
"[But... this was just a few days ago...]" Hypnos pleaded. "[I remember! We were at your house... I told you about the TV. You mentioned Hephaestus. I asked for his number and address, you gave it.]"
A few days ago? If this was a legal case Hades would have rubbed his hands in victory. “[How was I when you saw me?]”
"[Um... your form. But, you kept changing back and forth, from your real appearance to your one you have now. I asked why, you claimed you were in your home, why bother with trickery.]"
Hades had meant his mood but he could definitely work with this. He was certain he did not take his real appearance. His trickery was very comforting to him in its regard. “[Are you sure you weren't dreaming? Combining memories?]”
Hypnos scowled. "[Do you confuse the dead with the living?]"
“[I have.]” It was an easy admission. Hades did it all the time on the Metro in England. Far too many times for his liking.
"... [I am not going crazy,]" grumbled the smaller man, but his confidence didn't seem to quite match the statement.
“[You've only been awake from the Underworld for a little bit, maybe your powers are acting up...]” After having struck him, Hades didn't feel the urge to be angry at him anymore. Now he honestly wanted to help... especially after he had heard the obvious delusions of his former minister, “[Or maybe its just the stress of trying be reclaim your spot in the world. I know I have come up with less than true ideas when stressed.]” He had convinced himself he was a ghost.
"[But, the dream world is my son's domain,]" argued Hypnos. He was trying to make sense of it, but it just didn't seem to be working. "[Or... it should be...]" He swallowed hard, not wanting to think of the possibility that, like so many other gods, Morpheus and his siblings could be dead.
“[You don't dream at all without him?]” Because Hades wanted to know how if that was true. He had exactly one good dream in the last one hundred days. One.
Hypnos shook his head. "[No. At least, I didn't when we were in power. He watched over my sleep, to make sure I wasn't disturbed.]"
“[I meant now. Do you dream now?]”
"[I... don't think so? Dreams are so different from sleep, but the same.]" He interlaced his fingers to try and prove his point. "[You may dream, but you may not know it.]"
Hades nodded. He kinda hoped this was all a dream. “[Maybe you just heard things in your sleep and tried to make the memories make sense. A lot of people do that. How else would you have heard about Hephaestus... Unless I told you around the time I thought I was a ghost. I don't really remember a lot about it. ]”
"[I'm fairly sure you didn't...]" Okay, this was starting to make sense a little. Just a little, though. He rubbed at his incredibly sore cheek in thought. "[So, I was sleeping in your house, perhaps... could I have picked up on your own dreams? Without Morpheus there to guide my own?]"
“[Would explain why you had so little control about it. Maybe only bits and pieces of my dreams..]” After all, Hypnos wasn't traumatized by what he had seen... so he must not have gotten the brunt of the dreams of the Torturer of the Damned, but enough. “[It could be a combination.]”
Or he was used to seeing such stuff. He had spent the majority of his life in the Underworld, after all. "[I'm... I'm sorry,]" he murmured. Spying on someone's sleep seemed like such a violation of privacy.
So, had Hades. Not that his nightmares didn't shake him to his core regardless. But the Dark One almost smirked and lightly touched his former minster's sore cheek, “[We'll consider it even. How about that?]”
Hypnos tried not to flinch away from the touch, and succeeded, somewhat. "Okay."
“[I am sorry I hit you.]” Hades murmured as he stood again, offering his hand to help the other. “[We good?]”
The servant smiled and nodded. "[As long as we keep the violence to a minimum, please, sir.]"
“[Only if you promise when you are going to be insolent or semi-insolent and call me crazy, you will keep the royalty terms to a minimum.]” The exiled king took a moment to dust himself off. He didn't know why, but this deserted park was always so dusty. Not even dirty, just dusty. “[Not like I was a kind king to begin with...]” It was almost a joke, if all his words didn't have the edge of truth to them.
Hypnos had to agree with that one. "[Yes s-- Um... Dante?]"
If he had been in a better mood, Hades might have snickered at the attempt. He did manage enough of a smile, “[I guess you don't have to drop the respectful terms if you aren't planning insolence though...]”
"[I don't usually plan it, sir,]" he replied, the term slipping in before he could stop it.
“[Well, when you plan on saying something less than nice then.]” Hades remembered that all of Nyx's children were snarky when they were being critical. But a lot of them were more unhinged that it was difficult to call it 'insolence'. “[How did you get here?]”
"[I walked. It wasn't terribly far.]"
“[I'll drive you back then.]” Hades stepped passed him as if to lead him to his car. “[If you find yourself in my dreams again, for the love of all things decent, wake me up. I like you well enough but your domain and I are not friends.]”
Hypnos blushed, embarrassed. "[I will do my best.]" Providing even he realized what a dream it was, of course. Reality and fiction, while separate, crossed on so many borders.
Especially with this network of family members. Hades beeped his black jag to life and opened his door. “[Okay, hop in on the other side. Next stop, your queen's house.]”
Summary: Hades is certain he did not tell Hypnos to have Hephaestus fix Perse's TV. Hypnos is certain he did. They settle it in a steel cage. Okay, that part is a lie.