wonderherc

[wonderherc]

The revelation that Meg had been working for Hades had come out of left field. Hercules hadn't approached the subject since his uncle had told him the true nature of their relationship, and, knowing that they were both going to be at the party he was attending, it seemed he was going to leave the matter still untouched. The last thing he wanted was to corner her in front of the man she apparently had reason to want to stay away from. As he approached the hotel, he spotted Meg outside, a cloud of smoke blurring her face as he gave her a wave. "Hey, you," he greeted, placing a kiss to her cheek as he reached her. "I didn't know you smoked. Guilty pleasure?" He knew it wasn't the healthiest habit, but but there were worse things she could engage in. Maybe she was just as nervous as he was for this crossover inside to occur. As much as he was itching to mention his uncle, there was still a chance the opportunity would present itself if they were to run into him inside the hotel. "I thought you'd never ask. What're you having tonight?"

- timeskip -

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While she hadn't initially wanted to go to the event it was her boss's attendance that assured her own. The last thing she was going to let happen was Hercles at the same event as his Uncle without her watchful eye, it had been enough knowing they were in casual conversation. That was where she came in. The brunette was playing both sides with impending doom approaching, her series of lies started to get tangled in the truth and the ones Hades had created. Somewhere amidst all of it, she'd developed actual feelings for the mission, a man who deserved far better than she had provided or would ever be able to. Hercules was more than any of the gods could wish to be, uncorrupted by his ego with a heart of gold that she knew she'd eventually break. Meg waited outside of the hotel for her date's arrival and took the opportunity to light up a smoke which was just another bad habit she couldn't quit. It didn't come as a surprise that after a few puffs, he was walking up to her meaning the night had officially begun, no longer able to hide beneath her smoke cloud. "You clean up nice, Wonderboy," Meg smirked once he was within earshot. The cigarette was put out on the cement wall behind her before tossing it to the ground and taking hold of her date's arm instead. "You think you can help a girl find a drink around here?"

[wonderherc]

"I don't know, I guess ... someone who seems excited about domestication, which doesn't seem like your kind of vibe," he said with a shrug, leaning into the stereotype of what his adopted parents had been like. "Then again, I'm learning a lot about the way Gods don't fit into any of the things I'd imagined, so, I guess you can just add this to the list." Hercules felt himself smile as he spoke about his wife, the most personal thing he'd learned about his uncle since they first met. At least one of the legends he'd read were true: Hades and Persephone's relationship was about the same as the preconceived notions he'd had of his aunt and uncle. "I'd love to meet her, one day. What's she like?"

All Hercules had known was that Meg worked at the Snuggly Duckling: this second, secret profession had come as a shock. The warning she'd given him to stay away from Hades rang in his ears: that was how she'd known him so well. But, just because his uncle was a bad boss didn't mean that Herc had a reason to stay away from him. "Does she?" he parroted, remaining as nonchalant as he could while the wine began to hit. Playing dumb was one of Hercules' specialties. And, pretending like he didn't know anything about Meg and Hades' relationship kept him from digging a pit of lies to fall into. "No, I had no idea. What exactly does she do for you? More bartending shifts?"

A laugh escapes him at the comment of not coming off as the married type. It was hardly what Hades thought the kid was going to say regarding the reminder that he had a wife, but he supposed it potentially made sense. “And what does the married type seem like, exactly?” he inquires, taking another sip of his wine as he leans backwards and gives a nod in confirmation of his wife’s name. “That’s her. My Perseophone. And more or less, it’s true, yeah. She has to stay in the mortal realm or Olympus during spring and summer and can only come home during the fall and winter. But it’s not like we don’t see each other when she’s away - so long as she’s not hanging around her mother, I can visit whenever I please.” Not that he was technically supposed, but after the first milenia of being together, he had learned that no one was actually going to stop him. Other than Demeter, who would throw a hissy fit if she ever found out, but Hades kept that from happening. “Nah. It’s hard to explain, the way moving around as a God works. We can go the mortal way anywhere we want, of course, but we can also sort of just… appear where we wish to be.”

All the talk of his own long lived godhood life seemed so irrelevant the moment the name Meg left Hercules’s lips. Suddenly any and all conversation beforehand meant not a goddamn thing anymore. Because this, this right here, was the missing puzzle piece he had been searching for for so long. He had known Meg had been keeping something from, that she hadn’t been properly doing her job the way he needed her to be, but he had yet to figure out just why that was. And now he saw it. She was in love with the fucking kid. “Meg, huh?” he asks, humming as he nods his head and sips again at his wine. “I didn’t know you two knew each other. She actually works for me, as well, surprisingly enough. But I’m sure she would have already told you that, right?”

[wonderherc]

GLEN POWELL for VANITY FAIR PHOTOGRAPH BY GORDON VON STEINER; STYLED BY GEORGE CORTINA.

[wonderherc]

"Oh, my god, yeah, you're married. No offense, you don't come off as the married type, but happy for you, dude. You'll have to give all the secrets to keeping a centuries-long relationship going. Persephone, right? Is the whole legend true, about the spring and the fall?" Of course, everyone had read the stories of Hades and his wife, but it hadn't even clicked with him that it could all be true when sitting across from his uncle. "Is it ... far, to get back? Do you have some sort of teleportation thing you do to get back?" Hercules had always just assumed the Underworld was located in the center of the Earth, or somewhere his mind couldn't quite comprehend, just like Olympus. But, to go back and forth, every day, seemed like a lot, even for a god.

It was a relief, to know that he hadn't annoyed his uncle too badly by asking too many unwanted questions. There were about a hundred more he could think of, just off the top of his head, but Hercules planned on somehow peppering those in over time, to eventually get the answers if they were still relevant. For now, it was nice to share part of his life with Hades, arguably the most exciting one so far. "Her name's Meg, she's amazing. I mean, she isn't officially my girlfriend, hence the almost, but we met at the bar she works at." Knowing the two might've had a past, Herc kept it vague, hoping his uncle's reaction would raise a flag on how to proceed.

Eyebrows shooting up at the question and the way Hercules hadn’t even hesitated in asking it, a smirk grows on his lips as he shakes his head. It was amusing, thinking that Hades had any care for mortals at all when his plans were so much bigger than that. “Not typically,” he answers honestly. “I’m a married man and unlike most others up on Olympus - I stay true to my vows. Up until a few decades ago, I rarely left the Underworld. Even now, I return daily. It’s not as much work as it sounds like it’d be, and I’ve got a good team down there when I’m away, yeah.” He raises his shoulder as if his job was really no big deal because in a lot of ways it wasn’t. In fact, he didn’t even hate running and ruling the land of the dead, though many of the other Gods seemed to think that was always his issue. In truth, he simply hated the rest of the family and the pompous way in which they all acted, treating him like he was less than simply because he didn’t partake in the same type of amusement as them.

“You’re fine, kid. You’ve been ignored and left in the dark of it all for thirty fuckin’ years, only makes sense you’d have questions,” he reassures, truly not bothered by any of it. Hades was a talker, that much anyone who knew him well enough could tell you. He was just simply rarely given the chance to do much talking most of the time, back in his realm. Just as he’s getting ready to brush off the thought that his job was as exciting as Hercules was making it out to be, his brain catches up to everything the boy was saying. “Almost girlfriend?” he echoes back, interest certainly peaked. He’d heard nothing of any type of relationship, which automatically raises a red flag in his head about just what else his little darling spy had been keeping from him. “Now that sounds interesting. Tell me all about this almost girlfriend.”

[wonderherc]

Hercules let out a laugh at his uncle's answer, knowing he was probably getting ahead of himself, but how could he help it? The wine brought a buzz to his veins he'd never felt before, maybe simply because it had been crafted by his ancestors--it was the same tingling he'd had when Hades had entered Phil's gym. "Alright, alright," he surrendered, setting down his glass to hold up his hands innocently. The last thing he wanted was for his uncle to get annoyed with him, or to make a fool of himself by tapping out after one glass. It was sweet, and for someone who preferred his wine more dry, it was at least easy to sip slowly while he continued to ask the handful of questions he'd thought of after the last time they'd met up.

"So, does that mean you're fucking around with mortals, too?" he pressed, curious how Hades would answer. He hadn't meant to come off accusatory, or like he was catching him in something he wasn't supposed to be doing--Hercules simply wanted to know as much about the man as he could. "I mean, if you are, your shenanigans are safe with me." For what his job as a God entailed, Hades had spent quite a lot of time with the living, Hercules had observed. "Do you have people looking after everything down there while you're up here?" He was a God after all--he probably had better things to do than to watch over the dead at all times. They were deceased, after all: he assumed not much trouble could happen down there on the daily. "Sorry that I'm asking so many questions again, by the way. I don't mean to--and if it's annoying, you can just say so. I mean, I would tell you about myself, but I really have nothing going on, besides working at a gym, and a maybe girlfriend, so, it's definitely not as exciting as being the ruler of all the dead."

It’s moments like this, watching the boy take his first sip of true alcohol that will actually give him any sort of intoxicated feeling, that Hades gets a rare pang of guilt for what he’s planning to do. Hercules was in fact far more likable of a kid than he had anticipated, probably because he’d been raised by decent mortals instead of the group of gods hanging around Olympus. He was nothing like the mini version of Zeus that Hades had been expecting to meet, which made the fact that he was probably going to end up killing him a bit harder of a pill to swallow than it should be. But hey, a guy did what he had to do to get his way - and he’d hardly be the first of the gods to betray someone like this, nor would he be the last. It was all just a part of the game their family played, which Hercules would be aware of if his parents had ever bothered to teach him a damn thing. It was their fault really, how easily their son was getting taken advantage of.

As it was, Hades figured they may as well enjoy these good moments while they could still have them. He’d bond with the kid and then show him what it was really like to be a god. It was what Hercules always wanted, in a way, to finally be a part of his long lost family - he just had no clue how much pain and betrayal came with it all. “Woah, woah, slow your roll. Let’s see how you deal with this before we go looking for anything stronger,” he comments with a laugh, though he is thinking about the stache of godly liquor he had stowed away down in the underworld. Taking another sip of his drink, his shoulders raising in a partial shrug as he considers how to answer that question. “Sometimes. They also run around down here too quite a bit, actually. Fucking with mortals - both metaphoricaly and literally. Starting wars, living a peaceful life for a few centuries, it really all depends on whatever mood they're in. Though we do have our duties as well, we can’t just ignore those, but they hardly take up all of our time.” It’s probably not what Hercules had pictured his family to be doing all these years, he’d probably hoped they were all far too busy with their godly responsibilities to ever think of him - but that was far from the truth. “I watch over the souls of the dead. Keep them in place, maintain the balance of good and evil down there, all that jazz.” It was actually way more complicated than that, but he didn’t exactly want to get into detail about the long list of tasks that came with ensuring the land of the dead ran smoothly.

[wonderherc]

It wasn't exactly what he was expecting her to do, to simply start to walk out of the bar without so much of a second thought, but Hercules wasn't going to complain--he would take any opportunity to make up for lost time with Meg. As she headed toward the door, Hercules reached for her hand as she guided them out of the crowded bar. Maybe it was too early to make such a gesture, given how long it had taken him to ask her out to begin with, but Herc kept his hand in hers as they headed down the street, simply praying she wouldn't let go. The Lair wasn't nearly as packed as the Duckling had been, the clubbers blissfully unaware, or simply ignoring, of what had happened outside the walls that night. He took a stool beside her, grateful to be somewhere they could talk without risk of eavesdropping over the loud music. "To making it out of the shitshow," he proclaimed as their beers arrived, tapping his glass to hers before he drank. "Y'know, by chance, I guess. I'd taught a class at Phil's earlier today, and I figured I'd just stay after to work the desk--people wanted to go to the boardwalk, and I didn't mind doing it. I was just at the right place at the right time," he admitted with a shrug, the story not entirely exciting. "And you're sure you're okay? I didn't miss anything big, did I?" Hercules quickly added, unsure if she simply hadn't wanted to tell him earlier with a crowd around them.

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Meg had done it again. She'd gotten herself into a sticky situation where her feelings were getting ahead of her better judgment but this one really seemed different. He wasn't like anyone else she'd ever met, let alone dated. It was because of how special he was that Meg had known exactly what she needed to do which was make sure Hades didn't sink his claws into his nephew. If anything happened to him now, that blood would be on her hands and she couldn't, no, she wouldn't let that happen. "Well, in that case..." the brunette teased as she jokingly considered taking it back to see him do just that. If only things could be simple. Meg wondered if she'd never gotten twisted up with Hades if they could've met by chance at the bar and been able to give themselves to each other entirely. Then again that was the very same thing she promised herself she'd never do after the mistake that was her ex-boyfriend. "Let's get the fuck out of here," the girl responded with her head nodding towards the door and her feet following with Hercules in tow. There had been enough shenanigans at the Snuggly Duckling for one day and Meg was long overdue for a drink of her own. He was led just a few buildings down to The Lair where she frequented after her shifts for a nightcap. "Two stouts," Meg orders once they arrive at the bar and she can sit for the first time in hours. "So how did you get so lucky and happen to avoid the shitshow?"

[wonderherc]

GLEN POWELL Hit Man (2024)

[wonderherc]

At the very least, Hercules could accept the agreement to keep his uncle's name unsaid between them, especially if it meant getting to keep her around. The very last thing he wanted to lose was what he had with Meg, regardless of who was coming between them. As much as he wanted to share with her all his excitement of finally getting to meet Hades, and actually form what he thought might be a real friendship between them, there were simply some things in life that were better left unsaid. It was with a nod that he wordlessly agreed to her warning: his family had been known to leave him before, and Hercules would've been lying if he said he wasn't at least mildly scared that his uncle might do the same. With a light smile, he took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Good. You just saved me a lot of embarrassing begging," he joked, though if that was what it would've taken to get her back, Hercules would've done it in a heartbeat. "Do you wanna, maybe, get a drink, or something? Whenever you're off your shift, that is. I feel like we could probably both use one, and you need to fill me in on whatever I missed between the last time I saw you and shit hit the fan in here."

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He shouldn't have, that was the problem. Not because he wasn't good, in fact, he was practically perfect, but it was becoming clear just how close the girl who promised herself to never feel again was getting to loving again. She'd been pretending for a while now. From convincing Hades she was doing her job to convincing herself she wasn't falling again, there couldn't be a way she came out unscathed. Meg knew his uncle was getting closer to the truth and that it was only a matter of time before her house of cards became 52 pick up. "He's your family and I know how long you've waited to find that." The brunette bit her tongue and the knowledge she couldn't share even if she wanted to. He deserved to get to know the family he never had but she only wished it could be someone else that didn't have his destruction in mind. "Just be careful, okay? Not everyone around here is as nice as they seem," her voice fading off as she thought back on her own dishonest actions. Meg knew her truth wouldn't paint her in a good light but none of it mattered if he didn't get out the other side safely. "Don't worry about that, it takes a lot more to get rid of me," she said while holding the knowledge that it would most likely be him who never wanted to see her again once the truth came out.

[wonderherc]

With a ceremonious tip of his glass before his first sip, Hercules nods his head toward his uncle, who had truly deserved more than just the one cheers he was giving him. But, he was sure he would get drunk and sappy soon enough, and Hades didn't seem like the type to appreciate raw gratitude sober. The wine was unlike anything he'd ever tasted: sweet, but strong, just as he'd expected. It would probably only take a glass or two to get him drunk, the same way it went for humans. If nothing else, he now had a reason to be mad at his father for not showing him a proper drink before his uncle could. With a satisfied sigh, Herc leaned back in his chair, holding his glass against his chest in wordless review.

"This is good shit," he affirmed as Hercules took a second sip. "Do you guys have the hard stuff, too, or just this? Not that I'm asking for it, just curious." He would have to take a few rounds with just wine before moving on to godly liquors, that was for sure. "So, is this, like, what you guys do all day? Drink wine and sit around, basking in your godliness? Not you, specifically, but, y'know, in general. My parents, all them up there." He had to know what was so important that they couldn't spare a second to check on their son. "What do you do, anyway? What does running the Underworld--not the club, though that's pretty clever--exactly entail?"

A laugh escapes him, first just out of light humor and then a genuine, real deep laugh following it at Hercules’s questioning and reaction to his first sniff of the wine. Taking the bottle back, he shakes his head and snaps his fingers to make two wine glasses appear on the table, which he began to fill - one half full and the other closer to the brim. “We gotta ease you into this, kid. Don’t go getting too crazy before you’ve even had your first sip,” he instructs, sliding the lesser glass towards the boy.

It’s as he takes the first sip of his own glass that Hades lets out a satisfied sigh, shaking his head ever so slightly as he basks in the flavors for a moment. “It’s a honey wine - just like we had back in the old days. The first kind we gifted to mortals,” he explains, taking another sip as he moves to finally sit down in the chair he had set aside for himself across from his nephew. “We never gave them this exact shit, though, obviously. We had to knock it down a peg or two hundred so they could handle it. Red wine didn’t come around for a while after that. But I’ve got some of Di’s reds back down home, I’ll bring ‘em next time.”

[wonderherc]

It was a night Hercules had been long awaiting, ever since his uncle had offered to let him try some of the God-strength wine he apparently had still sitting in his office. It was the middle of a Saturday, and while Herc had absolutely no business day drinking when he was supposed to be heading to the Duckling after it closed, he'd essentially been waiting his entire life for the chance to get to get drunk with one of his family members. He also couldn't remember the last time he'd been actually drunk, finding it ridiculously hard to get anywhere on the scale of intoxication given his genetics. To put it plainly, it was the most excited he'd been for anything in a long time.

"I was born ready," Hercules affirmed, sitting up in his chair as his eyes lit at the sight of the bottle. "Is it red? Do you guys even have the same kind of varieties humans do?" There was no label on it, no facts about the contents or what he might be ingesting, but he trusted it had to be good. Picking it up from the desk, Hercules gave it a whiff, overwhelmed even just by the smell. "Holy shit," he exclaimed with a laugh, "if I pass out, you'll let me sleep on the floor here, right?" It was only half a joke--Hercules wouldn't be surprised if he was knocked out after one glass.

~ timeskip ~

Maybe if he were a better guy, Hades would feel even the slightest amount of guilt for continuing to string Hercules along the way he was doing - letting the kid think his purest and only intention of these visits was to get to know him better and offer a connection to the lost family he’d never known. But as it was, he simply couldn’t find it in himself to care. After all, that was partially what he was doing - just because it wasn’t his top priority or motive didn’t really matter, right? And if it did then well, he was already pretty fucking damned in this life - it’s not like things could get worse. He really had nothing to lose and truthfully neither did the kid, so as far as Hades was concerned it was a win-win for them all.

“Alright, kid. Now this here is the real shit I was telling you about,” he explains as he sets the bottle of wine he’d brought from his back office down onto the table. It was honestly far too early to be drinking, for mortals anyway, but that had never stopped Hades before and it wasn’t about to now. The club was empty, none of his employees were even here yet this early in the afternoon - except for Pain and Panic in the back, but they hardly counted for shit. It was the perfect time to introduce the boy to his first taste of true godhood. “This shit ain’t for the faint of hearts. It’s some of Di’s best work, crafted by his own hands about ehh… two thousand years ago? Damn how time flies. Anyway, it’s the best I’ve got in my storage. So I just gotta ask, one last time, are you ready to truly get fucked up?” It’d be the first time Hercules likely ever got to experience a true drunken night, which was perfect for what Hades had planned.

[wonderherc]

Hercules couldn't help but smile at the words she'd clearly let slip. It didn't take long of knowing Meg to see that she wasn't one to be purposely romantic, or to be particularly sappy when she didn't have to be. When she let the light through her cracks show, though, he couldn't help the grin that grew in response. "I still make the cut?" he teased, before pumping his fist ceremoniously in their air. "I'm just glad your'e okay, seriously. I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't been here and you--" he cut himself off, shaking his head at the possibility he didn't even want to speak of. Hercules gave her a smile, glad this seemed to be the end of the first real conflict between them. "We don't have to talk about, uh ... about him, if you don't want to, anymore. I don't want him, or anything, or anyone, getting in the way of--of us." He realized how presumptuous it sounded, that there would even be a them to speak of unless Meg wanted there to be, too. "If that's, uh, something you still wanted. I would understand if things ... if you've changed your mind."

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It was actually becoming hard to keep her mouth shut when she'd look into those eyes and see what could've been a good life. Meg had to remind herself constantly that whatever future she saw with him wasn't plausible when her soul belonged to his uncle. While giving it up had been entirely her fault, maybe it would all be worth it if she could make sure Wonderboy got out unscathed. He was the good she would never be and it was Hercules that she thought deserved to continue making a life for himself. Meg had given up her freedom for a man before, but this time it actually felt right. A soft huff came from her as he spoke, if he only knew all that she did, and just how terrible she had been all along. It wasn't her own tail on the line that she worried about but what trouble it could cause for Hercules if she spilled the beans. "Don't worry about that," the brunette said simply, not wanting to dwell on the topic that she couldn't expand on while also making sure he knew it wasn't him that had been the issue. In fact, it was the man in front of her who almost got her to consider a real life but even that was just out of reach. It would be him that was long gone before she ever got released from Hades' hold. "Everyone here is doing okay, kind of shaken up but nothing major. I think I got the worst of it." Meg froze for a moment to see if he'd caught her glimpse into what had happened before a small blonde came to her rescue. "Most of the people I care about are in this room," her eyes scanned the bar before falling back onto Hercules. "Now that you're here." The words fell out before her lips could catch them.

[wonderherc]

For as much as Meg had told him to look out for his uncle, all of what he was saying made perfect sense to Hercules. He wouldn't have wanted to see him, either, if his parents really had been so terrible to Hades and he might've feared Herc would treat him the same. For all that he wanted to have a connection to his family, it sounded like all he'd missed over the years was one giant mess. At least, that was if all what Hades had told him had been the truth, but there had been no one else from his family coming down to defend their honor or give any sort of explanation, so this would have to be taken as such until Herc had reason to believe otherwise.

"No, I mean, I get it," Herc replied genuinely, hoping his uncle saw that he wasn't trying to place any of the blame on him. "I really do appreciate it, though, y'know, you finally reaching out. It feels dumb now, knowing that no one really cares … but I've always wanted to have some sort of family in my life." Which, if this was all he could get, Hercules would gladly take. It was far better than having no one in his life at all. Not that he didn't consider his adopted parents his family, but discovering that there was a whole other one he could have, it was impossible not to want to be a part of. "If you'd wanna do something like this again, or anything … I mean, I'd really like that, now that I know you're around. If you're not having too terrible of a time hanging out with me, that is," Hercules requested with a hopeful smile.

It made sense, his wanting to know just what might be motivating Hades to finally reach out to him after years of silence from literally almost every member of his family. And a part of him wanted to give Hercules the honest truth, but that would be a self-imploding bomb on his own plans. The only way he could somehow get away with it would be if he convinced the kid to join his side in the upcoming fight against Olympus and for as much as they’ve been getting along and all the things they have in common, Hades just quite couldn’t peg the kid as being okay with throwing his biological parents and family into the pits of Tartarus. So a lie was gonna have to do. Or at least, a partial one - a bit of the truth could be sprinkled in, he supposed.

“I’ve been hangin’ ‘round this island for a few years,” he admits, that much being true though he won’t share the reason why. Nor was he going to let on that he’d known Hercules was here the entire time or the fact that his life on the isle was the reason he’d come up from the underworld in the first place. “I knew Phil was here and a few others that have been floating around - the gals that followed me from down home, you know all them. But it wasn’t until recently that I’d been made aware that you were here. ‘Course I knew that you’d been taken from Olympus all those years ago - but I hadn’t really been checkin’ in on you or where you’d ended up. No offense. It’s just well, the last time I was kicked out of Olympus was your birth festival, so I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of you for a bit there. Again, no offense. But when I heard Phil had taken in a new guy named Herc… Well, I figured it was probably about time I mended the burnt bridge you didn’t even know existed between us.”

[wonderherc]

Hercules wanted to somehow shake the truth out of her, to loosen it and let the floodgates open, so it was all out there, and they could move on. But, for some reason he still couldn't seem to hear, either, Meg was keeping something big close to her chest. Everyone had pasts and things they'd rather stay hidden, locked in a closet, but Herc had simply hoped for something more out of someone who he thought he loved. Saying that to her might make things even worse, though, leaving any hope of learning what she had to hide in the dust. Now wasn't the place nor the time to beg her to let go of whatever was holding her back. Hearing that she cared about him was enough of a win, especially when Hercules could've been convinced that she might've turned him away, with the way things had gone last time. "I care about you, too. Whatever it is ... take your time. I'll be here, as long as you'll have me." Hercules knew that could end now, or tomorrow, or any time when he was least expecting it, but he couldn't at least try. Going the distance meant laying his heart on the line, no matter what was going to come of them. "Is everyone else around here good? No one else we know is hurt?"

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Wonderboy was just that, wonderful, and gave up looking for the nonexistent weaknesses he had. Perhaps it was his own family that he wanted so much, putting himself in danger without even knowing it. Meg had to hold her tongue to not reveal her hand in the game Hades was playing with Hercules. If it was up to her she would've thrown her cards down by now and gotten him as far away from his uncle as possible. He craved a connection, a family he never knew, and didn't even really know now. Without knowing a word he said Meg was sure it had all been lies or distorted to manipulate him in Hades' favor. The guilt was building in her chest like a storm that she felt expand whenever he was around; all the meanwhile enjoying his company more than anyone else's. "All good, I shouldn't have pried," she said with her gaze wavering. How could she have not when she knew all he didn't? "There is so much I wish I could tell you." Meg's voice dropped under her breath so the wrong ears didn't hear what she'd said, it had already been too much somewhere this busy. "We both said some things," the brunette addressed her own faults from that night. Glasses halted from being handed out as she chose her next words appropriately. "I just care about you." Maybe too much, she followed in the safety of her own head. "So thanks for coming," Meg added to wave the attention from the feelings she started to lay bare.

[wonderherc]

With the way they'd left things, he certainly hadn't wanted to come off as overbearing. The argument they'd gotten into and whatever truth Meg had been hiding had been a stark reminder that she wasn't entirely his, and he couldn't expect that out of her. In turn, showing up unannounced to check on her wasn't exactly just friend behavior, either, but her appreciation for it meant that he'd made the right choice. He would stay, as long as she would have him. "Don't mention it," he shrugged off in reply, as though the red lights he'd blown on his way to get here had been nothing. Hercules would've done anything to stay with her, including passing out water the rest of the night to people who needed it. With his tunnel vision expanding, Herc recognized faces from the bar here and there, among ones who he'd never seen before, but mattered just the same. "Of course, you know, to the water, and to checking on you. I mean, I thought--I don't know, if something had happened to you, I didn't want the last things we'd ever said to each other to be ... what they were," he admitted, trailing off as he winced at the memory. The words didn't need to be repeated--she knew what he meant, and with how chaotic the night had turned out to be, it would be up to Meg if she wanted to revisit the last time they'd seen each other or leave it at that.

༝༝༝ ϟ ༝༝༝

There were bigger things at play than she could discuss in the open like this. Meg knew she had been in a dangerous game, the attack only complicating it further. Now she was just as worried about the blonde who healed her as the man standing there. They were both under the microscope, the world looking for them more now than ever, and Meg tasking herself with protecting them. Of course that was a lot easier said than done, knowing that Hercules was in contact with the man who wanted him dead. "Yeah, don't worry about me," she assured him with a shake of her head. While her bloodstained clothes might make him think differently, it was thanks to Rapunzel that her wounds were as good as new. "You didn't have to do that, Wonderboy," though it had warmed her heart he did. Meg had yet to understand what he saw in her, especially knowing she was a double agent even if she was truly in his corner not his uncle's. "I'm good though, promise, just trying to make sure everyone's taken care of here," she said giving a small smile as her eyes scanned the crowd to hang out another water glass. "If you want to help me pass these out I wouldn't complain having another set of hands." The brunette's eyes settled on his green orbs that she'd gone weak at the knees for before. They were still as clear and bright as always, hoping Hades' darkness never got into them. "Thanks for coming, ya know, to check on me you didn't have to."

[wonderherc]

Hercules couldn't really believe what he was hearing, but he had no choice but to believe the only person in his family who had ever been real with him, about any of this. It would make sense, if the misfit of Olympus had come to find him, to find some semblance of family while they were cast aside by the rest of them. As much as Herc wished things were different, he couldn't really blame Hades for sounding like he'd all but given up on the rest of their family--he'd been the black sheep for longer than Hercules could start to comprehend. It was sad to think his life would likely turn out the same, except, even after he was gone, Hades would still be left to suffer alone, forever. As much as he was still holding onto the lifelong desire to become just like him, and find his way back home, Hercules was beginning to think that maybe all that work wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

With silent nods of his head and long sips of his beer, Herc listened as his uncle painted a rather dark and unflattering picture of his parents. He'd be stupid to think that Hades' judgement didn't come with a bit of bias, if the legends were true, but he didn't see what could possibly be so bad about him to effectively shun the guy forever. "So, if you're saying they don't care about me ... I mean, I don't mean to assume anything, but is there a reason you're, uh, here? Did something happen, or, like, I don't know, were you just Earth-side and running into each other was an accident, or something?" Not that he thought Hades was the kind of asshole to not care about him, either, now that they were acquainted, but something about him showing up out of the blue had felt the kind of weird he couldn't totally ignore.

Finishing off the last of his beer and waving down the bartender to indicate he and Herc were ready for a second round, Hades takes a moment to consider how to answer that question. He was going to be honest, that much was a given - not only cause the kid kinda deserved it but also getting him on board the anti-Olympus train would be beneficial to the long game at play here. The only question was just how gently should he let him down. “Not all of it,” he finally states, nodding at the man who brought over their next beer, picking it up to take a sip before continuing. “But most of it, yeah. He’s kind of a fucking asshole. And that’s me being nice about it.” The fact that there wasn’t a bolt of lightning hitting the ground outside the moment he finished speaking truly only proved his points in Hades’ mind. Any potential chance that Zeus was watching the two of them was immediately shut down and he knew that his brother didn’t give a flying fuck about this kid beside him.

There goes those flashes of guilt he kept having around the boy whenever he spoke like that. It was always enough to almost make him feel bad for manipulating the kid, if not for the fact that he knew his plans would benefit not only himself but Hercules as well in the long run. “I wouldn’t know,” he answers with a shrug, glaring down into his pint glass as he remembers how quick he’d been shunned off Olympus the last time he’d dared to step foot inside of it. “I’m not exactly welcomed up there either, kid. The only family folk I talk to are the ones brave enough to enter my domain from time to time.” Looking back up at the boy, Hades couldn’t help but feel the need to be absolutely and completely real with him, if even just for this one moment. “They’re all a bunch of self-centered bastards, the whole group of ‘em. But your mom and dad? Kid – they’re the worst of them all when it comes to that.”

[wonderherc]

GLEN POWELL Hit Man (2024)

[wonderherc]

It was as though his uncle was pulling back the curtain on almost everything he'd believed about his family for his entire life in a way that made Hercules believe that maybe being up on Olympus wasn't as wonderful as it seemed. He'd thought he'd been missing out on what had been described as a utopia, with all of his family in one place, but maybe life up in the clouds wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "Wait, seriously?" If it was as big of a mess as his uncle was claiming it to be, then there was only one person to truly blame. "Is that ... 'cause of my dad? Is he, uh--is that his fault?" he asked cautiously, still unsure if he wanted the answer.

He didn't want to get all sappy with the literal death guy about feeling neglected by his family, but there were questions Hercules had been practically waiting his whole life to be answered. And, if there was ever a time to ask them, he supposed there was none like the present. "Does he ever, like, talk about me? Or my mom? Do you know if they're, y'know, ever planning on seeing me, if there's a chance I never make it up there?" He paused, feeling suddenly guilty for the saddened turn his questions had taken. "Sorry, I know that's ... a weird place to start, we can always, uh, come back to that, if you want."

Snorting around the rim of his glass, Hades had to give it to the kid that he was at least right on that. Things within the family of the Gods certainly were… complicated. Far more so than Hercules could even realize. But what really got him, what had him snickering into his drink, was the thought that everything they did was perfect. “No, no. That shit is as far fetched as can be,” he corrects with a shake of his head. “Well there’s probably some truth in what you’ve read, but any of us being perfect? That’s a load of bullshit. It’s what we wanted the mortals to think, so I guess it makes sense they’d tell it that way, but truth is? We’re a burning shit show.” Herc’s daddy being the biggest load of shit of them all, though for now he holds back on saying that much out loud.

Truthfully it did bother him, sitting here and explaining everything about the life of the Gods to the one person that could potentially ruin all of his plans wasn’t exactly what Hades considered to be the best of past times - but sacrifices needed to be made, for the sake of the long game. “Ask away, kid,” he grants permission before raising an eyebrow at the first question the boy had. “You really think all I do is sit around all day and count the souls of my Underworld?” It was what he used to do, centuries ago when he too had been deluded into thinking that was what all of the Gods did, dutifully watched over their realms and nothing else. “No, kid. I’ve got workers for that. And if something needs my attention down there, trust me, I’ll know. But I’m free to do whatever I please, actually. Like I said, we all are.”