Chapter Text
Hades knew that if he stopped now, he would die, or worse…kill himself.
His breath came out in sharp pants, his blood pumping rapidly as he stumbled through the darkness mountain side. His boots slipped on loose gravel, sending him slipping down the path, his hands and side exploded in agony as he went down, but the sound of hooves made him scramble up and lunge into a thicket of wild shrubbery, disguising himself there.
He forced himself to stop breathing, he had no time to calm his breaths, quieten them, the only way was to simply stop. He held his breath, heart pounding so loudly in his chest he almost couldn't hear anything else, he stared, unmoving, as the horses came to a standstill in front of the place where he was hidden.
The soldiers got off, wandering around as they searched. His lungs began to burn, his vision dotting black as they took their sweet time. One of the soldiers neared the shrub, and he stared, blinking hard.
The uniform trousers were maroon, not black.
He let out a breathless laugh of disbelief, startling the two soldiers. They wrenched the shrubbery apart, trying to get to him, he laughed, still gasping for air. A third rider came into view, a tall, handsome man on horseback, his dark hair and eyes boring into him.
“Arrest him.”
He let them.
They took him to the heart of Hell, the palace itself. It was quite a show, a god being dragged to the throne room of another king, one that wasn't a god nonetheless. He smirked to himself.
Then again, perhaps he was.
He was shoved to his knees like a common thief, hands shackled. The guards took the liberty of manhandling him the best they could, grasping at what tiny scrap of vengeance that they could. They'd probably lost brothers and sisters in arms during the war, a war he'd started. Their prince had been taken from them, returned broken. He was sure they knew of what happened to Raven, and he was sure they didn't care that it could have been a lot worse, had he not intervened, barging into Julius’ camp and tearing the psychotic bastard off the young prince. No, it didn't matter that he put the bastard down like a rabid dog in front of his own men, or that he'd returned Raven to his family that very night, or that he'd actually fucking ended the war over said prince.
They still faced losses, and he was to blame. He couldn't really complain about that. Their rough handling was a walk in the park in comparison to what he'd endured in the last week. Let them have their fun. He had bigger things on his mind. They were going to hate him a lot more when he was done talking to their king.
Lucifer materialized in the throne room in a burst of bright light, he grimaced, blinking rapidly to ease the blinding pain in his eyes, glaring at the archangel. He was dressed regally, his trousers white, as was his shirt, his vest was midnight blue and silver buttoned. He stared down at the god, celestial blue eyes narrowed with suspicion, his golden curls gleaming in the overhead lights from the massive chandelier. The wall sconces made him look every bit like the angel he was, even if his status stood as high as that of a ruling god.
Which was exactly what Hades needed, and he knew exactly how to get it.
“Hades.” Lucifer spoke, finally, “Trying to start another war? You'd think it was too soon after the last one.”
The guards had stepped away from him the moment their Lord had appeared. Prisoner or not, Hades was still a god, and if their king disapproved of their treatment of him, they'd be flogged for such audacity. He stood, slowly, the pain rocketing through various points in his body, sizzling and exploding. He ignored it. He looked over his shoulder, lazily.
“Maybe, but we shouldn't talk about such things around the children.” He drawled, “They might get scared.”
One of the guards curled his lip at him, as did Jaques. The Prince of Hell had shown no mercy as the soldiers had hauled him out of the shrubbery and shackled him, then dragged him along the path before teleporting to the palace.
The hatred burned deep in that one, Hades noted silently.
“Leave us.” Lucifer commanded, his son balked.
“Father-”
“Leave us, Jaques.”
The prince glared at Hades, then turned and limped out of the room. The doors fell shut behind him as he did, the room was empty, save for the two of them. Well, the two of them and the unnervingly large albino snake Hades had failed to notice before. His heart picked up, the creature was coiled up on a fluffy white cushion on the luxurious throne, almost invisible, if not for the red eyes and flickering, forked, pink tongue that emerged ever so often.
Lucifer stared down at him, the dais giving him an added advantage over the god.
“What do you want, Hades? Why are you here?”
“That's rude, your son is the one who arrested me and dragged me here.”
Lucifer's eyes flashed in irritation. “You're the one violating our truce by crossing the border. Did you really think I wouldn't notice just because you've put a seal on your magic?”
Hades snorted, “Do you take me for a fool?”
“No, I don't. Which is why I'm curious enough not to simply throw you in the dungeons or declare war.”
“Have you considered that I did it on purpose?”
“To what end?”
Hades couldn't resist teasing the angel, “Maybe I wanted to fuck with you.”
The angel's eyes flashed red, and he was off the dais in a flash and in front of him, grabbing Hades by the throat, and squeezing threateningly. A warm glow of satisfaction burned in the god's chest.
Good, so I can still rile you up.
“Don't test my patience, Hades.” The angel growled, “I'm running out of it rather quickly where you're concerned.”
He laughed, then winced as his flank seared with pain, the fractured ribs smarting. Lucifer noticed immediately, and then his hand loosened around his throat, falling away as he stepped back, celestial eyes taking the god’s physical state in for the first time.
“What happened to you? Why-”
He glared, then grimaced. “I am here for asylum.”
The angel stared at him, face grim, “From what? Is Hades under siege?"
“Worse. It's in the hands of a madman.”
Lucifer scowled, “I thought that was you.”
Hades resisted the urge to laugh, the angel could be unintentionally funny sometimes. “This is different.”
“How so?”
“He has my sons hostage.”
“And why should I care?”
“Because I didn't have to care about Raven, or Alaric, but I helped you then. I'm cashing in on your debts.”
“That's two for seven, you're going to need more than that.”
He took a breath, “I'm asking you for asylum, not a handout, I'll pay you back-”
“Asylum from whom?”
“Kratos, the god of strength.”
“Why not go to Zeus, he's your brother -”
Hades stared at him, incredulous, “Do you have absolutely no knowledge of who Kratos is?!”
“Should I?”
He sighed, “Kratos serves Zeus. He stays by his side as part of his personal guard. He's a Titan. His mother was the goddess Styx. Ring a bell?”
Lucifer frowned, “What's Zeus' personal guard doing taking over Hades?”
Hades stared at him, deadpan. Lucifer's eyes widened.
“No. He wouldn't, Persephone -”
“Has deserted me. Our marriage has been annulled by her father.”
“I don't understand, why would he-”
“I defied him. This is the price for it.”
“Defied him how?”
“It doesn't matter, it's done. I would rather gouge my own eyes out than beg with him.”
Lucifer frowned, “If I grant you asylum, will this lead to war?”
“Almost certainly.”
“You're asking for too much.”
“I've given you one child already, I'm willing to give you another when this is done. If you want a written contract, we can discuss it.”
Lucifer stopped dead, every fibre of his being froze, eyes locking on Hades in shock, “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Hades tilted his head, “Ambrosius.”
Lucifer scowled now, annoyed. “You didn't give him to me, and I didn't take him from you. You pushed him away! He ran away because of you-”
“I'm not talking about the running away. I'm talking about Ambrosius.”
“Isn't that the same thing -”
“Ambrosius as a whole.” Hades corrected, the angel stared at him, uncomprehending.
He sighed, “Ambrosius is your son. Biologically.”
Lucifer's eyes widened, flashing with rage, “That's not possible. He looks nothing like me, how dare you toy with my love for my children by spouting lies-”
“You can check. Run the DNA test.”
Doubt flickered through celestial eyes, followed by a breathless–
“How?”
Hades looked directly at him, a sliver of anger lodged in his chest, he smirked sardonically, “Well you see, when two people fuck, sometimes -”
“Hades, don't make me wring your neck.” Lucifer growled in warning.
The god smirked, “That's rather kinky of you.”
“You would know about that, I suppose.”
Hades grimaced, glaring at the angel in disdain, “It's a long story, but the basics are the same. Twenty five years ago, you left me with more than just last words that night.”