The Immortal Heart

A/N: Chiaki and usmorgan, thank you for your reviews! I won't give away anything as far as what's causing Hades' nausea, but let's say Hera will be less than pleased. :P


Chapter 12

Two weeks passed and though Hades still found himself quite ill at times, he had managed to keep the worst of it at bay with the help of Demeter’s potions. The words Hera had stung him with still lingered in his mind however, and he hoped he could still prove his worth to Zeus. Otherwise, Hera would likely be relentless in garnering their brother’s attention until he surrendered and made her his.

“I am pleased to know you are doing well,” Zeus said to Hades one night as they lay in bed after making love. Hades smiled, receiving a kiss against his neck and he snuggled closer to his brother.

“Did I hear you mention to Poseidon that you were going to go fishing again tomorrow?” he asked curiously.

“You might have,” Zeus answered, stroking his brother’s side with a large, warm hand. “Why, are you interested in attending?”

“I would love to go,” Hades said. “Although I hope I do not get seasick again…”

“I considered that. We discussed the matter and came up with an idea. Perhaps we should find a riverbank…?”

Hades turned over to look at his brother’s face, so that he might know if the other was telling the truth. “You… you would do that for me?” he asked, faintly surprised.

“Of course,” Zeus replied with a smile. “Poseidon has fashioned a small spear and has been meaning to test it. The river would be an ideal place to try. And you would not need to worry about rocking up and down on a boat.”

Zeus received a kiss for his gift and he held Hades as close to him as physically possible.

*

The following morning, the three Olympian brothers set out early, eating only a small breakfast before departing to find a suitable fishing place along the river which was quite broad and also quite deep in many places. Hades only ate a small piece of hard bread washed down with some water, afraid to become nauseated again if he indulged himself.

Poseidon’s spear looked rather fearsome, made out of iron with three sharp prongs that could easily pierce through flesh, although Hades wondered how effective it would be when used as a fishing instrument.

It was Poseidon who finally chose a spot to try their luck; a sloping, sandy point bar, where the water quickly grew deep. No doubt the river water was filled with all kinds of aquatic critters, but how many of them were even edible in the first place?

“I will go first…” the curly-haired Olympian muttered, gazing warily toward the river water. He was not fooled by its deceptive lull, knowing that rivers were home to all kinds of unpleasant forms of life, including leeches that fed on blood. The god had to admit he preferred the open waters of the ocean.

“If I have any luck, either of you can borrow my spear and try it yourself.” He proceeded to remove his sandals and reached for the hem of his tunic when something occurred to him. During their previous outing, Zeus had scolded him for stripping nude before their brother, and Poseidon feared that history would repeat itself this time.

At the same time, Poseidon hardly felt like soaking his knee-length robes through whilst standing fully clothed in the water. Clearing his throat as he considered the dilemma, he finally removed the outermost layer of his robes. All that was left afterwards was a very short chiton, and if Zeus had a problem with Poseidon showing off his legs, then he would have to sit there and be displeased.

To avoid the leeches, Poseidon would also have to steer clear of the muddier, still areas of the river, even though such places were also hiding places for more desirable creatures like eels. In open running water, he would have to remain quite still in one place, and patiently wait for fish to come to him. But Poseidon could be patient for as long as his fishing took. Frogs and lizards often did the same thing, and they thrived easily.

“This may take a while,” Zeus teasingly told Hades loudly enough for the god in the river to hear.

“Don’t distract me,” Poseidon called back, a hint of laughter in his voice.

“We have all the time to wait, don’t we, brother?” Zeus said, drawing his attention back to Hades.

The older god smiled and scooted closer to his brother on their blanket, which kept them separate from the dirt of the bank. The kiss which followed was euphoric, and Hades, still slightly weak from his illness, felt as though he could easily be overpowered by his brother’s kiss alone. The two gods’ kissing continued, time passing without notice. They would have continued further than kisses had their peace not been broken by a loud splash. They turned to look at Poseidon, who lifted his spear to joyously find a trout skewered on the end.

Both his brothers cheered, although Poseidon couldn’t help but wonder if his siblings were being sarcastic rather than genuinely impressed. The river was not an ideal place for procuring food despite his affinity for water, and he began to wish they had taken the boat and headed out to open waters instead of coming here.

Asking if either of his brothers wished to try the spear, Poseidon expected a no, making him honestly surprised when Zeus offered to give it a try. The youngest god rose from his seat next to Hades, disrobed, and casually walked into the river until he had water up to his waist, as if the threat of leeches did not even bother him. Poseidon squeezed the water from his chiton and watched together with their eldest brother, who was once again looking rather worn out even though he had done nothing except sit in the grass.

“How are you feeling, Hades? Not ill, I hope?” the younger god asked in concern.

Hades managed a rather weak smile in return and assured his brother that nothing was amiss, despite having a feeling that he would prove himself wrong fairly soon.

A loud curse could be heard from Zeus when he stabbed the spear into the river floor and obviously missed his target. Rather than waiting for a new quarry to pass by, the Olympian leader reached into the water with his free hand, and seconds later he pulled up a large, writhing eel, whose writhing came to an abrupt halt when the god’s strong fist broke its backbone.

Though Hades knew that eels were fully edible and even tasty when prepared, the nauseating crunch of the animal’s neck breaking was enough to send his stomach into an uproar and make him expel the food he had eaten hours ago.

Both Poseidon and Zeus abruptly turned their heads at the sound of their brother vomiting and Zeus made a noise that bordered on irritation, as thought to say “not again”. However, the youngest god made a point of stepping in Poseidon’s way, as though to prevent him from so much as touching Hades.

“Brother, you’re still unwell,” Zeus said as he approached the older god, his tone sounding more worried that annoyed.

Hades looked up to attempt a patient smile, to tell his brother not to worry, when he saw something dark clinging to Zeus’ leg. It curled up on the surface of the skin and in doing so lost its grip and fell off. The leech writhed in the grass as though disoriented.

Hades threw up again, this time on the blanket.

Zeus immediately lifted his elder brother from behind, avoiding the range of the vomit, and pulled Hades’ hair back, holding the sickened god in a kneeling position. Poseidon, wishing to help but not wanting to cause jealousy from Zeus, removed the blanket and set to washing it in the river, glancing behind him every few seconds to see Hades’ progress.

“Easy…” Zeus whispered gently, rubbing his oldest brother’s back. “Easy… Let it out.”

Hades’ breath came hard as he desperately tried to will his stomach to calm itself. He was so tired of being sick, and now he had worried Zeus. Something was very, very wrong with him.

“We should leave,” Zeus stated, reaching for his clothes. “We have to get Hades back indoors.”

“No, I am well, I promise…” the elder god half-heartedly objected, not wanting his brothers to cut the outing short because of him. The lie, however, was a pathetic one, and “well” was the absolutely last thing he felt.

“Hades, we all know that is not true,” Zeus replied gravely. He grasped the other gently by the shoulders and made Hades lift his head to meet his gaze. “Your illness has lasted for weeks now, and it doesn’t appear as if it will go away by itself. We should consult your sister about this. She if anyone will know what to do.”

Hades knew that Zeus was referring to Demeter, who already had limited insight into his peculiar sickness. In the past few weeks, however, Hades had tried to conceal his nausea from her so as not to have her worry about him needlessly.

“I will speak with Demeter,” he admitted, “but I would be thankful if you could let me do that by myself.”

Zeus frowned. “Why by yourself? I, too, would want to know what is troubling you.”

Hades had to smile at the concern in his youngest brother’s voice, and he responded by placing his smaller hand atop Zeus’ large one and giving it a squeeze. “I have taken up enough of your time already. If Demeter has any answers, I will naturally share them with you. But please let me consult her alone.”

Zeus knew that he should stand his ground, but Hades seemed to have found a way of getting his own way around him. “Fine, if you wish. We are leaving now. Are you well enough to walk?”

Hades nodded, uncertain but hoping he could walk without having to be carried. “Brother…” he said with regret, “I do not wish to be a problem.”

“You will not be a problem,” Zeus answered patiently, “as long as you look out for yourself. Demeter will almost certainly know what to do.”

Hades smiled, but held his tongue instead of replying with, “I hope so”.

On the walk back to the fortress, Hades lasted quite well without help, but his exhaustion was becoming apparent a few minutes before reaching the gods’ destination. He found himself being lifted and carried the short remainder of the walk.

“You do not have to carry me,” he told Zeus timidly.

Zeus grinned. “I like carrying you,” he said, and apparently he liked it so much that he carried Hades through the doors, down the hallways, and into Hades’ living quarters.

“Stay here and rest,” he advised, hand stroking his brother’s hair. “I shall retrieve our sister. Do not worry,” he added in response to the look on Hades’ face. “I shall leave the two of you alone as you wish.”

Managing a smile, Hades sank underneath his bedcovers and tried to get some much needed rest as he waited for Demeter. If only I could simply sleep through all of the moments of this damn sickness, he thought.

Demeter arrived a while later, accompanied by Zeus, who was still looking rather worried. “He managed the trek to the water just fine,” he informed her as they both entered Hades’ bedchamber. “Then he vomited twice and became so weak I had to carry him indoors.”

Hades let out a miserable sigh, displeased with Zeus retelling the events of the unfortunate fishing trip. His sister definitely did not need to know every humiliating detail, which only made Hades seem like an even bigger burden to the two other gods.

“He does look rather pallid,” the goddess said sympathetically, addressing Zeus but keeping her eyes fixed on Hades. “Hopefully we can find a remedy.”

The leader showed no signs of wanting to leave, and Hades felt the need to remind him. “Zeus, you promised…” he murmured, his words muffled by the pillow.

“Yes, yes, I know, brother. I shall take my leave now. But remember your own promise. You will tell me—”

“Everything, yes,” Hades agreed, eager to see his brother leave. “I shall keep my promise.”

Seemingly satisfied with this, Zeus finally left and Hades felt comfortable enough to roll onto his back in order to more easily regard Demeter. The goddess took a seat at his bedside and reached out to cover his forehead with a cool hand.

“At least you have no apparent fever,” she said. “Perhaps we should take a look at the source of your ailment…?” she then suggested, gently patting his stomach through the sheets.

Hades blushed a little. He was not in favor of all this poking and prodding and observation, as it went against his character, but he allowed it for the sake of wanting to uncover what on earth was wrong with him. He lifted the sheets from his body, managing only a small grimace, and allowed his sister to do her worst.

“Any pains, brother?” she asked as she inspected him, “in your stomach or otherwise?”

“No, not that I’m aware of,” he replied uneasily. “Just this vomiting that will not relent.”

“Hmmm…” Demeter inspected Hades as she normally would any of her siblings, listening to his heart and breathing, feeling his pulse, and so on. She even listened to the activity in his stomach, her ear pressed against his belly as he took deep breaths. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, with the small exception that his stomach looked bloated, but for all she knew, this could have easily been a result from Hades’ frequent vomiting.

“How often did you say this occurred?” she asked.

“Sometimes throughout the day…” Hades replied, “but mostly in the morning. Almost as though my sickness is awakening as I do…”

“And for how long now?”

“Two weeks, now bordering on three.”

Demeter paused in deep, serious contemplation for several minutes before getting up from her brother’s bed and preparing to leave.

“I’m going to concoct something for the symptoms,” she announced. “I will return shortly with something to keep your nausea to a minimum. Otherwise you will have to be mindful that exerting yourself could make your symptoms worse.”

Hades looked slightly lost as he sat there in bed. “What do you think it is?”

“I am not certain yet,” the goddess replied. “But I would hope it goes away on its own. If not…” Demeter trailed off, looking worried as well. She quickly left the room, Hades sitting by himself and looking quite troubled.

*

Zeus paid his brother a visit shortly after he saw Demeter leave, but learning that not even their sister knew what caused Hades’ illness was discouraging news. He pitied the elder god, wishing there was something he could do to take away whatever it was that troubled Hades. However, until the cause of his brother’s frequent nausea manifested itself, there was little Zeus could do except offer his comfort.

“I do not wish to leave you alone,” he said compassionate, stroking the other’s slender, pale hand with a broad, callused thumb. “So I have decided to spend the night here with you.”

Hades’ eyes widened at the offer, which was, in fact, not an offer at all but a statement he would be forced to accept whether he wanted to or not. “B-brother…” he stammered, unsure of what to say. “I fear I might not be very desirable company tonight… My stomach might rebel on me at any moment, and—”

Zeus held up a hand to silence his brother. “I only wish to remain here to watch over you, not to bed you. I am well aware of how you must feel, and making love could be awkward for someone in your state of health.”

Hades failed to contain his surprise at the younger god’s words. Zeus had never before invited his brother over with no intentions of coupling with him, and he had most certainly never offered to remain with Hades in his quarters simply to keep him company. Moved almost to the point of tears, Hades sat up and wound both arms around his brother’s neck, as actions rather than words were currently a better way to show his appreciation.

Zeus savored the sensation of his brother’s embrace. This was pure devotion, the closeness between them and the willingness to be so vulnerable and humble. He wrapped his arms around Hades’ waist, eyes closed as he easily held him. Leading Hades down to the bed once more, he pulled the covers closer, though Hades had said in the past that another’s body heat was much more effective than any amount of blankets. The elder god had a good point. A blanket did not have a soothing heartbeat, nor arms to embrace with. Nuzzling the back of the other’s head, Zeus held Hades from behind in the bed.

“I confess I am fearful for your state of health,” the youngest Olympian said. His oldest brother sighed.

“So am I.”

“Still… I would hope there is an answer for whatever has been ailing you. If so, then there may also be a solution.”

Lips pursed, Hades cuddled closer to Zeus and said nothing, taking comfort in their close proximity. If he focused on that, he could easily fall asleep, rather than lie there for hours, fully awake and thinking of nothing but his illness.

Demeter returned as promised less than an hour later with the concoction she had designed herself, and Hades took it without question. He felt a numbness in his gut where there had been the unbearable spirit of nausea before, and he was effortlessly able to ignore his sickness and fall asleep in no time in his brother’s arms.


TBC...