[ all at once the sweetness of the moment dissolves, and hythlodaeus can feel the hairline fracture cracking down the center of his heart. have they not already felt their fair share of pain? can they not have one single morning together where they abandon it, and allow themselves the sweet embrace of uncomplicated love and pleasure?

worst of all, is that hythlodaeus understands.

hades has changed. the millennia of weight he has carried has forever warped him. they never can have what they once possessed - a love so pure and easy and simple.. and hythlodaeus' heart breaks for it.

but he, too, is changed, for what he has endured. for his sacrifice, for his twelve-thousand years on the moon, for the loss of their world, their home, the loss of azem, and everyone else they once held dear. together, the two of them, are all that remain of an ancient legacy, a lovely, thriving time of beauty and unblemished happiness. yet venat had been right, and he can see it so easily now, in hermes' despair, in meteion's desperate song of oblivion, in hydaelyn's unflagging strength to do what must be done. ]

It is not for you to decide whether or not you deserve me.

[ he whispers, his voice so tender, so gentle, while his hands lift to cup hades' face, to keep him near, nuzzling his nose delicately along his lover's, sweet and intimate and affectionate. ]

It is for me to decide. You cannot look to the past any longer, my love, it is what drove you down your path to begin with. We are both of us changed, and you shall always carry with you the things you have done, but it is time to look forward.

[ his fingertips slip gently into hades' damp hair, thumbs coasting over his cheekbones. ]

Venat believed in you. As do I. Use what you have to do better. And I shall be here by your side every step of the way.