*Two weeks later*
Thanatos sat in his office, reading over his file. His face scrunched, he looked up to the vampire standing in front of him. “Give me a minute please.” He pulled out his phone. “Romulus…yeah he's here…listen I think we should discuss the fact that your vampire guards keep eating babies…NO I’M NOT BLAMING YOU!... Don’t you DARE carry that tone with me!...No-No I accept your apology, I understand wedding planning is stressful. I’M NOT PATRONIZING YOU!” Pulling the phone from his ear, he roared into it.
“THAT LANGUAGE IS VERY UNBECOMING FOR SOMEONE IN YOUR ROLE!”
Hanging up the phone he glared at the vampire. “Do you have siblings?” He shook his head feverishly. “Lucky you. People that think I'm a brute haven't seen Romulus stressed…. now on to more pressing issues. Why the FUCK would you eat a baby? I truly wish to hear your reasoning.” The vampire shrugged his shoulder and Thanatos grinned. “Come on now, use your words.”
Dropping to his knees, he pleaded, “Please Thanatos! Please don’t kill me! I know what I did was wrong, but I promise I’ll never do it again!” Standing,
Thanatos stepped over the man. “See the problem is, I can LITERALLY smell the evil on you. So, perhaps instead of lying to my face…. maybe you just answer my question.”
“There’s this myth…that this vampire ate a baby and he got all this additional power.”
Thanatos groaned. Fishing through his files, he pulled out one and removed a photo. He shoved it in his face. “Him?”
“Yeah…”
Thanatos laughed wildly, “Well, those *powers* didn’t help him none as I ripped him apart.” He smirked, “Neither did the pussy he did it for.” He sat back in his chair. “Let’s work on paying homage to the things that we're grateful to have. I’ve picked it back up since my return from-well killing.” He huffed, “It’s so hard to find things outside of murder that truly calm the souls.” Thanatos smirked again, “Well except pus-never mind you get where I’m going with this. Let me hear it. What are you grateful for?”
“I-I’m grateful for my job.”
Thanatos sneered. “Oh try again!” He tapped his chest, “They don’t like that one. Here let me show you. I’m grateful for-”
“THANATOS I WISH FOR YOUR BLESSING TO MARRY KORE!” Hades shouted appearing in Thanatos office. Looking from the vampire to Thanatos, his face turned red. “I should have used the door.” Thanatos remained quiet. “DON’T GIVE ME THAT LOOK! I apologize! It takes a lot to ask a man for his blessing to wed his daughter.” Hades paced the floor. “This is preposterous! Why should I fear you?! …. I’M WAYYY OLDER THAN YOU! I gave you a fraction of my powers…one would reason I should be something like a father to you!” His eyes shot to Thanatos, “And upon reflection, I realize that is a HORRIBLY INCESTUAL thing to deduce as I am asking to marry your daughter.” He heard the door open.
“What’s going on here?” Evie asked.
Hades glared at Thanatos who still remained silent. “OH CALL THE WIFE ON ME?! Do you know how stressful this ordeal is already?! I can hardly face Evie since she life savingly swallowed-NO! NO! NO! I HEARD IT THAT TIME! IT WAS ABOUT TO BE SO BAD!”
Evie tried her best to stifle her laugh. “What are you doing to this poor man Reaper?”
“I HAVE DONE NOTHING! I haven’t even been able to get a word out!”
“You have a judgmental face…it makes me nervous.” Hades grumbled.
The vampire nodded in agreement, “I-I’m grateful I’m not in his shoes…”
Mouth dropped Thanatos looked to his wife. “Do you see this?” He stood. “This one EATS A BABY and this one DISRUPTS A SENTENCING and yet SOMEHOW I am to blame for their level of discomfort.”
Hades inhaled deeply, “I’m sorry. I just-I just really want to ask Kore to marry me, and I know how much your opinion means to her, how much it means to me.” His eyes blackened and he looked at the vampire. “Oh…you stink. He’s coming to me, isn’t he?” Thanatos handed him the file. Hades chuckled, “Oh yeah, you're definitely coming to me.”
The Grim Reaper snarled at the vampire. His body towering over him. “You know what I’m grateful for the most? The fact that even a dead thing as I can still find happiness in hobbies.” He walked over to Evie and yanked her to him. “Recently, Evie has been helping me get into a new hobby…and while I am not as good as she is, I do think I’m getting better. I’m grateful to have such a beautiful and gifted teacher.”
Her face flushed as Thanatos pulled one of her daggers from her belt. Whipping around, he hurled it, landing it square in the vampire's neck. The force of the blade caused blood to pool from his mouth. It gurgled from the sides and Thanatos doubled over in laughter before dusting his hands off. He turned to Hades. “I had planned on paying a game of darts, but you interrupted me for a chat.”
Hades looked at the impaled vampire. “I-It can wait. You’re obviously busy- “
“NONSENSE! Evie can take over.” He placed his hand on his shoulder. Escorting Hades out of the office, Thanatos shook his head proudly as he heard Evie say.
“So, you like to eat babies?”
------------------------------------------
Walking through the courtyard, Thanatos placed his hand to his chin. “You want to marry Kore.”
Hades sighed, “Yes. And I know what you’re going to say.”
“Oh?”
“I know. I have a lot working against me, but I really will try my hardest to make her happy.”
Thanatos stopped, “Why do you care so much about what I think?”
“Honestly?” He rubbed the back of his neck, “Seeing how you all took Aphrodite in with welcoming arms, one can’t help but secretly hope for that same type of acceptance. You’re Kore’s hero and you saved my life, all the while managing your own demons. I’ve seen plenty of men with their families, but never one love them the way you do yours without a heart.”
Thanatos smirked, “I thought it was idiotic to think that an organ produces emotions.”
“You know what I mean.”
Thanatos nodded and started to walk again. “I actually was beginning to wonder when you would ask.”
Hades stopped, “Really?”
“Of course. I just hoped you would approach me beforehand so I could give you this.” Reaching into his pocket, Thanatos pulled out a small ring with a black stone and handed it to Hades. “It belonged to Evie’s mother. She gave it to me to propose to Evie. And after Evie saw you with Kore for the first time, she made me promise to give it to you the day you came for my blessing. It's not much, but it wrapped in a lot of love.”
“What about-” Thanatos put up his hand showing the tattooed band on his finger.
“Also, her idea. She was REALLY sure you two would end up together.”
Hades rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m a little less terrified of her...though I think that vampire would disagree."
Thanatos laughed, “The thing is, what you think works against you, is exactly why I know I can give you my blessing. For as similar as you and I are, we are different in so many ways. When Evie came to me, I was dead before my actual death. I knew nothing about what it meant to be in love. It took me SO long to figure out what she’d already known, and my uncertainty almost cost me her and Kore. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to her all the pain I put her through. You on the other hand, you’ve had love. You’ve given it, you had it given to you. You have also experienced a type of loss that not many can understand.” Hades inhaled sharply processing his words. “You risked your life for Kore, and she for you, just off the chance of you two being together for a while longer. And you did so not in the hopes of holding onto Persephone, but because you love Kore for who she is. I truly believe you will do anything to make her happy and as such you have my blessing though Hades, you’ve never needed it. You’re as much apart of this family as Aphrodite.”
Hades beamed, “Thanks, dad.”
Thanatos glared at him and huffed loudly before responding, “Don't thank me yet. You still have to figure out how to tell Romulus he needs to plan two weddings."
"He's that stressed out huh?"
Thanatos smirked, "Who do you think was the one who requested I play the game of darts?"