Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I knew it would be a fucking mistake to hire you!” A shove and a yelp were released by the shorter man he pushed toward the door. “Fucking foreigners,” he muttered.

Another job lost, another paycheck haphazardly thrown at him as he’s shoved out of the door. Hermes cringes as the door to the bakery is slammed shut as his angry boss- ex-boss- curses at him. That was his third job this month, he just couldn’t keep on task. He couldn’t focus on the things he was paid to do. Always all over the place stopping to do one thing in the middle of doing another. He’d get caught up in conversation with customers forgetting he was supposed to be giving them their orders.

He scrambled to grab his paycheck before someone else did. Opening it up with little hope. When he saw it was only a quarter of what he was promised his heart sank. He wouldn’t be able to pay his electricity bill again and he had already been without power for two weeks. 

The dread that lingered in the back of his mind was quickly hidden by his go-lucky mask when he heard the people on the streets passing him, he picked himself up and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was early and he no longer had anything to do but he figured getting home and looking for new jobs would be the best option. So he made his way home carefully weaving through the crowds of people on the sidewalk. No one stopped him to talk. He used to always get stopped by people on the streets back home. He wasn’t in Greece anymore though, no one knew him here. To them, he was nothing but another passerby, a background character to their lives. 

Luckily the uneventful walk home allowed him to think about what his next act would be. He needed to pay rent in 2 weeks so he had to get his shit together before then. He could gather a few odd jobs if he needed just to get enough money for food and rent. He could look for a job he would actually enjoy but honestly, he wasn’t sure what kind of things he would like doing. If he did know, he would already have a stable job.

Hermes has only lived here for about a month and a half. Running away from his family was the goal and he’d achieved it so far. Although he kind of regrets leaving one of his brothers in Green with their father but, that was a problem for future Hermes to deal with when the time came.

As he approached his apartment a pit formed in his stomach, but his ever-present smile never left his lips as he passed by people. He lived on the second floor. The place wasn’t anything fancy but he didn’t need fancy, it just needed to be liveable. It was enough for him and everything he felt important enough to take with him. Hermes always made note of how much nicer the apartment building looked on the outside compared to how it looked inside the apartments.

The pit grew as he realized how little he had in his bank account. He really wasn’t doing the best.

His mask slipped away as soon as he closed the front door behind him, with his back pressed against the door he slid down till he was seated, against the barrier between him and the outside world that seemed to be against him. Hermes pulled his knees to his chest hiding his face. What was he to do?

He was just fired for the third time this month. He was running out of savings, so badly that he had to choose not to pay the electricity bill so that he would have enough money for food for himself and Chelly and now he barely had enough for that much. Sure he could go crying to Zeus for money, and he would give it to him no questions asked but the money that came from him always had strings. Hermes just wanted to be able to be his own person. That’s why he moved so far away. To get away from his father and his father's influence. However, being so far away meant Hermes left all his friends behind, they weren't good friends but they were friends. He was alone here. City people in America were so much less friendly than City people in Greece. 

He flinched when he felt a little nudge on his foot but smiled when he saw Chelly. His small tortoise was always there for him no matter what he was going through. He carefully picked her up and put her on his lap as he straightened his legs. She settled, rather content. Hermes petted her and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. They both sat on the floor like that. It was a frequent thing now. The two fo them, in the dark of the apartment sitting.

It was going to be fine, he just needed to find another job, one he knew he could keep. He really needed money. Sure that was turning out to be harder than he had ever expected. Living with Zeus as a father meant that no one would tell him ‘no’, but he wasn't living anywhere near the Olympus household anymore -thank gods- so no one was going to baby him here. It was different, sure but he was glad he was being treated how normal people were treated. He kept telling himself he wasn’t used to this kind of living and that was why it was so hard. Plus he was in a whole different country. He grew up having everything handed to him, yet with a father who didn’t give a crap about his kids. Greece was his home but not one he wanted to go back to. 

He didn’t bother moving to the sad excuse for a couch he got for dirt cheap from a thrift store, Hermes stayed on the floor in front of the door. Scrolled through his phone for job listings. He was grateful most places had outlets so he could charge his phone when he was out and about. This time he was determined to find a job he would be good at, a place that wouldn’t mind his non-stop talking and tendency to get off topic quickly. 

He scrolled and scrolled and scrolled.

Grocery store. Nope

Gas station. Nope

Another grocery store. Nope

Two- no three more gas stations. Hard pass

Mailman. Definitely not, that's what Zeus had him doing.

Janitor. Nope

Bus driver? Hah no.

The list goes on and on. Hermes scrolls for about 3 hours only finding 1 maybe job -if he was that desperate- before he finally finds something of interest. 

‘Translator and helping hand needed’. The ad read. 

He raised an eyebrow and clicked on it. The owner of a small shop called Styx, about a 20-minute walk from Hermes apartment, was looking for someone who knew ASL. Hermes beamed, he knew Sign Language! BSL and ASL, this was something he could do!

He read further. The ad said ‘You would act as a translator along with doing small tasks around the shop, simple things like sweeping, dusting, and stocking shelves.’ It didn’t seem that hard. Without thinking too much about it or reading further Hermes sent in his resume and began filling out the online application.

This was his chance to get a job he could keep. He was a language major in college, and that kind of stuff had trouble finding jobs for, looked good on a resume but he hardly ever had to put his knowledge to good use since he graduated. He was a bit sad about it but not many jobs needed someone who could memorize just about any language. Hermes could remember just about anything he was told. He was just like that, he used to always have the best drama in college, because he was so easy to talk to and because of his excellent memory.

Once he had submitted his resume and finished the online application, Hermes picked Chelly up and ran to his room where he tore his shoes off and plopped on his bed. He would need a quick refresher on ASL, even if he doesn’t get the job it doesn’t hurt to go over it again. 

Hermes set Chelly carefully on his bed and reached for the books piled sloppily on his bedside table. Once he found the one he was looking for he immediately got to work with practicing the simple things. 

He was quick to realize the job and didn't specify if his possibly-maybe-new boss was mute or deaf. So Hermes flipped through the pages of the book till he found the page with the signs for, deaf, mute, hard of hearing, and selective-mute. He practiced all of them to himself for a moment. Sitting on his bed signing to himself on the camera of his phone.

— — — — — —

Hermes hummed to himself as he cut up an apple for Chelly who was currently waiting patiently by her bowl of water and empty food bowl. She had free range of the apartment although she didn’t move much, normally sitting on the custom-made balcony by the window in the living room. Hermes had made a ramp and set up a small cat tree with a railing so Chelly wouldn’t fall off and could bask in the sun safely. It wasn’t the prettiest setup but it worked.

Hermes cut the apple into small cubes and then put those cubes in Chelly's bowl before grabbing an apple for himself and sitting on the sad excuse for a couch. He couldn’t watch TV to pass the time -mostly because he didn’t have one- since the power was out anyway. So he pulled his phone out of the pocket of his sweatpants and began scrolling. He was leeching off of the neighbor's wifi and had been since he moved in. Not his fault they made their password 123456.

It had only been about a day since he submitted his application and he knew that it takes longer than that for anyone to bother looking at who applied. But he couldn’t stop refreshing his inbox. Just in case he had also applied to a few odd jobs like dog walking, and a few door dash things. He knew he’d get an email or a call -wait no not a call, the likelihood of his maybe new boss being able to speak was next to nothing considering they needed a translator- So yeah he knew he’d be getting an email. 

With a grown he scrolled to the top of his inbox again and saw nothing, so he tossed his phone to the floor and laid on the couch with a sigh. He opted to admire the ceiling carefully. His mind was allowed to wander and he grew a bit sad. How many friends had he left in Greece? How many of them told him they would keep in touch only to never reply to any of his texts? All of them, it turns out.

Everyone he had known seemed to be ghosting him now, he was lucky to get a response 2 days after texting his siblings. He was close to Dionysus, who was trying to follow Hermes to America but the problem with that was their father. Dionysus was still a minor, only for a couple more months but Zeus was being extremely hard on him. Taking the teen's phone away for a week only giving it back for a few hours on the weekend simply because Dio had the balls to talk back. Hermes was impressed by anyone with the gull to talk back to Zeus.

Honestly, Hermes was growing a bit worried about his baby brother, and the longer he went without a reply from him, the more he second-guessed his decision to move away. He couldn’t keep thinking about that though. Dio was working his ass off, and the plan was for Hermes to do the same here, so when Dionysus could move out the brothers could live together it’d be cheaper and they wouldn’t have to worry about their overbearing father. However hermes wasn’t home to protect Dionysus from their father anymore, that thought alone always sent Hermes spiraling.

But it was going to be fine, Dionysus had a job and school so he was barely at the house much anyway. Dio was strong too, Hermes knew how feisty the boy could be so he had faith his little brother was going to be fine with their father for a few more months. Dio would turn 18 but half the plane ticket to America, Hermes would buy the other half and Dionysus would move in with him. They would half every bill and both work as hard as possible so they could live comfortably. Their new life was going to be so much better than any time they spent living with their father. 

Sure Hermes had turned 21 before he realized how badly he needed to move out, to move away. In the end, he did it and frankly, he wasn’t doing nearly as bad as Zeus had told him he would.

How long did he lay there staring at the ceiling, going over the plans he had with his favorite brother? He couldn’t tell you. It couldn’t have been very long, but at some point, he heard the unforgettable sound of an email notification. It was what he was hoping for and so when he heard it everything else on his mind slipped away rather fast. He was reaching for his phone faster than he could blink and he had the email open.

It read.

Dear Hermes,

Good afternoon. Are you available tomorrow for an interview? 

If so please meet at my location at noon.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Charon

It was a simple email, not much thought was put into it but it seemed like Charon was interested. He read it once, twice, three times, six! He couldn’t believe it but “OH MY GOD I HAVE AN INTERVIEW!” He beamed with such excitement it radiated off of him as he jumped off the couch tripping over himself and falling with a smile plastered on his face. This was the first time he was excited for an interview. Probably because it was a job that would allow him to do the things he liked doing -well he didn’t like random tasks but he LOVED talking-. He was so excited to be able to put the years of college to work. 

Hermes loves learning new languages. He just really likes talking, so the thought of being able to help someone else speak just brought him so much joy. 

Tomorrow at noon! Perfect he didn’t have anywhere he needed to be anyway, him having just lost yet another job and all. He quickly sent the good news to Dionysus despite knowing he probably wouldn’t get a response. 

Tomorrow couldn’t come any sooner. He was so gitty, ecstatic, and relieved.

Chapter Text

Waking up at 4 in the morning was not how Hermes had planned for his day to start. However, once he was awake there was just no way to get back to bed. He was too anxious for his interview and excited about it as well. The anticipation made it hard for him to even get to bed let alone stay asleep. So once he was awake he didn’t bother trying to go back to bed. He set some food out for Chelly after getting ready for the day. The sun still wasn’t up so Hermes had to navigate his apartment with the flashlight of his phone and muscle memory.

He wore his running shorts and a light orange tank top, his hair still a bit messy but he planned to fix it later before his interview. He was going to go for a run to the coffee shop, and pet store, and then home to change before noon.

Hermes tied his running shoes by the front door. He tried his best to ignore how his favorite shoes now looked more like something you’d pull out of the trash, they had seen better days. He didn’t have the money to buy new ones, Hermes was a runner and a good pair of running shoes cost more money than Hermes would like to think about. 

“By Chelly! I’ll be home in a few hours darling.” He called out as he closed the door behind him and stepped out into the chill of the early morning fall breeze. He loves the way his skin stings from the breeze as he hurries his way down the stairs and onto the street. 

The quiet of the city in the early morning was something Hermes missed about Greece, he was glad early morning runs continued to give him the same amount of peace as they did when he was back at home. Even if he no longer went on runs every morning. Maybe if he got this job he would have the willpower to do morning runs again. 

Hermes settled quickly into an even pace, as he followed the sidewalk. His mind slowly cleared of any anxiety and dread he had building up, his body and mind focusing solely on the task at hand. Before he knew it the sun had already risen and people began filling the streets. There were a small bit of memories missing from the time he got running to now.

Hermes paused, plopping himself onto a bench. His chest pounding, lungs stung from the rapid intake of chill air. His body shivered from the fall breeze making contact with sweat.  A smile was plastered on his face, for once he ignored the people around him and how they looked at him. He felt free, he felt alive. 

Pulling his phone from his pocket. It was about 9:37 a.m., time for coffee.

Hermes stood back up still trying to catch his breath. He then made his way to the nearest coffee place. The closest one happened to be 5 min from his current location. He figured walking there would be better on his body than running. Considering he just ran for about 4ish hours. So he made his way to the coffee place.

Even though it was still rather early the city streets were already rather full of people. A lot less busy than it was later in the day but still busy. Everyone was on their way to work or school or on their way to get breakfast. Hermes followed the directions displayed on his phone screen only half paying attention to his surroundings. 

He turned a corner and ran smack dab into something that felt like a brick wall before he had time to process. He even ran into something he was on the ground, his ass stinging from the impact of the sidewalk. “ACK- Fuck…” Hermes put his hand on his head as whatever it was that knocked him down he had hit with his face first. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see a tall man. A very tall man, standing in front of him. “Oh shit! I am so sorry!” quickly Hermes was standing up and it was only then it sunk in just how tall this man was. 

He was tall. Like really tall, like Hermes was sure this man could easily be double his height. He was big too! Hermes was positive the man could snap him in half without much effort.  What's bad though...is that Hermes would let him. He found himself gazing up at the man in awe. The way the man's long silver hair framed his face, the way his piercing eyes stared at him through those purple-tinted sunglasses. The way you could see his muscles flex through his turtle neck as he adjusted the hat on his head. The man was a tree, a sexy tree, and Hermes desperately wanted to climb him. 

Hermes was so mesmerized by the man that he barely noticed that the man in question was waving a hand in front of his face. “Oh shit sorry! I was mad for a second but…you are gorgeous and there’s no way I could stay upset. Fuck wait, are you ok? I didn’t hurt you, did I? My head is pretty hard.” Hermes spoke as if he wasn’t the one who fell flat on his ass. 

The man shook his head, a small smile gracing his lips. Fuck his lips. Thin and scared, Hermes couldn’t help but wonder what they felt like. FUCK HE WAS DOWN BAD ALREADY AND ALL HE DID WAS BUMP INTO THE MAN.  

“Oh thank god I was worried.” Hermes rubbed the back of his head.

The man pulled out a small notepad from his pocket and wrote something down before showing it to Hermes. It read “Are you ok?”

Hermes for a moment pulled a blank on how to respond. The man wrote on a notepad, so he probably couldn’t talk. Either he was sick, deaf, or mute. Hermes' brain seemed to pause but then it kicked into gear and he was signing as he spoke in case the guy didn’t know ASL and wasn’t deaf. “Sorry again! Yes, I am fine, I have been through worse.” He laughed a bit.

The man looked dumbfounded and for a while there Hermes was worried he had messed up somehow before the man signed back. “Happy you ok.”

Score! “So you do know ASL! Are you mute or deaf?” Hermes smiled a genuine smile. The first one he’s made towards a person since he moved here. 

The man's reply was quick and easy. “Mute.” He stopped his hands in a way that he wanted to sign but wasn’t sure what to say. “You?” Was what he signed in the end.

Hermes stopped signing since he knew the man could hear him. “Neither, I just studied language in college, which honestly was probably the smartest thing I could have studied considering how much I like to talk.” Hermes had been about to continue rambling but the alarm he set yesterday to remind him not to be late for his interview went off. “Skatá! I gotta go, or I'll be late.” He turned back in the direction his apartment was in and waved at the man before running off. “See you around!” 

He wasn’t sure if he got a reply since he was gone as quickly as he had come. Hermes did his best to ignore the ache of his feet, the poor condition of his shoes was finally having an effect on him. That wasn’t important now though, what was important was getting home and showering and changing out of his sweaty clothes.

He was familiar enough with the city that he didn’t need to pull up a map to get home, he memorized the streets, not what lay on them. He could tell you how to get to the streets but if you asked for directions to a specific place he wouldn’t be able to tell you where it was. At least not yet, give him a few more weeks and he could have half the city mapped out in his head. Hermes is a scatterbrain and airhead but he prides himself in not getting lost.

Even though he was a bit embarrassed, he couldn’t get the man's piercing stare out of his head as he made his way home. Normally Hermes would have asked for a guy that good-looking’s number but he had been in such a time crunch he didn’t even think to ask. So now he was jogging home, disappointed in himself for not even asking for the man's name. Now the likelihood of coming across him again was slim.

He was home within an hour. He was quick to make his way through the apartment to the shower. No longer than 10 minutes later he was out and getting dressed in the nicest clothes he owned. 5 minutes later he was at the front door tying his dress shoes. His least favorite shoes. 

“OK, if I leave now I can still make it to the interview on time. Bye again Chelly!!!! Hopefully, I’ll be coming home with a new job!” He said before leaving again. 

He memorized the address to the shop already, considering this interview had been on his mind since the moment he applied he couldn’t help but memorize the location of Styx.  So Hermes had no problems getting there, he was so excited about it that the jog there seemed like a blur. He stopped across the street from the shop and stared at it for a while taking in everything. 

The shop stood out like a sore thumb, the building itself was built to look old, and its dark color scheme gave somewhat of a goth vibe to it. From the looks of it, Styx sold antiques and liquor which honestly matched the vibe the whole store gave off. Hermes was a bit taken aback when he read the signs in the window of the store. The signs were in English, Spanish, and Greek. One of the signs read ‘Family owned since 1936’. So the shop was 87 years old? Was his boss 87, or was his boss the child of the first owner? He shrugged that off he'd find out if he got the job. 

Hermes quickly crossed the street careful to stay on the crosswalk; he didn't need another warning from an uptight officer about J-walking. The anxiety hit him all at once when he was a foot away from the door. What if he didn’t get the job? What if he was too talkative? What if his airheadedness causes problems? What if his bright vibe and personality didn’t fit the aesthetic of the shop?

No no no! He can’t think like that, not when there are bills to be paid, not when his life isn’t the only one relying on him getting paid. 

With a deep breath, he forced himself to move to the door. The amount of willpower it took to open it was more than Hermes thought he had in him, but he did it. He opened the door and stepped inside. 

Once in the strong smell of vintage wine hit him like a truck, it wasn’t overpowering or anything but the force of the suddenness of it was what caught him off guard. The store was definitely for people who had an older taste in furniture and decor. Not Hermes’ vibe but he did find everything rather beautiful. 

He walked deeper into the store and found the checkout, he smiled when he saw that the checkout sign above the counter read ‘Cash Regester, Caja Registradora, ταμειακή μηχανή.’ Hermes wasn’t sure why Spanish and Greek were the languages the store catered to but he found it welcoming somehow. 

He walked up to the counter and the gothic-looking teen gave him a confused look, Hermes didn’t think much of it but the look was probably to the bright clothes Hermes was wearing. “Afternoon, I’m here for an interview at noon.” Hermes smiled despite the anxiety churning in his stomach. 

The teen raised an eyebrow and looked Hermes up and down. “Wait here I’ll go get Charon.” The teen moved a strand of pale hair behind his ear before standing up. Hermes was a bit surprised that the kid was a head taller than him when he stood up. The teen gave him one more look over before walking through a door behind him that read ‘Staff Only, Sólo Personal, Μόνο το προσωπικό’.

Hermes didn’t have to wait very long before a tower of a man ducked out of the staff-only door. His heart sank when the man stood upright. It was the same guy he had run into earlier. The only difference was he wasn’t wearing a large hat and his turtle neck was now accompanied by a black trench coat and gold necklaces. 

Hermes couldn’t help the mutter “Loipón skatá...” That came out of his mouth in surprise. 

The man -Charon, smirked a bit before he signed “Good seeing you again.” 

Hermes laughed nervously, great he literally ran into his possible new boss. “Heh, yeah! Small world, this was the last place I was expecting to see you.”

Charn nodded, “Hermes’ your name right?” Hermes nodded happily. “Only one to apply for the job. Been hiring for almost year.” Charon signed slowly as if he was worried Hermes wasn’t fluent. 

The slowness of the signing kind of ticked Hermes off. So in an attempt to prove to his possible new boss he was worth the interview Hermes began to sign as he spoke. “Honestly in a city this big I didn’t expect to be the only person to apply for the job. Does that mean I get the job automatically?” Hermes had a sly shit-eating grin on his face, that gave away what he was doing. Trying to prove himself. 

Charon seemed amused but nodded. “We do training today. See how you do, will let you know if you are a fit when we close.” Hermes beamed and paid extra close attention as Charon kept signing. He finger-spelled the name Thanatos while pointing at the goth teen who was sitting right where he was when Hermes walked in, then did the sign for butterfly indicating Thanatos’ sign name was butterfly. “Thanatos, my little brother, leaving for college next week. So he can’t help me talk to customers.” Charon paused and then finger-spelled Hypnos before doing the sign for sheep. “Hypnos and Thanatos twins but Hypnos doesn’t work enough to take Thanatos’ place when he leaves.”

“Ah, so you’re in kind of a pinch huh?” Hermes asked with a tilt of his head. Charon nodded. “Let me guess you have been hiring since you found out Thanatos was leaving for college?” Again Charon nodded. “I got you, boss, I won’t let you down today.” Hermes put a hand on his hip.

Charon sent Thanatos into the room for staff-only and told the teen he had the rest of the day off, and just like that Hermes was being trained for the job. He really hoped he didn’t fuck up and that he would have the job secured by the end of the day so that tomorrow he could officially start. 

And boy, tomorrow couldn’t come sooner.

Chapter Text

Hermes worked hard, harder than he had ever worked before. Yet he still managed to get distracted. He had been sweeping, an easy task one he had done many times before, as soon as someone walked into the store though he set the broom aside and was next to Charon in a flash. Now that was perfect, no big deal he was doing it right. Letting the customer know what Charon had said and then he quickly took over helping the customer find what they were looking for.

After the customer left, however, instead of going back to sweeping, Hermes started a new task. 

He did that every time a new person walked into the shop. He would stop his task, help the customer, and then start a new one or pick up on one he abandoned before. Hermes had done that all the time, it was the main reason he would get fired. 

When Charon flipped the sign in the window of the store's door to ‘closed’, Hermes had been expecting to be screamed at, or well the equivalent of being screamed at in ASL. However, that didn’t happen. Instead, Charon smiled, his thin, scarred lips turning upwards in an approving smile. Hermes was taken aback by this; he truthfully hadn’t expected a smile of all things. He had convinced himself throughout the day that he was messing it up, that he was continuing to be a fuck up. 

“Store opens at 10. Be here then tomorrow. You have the job.” That was what Charon signed. Hermes stood for a moment, eyes wide mouth agape. Words stuck in his throat. Charon didn’t rush him, he didn’t demand an immediate reaction, he stood there patiently as Hermes' brain processed the information. 

Hermes let out a relieved sigh as all the stress and anxiety leaked out of his body. His brain was going over all of the things he could plan to start paying for again. “Wow, I…Really?”

Hermes had never been one to be at a loss for words, even when in a new work environment he hadn’t really allowed the shop to be silent. This though, was enough of a shock to shut him up. He seemed to really have no faith in himself, no sense that he was good enough for this kind of work. 

Charon nodded and signed again “You got the job.”

Hermes laughed, relief washing over him in waves. The things he’d be able to pay for with this job! The things he could buy for Chelly! He wasn’t sure how much he’d be getting paid but did it really matter? He got the job! He was going to be making money again!

“Thank you for the opportunity! Thank you.” Hermes grinned ear to ear. He wanted so badly to hug his new boss but that would be unprofessional. He did however take Charon’s hand and shake it aggressively, it was the only appropriate way to express his gratitude and excitement. “Tomorrow at 10.” He repeated back to his new boss before he was out the door in a flash. 

Hermes doesn’t remember much of what happened when he got home, he just knows it went by in a blur and that he slept better than he had in days. The next morning he again, was up again and ready to go at 6:30 which gave him plenty of time for a few-hour run and a coffee break. Given he didn’t again run into Charon like he did yesterday. 

He still can’t get over the things he thought about his boss when he first encountered the man. The instant wants to allow the man to well… manhandle him in the best of ways. Charon was his boss now so Hermes was quick to lock all those thoughts in his vault never to be acted upon and never to be known by anyone. Maybe the fact he thought them at all was hinting at how he probably needed to get himself out there romantically, the Gods only know how pent up he is after everything he had been through recently.

He skipped breakfast but made sure food was out for his beloved tortoise, and then he was out on the streets for his much-needed run. Running for Hermes was the closest thing to medicine for his anxieties he could get, it started out as a hobby he adored and quickly turned into a coping mechanism. He still loves running, he will probably be a runner till his legs can no longer take him places. 

This morning his run was slow, it felt drawn out, he had a worry burning in the back of his brain that he just kept pushing away. No matter how hard he tried to ignore the thoughts always found themselves at the front of his mind. Dionysus would be fine, right? It’s been a while since he got a call or text back from him but surely he was ok. If something was wrong Dio would have definitely found another way to contact Hermes, before he left Greece Hermes made sure all his siblings had both his emails, his phone number, and all his social media accounts. That way if something did happen and they couldn’t reach him via phone they would still have alternative ways of communicating with him. 

Although as of right now if Dionysus needed out of their father's home ASAP Hermes didn’t have the money to fight for custody of the teen, he barely had enough money to keep himself living. A big issue was the fact that Dionysus wasn’t yet 18 he couldn’t open up a bank account their father couldn’t access. Luckily Athena was nice enough to help him do so. 

Hermes took a deep breath as he approached a crosswalk, Dionysus would be fine, he’s a strong kid.

— — — — — —

It wasn’t long till Hermes found himself back in front of the shop he now worked at. He was early but who wasn’t on their first proper day of a job they were ecstatic for? 

Hermes rocked on the balls of his feet staring at the time on his phone, he wanted to walk in right on time. He was so distracted by the seconds ticking in front of him, that he ignored the groans of people passing by him and the sounds of the heavy traffic in the city. The only thing he was aware of was his own thoughts. His worries and insecurities bubble up, pouring through the vault he hides them in. The phone said.

9:50

He was wondering if he would be able to keep the job. What if he messed up somehow? Or he breaks something? Or he says something that offends his new boss? What would he do if he gets fired again? What other options did he have?

9:53

What would he do if Dionysus needed to move early? How would Hermes be able to pay for both of them to live? Where would he send Chelly if he had to give her away because he couldn’t afford to feed her?

9:55

Hermes' brain ran through everything he could possibly do wrong. Maybe he shouldn’t think like that before his first day of work. Maybe he should try and shift his thoughts to all the positives of having a job again…

9:57

He would be able to finally decorate his apartment. Hermes would be able to buy new running shoes. Gods knew how much he needed a new pair, and his feet would definitely thank him. He could probably buy some nicer clothes, clothes more fit for him so he could wear outfits he liked. 

9:59

Hermes' head shot up as soon as the time changed and he made his way across the street swiftly to avoid the aggressive traffic. He slipped a smile on his face and approached the door and as soon as his hand met the handle he was greeted by the looming figure of his new boss. “Morning boss!” Hermes called as he opened the freshly unlocked door.

Charon seemed pleased, as he signed a quick ‘good morning’ before motioning for Hermes to follow him. 

The smaller man did so without hesitation, he was led to where Thanatos was seated at the register. Charon knocked on the desk to get the teen's attention, he looked up from his phone. Charon then turned to Hermes to make sure he had both their attention. “I have a meeting. Thanatos will be training you.” Charon pointed at Hermes.

“Huh, if you had a meeting, why did he start today?” Thanatos’ eyebrows knitted together in confusion. 

Charon turned to Thanatos and began to sign to him. Hermes couldn’t see though as Charon had turned his back to Hermes. Hermes didn’t complain, he simply stood there. The more he stared at the back of Charon the more he felt small. The man was tall, much taller than Zues or any of Hermes’ uncles. Hermes was one of the shortest of his siblings but he’s never met anyone as tall as his new boss. Come to think of it, Thanatos was also pretty tall.

Charon turned back to Hermes who looked up at him with a smile. The man signed a quick ‘sorry’ before he laid out a list of small tasks Hermes was meant to do today. 

“Thanatos will help you. If you have questions, ask him. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Charon waited for Hermes to process the information.

The smaller man nodded another smile gracing his lips, “Sounds easy enough, boss! Have fun at your meeting.” Charon gave a simple yet firm nod in response before he left.

Hermes stood awkwardly for a moment, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. Thanatos’ death stare drilled holes in his back. It may have been a good few minutes before the teen seemed to get over his new responsibility. Thanatos stepped into the staff-only room and then came back out with a box, he set it on the counter and pushed it towards Hermes.

“These need to go in the display window. Switch them out for what’s left on those shelves.” The teen gave Hermes a look, one of distaste and judgment. A look Hermes had grown used to, so he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he took the box and happily went to the front of the store and began his new job. 

This kind of work wasn’t hard, but as he replaced the display of old jewelry with a tacky-looking tea set he wondered if this was really a good job for him or if Thanatos was simply giving Hermes the jobs he was supposed to do.

He didn’t complain though, so he got it done rather quickly and then found his way back to the teen for his next task. 

Thanatos was rather rude throughout the rest of the day. He kept throwing simple quick jobs onto Hermes to do and then would get a bit frustrated at the speed in which Hermes got them done. The young man figured the teen had probably been used to lazy workers. Maybe Hypnos was lazy? Charon did say his other brother didn’t work much. That was a bit weird to Hermes considering Charon and Thanatos seemed to work all day, so why didn’t Hypnos?

Hermes worked, he swept when told to do so, he dusted, he mopped and stocked shelves. Hermes was able to keep better on task when no one was there to interrupt him. Not many customers today to get him sidetracked but when he did manage to get distracted and move on to another task before finishing one. Thanatos was quick to make him aware of the pure stupidity he held in his brain. 

Hermes knew he wasn’t stupid, he was smart, just flighty and a blabbermouth. Thanatos didn’t like hearing Hermes' voice either. Keeping all these thoughts on doing the work and not speaking much kept Hermes pretty occupied but also more stressed than he had been yesterday. He hated silence. However, he was used to being told to shut up. Used to people telling him he talked enough for the whole world.

Maybe it was a problem…maybe he should work on it. He gets told to shut up enough that maybe it would be better if he did…

The sound of the door to the shop opening pulled Hermes out of his thoughts and his head jerked towards the door he watched as a little old lady walked through the aisle clearly on a hunt for something specific. Hermes smiled and got back to polishing the merchandise, something that's been taking him a bit longer than he thought it would. If the old lady needed help she would ask. 

Hermes did notice that there was a clear trend in the kind of people who would shop here. Either rich people who come here for the vintage expensive wine, old people who want things that remind them of their pasts, or young people who simply like the vibe of older furniture. 

Hermes had moved to a different aisle to continue his work and the lady saw him and began to approach. She tapped him on his shoulder. “Excuse me, young man, do you work here?”

Hermes smiled, “Sure do! What can I help you with?”

The lady went on to describe what she was looking for, Hermes did his best to help her and it did take a while but he managed to sell her something, it wasn’t what she was looking for but she left happy nonetheless. Hermes smiled and waved as the old lady left. For some reason, Thanatos seemed to dislike that. 

“You shouldn’t make a relationship with the customers.” He hissed out as he scrolled through his phone. 

Hermes raised an eyebrow at the teen. “What do you mean relationship? I just helped her.”

“You were too friendly with her. All you had to do was direct her towards what she would be looking for. Instead, you followed her around and gave her your two senses on it. That was unnecessary.” Thanatos finally looked up from his phone at the man. 

Hermes stared at him dumbfounded for a second before he simply nodded making a mental note not to make Thanatos angry. The end of the day came quickly after that, Hermes kept busy with literally anything he could find to do. He was walked to the door by Thanatos who closed up the shop as soon as Hermes stepped out. 

“Glad that's over with.” He muttered to himself before jogging back towards his apartment complex. The day was better than his days at previous jobs so that was a win. He was happy he was content with his job. 

The jog back home was peaceful, the city sounds drowned out any negative thoughts. He was walking up the stairs to his apartment with a voice he’d been hoping not to hear from for a while called him. 

“Mr. Olympus! Mr. Olympus, stay right there!” Hermes cringed as his landlord caught him. He simply turned to her a smile on his face as she rushed up the stairs. “I have been trying to catch you for 3 days now! You are 2 weeks past rent young man.” She yells as she finally catches up to him. 

Hermes chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. “2 weeks already? Wow, I guess I lost track of the days.”

“Likely excuse. I am aware of your financial situation however I have been nothing but kind to you since you moved in!” Hermes cursed at her in his head, kind she said…sure she’s been kind to him if the definition of kind is; emotionally manipulative and means to belittle everyone. 

The woman puts her hand on her hip and leans forward into Hermes' personal space. “I allow you to rent the apartment for only half of what I should be expecting from you.” 

Hermes sighs and interjects before she can say anymore. “I am terribly sorry ma’am, I just got a new job you see? I am not expecting a paycheck till next week. Do you think you cou-”

She steps close to him jabbing a pointer finger into his chest as she begins to yell. “Everyone has their own issues! Do you think I have time to wait yet another week for that money!? I’ll give you 4 days. 4 days! That is all the longer you get before I evict you!” She then had the audacity to spit on his shoe before storming off. 

Hermes stood there for a few minutes heart racing, eyes glazed over with tears. Before he let them fall he rushed to his apartment and slipped in quickly closing the door behind him as the floodgates opened. He needed $400 in 4 days…It was already Thursday.

Tomorrow couldn’t come sooner.

Chapter Text

The next morning Hermes was miserable. He forced himself out of bed and to get ready. He winced as he put bandaids on his heels. His terrible running shoes began giving him blisters; he’d really need to buy a new pair at some point. He had to force himself to get him out of the house as he did his best to ignore the pain in his feet caused by his shoes. To his dismay, it was raining. Or at least it had been before and probably would again sometime today, the world overlaid by a dull gray along with a thin layer of water over every surface. 

Hermes sighed deeply, it would be fine. He was running a little later than normal today, so no time for a run but plenty of time for a coffee stop. So carefully he walked down the metal stairs to the street. He frowned as he stepped into a puddle and almost instantly felt the water seep into his shoes. So he needed new work shoes now too.

The closest coffee shop is just a few buildings away. So Hermes made it there quickly when he walked in the pleasant smell of coffee and freshly baked goods hit him like a truck. It brought a smile to his face and he looked around taking in the layout and aesthetic of the place.

As he walked inside the place looked a bit like the four seasons, the shop was split up into sections, and each seemed to have a different color scheme. A friendly middle-aged woman walked up to Hermes. “Well, good morning hon! You’re a new face.” She smiled.

Hermes laughed a bit, “Yeah, never been here before.”

“Ah, well you’re missing out, hon. Anyways, is it just you?” She asked, grabbing a menu from a pile of them by the door. Hermes nodded and the woman motioned for him to follow her. “Let’s get you seated at the bar, yeah?” She smiled and set a menu down. 

Hermes sits down doing his best to return the smile. “I’ll just have a coffee, however you make it doesn’t matter I am not picky.” 

The woman nods, writing it down. “My name is Eurydice by the way, I own the place.” She puts her hand on her hip for a moment and looks Hermes up and down. “You look like you’ve had a rough couple of months.”

Hermes' heart drops for a moment “Oh…” He forces a laugh. “That obvious? I thought I was doing at least a decent job at hiding it.” 

Eurydice smiles kindly at him, it’s almost motherly. “No worries, hon. I hope your day is good to boost your morale. The gods know you need it.” She then walked to the other side of the bar counter where several different kinds of coffee makers were set up, presumably to cater to whatever options were on the menu. Options Hermes didn’t bother looking at. 

Hermes expected to sit in silence as he waited for his coffee but Eurydice seemed to have other plans. “So where are you from?” She asks Hermes not looking up from what she was doing.

Hermes looks around for a moment assuming she is talking to someone else but he quickly realizes he’s one of two people in the shop at the moment and the other person seems hard at work typing away at her computer. 

“Ah, I am from Greece and just moved here. It’s been quite the experience.” Hermes chuckles.

Eurydice smiles, “You are now the 5th person I know who moved here from Greece.” She said as she began grinding up coffee beans.

“Oh, really? That’s odd, I think?” 

Eurydice shrugged. “Me and my hubby moved here from Greece about 6 years ago. There's a family that owns a shop not too far away, they’re from Greece too but they’ve been here longer than me.” 

“Was it hard for you when you first moved here? I keep telling myself it’s so hard because I’m not from here, but honestly, I think it’s just because I have no idea what I am doing.” Hermes laughs at himself. He allows the friendly atmosphere to help melt away the stress he’s been under. Something he desperately needs.

Eurydice pours the coffee beans into a machine and presses a button. “If you’re living alone I imagine adjusting to life here will be a bit harder than it was for me and my husband. If you need help though, hon. I am always here, plus you seem like good people.”

Hermes smiled, “Thanks, I will keep that in mind.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as Eurydice made Hermes coffee. It wasn’t long before he was sipping on the warm drink, rolling it between the meat of his palms. It was peaceful here, he’d have to show up more often. 

Before he knew it he was paying and waving goodbye to Eurydice with promises of returning. On his way to work now. As he walked he noticed that the sky seemed to only grow darker, seemingly on the edge of dumping more rain on the city. As a result, Hermes was trying to get to Styx as soon as possible. It was bad enough that his shoes were falling apart and his feet were a little wet; he didn't need to be drenched. 

When he arrived at work Charon had already opened the shop, when he walked inside he was surprised to see a different teen behind the counter. He had curly pale hair, much like Thanatos and Charon, this teen however looked a lot more friendly and tired. When he noticed Hermes a grin found its way onto his face.

“Hi! Hi! Hello, you must be Hermes!” His voice was drastically different from Thanatos’, this boy's voice held a fondness and curiosity instead of annoyance.

“Yep, that's me!” Before Hermes had a chance to ask, the teen spoke.

“I’m Hypnos! Than’s twin, Charon’s younger brother. I wanted to greet you on your first day but I couldn’t get out of bed.” Hypnos laughed nervously. Hermes wasn’t sure what he meant by ‘couldn’t get out of bed’ but he felt it would be rude to ask. “Oh, that reminds me! Charon asked me to tell you to meet him upstairs!” Hypnos got up from the chair he was sitting in and walked over to a half door that kept people out from behind the counter, he opened it and Hermes walked in. “Just right, through that door!” Hypnos pointed at the ‘Staff Only’ door. 

Hermes gave a small thanks and opened the door. He walked in greeted by stairs that led to another door. He wasn’t sure if he should knock or not but he decided to just open the door and step inside. He was greeted by a hallway. Pictures of the twins and Charon aligned the walls. Pictures of the teens when they were small and a few taken in locations Hermes recognized from Greece. “Hello, Boss? Hope I am not interrupting anything”

There was a knock on the wall just to his left that grabbed Hermes' attention and he turned to see Charon waving at him from inside what looked to be a storage closet. Hermes walked over happily. “Good morning, associate! Your brother kindly informed me that you needed my assistance up here.” He smiled and rocked on the balls of his feet. His mind is focusing on work to forget about yesterday. 

Charon stands up straight allowing Hermes to see that the closet was filled with boxes of different sizes. Charon signs, gesturing to the boxes “Orders of specific items from the store for regular customers.. We deliver them as thanks for their support.” Hermes nods, and the taller man continues. “Thanatos delivers but he’s not here. So I need help.” 

Hermes grinned, “And I’m going to guess you would need my help with this task, boss?”

Charon nods before signing again. “Can be hard work, will pay you double to do it. Wouldn’t normally ask you to do such a thing, but I can’t leave Hypnos alone and these need to be delivered today.” 

 Hermes has a few questions, but he doesn’t know if asking them would be very polite so he decides against it more focusing on the promise of extra money, something he is desperately in need of. Considering Charon is already paying him $14 an hour… “Leave it to me, my associate! I can have these delivered in a jiffy.”

Charon sighs and Hermes assumes it relife. “Each box has an address tapped on top. The maps app will give you directions.” 

Hermes smiles as Charon hands him a few smaller boxes to start off with along with a decently sized satchel. Hermes doesn’t like using the app on his phone, wastes his battery so he’s grateful that the addresses all include street names. He’s memorized every street in his head. “I’ll have all this done in no time, boss! Might have to give me a raise afterward.” Hermes says jokingly as he follows Charon out of the staff-only doors. 

Hypnos greets the two as they exit and Hermes waves goodbye. He’s back in the outside world quickly after being ready to make his first delivery. Thankfully the first few boxes he delivers are within a mile distance of each other and he gets them done rather quickly. The customers were all smiling and thanking Hermes, only asking small questions about Charon's new choice of delivery boy. Hermes didn’t mind the small talk, if anything it made him feel a bit better. 

Luckily no rain yet, however, he was a bit uncomfortable with the growing wetness in his shoes. Hermes did his best to avoid puddles but sometimes there's not much he can do to keep out of them. 

The clouds above him only grew darker and darker as the day went on. Hermes didn’t own an umbrella and every time he went back to Styx for a few more boxes he debated asking for one just in case the weather turned sour. He decided it would be too much of a hassle to carry around and didn’t ask. 

When Hermes walks out of the staff-only doors with his 3rd group of boxes he’s stopped by Charon who steps in front of him. “Afternoon boss, what's up?”

“Is well pat noon, nearly 2. Make sure to stop for a break at any time.” Charon says something about the way the man's face barely shifts into a smile tells Hermes that his boss is rather grateful. 

“Got it, boss! I’ll stop somewhere for a break before coming back.” Hermes smiles reassuringly at his boss before again leaving. 

During this run, he finds himself in front of Eurydice’s coffee shop. He has one more package left before he has to take a short break and then head back. Thankfully this package seems to be for Eurydice’s. So Hermes walks inside greeted by the woman. 

“I didn’t expect to see you back so soon, hon!” She smiles.

Hermes returns the smile, he’s in a lot better spirits now than he was earlier this morning. “Here for work and maybe a quick pick me up.” Eurydice gives him a bit of a confused look when he mentions work. “Charon’s got a package for you.” Hermes hands the small box to her effectively emptying his satchel.

“Ah! That makes much more sense now. I guess Thanatos couldn’t be bothered to deliver anymore?” She laughs a bit, Hermes thinks she’s brave for picking fun at the teen.

Hermes shrugs. “I work for Charon, I don’t ask questions I just do what he asks of me.” 

Eurydice motions for Hermes to follow her and he does so. “If I am being honest, you’re a lot of a friendlier face then, Than. He always seems like he doesn’t want to be out of his room.”

Hermes laughs, “Yeah, that checks out.” 

Eurydice sits Hermes down, “What can I get ya, Hon?”

He actually looks at the menu this time, scanning it quickly before looking at Eurydice and smiling “Just a bagel for me ma’am.” 

She nods, “Coming right up.” Eurydice is behind the bar counter again. “If you’re working for Charon that means you’re his new translator?”

“Yeah, I haven’t really done much translating since my first day though. I don’t mind, I like being on the move so running around delivering these things for him is actually kind of fun.” Hermes chatted away, something about Eurydice made it easy for him to talk to her. She was inviting and Hermes clicked with her rather quickly. “What is in the box I gave you? Y’know from Charon.”

“A gift for my husband, he’s a traveling musician. Comes home this evening.” The tone in her voice made Hermes think she was a bit upset but he felt as though he shouldn’t pry so he didn’t. 

The two talked back and forth as Hermes ate his bagel. They talked well after he paid as well, Hermes was there for about an hour and a half. “Well hon, you’d better head back now. It’s supposed to start raining here shortly. Don’t want you getting drenched.”

“Crap, you’re right. I better go, see you tomorrow?” He asked as he gathered his things. 

“Of course! I am open every day.” Eurydice smiled and waved him off. 

Hermes started out walking back to Styx, taking his time to enjoy the cool breeze and the nice smell of rain. The soothing sound of cars driving through puddles. He stopped for a moment to look up at the sky but his heart dropped when a single raindrop hit his nose. 

The sudden sound of rain sent him into a jog as it began pouring. Just his luck. 

By the time Hermes made it back to Styx he was soaked to the bone, the air-conditioned building caused him to shiver as he stepped inside. He was greeted by a worried Hypnos. “Oh dear, you’re gonna catch a cold! Should have asked for an umbrella.” He said. 

Hypnos’ words seemed to hint to Charon that Hermes had returned as the man walked out of an aisle and towards Hermes. 

Hermes shivered. “Theé mou, kánei krýo edó mésa.” He looked up at the taller man who now stood in front of him.

Charon signed, “Follow me, let’s get you into dry clothes.” Charon turned and started walking to the staff-only doors and Hermes followed. As they passed by Hypnos, Charon signed a simple “He’s borrowing your clothes.” 

Charon led Hermes back upstairs, but further down the hallway. It was only then did it click in his head that Charon and the twins must live here. They now stood in what looked to be a living room. Charon made a hand movement towards a door and then signed “bathroom.” Hermes nodded, being slightly embarrassed that he was now standing in his boss's living room.

Hermes wondered over to the bathroom and stepped inside, he wasn’t sure what he was meant to do now so he just stood awkwardly shifting his weight on his legs the uncomfortable feeling of his soaked socks clinging to his feet along with the rest of his soaked clothes singing to his body. He hugged himself in an effort to be at least a little warmer. 

Charon walked in shortly after, a towel and clothes in hand. He set them on the counter next to the sink before opening the bathroom closet and grabbing an empty basket. “Put wet clothes in here, I will wash them for you and return them tomorrow.” Heres nodded and sat on the edge of the bathtub to peel his shoes off his feet. 

“Sorry boss, don’t mean to impose like this. I knew the weather looked gloomy I should have brought an umbrella, or at least waited the rain out in a building.” He face palmed, “But instead I ran here and caused you more trouble than it’s worth.”

Charon grunted, a noise that caught Hermes off guard, he looked at his boss with a slight tilt of his head. Once Charon knew Hermes could see him he signed, “Shower and change. I’ll drive you home.”

“Oh no, boss. I can’t let you do that…” Hermes' heart sank a little, he didn’t know how he felt about the possibility of his new boss seeing his sad excuse of a home. 

Charon shook his head, “Can’t let you walk home in the weather. It’s not safe. Plus your shoes are soaked not good for you to walk in wet shoes.”

Hermes sighed, “C-can I wait out the rain then? Just head home when it’s passed?”

The taller man looked at him for a second before nodding firmly. Hermes let out a sigh of relief. Charon left the bathroom and now Hermes was met with the uncomfortableness of showering in someone else’s home. The feeling of caution and alertness, the awkward feeling of not knowing which knob made the water hot and which soaps were appropriate to use. 

Hermes took a deep shaky breath and twisted the knob the sound of water filled the small room. Once the water was at a comfortable temperature Hermes disrobed and got in.

After his shower, he felt refreshed, but still a bit uncomfortable. The clothes that were lent to him were a bit too big, clearly, Hypnos was also taller than Hermes. 

When he exited the bathroom he was quickly met by Hypnos who had been sitting on the couch. “Ah, Hello! Charon is manning the shop, he said he’d close up a little earlier than normal because not many people show up when it rains, so he’ll probably be up here in like 15-20 minutes tops.” 

Hermes sat next to Hypnos and admired the room. “Sorry for having to borrow your clothes, I should have listened to Eurydice and left earlier to avoid the rain but I just had to stay and blabber.”

Hypnos beamed, “Oh! I don’t mind, truly I don’t, things happen! It’s not your fault. You should really let Charon drive you home though.”

Hermes shook his head, “Nah, he’s done enough for me already! I mean he gave me a job, paid me extra to deliver things, let me use his shower. I don’t want to bother him anymore.” Hypnos blinked at Hermes a bit confused. “I guess it’s a matter of my pride speaking y’know? I’m very prideful.”

“OH! Yeah, that checks out.” Hypnos hummed and nodded his head as he fidgeted with the hem of the sweater he was wearing. 

The two made small talk for a while before Charon made his way back upstairs. Once the man had Hermes’ full attention he sighed, “Rain isn’t supposed to stop till well past sunset. I am driving you home.” He signs the words sternly, showing Hermes he is serious and has no choice in the matter. “Will wash your clothes and give them to you tomorrow with your paycheck.”

“Ah…alright then, my professional associate. I don’t have shoes though…don’t really want to wear my wet ones at home that's far too uncomfortable. Although I don't have good shoes at home for work.” Hermes stopped himself before he went on a tangent about shoes.

Charon held up a finger indicating for Hermes to wait a moment, and Hermes did just that. Hypnos smiled, “You’re a nice change! So bright and talkative, Charon is good company but he’s always so busy and Than is just kind of closed off.” 

“I honestly wasn’t expecting anyone related to Thanatos to be someone I got along with, but you’re pretty cool.” Hermes smiled at the teen which in turn made said teen beam.

Charon walked back in with a pair of rain boots. He wordlessly handed them to Hermes who put them on with little struggle besides a small wince as he scrapped his blister from his own shoes on the heel of the boots. He waved to Hypnos as Charon motioned for him to follow. “See you tomorrow,” Hermes said with a smile that Hypnos returned.

When they made it to the door of the shop Charon unfolded an umbrella and he and Hermes walked the short distance to his boss’ car. Charon; like the gentleman he is, opened the passenger side door for Hermes. “Such a gentlemen.” Hermes said with a sly smirk, which Charon returned with an exaggerated bow as if saying “After you, your highness.” It made Hermes giggle as he slipped into the mo-dad van.(?)

Charon was quick to join him. He put the Umbrella in the backseat before turning the engine on. Hermes told him his address and Charon pulled out into the street. They sat in silence for a while before Hermes started talking. “As a runner, I blow through shoes pretty fast. Although when I still lived in Greece I had my dad buy me new ones, didn’t think it’d be such a hassle to buy my own.”

Charon finger-spelled to Hermes as his eyes never left the road. “You have a fav running shoe?”

Hermes beamed, “Of course I do!! My favorite brand is RoadRunner, they have the most comfortable running shoes for long distances. I enjoy their fall design it’s got a pleasing arrangement of colors and I REALLY love the shade of orange they use. I normally have trouble finding my size in running shoes, which is weird because I find my size in regular sneakers easily. RoadRunner has my size though! A perfect 8 that's not actually a 7 or a 9. My second brand of choice is…” Hermes goes on and on making a list of every running shoe brand he’s tried and he puts them in order from favorite to least favorite along with an explanation as to why he dislikes them more than the brand before. 

Before he knows it Charon is parking in the lot just outside his apartment. Hermes sighs contently, “Welp, this is my stop, boss. Thanks for driving me.”

Charon nodded, “No problem.” He places the umbrella in Hermes' hands.

“Ah, yeah don’t want me getting soaking wet again, eh?” Charon huffed out a laugh and nodded. The smaller man opened the car door and slipped out. “See ya tomorrow boss.” He closes the door and waves before making his way to his apartment.

All things considered today wasn’t all that bad and for once, Hermes was looking forward to tomorrow.  

And it couldn’t come sooner.

Chapter Text

The next day, Herems had the motivation to go on his morning run. He felt better even if it was just a little bit it was enough to get him going, but even after running he still made time to stop at Eurydice’s shop, the friendly atmosphere was enough to draw him back in; briefly, and he wondered if that was how her shop kept afloat. He walked in greeted by a man who looked as though he may have 4 panic attacks, he gave a small shaky “Welcome”. However before Hermes can greet him, Eurydice is next to the man in an instant. 

“Good morning, hon! Just a coffee again?” She asked with a smile. Hermes nodded. “Oh yeah! This is my husband, Orpheus.” Eurydice seemed a bit proud of herself to be able to call the man her husband.

Orpheus smiled awkwardly at Hermes, to which Hermes smiled back before being led away by Eurydice. Hermes was sat in the same place he had been the day before. He ordered the same thing. He and Eurydice fell into comfortable chatter as the coffee shop slowly began filling up with people. He found he and Eurydice had the same extroverted personality, both of them being the kind of people who would manage to get along with just about everyone. He was in and out of the shop in less than 30 minutes. Even though it was a shorter visit than the last he was happy to have talked to the women again.

When Hermes made it to Styx he found that the door was already unlocked but the closed sign was still present on the door so he walked in. He wasn’t sure if the door had even been properly locked the night before, however, that wasn’t necessarily his problem. He had been expecting to see Thanatos when he entered the building making his way to the checkout but instead, he saw Hypnos. “Oh! Good morning Hermes!” Hypnos’ friendly welcoming attitude was another welcoming aspect of his morning.

Hermes returned the cheery ‘Good morning.’ “I’ll have your clothes washed and back to you by Monday, I am sorry I had to borrow them at all.” Hermes wished he could afford laundry machines but the appliances he lacked were the least of his worries at the moment. It was a Friday his first Friday of working here meaning his first paycheck would be given to him. 

Maybe it was the money motivating him today, he wasn’t sure but he didn’t think about it too much.

Hypnos shook his head, “You’re ok, again things happen. Oh! Before I forget, Charon is upstairs. He is folding your laundry. He wanted me to tell you in case he wasn’t done by the time  you got here!” Hypnos had the friendliest smile on his pale face.

Hermes' heart dropped, Charon didn’t have to do that…he could just put it in a plastic bag and call it a day. Hermes didn’t need anyone doing things he himself was more than capable of doing. He was quick to make it through the staff-only doors, up the stairs, and into the living room where he saw Charon folding clothes. “Boss…uhh Hypnos told me you had my clothes cleaned?” Not a lie but not what he was told. 

Charon nodded pointing to a pile of brightly colored clothes on the arm of the couch, not looking away from the task as if he had done it a million times. Hermes' pile stood out amongst the rest of the home, his brightly colored preferences almost seemed like a diamond in the middle of a pile of coal.

Hermes walked over and picked up his clothes, “You didn’t have to fold them. Heck, I don’t even fold my clothes.” Hermes laughed nervously and set the pile back where they had been quickly realizing he wouldn’t be able to take them home till after work. 

When Hermes looked up at his boss he felt shivers through his body at the look Charon was giving him. “What?...” He asked worriedly to hear the answer.

“You don’t fold your clothes before putting them away?” Charon signed confused.

Hermes shrugged, “No, they just get unfolded when I dig for clothes to wear anyways so I don't bother. Plus I don’t know how to properly fold them.” Hermes smirked, this little banter amused him.

Charon visibly cringed. Before huffing out a chuckle. “I'll finish this, have something for you.” Charon signed.

Hermes tilted his head confused. His expression asked a silent question of ‘what?’

“Paycheck plus a gift.” A simple answer but one that added a bit more curiosity to Hermes' already curious mind. He knew he got paid today, but he wasn’t sure what gift his boss could possibly have for him. He nodded to Charon and watched quietly as Charon finished folding clothes, putting them in 3 piles, supposedly for the twins and himself. Charon’s and Thanatos’ clothes were harder to tell apart but Hypnos’ were easier to spot as he had different hues of red, while his brothers all had grays, black, and muted dusty purple clothes with blue and gold shirts here and there. 

Charon empties the basket in less than 5 minutes, Hermes watches carefully as his boss pulls an envelope out of his pocket and walks over to Hermes. “Promised for yesterday’s work I doubled it.” Charon signed carefully after Hermes took the envelope. 

“Thanks, boss.” Hermes smiled, this bit of money would hopefully help ease his mind. Maybe even be enough to convince his landlord not to kick him out.

Charon nodded and grabbed a box from off the couch as well. Hermes recognized quickly that the box was for shoes. Charon began signing something but before Hermes could recognize the signs his phone started ringing. A distinct little jingle he made Dionysus’s ringtone. It is currently 8 pm in Greece, and Dio should be working on homework. Why would he be calling Hermes? Well, Dio never called on the weekdays he wasn’t allowed his phone till Saturdays at noon so something must be wrong.

“Fuck, boss it’s my brother I have to take this,” He said as he pulled his phone out and answered, a pit of worry forming in his stomach. “Hello?”

There was a pained sob from the other side of the phone. It made Hermes' blood run cold and his heart fall, never in his life had he heard such painful noises from his brother. “H-hermes…I can’t get in…” Dionysus’ broken voice filled with sobs gave Hermes goose bumps. He was experiencing a fear stronger than any he had when watching horror movies. The fear a parent gets when their child suddenly starts screaming in pain.

“What do you mean, Dio? What happened? Are you ok? Are you safe?” Hermes' mind ran through every possible thing that could be wrong and he disliked each and every possibility. Dionysus didn’t seem to be able to form words, his broken sobs made any words he did say hard to hear. “Dionysus. Listen, I am here. It’s ok, you’re going to be ok. I need you to calm down though and tell me what's wrong, I can’t help you if I don’t know.” Hermes tried his best to sound calm and collected as his heart pounded in his chest and the fear and anxiety flooded his head.

Hermes' face was twisted with worry, he heard from the other side of the phone that Dio was slowly taking deep breaths. “Man, he…I was at work and when I got home my key didn’t work. I tried the spare one under the mat too and it didn’t work either…I-I went next door and called Dad. He..he had all the locks on the doors and windows changed…” A sob escaped Dionysus’ mouth. “He kicked me out, man. I…I don’t know what to do! He threw all my things into trash bags and put them in the dumpster by the house. I was able to get all of it but when I found my phone he had whipped it clean!” Dionysus sounds more and more distressed the more he speaks. “I didn’t have any of my saved contacts b-but I have your number memorized…I-I don’t know what to do.”

Hermes cursed and ran his free hand through his hair nervously, he gripped the phone as he kept it to his ear. “Fuck, Dio I’m so sorry…” Hermes' mind raced with different ways he could try and get Dionysus somewhere safe. “I’m going to make a few phone calls to Artemis and Athena. I’m going to call you back once I know someone can pick you up ok?”

“Y-yeah…I got it, man…call me back.” Dionysus seemed terrified it didn’t take much to come to that conclusion.

“I will, I promise. I love you, I’m going to figure something out.” Hermes waited till he heard a faint ‘I love you too’ before telling his brother bye and hanging up. Hermes turned to his boss. “It’s a family emergency..I-I need to make a few phone calls.” 

All Charon did was nod, it was a simple response but it was firm and confident.

In a heartbeat, Hermes was calling Artemis. He began to pace around his boss's living room as the phone rang and rang. Finally after what felt like forever Artemis picked up.

“Hello?” She sounded out of breath but Hermes didn’t have time to question his sister right now.

“Dad kicked Dio out! He doesn’t have anywhere to go. I am basically on the other side of the world…c-can you pick him up?” Hermes ran his fingers through his hair anxiously again. 

There was a pause from the other line, “Hermes, I can't. I'm on a week-long hunting trip with Apollo. We still have 3 days till we reach the landmark to help us head back.” Artemis also now seemed just as anxious as Hermes. “I’m sorry Hermes.”

Hermes sighed deeply, Artemis had been his first call because she was a lot more understanding and free-spirited than Athena who would probably be almost as strict as their father was with Dionysus. “It’s ok, Arty. I’ll keep you updated, bye.” Artemis didn’t get a chance to reply before Hermes hurriedly hung up to call his eldest sibling, Athena.

Hermes was again pacing the living room, Charon sitting worriedly waiting to be told whether or not Hermes needed to go home for the day. 

The phone rang and rang, and rang. Until, finally she picked up, “Good evening, Hermes.” Her voice seemed more than annoyed as if getting a call from him was the last thing she wanted to deal with. 

“Athena! Hi, I am so sorry to bother you, but Dad kicked Dio out…H-He doesn’t have anywhere to go.” Hermes fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

Athena was quiet for a moment before she spoke. “And you can’t fly him to you?”

“I don’t have the money to pay for a plane ticket here! Even if I did, I barely have enough to pay rent…I-I can’t take him in right now…He needs somewhere to stay until I am on my feet, I don’t want him to have to worry about being homeless, Athena. I want to give him stability but I can’t do that right now…” Hermes felt frustrated tears swelling in his eyes. 

“Am I right to assume you have already asked Artemis?” It didn’t take a genius to catch on to the fact Athena clearly didn’t want to have to take in her youngest brother.

“Yes…you’re the only one who lives close enough to pick him up. It doesn’t even have to be that long, just until I can ensure he can live comfortably here.” Hermes paused letting the information sink in. “H-he has a job and school so he wouldn’t even be at your house that much…”

There was a heavy sigh from his sister, “I can house him for a month and a half. No more than that. If you still cannot afford to take him, I will pay for his plane ticket and send him with enough money to pay rent for the rest of the year. I understand that you wish to fend for yourself however this is no longer a matter of your pride, Hermes. If you ever need financial assistance I will send you money, I am not our father so there will be no strings attached.” That was the end of the phone call. She hung up immediately after.

Part of Hermes was infuriated that she would pick at him like that, but the other part was glad that Dionysus would be safe for a while. He let out a breath he didn’t notice he was holding and then called Dionysus back. 

The phone was picked up before it had a chance to ring properly. “H-Hermes, is someone coming for me, man?” 

Hermes nodded even though he knew Dionysus couldn’t see. “Y-yeah. Athena is on her way. You’re going to live with her for a while. Not long! Just about 2 months.” Dionysus sighed, Hermes could feel the relief washing over him. “Do you have everything?”

“I do, I checked when I got everything out of the dumpster. Man, I…I was so scared I’d be on the streets…” Dionysus laughed but there was nothing funny about this.

“No! I wouldn’t have let that happen, I would sell all of my belongings to get you a plane ticket here if I had to.” Hermes heartached at the thought of selling his race trophies and his medals. He would do what he had to for his brother. “I am going to give you Athena's number via text, if she isn’t there within an hour call her then me, then call me once she gets there and once you get to her place, ok?”

“Y-you’re going to hang up...?” The fear in Dio’s voice gave Hermes another wave of anxiety. 

“I have work, Dio. I can’t stay on call with you till she gets there…” Hermes glanced at Charon who was clearly listening in. 

Charon signed, “If you need to go home you can.”

Hermes shook his head and signed, “Not an option.”

Dionysus spoke up again. “I-I am going to text you then, man. I just don’t want to be by myself right now.” it sounded like a last effort to get Hermes to stay on the phone with him, but the way the teen spoke shattered Hermes' heart. He couldn’t leave his brother alone right now.

“F-fine, fine. You win, I’ll stay.” Charon seemed to approve of this and he walked down the stairs leaving his news employee alone in his home. “Do you want to talk about anything? What led to this?”

Dionysus told Hermes everything that happened that day. From the moment he woke up to the argument about his grades he had with Zeus. Dionysus told their father that the only reason why his grades were so bad was because he worked so much. Zeus had told him that if he would just accept his place in the family he wouldn’t need to work. Dionysus didn’t like that he said he wished Zeus wasn’t his father and that seemed to set him off. 

Zeus had the locks on all the doors and windows changed, he ordered all the house staff to not let Dio in. Zeus had been petty as usual. Luckily he didn’t break any of Dionysus’ belongings probably in an attempt to keep some of his son's trust. Of course, that wouldn’t be enough.

Dionysus cried to Hermes, all the fear he had poured out of him. It shook Hermes to the core, his brother was calm, collected, and laid back. He had no idea that Dionysus lived in so much fear for so long. Hermes swore Dionysus would never have to live like that again. 

Hermes was going to take care of his brother for the remainder of his childhood. Hermes promised that.

When Athena arrived Dionysus hung up with a small ‘thank you, man.’ It left Hermes with a want to do better and to work harder. He went down to find his boss. 

Charon was manning the register, an elderly couple buying expensive wine, it was clear they were regulars.

“Sorry, that took so long, boss,” Hermes said as he leaned against the counter the register rested upon. Charon shrugged and the elderly couple waved as they walked out with their wine. The taller man didn’t really seem to mind. “He’s going to call me again. I hope that’s ok.” Hermes tilted his head as he stared up at his boss. 

Charon signed. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

Hermes shook his head. “No, it’s ok. This won't affect my work.”

The man shook his head, “Do you need to vent? Seemed like a lot was going on. It’s ok if you’re stressed.” 

Hermes tilted his head, it was moments like these. Little moments that Charon showed care for Hermes more than any boss he had before. Moments, Hermes remembered how gorgeous Charon was.

Hermes sighed laughing to himself, a lot was going on but it wasn’t Charon’s job to counsel Hermes through it. “I appreciate that…maybe, maybe some other time.”

Charon nodded understanding where Hermes was coming from. Charon began to sign again. “You can do deliveries every day. Pays more.”

Hermes figured that yeah, Charon probably eas dropped a little. Hermes wasn’t mad about it, he had been in the man's house at the time. “I thought I was your interpreter though?”

Charon shrugged, “You can be on slow delivery days. Hypnos has to spend more time down here, he can help me when you’re gone.”

Hermes sighed, as he thought about it. It wouldn’t be that bad of a job, he’d need new shoes and to pay more attention to the weather but he did rather enjoy the rush from yesterday. Running was his therapy, after all, this was an excuse to run more. “I think that sounds good, boss, but I don’t have proper shoes for it right now. Going to have to buy new ones. Not sure how long that would take, getting the money for it and all that.”

Charon stood up rather quickly, holding up a singular finger to Hermes, indicating to the man that he was to wait.

Hermes tilted his head a bit of curiosity lighting up. He watched as his boss hurried up the stairs to his home. Hermes felt a bit awkward, he had used his boss’s house for such personal reasons and he hadn’t even worked here for a week yet. Surely that was a sign of disrespect. He sighed when the thought of being fired crossed his mind. 

He pulled out the envelope with his paycheck in it, if he was going to get fired the least his new boss could do was pay him properly. Hermes counted the money. He worked 7 hours a day, for 3 days not counting today, being paid $14 an hour. If he got paid double yesterday…

Hermes' heart skipped a beat, he already had almost $400. From his first paycheck…that means he wouldn’t have to spend the little money he had in his bank account right now, he could just give this and a few extra dollars to his landlord. A wave of relief washed over Hermes, if he got fired at least he’d get to live in his apartment for another month. 

The sound of heavy footsteps prompted Hermes to put the envelope back in his pocket. He watched as Charon exited the staff-only space and set a bag on the counter next to Hermes. He leaned forward to get a peek at what was inside, it was the shoe box from earlier. Hermes could see the brand or anything but he could recognize a shoe box from a mile away. 

His attention was turned back to Charon was signed, “Felt bad, when your shoes got ruined yesterday, felt worse when you said you don’t have decent ones at home.” Charon glanced down at Hermes' feet and visibly cringed. “You owe me nothing, no negotiations. I sent you out in the weather knowing it would rain at some point. This is for you. I am sorry.”

Hermes was definitely having a roller coaster of a day, he looked at the bag and pulled the box out. He couldn’t help the grin that reached his lips when he saw the unforgettable logo. It was like Christmas. 

RoadRunner’s. 

Charon got him RoadRunners.

A pang of guilt whipped the grin off Hermes' face. “Fuck, these are expensive…I-I can’t take these from you.”

“No money was spent, mother knows the CEO of the brand. All I had to do was ask her.” Charon then motioned for Hermes to open the box. 

Hesitantly he listened. 

A flutter of emotions swelled up in his stomach. RoadRunner shoes, running shoes, from their fall collection, and Hermes’ favorite shade of orange. 

A hand covered Hermes' mouth as he gasped. Charon had been paying attention he had truly been listening. Hermes wasted no time putting them on and once they were he turned looking at his boss, a childish smile plastered all over his face. “Boss, are you sure? I could have eventually gotten these myself. You really didn’t need to, you couldn’t have known yesterday was going to go the way that it did but-”

With a single hand motion from Charon, Hermes quieted. “Do they fit?” Hermes nodded and the corners of Charons' lips raised ever so slightly. He seemed pleased. “They’re yours.”

Hermes didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know if he was supposed to say anything. His morning had been shattered by a phone call and somehow, with this gift, he had hope it would get better. So he acted on impulse.

Hermes ran the short few feet between him and his boss and hugged Charon. Arms wrapped around the much taller man and his face buried itself in his chest. Hermes knew this was inappropriate, he knew this was unprofessional but he didn’t care. 

Charon didn’t hug him back, but he didn’t need him to.

“Thank you, boss. This really fixed my day.” Hermes let go and smiled. Charon signed a small ‘you’re welcome’ and they were back to work. 

Turns out Hypnos had been in the bathroom while this all unfolded, he didn’t seem to catch on to any of the clear mood changes in the room. If he did he didn’t say anything. 

They went back to work as normal, Hermes delivered a few things for Charon to locations a lot closer to Styx in case the weather turned sour. It was cloudy and you can never predict the weather 100% accurately. Dionysus called Hermes back shortly after he made it to Athean's house, all the teen said was ‘thank you so much, man.’ and ‘I love you.’ Hermes was glad his brother was doing ok again. 

The day ended up slipping between Hermes' fingers after that. Before he knew it he was lying on the couch petting Chelly. Exhausted. The day had been a roller coaster. Hermes was overwhelmed and excited to get some much-needed sleep. He had to pay rent tomorrow and maybe pick up a weekend job? He wasn’t sure, but

Tomorrow couldn’t come sooner. 

Chapter Text

The next morning Hermes was full of energy, he had the need to go to the park. The sun was out and the ground was only slightly damp from rainfall a few days prior. He needed to stop by his landlord’s office to pay his rent and then the rest of the day was his. 

He debated on visiting Eurydice’s coffee shop but decided against it, sure the food was good and the company was inviting but spending money on food he had at home was going to drain his pockets rather quickly. Thus he had toast for breakfast and mediocre coffee made from the pot he got at a thrift store. 

Hermes carefully put exactly $400 in an envelope, writing his name, apartment number, phone number, and email address on it. Then he stuffed it into the pockets of his running shorts. 

His plan is, to turn in rent, go on a run, come back, put Chelly on her leash and harness then go to the park with her. He was excited to take Chelly out, she hadn’t been to a park with him since before they moved here. He desperately hoped tortoises were allowed at big city parks in America. 

He tied his new shoes at the door and with a small call out to his beloved Chelly, he was out the door and down the steps. He slipped the envelope into his landlord’s office mailbox and was down the street in a heartbeat. The cool morning air kissed his skin as he ran. It was nice, it was peaceful. Running is his therapy, it’s a distraction and a hobby. 

Although as he ran a thought kept worming its way to the front of his mind. His first thoughts on his new boss, his first thoughts on Charon. The memories of calling Charon gorgeous to his face without thinking. Sure Hermes was a blabbermouth, but to say something so embarrassing to his boss. To be fair he didn’t know the tower of a man was going to be his boss. That didn’t make it any less embarrassing. 

Hermes prayed the redness of his face could be brushed off to his fast pace. He shoved the thoughts away as embarrassing as they were he truly found Charon devine. Scars and everything, despite the fact Hermes forced himself not to stare at the scars that clawed their way around the tall man’s face. The way they tightened the man’s skin to his form and made any facial expressions hard to make out. Though it was clear Charon was probably not always mute, an accident or something..?

Shit he was thinking about it again. 

Hermes picked up speed if not in an attempt to outrun his thoughts then to wear himself out in the hopes his brain focused on breathing and not thinking. It wasn’t Hermes' business.  

He ran, and he ran until his legs cried for him to stop. He ran until his chest ached and his brain grew fuzzy. Only then did he collapse on a bench, chest heaving, mind blank, cheeks flushed, and brain blank. Hermes struggled to catch his breath. Those thoughts are behind him now, for now .

He needed to get home, needed to settle his breathing so he could get home. He still wanted to walk Chelly. She deserved a nice stroll. The last time she had been walked was the week before they made the move here. Hermes used to walk Chelly regularly, so he figured she might miss the outside. He refused to keep Chelly inside for any longer. 

Once he could breathe properly again Hermes was walking back home, hands shoved in his pockets. He wanted to have a good day with his Tortoise, she was important to him after all.

As Hermes walked he realized just how nice of a day it was, it wasn’t cold but it wasn’t hot. The city felt almost welcoming this morning, which was a little strange considering Hermes hadn’t really thought he was settling in all that well. Today though, today felt good. His eyes drifted down to his feet. His shoes, the shoes his boss gifted him, the shoes Hermes only talked about once, one time, and Charon had managed to get the exact pair. His mind was racing again, Charon had listened. He had really paid attention. 

That thought brought a genuine smile to Hermes' face, something he had noticed happened a lot recently. True smiles, ones he didn’t fake. It felt nice. 

Charon made him feel…nice. 

He struggled to catch his breath, he needed to get home and grab his turtle. Fuck! He’s thinking about him again.

Surely he just liked Charon’s company, he was a good boss and person. There's nothing wrong with liking your boss, in fact, you should like your boss, that's how you enjoy your job. Hermes wasn’t weird for thinking his boss was pretty, he was allowed to find people appealing to the eye. 

Hermes spent the walk back to his apartment justifying his attraction to his boss. He may have been in denial about his real feelings, he did just meet the man so it’s very possible he’s confusing the man's kind actions with something else. That was most definitely the case, there's nothing there. No feelings, nothing. 

Is what he kept telling himself.

Once in his apartment again, Hermes got to looking for Chelly’s leash. He noticed while looking that he didn’t have all that much in his apartment, as in it didn’t scream “Hermes lives here”, it had the basics you would expect every home to have but that was about it. It made looking for things easier, he found the leash in some unpacked boxes in his coat closet. Luckily it was with Chelly’s reptile harness, now all he needed to do was find his beloved turtle. She wasn’t hard to find, basking in the sun.

Hermes walked over to her and crouched down patting her shell. “Hey, Chelly. Wanna go for a walk?”

The tortious peaked her head out of her shell and looked up at her energetic human. She seemed to nod at Hermes who grinned and began the tedious process of fitting the harness on Chelly. The first time he ever put it on her she almost bit his finger off, luckily after a while she grew to love wearing the thing. So putting it on her now wasn’t nearly as hard as it had been the first few times. He picked her up and grabbed his phone, wallet, and fanny pack which now had treats for his baby in it. 

Chelly hated stairs so Hermes always carried her down them, he was also a bit worried about the parking lot so he didn’t put his small dog-sized tortious down until they were safely on the sidewalk. He clipped the leash to the top of the harness and as soon as he did so Chelly was walking. 

She wasn’t fast, but she didn’t really need to be. Hermes had worn himself down on his run so he wasn’t in a hurry, he had all day. As they walked, Chelly, a tortoise on a leash, grabbed a lot of passers-by's attention. No one said anything, no one stopped them. Just odd looks and laughs and a few small ‘aww’s. At least that was until they passed by a mom and her 3 kids, all of whom asked almost in sync. “Can I pet it?!”

To which their mother looked at Hermes with a bit of an apologetic look. Hermes laughed and opened his fanny pack grabbing a few. “Here kiddos, you can feed her these. She likes being pet too.” 

The kids gladly took the bits of vegetables and fruit with squeals as they began to hug Chelly. Surprisingly, Chelly seemed to enjoy the attention and treats. Hermes smiled as he supervised. The mother walked a bit closer to him. “I have never seen such a big turtle in the city before. What’s her name?”

“Chelly.” Was his simple answer. The mother nodded and smiled, she pulled out her phone and took a few pictures of her kids with Chelly before the family headed off. 

Hermes waved to the youngest of the kids before he and Chelly went on their way to the park again. The walk there went with little interruptions, only a few people asked to take a picture with Chelly but they weren’t stopped for very long. They made good time and Chelly seemed happy to finally be touching grass again. 

In fact, she began eating it almost as soon as they got on it, it made Hermes giggle to himself. He watched her as she wandered around pulling him just a little along with her. The weather was great, as the sun rose it got warmer but not too much, it was the perfect temperature for his beloved Chelly. 

Chelly ended up pulling Hermes deeper into the park than the man had ever ventured before, he had no idea the park had a gated area for dogs to run around smack dab in the middle. Much to his surprise once Chelly saw the dogs running around she started tugging him in that direction as fast as her little legs could take her. Hermes' heart sank a bit, there were some big dogs, and Chelly was barely bigger than a Yorkie. As any responsible pet owner would do, Hermes tried to pull Chelly in the other direction but she was having none of it. She tugged him back towards the dog park every time he pulled her away.

After about an 8-minute struggle, Hermes gave in and followed Chelly towards the gate of the dog park. He got a few weird looks as he approached but no one stopped him and before he even opened the gate he checked the signs not a single one of them said tortoises can’t go inside. So he acted as though he had been there hundreds of times and walked right in.

As soon as the dogs heard the gate open all their heads turned to look and Hermes felt his anxiety spike as most of them came running over. Chelly didn’t seem scared, in fact, she seemed thrilled as her little legs began to walk closer to the dogs as they approached her. He expected there to be a fight or for there to be barking. That didn’t end up happening though, the dogs sniffed Chelly, and most of them went back to what they were doing before a few smaller ones took an interest in Chelly and began to play a bit. Hermes didn’t really want Chelly to run off with dogs he wasn’t sure he could trust but he ended up giving in and removing her leash. 

A sigh escaped Hermes as Chelly didn’t walk off too far away, she chased 3 smaller dogs around their tails wagging. She was making friends faster than Hermes had. 

After a few minutes of standing and watching his turtle interact with dogs, a man with long beautiful blond hair approached him. Hermes smiled at the man as he settled standing right next to him. He didn’t really look at him, keeping his focus on Chelly but the man’s hair stood out. It was gorgeous.

The smile was returned as the man spoke, “You’re tortoise seems to be doing well with the dogs.” 

Hermes nodded, “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting this outcome if I’m being honest.” 

“Ah, so you are new to the park. I come here frequently and I have never seen you before.” The man seemed a bit proud of himself.

Hermes shrugged, “moved here not too long ago. Haven’t really had time to walk Chelly here.” 

“Well, Lad, I’m glad that you were able to do so today. It’s a rather comfortable day, perfect for park strolls.” Out of the corner of Hermes' eye, he saw the man move a bit of his hair out of his face in a practiced manner.

Hermes nodded, “You’re right. You don’t think I’m weird for bringing my turtle to a dog park, do you? She kind of has a mind of her own and practically pulled me here.” Hermes fidgeted with the leash in his hands. He was slowly coming to the conclusion that he worries just a bit too much about how everyone sees him.

The man shook his head with a small chuckle. “The park isn’t exclusively for dogs, I have seen cats here, it’s more of an animal park rather than a dog park. No need to get so self-conscious about it, Lad.” The man placed a firm hand on Hermes' shoulder. 

Hermes finally looked at him, the man had a strong beautiful face, and his clothes didn’t do much to hide his muscles which clearly had a lot of work put into them. Despite the man's form, he seemed rather friendly and welcoming. 

“That does help a bit! I was worried I looked like a lunatic.” Hermes chuckled to himself and held out a hand. “My name's Hermes, hopefully, I’ll be coming around here more, if not on my runs then with Chelly.”

The man took Hermes' hand and they exchanged a solid firm handshake. “Achilles. I run too, normally with mine and my husband's dog, Chiron. Look forward to seeing you around.” Achilles smiled as they released each other's hands. 

Hermes chuckled and the two fell into comfortable chatter. They shared a love for running and yoga, although Achilles was trained in many different martial arts while Hermes was simply a runner. They talked about different exorcises and the ones they excel at and why along with the ones they hate with a deep explanation as to why. They managed to connect on other things, they went to the same college.  Achilles was much older than Hermes at 38 while Hermes was mesially 23 so they wouldn’t have met. They talked a lot about sports and their pets. Achilles talked lovingly about his husband and Hermes listened.

Turns out they had similar upbringings as well, a complicated family dynamic and childhoods filled with wealth but neither of them wanted their family's money. Achilles' mother did not approve of his choice of partner nor his choice to leave Greece or any of his independence. Hermes talked about how his father wanted Hermes to take on an office job in the family business and how he had just recently kicked Dionysus out. In turn, Achilles mentioned his husband was a therapist and that he would be more than happy to help Dionysus when the teen moves here.  

Hermes found out that Achilles' dog was named after someone who taught him a lot, almost a father figure. In turn, Hermes told him that Chelly was a gift from his mother before she passed away. They grew close quickly. The two ended up chatting for a few hours, they exchanged numbers when Achilles got a phone call from his husband and then they split ways. Hermes left shortly after, he figured Chelly was probably getting tired considering she was no longer chasing dogs around but observing them play. Their walk home was much quicker than their walk to the park. 

Hermes toed his shoes off as he walked inside his apartment setting Chelly down on the floor and taking her harness off. She walked into the house happily finding a place to rest and Hermes found himself lying on the couch. He made a friend today, a good friend he hoped. 

He hadn’t gotten a call from Dionysus yet and knew he probably wouldn’t until later that night, for now, he needed to entertain himself. Maybe some shopping would do the trick? He had some extra money to spend. He’d need a shower, the last thing he was going to do was walk into a store in sweaty workout clothes.

His next step was a shower which he took quickly, then he was out the door again dressed and ready for a little grocery shopping. He didn’t have money for name-brand things but he had the money for some cheap clearance shopping, so he went to a dirt cheap store that took on the dented boxes and food barely past its shelf life that stores couldn’t sell. He walked in and it smelt of dust and cheap air freshener. It was close to his house and he had shopped there a few times before. Not enough to be a regular but enough that he knew the floor plan of the store. 

He grabbed a trolly and turned down an aisle. Hermes wasn’t on a hunt for anything in particular just some nice things to snack on maybe. If he couldn’t find anything he wanted at least he had wasted a bit of time.

Hermes browsed the shelves full of everything and nothing at the same time, he found a few portable chargers in a cereal box and had a laugh over it. Hermes found a few bags of his favorite chips, they were probably smashed but he didn’t really care. He also found some cat toys, clear plastic balls with bells inside. Chelly loves playing with balls and Hermes loves to spoil his baby. 

He made his way to the checkout and his heart sank. Just barely above the shelf to his left he could see a familiar hat. The hat and height gave him away, Hermes hadn’t even turned out of the aisle but he knew that hat. He peaked, hoping that maybe some other super tall man who wore a large wide-brim hat indoors was in the store. He couldn’t cling to hope when he saw the back of the man's body, his long pale hair tied back into a braid, and next to him stood Hypnos whose cloud-like hair stood out just as much as his brother's height. 

Charon was talking to the owner of the store, his sculpted body easily seen through the tighter clothes he chose to wear during his time off. Charon towered over the owner of the store more so than he towered over Hermes. They seemed to be going back and forth in friendly conversation. Hypnos seemed a bit bored his eyes wandering as he turned in a small circle observing the store, carefully picking it apart with his eyes. Hermes stared watching them closely when he noticed the teen was almost looking at him, he tried to duck away but Hypnos spotted him and waved grinning. The gesture got Charon’s immediate attention. Both of them were staring Hermes down now. He couldn’t hide away any longer.

He felt blood rush to his face, his boss now knew he shopped here, which was a bit embarrassing considering this store was more for people who had money problems. Charon definitely didn’t have money problems, with the gold rings and other jewelry he wore daily it was clear the man had money to spend. With a deep shaking breath Hermes waved back and pushed his trolly toward the checkout. 

“Nice afternoon we’re having! Funny running into you guys here. Having a nice Saturday?” Hermes tried to play it cool but embarrassment and shame sank deeper and deeper into his stomach. His father criticized him enough for shopping at such cheap stores, Hermes really didn’t want his boss to do the same.

Charon nodded and Hypnos beamed. “Wowie! I didn’t know you shopped here too, Hermes!” Hypnos smiled, it reached his eyes. ‘Shopped here too.’ Did they shop here? Surely not…

“Truthfully, this was the last place I expected to see you two.” Hermes smiled awkwardly. 

Charon signed, “Skelly. My good friend.” Charon finger spelled Skelly then did the sign for bone.

Hermes thought that was a weird name, Skelly. That was short for something, it had to be, a nickname maybe? 

“Ah, that makes sense.” Hermes nodded, avoiding Charon's gaze. 

“You check’n out, boyo?” Skelly asked. Hermes looked at him taking in the man's appearance. With his sunken eyes, wrinkly face, and mostly bald head, he was older and seemed pretty laid back, not at all the kind of person he expected Charon to be friends with. Hermes nodded, he’d like to check out as soon as possible.

Charon and Hypnos stepped out of the way and Skelly continued to speak to Charon as he checked Hermes out. Naturally, Hermes eavesdropped. “Thanatos is just a teen, he’ll be gettin’ over it. I wouldn’t take it to heart.” 

Charon began to sign a response and Hermes watched his boss's hands from the corner of his eye. “Thanatos never spoke to me like that before. I am not sure if his boyfriend is a good influence.”

“Oh come on, you know the guy hasn’t smiled like that since before your mother put ‘em up for adoption. I say let ‘em have the boy toy.” Skelly chuckled to himself as he checked out the last of Hermes' items. 

Charon sighed deeply but nodded, watching carefully as Hermes paid and was handed his bags. Hermes was going to hurry past Charon and Hypnos but was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder, Charon signed once he had Hermes' attention. “How’s your brother?”

“Ah. I’m not too sure, boss. He hasn’t called me nor texted me today, kind of keeping myself busy so I don’t spiral. I’m sure he’s fine though! He’s a tough kid.” Hermes rambled a bit but stopped himself before he shared too much. 

Charon nodded and held a thumbs up, enough of a response for Hermes to know Charon was glad Dionysus was doing ok. It was the next bit that caught Hermes off guard. “Understand what you’re going through. If you need to talk I am always here.” 

Hermes didn’t know what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything. Just a smile and a small nod before he walked out of the store. 

That was singlehandedly almost as embarrassing as calling his boss gorgeous. 

Hermes couldn’t help himself, Charon wore such tight clothes during his time off it was hard not to notice the man's definition. Maybe Hermes did have a slight thing for his boss after all…those were feelings he could and would ignore for as long as possible. He hadn’t even known Charon that long it was mostly physical attraction rather than an attraction to his personality. 

Not his fault his boss is hot. 

Crap. He is definitely gay for his boss. That may be a problem, but a problem for future Hermes. Present Hermes was getting as far away from where his boss just saw him shopping as possible, he was embarrassed and ashamed. 

He was home in the blink of an eye, didn’t bother putting the groceries away, and plopped himself onto the couch. A nap would clear his head. 

And nap he did. Hermes was asleep for several hours on the couch only awoken close to sundown by his phone. It was an alarm reminding him to feed Chelly so he chopped up a few vegetables and then got ready for bed, bruising his teeth and changing into PJs, which were simply his underwear and socks, and then again Hermes was out like a light. 

Tomorrow couldn’t come sooner.