#charon!dave stutler

[iobsessoverfictionalmen]

It's a highway to hell but, oh the things we do for love - Masterlist

This fic is a Greek mythology au. This fic includes: betrayal, attempted human sacrifice, violence, choking, character death, cursing, forced marriage, mentions of nightmares, references to Greek mythology, enemies to lovers, and manipulation.

The fic title is a combination of two song titles. One of the song titles is Highway to Hell by AC/DC and the other song title is The Things We Do For Love by 10cc.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

[iobsessoverfictionalmen]

It's a highway to hell but, oh the things we do for love (7)

This fic is a Greek mythology au. This fic includes: betrayal, attempted human sacrifice, violence, choking, character death, cursing, forced marriage, mentions of nightmares, references to Greek mythology, enemies to lovers, and manipulation. It gets a bit suggestive at the end.

Tagging: @imwithyoutiltheendofthelinebucky, @greep215

Chapter 7

The day of your coronation as Queen of the Underworld dawned like any other.  The only indicators that this day was an important one were the suits of armour scuttling around ensuring that each and every one of the king’s demands for the coronation were met, the constant influx of guests that were arriving in the underworld and the decorations that Abigail, Dave, and Drake had arranged all throughout the underworld.

Word had spread quickly throughout the underworld about Minthe’s fate and your coronation.  Abigail was among the first to hear about Minthe’s fate and the second that she learned the news, she attached herself to your side and refused to be parted from you. 

Speaking of the goddess, Hades had called her into the throne room and had informed her that she was for all intents and purposes, grounded for tearing out a page from one of his books.  Abigail was still permitted to paint but for the next two weeks, she was banned from using magic unless Hades was present.  The goddess sniffled and had pleaded with the god to lighten her punishment with teary eyes but the god had remained firm.

Dave had loaned you some incredibly ancient scrolls that contained instructions on how to master powers and you found it very easy to chat to the older god due to the fact that he had become a god later than Abigail had and there were a few things that you two had in common.

Thanatos was perhaps the most surprising when the news about Minthe and your coronation reached his ears.  He eyed you with wonder (after ensuring that the story about Minthe was true) and then it was like a switch in him had been flicked.  Thanatos stated that you had “earned the right to call me by my mortal name, Drake.”  He also regaled you with tales about him discovering that he had magic before he journeyed into the underworld.

Of the three of them, Drake was the first to journey into the underworld and become Thanatos.  You learnt that he studied magic under Hades and he followed his mentor into the underworld.  You were tempted to ask Drake whether or not he knew what Hades’ mortal name was but you quashed that impulse.  If your time with Drake had taught you anything, it was that Hades would reveal his mortal name when he chose to.

Heavy clanging sounds brought you back into the present and you paused mid-step in the middle of your quarters.  With a dry laugh, you noted the fact that you had been pacing without realising it.  The door to your quarters swung open just as you decided it would be a good idea to run your hands down your coronation outfit and smooth out any creases.

Dave stood on the other side of your door with an impish smile, “Figured you’d prefer a godly escort rather than a tin metal one.”

You shook your head with a smile at the god’s antics once the realisation sunk in that he had used his powers to trick you.  You walked towards him and when you were close enough, Dave held out his arm.  After looping your arm through his, he escorted you through the halls and to the throne room. 

It didn’t take the two of you very long to reach your destination however, just as you spotted the familiar doors to the throne room, Dave drew to a stop and pulled you to the side, out of sight of the crowd, and looked at you seriously, “You won’t be doing this alone.  Take it one step at a time.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

“I’ve been where you are.” Dave pointed to himself, “My introduction to the court went pretty well if you ignore the fact that I set the king’s throne on fire.”

Laughter burst out of you as you looked at the god, “You have to tell me the story someday.”

“We’ll have all the time in the underworld after the ceremony.”

Feeling a little more at ease and with a grin on your face you assured the god that you were ready.

Dave led you through the doors and into the throne room.  The throne room was so lavishly decorated that for a minute, you thought you were attending a wedding back on Earth.  Then the guests turned to face you and Dave and you spied a wide variety of demons and other beings from different sections of the underworld.

Your breath hitched as you noticed Hades sitting in his throne at the end of the aisle.  As you approached, he rested his arms on the armrests of his throne and rose gracefully to his feet to greet you and Dave.  Your eyes traced his profile pausing to admire the way he looked in his black ceremonial suit.  Atop his suit, he wore a wrap and the two pieces of the wrap were fastened together by a round silver clip which rested on his left shoulder.

It felt like there was a better word to describe the clothing on top of Hades’ suit but you couldn’t think of it.  Then, without warning, the word appeared in your mind as if it had been there all along. 

“Himation.  It’s a himation.”

Dave stopped again.  This time you withdrew your arm from his and made your way up the stairs to stand opposite Hades on the dais.  The god held out his hands and with no hesitation, you placed your hands in his.  

The god squeezed them and warmth pooled in your stomach at the god’s act of kindness and reassurance.  Hades turned away from you and faced the pathway that you and Dave had walked up.  You moved your head in time to see Dave retreat several steps when he saw Drake and Abigail making their way up the aisle.

Abigail was dressed in a black and green chiton with flickering torches across her sleeves and neckline.  In her outstretched hands sat a smaller version of Hades’ crown.  However there were a few differences between Hades’ crown and your crown.

Your crown.

Somehow thinking the words made this ceremony feel all the more real.

The crown that Abigail was carefully carrying wasn’t made up entirely of gold nor did it have a ruby in the centre like Hades’ did.  This crown was made up of three very different metals.  The majority of the crown was made up of silver moonstone.  The moonstone made up about half of the crown.  The next metal that you noticed was dull silver and your eyebrows drew together when you noticed the symbols on it.  One of the symbols was the head of Medusa and the other was an upside-down anchor with a crustacean at the top of the symbol.  The upside-down anchor also had the letter A on the left-hand side of it.  The last portion of the crown was made up of bronze.

Drake walked three paces behind Abigail.  He stood tall and his clothing was similar to Hades’ although you noticed that Drake had added frosted tips to his hair, eyeliner under his eyes and he was wearing knee high boots that made him look taller than normal.

You knelt as Abigail approached the dais with the crown and you obeyed the instinct that told you to keep your eyes on Abigail while she placed the crown on your head.  The crown was lighter than you expected yet it thrummed with power and responsibility.

“Since I’ve known you the longest, my part of the crown is the biggest.  Dave and Drake added bits to the crown too.” Abigail whispered.

“I love it,” you uttered, matching her volume.

Climbing to your feet, you returned to standing opposite Hades.  This time you were the first to offer your hands to the god.  With a reverent expression, Hades placed one of his hands in yours and gripped it tightly.  He showed you the palm of his other hand and unspoken, a black speck appeared in it.  As you watched, more black specks appeared on Hades’ hand.  The black specks rose to join the others and at the same time, all of the black specks rose into the air.  They swirled around each other building up speed. 

You blinked and the specks sped towards each other at a speed that you didn’t know was possible.  The specks merged together creating a black pomegranate that fell back into the god’s palm.  With another unspoken command, the pomegranate was divided into quarters, allowing you to glimpse the reddish flesh that lay inside.

Hades searched your face for any signs of hesitation.  When he found none, he used his grip on your hand to pull you forwards and place one of the pomegranate quarters between your parted lips.  You bit down on the quarter and the juices from the fruit flowed into your mouth.  It was richer than anything you had ever tasted before but there was an underlying sweetness to the fruit. 

“If a pomegranate isn’t a perfect metaphor for the underworld, I don’t know what is.”

You swallowed the quarter and then Hades fed you the next one.  This continued until all quarters of the fruit were gone.  Hades’ finger grazed your lip and for a moment, it felt like the two of you were the only ones that were in the room.   In this moment, you knew that you were seeing the man behind the god again, just like when Abigail had taught you to navigate the corridors of the underworld after her nightmare.   The way he gazed at you with such intensity made you wonder why you considered leaving him and the underworld behind. 

Hades’ eyes lingered on your lips which unbeknownst to you had been stained red from the juices of the pomegranate.  His finger left your bottom lip and traced a soft path until it rested on your chin.  You registered additional pressure around your chin and realised that Hades was gripping your chin with his thumb and forefinger.  Your heart started pounding as Hades dipped his head and pressed his mouth to yours in a forceful and dominating kiss.

You had no idea how long the kiss lasted for but when Hades broke the kiss and moved a tiny amount away from you, you glimpsed many emotions swirling in his gaze.   You were able to identify pride, love, admiration, and a glimmer of lust before he released your chin and grasped your hand again.  The god then used his grip on your hand to turn you so that you were both facing the assembled crowd.

“Behold the Queen of the Underworld!” He commanded and the room erupted in cheers and applause.  The loudest of the cheers and clapping came from Abigail, Drake, and Dave.  Drake even stuck two of his fingers in his mouth and whistled a couple of times but after a disapproving look from Hades, Drake withdrew his fingers, cleaned them with a hanky that he conjured, stuck the hanky in his pocket and continued to clap and cheer loudly.

Hades let go of your hand and wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you into his side tightly.

“Look at your subjects.”  He ordered.

“They are your subjects as well Hades,” you reminded him.

“Maxim.”  He corrected.

You frowned at the god that you were happy to call your husband, “I’m sorry?”

“When I was human my name was Maxim Horvath.”  He lowered his head so that his lips grazed your ear.  These words were for you and you alone, “I haven’t used that name in quite some time but I would have no objection if you were to scream the first part of it when you and I are alone together in our new quarters.”

[iobsessoverfictionalmen]

It's a highway to hell but, oh the things we do for love (4)

This fic is a Greek mythology au. This fic includes: betrayal, attempted human sacrifice, violence, choking, character death, cursing, forced marriage, mentions of nightmares, references to Greek mythology, enemies to lovers, and manipulation.

Tagging: @imwithyoutiltheendofthelinebucky, @greep215

Chapter 4

“Now that you know my name, will you order Hecate to escort me to Hades?”

“No.”  You refused, “A suit of armour will guide you to the king.  Hecate will stay here with me.”

Truthfully, you had no idea how you would even summon a suit of armour since Hades had done it last time and he hadn’t exactly provided instructions on how to imitate the process.  To your complete and utter astonishment, you heard heavy metal footsteps coming towards you.

Within a matter of seconds, a suit of armour stood in the entrance way.  From its posture, it was clear that it was waiting for orders from you.  The words leapt unbidden from your mouth, “Escort Minthe directly to Hades.  If he is unavailable for whatever reason, remain with her at the doors of the throne room.”

The suit of armour raised a hand to pound at its breast plate and it bobbed its head once before facing Minthe with a stony countenance.  She huffed when she realised that you were serious about not letting Abigail go with her and that the suit of armour would escort her instead.

She twirled around and taking that as its cue to leave, the suit of armour made its way down the hall.  Feeling petty, you called out to her, “I’d suggest that you do your best to keep up with the suit of armour.  It will not stop to wait for you.”

Only after you had finished speaking did you realise that you had repeated Hades’ words from your first night in the Underworld.  Minthe left the prophecy room with quick strides.

“If she maintains her current pace, she should catch up to the suit of armour very soon.  She can’t be too far behind it because I can still hear its footsteps.”

Abigail waited a long time to ensure that Minthe had left.  Once she was absolutely certain that Minthe wouldn’t double back, she let go of your hand which was starting to become numb from her tight grip.  Blood rushed back into the limb yet you chose to ignore that and focus on the goddess whose mood had undergone a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn from her mood earlier this morning.

“Why did she have to come back?” The goddess wailed.  “No one likes her!  She doesn’t belong here!”

You gathered the distraught immortal into your embrace and because of the fact that you were preoccupied with the goddess in your arms and trying to figure out the right words to say to her, you didn’t notice the shadows lengthening until two men popped out of them and appeared next to you.  You let out a yelp and Abigail chuckled wetly.

“Minthe’s back,” the taller of the two bemoaned.

“It’s a little late to tell us now.  She was just in the room with us.” Abigail retorted with a frown as she wriggled out of your arms to face the newest arrivals.

The shorter of the two men was the first to spot you, “Hi.  We haven’t been introduced yet.  I’m Charon but you can call me Dave and this,” he jerked his thumb at the taller male, “is….”

“You can call me Thanatos.”  His voice was clipped as he interrupted Dave and studied you.

“I’m (Name).”  You introduced yourself.

“We know,” Thanatos replied.  “Charon filled me in on the two witches he ferried over.”

You swallowed at the mention of Vi and her partner, “Oh.”

“Indeed,” Thanatos replied curtly, lifting an eyebrow.

“How are we going to get her out of here?”  Abigail demanded.

“We could make her cookies with salt instead of sugar?” Dave suggested.

Thanatos started shaking his head even before Dave was midway through his sentence, “No way.  I’m not spending any time or effort on that woman if I don’t have to.”

“Lemon juice in her water with salt and vinegar?” Abigail offered, “It’s easy and doesn’t require a lot of time or effort.”

“Now you’re talking,” Thanatos praised, grinning approvingly at Abigail.  “What about egg yolks in her drink?”

You wrinkled your nose and made a mental note to never make these immortals angry.  You didn’t want them coming up with creative ideas like these ones about how to mess with your food.  Unfortunately a thought occurred to you and you let out a sigh as the need to speak up rose within you.

“While those are good prank ideas, you’re all forgetting one thing.”

“What’s that?”  Thanatos snapped.  You tried not to focus on the mocking edge of his voice.

“She’s in Hades’ realm and as such the god is bound by the laws of hospitality.  Any pranks or perceived insults, however harmless they may be,” you hastened to add when you caught sight of the identical frowns on Dave, Abigail, and Thanatos’ faces, “would be insulting him as well and I think we can all agree that none of us want to see Hades angry.”

Abigail, Dave, and Thanatos all had the same looks of disappointment on their faces.  “What do we do then?” Thanatos demanded aggressively.  “We can’t let her stay here!”

“Whatever Minthe did last time must’ve been really bad.  I wish I knew what it was so I could make sure not to do anything remotely close to it.”

“Avoid her at all costs.”  You advised.  “Stick together and I will do my best to divert her attention.  You shouldn’t,” your voice dropped and became softer, “interact with her since you clearly don’t want to, and based on the discussion you three just had, I think it’s fair to say that if you are forced to be around her, you would be willing to risk Hades’ wrath to get Minthe out of the Underworld permanently.”

“You’re not wrong,” Thanatos admitted.  He seemed a little less sullen and you hoped that meant he was warming up to you.