9 - 'I need a date'

Charon had been pleased once more, when that 'thank you' had been perfectly done. And then he let out a slight smile when listening to Hermes, nodding from time to time or throwing glances at him through his stories. His partner for the night really offered the best company he could have hoped for.

He eventually parked the car in front of an elegant manor - Sir Hades' residence, where the party was being held. He got out, greeted one of the butlers there with a nod and gave him his car keys for it to be parked away, and then went to the other side of the car to join Hermes. He hesitated, and then smiled, asking him silently through gestures whether he'd like to take his arm or hand before they entered. It wasn't even a ploy to fool his family - he wanted to.

Hermes had seen that impressive - dark, kind of gothic looking - manor from far away, and had started to feel the tiniest bit nervous. Not for the richness shown off by the greatness of that palace, or for the people they would meet who could be less accepting of him than Charon. He was used to both of those. Zeus had not exactly similar tastes, but about the same level of ostentation.
Let's call it performance anxiety.
As he stared at the entrance, while the butler drove off with the car, he took a deep breath and felt his nervousness melt away a little when Charon looked at him with a smile, inviting him to either get his arm or his hand. "Well, Boss", he commented with a little smirk, raising his brows at him. "You're much too tall for me to take your arm." He fought his giddiness as he boldly reached for his hand, entwining his fingers with Charon's ringed ones. "Now we can go. Let's put on a show."

Charon nodded, and entered the palace with him.

Meagara and Thanatos might be loners with very few friends, they were celebrating an engagement party with a guy that got along with literally everyone he met. (Safe for Theseus, but he had been hating his guts since highschool for not particular reason). So of course, there were plenty of people attending that party, mostly Zagreus' friends, given that his father had been quite secretive about his side of the family.

And there were a few people that him and his father esteemed a lot, such like the Cthonia family, that had been working with them for many years, starting all the way back with Chaos, to the now important role that Nyx and her sons were doing in Hades' big company.

Speaking of her sons - before Charon might begin to tell or show anything to Hermes, someone dressed in a bright red and blue costume materialized in front of their eyes.
"Whoa, wait, hold on, what!" Hypnos exclaimed with a wide grin. If Charon hadn't told Hermes already that he was his brother by showing him a family picture, it would have been kind of hard to come to that conclusion. Charon was tall, muscular and slim with angular traits, and piercing eyes, while Hypnos was much smaller, with round cheeks, and sleepy eyes. The only trait that they shared was their wavy hair, but Hypnos didn't seem to share Charon's skin condition.

And, contrary to Charon, his face read like an open book. His eyes were glinting with mischief, and he grinned while looking at Hermes in disbelief. "No way! You came with a plus one? You're Charon's plus one?"

Even though Hermes had passed the last month memorizing each and every detail about the people Charon had showed him in pictures - which included his mother Nyx, his grandparent Chaos, his two brothers, Alecto and her sisters and the list went on indefinitely - he was definitely taken aback by seeing Hypnos in person. Indeed, he would have never guessed he could be Charon's brother. He grinned at him, though. "I sure am!", he exclaimed, immediately offering his hand to shake. "You must be Hypnos, right? I'm Hermes, it's nice to meet you in person!"

"You know my name! Whoa!" Hypnos gaped at Charon and then grinned at Hermes, whose hand he shook. "No way! You seem to be around my age, right? I'm 25!" He was looking at Hermes carefully, with unconstrained glee, much to Charon's annoyance.

He knew it was bound to happen, but he had hoped that either Thanatos or his mother had told him he was coming with a plus one, and that he wouldn't have embarrassed him as much in front of Hermes.
Now he looked like a desperate case who had never brought a date home.
...
Alright, he had never brought a date home, but it didn't justify such a reaction from his younger brother.

Hermes could barely keep himself from laughing. He threw a glance at Charon, looking as amused as ever, distractedly thinking that he had never actually asked for Charon's age in the end. Oh, well. "I am 25 as a matter of fact, yes", he answered with a smile. "And of course. Charon's not exactly chatty, but I was bound to learn the names of his brothers at some point, especially before meeting you! Do you work in his same field as him? Great place, by the way! Lot of people! All friends and family of the stars of the evening, right?"

"Yeah, exactly!" Hypnos replied with a wide grin. "Do you mind if I tag along while you go around? I'm dying to see Charon telling everyone you're his boyfriend. Boyfriend! Man, I thought you only liked your stock market and money."

Charon sighed, and gestured something quick to Hypnos, who burst out laughing.
"Alright, alright, I'll keep my distances. But." He grinned at Hermes. "As soon as you're done greeting everyone, I'm dying to hear the story about how you two met."

"I like to think I'm about the same level of importance as the stock markets by now. Not a hundred percent sure, but a man needs to dream sometimes", Hermes laughed, throwing a mischevious glance at Charon - he was clearly enough poking some fun at him.
He was standing close to the other man, very close, since the moment he had let go of his hand to greet Hypnos, and didn't seem at all intentioned to keep a respectable distance any time soon.
He laughed again when Hypnos made it clear he'd like to learn about their first meeting. "Ah- yeah, I have the feeling everyone is going to ask about that", he mused. "It's way less glamorous than one would think, but. Sure, of course I'll tell!"

When Hermes had voiced concern that he might not hold the same level of importance as the stock market to him, he had let out a small smile, and had wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

That gesture and Hermes' words brought Hypnos' curiosity to a peak. "Oh, to hell with it! Tell me now! I'm sure it's a fun story. I mean- You're a pretty normal-looking guy, and Charon's... well, look at him. Even if you crossed path in the streets I'd marvel at the fact that he went somewhere by foot!"

Hermes was more than happy to just lean into Charon's arm, and grinned again. "Oh, well- I had agreed with Charon that I would lie about it because it's embarrassing, but I just can't resist, I'm sorry", he answered, looking way too gleeful about all of this. 

"So- I was working a nightly shift for this pizzeria. It's a small one, but very popular - people working in it are all italians, and they never got a bigger place or transportation for the sake of being more authentic. Anyway, the old, decrepit Vespa abandoned us halfway through the night. Everyone was like, well, doesn't matter really, it's kind of late anyway, who the hell would order a pizza at 23? Enter this guy", Hermes both said and signed, pointing at Charon. "Who sends us a text, placing an order. We see the address, and the owner is desperate because damn that's like, a very high-end place, which means a hell of a tip! And we aren't going to get it! But I go, wait, I can do this. I can get that pizza there on time. I get the phone, reply that we'll get it to him in under twenty minutes or else he'll get it for free as per our policy - but if it arrives on time, he'd pay double, because the courrier was on foot that night." He grinned ferally up at Charon. "He didn't believe me. But he made the mistake of accepting. I just answered 'We'll see about that ; )' and fifteen minutes later I was standing in front of his door."

He was good at telling stories.

No joke, Charon had momentarily panicked when Hermes said that their encounter was embarrassing- but he soon ended up smiling through the story, that indeed sounded corny as hell. He even ended up laying his free hand on his face, to hide a chuckle, which Hypnos took for embarrassment.

He laughed at his brother's expense, and grinned at Hermes. "Oh no. Don't tell me he was actually really impressed and asked you out or something. It sounds like the beginning of a dubious kind of movie."

Hermes' grin was just as large as Hypnos' at this point. "Hey, just what kind of pizza delivery guy do you think I am?", he protested, feigning offense. "He would've never. But I, on the other hand, thought he looked very interesting, so I told him that if he would prefer, instead of paying double the fee, he could take me out for coffee or something. You know, for the trouble I went through to get him his food", he added with a wink. "Unexpectedly enough, he accepted. We exchanged phone numbers, and one month and something after, here we are!" He wrapped his arm around Charon's waist.

"Whoa," Hypnos let out, with an incredulous chuckle. "I can't believe that the one time you get out of your routine and order pizza, you get yourself a boyfriend as an extra," he told his brother with some kind of awe. "I guess you need to change your habits from time to time to meet your significat other!" He hit the palm of his hand with his fist. "I need to try that! Oh, I can't wait to see how Than and mom react to this one. Zag's going to love it!"

Charon rolled his eyes, but he gently squeezed Hermes' shoulder, to let him know he did well. He signed something to Hypnos, and then turned towards Hermes again, offering him through simple signing to meet his mother.

"Pretty amazing, right?", Hermes laughed, before he turned towards Charon to read his signing. "Sure! I'd like to meet your mom", he answered with a smile, before looking at Hypnos again. "Try not to spoil that story to everyone, though - I'd like to see some surprised faces myself, alright?" He winked.

"Alright," Hypnos conceded with a grin, and he winked back at Hermes, before he went on his way.

Once they were alone, Charon smiled at Hermes. "Nice story," he signed, before he took his phone out to complete his thought - he suspected that it might be difficult for Hermes to follow him otherwise. "So that's the final version we're going for? I ordered pizza, and you asked me out? I'd rather make sure all of my family gets the same story. But you can tell what you want to Meagara and her sisters : )"

Hermes grinned at Charon. "Thank you", he signed back, and winked at him before grabbing his phone back. "Yep! I hope that's good enough for you - whether you believe that or not, most of what I told your brother did actually happen. Just, I didn't end up dating the dude I brought the pizza to", he admitted with a little laugh. His eyes shone soon after, though. "Ohh, right! That super nice café manager is part of this, right? I think just for her, I'll make our encounter disgustingly sweet and romantic", he added, rubbing his hands together like a petulant child.

Charon chuckled. "Agreed," He signed first, before he texted him the rest. "You have my full support for that one." He felt both a little jealous that this story had actually happened, and that Hermes might have indeed gone on a date with that customer, even though it had lead to nowhere. Thankfully, he was good at hiding it.

He crossed the reception room with him until they got to where his mother was, looking as gorgeous as ever. Almost like her parent, it was difficult to guess her exact age. Hell, some people had mistook her for Charon's sister on a few occasions, given that he, on the opposite, looked a little older because of his grey hair.

He greeted Nyx through signing. "Good evening, mother. I want to introduce you formally to my partner, Hermes." He had not yet come up for a definite sign for Hermes' name, so he spelled it. It wasn't so odd, for now, not to use a specific sign for his partner's name when he introduced him.

Hermes let Charon guide him away, and felt himself growing more and more nervous as they got closer to the statuary, beautiful woman that he knew for certain to be his mother. She looked intimidating - and definitely like she wouldn't just drink down whatever story Hermes would make up on the spot.
He'd need to be careful.
He waited for Charon to finish his introduction, and he got his brightest grin on his lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you, madam!" He didn't offer his hand to her. Charon had previously told him that both her and his grandparent didn't really appreciate physical contact all that much.
Neither did Thanatos, anyway, nor Charon himself apparently.

Nyx looked at the both of them for a bit, and she eventually let out a small, kind smile. Charon definitely took after her. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Hermes, is that right?" She had simply nodded to Hermes indeed - she wasn't comfortable with physical contact with strangers, like most of her family. She was actually surprised to see that Charon's hand rested in Hermes' back, but she didn't comment on it.

"Charon has told me a bit about you. You seem to have had a good influence on him during the past days - I'd like to thank you for that."

Hermes relaxed a little, and answered to her with a smile as well. "Oh- I, ah", he laughed, looking a little sheepish all of a sudden. "I don't know if I deserve to be called a good influence, but I can take a compliment when I'm offered one", he thanked her with a little bow. A boyish grin formed on his lips, and he threw a coy smile in Charon's direction. "So Charon does tell other people about me! We've just crossed Hypnos, and he had no idea he'd even come here with someone!"

Nyx seemed amused by the hidden reproach addressed to Charon, and looked at her son, who grunted and signed something to her. "I suspected as much." She turned towards Hermes. "Charon is a little reserved. He had, however, no other choice but to tell me about you, for I had to write you down on the guest list. As for your influence- I understood that you've managed to talk him into eating a third meal a day sometimes."

Charon had definitely told Hermes on multiple occasions that he felt like skipping dinner, and they probably talked about it before he decided to order takeaway instead.

Hermes chuckled. "I bet that if he'd had a choice, he would have just come here with me tonight without telling anyone at all. Right?", he asked, smiling up at Charon and leaning against him. He turned again towards Nyx. "Ah, yeah, that. I know I'm not exactly the one to talk, I don't really have a super healthy kind of lifestyle either, but I'm not for skipping meals. So it's true that I've been encouraging him!" He looked at Charon again. "How are you going to be strong enough to drag your giant limbs around if you don't eat enough?", he added, feigning a reproach - even though he was grinning, because he had definitely sent a message exactly typed like that before.

In the meantime, an intimidating presence was making its way towards Nyx and the two men, having noticed them from afar. Chaos moved as if they knew perfectly well that anyone would immediately step aside to allow them to pass wherever they pleased - and they were right. Just like their daughter, they were statuary and apparently ageless, with high cheekbones, a delicate but somewhat firm-looking jaw, full lips, white hair and a set of eyes that made just anyone feel uneasy.
They had the tendency to have that effect on people.

Charon let out a chuckle when he looked down at Hermes. The young man seemed perfectly at ease with teasing him in front of his relatives, and it made he feel a bit of warmth in his chest at the thought.
And yes, Hermes had definitely scolded him with those exact words before. Which made it all the more endearing.

Nyx was looking at both of them, a little surprised, but she let out a soft smile when she realized how much affection these two seemed to feel for each other.

And since Chaos hardly went anywhere unnoticed, Charon turned towards them when they came closer. If anything, he felt a little nervous now. Chaos always saw right through him no matter what, and this time might not be any different.
He greeted them through signing. "I was going to look for you. I wished to introduce you to my partner, Hermes." he turned towards Hermes, and signed, much slower, "My grandparent."

Hermes turned to face Chaos and struggled not to stare at them with a certain amount of awe as they towered over both him and Charon. They didn't seem to be taller than Charon himself, but their presence was just something else entirely. He felt himself gape like some out-of-water fish and he quickly shut his mouth, embarrassed.
Chaos hummed in aknowledgement as their grandson signed to him, and then immediately turned to inspect Hermes as soon as they read the word 'partner', looking mildly interested all of a sudden.
Yes, inspect. And yes, 'mildly interested' was the most interested Chaos ever looked. "Partner?", they repeated, with a musing tone. "Interesting." He nodded slightly to Hermes. "I'm Chaos. What do I call you?"
Not even their voice gave anything away of them. It could have belonged to anyone. "I'm Hermes! Very glad to meet you", he answered with a smile.
Chaos hummed again. They threw a glance at Nyx - who probably pointedly raised her eyebrows at them because yes, parent, as we talked about, don't stare silently for too long, your grandchildren like when you manifest some interest towards them and their lives - and they shifted a little bit. They looked at Charon again. "How unusual of you, to bring someone along. But a welcome change. How did you meet, then? I would like to know. Please, respond."
Interesting how they had asked Charon directly, and not Hermes.

Nyx had definitely casted a glance at Chaos to make sure they wouldn't stare too much at Hermes. Even if Charon had warned him about hiw quirky his grandparent might be, it wasn't a reason to keep on going.

Charon nodded - as expected from Chaos, they would chose just who would answer their questions, and accept no alternative. Thankfully, he could retell that pizza delivery story through signing, and much shorter than how Hermes had told it to Hypnos beforehand. He ordered pizza late in the evening, he got it delivered by foot in less than 20 minutes, and invited the runner inside for a drink. And then paid him a coffee.
"It turns out we grew close quickly. And there we are," he concluded, as Nyx smiled kindly upon learning that story too.