Renatus (1)
Summary: (y/n) finds herself in a very unusual situation where her fate seems to be woven with Hades himself, who’s too much of a jerk for her to even admit that sure okay he’s kind of really good looking.
Pairing: Hades!Yoongi x reader
Warnings: none for now other than some cussing and mentions of a chamberpot and my small love speech to Sojourner Truth
Chapters: one two three
Your 21st birthday had so far been incredibly uneventful. You had spent too much time trying to power your way through piles of essays and had little interest in drinking the night away unless it was with a painfully strong coffee that might actually help you get through all of the homework. Your birthdays were always relatively uneventful. Perhaps that was your fault, you were too absorbed in school and work at this point in your life to try to make functioning relationships, platonic or otherwise. Even as a child friendship had been a difficult achievement and birthdays were usually just a painful reminder of that. The only thing that ever stood out about your birthday was the flowers you received every year at midnight. A gorgeous arrangement of lilies, with no card and no name, appeared on the doorstep of wherever you lived every year like clockwork after you turned 13. At first, you had guessed it was your parents, but even they seemed to be perplexed at who it was. Your next guess was your grandmother who owned a small flower shop, but upon explaining the flowers to her on your 14th birthday she looked alarmed and said she would never give you flowers that symbolized death. As a teenager the flowers haunted you, you were constantly trying to catch who it was that left them but never saw a single person leave them behind. As an adult, you just welcomed that someone out there wanted to leave you a present, even if you would be too busy editing your fifth essay this week to actually give it much thought this time. After what felt like decades you reread your most recent edits and cracked your knuckles. It was decent, it wasn't groundbreaking work by any means however creating something groundbreaking about a piece as famous as "Ain't I Woman" wasn't about to happen, the more important thing to you at this point was editing the essay so it didn't seem like you were only writing a worship piece dedicated to Sojourner Truth which turned out to be far more difficult than previously predicted as you found yourself constantly trying to stay on topic rather than rant for pages about the beauty of how unplanned the speech was, how it encompassed everything still wrong with society today, how the woman was so bad ass she literally walked away from slavery. Literally, she walked away, she didn't even run. As your eyes tried to skim towards the end you found the weight of the night finally hitting your mind and body, a deep lethargy sweeping over you. The last thought you had was a reminder that you needed to finish preparing for your presentation of Mary Wollstonecraft before succumbing to sleep.
You weren't sure where you were or what was going on. All you knew is that you had fallen asleep on a mountain of homework with "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" as a makeshift pillow on your desk and now you seemed to be in a very strange dream in a very strange place and to top that off you were having a far too realistic dream where you woke up with-in the dream, yes that's exactly what had to be happening because the room before your eyes was completely new to you. The bed you lay in felt like something straight out of a five star hotel, the sheets where the smoothest black silk and the blankets were of the most gorgeous fur you had ever seen (faux you hoped quickly) and there were four posters with a canopy of black and gold mesh-like material, that upon touch felt also luxuriously soft and far too real for your liking. A feeling of anxiety began to bubble inside you as you opened up the canopy and walked slowly through the room. There was black and gold everywhere, and the room was larger than the entirety of the two bedroom apartment you shared with three other roommates. A grand ornate mirror stood on the floor, the length running up almost halfway to what had to be at least thirty feet ceilings (although judging the size and height of things had never been your strong suit) and oh good god was that a gold chamberpot?????? A CHAMBERPOT? "Note to self, stop drinking so much caffeine my dreams are getting really fucking weird." The words came out as a whisper but echoed through the room. At that same time you heard other noises, other people speaking. In the distance, you could hear someone saying something similar to "a girl! No no no a human!! You're sure you sensed that in your room? But how????" Moments later an ornately carved wooden door that you somehow hadn't noticed burst open and two men tumbled in. "How did she get in here Jungkook?" The shorter of the two asked the younger man, his eyes staring into yours for just a second before looking back at his companion. Even in your dreams people ignored you and were assholes, you really needed to do something other than study when you woke up. Maybe actually try talking to someone in your class, or joining a gym and try to strike up a conversation with the least pretentious person there. "How am I supposed to know? I only came to visit you because I thought Persephone ran away again, this place gives me the creeps." The younger of the two looked down at his feet as he spoke, while at first he was annoyed now he seemed to be...intimidated almost? "Well she's clearly not here and we clearly have a problem that there is a human here and she's alive and she seems to have just appeared, there is no sign of an intrusion and I have felt no presence other than your own come in through the entrance." With that, the more intimidating man started to walk closer to you. "Who are you girl?" Again you couldn't help to want to analyze the simultaneously lazy and commanding presence of his. You didn't answer quickly, instead, you took time to inspect him. While you might be having a very bizarre dream and the guy did seem to be a bit of an asshole you must admit he was good looking. 'The good looking ones are usually assholes' you thought to yourself. He was short, and from what you could tell under his black robe (oh great my dream is taking a weird cult turn, I knew I shouldn't have tried to do my alternative religion studies so late at night after watching true crime documentaries yesterday) he seemed to be very slim, his face was almost cute if it weren't for the sharp look in his eyes and the tight clench in his jaw forming a formidable scowl. As your eyes traced over his features you heard the other boy (Jungkook he called him) say "Do you think she's deaf??" "Quiet Jungkook. Girl, I asked you a question. What is your name?" His voice was slightly louder this time, slightly deeper from agitation. "You're kind of an ass, how about asking nicely?" The words tumbled out before you could think and you found yourself growing red as Jungkook began to shake with laughter and kept repeating, "oh my gods she called you an ass Yoongi, an ass!" 'Ah so Yoongi is his name...' you looked back and forth between the two, your face growing hot yet again as you realized that Yoongi hadn't broken his gaze from you even under the commotion of his friend. "My name is (y/n), and I take it you are Yoongi...so tell me Yoongi, where am I dreaming that I am? I don't believe I've ever seen this place, I'm pretty sure I'd remember a gold chamberpot." His eyes narrowed and Yoongi stepped closer, his breath fanning over your face. It felt like we stood in a staring match for ages, both of us too stubborn to lose before finally Jungkook stopped laughing and said, "You don't realize you're in Hades? Good gods, how did you even get here?" That was enough to break your staring match as you looked over at the younger boy, "What? I'm dreaming that I'm in Hades? The ancient Greek underworld?" "Ancient? Perhaps to you humans, yes perhaps it could be called ancient. Speaking of humans I don't believe I gave you permission to call me by that name, to you humans I am Hades." Yoongi didn't even blink or move away from you, his words shook with a quiet anger, his near whisper feeling more like a yell. At first, you felt small under his tone, uncomfortable under his gaze as confusion washed over you. The dream felt so bizarre and so unusual, but you couldn't help the gnawing anxious voice in the back of your head telling you that this wasn't a dream and that you were somehow standing in front of a mythological figure while the logical voice in your head was also saying that there is no logical way any god is real, that there is no possible way you were in anything but a dream. The logical side of the argument waring within your head began to win out and mustering up some confidence you looked straight at Yoongi (or Hades or dream dude) and said, "Aren't you a little short to be the 'terrifying' god of the underworld? Also a little...young?" Once again Jungkook howled with laughter, tears running down his face as he chortled out "short ohhhhhh my gooooodsssss. I like her! I say she should stay, this is great! Short!!! She called you short!" To your surprise, Yoongi began to match your smirk and he moved his lips right to your ear before whispering, "While I want to appreciate how feisty you are, I more appreciate how much of an idiot you are for laughing at the face of death and its god. I could kill you, I could take your soul, I could devour it and ensure that your soul would never enter another body again." You refused to show fear, you refused to shake in front of him. Even in this idiotic dream, you were just as stubborn as you were in real life. While your insides twisted with fear and anxiety bubbled up in your throat you steeled yourself to show none of that on your face. "Well, Hades" you spat out his name and gave a long pause before continuing, trying to match his lazy pace, "if this isn't a dream, and you are truly the god of the underworld then isn't it best to get me back to the world of the living? I have a presentation that I don't want to miss, I've been working my ass off and it's worth half my entire grade. So chop chop, lets get to it, big boy." You're not sure how but you managed to say all of that with confidence, not even a slight waver in your voice. Yoongi stared back at you for some time before turning around and walking towards the door. "Fine, we'll go to the fates and see what's going on and see if you don't truly know how you got here or if you’re hiding something." As you rushed to follow his fast pace Jungkook took stride in the middle of the two of you. "I'm coming with, this is by far more entertaining than anything else I could do." Jungkook had a smile plastered on his face, still wiping tears from his eyes as he spoke.
You’re not sure why but you found comfort in that. While you didn't know the young man at all you found his presence far lighter and far more comforting than Hades’. Yoongi had this energy to him, a presence that felt overwhelming at times and a voice that encompassed this quiet power that lay in an angry bubble just below the surface. The entire time you walked you tried to mentally tell yourself to wake up and wrapped up in your thoughts you found yourself walking straight into Yoongi's back. Blinking you realized that Yoongi was sitting in a boat already and that Yoongi was waiting for you to step in. After taking a cautious step in you sat down next to Jungkook (to ensure you wouldn't have to sit next to Hades) and began to look around. Hades was unlike not only anything you had ever seen but unlike anything you would imagine it to be. What you assumed to be the Styx river was stunning, the waters changed colors constantly, from light lilacs to blood reds and brilliant greens to soft yellows and inky blacks. It was also covered with the most beautiful lilies you had ever seen. You began to reach out to touch on before Hades grabbed your hand.
"Do not touch the water girl, the souls will try to attach themselves to you and trying to remove them is a very painful and often fatal endeavor." His voice sounded almost soft, almost caring. Yoongi looked wistfully at the water as you finally spoke. "Lilies...every year I receive Lilies on my birthday and I'm sorry to say that today I didn't even check to see if I received them." Your voice came out in a dreamy whisper as if saying it too loud would mean that would break the spell of the unknown lilies that you treasured. "You...I..."Yoongi seemed at a loss for words, his mind clearly confused by this statement. "You couldn't be..." "Oh look Yoongs, we're already at the entrance. Hey, do you think you can transport all of us to the fates? They never seem to want to let me in. Crazy old bats." Both Yoongi and you were forced out of your thoughts by Jungkook, and you realized that indeed the boat had stopped at a sandy shore in front of a dark entrance where candles floated in mid-air. Before you could even step out of the boat you felt a cold hand grab a hold of your shoulder and in just a blink of an eye, you found yourself standing in front of three very strange looking old women. "Ah yes, we knew you'd come Hades!" The one on the left chirped as the one in the middle said, "You must surely remember!" The one on the right finished with, "You, after all, set this fate in motion!" Your mind tried to take in everything. You weren't sure how you got here, or where here was (yet again.) The women in front of you looked exactly like cartoon witches, in black robes and bristly long white hair with a mad glint in their foggy eyes. Yoongi stepped in front. "Fates, I'm not sure how...but this girl found herself in my sleeping chambers. I came to you because I assume you can explain how her fate is woven into the underworld or if this is just some elaborate prank by Zeus..." You chose to remain silent instead of trying to add to the conversation, you were still trying to understand what exactly was going on. You couldn't help but think of the cartoon fates in Hercules and worked hard to stifle the laugh that was trying to bubble out as you gazed at the three old women in front of you. "Why surely you remember!" Again they spoke from left to right, apparently one of the three could not speak for them all, again the image of the Disney movie lurked in your mind's eye. "Why you promised!" "Why you chose to wove this fate!" And then they circled back to the furthest on the left. "Why you saved that woman's boy." "You took her up on her offer that you would wed the woman's firstborn daughter" "And in exchange, you broke the taboo and let the boy live!" "Surely you remember." "After all" "We know of the lilies you send!" "You...you sent the lilies?" Your voice came out soft, you sounded almost childlike as you thought back to the first time you received the lilies when you were just ten. "I...I didn't know I was sending them to you, I just asked Hermes to send them..."Yoongi sounded startled and even slightly embarrassed almost, like a small child who's been caught in the act. "I don't understand...how could you send them to me without knowing my name? And what do they mean save the son? My mother has no boys I have no brothers, I’m an only child. And...DID THEY SAY MARRY??? OH MY GOD THIS ISN'T A FUCKING DREAM AT ALL IS IT? I...I...I...ohh nooo my presentation!!!" You started hyperventilating as you continued speaking, the air around you felt dizzyingly hot and stuffy and the walls felt like they were closing in. If it's possible to feel exactly like a phone that's been submerged in water that is the exactly how your brain felt. Jungkook suddenly appeared next to you (or perhaps in the midst of everything you just hadn't noticed that he had been there the whole time, you really weren't sure) and tried to soothe you by rubbing the back of your neck. Yoongi looked both bewildered and...perhaps angry or jealous (or maybe you just secretly hoped that, but you really didn't want to try to analyze what you felt for Hades at that moment) as he watched the scene before him. Once you managed to finally slow your breathing to a steady pace Yoongi said so quietly you could barely hear him, "I will answer all of your questions in time, but you need rest." And suddenly you found yourself as you had just hours ago slipping into another deep sleep without any warning at all.
alksdjf so this felt like a rushed mess? Sorry, this is actually my first fanfic and I haven’t tried writing anything fiction in ages but this idea just popped into my head and I figured I should just...go with it? Anywho this chapter is more like a prologue, I’ll try to update soon and I’m sorry if it’s just a hot mess, but I do hope you enjoyed this!
Also, fun fact, I once had to do a 12 slide presentation on Sojourner Truth and to this day I have never done another assignment that I loved more than that one and just as a reminder Ms. Truth actually had a Dutch accent as Dutch was her first language, in fact she was a slave in New York not the south so southern accents aren’t accurate in the slightest.