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A gentle nudge against her shoulder brings Melinoë back to consciousness, vaguely aware of the way her bed covers are being moved from side to side. The goddess squints her eyes tighter, trying her best to go back to the sleep she so desperately wanted. She thought it would be enough to get the person off of her, except the message was not clear enough to them.
“Mel.”
Who is this? is the first thought from her (unfortunately) now conscious mind. The goddess tries her best to tune them out, forcing her ears to ignore the soft voice above her. She curls into herself like a cat, head sinking deeper into the pillow. Melinoë is doing everything in her power to tell the person above her to go away and let her sleep, but the message fails to be delivered again.
“Mel,” the voice above her says again, tone just a bit harsher than it was before.
They are now shaking her entire body, jostling her completely. The goddess lets out a groan, displeased with everything that is happening to her. (She just got herself asleep three hours ago, for the love of the fates, will they let her go back to bed?) Melinoë lifts herself up slightly, turning her body away from her disturber as she now faces the other side of her tent. This leads to the person shaking her above to let out a loud groan, now putting more force into jostling her around.
“Melinoë,” the person proclaims, tone insisting and o that she knows that they will not leave her alone.
Alright, fine. She will get up.
The goddess throws the blanket off of her, pulling herself straight up as she faces the person that has been a thorn in her side. She glares at them.
“What do you want, Zagreus?”
A wide smile breaks on her brother’s face as he lets out a chuckle. He lifts his brow, mischief written in his eyes.
“Are you pouting about you no longer being asleep, Mel?”
Melinoë rolls her eyes at such an obvious answer as she crosses her arms. She huffs while she blows some of her stray blond hair out of her face. She was not pouting.
“I’m not pouting,” she grumbles out, still glaring at her brother. His chuckle changes into a laugh, a smile never leaving her face.
“Oh, you definitely are, little sis.”
“I am almost the same height as you now!”
“I will forever be 4 inches taller than you, Mel.”
The goddess throws one of her pillows at him, for revenge for his rude comment and making her wake up. Zagreus yelps as he dodges her attack, moving himself so as to not get hurt. For the first time today, her annoyance leaves her as she lets out a small laugh, happy she could get back at him.
“Melinoë!”
“Sorry, brother,” Melinoë tries to apologize, tone not at all apologetic. She fights the smirk forming on her pale face. “It just slipped.”
“Sure it did,” he responds while clicking his tongue, feeling just as annoyed as she did minutes ago. She laughs again, the mischief now in her heterochromatic eyes.
“Now who’s pouting, brother?”
“You little witch!” Zagreus exclaims to her, the irony of his statement not lost on her. He reaches out with one hand to ruffle up her already messed up blond hair. She yelps, just like he did before, trying to swat his hand away as if it were a fly. Laughter from the both of them fills up the space of her tent, joy radiating from the both of them. After a while, Zagreus removes his hand off her head, a smirk present on his face.
“Well, at least the princess is now wide awake for this important day.”
Melinoë stares at him with a quizzical look, brow raised high at what her brother deemed to be such an important day.
“What is so important about this day, prince?” She fires back at him, using such formalities as a way to jest with him. Since she was young, she and her brother rarely ever called each other by their titles, both of them deeming it not necessary with the situation they were in. The rare times they ever did was when addressing Hecate or other shades about their plans for Chronos or the role they play in Underworld. Other times would be such as this, using it as a way to get back at one another or a nickname her brother used and still uses to this day.
The god's eyes soften as he brings his hand down, lifting a little cake with a candle up to her line of sight, a detail she missed this whole time. Melinoë stared at the cake with a shocked expression before their eyes met again, his smile fond.
“Happy 18th birthday, Melinoë.”
She completely forgot that today was her birthday, it slipping her mind entirely. Melinoëlifts the covers off herself entire as she looks at the cake closer, moved beyond words for his kind and thoughtful actions.
“Zagreus,” she whispers out, hands curled around chest. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“Yes I did, Melione. It’s my job as your brother to do this,” Zagreus tells her matter-of-factly, as if what she just said was the most absurd thing ever. It quickly changes though, when his entire face softens, a small smile playing on his lips. “You’ve reached an important milestone in your life and it’s something we have to celebrate.”
Her brother was one of the kindest people she has ever known.
Since she was little, the god always put so much effort into making her life be one full of love and knowing he would be there for bed no matter what. He carefully planned out and helped decorate what he tent looked like today. He helped her with teaching bed how to fish, read, write and as well as how to fight, of course. (It was Zagreus speciality.) He made sure everything she ever wanted, even if she looked at it with a passing glance, Melinoë got it. Her brother let her enjoy the quiet moments of her life, even with the amount of training she had to do and get some time to be herself, making sure she is able to laugh at least one or twice a day. Zagreus always made sure every time she returned back to her tent, she was able to eat something he cooked just for her (even if it was a little burned or under seasoned, she ate it because she knew how much effort he put into just doing this simple thing for her.) Zagreus did so much to make sure her life could be the best it possible could be, even without their family present.
No matter how tired he could be, her heart ached a little when she saw how deep his eye bags got in just a short amount of time. (Melinoë would beg him to go to bed when she saw this. He didn’t.) Even with the grief sticking to his bones like gum, making some days impossible to get out of bed for him, her brother would still get up for her, putting on a smile, so she could feel just a little joy for the day. No blood, sweat, or tears could stop Zagreus from taking care of his sister, pushing through everything just to see her be happy in life.
Her brother did everything in his power to make Melinoë feel special.
Including her birthdays.
Melinoë insisted, since she turned 7, that there was no need to celebrate her birthday, knowing there were far more important things to focus on. When she said that out loud, she could have sworn that her brother almost died on the spot, mouth hanging wide open. An offended expression crossed his face as he proudly proclaimed that that was the most outrageous statement he had ever heard and immediately began planning her next birthday right then and there.
As much as she tried to stop him, Melinoë knew it would not work on her brother, so she let him do this for her, knowing how much joy it brought him. It was interesting and quite amusing watching him dive head first about birthdays, taking the time out of his day to learn about what other countries do for mortal birthdays, courtesy from speaking to other gods.
“Your teenage years are apparently very big to celebrate,” Zagreus told her once while they were eating dinner together, pen in hand as he wrote down what to do for her 13th birthday.
Melinoë paused with what she was doing, putting down her spoon as she cocks her head to the side. Her thin brow raises up slightly.
“Teenage years?”
Her brother nodded his head rapidly, eyes shining when hearing intrigue about the topic. Melinoë knows he was over the moon that is finally showing interest in her birthday, and she admitted that she was for once.
“It is! Apparently, mortals turning 13, 15, 16, and 18 are some that are the most celebrate. The mortals take this time to celebrate their transition from childhood to adulthood. They throw big parties such as Quinceañera or a sweet 16.”
“Quinceañera? Sweet 16?” Melinoë repeats back, curious about their meaning.
“We don’t really have the time or resources for a big party. The resident might complain about all the noise and not focusing on Chronos. And, it would be best not to bring Dionysus into the mix, either.”
Melinoë cringed at that, agreeing with her brother on that statement. They both love the god, they do, but bringing him into a party in the crosswords would only spell disaster and might actually bring Chronos right at their doorstep.
“Though, we could do something small for those birthdays, like the sweet 16.”
“Zag,” the goddess starts off, tone firm. She knows she should shut him down this idea again, it’s the right thing to do, but she also is well aware that he is going to do this regardless what she says. “You don’t have to.”
A wicked grin crossed his face as he writes down something in his little book.
“Well, now I have to get those number balloons for your 16th birthday.”
“Zagreus!” Melinoë laughed out loud.
So, every year, no matter how big or small it seemed (it was always a big deal to Melione, moved beyond words how much effort in put into what she thought was a rather ordinary day), Zagreus celebrated her birthday. A cake was always made, presents were already lined up on her table and decorations hastily put up together (and yes, the numbered balloons were there one her 16th birthday) as he sang her happy birthday. On this day, her brother let her do whatever she wanted, no questions asked. If it was fishing, fighting along with him to go towards the Underworld, learning a new magic spell or ransacking one of Chronos’ ships and stir it across the ocean, Zagreus did it with the biggest smile on his face.
One of the other most notable features of her birthday was she was required to take a picture every year on her birthday. Zagreus claimed it was a way to remember this special day for her, but Melinoë saw right past that excuse and knew what the real reason was.
It was to show these moments to her family when they save them, showing the full life she was able to live with being with Hecate and Zagreus. She saw the way he put those photos in a little photo book, numbering and dating what happened on those days.
It was so obvious the first time he came back with a camera.
When they got to the crossroads, this was her brother’s first time to actually freely move around the surface and not worry about dying. So, he took completely advantage of that and learned as much as he could about both the surface and mortal world. This include the inventions the mortals made.
“Mel!” Zagreus shouted excitedly at her, bringing the camera to her face. “Look! It’s a camera!”
The goddess stared at the camera with mildly curiosity. It was a small, rectangular box. In the middle of it was a large circle with what she supposed are lenses inside them as a grey stray hangs off the end of it. It was quite an interesting sight. “A camera?”
“Yes! It’s a device that can be used to take pictures! You don’t even have to stand so long for it to be finished and ready, all you need to do is click this round button and you have a photo!”
“Really?”
“Yeah!” He exclaimed excitedly as he presses on the power button. Her brother turned the lenses to them as he grabbed her by the shoulder, pushing her closer to him. A toothy smile is plastered on his face. “Now, smile!”
“Wait, Zag-!”
A bright, blind light flashed for a second making her squint slight as soon as he pressed down on the button to take a photo. When they looked at the photo together, Zagreus laughed until he couldn’t breathe as he said she looked like a wet cat. Melinoë punched his shoulder, putting as much force as she could for him to pay for his mean comment. There was a sour expression on her face.
“I wasn’t ready!” Melinoë tried to defend herself, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“I gave you a warning, Mel!” Her brother squealed out, tears now streaming down his eyes. The glare she throw at him only made him laugh harder.
At the end of the day though, she noticed he had a physical copy of the photo in his hand, her momentarily upset that she had that hideous photo now out in the open. The feeling disappeared instantly though when she saw the fond, but a sad smile on his face as he put it inside a little photo book. A little grin of her own appeared on her face from his thoughtful actions.
The care and attention he put into her birthday is what makes this day so special for the goddess, today being now different. Her heart warms as her brother proudly lifts up the cake, his smile could almost beat the sun.
“I know mortals do this, where they write or wake someone up at 12 AM, for when it is someone’s birthday. I know you where born 3 hours after that, but that doesn’t matter, it’s still your birthday no matter what,” Zagreus explains in rapid detail, before his heterochromatic eyes drop down to the cake. “I even successfully made your cake this time, it did not come out raw! It’s lemon cake, your favorite.”
The goddess heart could explode from the love for her brother, lips quivering as she steels herself from crying. Of course, he remembered the time they went to the surface and sunk some cake from a vendor and she fell in love with that cake. That was almost 6 months ago and he still remembered.
Melinoë lifts herself off of her bed as she joins her brother on the roofed floor, the soft texture hugging her legs. She takes a better look at the cake, seeing the vanilla glaze on the top that the goddess knows the god made a mess in his tent that they both will be cleaning up together. She brings her hands out, latching onto the ceramic plate as she brings the cake to her knees. Melinoë lets out a wet chuckle when she sees the candle, realizing her tired haze mistaken it as a single candle, but it was actually an 18 numbered candle.
“Seriously, Zag?” Melinoë asks, voice amused. “Number candles?”
“I even brought the number balloons back, Mel.”
“Not again!”
They both chuckle to themselves, the goddess feeling as light as air and savoring the moment for what Zagreus deemed to be a very important day. She rubs the side of the plate as a small grin appears on her face.
“Where did you get the lemons to make the cake from, Zag?”
“Oh! Hecate and I grew them together in the garden. Two weeks ago, they finally fully bloomed and I knew I had to make this cake as soon as I saw that.”
“Thank you, brother,” Melinoë says softly, blinking back tears. “Thank you for what you have done for me.”
Her brother was particularly beaming.
“Of course, Melione, I would do anything to make this day as special as I can for you.”
The goddess hums in response, afraid she might start crying on the spot if she says another word. Her brother claps his hands, starling her slight as their eyes lock.
“I think it’s time for me to sing happy birthday.”
Melinoë groans loudly at that as she watches Zagreus mocking a hurt expression. The goddess rolls her eyes dramatically. If there was something Ophreus could not teach him while he was in the Underworld, it was to sing.
“I think we can skip that step, Zagreus.”
“No we can not! That’s the most important part!”
“I don’t want my ears to bleed again,” she grumbles to herself as her brother lets out a real offend grasp.
“I do not sing that bad, Mel! Now come on, we can sing happy birthday!”
“Let me go back to bed,” she quietly whispers to herself as her brother forces her up (while aware of the cake she is holding in her hands) and they walk to the little lounge area together. True to his words, there were two green number balloons in the table, stuffed full of helium. There were green, orange, and blue decorations everywhere, from the streamers hanging in the walls to the napkins and plates in the table. The presents were all ready lined up and ready to go the moment she wanted to open them up. They sit down together and the moment she gets herself comfortable, that’s when Zagreus starts to sing happy birthday. She flinches as she covers her ears, wondering how he can be so loud at 12 AM.
“You are going to wake everyone up, brother!” The goddess scolds him, sneering at him.
Her brother throws her the biggest shit-eating grin she has ever seen.
“I don’t care.”
He, unfortunately, continues on with his singing.
After the song was finally painfully over, his smile morphs into that a soft grin, leaning against the table as the camera stays by his side. He looks as is she is doing the same as he is, taking in every moment so he can remember it for as long as he can.
“Make a wish, Mel,” he tells her before he gives her a a stern look. “And it better not be ‘Death To Chronos.’”
Melinoë chuckles at that, staring at the flames dancing on top of the candles.
As she looks at the 18 candle, she knew what her wish should be.
Melione’s life has been carefully crafted to be a weapon against Chronos, as much as Zagreus tried to make it as normal as he could. Magic has been apart of her since she was born, made to be one of the most powerful witches. Her destiny is so kill Chronos and take back the home and family that is rightful hers. It’s a thing that has been drilled into her head, but at the same time, she was allowed to be a kid just for a little bit, all which is thanks to her brother. He has done everything for her for the last 18 years, no matter the trouble he faces or how painful it is for him to lose everyone he loves over night. It’s this moment that she knows she has another purpose in her life, one that she only feels right after everything that he has done for her.
Melinoë wants to make Zagreus happy and get back everything he lost.
Melinoë wants to make Zagreus feel as happy as he makes her feel.
It’s the wish she makes as she blows her candles out, hoping everything in her being it will come true.
The smoke floats into the air, feeling the way Zagreus green and red eyes bore into her.
“So,” her brother starts off, a smirk playing on his lips. “What did you wish?”
Melinoë huffs as her own mischief appears in her eyes, copying his smirk.
“I can’t tell you because then it won’t come true.”
“Oh come on, Melione! You can tell me, I’m your brother.”
“Unfortunately,” Melinoë coolly states, trying her best to fight the laugh bubbling in her throat. “That rule does apply to brothers.”
“Wow, my sister does not love me.”
“Zagreus!”
He barks out a booming laugh, one Melinoë knows will wake up everyone in the crossroads. She scolds him again, shouting at him to be quiet and to let everyone sleep peacefully. His laugh softens to that of a chuckle, not stopping even as he cuts the cake and hands her a slice. The goddess is impressed that the cake is, in fact, not raw and is very sweet, exactly like the cake they had on the surface.
As she forces a fork into his hand, to make sure he does not eat the cake with his hand, Melinoë hopes her wish comes true.
Melinoë hopes after all of this is over, she is able to make Zagreus experience true happiness.