118: Trials and Tribulations.

Once again, Klein and Zagreus were together, as they didn't like to be separated for too long. Klein had his head on his lover's lap, receiving from him a lap pillow. They were on the surface, the blue sky was beautiful and they never grew tired of observing the white clouds move from north to south as the wind blew them away. "Oh look," Zagreus said as his finger pointed towards a cloud, Klein moved his head a little to adjust the angle of his vision before Zagreus said: "That cloud looks like a rabbit." Klein smiled and nodded, his heart at peace. "It does... Look, that one looks like Cerberus." Zagreus looked at where Klein was pointing, but he could not get a right angle, he sighed and said: "I can't see it."

Klein took his lover's head with his hands and gently looked at his eyes, saying: "You need to be lying down to see it... Lie beside me." Zagreus chuckled as he rested his body beside Klein, who smiled and held Zagreus's hand with his right hand and pointed once again to the clouds he saw a second ago: "See? They look like Cerberus." Zagreus moved his head a little, trying to get the right angle... It was then that he saw it, it looked like Cerberus, even the snout and the expression of the three heads were identical. Klein pressed his forehead against Zagreus before sighing and getting up, saying: "Well, I didn't bring you here just to watch the clouds even though it is amazing."

Zagreus raised an eyebrow, his smile still fixed on his lips as his eyes locked with his lover's expecting eyes. He had prepared something? Zagreus got up and brushed off the dust from his body before he took Klein's hand. "Remember when you told me your favorite colors?" Klein asked as his eyes shifted to the endless field they were in. "Yeah, it was ages ago... I don't even remember what I said," Zagreus commented while his eyes never left Klein's face as if to search for a crack under his cold and emotionless expression. It quickly melted when they looked at each other's eyes, Klein bowed in one knee and Zagreus knew what that meant. He had seen mortals propose before, and they were all beautiful! Well now ll, but some were.

The one asking would always bow down and get in one knee as the other would be speechless. Zagreus looked at the hand Klein was holding, soon he saw what Klein had given him. A dark gem... He was confused for a second before he saw Klein smiling, he said: "To open the gem, you need to go through three trials to get a password to open the gem. Let's start, shall we?" Zagreus smiled, he knew Klein liked to play and he also did like to play with Klein, they were both children at heart. "To get through the first trial, you must remember... Which color we both like?" Zagreus's paused. He has to remember... They were drinking Nectar that day, Klein was rambling about colors and how they are normally used to represent a feeling, word, element, and even words. That was one of the reasons he liked to paint, to express himself without words.

It was at that moment Zagreus said he liked the color: "Orange. It was orange." Klein smiled at the right answer, his feet hit the ground raising a small dust cloud that settled down faster than it rose, but now Zagreus gasped when he saw the completely flowerless field full of orange flowers. Zagreus's mouth was closed by Klein with his own, in a sweet tender kiss that made Zagreus blush just by the raw feeling. "T-this is... Beautiful." Klein laughed and held his hand towards Zagreus: "Come on. We've still got two trials."

As soon as Zagreus took his lover's hand, space shifted around them and they both vanished, reappearing below the sea... Zagreus looked around, this has not been his first time in Poseidon's domain, but he still found it interesting and so full of life! They were surrounded by an air bubble, even though they did not need to breathe since they could use Divine Energy as a substitute. "Why are we here specifically?" Zagreus asked curiously as he felt the hand holding his let go, the man beside him said: "Trial number two... Remember our first time at the sea?" Zagreus simply nodded, he remembers how he acted like a toddler who just got a new tot from his mother. "What was the first thing you said as you saw the sea?" Klein's question shocked Zagreus, not even he remembered what he said, how can Klein remember?

Zagreus looked around, his feet were touching the sand of the bottom of the sea, he could feel the air entering and leaving his lungs as he breathed in and out, diving deeper and deeper into his seat, the sea of his memories. He closed his eyes to focus on the past, he saw his very first time with Klein and how awkward that was, he also remembers how things got even better after that, Klein grew more and more protective and jealous until Zagreus snapped at him when Klein started to behave like Demeter. Like had started acting like Zagreus was a tiny canary that should just sing for him and live in his tiny cell... But the canary was not happy with the cell and did not want to stay in the cell, when he realized what he was doing, Klein broke.

Literally.

His bones broke as he began to wail as his insides shifted to express his feelings... Zagreus remembers how Klein looked after it, it was ugly beyond comparison and even he felt discomfort looking at it, but if that was how Klein felt, he wondered how bad he felt. Zagreus was not mad at Klein for keeping him like a canary, he just heard stories from his mother telling him how Demeter acted to her, and he did not want that to happen to him. Klein also did not want to do make Zagreus feel that way, it was just his way of twisted protection. If no one can get to you, how can they hurt you? After that day, Klein's mindset became similar to his nowadays behavior, always beside Zagreus, never far.

"I remember." Zagreus smiled as his hand touched the sea behind, his wet fingers brushed against his nose as he said: "It's so wet." Klein smiled back at him and nodded, Zagreus soon smirked as he was offered a hand, and as he took it, both vanished from sight and the air bubble simply vanished as well, the sea filling the gap.

When they reappeared, they were above, in a mountain. "This is...?" Zagreus recognized this place, this was the mountain he and Klein visited on the day they wanted to paint together, Zagreus trying painting for his first time after he learned how to draw because he was insecure his paintings would be horrible, but as he learned how to draw better, he got confident enough to try painting. He looked over at Klein, who winked at him and pointed his finger towards the snow below their feet. "Your job is to cause an avalanche without using any energy Ir physically. If you can, you pass." Zagreus raised an eyebrow at this, he knew that by singing out shouting he could cause an avalanche. He began to scream at the top of his lungs, but nothing happened. "Oh, have I forgot to mention? The mountain is enchanted, so only one song can make an avalanche on this mountain." Zagreus soon frowned, he knew what Klein was talking about.

"No."

"Zagreus~"

"No!"

"Sing for me baby~"

"I can't. You know my voice is terrible."

"Come on, sing the very first song I sang to you."

"Okay! Fine! I will!"

Klein chuckled as his lover blushed and opened his mouth, leaving his lips was the softest, sweetest, and most incredible sound he ever heard.

"You had to kill the conversation..."

"You always had the upper hand..."

Soon, Zagreus was singing his lungs out to Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow, by Freddy Mercury while dancing with Klein. His frown soon turned into a smile while the snow began to crumble under their feet, as they slowly raised to the sky, floating above as the snow came crashing down the mountain. Klein smiled at Zagreus and gave him his hand again, Zagreus took his hand and they soon vanished, appearing back at the place where they started, the orange flowers blooming beautifully and the sun reflected its rays on them. Klein got on one knee again and gave the dark gem to Zagreus, who took it, and paused: "And the password?" Klein shook his head and explained: "There is no password... Yet that is. The very first thing you say while holding the gem and speaking with it close to your mouth will be the password."

Zagreb raised an eyebrow before he smirked, placing the gem close to his mouth and saying: "Forever with you was tomorrow, always is ever, today is never tomorrow in the morning of yesterday." The gem clicked as it cracked and turned into a golden ring with the very same dark gem on it. Klein asked: "Why such a confusing password?" Zagreus smirked evilly as he eyed Klein and said: "That is for me to know and for you to find out honey~"

[Klein POV]

"And I never got to know why he gave this password..." Klein looked down to see Amando sleeping peacefully in his arms, his eyes gleamed with nostalgia before he took his boy out of the collection, they both vanished and appeared in Amando's room. Klein tucked the boy in and whispered: "Good night..." before leaving and closing the door.