found this oneshot that i never finished while cleaning up chaos theory. instead of letting it gather any more dust, I thought I'd let yall have a gander

pls use ur imagination for the unfinished scenes 🫶

TW: yn is hades so... death. lots of it. teehee

"Aren't you tired of being alone?"

"Well, that's a wonderfully optimistic way to start the day," I muttered, turning from the window caged by black rock. It looked down upon the fields of asphodel, where barren ground roved for miles on end, broken only by the odd protruding rock or leafless, bone-like trees. Translucent spirits wandered amongst the dried, charcoal grass. They dotted the plains like sheep.
I set Naomi a bland look from across the throne room and stuck a hand in the pocket of my chinos, leaning back against the window sill. I raised a brow, as if daring her to elaborate.
"You've been alone for almost two millenniums," Naomi reminded, averting her gaze and pretending that the swirling wisps of purple magic that danced around her fingers was the cause of her redirected attention. "I think you oughta start taking more time for yourself. You work too hard."

I snorted.
"Nomes, no offence, but if I took even just one day off, the dead would flood the earth and the other gods and goddesses will be on my back for it," I muttered, crossing my arms and glaring once more out at the languid fields. "I'm the goddess of the Underworld. I don't get to have the luxury of a break."
I saw Naomi frown in the reflection of the glass.
"Now, cease these silly ideas and accompany me to River Styx," I said, voice louder. It echoed in the near empty chambers. My stare sharpened as I crossed my arms and turned on my heel to leave the castle. "Charon's been complaining that there's a lack of souls with drachmas to grant passage. The gates are getting crowded."
"Yippee," Naomi muttered. "This again."

"If you are complaining about simple tasks such as these, then perhaps you shouldn't have decided to accompany me when I took up my role here," I said sharply, eyeing Naomi from the corner of my fiery eyes.
"Please," Naomi snorted, stepping over my sheer cloak with care. "It's just that we have to do the same things every couple of decades. It's getting wearisome. We need some new life around here."
My brows raised. We stepped out into the cobblestone path that lead to the depths of my domain.
"That being said," Naomi continued with a curt grin. "As if I could leave you here on your lonesome. You'd go stir crazy without me."
My stern expression melted into an amused smile. Naomi brightened.
"There you are, you grumpy old bat," she snickered, elbowing my side. I rolled my eyes. "Seriously though, Y/n. I'm worried about you."

"Your worry is in vain," I reassured. "I'm perfectly content with my life the way it is. There's order and it's comfortably predictable."
"It's boring," Naomi corrected dryly.
"For you," I reminded. "And this - well."
We stopped at the edge of the riverbank, the Styx curling and coiling like oily snakes. Damned souls reached up to grasp their whispering hands around my ankles before slipping away with the current. Naomi grimaced, kicking her foot free.
Across the other side of the river stood Charon, holding back a bustling crowd of spirits that weren't buried with a drachma - a most unfortunate circumstance. They needed to pay to cross the Styx, less they be stuck at the waiting gates for all of eternity. Gas isn't cheap, y'know.
Unfortunately, like most things, a build up begins.
"My lady," Charon called, his skeletal hands slipping against the mosh. "Help!"

"How can you call this boring?" I teased, summoning my helmet of darkness with the fluency of having done it a million times tenfold.
"The underworld has its moments," Naomi reluctantly agreed, purple mist flooding from her palms.

After dealing with the excess thousands of souls, Naomi and I returned to normalcy once more. She lounged on the couch in my private quarters and groaned on the occasion, just to irritate me. I ignored her with the practise of dealing with the same thing for thousands of years on end and focused on drawing up plans for the new subdivision of the fields of punishment, upon the furies' request.

A loud, bellowing bark made the both of us sit up in interest. Kashu never barked, unless he spotted something out of the ordinary (which was very rare). Another chorus of barks and howls made Naomi and I share a look.
"This day is turning out to be interesting," Naomi mentioned in surprise.
Usually, I would've made Naomi to investigate it on her own. She loved to find oddities in the usual pristine system that I had cultivated over the years. But for Kashu to react this outwardly...

I stood from my desk and nodded for Naomi to use her powers as the goddess of magic to teleport us to Kashu's post. The familiar sensation of tingling, shivering nerves rolled down my spine and when I opened my eyes, I saw something that I never would've dreamed of imagining. My eyes widened.
Kashu's three heads were panting in delight, tongues lolling out the side of his maws. The object of his joy was a man with blond hair and green eyes, so impossibly bright and warm that he simply couldn't have been a regular of the Underworld.
"Oh," he sheepishly chuckled, shielding his face from massive happy doggy licks from the gargantuan beast. "Hello."

"Interesting indeed," I murmured to Naomi.

♣️🥀🌺🥀♣️

As the god of spring, Lloyd usually didn't have much to worry about.

His days were spent relaxing in the meadows with his satyr and dryad friends, soaking in the sun and eating fresh fruit plucked from trees. Normal spring god stuff. It's not as if he had much to do - sprout some cherry blossoms here, bloom some tulips there. Done, presto, job complete.
Lloyd knew that he was lucky. He lived a careful and sheltered life, away from the misdoings and grievances that the other older, immature gods whittled their time away with. He did not partake in the monthly 'Woo a Mortal' competition. He did not participate in the occasional betting when the human kingdoms waged war on one another. He didn't even live on Mount Olympus, preferring to spend his life amongst the fertile fields and blossoming domain of his father; Garmadon.

Garmadon was the god of harvest, fertility and sacred law. He thrived upon the natural cycles of plants and made sure that the kingdoms who respected him didn't fall into hardships regarding their harvest.
So naturally, Lloyd thrived upon the land, too. He didn't care for the stuffy temples or the burning sacrifices. His heart lived for his friends - both plants and creatures, and his freedom to roam where he pleased. He had no troubling duties, he had no menial tasks that required his constant attention, like raising the sun or assuring victories for mortals. What more could a young god ask for?

One thing, it seemed. Lloyd just wasn't sure what it was yet.

It had bugged him for decades. This one missing thing in his life. He didn't know what it was, or have a clue what to do about it. He didn't even understand why the feeling of an absence in his life existed - he didn't feel the need to ask for anything, so what could it be?
He was unsure. So he remained quiet on the topic, letting his friends pull him along and distract him with blooming fields of poppies or taking dips in clear ponds.
It was a spring day when Lloyd ran across the hidden entrance to the Underworld. But of course it was spring, it was spring wherever Lloyd walked.
The entrance was concealed by large, volcanic rock that had soared over hundreds of miles from a temper tantrum in one of Hephaestus' forges. It did not beckon Lloyd closer. It did not lure him. Instead, the chill that erupted from the small crevice in the earth was so intense and frigid that initially, Lloyd wanted nothing to do with it.
But that just drove his curiosity.

Like spring itself, Lloyd prided himself with the concept of 'new.' New growth, new leaves, new flowers, new lives.
And discovering new places.
Though, his past discoveries mainly revolved around hidden lakes and groves. Not an oddly chilling hole in the otherwise lush, green grass.
Lloyd glanced over his shoulder. His friends were sleeping in the soft meadow, sated after a meal of apples and pears. Normally, they would drive him away from anything unusual - a strict rule from his overprotective father - but they were totally out. This was Lloyd's chance to take a closer look at the curious, new thing he had stumbled upon.
He edged closer, ignoring the instinct to turn around and pretend he never noticed such a cold and distinctly unfriendly spot in his otherwise perfect utopia. Clambering up the rock, he leant in closer, trying to peer through the utter darkness, as if he could spot something of interest.

He fell in.

"Aw, sun drop," Lloyd cursed as he tumbled through the darkness. Then a sun drop blossomed in the locks of his hair. It was ripped from the gathering momentum of his fall, slipping faster and faster through the air as he fell deeper and deeper into the earth.
Lloyd managed one split-second peek of his accidental holiday destination before he hit the ground with a thud and a groan. He didn't even get a second to comprehend where he was.
"Ow," he grumbled, rubbing his chin and pushing back his messy hair. Daises fell from his golden curls.
While Lloyd brushed his green toga down, he took in his surroundings. Nothing much more than dark rock upon dark rock. Above was so high, he couldn't even see a speck of light from which he had fallen.
A hot breath hit his back, tussling his hair and toga again. Lloyd winced, before turning around and coming face to faces with a three headed blond mutt the size of one of Zeus' temples. Six eyes regarded him sharply, eyeing him up to decide whether they wanted to eat him or use him as a chew toy. Lloyd preferred neither option.

"Good dog," the god of spring whimpered to the guard dog of death. "Good boy, yeah? Whozza good boy?"
All three heads turned to the side. The dog had stopped growling. Lloyd took this as a good sign.
"Yeah!" he chirped. "You're a good boy, aren't you?" The dog blinked. "Aren't you?" That time he boofed so loudly that it left Lloyd's ears ringing.
"Good boy!" he gushed, and then the dog went crazy from the praise, quickly deciding that Lloyd was neither food nor a chew toy, and was instead his new best friend.

"Way to be subtle," Lloyd grimaced to himself as the dog let out a chorus of excited barks that seemed to shake the entire cavern.

♣️🥀🌺🥀♣️

"Naomi, see to Kashu," I ordered, staring hard at the god who'd somehow wandered into my domain without permission - a most horrendous disrespect. "I'll deal with our little trespasser."

The blond man grimaced. Kashu gave one last ginormous lick before happily bounding off with Naomi when she gave a whistle.
"Heeeyyy," the god greeted, raising a palm with a tight, awkward smile. My eyes narrowed.
"Do not 'hey' me," I reprimanded sharply. "You have entered my kingdom without permission. Do you understand how disrespectful that is?"
His green eyes widened in fear.
"I- I didn't mean-" he stammered, raising his palms in surrender. Bits of large dog saliva dropped from him in wet dollops. "It wasn't on- I fell! I'm sorry please don't smite me."
My brows raised at his cry. He did seem truly apologetic (and frightened), and it didn't take just anyone to calm Kashu's guard instincts.
"When you say 'fell,'" I began, crossing my arms and tilting my chin up. "Do you mean the hole that leads to the meadows?"
"Yeah! That one," the god nodded eagerly. I slumped with a loud groan. He seemed startled by my sudden lack in sophistication.
"Dammit, Nomes," I grumbled, running a hand down my face as I cursed the heavens (stalactites?) above. "I told her that we needed to seal it! She never listens to me."

I parted my fingers to send a glare at the warm god, accidentally making him flinch under my cold stare.
"Y- you're Hades, aren't you?" he murmured, shifting uncomfortably on his bare feet. A small bunch of lavender sprouted from beside him. I blinked in surprise - nothing ever grew in the Underworld.
"I go by many names. Hades, Aidoneus, Pluto, Orcus," I replied nonchalantly, deciding to ignore the purple flowers that had seemed to defy the laws of my territory. My eyes turned back to the god. "But my friends call me Y/n."
The god raised his brows a little. He seemed to perk up at the idea of 'friends.'
"May I be considered a friend?"
The corner of my lips twitched in amusement at his boldness. He immediately sunk back in on himself, mentally cursing his seemingly instinctive blurt. I surprised myself by finding the way his expressions twisted his face endearing.

"You may," I answered, revelling in how his green eyes brightened in surprise and relief like spring grass bouncing back from a sudden drought. "And you are?"
"Ah, well," he began, scratching his chin with a smile. A yellow acacia bloomed on the rock beside him, bringing strands of grass with it. "I also go by many names, but my friends call me Lloyd."
Ah. God of spring. Made sense. He really was out of his depth in the Underworld.
"May I be considered a friend?" I echoed. Lloyd paused, eyes wide, before breaking into a bright smile.
"Yeah-! I- I mean, uh, sure thing, that's cool," he mumbled after clearing his throat.
I paused, taken aback by his swift ease into conversing with me. Usually I drove away the other gods and goddesses. People tend to do that when one reeks of death.
"Alright, c'mon Springy," I said after the shock subsided. "You've got dog drool everywhere. Let's get you on the next boat across the Styx home."

"You're much nicer than what my father says you are," Lloyd noted aloud, stumbling over the dry rocks to catch up to me. His cheeks burnt a bright red. "I wasn't meant to say that out loud."
I chuckled. "It's okay. Garmadon's never really liked me. Whole life versus death thing."
"But that's the whole process of nature!" Lloyd argued. I sent him a wide-eyed look.
"That's what I always say!" I exclaimed, stunned once more by the spring God's attitude. Just who was this man? And how come I never met him before?
Lloyd broke into a smile at our surprising agreement, and I found myself pulling my own grin. I quickly smothered it back with a clear of my throat.
"You may tend to your soiled robes in the palace," I said, turning back to face the path that lead to my home. "My servants will abide to your needs."

"Servants?" Lloyd asked, only to be met by a skeleton as we passed through the entrance gates to my castle. He flinched in alarm before falling into an uneasy chuckle. "Oh... servants."
"My people are not made of trees nor flowers," I explained with a raised brow. "What else would you expect in a place such as this?"
"Of course not," Lloyd hurried to pacify, giving a sheepish grin. "My apologies."
"Apology accepted," I murmured before stopping at a guest suite. "Get yourself presentable and then you will be immediately escorted back to the surface. I would rather Garmadon to not be at my neck for harbouring his son."
Lloyd hesitated.
"Your... water isn't from the Styx, right?" he asked awkwardly. I stared at him.
"No," I replied, brows creased. "I'm not an idiot."
"Of course not!" Lloyd squeaked before swiftly ducking inside and closing the door behind him.

I faltered outside the door for a brief moment. Then, giving a sigh, I shook my head and left.

♣️🥀🌺🥀♣️

"Your presence has been requested for the annual meeting on Olympus," Naomi announced as she barged into my office.

I jumped in surprise at her entrance, sending an irritated glare at the drawing plans my pencil had just skittered across. I turned to Naomi and frowned unhappily.
"Why bother?" I complained, watching as the parchment burnt into nothing from her purple flames. "They don't like me up there, anyway."
"You're required to go," Naomi reminded blandly. I dropped my head back against the seat with a defeated groan.

Lloyd visits repeatedly, following her around and generally making her day brighter. Her mood improves.
Has to hide him from anyone else, though. Lends him her cap of invisibility.

"I request a garden," I murmured. Naomi raised an eyebrow.
"A garden," she echoed. "In the Underworld."
"Make it happen, Hecate," I ordered.
"You're not yourself."
"Can I not ask for a garden without being judged?" I complained.

The garden's for Lloyd, obviously.

He loves it

Takes Yn to the surface. Touches a flower and makes it bloom. She touches a flower and it wilts, but Lloyd just keeps on smiling. he's falling in love 

Visits Zeus and the others ig.
Admits that she might like Lloyd
"Go for it!" Jay encouraged.
"No, I shouldn't," I shook my head. "Lloyd is the god of spring. I'm the goddess of the underworld. I cannot leave my post and Lloyd would not be happy living without the sun. Besides, I am everything that his being is against. He is life and I am death."
"Yeah, well, if he doesn't like you then why does he keep returning?" Kai pointed out.

Goes to ask Lloyd how he might feel about her when naomi Hecate spots Lloyd.
While they're arguing, he eats a pomegranate

"No!" I yelled in horror. "What have you done?!"
"What?"
"If you eat food from the underworld, you are cursed to stay here forever! Oh- oh, my- your father is going to kill me... I'm going to have to return to the Underworld as a ghost myself!"

Lloyd's stuck in the underground and now he's panicking too. Tries to get out but physically or magically cannot.

It hurts seeing Lloyd trying to escape so desperately.

Garmadon hears and is PISSSEED

"This vile creature stole my son from me! She cursed his poor soul to an eternity of darkness and dread, locked in the caverns of the underworld without a single ray of sunlight to grace his face!"
"Father, stop!" Lloyd insisted.
"Do not fret, my son," Garmadon said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "This queen is wicked in more ways than you are kind. When she is slain, the curse shall be lifted and another god will take her place as ruler of the underworld."
"Demeter, please," Naomi tried. "Hades has been ruling the underworld since the start of the Olympian empire!"
"This wretched being should've thought about that before she cursed my son," Garmadon gravelled. "You have no words to say about your misdeeds? Very well, you shall die without wishes."
With a swish of his robes, Garmadon raised his scythe to strike. Naomi stepped forward with an indignant cry, but I stopped her with a raised hand.
"Please, Hecate," I said with a forlorn smile. "My fate has been decided."
Naomi couldn't ignore an order. Her face crumpled in desperation.

I turned back to stare my end dead in the eyes. I was ready for it - I had been ready for it for a while. Surely nothing really did last forever? I've lived long enough. This was okay. It's going to be okay.
"Stop!" Lloyd yelled as he launched himself at his father and snagged the arm holding the scythe with a grip of steel. Vines and roots burst from the ground and wound tightly around Garmadon, binding him to stillness. My eyes widened. "Y/n, RUN!"
I blinked in surprise. Garmadon yelled for his son to release him, but Lloyd remained determined with a thunderous scowl on his face.
"Lloyd," I said softly. The god's efforts faltered as he glanced up at me, spiteful expression fading. I gently smiled. "I am the queen of the underworld. I do not run away."
Lloyd shot me a crazed look.
"What are you doing?!" he screeched. "Queen or not, your life is worthy of living! Live for me! Live for yourself!"

"I cannot and I will not," I said coolly. "If the council truly wishes to be done with me, then be done with me they shall."
Jay shifted uncomfortably.
"She has put false ideals into your head, child!" Garmadon roared as he struggled in his leafy prison. "This villain has twisted your mind and preys on your good nature! You cannot trust a word she says!"
"Y/n has done nothing of the sort!" Lloyd exclaimed. "We can sort something out, father, please! It doesn't have to be like this!"
"She has dishonoured you and she has dishonoured me!" Garmadon roared, and finally his binds began to tear. I lifted my chin. "It will be okay, Kore. You will forget all about this in a few decades."
Kai shot his sister a concerned look. They worried for Lloyd, they all did. He may have been a few centuries younger than most, but his sweet disposition had granted him the favour of most Olympians. To see him this furious, this desperate, it was agony.
It pained me that my death would cause him that all the more.
"Stop!" Lloyd cried, latching onto the scythe once more.

"Kore, please," Garmadon said as he struggled to keep down the plants that Lloyd sprouted to keep him from me. "You're being irrational. Let this be, it is fate's design."
"Screw fate's design!" Lloyd exclaimed. "That wasn't her fault! She tried to stop me!"
"Then I shall slice her down and we can forgo the curse in the first place!"
"Father," Lloyd stressed, realising that he couldn't stop the god by force. He took a new approach, stepping in front of me. Garmadon's eyes widened at his steadfast resolve. The scythe wavered in the air. "Do not hurt her."

Garmadon retightened his grip with a strangled snarl.
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Because I love her."

My facade shattered. My breath escaped me. I stared at the back of his head, stunned by his confession. He loved me?
Garmadon looked just as shocked.

He kisses her and shocks everyone

euuu happy ever after