Zag laughs but doesn't reply, and is nevertheless back in only a couple of seconds with a thin paddle.

Thanatos eyes it, then looks up at Zag again with pleading eyes. "Zag..."

...man. If Zag's erection was flagging that look brings it right back up. "It's so distracting to see you like that. I want you to keep looking at me like that, I want to hear you call my name more and moan while you do it."

"Zagreus," he whines again.

So Zag gets real close to Than, looking him right in the eyes. He rests one hand on Than's cheek... and hits him across the ribs with the paddle.

"Ngh!" Than moans, caught by surprise and leaning his face against Zag's shoulder.

"Such delightful noises," Zag whispers. "Maybe I should just keep you locked up down here forever for my pleasure."

Thanatos doesn't respond; he just stays there, hanging from his wrists and ankles, face pressed against Zag's skin, breathing heavily.

And so Zag steps away to have more space and hits him again, from the other direction.

"Ah!" Than yelps. His skin bruises a dark colour, not the red and purple of human blood, but rather something closer to blue and black.

"It's like I'm painting you. You're my canvas, my work of art." He hits Than three more times in succession, once going for the ribs again and the other times targetting either side of his lower torso.

The god of death moans and groans and cries out with each hit, and though his movement is limited each jolt of his body or clenching of his muscles reminds him of the plug in his ass, like a fire inside him that burns but doesn't consume.

Zagreus keeps at it for a while, petting his lover and complimenting him, calling his name and calling him beautiful. He pauses every now and then to kiss Thanatos, to run calloused fingers along Thanatos's skin, to appreciate his handiwork.

It's gorgeous.

Thanatos doesn't get numb, but he does get tired. At some point he feels like every part of him aches and hurts, and hits breath comes in ragged and broken. He's nearly overwhelmed by it, by sensations from his whole body begging him to stop and the knowledge that he is at Zag's mercy for that.

When it does stop, he doesn't quite notice it immediately. The pause between sweet hits and soft words stretches, and is then broken by the sound of clinking coming from the cuffs. He sags, when they're all undone, and he notices he's being carried to a bed.

"So beautiful," Zag murmurs. "My lovely. Please relax." He turns Than around and reaches for the plug then starts pulling it.

The renewed pain from the plug being pulled away brings him back to the present, and he belatedly registers Zag's words and relaxes his muscles to make the job easier for his lover. Once it's all out, he almost misses it, misses the sensations coming from everywhere and pressing into him from all directions.

"Zag," he breathes, "Zagreus, please..." He's not entirely sure what he's asking for, but Zagreus is, because next thing he knows he can feel the tip of Zag's dick pressing against his hole and it's all he can do to relax again and let him in rather than try to press back or tell Zag to hurry up and fuck him.

Compared to the violence from earlier, this is almost gentle. Zagreus hugs Thanatos from behind and goes all the way in, Than's asshole more than ready to receive him after all of that. He starts rocking his hips back and forth, reaching around to jerk Than off at the same time and kissing Than's neck and shoulder while he does it.

Than knows it's insane to feel like he's never wanted something so badly his whole existence but he feels it anyway, like he needs Zagreus inside him more than anything else, he needs Zagreus to come insider him and he needs to come from that as well. Zag's hands are quite unnecessary; his prostate feels like it would vibrate at a light touch, and Zag's dick is not light at all, and he's being played like a lyre. He's once again lost to sensation and he's moaning Zagreus's name amongst wordless cries and contentless pleading.

Zag speeds up and up, his thrusts growing more forceful with time, and his kisses become bites as he feels he's about to climax. The hand he's not using to masturbate his lover is playing with Than's nipple, rubbing it and pinching it and feeling it, and it's more for himself than for Than's sake, but he can't stop.

Than feels like he should give warning but he gets none of his own, and when he comes he does it suddenly and messily and it just keeps going. He cries a long moan, and he shoots load after load onto who knows whose bed. He reaches behind himself desperately and grabs Zag's buttock, squeezing Zag closer against his skin as he feels the shocks of his orgasm subside.

And the squeeze is what sends Zag over the edge himself, reminding him of the holes Than left in his flesh earlier in the most visceral way possible. He, too, grips Than closer, and he stops pumping so he can come inside his lover, biting down hard enough at that moment to break the skin on Than's shoulder. His moan is muffled but no less long, and he stays in that locked position for what feels like forever as he keeps filling Thanatos up.

When Zag's iron grip finally relaxes some Than allows himself to relax, and he feels himself nearly crumble. He just woke up from nearly eight hours of sleep before this but he's exhausted enough he feels like he could do another four hours. He keeps his eyes closed and tries to keep his breathing even, but it's really really hard when every bit of movement causes pain everywhere. He feels Zag pulling out, and feels Zag's seed inside him, and suddenly feels overwhelmed by the need to kiss him right now immediately.

When Than turns around he finds that Zag had the exact same idea. They kiss, for a long time, who knows how long. Zag runs his hands through Than's hair, the fuzzy shaved areas around and behind as well as the soft longer hair growing from above, and they stay that way for what feels like yet another eternity, drinking and breathing each other as if there's nothing else in the world.

But all things come to an end, and this kiss is no exception. Thanatos pulls away slowly, turning around to better face Zagreus, but then looks up and around at the room they're in. "One of Meg's dungeons?"

"Of the more fun kinds, yeah."