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Tiresias never had the chance to eat after he died, nor did he really want to. He never felt hungry nor did he ever crave anything and all food made him think about was when he was a mother cooking for his children.
The children he wouldn’t see until they died in the very distant future.
A frown covered his face.
The souls around him felt so loud today, and the rushing water wouldn’t make them any quieter. Tiresias picked at his fingers as he patiently waited for Hermes to arrive. The god told him that he would be stopping by very soon and that he would be bringing a surprise that he just knew Tiresias would love…When Tiresias pointed out that he would be able to see the surprise before it happened, Hermes told him that the gift would wrapped so there was no chance of him seeing it. Tiresias decided not to point out the flaw in that plan and chose not to use his prophet abilities to see his own or Hermes' future.
So the surprise stayed a surprise.
The prophet smiled at the thought of the God. Hermes would always bring small gifts for him whenever he found something he thought the prophet might like while delivering messages. So far, Tiresias had been given books, shells, jewelry, and much more but his absolute favorite was an apple tree.
Well actually it was a seed, but when he planted the apple seed it never started to grow. It upset Tiresias so Hermes took it a step further and brought down an entire apple tree. Tiresias loved the apple tree and took great care of it, though he never ate the apples, he shinned them instead.
The apple tree was his prized Possession, and one day the apples were just right. He picked a singular apple (the shiniest one) and gave it to Hermes. The God loved apples, it was one of his favorites so he happily ate it. While the two sat under the tree, Hermes asked on simple question.
“Hey Dawling? What was your favorite food when you were alive?” He asked with a tilt of the head as he took another bite of the juicy apple. Tiresias paused, he wasn’t sure. It had been so long since he had last eaten that he couldn’t remember anything, but he did have a fawn memory of when he taught his daughter how to Harvest and chop vegetables so many years ago. The memory brought a small to his face.
“I remember liking salad…” he replied simply, looking away from the direction Hermes sat. At that moment, he could almost picture his daughter again…but it was gone before he could blink. Hermes laughed as he finished the apple and threw the core onto the stone ground, his wings perking up.
Tiresias snapped out of his vision as he heard a loud step land on the rocky floor.
“Oh, Dawling!~ Your favorite god has finally arrived! Did ya miss me? Of course, you missed me I am a GOD after all!” The god laughed manically as he hopped off the floor and glided over to Tiresias, spinning around him a few times before stopping right in front of him. Tiresias smiled softly.
“Yes Hermes, of course, I missed you.” He said gently as he felt Hermes press a kiss to his cheek.
“Who wouldn’t? Now! I brought you a gift! No peaking!” Hermes wagged his fingers as he started pushing Tiresias to the stone table that Hermes had carved out for him. Tiresias sat down on the stone chair as Hermes pushed him in. “Now I know you're going to love this! Just trust me Dawling!~” Tiresias chuckled softly as heard the sound of leather bags being opened and things being placed on a table.
“You know I love all of your gifts.” He replied as he heard shuffling on the table once more and it suddenly stopped.
“Here you go Dawling! Go on! See what it is- or should I say feel what it is!” He laughed once more. Tiresias gently put his hands on the table and began to pat around, before Hermes picked them up, kissed them, and put them on what felt like a bowl. His hands began to roam around; it was a bowl. He put his bowl inside the bowl and felt tiny soft things that almost felt like fabric. Lettuce.
Hermes had gifted him salad.
And Tiresias felt scared.
He felt scared, he hadn’t eaten in so long, that he couldn’t even remember what Salad tasted like.
Tiresias could hear Hermes saying something as one of his hands was picked up out of the bowl and a fork was placed into his hand. “I got all the ingredients myself from all across the world! You're so lucky to have a god!~” Hermes grinned as he stood next to Tiresias, waiting for him to take a bite. Tiresias slowly nodded…he might enjoy the salad, if he used to enjoy them in the overworld when he was alive, why would he dislike them now?
Slowly Tiresias stabbed the fork into the salad and brought the food up to his lips. After a second of hesitation, he put the fork in his mouth and bit down.
He chewed.
And he chewed.
Tiresias waited for the flavor to come, but it never did.
It tasted like nothing.
And it felt disgusting as he was forced to swallow it down his throat.
“Sooooooooooo, did you like it Dawling?~” Hermes asked with a sly grin as he leaned onto the table. Tiresias froze, he had forgotten Hermes was there. He forced a smile on his face, nodding.
“It’s delicious Hermes, thank you.” Tiresias managed to speak as he forced himself to take another bite.
It was disgusting.
Every bite.
Every swallow.
Nothing.
It tasted like nothing.
And it made him feel sick.
Hermes's sly grin turned to a cheerful smile. He began to rant about the challenges he faced to get the most perfect vegetables, about how he slay monsters, and with every word the god said, Tiresias felt more and more guilty.
Guilty that he couldn’t taste the food gifted to him.
Guilty that Hermes spent so much time and effort on him and he hated it.
He hated every second he was forced to put this food in his body.
But he smiled and laughed along to Hermes if it met the gods hard work wasn’t in vain.
After what felt like hours, the bowl was finally empty. He had finished the entire salad and he had never felt sicker in his life. He shakily pushed himself up and away from the table, Hermes quickly pulled the man into a hug and kissed his cheek.
“I’ll have to bring some other treats! Ooooo! Apollo recommends these DELICIOUS treats that-” Hermes began to go and on but the worlds became static to Tirease ears. The thought of eating any other food made him want to start sobbing, made him want to run, made him want to die again…but he smiled, the best smile he could manage, and nodded in agreement at Hermes' idea.
If it met that Hermes was happy, then he could take it.
So whenever Hemeres came down to visit, he would bring a new food Tiresias hadn’t had and watch him eat with the happiest expression on his face, and then after the God would leave Tiresias would gag (he would have thrown up if he had a body) and cry, desperate to get the food out of him that he ate. After so long of this, Tiresias would be tormented by the idea of Hermes coming down to visit. He loved Hermes, but he couldn’t handle the torment anymore.
Then one fateful day everything changed.
Hermes was talking once more as Tiresias ate the sweet treat given to him. Hermes looked over to the prophet and froze, staring wide-eyed before quickly rushing over to the man.
“Dawling? Dawling listen to me. Are you alright? Are you having another vision?” The God asked quickly but firmly as he sat behind Tiresias, pulling the slightly smaller man into his lap and wrapping his strong arms around him. Tiresias shaked in the god's gasp as he finally shattered. The food fell to the ground as he clung to Hermes, trying his best to silence his sobs.
“I can’t. Please. It’s so disgusting.” He whispered over and over again, a silent beg for the suffering to stop. Hermes held him closer, whispering some praises in his ear, calming the shaking man slightly.
“Dawling I need you to speak to me… what's so disgusting?” Hermes whispered, tucking in a piece of loose hair behind Tiresia's hair.
“The food. I’m sorry. It’s so disgusting. It tastes like nothing, nothing at all. I hate it. I’m so sorry I wanted to make you happy. I’m sorry. Please don’t-“ Tiresias apologized over and over again, waves of guilt but before he could continue, soft lips landed on his and he quickly shut up. Hermes kissed him softly before pulling away and pulling the shaking man closer into his chest.
“It’s alright Dawling…I understand you don’t have to say another word…” the god whispered softly, kissing the Prophet's forehead. Tiresias nodded as he snuggled closer. Hermes felt horrible, he felt guilty for making his lover suffer for so long without even realizing it.
They needed to work on their communication…
A small part of Hermes wondered if the reason Tiresias didn’t tell him he hated food was because he was god, and he was afraid of what Hermes might do to him if he didn’t accept the gifts. Hermes shivered at that thought, he never wanted to use his godpowers to force Tiresias to do anything.
Hermes looked down at Tiresias, who seemed to have calmed down slightly but was still shaken. Hermes kissed the man’s forehead gently once more before leaning back against the apple tree.
They would talk about this later.
They had all the time in the world.