#i can’t wait for hades two on the switch OH MY GODS

[sleeping-at-sea]

I’m crying.

DIONYSUS IN THE NEW HADES II TRAILER??

[peachesofteal]

The Acheron

An Ichor Veil (of Flower Kings) masterlist

Ghost/Soap/female reader 10.6k words - AO3 Warnings-tags: 18+ MDNI. Modern retelling - Greek mythology AU. Hades and Persephone. Two Kings of the Underworld. Abuse (by reader's mother). Bad BDSM etiquette. Dom Simon Riley. Switch John MacTavish. Impact play, spanking. Ichor (blood) play. Non-con voyeurism. Kidnapping. Submissive reader. Reader is named Persephone but has no physical characteristics. Alcohol. Praise kink. Biting. Anal play. Subspace. Dubious consent. First they're sour, then they're sweet, then... they're sour. Tags are for your health, not mine. .A meeting, a trick, a meal.

Hebe’s is humming.

You nod to her through the crowd, a gaggle of mortals waiting at the counter, the line of them moving swiftly as they order their pastry-coffee duo for this dreary, rain slogged morning.

Her perpetually young face lights with exuberance once she spots you, and you can’t help the smile that fights into place at the sight of her. Hebe is a cherub. Soft, curved for ages, like she had been sculpted by her father himself. Today, she’s dolled up in tones of pink; pink lipstick, fuchsia stained cheeks, magenta streaks in her otherwise dark, tightly coiled hair that sits at her shoulders.

For a while, before you were brazenly corrected, you wondered if maybe your mother wanted Hebe as a daughter, instead of you. A perfect picture of untouched purity and power, an eternal cupbearer, worshipped as the goddess of Mercy. She was sweet, like her famous Portokalopita, orange syrup cake that drew a group of wanting mortals at the door every morning. She’s a stunner. A mountain of sunshine, a ray of positivity.

Sometimes, you hate her for it, even if she is one of your best friends. 

Something about her cheerful demeanor can dig at you, scrape along the sticky matter of your brain, gnaw at the soft bits that you’re still trying to protect, tender pieces that match your heart.

You follow the hall to the back room, where bookshelves taper off and large floor to ceiling windows flank the east and west sides to allow as much light in as possible. There are others here, a few mortals curled in overstuffed armchairs, books and cappuccinos in hand, light jazz soothing the atmosphere through a few hidden speakers. Healthy clematis blooms along the stair rail, purple blossoms disappearing into the second floor, where more reading rooms wait, books and plants boundless inside Hebe’s.

A place for everyone. 

You feed the clematis a little spark of magic, enough that the vine stretches, shivering and sprouting more flowers. “Aren’t you stunning this morning?” The plant curls around your fingers eagerly, imbued with the essence of power, drinking up the magic drops you encourage into its cell structure. “So healthy and strong, you’ve recovered so well.”

“Good morning.” A wraith of a voice whispers, and you catch the iridescent flicker of a cloud, of Nephele. The clematis will need pruning soon, probably next week, or maybe you can make time in the next few days, you don’t really have too much going on, just your birthday, and that delivery to Hera- 

Ghostly fingers stroke the inside of your elbow, and the cloud nymph regards you with an insightful expression. “Earth to Seph.”

“Sorry.” Your apology is meek, and she shrugs.

“I asked what you’re doing tonight?” Oh.

“Dinner… with my mom.” She nods, and says nothing, jaw clenching, apologetic grimace lining her lips.

“And Friday… Aselgeia?” The club. Your muscles tighten. It’s been over a year since you’ve been to Aselgeia, the club of many vices, the ones where mortals and creatures and gods all mix interchangeably, chasing their own pleasure. The memory of last time heats your spine: A private room. A black chair. A stranger swinging a paddle towards your bare-

Nephele coughs.  

“Yeah, definitely.” You put the box down that you’re carrying, twelve small pots containing strings of pearls, all crossbred to produce different colors, emboldened by their proximity to you in the Greenhouse for these past few months. They’ll sell well, you have no doubt. “I’ve got a few more boxes to bring inside. Don’t supposed you could do something about this slag weather we’re having?” You gesture, and she snorts.

“Hebe says they’re fighting. Probably looking at weeks of storms.”

“They’re always fighting.” You whisper it, even though most know the truth. Zeus and Hera were explosive. Tumultuous. Which is fine, you suppose, for a private life. A public life, however, one that belongs to the Golden King and Queen, should probably be a bit more… restrained.

After all, why should you and everyone else have to suffer because Hebe’s mom and dad can’t get along? 

“I’ve got a lot of cataloging to do, so I’ll catch you around. Text me after dinner tonight, if you need to talk.” She finishes quietly, kindly, but without encroaching, and you squeeze her hand with affection.

“Thanks, Nell.”

The final two boxes stack comfortably for your dash inside. You're eager to get all the plants settled so you can get back to the Greenhouse, slink away to your personal temple, your place of refuge, somewhere quiet to prepare for your dreaded birthday dinner in peace.

“Hello.” A male voice calls, accented so strangely it’s impossible to place. He waves, trying to flag you down.

“Hello?” You turn, nearly stumbling back at the sight of him.

Who is this? 

He’s stunning. Brilliant blue eyes study you from a mountaintop, taller than you by more than a head or two. His hair is short on the sides, but long in the middle, a fashion of mohawk you’re unfamiliar with except for in Hoplites, warriors who sacrifice themselves for the sanctity of the state. He’s broad, built like there’s a Herculean amount of muscle underneath his immaculately tailored midnight black suit, and his cheekbones complement the razor edge of his jaw, framing a full set of dark, plush lips.

He looks like a dream you’ve never had. A fantasy that failed fruition.

Fairer than Adonis. Brighter than Apollo. 

Butterflies kick up a fluttering frenzied in your belly.  

“Sorry to bother ye, I’m looking for Hebe’s?” Ah. You smile.

“You’ve found it. This is just the backside. Front door is around the walk to the left.” He steps closer, and you’re about to introduce yourself when you hear the whinny of a screech owl’s tremolo, a tinned melody that whistles past your ears.

Olympus tilts. Axis trembles. And so do you.

The stranger is keen, and glances around. 

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I um… it’s just that owl, I swear I saw the same one a few days ago… I didn’t think they were too common around here.”

“Dinnae think they are.” His eyes twinkle, celestial light that has you drifting, floating through time and space into starlit irises. The air turns heavy, hot- fresh fired bricks weighing down your chest, and everything spins, day turning to night, night molting black, deep hues of purple and blues streaking past your vision, spinning like moon, twisting you up until your balance is faltering, and you sway. “Whoa, hey.” Fingers fold over your arm, surprisingly cool, chilled, and it pulls you back into your body, spine uncurling, brow smoothing.

“Sorry, I…”

“Ye alright?” He’s still holding your arm, directing you to a bench, relieving you of your box in a swift motion.

“Yeah, sorry… I… I skipped breakfast.” There’s no other explanation, right? The handsome stranger tsks.

“Can I get ye somethin’? Maybe from inside?”

“No!” You blurt, horrified. Hebe would have a cow if she thought you were feeling faint or had skipped a meal. She takes caring for her loved ones far too seriously. “No, I’m almost done, and then I’ll be on my way home. I’ll eat there.” He raises an eyebrow, completely skeptical. “I swear.”

“Alright then. Let me help ye with the rest at least?” He’s standing with a hand extended, and you track the veins on the inside of his wrist until they disappear beneath his t-shirt, golden, tawny skin just barely allowing them to be seen. You wonder if it’s mortal blood that catapults through his body, or the rich, golden ichor that also spills from yours.

“Sure.” He lifts the box, gesturing for you to grab the other.

 “I’m John, by the way.” John. It simmers in the front of your mind, stitching itself into the fabric of your magic.

“Persephone. My friends call me Seph.” Bold. Too bold. 

“Ye’re Demeter’s daughter.” He comments, and you blink, fresh wave of regret curdling the sourness of your stomach.

“Yes.” Fool. Give your name to a stranger, and this is what will come. “Do you know-“

“Only in passing, dinnae worry.”

“Who said I was worried?”

“Ye wear yer emotions plainly.” Your cheeks burn, embarrassed at the blatancy of his statement. “It’s refreshing. So many of us, we play too many games, hide our true selves.” Us. Golden ones. Gods. 

“You’re Cloaking.” You intend it to be a statement, an observation, but with a tight jaw and frowning brow, it’s an accusation.

“Aye. Wouldnae want to scare ye away, would I?” What? Your steps slow, gait pausing in concern. “Sorry, ah. Bad joke.”

“Oh, that’s alright.” He carries the boxes to the door, setting them down carefully, and then rising back to his full height. You swallow the lump in the back of your throat.

“Well, John,” you say it with a hint of sarcasm, and it conveys your doubt. That’s not your real name, is it? “It was nice to meet you.” You extend your hand, expecting a shake, but he holds it with both of his, back bowing, lips softly pressing the skin of your knuckles, tender touch making your knees weak, your heart swooping and swooning.

“The pleasure was mine, Persephone.”

“Have you given anymore thought to your role in the coming year? Your presence at harvest, or planting, would do-”

“I haven’t.” The wine is too oaky, so earthy it takes like dirt, the opus of your mother’s existence, and you swallow it down in silence.

“Persephone.” She chides, like she has a million times before. “If you just tried, a little harder-“

“I am Spring, mother. Life. Rebirth. Fertility.” You ignore her wince. “But that doesn’t mean I’m well suited for crops, and grain, and harvests.”

“It means exactly that. Otherwise, the Greenhouse would not exist.” Her knife slices into a bloody piece of meat, red dripping down the sterling to her fingertips. “Why must you fight your destiny?” Your mind wanders to your visitors the other day, the sisters. The Moirai. Does she know? Is that why she’s saying this? Did she send them? “You spend so much time actively trying to deny me, holed up with your flowers and silly little house plants-“

“It is you who denied me.” Her eyes narrow. “You who didn’t want me to become a fertility goddess, who wanted me to be some weapon of green light, to be the spitting image of you. You raised me to be a threat!”

“Is it so wrong, that I did not wish for my daughter to become a common whore? That I had hoped to prevent her becoming such a failure? That I dreamed of her becoming so much more than… what sits before me now?” The words do not shock you anymore. You’ve grown to expect them.

That does not mean they do not sting.

“It is wrong that you kept me locked in this house, away from the world, until I was too strong for you to control.” You spit, fork clattering against your plate. Rage sears white at the edge of your vision, overflowing bouquet of flowers in the center of the table blooming into massive blossoms, edges of petals beginning to curl inward.

“Control yourself.” She warns. “Or I will do it for you.” Your pulse thunders. The air in the dining room crackles.

You do not relent. Rationally, you know you should. You know this will only end one way, that this will sever another tie to your past, to your mother, one you won’t be able to repair… but you can’t stop. The magic itches under your skin, screaming.

The ivy that covers the outside brick shatters a windowpane above her head, springing through the opening like a virus seeking a host, sticking to the inside wall. Glass falls to the floor, rain pelts the roof.  

“Persephone.” Shining silver spools, churning across the table, through the air until it takes form-

The Whip.

Your mother’s favorite.

It licks your skin, your fingertips, your knuckles. A different touch, from the reverent kiss you received only hours ago. It cracks through the air like the lightning.

“That’s enough.” She vows.  

You will not cry. You won’t. You won’t let her get to you like this anymore. You’re a woman now. An adult. You’re not a child, you’re not, you’re not- 

She sighs. Your fingers clench the stem of the wine glass so firmly you think it might shatter.  

You finish your meal in stiff silence. Its heaviness droops all around you, blanketing the entire table, your fork, the distance between you and your own mother. It’s an eon. A millisecond. Never enough because you always crave more. More space. More time. More distance. Her eyes spark, anger burning hot behind them, but she says nothing.

When she’s finished, she rises from the table without another word, disappearing down the hall.

Happy Birthday, you guess.

In the middle of the night, the Greenhouse is quiet.

Even the plants slumber, most of the daylight seekers, pistils, stamens, all covered by their petals, lying in wait. In the back, you pad along the floor of moss, allowing the tiny tendrils of green to skim along your bare skin, pulling opulent, indulgent specks of power into themselves. Wisteria lines the walls, tiny blooms of purple and white falling like curtains of stars, only parting for the archway that leads to the spring, a small freshwater lagoon that spills from the crust of the earth as hot as tea, bubbling eternally, waiting for you.

Tonight, the water is ethereal. Steam rises from the pool, slicking its stone home, and you bask in it, muscle and bone turning languid, supple in the roiling spring. It’s nearly sublime, almost perfect.

Your mother’s voice still echoes. Even now, hours later, you can hear her.

A failure. A disappointment. 

Your knuckles sting from the salt of the Whip, the silver crust that slices so effortlessly, just as it has since you were a child.

You cried a lot, then.

Now, it’s few and far between. You’ve grown, rebelled, retaliated. You’ve become a lost cause.

Ungovernable Persephone. 

The pain still sits so heavily in the bottom of your soul, a wretched, tangible thing that sprouts blackened vine from the earth and a whole manner of other things.

You eye the marble encasement, the walls that harbor the spring. They too, are black. Born from your rage, your sorrow. Your uncontrollable, ungovernable power that grew from the depths of your despair and built you a temple.

The Greenhouse. Your home.

Everyone called it a wonder. A feat, proof of your power. Trees and vines and branches all twisted together, building a harbor, solidifying your presence, your Golden light.

You took your first offering in this place, the glass for the windows and the roof, the final piece of your shelter from the storm, the first stake of your life as a goddess, your life of freedom.

You left your mother’s house that day, only returning now on occasions. You never looked back.

Though, you can still feel the Whip, can still hear it whirl through the wind against your supine form. Can still feel the ridges of scar tissue that never fully healed.

You could have called Nell. Or Hebe. Or Melia. Anyone of them would be here for you. Would listen. Understand. 

Outside the window, an owl hoots.

You sink beneath the water line, magma rushing over every inch of your body, washing you clean of her, of the Whip, of the wounds on your knuckles.

A trembling fawn. Still to this day. 

A wicked daughter to have, they tell her. A vengeful soul. Rotted to the core. 

Ungovernable Persephone. 

Olympus is buzzing, even on its ninth day of rain. It’s a vibration that all manner of beings can feel, creatures, gods, even humans. The ground rattles like there’s a lightning bolt shoved into the center of the rail system, electrifying the wires and tracks, zinging from pole to pole between the buildings and above the streets where cars putter alongside those who walk to their destinations.

When you were a child, the name of the city was almost dirty. It made your mother’s nose turn skyward, disgust and disdain clear as the day on her delicate features. “The golden city is anything but.” She promised, on her knees before you, gentle hand at your back. “Those who live there are heathens, and naught else. They would seek to destroy you if they knew the truth.”

For many, many years, you never step foot here.

Not until University. Once you graduated, the rope around your neck, the bit in your mouth began to loosen, and you had already lost your taste for the expanse of metropolis, more interested in your own space outside city limits where you could feel your connection to the earth, where you could indulge your power in privacy.

“It’s not the city she fears.” Melia told you one night. “But Aphrodite. Demeter’s worried ‘Di will knock you right off the whole bloody planet.” She peered over your shoulder, catching the gleam of Apollo, his bright eyes tracking her from across a crowded bar. “Trust me. She’s a jealous bitch.” 

Tonight, the city is waterlogged, soaked to the bone, raindrops splashing as you slide from the car to the black door tucked inside a black wall, a soft faced Harpy standing in front of the passage.

“Hebe. Persephone.” She greets, turning to your other companions. “Nephelle. Melia.” You pull your power through the earth that sits beneath cracked concrete and heavy asphalt, spinning your Cloak up and over your body, adjusting your appearance just so. Your mask slips into place, obscuring nearly all your face, both Nell and Melia pulling together something similar.

“Ocypete.” Hebe pauses. “Is there a riddle tonight?” The Harpy grins, flashing rows of too sharp teeth, fine points that can cut the flesh from bone in a clean bite.

“No riddle.” The door creaks wide, and she steps aside. “Enjoy your evening.”

You don’t notice the way her eyes linger after you’ve passed.

Aselegia is one of the safest places in the Olympus. Here, Golden ones must be Cloaked, mortals must be masked, and creatures must go to great lengths to hide their identity. All intermingle with one another, safe in the anonymity. Gods and Goddesses usually choose to mask as well, a practice, you believe, stemming from common occurrences of violent jealousy, an effort to prevent becoming the target of one’s wrath.

The club itself is big enough to get lost in. The first floor houses the lobby, and a set of elevators. The walls are covered in shiny waxed mahogany, red wine rich carpet covering the floor, and it smells different, sweet and smoky, cigars and finely spun sugar. Intoxicating.

The elevators will take you anywhere you have access, and most can visit three floors. There’s a dancefloor on the main level, with a giant bar, private rooms in the wings, bottle service, tables. Very standard. Other floors have gambling tables, quieter music, even a dimly lit pool and sauna.

It isn’t until you get above level three that things change. Endorsements or sponsors are required. Waivers need to be signed. Negotiations begin.

Pick your poison. 

You start on the main level tonight. Melia insists, and you agree, grateful to the Oceanid for suggesting starting slow, the low rumble of nerves still present in your magic, your body. The music thumps, high to low song and symphony synthesized into something electronic, and it draws you into a sway, shoulders against shoulders, hips moving in time with the melody.

“Shots?” Hebe brightens, waving over a cocktail waitress, a pretty thing who eagerly does her bidding, enraptured with the way she moves in the skintight, cornflower blue dress. Her Cloak has disguised her well enough that no one would know who she is, but she does not ever manipulate her body. A cherished rule of her own, you’ve learned.

“You’re beautiful.” The girl coos, and Hebe nods, singing over the explosion of Nephelle’s laughter.

“I know, sweetheart.”

A slick sheen of sweat coats the space between Melia’s breasts. You’re both on the dancefloor, moving with the music, Melia perfectly in time, like she was born to it, and you pull her close, slinging an arm over her neck to whisper in her ear.

“He’s here.” A god’s dark eyes glint in the night, between the passages of writing bodies. He wears a white mask, stitched with the threads of glowing sun, but his obsessive gaze gives him away. He’s transfixed, focused solely on the Oceanid in the middle of the dance floor, and she giggles, turning so that her ass is pressed against your pelvis, her head tipped back on your shoulder.

Her hand extends, an invitation. A request.

He’s by her side within a second.

“Apollo.” You nod, and he barely spares you a glance, too busy cradling his Oceanid’s face.

“You have been ignoring my calls.”

“I’ve been busy.” He tenses.

“You’re still angry with me.”

“Of course, I am.” She rolls her eyes. “We’re here for Sephy’s birthday, not this.” He peeks towards you, sliver of regret flashing across his face.

“I’m sorry, Persephone.” You wave him off, not wanting to be in the middle of… this.

“It’s fine, we’re just… out. It’s not for anything special.” You look away from them, casually glancing around. You look, but you do not see. Not until…

There’s a male, wearing a pitch-black suit. A god? A mortal? He’s taller than anyone else in the room, broadest shoulders and proud posture, everything about him drawing you in, like blood in the water.

The room stands still. Silent. Empty, save for two.

Tempered water like glass, undisturbed. An undertow vicious beneath the surface, unknown to all.

“Hello.” The pitch of his voice is familiar, almost dreamlike, something that’s never been real, yet startling all the same.

“H-hi.” You stammer. His hand reaches, a magnetic force pulling yours from where it’s clawed against your thigh, and he grasps it like he’s cupping a dahlia bloom, a fragile collection of so many petals that make up an entire beautiful blossom, a universe unto itself.

Black leather caresses your skin. Clear, golden-brown eyes pin you in place, anthracite spiking around his pupils in a halo. You cannot see his face, or his skin, only what’s barely visible of his eyelids and dark spun lashes.

Still… 

His beauty is terror. It’s the throat of a lamb, freshly cut. The mutilated carcass of a doe, feeding a forest. Dark. Dangerous. A wolf, circling a kill.

It drags you out into a river, where your feet no longer touch the bottom. It sings to you from the depths.

You cannot tear yourself away.

He does not let go. Even when that same voice fills your mind.

“My darling. You shall rule all that lives and moves, you shall have the greatest rights among the deathless gods: those who defraud you and do not appease your power with offerings, reverently performing rites and paying fit gifts, shall be punished for evermore.” *

Warmth slips from your hand, sand flitting through your fingers, a fleeting touch of comfort and confusion fading into the night.

My darling. 

My darling… 

When the light comes back to you, the male is nowhere to be found. Only Apollo and Melia stand to your side, still in their own world.

“Will you let me take you upstairs then?” He croons, and your heart dances, nerves and anticipation all spiraling together like a sailor’s knot. You know what comes next.

“Only if the girls can come.”

You try to forget the strange encounter on the main level and focus on your needs instead; you’ll know what you’re looking for when you see it, and you say the same to Hebe, too, when she disappears with a male who seemed much too large to not be the son of a giant, leaving you alone on a small, velvet couch, Nell and Melia already long gone. Your second martini sits untouched, and you keep yourself from looking at any one being too closely, lest you get caught staring.

That’s when you see him.

Light blue eyes. Handsomely styled mohawk. Even with a Cloak and mask, he’s hard to forget.

John.

His mask is a red skull, covering nearly all his face, the sculpted brow severe, almost angry.

His eyes glow behind it, locked on yours.

Oh. Shit. You vibrate like a live wire, hanging onto yourself for dear life.

“Hello.” Your mouth doesn’t work. “I’m Soap.” He extends his hand, and you blink. Oh, right. The alias. Because what is the point in all this, if you give your real name?

“K-kore.” You manage to stammer, and the corner of his eyes crease.

“Why are ye here?”

“I’m sorry?”

“What are ye looking for, little goddess?” He still has not dropped your gaze, and you can almost taste him on your tongue, feel him in your mind, your body.

Myself.

Your teeth dig downward, pressing hard before you whisper the truth.

“Pain.” His eyes flash, and then he tugs.

John- Soap, takes you to a private room. You follow, numbly, shivering with a million emotions, stumbling through the chances, the possibilities of seeing him twice, when before he was a stranger.

A coincidence, you decide, putting it out of your mind. You’re dwelling on it too much, picking it apart, riling yourself up… over nothing. Over a handsome god, existing in the Golden city? Like you’ve never seen those before… like it’s so unbelievable.  

“Are ye alright?” He murmurs, stepping up to your back. You can feel the heat of him, his warmth bleeding from beneath the suit to your exposed skin, the dress you chose wholly exposing your spine, your skin.

Your nipples tighten. Your heart races, and your thighs press together inadvertently.

“Yes.”

“Dinnae lie.” He’s gentle in the reminder, and you fill your lungs.

“I’m just… nervous.”

“Ye’ve done this before?” He’s assuming. You nod, quickly, and he motions to a very comfortable looking lounge chair, where you perch on the edge of the cushion. “What would make ye happy tonight?” Anxiety unsettles your posture, and you choke down the embarrassment that tries to claw its way up your throat.

“A… a spanking.” You whisper, pushing flimsy confidence forward. Far away, a piece of your mind, your magic, pleads. It cries, it begs for release. It urges you forward, and you lift your face to his, seeking approval. Comfort.

Reassurance.

The cold hand of doubt rears. It snickers at you. It laughs.

Reassurance from someone, anyone but yourself? Comfort? 

No. 

“Do ye-“

“My safe word is flower.” You spit, motioning to the stool that waits between you.

It’s an act. A song and a dance, something fake and forced. But he doesn’t know that.

He freezes. Thick tension runs the gamut, heavy and exhausting, and you smother yourself, your emotions, your reactions to this very moment.

Pain. The desire burns. It pushes you to the zenith, until you’re down on your knees, folding yourself forward.

Pain, to turn it off. Pain, to make it all stop.

Pain, to release you into yourself. 

What matter of creature are you, that you can only feel whole, when parts of you are carved away? 

“Up.” John commands, and you lean back, confused. “Ye’ll do this over my knee.” He bends you, with grace, back towards the soft cushion, laying comfortably, your palms flat.

A hand coasts over the swell of your ass.

“Ye’ll count.” His voice has shifted. Gone is the feather’s edge, now replaced by steel. His accent still rings true, but there’s a firmness to it, a finality. Dominance.

“Yes.”

“Ye’ll tell me yer name, and today’s date, when asked. If ye cannae answer, we’ll stop. Immediately.”

“Okay.”

“I need a yes.”

“Yes.”

“We’ll go to ten, then.” We.

“I can take more.”

“We’ll decide what ye can take, when we get there.” You acquiesce, fingers digging down into the cushion before forcibly relaxing. “Big breath.” He coaches, and then-

The first slap stuns you. Only with his hand, and yet still so much stronger than last time with a paddle. It punches air from your lungs, the noise that rockets out of your throat a mix between a scream and a moan.

“F-fuck.” You croak. “One.” He doesn’t hesitate and rains the next one down on your opposite cheek. Again, it robs you of oxygen. “Two.”

“Good girl.” The praise is very small flame at the bottom of the darkest well. It barely lights the path ahead, desperately trying to catch, to grow, but it’s too easily snuffed out. His palm rubs the base of your spine to the tops of your thighs.

Crack. 

The sting sizzles outward from impact, and you gasp. “Three-“ Another, same cheek. “Four!” The whistle of the swing alerts you a second before the next, and when you shout “Five!” it sounds off kilter.

“What’s yer name?”

“Seph-Persephone.” Raw warmth simmers beneath your dress and underwear, and the fire at the bottom of the well starts to rage, growing larger, eating what it’s been given, hungry, seeking, trying to build momentum. He asks you the date, satisfied at the lack of delay, and swings so high, you can see the shine of his palm from the corner of his eye. Your toes curl.

Whack. Two, too quickly.

“Six!” A choked cry. “Seven.” Your face is wet, saltwater tracing the plush swell towards your mouth and chin. You sniffle.

“I know, I know. Ye poor thing.” He bunches the fabric of your dress, scratching it across your scorched cheeks. “Ye’re doin’ so well, almost there.” The words barely register, only the sentiment cuts through the haze. Your thighs are pressed so tightly together, slick dripping from your cunt, the aching throb of your clit rubbing against your panties. You’re desperate… to be touched, to be hurt, to be whole. You need it. Crave it more than anything else.

He delivers two more strong, healthy, swift blows. Eight. Nine. They enflame you completely, fire burning in the pit of your soul, encasing you in a coffin where no one can hear you, or see you. Safe and tucked away, floating into a dark cocoon of eternal night.

At the tenth, the room changes. The air grows colder, nearly frigid, shadows clinging to the walls, and you barely register being moved, held like a child, tucked into a chest. There’s talking, somewhere, in your mind or maybe behind you, two pitches at war, a dance of wills.

“Beautifully done, darling.” Somewhere far, far away, in the last sliver of your sane mind, you realize it’s a different voice, a voice echoed in gemstones, ruby and emerald and pearl, before that too, slips into space, and you drift deeper inside the luxurious praise. A warm bath. A sunlit meadow with thousands of Narcissus dotting the hill, soaking up every ray. A golden fawn, taking her first steps to freedom.

John’s face looms into your line of sight, maskless, no Cloak.

“We need a yes.” He murmurs, cupping your cheek. “Persephone.”

“Hmmm?”

“Need ye to say yes, so we can take ye home, take care of ye.” The words don’t match. They don’t click, they catch, they bump against each other, trying to lock into place, failing over and over.

“Supposed to go… home with my friends but-“ Your tongue is heavy, weighted beneath a giant sequoia, and you shiver. The chest that your head bobbles on catches, an arm securing you in place. It’s warm, and firm, heavier than a tree. Who…

“Little goddess.” He prompts, and you sigh, already wistfully unaware.

“’kay, yeah. Yes.”

You’re already slipping away when the world goes dark.

Your eyes open to a strange place.

You don’t recognize any of it, from the massive four poster bed with lithe, gauzy curtains drawn closed on three sides, to a fireplace the size of a giant, roaring, sizzling flame burning endlessly in its hearth. You don’t recognize the room, the black marble floors, polished to a brilliant gleam, one that you can nearly see your reflection in, or the vanity, dark oak housing a hand carved mirror. You’ve never seen the ornate stained glass window before, stretching from floor to ceiling, the size of ten men. You don’t know the bed, sized for a king, emerald silk sheets and a matching duvet, with a million pillows that were just cradling your head. The robe you’re wearing matches, the green only a shade lighter, and you tuck it tight across your body, realizing you’re fully nude.

The fire pops. It pushes a gasp from you, caught off guard, and at the sound, another being in the room stirs from the plush rug just beneath the bed.

A three headed dog.

It, they, stare at you, tongues wagging, eyes wide. Jet black fur, darker than midnight, white teeth so sharp they could rip your throat free in an instant.

You’ve seen this dog before… in pictures. Schoolbooks. You know their name.

Cerberus.

Panic races through your veins, ratcheting your heart rate higher and higher, your body and mind separating, all synapses dizzy with fear.

Oh gods. Where… where are you? What happened? You were just… you were just having some fun, at Aselegia, with John… weren’t you? Where…

Are you dead?  

You reach for your power, digging deep, trying to drag as much as you could to the surface-

Nothing.

You bleat, a scared lamb, in panic. It’s a cry. A scream. An awful sound. You need your rage now, but all you find is fear. You cannot reach your power. There is a blackened lock around it, a casing that holds it away from you, out of reach.

Cerberus whines. They hold their position, tail swishing back and forth, and you scramble towards the middle of the bed. Your ass protests, skin warm and tender against silk. Your knees tuck to your chest, and you force your eyes closed, trying to take long, measured breaths without success.

You’re dead, you’re dead, you’re-

The door clicks. John appears, two palms out, hesitant, and cautious. Your voice shakes, no matter how hard you try to reinforce it with iron will. “G-get away from me.”

“Ye’re alright, Persephone. We’d never hurt ye.” We?

“We need a yes.”

“Need ye to say yes, so we can take ye home, take care of ye.”

Something flickers behind him. A figure, a shape of shadow, shifting.

Dark. Dangerous. A wolf, circling a kill.

The male from the dance floor. He wears no mask now, but the feel of him, the threat of his power, is unmistakable… and familiar. You sputter on it, choking on him and John, the threat of their power combined looming, suffocating. “Oh gods.” You clutch the robe tighter. “Wh-where am I?”

“You know where you are, darling.” The other one says, and you moan.

“N-no. I… I can’t be. I can’t dead. I can’t be here… I-“

“You’re not dead, Persephone.” He cautions. “You’re very much alive.” And shaking, alive and trembling so vigorously you can hear your teeth chattering, chest heaving up and down, desperately trying to suck air inward. Cerberus whines again, and he rubs a thumb behind one of their ears. “Easy, Cerberus. She’s alright.”

“I ca-can’t be here. I have to… I have to go home.” The room seems wet, dollops of tears falling from your lashes, sticking to your skin and the sheets. Reality slams forward, rushing right up against your nonsensical mind.

It takes one gentle pulse of their power, to realize the truth. 

Hades. They’re… Hades. They’re Hades and you’re… you’re in the Underworld. 

Beg. Beg them for mercy. Whatever it is you’ve done, you must try. 

“I’m s-sorry. I don’t know… I don’t know what I did but I swear, I’m sorry, I-“ John tries to reach, seeking your hand, but you curl up into a tighter ball.

“Shhh. Ye hae nae done anythin’ wrong, sweet Persephone. Ye’re alright. Ye’re safe.” Safe? Safe in the Underworld? With them? 

Oh gods. You let Hades spank you. 

“You… you tricked me.” You whisper, raw betrayal and pain weeping profoundly in your heart. You trusted him and…

You are a fool. 

“We did what was necessary.” The wolf-like one says solemnly, gaze heavy.

“Necessary?” You squeak. “What’s… necessary about this?”

“We will explain everything, after we’ve eaten. Or maybe had some more rest? It’s the middle of the night, for you.” What? 

“No… I can’t… I can’t stay here. I have to-“

“Go home? So, you can hide away in your temple, kept company only by your plants and the occasional friend you let inside?” You blink, stunned, mouth dropping open.

“How do you... have you been watching me?” The stained-glass window on the far side of the room shifts, drawing your attention, morphing slowly from a tawny blur to a… screech owl.

“Oh, my gods. Oh…” The room shudders. “You can’t keep me here, I have to go…” Wolves circle, flanking where you sit, precarious and hopeless, a hand in front of your body like it will save you. “Please.”

“It’s alright, darling.” The dark one moves, blurred in shadow, magic blanketing you in a warm, comforting hold, heating your bones, encouraging your eyes to slowly shut.

The last thing you see is the ceiling, your body cradled in the embrace of a stranger.

Morning comes slow.

At first, you don’t open your eyes, even though you’ve been long awake.

If you open them, your fear will be real. It will be valid.

So, you keep them closed. Keep them shut long enough you drift in and out of twilight, until someone clears their throat.

Fuck. 

“Are you going to open your eyes?” His voice is ruby and velvet. You shudder.

“Hades.”

“Technically. One half of a whole, but my loved ones call me Simon.” Your brow flexes at that, and there’s a soft chuckle in response. “Will you wake? It’s well past morning now.”

“Are you going to render me unconscious again?” you hiss, cracking an eyelid. He’s sitting in a posh armchair, oiled black leather beneath his black suit, eyes steady on yours. His face is a map of scars, but instead of seeming rough, or out of place, they naturally suit him, complementing his broad jaw, severe expression, perfectly sculpted bone structure. His nose is crooked, like it had been smashed and rearranged once or twice, but still sits as if it was meant to be, and you wonder how anyone could do anything of the like to Hades.

He's handsome, in a way you expect to die from. 

“Only if you cannot behave.”

“Perhaps I could show you how I behave.” You smile with a full set of teeth, words ending in a snarl, and he huffs another gentle laugh.

“I have seen the victims of your wrath, Persephone. I have no doubt you’d strike me down if you could.” You swallow the nausea in your stomach. Your magic. 

“I want my magic back.” You blurt the demand, not even pausing to consider a more tactful way.

“We did not take it, only… bound it, for the time being. It’s still within you, we would never separate you from your power.” He sighs, a golden pearl rocking in his palm, glinting in the fireplace’s gleam. “Contrary to popular belief, we are not a monster.”

“Then let me go home, if you’re not as they say you are.” His eyes harden, face twisting sour, and then… sad.

“I’ll give you some privacy. There are clothes in the closet. Johnny and I expect you for breakfast, and then a tour… if you’re good. Cerberus will show you the way when you’re ready.”

If you’re good.

Cerberus leads you through a maze of decadent marble and arches.

You follow behind them hesitantly, cautious, and they mind you, slowing when you’ve lagged too far behind.

You can’t help it. You’re mystified.

You expected the Underworld to be dark, and dingy. And while maybe it is on the dark side, with glossy, polished marble, giant onyx columns that blot of the sky, and black stone everywhere… when you peek out the windows, you’re gob smacked.

Beneath wherever you are, which you’re beginning to suspect is Hades’ palace, is lush greenery. A verdant, fertile field lays to the south and the east, wrapping around to the edge of a forest, where you can just barely make out a large variety of deciduous trees. To the North, a river winds, separating the palace from a large meadow and… a town? You shake your head, as if to clear your addled mind and cloudy vision. Is that truly… a town? 

“Asphodel Meadows.” Someone says from behind you, nearly jumping you from your skin.

“Fuck.” You gasp, hand clutching your chest. It’s a man, not John, or Simon, but a stranger, clad in all black.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“It’s… okay. I- what did you say?”

“The town. It’s Asphodel Meadows. A place for mortal’s souls.” He bows. “I’m Thanatos.”

“I’m… Persephone.” He smiles, just slightly.

“I know who you are, my lady.” My lady?

“What do you…” words nearly fail as you grapple. “What do you do here?”

“I am a child of Nyx. The god of Death.”

“I thought Hades…”

“They are the Kings of the Underworld. I am the personification, the embodiment of Death.” Oh.

“You reap.” You whisper. His jaw tightens, and then smooths.

“Your escort is impatient. I think he’s probably ready for his bacon.” He eyes Cerberus, who whines, tapdancing on slick marble.

“Bacon?”

“Yes. He’s very spoiled. Eats better than the Kings themselves.” He motions down the hall. “It’s just that way. Lovely to meet you, my lady.” He gives you another bow, and then turns down a corridor, one that had not been there before, leaving you and Cerberus alone in the empty hall.

“I- you too.”

The Kings, as Thanatos called them, are both seated when you push the incredibly heavy door open. At the sound, John rises, Simon behind him, and the three of you stare at one another for a minute, until Cerberus barks.

“Please, sit.” John motions to the only other place set, a third chair between them. You swallow.

“Uh…”

“We don’t bite.”

“Not unless ye want us to.” John smiles, sinfully handsome in the morning light. It streams into the surprisingly cozy dining room through a group of five windows, all facing east, capturing the light of… a sun?

“Is that a sun?”

“It’s a sun of sorts.” Simon offers. “We have a sky, weather. A sun, a moon. Clouds. Everything that exists in Olympus.”

“Are ye hungry?” You hesitantly lower yourself into the chair, surprised at the array of food displayed. “We ah, weren’t sure what ye liked so, got a bit of everything.” Meats, yogurts, sweets, cereal, fruit, anything you could want laid out in front of you, but it’s something so near to your heart that catches your eye. Portokalopita.

“They are Hebe’s.” Simon murmurs.

This is a trick. They kidnapped you. They’re holding you hostage. You have to convince them to let you go. The warning resounds, and your stomach thrashes.

“I want to go home.” You push the plate of orange cakes away, disappointment flickering across John’s face, exasperation on Simon’s. “Please. I… I appreciate your hospitality and you… you bringing me home for… aftercare,” you grit the word, shame rocketing up your spine. This is what happens when you trust. You let Hades spank you, for fucks sake. And then they abducted you. “but I need to go home. The plants, they need me. My friends-“

“Your friends are used to going days on end without contact from you.” Simon cuts you off, and the blood drains from your face. “Are they not?”

“N-no. They’ll know I’m missing, they will.” Lie. He knows. You know they both know, just by the way the regard you. Half pity. Half amusement. It makes your blood boil. “Fuck you.” You hiss, shooting up in the chair.

“Seph-“ John tries to soothe you, calm you, using your nickname like he knows you, and it only makes you more irate.

“Don’t call me that.” You whirl on him. “I trusted you! I don’t even know you and I let you-“

“That is the nature of Aselegia, is it not?” He counters, cutting you off. You gape like a fish. “The anonymity. Dinnae turn it on me now.” His tone melts from ice to warmth, sympathy bleeding from his irises. “I assure ye, we are more than trustworthy. We would never, ever hurt ye. We would never let anythin’ happen to ye. Ye’ll see.”

“Then let me go home.” He shakes his head sadly but says nothing, and rage snaps in your heart like the drawback of a rubber band, stinging and sharp. “What do you want from me?” John opens his mouth, and then abruptly closing it, deferring to Simon.

“You are our guest. We’d like to get to know you. I promise, just as before, you will not be harmed in our care. We will never hurt you."

"How do I know that?" You’re incredulous. “You expect me to take you at your word?”

“Let us strike a deal then.” He declares, and John nods supportively.

Don’t, your good sense screams. Don’t be an idiot.

“What kind of deal?”

“You will stay here for two days, forty-eight hours exactly. We will show you this realm and get to know one another in that time, and at the end, we will reveal the doorway that leads back to Olympus.” You raise an eyebrow.

“Two days? And then I can go home?”

“Two days.” John echoes. Sapphire eyes gleam, and you carefully, quickly, try to pick apart every word in the proposal.

“My magic.” You demand, and they both answer immediately with a resounding,

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Your power is wild, Persephone.” Simon tells you, not unkindly. “We do not know how the Underworld will react to it, and we must think of our residents, all the souls we care for here. We cannot let something upset the balance that is so delicate.” Your mouth goes a little dry. You were expecting more of an answer about control, domineering you, your magic, keeping you contained. Not… care for souls.

“Yer mother raised ye to be her weapon.” John says softly, kneeling before the chair where you sit. His hand rests on the cushion, and you wonder if he means to touch you. “We dinnae regard ye as such, but until we understand ye better, we need to protect-“

“I understand.” You cut him off. You don’t need some forced sympathy, pity, thrust upon you by Hades, of all gods. They exchange a long glance, one that gives you a small peek into their lives, layers on layers of words and sentiment, communicated with a single glance.

Simon reaches for John, pulling him to his feet and into his body, chest to back.

“Do you agree?” Two days. Two days and you can leave. You can do two days of anything. You certainly cannot fight them, or your way out. What choice do you have? 

“Sure.”

“We need a yes, darling.” Darling. The pet name makes your toes curl. You take a big breath.

“Yes.”

The valley outside of Asphodel Meadows is one of the most stunning places you’ve ever been. It’s lush and lively, covered in Narcissus and Asphodelus, like a meadow one could only dream of. You're not sure why it feels so familiar, like the cusp of another life, or a nightmare, but it takes root inside you. You lay in the field of flowers, letting them cover your body, wishing so desperately to touch your magic, so you could truly feel them, the grass and the dirt and the stems here, all things that seem like they’re so full of life, so opposite your expectations of the Underworld.

“Shall we continue?” Cerberus perks up at the sound of their master’s voice, head popping over the flowers to spot both Kings standing on the path, a good distance away. They peek at you, heads tilted, and you sigh. It seems you’ve been assigned a minder, in the form of a three headed dog.

You join them on the road before long, walking silently, sullenly, John sneaking glances at you nearly every chance he gets, and you can pinpoint the heat of his gaze every time, the throbbing intensity of his focused power nearly bowling you over.

“So, there are two of you?” What are you supposed to talk to the Kings of the Underworld about, anyway? 

“Aye. It’s a little-known secret. One realm, two gods to rule.” You frown, perplexed.

“But… you haven’t always been that way?”

“No.” Simon answers. “We were once Golden brothers in battle, long before your time, before becoming this. When we fell in love, our souls split. They merged with our magic, tied us together eternally. Now, we rule as one.”

“So, you’re married.” You deduce.

“In the most permanent way you can think of.” They stop short of a bridge, one that crests high over a roaring river, and Simon gestures broadly. “Persephone, this is the Acheron.”

The Underworld is a place of rivers, you learn. Waterways that hold power, that possess the ability to cleanse you, free you, burn you, punish you. There is a river of fire, a river of weeping, a river to forget.

The Acheron is the river of woe.

Fitting, you think, standing on the bridge. Below, bright turquoise water rushes by, crashing into rock and boulder, each sound more akin to a scream than the thunder of a tributary. Mouths, long and full of despair, wail beneath the current, wraith like creatures with bone white skin and eyes skimming along the top.

You get lost in them. Lost in the irreversible cycle of woe, desolation creeping up inside your own self as you peer down into the depths. Are you not like them? Despondent. Bleak. Isolated. Is that not what you’ve made with your life, what was chosen for you? Hidden away, sharpened like an axe never to be used. Are you not alone, like them? Trapped, like them? 

You don’t even realize you’re leaning forward until pressure rests at your back. “Easy. Dinnae want ye fallin’ in.” John murmurs, stepping away the edge, bringing you with him. Your limbs feel shaky, and you wonder if it’s because you just almost went over… or because you didn’t eat earlier.

“Sorry. I uh-“ you don’t know how to explain it, that feeling. The agony that bubbles up in the back of your throat.

“We know.” Simon regards you with empathy, understanding, and you shake the attention loose, pushing ahead of them, down the bridge and into town, into Asphodel Meadows itself, eager to leave the river and its woe behind.

In town, the Kings are well received. It surprises you, to watch them in the street, welcomed by the souls who live there. They take you on a tour, introducing you to residents, explaining the structure, the magic and the infrastructure that makes it all work. Souls take their preferred form in Asphodel Meadows, allowed to choose for themselves, whatever they feel most comfortable in, and you’re shocked that such benevolence would be bestowed upon anyone in the Underworld.

Why are they showing you this? Why go to such great lengths? What is the purpose? 

“Hi.” A small voice breaks you from your confusion, and you find a small girl at your feet, bouquet of Narcissus clutched in her tiny hands. You crouch.

“Hello.”

“I’m Phoebe.” She giggles, cheeks round and rosy.

“I’m Persephone.” You incline your head. “Phoebe is a beautiful name.” Your heart pangs. She’s so small, so… fragile. How did she die? Where is her family? Is she here alone?

“Thank you, my lady.” She tries to bow, and you rush to stop her, stilling her with a hand.

“Are those for me?”

“They are. Johnny said they’re your favorites.” Johnny? You glance over to where they stand, both turned your way, something unreadable in their reflections.

“Well, thank you. They’re lovely.” She wishes you well, skipping off in another direction, and you meander across the street, unable to hide your quizzical expression.

“Johnny? Not Hades?”

“Ach. The kids they’re… they’re usually a wee bit scared, first thing. It’s better for them, if we’re friends.” He shrugs, but Simon watches him in reverence, pure love and light beaming from his gaze, adoration in every slow blink.

Your heart skips.  

Fuck. 

“Are you not hungry?” Simon muses, walking beside you and John in the castle. Your shoes tap along the way, echoing, and Cerberus barks. John glares at them.

“I… I am afraid to eat here.” They both stop short.

“Why?”

“I have always heard… a myth. That if you somehow find yourself here and you eat, you’ll become trapped, stuck here forever.” Simon chuckles, dry and warm.

“No, darling. Please, we do not wish for you to starve.”

“The legend isnae true. Only by eating whole pomegranate seeds that ye pluck from the flesh of the fruit yerself, can ye become bound to the land. And we dinnae serve those.” He winks, stepping a little closer. “Ye can eat, little goddess. Please. Join us for dinner, we insist.”

“Okay.”

Simon is not at dinner.

John makes no mention of it, and only when you’re halfway done does he offer an explanation, something important that needed to be tended to.

“Ye look stunning.” He hums, and you have half the decency to smile. You chose a dress from the never-ending closet, black to match their suits, for fun. Its back is open, and the front offers a generous view of your breasts, but not quite enough.

You felt like sin. Johnny has been staring like you are. And maybe, you didn’t want sex, but you did want to punish them for their treachery. If only a little bit.

For making you a fool. 

“So, no Simon?” He swallows a mouthful of red wine.

“He apologizes. Somethin’ came up.”

“That’s alright.” You shift, legs crossing. The transition is unintentional, but it draws Johnny’s eyes to your knees, and up. You lift your glass, the largest goblet of red wine you’ve seen, and allow a small river of red to run from the corner of your mouth to your neck. It traces the valley between your breasts, and Johnny growls.

“Persephone.”

“What?” You ask, innocently.

“Ye’re playing with fire.” He grits, the gleam in his eyes one of a predator.

“I’m not playing with anything,” you hiss, slamming the glass down. It shatters, it sloshes, it spills onto the table and into your lap. “You’re the ones playing with me. Kidnapping me, holding me hostage.” Your anger builds, overflowing inside your soul, clawing at the locked box of your magic. Cerberus whines, galloping across the floor and out the main door, but you hardly notice, too focused on spitting as much fire and venom at your captor as you can. “Touring me around the Underworld, making yourselves look like some benevolent, beloved rulers when really all you are… are gods of death and decay.” John stares at you, wild eyed. Your chair clatters to the ground as you stand, fury rocketing through every vein in your body, ichor pulsing beneath your skin. You’re so, so close to your power; you can taste it. Can feel the way it screams, how it howls to you, churning in the depths of your being, rattling the cage it’s trapped inside.

Trapped. You’re trapped. Like always. 

Your vision blurs, and you take a step towards John. It all happens so fast, so lightning quick that it doesn’t even register until your hand is swinging through the air and across his face.

He does nothing. You feel the rumble of his power, pushing and pulling at the seams of your very being, waiting to tear your apart, but he holds himself at bay.

Only watches you with cold, wrathful eyes.

The air chills.

“That’s enough.” Simon stands between your bodies. Power, so potent, so strong, wraps tight, shoving your wrists together, Golden cuffs immobilizing you, holding you still. “You want to be a disobedient little brat, is that it?”

“YOU STOLE ME!” You scream it, raw and agonized. It tries to burst through your skin. Tries to explode your vessels. Your very heart. Your chest heaves, eyes wide, and John flanks you, coming closer and closer until you can feel his heat against your side.

He’s hard.

“What did ye think ye were doin, sweet Persephone? Did ye really think you could strike me?”

You don’t have an answer. Words die on your tongue. Guilt burns. Did you want to hurt him? 

Did you?

The cuffs yank you forward. They singe your skin, dragging you to the table. “What’re you doing?” They drag you across the food until you're climbing on top, until your whole body is prone, feet dangling above the floor, bent at the waist.

“Is this what you wanted?” Simon mocks. Hands grip your hips, and your traitorous body clenches. “This what you need, little goddess? Need to be punished?” Your dress is shoved up around your waist, exposing your skin to the frigid air, and you force away a small moan. “You need your pain, darling?” Yes. Fingers pinch the back of your neck. “Answer me.”

“Yes.” You snap, darting daggers with your eyes over your shoulder. His answer is a chuckle.

“Turn your head.” He hisses, hand on the back of your skull. When you do, you come face to face with Johnny’s hips, the length of his cock freed from his suit pants and bobbing right in front of your mouth.

Oh, gods. 

He strokes it slowly, the pink- nearly red tip oozing pre-cum, long and thick in his fist, his size enough to make your thighs press together, cunt throbbing with delight. Traitor.

“Open, darling.” He smears it against your lips. You tuck them in tight, trying to keep them closed, and he looks over, to the god who stands at the curve of your ass.

Simon takes a handful each of your cheeks, spreading you wide. He kicks your feet too, knocking your legs into an A-frame, fully exposing your weeping cunt.

“She’s dripping.” He announces, a finger sliding through your folds, body jolting with his touch. He circles your clit, barely, not enough, and you whine indignantly. It’s enough to loosen your lips, enough for Johnny to grasp your jaw, shove the tip of his thumb between your teeth, and then pry you open.

Once he gets the tip of his cock against your tongue, it’s over. Salt and earth dab along your tastebuds, and you drool on the table, trying to breathe through his rhythm, trying to focus as Simon tucks a finger into your hole, slowly pumping in and out, occasionally pulling free to swirl it around your untouched rim.

One finger inside you is enough to burn, heat rising through your belly, walls clenching tight, and John groans, pressing into the back of your throat, cutting off your airway.

“So good, all day.” Simon grits, stroking your clit in tiny circles. “Sweet Persephone, and now,” he’s building you closer, so close to the precipice, to the top of the mountain where you’ll hope he’ll throw you off.

But it’s not enough. 

“I know darling, don’t worry. I’ll give you your pain.” He croons. John thrusts hard, drives into you vigorously, head thrown back. There’s a sheen of sweat on his neck, and you watch a slow rivulet dip beneath his collar. He’s so… they’re so…

A hand cracks across the tender skin of your ass, rippling out like a shockwave. You choke.

You clench. The tide rises.

“Fuck. There you go.” Light dances in front of your eyes, small pinpricks of stars, and you gurgle on the dick that shoves down your throat. Another strike, the same side, and you cry out, gasping for air. The tip of his finger gently pushes against your rim, and then it’s replaced with a mouth, a hot, intrepid tongue, swirling around as your hips buck and he plays with your clit.

You’re going to die. You’re going to explode. You need more. 

You try to tell him, try to choke it out around John’s shaft, but it’s like he knows, like he’s reading your mind, and he pulls away to dig his teeth into the plump swell of your ass, biting down so hard you think you’re bleeding.

No. You are. 

You scream.

Rivers of ichor paint your skin. The next spank comes directly over the puncture wounds, and instead of screaming in pain, you moan in pleasure, head held in Johnny’s hands, your face a tool for him to fuck, your pussy squeezing down around the single finger stroking in and out of your body. He swings again, and again, fire lighting behind your eyes, explosions going off one by one, your orgasm cresting, rising in the swell of an enormous wave, and just as you’re about to come, Simon plunges a finger deep into your ass, shoving you off the mountain.

To where they catch you below.

The rest is a blur. John finishes down your throat, salt and sweat and tears all mixing in your mouth, and he moans your name as he gives you a belly full of seed.

You’re limp, floating, drifting higher and farther than you ever have before, not in your body, not even in your own mind. Hardly cognizant when you’re picked up, tucked away in the shelter of a chest and carried down the hall. You close your eyes.

You come back a little bit when you’re placed in shallow hot water, a steaming, rocky pool, your face settled in Johnny’s neck. Cloth and deft fingers rub your shoulders, your waist, anywhere you might feel sore, even the bottoms of your feet.

All the while, they talk.

It starts simply, sweet words that fills you up until you can’t take anymore. “Did so well, darling. So good for us.” John murmurs in hushed tones as Simon shifts you, turning you on your belly to run the cloth between your legs and over your ass. It stings, and you hiss, but you’re soothed with an apology, gentle kisses down your spine, each one pressed with praise.

It’s not long before you’re tucked into bed, turned over on your side, some sort of magic and salve being applied to the bite in your skin. You’re gone now, barely aware, barely awake, but with it enough to catch the little bits here and there.

“-talk about it tomorrow.”

“If they’re from Demeter, I’ll-“ No. Not this. Anything but this. Distress catches in your chest, and fingers stroke your cheek.

“Shhh, sweet one. Rest now.” There’s a little touch of magic, a barely there pulse of power, and you let it take you into the soft comfort of sleep, bedded down like a fawn, cradled between two Kings.

*Hymn 2 to Demeter, line 347

[ryozoro]

Hades Playlist - i.

NOW PLAYING : I n t e r l u d e [J. Cole]

cw; name calling, blood, mentions of murder, major spoilers

“Fate is a very weighty word to throw around before breakfast.”

Despite the red-light district thriving through the night, it looked just as beautiful during the early morning. Yn was roaming the streets on her pedal bike for the first time since winter break as she plotted different ways to surprise her big brother at his newly opened bike shop. She had already purchased his favorite breakfast meal from the little café she worked at, and all that she was left to do was see the said man. Getting out of thoughts and returning to reality, she stopped at the side of the traffic light to press the ‘crossing’ button and to text Draken to make sure he was at work before she made the trip.

“hey there pretty girl, ya wanna come ride something more interesting than the little kiddie bike yer on right now?” some bleach blonde junior high kid called out to her, smirking as he man spread and took up most of the space on the park bench. “I know ya hear me pretty girl,” he leaned and rested his elbows onto his knees, “maybe ya want me to come over and beg for yer attention, huh? Want me to come and make ya listen to me?”

She scoffed and waited for the light to signal for her to cross, but its as if the gods wanted to punish her and traffic kept flowing out of her favor. Getting restless, she pocketed her phone and tapped on her bar handles in hopes of the cars to all be generous and let her through; of course, this did not happen and the young fuck boy in training had began to approach her alongside his friend who were hyping him up and recording the event.

“You might be older than me,” he walked up behind her and kicked her bike tire before circling around and leaning against the basket in the front, “but that doesn’t change the fact that I hit girls.” Yn had to refrain from spitting in his face because Draken always said ‘never start anything with others first, let them choose their fate.’ In other words, big bro just didn’t want her to put herself at risk due to minor inconveniences that were presented towards her.

Just as the light switched from a hand to a walking figure, yn politely smiled at the boy in hopes of him getting the hint that she did not wish to engage with him anymore, but – of course – that was just asking too much of him. He turned back and looked at the sign noticing it was their turn to cross, and he surprisingly moved out the way. Yn smiled realizing that her brother did know it best when he said that the ‘dumb young boys will leave you alone after they realize you’re not going to give them the time of day,’ and she moved to pedal across the cross walk with a large smile.

However, big bro’s words are not the golden rule amongst men and the boys did not leave her alone; in fact, they decided to run at her hit the back tire with a bat and caused her to lose control and fall in the middle of the walkway. The drivers were kind enough to wait for her to get up and cross the street with scraped knees and a dirty pull over. She turned back to glare at the boys, but their backs were already facing her as they leisurely walked away laughing. This wasn’t going to ruin her day, after all, she still gets to surprise her brother with her presence and might even have the chance to see his hot amazing friends whom you grew up around. After realizing that the former gang members might all be hanging around her brother’s workplace, she got up with a huge smile and skipped the rest of her way on the crosswalk. Once to the other side, yn hopped back on her bike without checking her bloodied shins and made her way on the quickest route to the shop.

Glancing up at the familiar billboards that danced in sky and looking down at the alleys being populated with street cats and new gen delinquents, she realized she was only a block down from seeing the man who has always put her first and raised her to strive to her fullest potential. Smiling as closed her eyes for just a second - she swears it – to bask in the excitement and next thing she knew, she was on the ground covered in coffee. She could hear faint voices but those were cancelled out by her skin screaming at her to get up and quickly remove any rubble and dirt that had entered. Moving to get up, she took note of blood staining the concrete and became slightly alarmed.

“Oi, you dumb bitch, you should watch where you’re going,” a man’s voice echoed through her head, “you got a drip of blood on my Milano’s.” Trying to get up, yn went to wipe her eyes, but as soon as she lifted her hands, she felt them share the similar sting that her knees and chin felt. “You deaf or something? Ha, lucky for you I’ll take the food in your basket and whatever is in your wallet as an exchange. Pin code for your card must be included, love.” Hearing as she was about to get stripped dry of her hard-earned cash, she shot a glare up at the well-dressed man’s body just to be sent in a more state of terror when she noticed the tattoo that decorated his temple; it was the infamous Bonten symbol.

“I say we just take her to the back alley and make her pretty throat match the rest of her bloody body,” she turned and seen a pinkette with long hair and two scars that sat on each corner of his ?beautiful? mouth. to be completely honest, he would have been very much at the top of her most attractive list if he weren’t just plotting to slice her neck right in front of her; she wondered if he ever heard of the Element of Surprise. “She hasn’t even apologized yet and it’s been at least 45 seconds, that is pretty rude don’t you think, Mochi-kun?”

“It is very rude,” the built man with slicked back blonde hair spoke up, “do you want me to take her in the alleyway?” He squatted down to meet yn at eye level and she didn’t know if it was the fact he was able to stare into her soul with lifeless eyes or the extremely structured shoulders that could break her bones if he had tackled her, but she genuinely felt that she was going to die. “You seem like a worthless kill if I am being honest, and I don’t like claiming meaningless prizes. So, if you want to live,” ‘Mochi-kun’ reached over and gripped her bloodied chin, “or are you going to be good dog and run your pockets?”

She couldn’t believe it; for all her life, death threats have never been directly shot at her as Draken and the others have always been there. Of course, she emptied her pockets as quick as she could and began wiping the man’s Milano’s with her cloth lens wipe.

“Good girl,” the man with the temple tattoo said mockingly, “but I’m gonna need you to put your pretty mouth to work since you don’t know – or rather – you act like you don’t know how to speak.” She felt her eyes began to fill with tears as she looked up from the ground; they mistook it for fear, but yn was just angry she was powerless to them. “Don’t worry, I like older women, so I won’t need your mouth for that,” he laughed loudly in her face, “lick the blood off.” Her glare returned and tears began to spill over her cheeks. “Be a good bitch, and lick my –“

“What are you idiots doing?” a man with a long pink and purple mullet-like hairstyle came from behind her. “Are you guys bullying young kids again? Oh, wait, you’re not a kid.” He stared at you through his multi-colored bangs and tilted his head, “Why are you all bloody like a sewer rat walking through the back alley of feral cats?” he pushed the girl’s forehead back, straining her neck to hold eye contact with him, “you’re not some whore, are you?” He craned his neck back to the man who has been treating her like a dog, giving yn a full view of his Bonten symbol tattooed across the middle of his pretty throat. “Neh, Koko, you do realize that if you want a girl’s attention you can’t just rough her up in hopes that she takes you to bed.” He turns back to yn before sighing, “You’re cute,” for some reason she felt herself swelling with pride, “but you’re not my type,” – well there goes her ego.

“Oh what-fucking-ever,” ‘Koko’ mumbled as he gently pushed her away, “I didn’t want some inexperienced princess anyway, so don’t get your hopes up.” He quickly bent down and took all the cash from her wallet and began to slide out the card, but a baton quickly swatted at his hands.

“Your obsession with money is crazy, but you can’t take hers if you still owe me 45,000 yen.” Yn turned to see a man with pushed back purple and pink hair holding the offending stick. Unlike the other members, his tattoo was in the same place as the mullet man – maybe they took over the organization after her other big brotherly figure, Mikey, left. She drank in his appearance, and although he was thinner than the other members, something about him just screamed ‘stay away;’ but for the first time in her life, yn didn’t want to listen to such obvious red flags. “Oh no, you’re bloodied up like a rat –“

“I have already said that nii-chan,” the mullet head said, “what do you say? Wanna jut get rid of her like Sanzu-san suggested?” The now known younger brother asks. She began to tremble but not out of fear, no, out of a weird feeling at the pits of her stomach that came about as soon as the stranger stumbled onto the scene. “Oi,” the younger brother flicked your chin, reminding your body that it is supposed to be in a state of stinging pain, “staring is rude. What are you – a deer in headlights?”

“Now, now, Ridou,” the man continued to meet yn’s gaze as he motioned for her to take his hand, “where’s the fun in hurting a good little lamb? Especially one who shows that she knows to yield to her Sheppard.” Against her better judgement, yn took his hand and allowed him to help her up. “Look at you go,” he smirked and scanned over her body through hooded lids, “such a strong little girl you are standing on wobbly legs after the big bad wolves tried to tear you down.”

She should feel offended, mocked, and appalled, but she couldn’t – not with the voids he called eyes staring at her. “T-thanks,” she weakly mumbled as she began to gather her bag back together and prop her bike back up, “I know you guys said you needed the pin number, but I can’t give it to you.” She hung her head and balled her fists; she was waiting for someone to hit her but that never came. Looking up she sees the ‘older brother’ standing in front of the brooding ‘Koko’ and the other members just staring around the streets.

“That’s fine, little one,” the older brother said, “we don’t need your card. Koko here will be fine with just the cash. But I will need payment of the sort since I did calm the bully over here, don’t you think?” He smiled at yn, quickly scanning her student ID and then turning back to her face, “You’re 18, yeah?” she nodded, and he smiled lazily, “Good, give me something of yours that is valuable. I want to talk to you again and if I take it, you are going to want to take it back, correct?”

“I – um,” she began to go through the bag and seen that the only things she deemed valuable were her phone and the spare keys to her room in the brothel, “all I have is my k-keys and phone.” She huffed out in hopes that he took mercy and just let her go already; if she kept in his presence any longer, she feared that every piece of knowledge on common sense would fly out of her brain.

“Well, no one wants a pedal bike here and your phone and keys wouldn’t be of use to me,” he spoke in a rather degrading tone, “how about, you give me that pretty little necklace that you’re wearing… hmm, ... oh! Give me your number as well. After all, how are you going to know when I want you to take back your precious gems without being able to plan a proper date?” His smile was too secretive to be comforting, but this was probably the best way to saving her own life.

“Okay,” she replied quickly, “just please, don’t break the necklace…” her hands shook as she unclasped it and placed it into the man’s hands. “That’s a gift from my brother, so I promise you I’ll come and get it whenever you ask.” Yn put her hands on her bar handles before straddling the bike.

“Thank you,” he smiled and put away the baton before fishing out his phone, “put your number in it and call to make sure you’re not fucking with me, yeah?” He tilted his head and softly hummed at the soft sound of her phone vibrating in her bag. “Thank you, yn-chan.”

“No, thank you,” she lightly coughed and waited for him to look back up at her after saving all her contact information. Once he finally looked up, she flinched but proceeded to stare him dead in his lovely irises, “May I have your name… if ya don’t mind that it.”

“Haitani Ran,” the older man laughed and shifted his weight onto his hip, “and I expect you to text me whenever you get the chance.” He turned around and the other members began to follow. For what felt like an eternity, yn finally let out a small breath, well at least until he had turned back around. “Oh!” Haitani-san smiled at her, “Leave it under ‘Ran-senpai’ so your brother and friends don’t get spooked. Don’t want the fun to end before it has barely even started.” With that, he turned back around and waved half-assed before disappearing into the distance.

Yn decided to just to walk the rest of the block because riding the bike has been nothing but bad luck so far. Once at the shop, she sighed and made her way to the back where she knew would be unlocked because no one dared walk up into her big brother’s place of work. Parking her bike, she quickly takes her phone back out with 3 texts from an unknown number.

Unknown: hey little lamb, its yer senpai <3

Unknown: yer probs with yer bro so ill call you later, mm around midnight so stay up

Unknown: text me back soon or I mite accidentally break your pretty necklace and youll have to  owe me a big favor for ignoring me :)

“what the actual fuck,” yn whispered as she quickly began typing away. She didn’t know if she be upset with his back-to-back messages treating her like she was his property, or mad at herself for feeling this little need inside of her that wants to please him. Yes, all of the gang members were extremely hot and DANGEROUS, but something about ‘Ran Senpai’ gave her the cold chills; what made it worse was the urge that she possessed to go against all her morals for him.

Yn: hi! Im sorry,, I was just trying to get to my brother’s shop

Yn: wait,, do you know draken-nii?

She tilted her head and rocked lightly from side to side, waiting for a reply instead of going in and surprising her brother like she initially had planned to do. While she waited, she changed his name to ‘Tani Senpai <3’ with a small smile as she imagined Draken freaking out over the fact that a boy has caught her interest. Of course, she wasn’t romantically interested in the man, but his face isn’t one that she would mind seeing from time to time – at a safe distance that is.

Tani Senpai <3: mhm, some good and bad history

Yn: oh?

Tani Senpai <3: you do know curiosity killed the cat, right little lamb?

Yn: you flirt a lot

Yn: how old are you ?

Tani Senpai <3: 28 years young bb

Yn: youre ten whole years older than me?? You look so,, young.

Tani Senpai <3: I have aged, but trust me, I am rather youthful in different aspects.

Yn: do you by chance,, like memes?

Tani Senpai <3: ofc, especially hornee ones.

Yn: haha.. well I gotta go,

Tani Senpai <3: mhm go ahead baby, remember. Midnight <3

 Yn: aye aye captain.

She felt another vibration as she placed her phone in her backpack, but she was finally able to see and surprise her brother and that is exactly what she planned to do. Quietly pulling the door open, she noted that the music blaring and Draken’s back was to her as he was fixing up what looked like Pah-chin’s old CBX 400F. It was a cute sight if she was being completely honest; her brother rebuilding his old friendships. She seen the other boys’ bikes lined up too: Draken’s Zephyr, Mitsuya’s little Impulse, Kazu-kun’s Rocket, Mikey’s CB250T, and even the late Baji’s Goki.

“Pah-san still has the old thing,” she decided to speak up instead of tackling her brother, “are you guys gonna give it to some younger kids?” right as she finished her sentence, draken whipped his head back and went to cradle yn to his chest. Suddenly, all of the stinging on her skin had vanished and she was giggling while circling her arms around her brother’s waist. “How are you ya wannabe greaser?”

“I’m doing fine you idiot, how are -,” draken lifted his head to get a good look at her, but all his excitement drained as he was met with a sight of dried blood and scraped skin. “Who the fuck did this to you? I’ll kill them right fucking now, what the hell happened yn?”

“DRAKEN,” he stopped and stared at you expecting an answer, “I tired riding my bike down the big hill by the park and this happened, okay? I’m okay.” She stared at him with a soft expression and relaxed once she noticed he slumped in his posture, “I know you said to stop riding down the hill because it’ll bite me in the ass one day, so I guess today was the day.” Yn laughed and draken tried to fight the small smile that was threatening to fall on his lips.

“Go sit on the counter and watch the store for a bit, I’m gonna get the first aid kit in the back and I guess I’ll patch ya up.” With that, he disappeared into the office hall and left yn to be lost in thought. She had never lied to Draken this heavy before. It might not seem like a big deal to others, but she just told her brother she fell down a hill instead of saying that some /Bonten/ men were just threatening her life 20 minutes ago and they treated her like a dog; well, she didn’t feel that bad anymore, considering that he would have gone and wasted his life against men that played dirty. “Get out of your head, I’m back.” Draken teased her before getting an alcohol wipe and wiping the dried blood, “don’t squirm too much, loser. iss’ gonna sting a bit tho, so try to not hit me.”

It went a lot more smooth than she had expected, yeah, the cleansing wipe and ointment burned, but now she was bandaged and able to not worry about even more blood staining her clothes til they go to the brothel.

“Here,” he handed her a spare shirt and some sweats, “I don’t like seeing you all beat up, makes me want to fight the side walk. You know where the bathroom is.” Draken slightly punched her shoulder before heading back to seat near the bike, “once you’re done, we can go meet the boys for breakfast. I bet yer hungry.”

“Yer the best, ya know that,” yn smiled before taking her bag and clothes to the bathroom. “It won’t be long,” she turned before entering the hall, “make sure the cute one is there!”

“Stop trying to fuck my friends,” Draken called out in an irritated tone as she walked away laughing. It was an ongoing joke yn had played on her brother, where she would pretend to have some crush on his friends and it’d just make him twenty times more protective around them; he never knew if she was serious or not so he had to be cautious.

Once in the bathroom, yn quickly changed into the clothes her brother had lent her and stared at herself in the mirror. She laughed when she realized she kind of looked like one of the main characters from her favorite psychological thrillers. Yn took out her phone and decided to message Mana, mitsuya’s younger sister and yn’s best friend from home, with a picture of her bandaged state and the caption, ‘take out my ankles next time, daddy <3.’ It honestly surprised her to get a reply that fast as Mana was always one to sleep until noon. She didn’t know what scared her more, the fact she sent it the wrong person, or the fact the person knew exactly what she was talking about.

Tani Senpai <3: you look hot like that

Tani Senpai <3: like being called daddy, but in this context arent I supposed to call you mommy or something LMAO

Tani Senpai <3: I can break your ankles with my baton

Tani Senpai <3: make you my little housewife and call you ‘Bum.’

Tani Senpai <3: don’t worry, I won’t turn into ashes ;) <3

“Yn,” Draken called out, “you okay in there?”

“Don’t worry about it nii-Chan,” she giggled in hopes of masking her terror, “just bumped into a wound. I’ll be out soon.”

“Okay,” draken slipped a pad and a tampon under the door, “don’t know if you might want these -,”

“LEAVE YOU IDIOT,” yn genuinely laughed and heard draken’s heavy chuckles through the door, “thank you though, I’ll be out soon.”

“I’ll be outside on the bike, bubs.”

After hearing draken’s foot steps vanish, she quickly began typing.

Yn: that wasn’t meant for you -

Tani Senpai <3: shame, I love killing stalking

Yn: wait,, really? 👀

Tani Senpai <3: mhm,, we’ll talk about it later tonite ‘bum ;)

Yn: .. deal :)

Despite every shitty thing that has happened to her since she got back, it felt as if they were supposed to meet; fate as one would call it. She was offering herself to one of the most dangerous men who rule the underworld, and she didn’t even find herself to minding.

masterlist | next

an: hi hello, hope yer all eating well :)

ryozoro©

[cherryyjjk]

forever rain [2]

summary: to greek gods, it was a well-known fact that the fates liked to play tricks. but was this too far? what would happen when they made two unlikely gods have a tugging string in their hearts, yearning for each other?

pairing: hades!jin x persephone!reader

genre: fluff / angst / greek god! au / black swan! au

word count: 18.3k

warnings: the use of the word “whore” / cursing / snake mention

a/n: WOW this is the most i’ve ever written for a fic. please check out both pt 1 and the note about this series in my masterlist before reading! i know this is SO overdue like a year overdue. i’ve been writing it in the last three months bc school <<. anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!! :D

By the time you wake up, he is gone— not that you had known he sat next to you. But when you rose up from your slumber, a coat fell from your shoulders.

His..?

You looked at it and wondered if he had given it to you. It was a thoughtful gesture, and a necessary one as your hands were getting numb. Before wrapping it around your shoulders, you stretch your hands above you. Blinking the drowsiness out of your eyes and sitting up a little further, you yawned and decided to stand up. Your feet hit a softer material that you weren’t expecting, making you look down. The cold floor that was there yesterday was covered by a soft gray rug and you moved your toes to feel it more.

Him and his dark colors.

You rolled your eyes at the color palette of the entire room and thought that maybe the guy hadn’t decorated in a while. It made you think of Yoongi's liking for dark colors even though he was viewed as basically the opposite— the god of love. If you were going to live here for the rest of your life, a thought that made you sigh, might as well change the place a bit. Adding tones of lighter colors would not be so bad, maybe brighten up the room and seem less like a cave and more like a palace. You looked around the room to the lanterns on the wall and decided that you would have to do something about that.

It didn’t even light up the room! What was the point of lights if you can’t even see the floor?

The air seemed less tense than when you entered the palace and you were definitely feeling it. The entire palace was suffocating when you walked inside, cold and sharp as if to hurt you. But now, it seemed different. Maybe not soft or lush like your home— or what was your home in the mortal realm. It was rather empty instead of spikes, a little bit better, but not great either.

You continued to look around the room before your eyes landed on a small nightstand and saw a few warmer clothes. You walked towards it and with one hand, as the other was tightly holding his coat, you felt the material. It was a lot thicker than your chiton and was a dark green, reminiscent of the forest trees back home. Your lips lifted up in a light smile at the thought and decided to change into it. Before removing your current dress, you saw that there was a flower. You didn’t understand how flowers could grow in the Underworld, and when you picked it up and realized it was a silver color, but fake. Not the color of jewelry that you often saw other mortals wearing, but like a coin. It was pretty.

A piece of paper fell on the floor that had been next to the flower. Picking up to read it, you were surprised by the penmanship.

My apologies, Persephone. I have some duties I must attend to in Olympus. This palace is yours as well, ask for anything to the ghosts and they shall bring it.

You grimaced. While it was a thoughtful gesture in any other circumstance, you still were wary of this God. Putting the flower back on the table, you changed. The dress made you feel a lot warmer and the cloak was quickly discarded.

What time was it in the mortal world?

You wondered how time seemed to simultaneously slow down and speed up. Slowly tip-toeing out the room, you closed the door behind you very softly and continued through the hall. The hall seemed a little more lit up but it was still darker than usual. You wondered if you could use your powers to grow a bioluminescent lily, and light up the hallway. But after squeezing your eyes shut to concentrate, holding your palms out, and thinking heavily about life, you could not do it. You couldn’t even produce a regular lily. You didn’t understand.

Where did my powers go? How would I go back home? Was I.. not a goddess anymore?

You took a few deep breaths and reminded yourself, relax, it’s fine. But it seemed far from fine, you would just have to ask Hades when you saw him. You roamed around the hallways, finding winding staircases, huge rooms, empty rooms, rooms that weren’t empty but you wished they were when you saw inside, and all filled with the scent of death. You quickly turned away from those rooms and opted to keep walking.

It seemed that minutes turned into an hour, an hour and a half, then two. You brought your hands together and rubbed them together. The hallway seemed to never end and you wondered where the door was. You just wanted some fresh air, you tried convincing yourself. It’s not like I’m trying to escape..

“Excuse me,” a voice called out. Your eyes widened and you whipped your head back to only see more darkness, and heard it continue, “but who are you?”

“Don’t come closer! I might seem weak but I could knock you out with one punch.” Your voice was a lot steadier than you let on. You were tired of being afraid all the time.

“..I’m sure you can but you didn’t answer my question. I don’t care what type of hero or princess you were as a mortal but you’re dead now. Listen up, I’m in charge here.”

“Mortal?”

“Yes, didn’t your mother ever tell you not to get a God angry?”

“..I’m Kore, the daughter of Demeter. Goddess of the Spring, flora, and fauna. Whoever you are, know this. I am in charge here.”

The hallway suddenly brightened up and you lifted yourself with your head held up high. While the light was too bright for your eyes, you tried not to let it phase you and faced the figure that revealed itself in the light. You glared at the man in front of you, he was wrapped in a black cloth— seriously, what was up with the color scheme here?— and wouldn’t meet your eyes. He quickly glanced at you with a grimace but kept his head down for the remainder of the time as he felt utterly embarrassed. His scythe that was on his back made your eyebrows raise.

“Well?”

“Look, I’m sorry—“

“You better be, and you better tell me quickly why you tried to trick me before I turn you into a cactus.”

“..I’m Thanatos, the God of Death, the one who reaps the souls. I..I come here to report to Hades. I didn’t know his wife was here.”

At the word wife, you twitched. You weren’t just someone’s wife, you were your own goddess. Styx, the gods needed to learn some manners. You stepped up close to him, still with a serious gaze. Grabbing his shoulder, you speak coldly.

“Don’t call me just his wife. I’m more than that.”

“R-right, sorry. Kore.”

“No, not Kore. That is reserved for my mother and the nymphs. Call me, Y/N.”

Thanatos looked at you quizzically. You seemed so calm and usually this was where the other gods would punish him. You gave a small smile before complimenting on his scythe. He had never encountered any god that was so carefree and kind. You looked young, maybe a few eons old, yet your eyes held a soft wise look that could only come with experiences.

You asked curiously, “Did you make it so that these hallways are so dark?”

Thanatos answered quickly and rushed over his words, “Um, yes. I apologize. It’s much brighter because Hades sometimes mirrors the daytime of the mortal world.”

“Hm, so you’re the one who made me lost!”

Thanatos tried to test his luck, he was a God he couldn’t possibly die, right?

“..You’ve been wandering in circles for the last half an hour.”

“..And?”

You scoffed at his continued rudeness but it seemed more playful than last time. It was better than being alone all the time, sure, but you wanted to ask someone who didn’t know what was going on like you. Couldn’t the Fates just help you out here? But truly, you were happy to smile and have a friend.

“It gets kinda lonely here, doesn’t it?”

“..Yes. Hades often works until he collapses.”

“You don’t have to be so formal with me, please let us walk.”

You pondered over Thanatos’s words, did he really work like that? That wasn’t healthy but you wouldn’t fret over it for too long, he could take care of himself. Switching to think about yourself, you realized you didn’t have any contact with Jimin, your mother, or anyone else you knew. It was just you in this huge palace, and the guy in front of you of course.

“Hm, Thanatos?”

“Yes?”

“Is it.. just you here?”

“Well, mortal souls come and go. Some heroes test their luck with Hades but he’s colder than Hera.”

“In that case, mind being my companion until I go home?”

Thanatos didn’t understand your request. Not only had you just asked the personification of death, the son of Nyx, to be your friend, but you proposed it as if you were leaving. No one but himself and Hades left the Underworld. Thanatos was baffled beyond measure and his face showed it completely. You tried not to get frustrated at his obvious confusion and waited patiently.

“Oh, um. Sure.”

“Awesome, now onto more important matters. Why the fuck am I here?”

“W-What? What do you mean? Didn’t Zeus—”

“Namjoon? I haven’t seen that old man in ages!”

Thanatos stuttered, understanding that you were a powerful Goddess was one thing but talking about the King of all Gods so casually was a whole other. “Well, Hades has visited you once, when you were younger. He asked Zeus for your name and Zeus told him that you and your mother would have wanted this union.”

“When I was younger? OH!”

Suddenly you remembered when you had first come down to Earth to live with your mother. She was busy the first few months and had let you wander off (with nymph supervision of course) but as the mischievous child you were, you had run fast away until you hit a river. At the river you distinctly remembered a young man, the same age as you practically, that held out a purple flower. Entranced by the dark petals— usually only bright yellows and oranges were flowers— and by the dashing young man, you had become friends. Rarely speaking about yourselves, you would talk about flowers. Something both of you really liked. Now that Thanatos mentioned it, the black messed up hair seemed to resemble Hades, and his love for dark colors— something that you didn’t quite agree with— was evident too.

“Oh..I see. Well, my mother would never give me off to someone! She’s wonderful and very protective so Joon’s lied to you. But I guess that’s something to settle with Hades himself. Now, what’s something fun we could do around here?”

Thanatos slowly smiled at your enthusiasm, it was like a breath of life into his life. He had lived most of his life in the shadow of his mentor, Hades and although he enjoyed Hades’s company..it was hurting him. Thanatos wanted to be known for his own thing, why didn’t he have altars or temples in the mortal realm? Though that question was probably fruitless since mortals didn’t know what they were doing most of the time.

For the next few days, or weeks— you couldn’t really tell— you spent your time with Thanatos when he was free. He was free almost all of the time, showing many new rooms and how to not get lost through the hallways. He also let you vent about your worries. You worried that your mother must have been saddened without your presence, and maybe even Jimin was missing your short talks. Hopefully the flowers in the meadow had fully bloomed by now. All of these things, and more, kept running through your head and you liked that Thanatos had basically nothing else to do but give you advice. You appreciated his company but you wanted to see the person that brought you here too. Hades— Seokjin you figured out from Thanatos— was apparently extremely busy with human deaths. Maybe there was a new sacrifice that Zeus was putting them through? Or maybe another war? You didn’t really care too much until you realized that Seokjin would have to stay up there, counting and making sure that everyone and everything that died was in place before coming back. That’s supposed to be Thanatos’s job but apparently even he couldn’t round that many people. Strange.

A conversation with Thanatos also raised your frustration.

“So Tan-Tan.”

“No.”

“Tosy?”

“Nope.”

“Tanny?”

“..Can you please just call me Thanatos, Y/N.”

“You call me Y/N! Come on, let me give you a nickname.”

“Y/N is the name you chose. That’s different and no.”

“You’re literally so boring. Anyways, when’s Hades coming back? I’m getting tired of your face.”

“I am literally not boring! I’m Death, how can I be boring? aND MY FACE IS PRETTY WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!”

“You talk like— never mind. Ignoring your pretty obvious questions, I asked, why is Seokjin taking so long?”

Thanatos paused, Zeus had warned the minor god that if he told Y/N what was happening in the world above, he’d be cursed. Being cursed as a God was the farthest from good.

“Mortals..have been in a war recently.”

“Oh, whatever for? They have food, warm weather, sunshine, and plentiful water. There shouldn’t be anything missing…Right?”

Good thing that he would be able to escape your line of questions by just disappearing in a fit of smoke. You glared at Thanatos and when you started seeing smoke forming. You lifted your hand to stop him but it passed through the air like nothing was there.

Stupid Thanatos, thinking he can trick me. I’ll figure out what’s happening up there!

You tried to be determined but you were scared too.

You reached for the front door of the palace, somehow making itself very easy to find, and you pulled on the handle. It didn’t budge. You pulled harder, it stayed the same. Realizing that you were still stuck here, you tried punching the door. But that only left you with a hurt pride and a bruised knuckle. Groaning loudly, you dragged your feet back to your bedroom and decided to take a nap.

Better than waiting for him to come back.

By the time you woke up, an empty gold plate was left on your nightstand. You rubbed the drowsiness out of your eyes and reached for it. Ghost servants usually came to give you your meals this way. An empty plate where you can think about what you want and it’ll appear. It was pretty nice but you were getting more tired about the fact that no one would eat with you.

You finished your lunch? Dinner? You didn’t know and didn’t bother figuring out. A few days ago, Thanatos had shown you a library and you had been encouraged to use it. You had picked out a few books and was still reading it. (F/G) was by far the best genre and you always liked authors that wrote about it.

While reading on the bed, you decided to move around for a change of scenery. Wandering the hallways alone, you stopped in front of your favorite room. The throne room. Also the room that was “off limits” but you lived here so you didn’t really care.

The warning was for a reason. Hades didn’t think you would be there and so when he first shadow travelled there, he was surprised. Finally, the person that plagued your days and nights had come home. But he didn’t look great.

You had heard his footsteps before seeing his face, thinking it was just Thanatos. You sat on Hades’s throne, as it was the only one there. It looked a lot like a hard brick of marble, and definitely felt like it, but it was a lot softer than you imagined too. Not nearly as soft as the meadows back home. It was cold and smooth, like the freshwater rivers.

Wonderful.

Soft footsteps grabbed your attention from the book and up to the person in front of you. Your feet that were haphazardly thrown over the throne quickly turned around to the front. The book once in your hands dropped to the floor but you didn’t rush forward to meet him.

Hades.

“What happened?” You asked breathlessly, your hands fumbling with each other but your feet didn’t move. Hades’s shirt was soaked with gold and he was limping towards you.

Was this a trick? To make you vulnerable?

He looked at you and you could only comprehend the soft murmur of your name on his lips before he fell forward, his eyes closing shut.

You’re here...Y/N..

Running towards his side, you caught him as he landed on your chest. You felt a blade handle on his back and held back a scream.

Hades had gone up to Mount Olympus the very next morning after your arrival into the palace. His brother Namjoon had looked at him in confusion, Seokjin never came late to their monthly briefings, opting to come on time and leave as fast as he could, but usually they would take a few weeks to finish. His hair had been tousled through several times and he kept clutching his feather necklace when listening to Namjoon, Hermes, and the other gods and goddesses’s discussion of famine, war, and other things that were troubling mortals.

They only knew this because mortals just loved to blame the gods for not being able to do anything to save them. But, when in peril, their curses turned into prayers and while it annoyed the everliving Styx out of all them, it made sense. Deities that were supposed to be all powerful couldn’t even get rid of a simple plague or bug that was absolutely destroying the population and food? Seemed sketchy.

Namjoon wanted to ask what his brother was thinking about but whenever he looked at the feather dangling from his neck, he shut his mouth. When the Gods were first born to take care of the world, Namjoon had banished Seokjin to the Underworld. Only giving a necklace with a black feather before doing so, saying that his miseries would be fulfilled when the necklace was put on its rightful owner. What authority did he have on his brother’s life if he was the one who made it so horrible?

No, Namjoon would keep his bruised ego to himself and stay silent. He did not get the right to ask him what the matter was— it just seemed wrong and distasteful. So, he turned a blind eye and let Seokjin leave in a rush. Jin always left in a rush, he didn’t like sleeping in Olympus for so long. Namjoon was so preoccupied with his thoughts, that he didn’t notice his brother stopping at the foot of Olympus and meeting her.

Unfortunately for Seokjin, it was only the mother of who he was so concerned about. He wondered if the Fates had just thought it would be funny to pair the quietest god with you. He had heard wonderful stories of you, Kore. The original reason he was so attracted to you. Zeus himself had told him that you were the strongest and kindest Goddess there was, sprinkling in your humor and beauty to try and make you seem more appealing. But Seokjin had met you once, you had mistaken him for a minor god. That was eons ago, you probably didn’t even remember but the way you had walked towards him, with such confidence and power.

God, he really liked you.

He felt bad at the same time, here he was, this lovestruck God, for a Goddess that probably despised him from taking you away from your home. Did the Fates hate you so badly to let Zeus convince him to take you? Jin was about to greet your mother but the slap to his face certainly made him backtrack.

Demeter slapped him and the fury she brought with her made all present in Olympus tremble. She spoke with such power, it was clear where you inherited your confidence.

“Are you happy? Now that you have my daughter all to yourself?”

Jin gently touched his red cheek, confused at the sudden aggression and onslaught of questions.

Didn’t Zeus say that Demeter and you were glad to be offered a proposal from him?

“She’s the only thing that kept me alive, the world spinning, and here you are, not even at her side! You fool! Don’t take my status among the Olympians lightly, I am still powerful and if you cross me I will make you regret it.”

Demeter yelled out in one breath, as if she had been waiting years to say it. Her frustration and anger was evident and the icy tone could easily cut harshly into the heart, “Does it bring you so much joy to have Persephone all to yourself? My most precious possession—?”

“She is not an object.”

Demeter paused, then scoffed at Seokjin’s quiet but confident interjection. She glanced up at him and almost gasped at his eyes which had a purple fire burning in them.

Instinctively taking a step back and crossing her arms around her shoulders, she continued, “..Obviously. But you’re still in the wrong. How dare you take her! I’m her mother, you are nothing.”

The fire in Seokjin’s eyes simmered down but were still clearly there, and he responded with a level tone, “It doesn’t matter who I am or will be to Y/N. You or any other living, dead, or immortal being can not talk about her like that.”

“Stop talking like the hero, you stole her!”

“Stole her? Zeus said—”

“Zeus is a liar. You, of all people, should know this.”

Seokjin fell quiet and his eyes returned to their normal color, he couldn’t bring himself to disagree now that he knew the truth. He had stolen you, and he laughed at himself in his thoughts. Who was he to defend you like this when he treated you the same way?

He was not your husband, whether or not the Fates tied your strings together, whether or not Zeus had assured him that you were happy to be with him. He had witnessed the marriages of his siblings and their respective significant others. The Olympians were famous for their affairs, demigod children, and stupidity. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t end up like that, or force his significant other to love him. No, that would be your decision and your decision only. But the moment you step into the Underworld, there was a rule that applied to everyone except himself and Thanatos. No one could leave.

“..Goodbye Demeter.”

Seokjin kept his head down and vanished with only a black smoke left behind in his wake. Demeter folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

“You’ll regret this, God of Death. Mark my words, she is not yours.”

Seokjin appeared in the middle of Demeter’s palace, somewhere completely different to where he was aiming. He should work on his powers.

What type of god (a bumbling idiot for sure) couldn’t even control his powers? He wasn’t a few eons on for Styx sake! But he definitely acted like a blushing teenager when around you— again, another thing he sincerely had to work on.

He looked around the white, marble balcony he was standing in. He could feel you. But you weren’t here…right? Where was he? He willed himself to shadow travel again and landed in the middle of a town. If he could still call it that.

It was destroyed.

By war, famine, or a plague, even Seokjin would never know. It was barren, but he heard coughing in a few huts. The crops in the field nearby had dried up and the river that used to flow was only a trickle. He walked through the paths and found a family of two bundled together trying to fight off the cold— cold?

Now that he thought about it, it was freezing. There was frost on the ground. Usually the mortal realm was flourishing in either Spring or Summer but it was neither right now. What was this cold, soul-less feeling? Something was terribly wrong and Seokjin was sure Demeter should have fixed it back to Spring.

Was this her anger?

Seokjin shook his head in confusion. Obviously, Demeter was angry that her only daughter was taken from her. The thought made Hades nauseous, how would he fix this? Better question, shouldn’t Namjoon have said something in the meeting?

Seokjin’s ears burned red when he realized that they probably did. It’s just that he was too preoccupied by the thought of you and your enchanting eyes, and soft lips— oh shit, shit, shit. Trying to snap out of it, Seokjin failed to hear the small footsteps of a child behind him.

Not that it should matter, mortals couldn’t see him. Right? The Fates were probably laughing at him, one of the Big Three yet he was dumber than a skeleton.

“Sir?”

Seokjin whipped his head around so fast that he was sure he heard a crack. But he was more focused and confused on the little child staring up at him in curious wonder. The kid had matted hair and a cloth dress that was barely thick enough to keep her from getting goosebumps on her arms. She was staring up at him but the dagger in her hand radiated power, but not just any power.

Godly power.

It flowed through the dagger into the surrounding air and Seokjin was sure that at this point there was no way this child wasn’t a monster or a god in disguise.

Her eyes suddenly rolled back and turned white. With her mouth open, she started to chant ancient Greek at a speed even Seokjin couldn’t keep up to, but he picked up one phrase.

Περσεφόνη νεκρός, άνοιξη νεκρός.

Everything clicked in his head just as the girl seemed to vanish.

Persephone is dead, Spring is dead.

Seokjin felt an electric shock in the middle of his back, intense heat, and then he doubled over from pain. He hadn’t experienced such scalding and burning feelings ever. His legs collapsed from under him and when he looked at his hand covering his midsection, he saw ichor, the golden blood of all immortal beings, covering his hand. He looked behind him to see the young, mortal girl.

“Demeter.”

The young girl transformed into the goddess in an instant and the dagger in her hand was coated with ichor. Looking at it made him queasy— ironic because he’s the god of the dead and he’s getting nauseous from blood. Poseidon and Zeus would surely laugh at his deplorable state if they ever saw him. But Seokjin was still more concerned about why Demeter had stabbed him.

Demeter may have been angry but not enough to kill— even she had principles. But, nonetheless impressive, he’ll give her that. But the pain was making him see black flecks in his vision— poison perhaps. It made him more worried than he should be.

“You were foolish to think that I would let you get away with this. Truly, is there anything in that head of yours?”

“You— why? I didn’t take her on purpose!”

“LIES, you men are all the same! But, don’t you like my little toy? It’s wonderful, truly. Hephaestus must’ve pitied me, not that I care as he has his own problems with Aphrodite and Ares, but he made a weapon that even a God could get hurt from. Zeus said I had one chance, but judging by the fact he lied to me, I don’t care. Now, this. THIS is for Persephone. DO NOT FORGET IT.”

With that, Demeter stabbed Hades in the same wound and Seokjin yelled out. The tip of the blade sank deeper and Demeter twisted it to make sure the blade touched every part of his wound. She jerked it out only to push it further, making Seokjin choke and roar in agonizing pain. Demeter saw the ichor flowing freely out of the wound and stepped back. She disappeared into the night, leaving Seokjin alone. He had one thought in his mind while the pain took all energy out of him to do anything else.

Y/N

His form was gone with a flash and all that was left of his presence was the pool of ichor on the ground. Even that faded into the ground.

“Styx! Hades, Hades, stay awake!” You screamed while trying to see how to pull out the dagger that was inches deep in his back.

His breathing had slowed down and your hands were frantically trying to keep him up. The bedroom was way too far so you would have to set him down on the floor. Trying to be careful, you made him lean on you and sit on the floor. His head was on your chest and his eyes were closed. There was a bit of gold on his lips and you were getting increasingly worried.

You looked around, “Shit, this is bad. Thanatos! How did this..” You tried not to shuffle Hades around but your arms were weak with worry.

Thanatos immediately appeared in front of you at your request and the scene made him startled. His hands were shaking and he didn’t understand what was happening. The words you were saying were muffled and his eyes were blurred. He could only look at the deep gash and the skin cut around it, a horrible shade of green.

“Thanatos! Pay attention. I need you to stay calm and get me some bandages, okay? Can you do that?” Your voice was shaking but you tried to keep it level.

His head nodded slightly and he instantly disappeared. He’d have to find mortal supplies because there was no reason to keep medical supplies in a palace for a god. Something was very wrong. Gods couldn’t die, right?

“Okay, okay Y/N. You got this, just put pressure on the wound and seal it shut. Okay, how hard could this be?” You reassured yourself in frustration, you were scared beyond belief.

You hesitantly put your hands on the dagger’s handle and when you touched it, a blood curdling scream left Seokjin’s mouth.

His breathing was getting shorter and faster, but he was still awake. You had nurtured a squirrel back to life after it fell down a tree but that was basically all the experience you had with medical equipment. You reasoned that until Thanatos brought back bandages, you wouldn’t be able to securely stitch up his back wound. A thought entered your mind, Why are you helping him?, but you shook it off as soon as you thought about it. It didn’t matter, Hades didn’t deserve to die.

“O-okay Hades, I’m gonna need you to stay calm. Okay? I’m flipping you on to your stomach, just keep talking to me okay?”

“I.. okay. I’ll keep talking..”

“Good, that’s good. You’re doing great.”

“You can call me Jin, you know.”

“Oh alright, Jin. You can call me Y/N, just keep talking.”

You slowly put your hands on his chest, trying to ignore how your left shoulder was numb from his weight, and slowly focused on the dagger in front of you. You could see the wound was ghastly. Green and gold colors mixed, as if it was poisoned. Poison. You hoped you would be able to save him. The ichor had finally clotted on the dagger, but the green foam seemed to keep stopping Jin’s body from regenerating. You remembered when you fell once and got a scratch, it instantly healed.

“Shit, shit, shit. This i-isn’t working. I-I need to—“

Jin frowned, “It’s okay Y/N. Don’t…worry. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re not healing, you are not fine!” You insisted. “I wish I had my powers, then I could do something. Ugh, this is so stupid.”

Jin paused, thinking over your words. “They don’t work here? That’s odd. My palace..should let you have everything.”

You huffed. “Uh-huh, you’re telling me. Look, just…don’t die, alright? We’ve barely met and I’d like to be friends.. again.”

“Did..Thanatos tell you that we were friends?”

“..No, I remembered it on my own obviously. It’s not like it’s been eons since then.”

“Y/N,” Jin’s clammy hand found your open one. “You’re really…something.”

You grimaced when he squeezed your hand from the pain. You were pleasantly surprised with how this conversation was turning out, it didn’t seem too forced. But it was almost like the Fates were tricking you again. Probably laughing at your naivety and hope.

Jin groaned and particularly squeezed your hand tighter, making you yelp in surprise. He apologized softly but even you could see that the poison was seeping through his shirt more and making it lighter somehow— possibly from the golden color of his blood.

You’re losing time, and Jin is not getting better. You really don’t want him to die, and you’re not really sure why either.

What has Jin done for you? He’s taken you away from your home, forced you to live in his palace, and for what? To be his ever loving, loyal, and submissive trophy wife?  

Whispers in your mind keep telling you, don’t care! But you can’t. You can’t just leave him here, hurt and poisoned. You won’t.

Maybe that’s your fatal flaw. Helping everyone without actually considering if they deserve it. Maybe your mother was right, you aren’t ready for this world. But it didn’t matter. Jin needed your help, and you were going to help him. Somehow.

Looking down at Jin’s body, he was still breathing but definitely labored. You didn’t know how to help him other than try to put pressure on the wound. Recounting words from a friend, you decided that a certain god might be able to help you.

“Oh Apollo, God of Immeasurable Light, the Healer of Sickness and Diseases. Please, I ask you to heal Hades for he has done no wrong where this poison should have befallen him. Please, listen to my prayer.”

Kore, daughter of Demeter and Goddess of the Spring, flora, and fauna. You ask for too much. What has happened to Hades is of his own doing.

“Who has he hurt? Let him live and I will see to it that they are reimbursed for his sins.”

Oh, Y/N. You do not understand. He has hurt someone that is insatiable. What they want will never be allowed for.

“Who? Who has he hurt? Surely I can convince them?”

You will do it? For his life? What has he done that makes you compelled so? Saving his life is not simple. My powers may not curse you but you will be eternally bound to your duty after he has been healed.

“Do not ask a question that is none of your business. I shall complete your task when he has fully healed. Now, heal him!”

Alright. But do not beg me to undo this.

You didn’t think about what would happen to you. Hoseok was usually kind and the task would not be so heartless. You’re sure he was only being so formal because of pleasantries..right?

As you questioned your intentions, you saw that the green foam was becoming concentrated into a glass-like orb. It was the potent poison that the blade had been coated with. You carefully took it in your hand and stuffed it in one of the pockets of your dress.

Lifting Jin so that his face was facing you, you realized he was unconscious, probably from the pain. His eyebrows furrowed, and lips in a thin line made you think of how much stress he was in. But a more pressing matter plagued your mind.

Who did this to him?

After asking Thanatos for help, the two of you were able to lift Jin into his bed and let him rest there. The entire time Seokjin couldn’t bear to remove his hand from yours and you could practically see Thanatos’s eyebrows moving up and down in a suggestive manner. That god was basically a man-child at this point.

“So, what do we do?”

“We have to wait, Y/N. There’s not much else we can do.”

“Right, right..He’ll be fine, right? Like nothing will happen to him that bad, right? Maybe I should try praying to Apollo again, yeah—“

Thanatos put a hand on your shoulder to stop your rambling and look up at him. His eyes tried to tell you to stop but you could see the pity in it.

“Y/N. It’ll be okay. You did the right thing by praying to Apollo. You should probably be more worried about yourself and what duty you have to follow than Hades. Hades is the God of the Dead, he’ll be fine.”

Your heart twisted and you could feel your hands becoming clammy. You wondered why you kept feeling so anxious, hoping that it would go away if you walked around or something. You didn’t like the antsy feeling, wanting to get rid of it by all means. The duty Apollo had asked of you didn’t even register when you were praying, you just were too preoccupied with Hades almost dying.

“Right, right..But maybe I should stay here? To make sure he’s okay?”

“..It’s your choice, but don’t let it overtake you. I can’t help both of you if you collapse from exhaustion.”

“Haha, yeah..”

Thanatos disappeared quickly after, saying he had some work to do. Taking a seat, you brushed a piece of hair out of Jin’s face while trying not to disturb him in his sleep. His left hand was still holding onto yours, not letting go anytime soon. Gently trailing over his knuckles in an effort to soothe yourself and hopefully Jin, you started thinking about your stay here.

It was shit. You had been taken from your home, the Fates had told you that you got married to the God of the Underworld, who apparently was one of your oldest friends, you were stuck in a really dark palace, and now your spouse is resting in bed from almost dying. And you’re indebted to Apollo.

Great!

Swarmed with less than kind thoughts about Seokjin and how you managed to get here, you didn’t take notice of him stirring until his hand squeezed yours slightly, “Hey sleepy head..”

He blinked lethargically, raising his right hand to stretch,“..How.. how long was I out?”

“Not long, just a few hours at most. Are you feeling any better? Need anything?”

“No.. Um, why are you helping me?”

You paused, so maybe the thoughts that plagued your mind weren’t just in your head. Not knowing how to answer— because you had been beating yourself about it too— you shrugged your shoulders.

“You don’t deserve to die, no one does. The person who stabbed you.. should watch their back. I’ll personally give them the worst harvest for the rest of their life.”

Jin laughed abruptly but the pain in his chest didn’t subside, making him cough. You lifted him up more and patted him to try to calm him down, which worked for a while. The tips of his mouth were upturned, as if he didn’t just almost die, and his ears were turning red.

“I don’t understand you, Y/N and I don’t think I ever will.”

“No problem but you got to answer me this, what in the everliving Styx happened?”

Jin’s happy expression dropped for a second and you thought it was your imagination but you could feel that the atmosphere had changed quickly.

“..Humans have been starving recently, I was afraid to tell you because you have such a close connection to them.”

“So it’s not a war, like Thanatos told me?”

“…”

You sighed a shaky breath, as this majorly concerned you. Your mother was very strict in making sure everything in Spring was correctly taken care of and nothing was out of place. If it had become so bad where people were starving, well something was wrong. War wasn’t exactly starving people, sure it could lead to less food and things but the real problem here was why everyone kept hesitating to tell why this was happening. Was Zeus mad? Was Apollo mad? Who the fuck was mad to make the mortal world so bad?

“So..you’re not going to tell me who started this?”

Instead of fidgeting with your hands, you fully sat down on the bed. You looked at the bandages on his back and decided to redo them because they had already soaked through. Carefully unwrapping the bandages, you tried not to fluster at how close you had to be to unwrap the from around his body. While rewrapping the cloth and your hands were basically hugging his torso at one point to get them all the way, Jin gently put his hand on yours.

You stopped, suddenly too aware of how you were almost cuddling Jin and how he was soothingly rubbing your hands. You could already feel your face getting hot and you desperately tried to think of anything except his hard chest or his broad shoulder you kept brushing over.

“No..no, I can’t..”

You tried not to let his words have too much of an effect on you, it’s not like he couldn’t have some privacy from you. But this was different, his life was on the line a few hours ago. You hoped you would be able to persuade him later. Right now, you had a bigger responsibility to take care of. You tightened the bandages on his torso, causing him to yell in pain.

“HEY! What was that for?!”

“You’re not.. very nice, you know that?”

The moment you said the words, your entire body sagged and Jin could feel your hands slowly pulling away. But he didn’t want to let go, they were much too comforting, much too soft for him to let go of them. Jin tried to speak but your response cut him from doing so.

“Whatever, just go to sleep Jin!”

Jin heard the crack in your voice and got ashamed of himself for not being able to answer you. He didn’t want his relationship with you to be any more strained and telling you that your mom almost killed him would definitely screw it up. While your hands had stopped and your head was down, Jin slowly turned around so he could face you. You were so preoccupied with what he had said that you didn’t realize he was facing you until he cupped your cheeks.

Your eyes were glistening a little bit, which made Jin’s entire body soften and feel helpless, but you didn’t even know why. This didn’t even happen with your mother yet when Jin was hesitant to say who hurt him, you naturally started to feel sad and uncomfortable. A few tears started to fall down and Jin softened even more, wanting to try and help you or comfort you in some way. He brushed his thumb over your cheek to get rid of the tears and you closed your eyes at the movement.

“Why can’t you just tell me? Weren’t we friends once? I’m not that kid okay! I can handle it, I’m a lot stronger than I look.”

Jin’s heart breaks at your questions and he can’t even explain how the string in his heart starts to feel strained— you feel it in your own too. Taking his hands off your cheeks and holding yours, he swiftly puts a kiss to your forehead before you can even realize. It was soft but it burned into your memory. You could feel his eyes on you but the kiss was quick and yet your cheeks felt like they were on fire from the sweet gesture. If Jimin had done it, you wouldn’t have felt anything but now that Jin did it, you definitely were feeling something.

“I want to, I do! You’re not that kid anymore, you’ve definitely grown up. But, it’s complicated and you really wouldn’t believe me.”

While you were still reeling at the revelation that Jin kissed your forehead, the god in question started feeling immensely proud of how he was making you flustered. It was a much more welcomed look than you in tears, that sight would always hurt him. He smiled lightly at your shocked expression before feeling extremely drowsy from all the events.

“..I see, alright then. Tell me when we’re better friends.”

God, they’re really cute. I wonder if..

Taking another risk, Jin settled his head into your lap and you almost stopped breathing.

Never thought I’d say this but my husband is going to be the death of me.

“It’ll take a while but I will. Eventually.”

After that day, the two of you kept getting closer to each other. Whether that be when you woke up and saw that he had draped a blanket over you. Or when you found his office room, after a long time trying, and pushed his hair out of his face when you saw him trying to take a nap. You also helped redress his bandages because they seemed to wrinkle more often than usual; believing that Jin had something to do with it, you didn’t bring the question up.

Why would you not want to see your husband shirtless?

He even had another throne built for you beside his own, decorated with lighter colors which had made you laugh as it stood out so much in the dark room. The two of you would eat together in a dining room you didn’t even know existed. There were two big chairs on either side, but the table was so long so you opted to move it closer to him. Seokjin tried to play it off as if he was cool about it but on the inside he was screaming about how sweet the gesture was. At one point you even had the idea of making rings for each other. Seokjin was also the God of Wealth—since jewels are created underground— and so had an advantage, making two gold rings. While you tore a small piece of cloth of your green dress to make two cloth rings. Each of you wore both a gold and a cloth ring, symbolic for the friendship (and later love) you shared.

Once, he even showed you a large library, full of books about, death for sure but many others about adventures, myths, romances, fantasy, and some new ones about (F/G). You spent most of your time going between the bookshelves trying to find something to expand your knowledge on godly powers. For some practice with your own, you had asked Jin to get some seeds or plants down to the palace. But, the moment he did, they were instantly killed and even then, your powers couldn’t revive them.

“This is so useless!” You groaned for the umpteenth time, “How is it that my powers just disappear?”

Jin looked at you and hummed in solidarity, “I’m not sure, I’ll check the library for some books about godly powers and um, maybe Demeter..”

At the mention of your mother, you stiffened but forced yourself to loosen your limbs. You shook your head from the intrusive thoughts and nodded towards Jin, allowing him to lead the way to the library as you thought about what your mother had taught you about your powers.

They are an extension of yourself, Kore. If you’re uncomfortable, it’ll become jagged and out of control.

Jagged and out of control was certainly the emotions and atmosphere you had when you came into Hades’s palace.

You have to control your powers just like you are able to control your emotions.

Your environment is important. Olympus is not a place where your powers can work because Spring does not touch it. Only the mortal realm does.

Maybe the Underworld wouldn’t let you have powers either.

Be careful! When you get upset, those plants can grow thorns rather than flowers.

“Are you alright? You seem..disturbed.”

“Disturbed?” You came back to the present and raised your eyebrow as if the adjective Jin said was the most illogical word, “I’m fine, just a little confused.”

“Fair enough, but I think I know what book you need.”

You looked at the seemingly never ending shelves and rows of bookcases. The books in here defied time; there were section of ‘past’ books which were finished, ‘present’ books which added a new page and words every time the author wrote in real time, and ‘future’ books which had books with blank pages without titles but the date they would be finished was already printed on the cover. It was magnificent, you could find any book and read it as it was being written, and if you cracked the intense magic that protected the books, you could even read the literature that hadn’t even been written yet.

“Which?”

Jin sighed, running his fingers through his hair and taking one look at the library before fixing on you, “It’s in the past section which is good but the title escapes me, probably having something about godly power or an index of their abilities.”

“Who wrote that?”

“Athena, she’s a bit too enthusiastic when it comes to things like this.”

“..Did you just call Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, a nerd?”

“Well-I mean..am I wrong?”

You laughed loudly, echoing across the long walls and between shelves. Your head tipped back and your arms hugged yourself to keep your frame from shaking. Jin’s ears turned red with embarrassment, for he had no idea why you were laughing so much. To be honest, you couldn’t either. It was just so funny that one of the most formal of gods talked so normally, a happy accident truly.

“It’s alright,” You were still giggled a little bit and by this time Jin was chuckling too, “Let’s go find this book. Split up?”

Jin nodded and went to the right part of the ‘past’ section while you headed over to the left. The two of you looked at the titles of each book but none of the key words or phrases in them matched. The search seemed useless.

Seokjin couldn’t find anything in his section, and even after having several ghost servants to help him— Thanatos showed up for a few minutes too— there was nothing to be found. Deciding that working together or at least being in the same company as you would be more beneficial then the current strategy, he headed to you.

You weren’t having any luck either, but hearing footsteps, your mood turned for the better. After spending some time with your husband, you had realized he had a lot of endearing qualities to him. He always took care of you when you were missing home, opting to bring fake flowers, like the silver one from your first day here, that wouldn’t die but would remind you of your home back in the mortal realm. They were delicate all the same, but you liked holding them and imagining yourself back in those fields.

You missed it, a lot. You missed your mother even more.

But you couldn’t deny that Jin’s company wasn’t delightful. He never made you do anything or feel afraid, his presence was calming and when you were together, the string in your hearts felt connected and alive. The two of you were unfortunately way too shy to admit it but, there was definitely some sort of love between you two. The way your heart soared when looking at each other or laughing at the most unfunny jokes. You hadn’t missed the red ears he had when you complimented him and he definitely didn’t miss your stuttering when he called you loving names in front of his servants or the inevitable mortal or “hero” who wanted something from Jin.

Since gods were not permitted to directly help mortals, often blessed or favored mortals called heroes emerged. They were given unimaginable powers and strength to fight off evil monsters or save villages. Once a man endowed with superhuman musical skills came to the two of you, asking for help. His singing moved the ghost servants and the gray horses that were outside the palace. The two of you were no match either.

“Oh God who rules the dark and silent Underworld,” The man sang with his lyre, tears in his eyes, “I beg you to help me. All lovely things at last go down to you. But I seek one who came to you too soon. The bud was plucked before the flower bloomed. I tried to bear my loss. I could not bear it.”

Seokjin knew that Orpheus was seeking out his wife, Eurydice, and the prominent aspects of love in the song tightened the string in his heart. While Orpheus sang for his dead wife’s revival, he glanced at your face and the refusal suddenly got stuck in his throat.

You looked longingly at Orpheus as his song for Eurydice’s freedom made you feel drowsy and heartbroken. Here was a newlywed couple, both full of joy that they could marry the person of their dreams, but then disaster struck. The woman had unfortunately died on their wedding day and here was her husband, traveling fearlessly through the depths of hell to beg for her back— all for love. A few tears escaped your eyes as the desire to resonate with the man was so strong. You wanted to feel as loved as Eurydice did, wanted someone to love you as strong as Orpheus did for her. Did Hades even know what love meant?

Seokjin could feel your pain, the string that connected your hearts often shared those strong emotions. He liked sharing the happy ones, when you were laughing at something he said or smiling brightly because of his cheesy and old fashioned jokes. Not because you didn’t feel loved. It was breaking his heart to know that you wanted to feel this love and despite his own insecurities of being unlovable, he promised himself that he would love you fully. He would love you as much and more than Orpheus loved his wife, and even more than that. Seokjin felt so heartbroken that you didn’t feel loved already and made it his mission to show you just how much he cared.

“My love is too strong. So I beg of you, King of the Dead,” Orpheus was on his knees and looked at only Jin, “Help me so that I may hold my Eurydice!”

Seokjin raised his eyebrows by the blatant disrespect that Orpheus showed by ignoring you completely. You most likely did not notice it but the clear distinction the man had from you and him was a glaring red flag. But Seokjin could also sense that you were too swept up with the song that you would want to see the couple reunited despite the rudeness.

You put your hands on the hand-rests of your throne to lift yourself up when Seokjin put his hand on yours to stop you. Setting yourself back down, you looked in confusion up to him whose eyes did not stray from the man in front of him. Although Orpheus’s story was tragic, he had heard of many before. As the overseer of the Underworld, his heart had to be hard as steel, and so it was— until you of course. You had softened him by doing practically nothing, but the thought of you continued to melt him. Many mortals had approached Hades to beg for loved ones back and all requests were always refused. No doubt, Orpheus' music was sweet and very moving, but the look in your eyes and tears that dropped down your cheeks were much more convincing; anything to see his wife happy.

Seokjin slowly rubbed your knuckles before finally answering Orpheus, “Your music is ever so moving, but you must know that many couples have begged for their lovers before. I have refused all.”

At the statement, you had gasped and swerved your head to your husband trying to comprehend how someone could refuse so many heartbroken lovers. Orpheus is distraught and close to sobbing harder, dropping his lyre to the ground. But ignoring it all, Seokjin gently chuckles at your expression and strokes your cheek.

“However..” Seokjin starts with a twinkle in his eye.

Furrowing your eyebrows, you ask, “However?”

“To my right side is Persephone, Goddess of the Spring, flora, and fauna. She is my equal, my other half, and the love of my life. Her presence moves me to help you more than your music. For that, I shall grant you your wish of seeing Eurydice again.”

There is that familiar blush Seokjin has witnessed almost everyday, that adorns your cheeks again. Your eyes bulged out at his words and you couldn’t help but lean over to his throne and kiss his cheek in appreciation. He snickers lightly but in reality, his heart almost beat out of his chest. He’s as smitten with you as you are with him. A loveless King had turned sweet for his Queen.

But Orpheus does not seem to care for the intimate words between the two of you. For he seems angry, possibly envious of the love you two share, and resentful that his music that could move rocks on every hillside and turn the course of all rivers was nothing compared to what you could do. The loving look you two shared made him more furious that Eurydice was not beside him at the very instant. Unfortunately, having such wonderful musical abilities often followed with instant compliments and help. For that praise to be lacking from the Gods hurt Orpheus’s pride, and would eventually lead to his demise.

Orpheus snatched his lyre from the floor and said, “My music.. did not move you? I am appalled.”

You tilt your head in confusion, still with a smile on your face you turn to face the man. Seokjin looks at you when you ask, “Appalled? What for?”

“How has a whore been able to influence you, my King?”

At the comment, your smile falters and you see Jin’s eyes light up with the purple fire you saw when you met him. But instead of being a warm, welcoming and even comforting flame, it is chaotic, burning, and seething. He doesn’t need to see your face to see the crestfallen look, but instead whirled around to walk towards Orpheus. Jin’s anger was immeasurable and Orpheus was alarmed at how his eyes seem to flicker brighter with every passing moment. Glowering down at the man, the god was Hades, not the Jin you were used to. His eyes flashed and Orpheus saw every moment in his life up to then and what looked like an older version of himself. Only later would he realize that the God of the Dead had shown him his life in only a few flashes to humble him of his worth and his insignificance.

Realizing that the man may be scorched by your husband’s anger alone, you gracefully walked up to them. Your presence eased Orpheus’s mind for a split second before his eyes flickered back to Jin’s, it was obvious that Jin would not back down. Showing disrespect to you would result in nothing less than banishment to the Mourning Fields of unrequited love for the rest of eternity, or even a trip to Tartarus, the deepest abyss known to all deities.

But he really should have paid more attention to the scowl on your lips.

You spoke with a steely, calm tone, but it reeked of annoyance, “Who are you, a trivial, fleeting thought for me, a Goddess? You are nothing. Mind your tongue and consider yourself lucky that I do not turn you into a corn plant right here.”

After summoning Eurydice with a wave of your hand, you continued, “As you ascend, do not look back as she follows you. Like the explicit disrespect you showed me today, I will take Eurydice away from you.You will lead a desolate and lonely life, as your music will never be heard again.”

Without waiting for a response, you sent the two on your way and sat back down on your throne. Jin sat next to you in utter disbelief and awe of how you commanded respect in the room. He would tease you about it later but it truly showed you how the two of you were so interconnected with one another. Many other challengers would come to try their luck with the softened God, but he didn’t accept all of them— only the ones that you also approved of.

“Hey,” Seokjin started and you only just noticed how dangerously close he was to your face, “Is everything okay? You zoned out for a while.”

Coming back to the present, you realized that you were still in the library trying to find a book to help you with your powers. You had opened one that was clearly not what you were looking for, as the title had something related to (F/G) instead of godly powers. Snapping the book abruptly shut, dust swept up into the air and you coughed up a bit. Seokjin leaned away while you put the book back into its rightful place and tried to clear the air.

You sighed, “I haven’t been able to find anything even remotely related to what we were searching for.”

“It’s alright,” Jin said as he placed a hand on your shoulder in comfort, “I haven’t either. Maybe we should look for a book about you specifically.”

“Me? You think I would be in a book?”

“Well, you are the Goddess of Spring.” He chuckled and patted your head, “Pretty sure that’s important, baby.”

“Did you just call me..?”

“Shit, I didn’t know if nicknames were okay. Are they okay? I’m guessing they’re not okay? Are you not okay with them? Can I call you something else? Should I just stick to Y/N? Or Persephone? Wait, what about Kore? Or is that only reserved—”

You stopped his rambling by grabbing his hand and interlocking them. Looking up to gauge his reaction, you were pleasantly surprised to see that his mouth was upturned and he tried to turn away from your gaze.  

“It’s perfectly fine, my love.” With your term of endearment, Jin groaned and shook his head, “Now what should we do next?”

“I call you something cute like baby and you call me my love? Are you trying to open up my wounds?”

“I’m sure your heart will stay intact, what you should be more worried about is your lips!”

“..My lips?!”

You giggled at his star struck expression before you realized that you may have come of as too strong. Deep in thought, you caress his hand with your thumb before grabbing the black feather necklace he’s always worn. It takes Seokjin by surprise and he leans towards you, his face only a few inches from touching yours. His eyes flicker to your lips then back to your eyes and your smile slowly relaxes. He subconsciously licks his lips, and you were so close to just capturing them but you think again.

Did he want you as much as you did?

Seokjin could cut the tension with a knife, and he was going crazy not being able to kiss your lips. He internally groaned because his shy side was poking at him to run away and hide in a corner while the confident side of him wanted to do nothing but kiss you.

God he wanted you, he hoped you did too.

“Can I kiss you, Jin?”

“Please do, you’re going to kill me if you don’t.”

“I think I’ll kill you either way, I’m a pretty good kisser.”

His eyes fluttered closed, and then your lips were on his. Unlike you had imagined— because yes, you had been dreaming for this for a while— he tasted like nothing but everything at the same time. Fireworks and bursts of warmth burned in your hearts and the string in your chest seemed to tie with Jin’s. Your arms wrapped around his neck and he gripped your waist, the both of you wanted to get as close as possible. You let go of each other eventually, and could only stare at each other in awe of what you had done. Glancing at his ears, you immediately grinned seeing them completely red and his flushed expression. Not that you were doing any better, the color tint on your lips was smudged and your chest heaved as you tried to catch your breath. It may have been your first kiss but it definitely would not be your last.

You eventually found the book you were looking for in the first place and Jin would help you control your powers until you could blossom flowers and fruits from the dead seeds he brought when he would go back up. It was a team effort and it definitely earned you some kisses whenever you were successful.

Almost six months had passed since your arrival in the Underworld. After Hades was poisoned, he did not show up to the meetings in Olympus, believing that he knew he was not welcome. Nor would he be able to clearly face Demeter, his mother-in-law, and not absolutely go ballistic. The love for his wife had increased one hundred fold since the last time he saw Demeter and any type of insult to how he cared for her daughter would surely set the deadly side of him off.

But many things happened in the mortal realm. Orpheus looked back at his wife just as the two were leaving the Underworld, and he would live in eternal sadness without his other half. The rest of the mortal realm was not faring well either. While the two newlywed Gods were happy, things like famine, drought, and death plagued mortals. Spring had not come, but was replaced with a harsh, cold winter. Diseases and frostbite was common since Demeter had no intention of changing the season until her daughter was back at her side. Since Hades was not the bringer of Death (Thanatos was), his job was maintaining a record of who died, was alive, and where they would spend their rest of their lives in.

The Fields of Punishment for eternal torture or The Fields of Elysium for rebirth?

The paperwork was clogging up as Hades had renounced his duty and was so lost in his love for his wife, that he only tended to his wife’s needs and taught their three-headed dog Cerberus how to fetch a bone of some unfortunate skeleton than anything else. At one point, your Seokjin had even gifted you a garden full of pomegranate trees, the only real plant that could successfully grow in the Underworld, to you as a sign of his love for you. You were overjoyed by the garden but he had warned you about something, but it all fell on deaf ears.

“You’re kidding..Jin!” You gasped, twirling around and noticing all the blossoming flowers and the vibrant colored plants in your garden.

“It’s for you,” Seokjin looked at you lovingly, seeing you so happy and bright made his heart and face glow too, “An entire garden of pomegranates for you. But be careful alright? They have powers that can make you stay here. So don’t eat them or then—”

“Mhmm.”

“You’ll stay here for that many months and I doubt that your mother—”

“Yeah, yeah, enough talk! Oooh, that one looks pretty.”

Seokjin’s face softened at your giddy expression and he couldn’t help but admire you from afar. But as he realized what your true intentions with the fruit were, he became worried.

“Y/N, wait! Don’t—”

Before Seokjin could finish his sentence, there you were, grabbing a pomegranate that split open with a gentle, magical prod by your finger. You took twelve seeds and threw them into your mouth with a smile on your face. Looking towards Seokjin, or at least where he was last, you saw that his eyes flamed with purple. He looked terrified.

Before you could even bite one of them, Jin was kissing you feverishly. His lips molded against yours and before you could blink, the gentle but insistent press of his hand on your waist made you part your mouth. He slipped his tongue past your own lips and while you were too distracted by the passion behind his actions, he had another thing to worry about. Finally when you parted, both of your lips were stained red with pomegranate juice and were breathing heavily.

Still reeling and drunk on his lips, you only barely noticed his frown and furrowed eyebrows. Jin licked his lips and you blinked slowly before wondering what he could possibly be thinking about. On your end, you definitely enjoyed that heated makeout session, and you were pretty sure his urgency was a good sign.

“Fuck, only got six seeds out,” Jin cursed, before looking at your satisfied expression, “You still ate the other six!”

“Uh, what?” You said lethargically, holding on to Jin’s arms to balance yourself.

“I tried to warn you that pomegranate seeds are dangerous, Y/N! If you had eaten all twelve of the seeds, you would have stayed in the Underworld for all twelve of the months in the year.”

Jin cupped your cheek and sighed, “I tried to kiss you to take them out but I only ate six so you still ate the other six. Now you’ll have to stay with me for half the year.”

“What? That doesn’t sound bad at all! I’m not regretting that kiss because, wow Jin you really know how to kiss someone, but I feel like I should have eaten all of them. What’s so wrong with being bound to you for all eternity?”

Everything, Jin wanted to say. But he could not get his lips to move for the breathless expression you had was too alluring. He stroked your cheek and wished that he could stay by your side but he knew that would not be good. While his ghost servants, Thanatos, and surely all the other Gods in Olympus believed that Seokjin had completely forgotten about his duties, he had not. He was too swept up with the thought of you to do anything about it but he knew that the mortal world was failing.

“It might be safer.”

“Bullshit! I would be much safer, here, with you.”

“I’m the God of the Dead, I doubt your mother wants a son-in-law like me.”

“And? She’s not married to you.”

“My kingdom, it stinks of death. You’ve lived all your life with the beauty of life, are you sure?”

“More than sure, my King. This kingdom is also mine.” You smirked, putting your hands on your hips, waiting for the next thing you would defend.

“The deaths that our love has caused? I’m sure Thanatos has slipped that by now.”

“He has! But what happens to mortals is not our fault, that’s someone else’s fault.”

He knew that. But he also knew that while he was in that poisoned, dying state, you had prayed to Apollo for help. Jin cursed himself for not being stronger so that you would not be indebted to the Hoseok, but he could not change the past. In his own time, Jin had asked Apollo for what you would have to do, and the answer made him scared beyond belief.

“She must go back home, that is her duty.”

“Home? Hoseok..”

“You and I both know that Demeter is mourning for Persephone. Without her daughter, she has put an eternal blanket of winter on the mortal lands. Even Hestia’s hearth in Olympus flickers away at times.”

“She won’t leave, Y/N will be suspicious of my intentions. She’s not some dumb deity that is oblivious to everything around her, she will ask why I am making her do this. I cannot do this.”

“Then lie to her. Tell Persephone that Demeter asks for her or that the mortal world is falling. Or better yet, betray her—”

“I cannot— no, I..I can’t.”

“Please, for the sake of Demeter and the sake of all mortals, force her back. If you must trick her into thinking you don’t..care for her— do it. Even Namjoon has tried convincing Demeter, she won’t budge.”

It was heartbreaking for him to know that Seokjin would have to hurt you like that. But he couldn’t allow himself to go against your duty and responsibility as the bringer of Spring and life. Your mother would not budge without seeing you, it was stated by the Fates too. Maybe if he betrayed you, then you would be safer and wouldn’t be with such a wretched god like himself.

Who was he kidding?

The God of the Dead with the Goddess of Life? It seemed like a cruel joke, especially because of how much he adored you.

Not wanting to worry you, Seokjin kissed your forehead and smiled as best he could. He realized that this might be the last time he could be honest with you, and so took off his black feather necklace and placed it on your neck. You grinned and pecked him on the lips.

“Maybe you’re right, Y/N.”

The Underworld had only one connection to the living world and that was by a boat ride on the River Styx with the reaper of souls. Unless you could play music, then you might be able to charm your way through like Orpheus, but even that was unlikely. In that sense, there are a few ways to get to the underworld but for a normal person, it was impossible.

But you were far from normal.

You were the Queen of the Underworld, Persephone or Y/N, alongside your king, Hades or Seokjin. It was nice having a title to yourself and not Kore, which was just ‘maiden’. It was yours and you loved it.

You couldn’t feel the sunshine on your face, the dewy breeze of a spring morning, the crisp droplets from a rainy night, nor anything else that you usually felt. Only the emptiness from the souls that were reaped, dying to be put back into the world above. But even that beautiful to you, the beauty of death often allured you. The dead stayed dead but even some of them were happy to leave their suffering above.

You wondered why your Jin had taken you for a walk around his palace, he hadn’t spoken a word to you the entire time either. Thinking it was just him being a little distant, you didn’t find anything weird. Seokjin wasn’t the most extroverted so instead of getting caught up with what his silence may have meant, you instead thought about the events that had happened in the last few months. Things had moved so fast, almost as if to compensate for your still life with your mother.

Originally, you had felt that she had done nothing but kept you inside like a prisoner but now you could clearly see why. The way Jin treated you was the biggest indication but you’ve realized your self-worth. You matter to both the mortal world and the Underworld, you’re a powerful Goddess, and you feel lucky that your first love was such a sweet, kind man. Mom wasn’t trying to force you into solitude, but she never trusted any of the Gods in Olympus and that’s why you didn’t even live up there anymore. It wasn’t like she forced you to stay home but the restrictions and ‘protection’ she gave was stifling.

You missed her so much. You missed the sunshine and you missed picking flowers and making flower crowns. You missed feeling the grass underneath your feet and how the Spring would hug your body.

You closed your eyes while taking a large breath in before opening them and smiling, anyone looking at you would have wondered in curiosity or more so horror. Who would smile in the Underworld?

You.

You would, for multiple reasons but mostly because it was more of a home that any place you had lived before. You looked at your bare feet and the black rocks beneath it. They were sharp unlike the grass above, but there was no pain due to the increase in your powers. Having always walked through fields and meadows, you were used to walking without any protection on your feet— though scorned and scolded by your mother.

“Jin, where are you taking me?” You asked at last, giggling a little but your patience running thin.

Seokjin did not answer nor did he move his head in your direction. He kept walking with longer strides, heading to the River Lethe. You had hated that river, a river to make those who touched it forget their memory. You had always expressed your disgust with the concept but Jin usually just laughed at the thought.

“You are the Queen of the Underworld, love.” He said, with a slight smirk on his face.

Jin cradled your chin and looked into your (E/C) eyes with a softness the other gods would’ve laughed and mocked. The god of the Underworld, your Hades, was happy and smiling with such adoration at your face that your cheeks started to heat up. You were a goddess but that didn’t prevent your heart from twisting when he said such sweet words.

He closed his eyes and touched your foreheads together, saying, “You shouldn’t be afraid of it, not when it’s yours.”

You smiled, closing your eyes and reaching out to hold his face in your hands. You weren’t afraid. As long as Jin was there with you.

You remembered the moments that you shared, when you’d be paranoid about your identity and your husband would reassure you that you did have a place in his— our world— he would say. That you were in the right place. A lot of things had happened in the past six months. But none of that could have prepared you for your husband’s next words.

“..You need to leave.”

“What? Seokjin, this isn’t the time to make jokes.”

“I’m serious, leave.”

Your heart pounded in your chest, you felt dizzy, as if the entire world was spinning. You couldn’t breathe for a moment, and then you took a shaky breath in before shaking your head in dismay, smiling to try and fight the large tears in your eyes.

But he continued, “This..isn’t right, your mother was right. We can’t be together.”

Your mother had warned you to not fall for such a man. Yet you had, for a man that you believed loved you back— no he loved you. A few tears rolled down your cheeks and you hurried to brush them away. You walked slowly towards your husband, your bare feet scraping against the dark rocks and your fern green dress trailed behind you.

You held out your hands in a comforting manner, trying to hold your beloved in your arms. In an instant, he shoved them away with his hand, his knuckles scraping against your arms. You winced but held your ground. “What are you saying? My mother was..right? Right about what?”

Jin’s resolve could have broken right there, but he stayed true to what he was told to do. He had to do this quick, or the tears in his eyes would fall and there would be no way to send you away. It hurt every fibre in his body to know that you were hurting because of him.

You looked up to try and find some sort of sign in Jin’s eyes, only to be met with dark purple ones— the very same that burned Orpheus only a few months ago. They looked empty yet were surrounded by that fire you hated.

“She told me this would never work out. And then poisoned me.”

You shook your head again, chuckling softly to yourself, trying to convince that this wasn’t true. You tried to speak confidently, but your voice started to shake after seeing his entire form move away from you.

“Do you truly think I’m so stupid to believe that lie? My mother may be overprotective of me and may have said this wouldn’t work out, but that doesn’t mean you should listen to her! And she would never hurt a God.”

At your words, Seokjin gets uncharacteristically angry at you, “She almost killed me and you defend her? Before me? When I have protected you—”

“Protected me from what?! Orpheus?! I am a Goddess, I do not need your protection!”

“You don’t need my protection?! Then leave! Stay with that mother of yours, even though we both know I’ve shown you more care than she ever will.”

He stated, turning his back to you and chucking the gold ring into the River Lethe. His ashy gray coat that covered his shoulders fell to the ground, at the feet of his dark robes. He didn’t even flinch, a tell-tale sign of him teasing or lying to you.

He wanted to forget you.

“Please,” You reasoned, “don’t send me away for such a stupid argument.”

“You’re right, I won’t be. You’ll leave on your own because you don’t belong here.”

Only then did you break into full sobs, you fell to the ground, clutching your heart in pain. This wet anger made you curse the Fates. Why did you have to be so weak in front of him?

You couldn’t believe it, the one man you had ever loved, threw you away. As if all the kind words, light kisses, and soft touches were worthless. He had lavished you with affection, even in front of disapproving others. From the day he unknowingly rescued you from a hell to now, he had always looked at you like you were his world.

You hadn’t said a word the night you had left with him, too much in shock with your future. But you couldn’t bare to let yourself ask him to take you back.

Anywhere was better than up there.

You had foolishly thought. And during that time you stayed with him. Fell in love. Thinking you would finally get a happy ending, one where the love of your life loved you back.

“Goodbye,” He stated, without looking back at you. All you could see was his tall figure in front of you before you disappeared. He was standing in front of your home. Or what you thought was. But home is where the heart is.

And yours was shattered.

He snapped his fingers and you were gone in a puff of dark black smoke. The feather on the black necklace that he once wore so diligently close to his chest, vanished with you. There was silence in his world for a few moments, after long months of happiness and joy. The flames in his eyes faded, for how could he be angry?

He had just screamed at the one he loved most.

“..Y/N.”

You didn’t see the tears that fell from his eyes without stopping, wetting his cheeks and the ground in front of him. You didn’t see how his shoulders shook with the thought of your absence. You didn’t see him scramble from his hunched position to the River Lethe. You didn’t see him dive in to try and find his ring and realize that it vanished. His legs started to burn from the river’s powers but he stayed in it, thinking that this was nothing to what he deserved. The green cloth ring that you had once put for him, kissing his hand and saying your vows with a happy voice, was still on his finger.

“I’ll stay with you, Seokjin, as long as you want me to. For you are my friend, my companion, and my truest love. I trust you.”

You didn’t see how broken he was when he came back to the palace only to collapse in front of your shared bed and scream until his throat went dry. You didn’t see that his heart was shattered too.

It wasn’t long until you made it back to the meadow, a small walk away from your mother’s palace in the mortal realm. It was dark, and you felt no sun on you. It was a different type of dark, rather than being ominous and mysterious, it held a type of serenity you weren’t ready for. But looking around, you felt empty.

The meadow was covered with some sort of cold, white fluff (snow, you would later find out) that pinched your toes. The once vibrant meadow, filled with plants of different colors and sizes, no longer welcomed you. The soft grass between your toes was now frozen ground and had grown into a long grass that reached your chest.

The world around you was imprisoned in a deafening silence, nothing was awake, nothing sang. The nightingales and woodpeckers were silent, there was nothing. It felt like the world above had stopped living the moment you left. Gashing winds had stripped the once bright green leaves from the trees, leaving them vulnerable and groaning from the cold.

You had never seen such coldness, felt such coldness.

Where am I?

The dark green dress you wore held up well, while the Underworld did not have as the biting cold as you experienced now, it was too similar for you to believe that you had really left there.

The stars twinkled sadly, as if crying out for someone. The moon waned brilliantly and yet everything felt dull. While this world seemed beautiful when you first entered, even though goosebumps had erupted on your limbs, it felt colder than you think it should have. The loneliness you felt was something you had never felt before, nor did you want to. The trees moved as if mourning and you felt like it was your death they were mourning.

Was this why people were dying..?

“..Kore?”

You turned around. Squinting to see the far-away figure, you realized it was your mother with her (H/C) hair in long locks, tumbling down her back— an unusual sight as she hated keeping her hair down— but she was hesitant to come to your side. She was looking at you differently, like she used to when you were a child. Not like how she pretended to when you got older but different. Better.

Like a mother should.

“Mom..” You whispered, but she heard it.

A flowing stream of tears started down Demeter’s face, and she made no move to wipe them away. Demeter held a hand out to her daughter, silently calling out to her. You slowly walked through the field to your mother’s side until finally putting her chin on her mother’s outstretched arm. As you saw your mother’s happy expression, you started to shakily smile and a few of her own tears started to drip down your cheek. Demeter stroked her daughter’s cheek and kissed your forehead in joy.

The mother and daughter were finally reunited.

Quickly after you reunited with your mother, she interlocked your hand and led you back to the palace. Your home. But even saying that had a sour taste in your mouth, because all you could remember was the dark walls and soft smiles of your husband. The walls of your room were just as blindingly white and clean and smooth as you remembered it. But, you remembered what you used to think in the Underworld. As much as you had loved it and the people who came with it, it wasn’t what you were used to. You loved the mortal realm much, much more, and finally seeing the lush vegetation wherever you walked, the pretty flowers sprinkled here and there, the ponds of clear water, and the countless species of animals was both a shock and a blessing.

A few days after you arrived, the winter and snow that had swept through the mortal realm was finally vanquished. Your mother held your hand and simply waved her hand, causing Spring to come back to the world. She was glowing, much more than before you left. You wanted to both strangle her and hug her.

You even asked her about the poisoned dagger and she confirmed what he had said, she did poison him. It made your stomach squeeze and feeling uncharacteristically angry and snappy, you conveyed your concerns to your mother, but she didn’t brush it off like you had feared.

“Mom, I won’t get mad if you tell me the truth.” You sighed out one night.

Demeter raised her eyebrows and laughed merrily, “Oh? This is new Kore, usually I would say that when you were younger!”

Your throat was feeling dry and scratchy but you pressed, “Heh, right, um. Did you.. poison him?”

“Don’t speak of that monster! I—”

“Whether you did or not, please answer me.”

Demeter looked at her only daughter. Her wonderfully talented, intelligent, witty, and beautiful daughter. She couldn’t imagine the emotional manipulation that she went through in the Underworld. Demeter wanted her daughter back and she was afraid of how you changed. That time when you were gone was over.

“Please, Mom.”

Your eyes pleaded and shined in the moonlight and even Demeter couldn’t hold back, “I didn’t have a choice. Even Zeus approved of it, but you have to realize that you were gone.” She poked your chest with your finger and you felt small, like a mouse in the presence of a hawk.

“I didn’t even know where you were and to learn that, the God of the Underworld had taken you..It wasn’t okay and I’m glad that you’re back. That’s all that matters now, don’t worry about it, okay? You’re safe.”

Demeter combed through your hair and smiled at you but her eyes didn’t crinkle up like usual and you knew that she wanted this conversation to be over. But you’d test her limits.

You continued, “But it could’ve killed him, Mom.”

“And?!”

Demeter didn’t miss the flinch at the raise of her tone and she instantly regretted her actions. She didn’t want to be like her siblings, loveless of their children and so enraptured by mortals. But at the same time, she wanted to protect you. Why couldn’t you see that she didn’t want someone like the God of the Dead, an emotional manipulator and kidnapper, to be any of your concern. It tore her heart in two.

“You are the most important part in my life, I used to only live for you. Obviously, that doesn’t mean your life should revolve around me but you were kidnapped!”

“It was Namjoon’s fault though, he told him that we wanted this.”

“You’re right, Zeus is just as punishable for this crime. But if he wanted your hand so much he could have easily come to us formally. Where was the need to capture you like that? None.”

But that wasn’t it either. Sure, you were upset that Seokjin had taken you away. Sure, that seemed logical from your mother’s perspective, realistic. But that’s not what happened. Namjoon was a drunk idiot and had told Seokjin a lie which caused all of this. But even with that figured out, you were still angry that you didn’t see the color black more often or you didn’t have a library full of books to read, or someone that would keep your head in their lap as you slept.

You missed him the most, and that’s why it hurt the most.

No, you repeat to yourself, You aren’t going to be caught down by someone you’ve only known for a few months. You’re better than this, Y/N.

So you busy yourself with other things that need your attention, like the new plants that are popping up in villages. It helps with the loneliness that seems to have taken you captive, even though your mother smothers you with affection. She wanted to celebrate the way you’ve finally come back to her, from that monster.

The new plants seem to have medicinal properties and you keep record of them in a small journal. In the same journal, you’ve been writing down your feelings as a way to cope with the environment changes. You’ve been liking the cool shade and swift breezes that come rather than the blinding sun that you were so used to. You often nestle between a few apricot trees, and would stare blankly at the fruit. It was so close to pomegranates but entirely different. The red color hurt and even the nymphs could see it, often asking you to pluck flowers with them far, far away.

Jimin visits you and the two of you spend an entire day in each other’s company. He talks about how he wasn’t able to visit you in the Underworld and missed you. You find comfort in his words and you confess that you miss Seokjin. Terribly. He’s the only person you have that won’t go to your mother and snitch on you.

“It hurts, Jimin. But I am afraid that you.. will not like what I have to say.”

“What does, Y/N? Don’t be afraid.”

“My heart..it misses him so much.”

Jimin had furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, he couldn’t understand why you would miss such a horrible God. He tried to comfort you about the matter, but it was stiff and rehearsed. When you had cried yourself to sleep that night, Jimin had quietly snuck out of your door only to see Demeter wiping her tears. Your mother had heard your pleas and she broke.

Why did you have to love such a disgusting monster?

Six months have passed and the world has been recovering. You don’t forget the black feather necklace on your neck and almost daily, you rub it to make sure it’s still with you. Your mother had asked what it was and Jimin had saved you before you could stutter out a response, saying he gifted it as nostalgia for being nicknamed pretty bird. Even the rings you had were considered a gift from other gods.

Demeter had looked at you in fear but hid her emotions well enough with a smile that you thought she wouldn’t ask again. She didn’t.

Seokjin couldn’t bear it anymore. Ever since you had left, his heart was heavy with the fact that he had pushed you away. Not even telling you anything and you just had to go.

Thanatos could see that his friend was drowning himself in his work, checking and double checking who were coming into the Underworld. Even Cerberus was ignoring Hades in fear of making him angrier. The dead souls rarely would see their king and while that usually did not worry many, those in Elysium were confused. Sometimes the two of you would visit their houses and get togethers, and even then they could make out his lovestruck expression whenever you talked. He looked at you like you were the moon, made of wonder and beauty, and had painted the stars in his world with small kisses.

Thanatos has gotten angry at Seokjin and forced him out of the palace, locking his office to be extra sure. Walking around aimlessly, everything in the palace reminded him of you. When you would walk next to him and talk about the most useless topics, it was the first time he noticed the sharp rocks on the floor. Instead of creating shoes or anything that a logical  God would’ve done, he offered to let you get on his back while you walked. At your shocked expression, he was sure he embarrassed himself more than he thought was possible. But you quickly grinned and jumped onto his back while he held on tight to your legs to keep you steady.

At the memory, Seokjin smiled bitterly and scoffed at the tears that escaped. He wished he was stronger. You were probably going through something a hundred times worse, the love of your life just randomly banishing you must have hurt.

It was to protect her.

Either way, it made him curse out the Fates for even allowing him to meet you once. It wasn’t fair, for either of you. He even cursed his brother Namjoon, he would never listen to his brother again. It wasn’t fair.

The pomegranate trees in front of him made him stop. He wanted to break down in tears and throw his life away for what he had done to you. The brightest red fruit was on the lowest branch, but it was open. With twelve seeds missing, Seokjin shook with fear.

Six months was almost up.

You walked through the meadow, somehow leaving the safety of the nymphs that followed you on Demeter’s request, and brushing through the flowers. You twirled around, feeling free for once. Not in a palace, under someone’s watchful eye or endearing gaze. You loved both of them dearly, but it was hard for Kore, the Goddess of flora, and fauna to be expected to stay in the same place. You felt lost everywhere but here, with nature, was where you felt at peace. There was some substance in what your mother said. Nonetheless, your duty as Persephone, Goddess and Queen of the Underworld, stayed the same. You would have to leave soon, but that made your stomach twist and turn.

While preoccupied with your thoughts, you failed to notice the grass parting behind you. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw something long shoot through the field. You froze, knowing that it was too late to move and your body felt on edge, the feather on your neck started to heat up and become uncomfortable. Another quick movement and—

THUD!

Something grabbed your arms and the intense motion made your eyes squeeze shut. You were shaking, and spots danced behind your eyes. It took you a few moments to realize who had grabbed you, and now shielded, sporting an all-too familiar clothing color palette.

“..Jin,” You whispered breathlessly, “You’re here.”

Worlds away from each other, lifetimes away, or in different versions of reality, Seokjin heard your words as if it burned in his mind, clear as day, your presence bringing him back to life. You could only stare at him as he stroked your cheek, probably because there was some dirt on it because you had fallen asleep on the crumbling soil before walking around.

“I ask you to go away,” He starts calmly, looking at your dumbstruck expression  “And you actually left, huh?”

Your growing smile for him saving you quickly falls and you roll your eyes with a hard frown on your lips. You push him away in annoyance and hurt, and walk away from him with your arms crossed. You tried to tamp down your irritation but you were fed up with Gods trying to take your life and just throw it around.

“Why,” You asked, seething with anger, “did you come here?”

You didn’t even turn around but with the way your fists were clenched, Seokjin knew that you were not feeling happy about his presence. Better than utter despair that he had thought of, you hitting and being angry at him was infinitely times better than you being sad.

“That snake wasn’t any ordinary one. I..” Seokjin said slowly, looking back at the dead reptile, “I was cursed by a God once that I wouldn’t be able to protect someone I loved from one of my own. And well, snakes are my sacred animal so..”

“So you think that I needed your protection again?”

Seokjin felt at odds with your response. Of course you could protect yourself, it was just his wish that you didn’t have to. That he could do so instead. He knew you were smarter than you let on, you knew exactly why he had sent you away and were angry why he couldn’t have just communicated it.

“I’m sorry,” He relented, putting a hand on your shoulder before you brush it off, “I was rude and disrespectful. You didn’t deserve that. I thought that you would leave and I was scared what would happen if you didn’t. The mortal world was dying—”

“So? I would’ve come up if you had just told me! It’s really not that hard,” You finally faced him, “especially when you’re supposed to be trying to be everything that my mother thinks you are, you shouldn’t have shouted.”

“Well.. you shouted too.”

“Yeah, to make sure I was heard over your voice!”

“I just wanted to protect you.”

Of course he was. Even when you had snapped at him, he was protecting you. Seokjin had promised you that he always would take care of you, and here he was, doing just that. The more you thought about the day you were forced to leave, you realized that Seokjin had tears in his eyes.

“I know but, there’s better ways to do it.”

Seokjin’s voice wavered with sadness, “I hope that you can forgive me for the stupid things I said. I promise I’ll work harder to show you that I deserve to be your partner and that I can take care of you.”

He was scared, afraid of your reaction and how you might refuse him outright. A figure in the distance, behind Jin, captures your attention and you’re thinking of them while Jin continues.

“I wanted to make your garden a little prettier,” He admitted, his thumb stroking your finger were both the golden ring and your makeshift cloth one was tied together, “I added flowers and different fruits that reminded me of your aura. But much of them are made of jewels since, well, you know, you can’t have live plants in the Underworld.”

“Mhmm, yeah.”

“And that ring I tossed into the River Lethe,” Your ears naturally perked up at the river’s mention, “was my ring and I found it just as soon as you left. I would never mean those things I said and I’m sorry you had to hear them.”

“Right, well,” Your eyes shined with excitement and giddy, “My mother is coming, so you better be able to convince her.” You quickly removed your hand from his before your mother burst in.

Oh shit.

“So you’re saying,” Demeter’s eyes burned into Seokjin and he could feel his mind turning to shreds at her words, “ you want my daughter to go back with you into that wretched palace?! She won’t return as long as I’m her mother and she has no obligation to leave. Kore will stay here.”

“Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld,” Seokjin looked at you tenderly, “it’s her duty now.”

You cringed at his wording, that was not the way to convince your mother. If anything, talking about duty would bring up the fact that she’s the Goddess of vegetation in the mortal realm. And mentioning her other name? Total loss.

“Do not defy my Hades. She will not leave my realm.”

You butted in, “I ate the pomegranate seeds, Mother.”

“You— what?” Her fiery anger dissipated into a tame flame, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears, “No, no. You,” She pointed straight to Seokjin, “You did this, didn’t you? Tricked her into eating the flirt of the Underworld to where she must leave me, her own mother for you? A lying cheat and disgusting, dishonorable coward!”

“I am no coward. I warned her and she said she wanted to,” He interlocked your hands and it made Demeter angrier, “She won’t be away for long. Only half of the year.”

“Half of the year?!” She moved towards Seokjin at a pace that even made him panic, “If you want my daughter’s hand, then propose to her properly. If she accepts, fine. She’s her own person and she had the right to choose her partner. But if she doesn’t, I will make sure your life is living hell.”

Kinda already is, Seokjin wanted to sarcastically comment but kept his mouth shut. But he reasoned that this was the best he was going to get. He turned to you and saw your wide smile and twinkling eyes. To him, you were the only person he needed. If he must, he would scourge the four realms and more to find you and even just hold your hand. With you, he had nothing to worry about.

So the two of you got “engaged” and you reapplied rings (different ones because your mother wanted you to have only the best) at the very place your mother met Seokjin. He summoned the most beautiful of jewels to make the rings and many other riches when he saw how Demeter’s eyes bulged and gravitated towards the power. She was warming up to him alright.

The night before you would leave, you held a celebration— the wedding— in a small gazebo that your friend Chan, or Hephaestus, happily built for you. He started crying in the middle of building it because his own partner, Yoongi or Aphrodite, seemed to have no interest in doing the same— but another story for another time!

Celebrating with your nymphs and other Olympian Gods and Goddesses that you had befriended long ago, it was a magical experience. You saw Jungkook, or Hera, and his husband Namjoon, or Zeus, arguing animatedly in the gazebo that you had proclaimed your love for each other earlier in the evening, something about how Namjoon never made any romantic gestures for him. In another place you saw Yoongi and Hoseok, or Apollo, sharing drinks with each other while Jimin, or Hermes, was flying around trying to meet everyone. Even Seokjin, basically the God of Shyness, was smiling and accepting praise from Irene, Wheein, and Taehyung, or Ares, Athena, and Hebe respectively.

You casually walked around, the rich purple wedding gown that you wore dragged through the grass but stayed dried, magical powers were always nice. Talking with some people, drinking and eating with others, it was wonderful. At the end of the night, Demeter came up to the two of you with flower crowns, and all the Gods watched with curiosity, except you and your mother of you knew what was to come next. The crowns were beautiful and matched your auras perfectly. One made with pink lilies, purple lavender, and white baby breath, while the other was made of cress, ferns, black and purple roses. The lighter one was for you and the darker for Seokjin.

“It’s tradition,” Demeter’s voice wavered with sadness and her hands trembled as she continued, “When a nymph is married and leaves my care, she is given a crown to remind her roots and to be happy in her new life.”

Demeter turned to you, the tears in her eyes finally came pouring out and she tried her best to allow this day to be a happy day. You looked ethereal in your dress and your expression made everything she had sacrificed worth it. Cupping your cheeks, she lovingly gazed at you and put your heads together. Your own tears were coming down and you held back a sob.

“Be powerful and strong, my Kore. If anything happens, I will always be waiting here for you and you can come back, alright? It is your duty in the next six months to take care of the Underworld, rule it with a wise mind and even sharper mouth. Many will test you but prove them wrong. Your husband’s duty is to take care of you, you are equals in love. Never forget my teachings and that I have and will always love you.”

You kneeled down to your mother and touched her feet in a sign of respect, and she crowned you with all the flowers you loved most. Standing up, you saw Demeter’s eyes stare at your husband. She looked neither happy nor angry, and everyone in the room held their breath.

“It is your duty,” She started as she firmly grasped the other crown, “to protect and take care of my daughter. She rules beside you as equals and you must treat her as such. When you are troubled, find peace in the fact that she can calm the ground we walk on from rumbling, a panther from pouncing, and my very nature. After seeing your love and hearing about it from Kore, I trust you and bless you to be a good King for the Underworld and a better husband to your Queen. You are part of my family now, Hades.”

Demeter looked pleased at how her heartwarming words touched Seokjin and made him weep as well. Maybe it was her own power, because all the deities present were desperately wiping their tears so others couldn’t see. Even Jimin, both known to be lighthearted and not as sentimental, had burst into tears when he saw his best friend crying and getting crowned while Taehyung tried to soothe him.

Seokjin kneeled and did the same as you when Demeter crowned him. Seokjin mouthed a ‘thank you’ to his mother-in-law and held out his hand for you to grab. You smiled and interlocked your fingers together before looking at your mother and then the rest of your guests.

“All hail, Persephone and Hades,” Your mother continued, “The Gods and rulers of the Underworld!”

The other gods and deities, and even nature itself seemed to bow down. But the two of you were so immersed in each other, that you only waved goodbye before Jin kissed you and the ground broke beneath you and went home.

© 2021 by cherryyjjk ;; all writings and other content on this blog are my intellectual property. you may not reuse, reprint, translate, repost, steal, or any other type of stealing of my works.

[btsslowburnfic]

Chthonic Love 19

Series Summary: A Greek Mythology AU featuring Yoongi/Suga as Hades and reader as Persephone. Olympian ruler Namjoon has delivered you, Persephone, as a gift for his brother, lord of Death, Yoongi Chapter Summary: Preparing for the Masquerade ball and some adult time on the beach. 

Previous Chapter here

You stretched your hand out along the walls. You had been cultivating the vines for a few weeks now; their tendrils weaving along the Palace corridors. The red was a stark contrast to the black walls. Excellent. Your dress pooled behind you as you stopped to admire your work. The ball would be in a week; there was still so much to do. You heard a gentle clacking against the floor and knew it would be Yoongi. The servants all wore soft shoes. You waited, petting the vines.

“It looks great,” He said, wrapping an arm around your waist and gently pressing a kiss against your temple. He still couldn’t believe he could just do that.

“Thank you. Not too over the top?” You asked, looking up at him.

“No. But, we do need to talk about the palm trees.” He moved away slightly and held up your cloak with his other hand. “Are you coming?” 

You faced him and allowed him to fasten the cloak around your neck. His fingers gently touched your throat, causing you to blush slightly. 

“Of course,” you grabbed his hand as the two of you walked through the Great Hall and towards the exit. The walls of the Great Hall had been lined with Chrysanthemums and orchids. Staff had begun to sit out tables for the reception area. “What’s wrong with the palm trees? They looked great yesterday.”

Yoongi smiled. “ They look beautiful. It’s just. I don’t want people thinking of the Underworld as a vacation destination. Palm trees give it that impression.”

You feigned surprise, knowing he was right. “I’m sure the dead people and spiders will change their mind, don’t worry.” You teased as the two of you took the cavern path today. The cave glittered with your phosphorescent plants. Your magic had flourished these past few weeks, uninhibited by any negative energy. 

“[Y/N], please. I do have a reputation to maintain. Dark. Scary. Rawr. Is that a flower crown?” Yoongi asked as the two of you exited the cave and approached the Gate of Judgment. 

Holly cocked his heads to the side. Each one adorned with a little flower crown. Well. They were actually quite large, but on his heads, they looked small.

“It’s three flower crowns. We played yesterday.” You responded, petting Holly’s side. “Didn’t we???? Didn’t weeeeeeee?”

His tail wagged and his tongues lolled out, happily.

Yoongi shook his head. “Holly! You’re only supposed to listen to me! Traitor.” 

Holly moved his ears up and down as though asking “What?”

You laughed. “You look beautiful Holly, don’t listen!” Holly wagged his tails.

The two of you continued over to the beach. What had once been a desolate landscape, filled with nothing but black sand, was now dotted with black and silver palm trees. Their frons a beautiful contrast against the greenish-grey sky.

“Ughhhh my dessert is covered in Palm Trees. My dog is covered in flower crowns. What is happening to the Underworld?” Yoongi lamented.

“You invited a Spring Goddess to live here, remember?” You giggled and kissed him on the cheek.

“Hmm...I suppose I did, didn’t I?” He turned to face you, cupping your face in his hands as he pressed his lips against yours. These past few weeks had been full of moments like these:the two of you not being able to get enough of each other. 

The sound of your lips leaving his made a slight sound. You turned and faced the palm trees.  “All right. I see what you mean. It does look almost tropical. So would you like menacing thorn trees? Some sad looking willows? Fly traps?”

He stepped behind you, moving your hair over so he had direct access to your ear. “I like the palm trees. After the party you can put them back. I don’t care if the dead people see them, it would probably comfort them actually. But for the other Gods and Goddesses, we do need to give off a more menacing, “hey don’t try to overthrow me” vibe.” He moved so he was next to you. “We've been at relative peace for centuries, but it’s always tenuous at best. Especially when you get  a group of Olympians together.” 

You put your hands on your hips, knowing he was right. “Ok Ok. May I?” You asked him, turning to him with your hands out. You always asked before you borrowed any of his magic to amplify yours.  Yoongi nodded and extended his hands.  You took them and began to use your magic to change the landscape. 

The palm trees began swaying and eventually became dust, their remnants blowing out across the Stygian Sea. The sand and black pebbles rose up and took new form, twisting into rigid thorny patches and brambles. They were three times the height of Yoongi. You wanted to make sure they looked impenetrable. This went on for several minutes before you began to get tired. Yoongi could tell before you and he yanked his hands away, causing an immediate loss of your power. You doubled over.

Yoongi caught you as you fell forward, placing his arm around you for support. “I’m sorry [Y/N], can’t you tell when you’ve used almost all your magic?”

You were breathing heavily, “No. Thanks for stopping me. It’s hard for me to tell when you’re amplifying” You stood up slowly. “Your power is like an ocean. Mine is like a well.”

Yoongi looked at you with concern. He barely felt a dip on his power when you borrowed some, but it seemed to always take an extra toll on you. He took off his cloak and placed it on the sand. He sat down on it to keep it from blowing away.  He spread his legs into a V and gestured for you to sit down in between them. “Come here.” He extended his hard to you.

Taking it, you sat down in between his legs, allowing him to wrap his arms around you. “You did a great job. Spiky trees look great.”

“Thanks. I’m thinking we can make a decorative path through it tomorrow. Guests will need to arrive at the castle by going through it.  I’ll need a fountain though. I can’t make one of those.”

“That’s a great idea. I’ll get you a fountain.” Yoongi said, resting his chin on your shoulder. He looked out along the horizon where the Stygian sea met the sky. He would get you anything you wanted. These past few weeks had been the best of his life.  

“Thanks.” You said quietly, enjoying the lull of the waves and the feeling of your body pressed up against his. The two of you sat in silence for several minutes. 

“You going to fall asleep?” He asked, pressing a kiss against your collarbone. Your whole body shivered.

A throaty laugh escaped you, “Not if you keep doing that.” You teased.

“Oh?” He responded, taking that as an invitation to continue. He placed another kiss along your collarbone and then moved up towards your neck. A soft moan escaped your lips.  He switched it to a gentle sucking motion.

“Yoongiiii…” You said quietly.

“Mmmm?” You heard and felt vibrate against you.

You turned around more, causing him to remove himself. You found his lips with yours and the two of you commenced kissing once again. You felt his hand slowly pull up your dress as though asking permission. You helped him, quickly pulling it up more so the fabric rested against your thighs. You had never been so glad that the shore was completely desolate. Yoongi’s hand rubbed against your thigh. 

“Is this ok?” He asked, pausing his kiss for a moment. 

“Yes,” you breathily agreed and resumed kissing him.

 His hand kept teasing around your panties. It took a great deal of self-restraint not to push yourself up against his hand. But you tried to remain grounded as you felt his hardness pressing against you from behind. You couldn’t believe that he felt this way about you. You felt so lucky.

Yoongi finally worked up the courage to hook a finger inside the side of your panties, gently feeling his way around. He was so afraid of messing this up, or doing the wrong thing. “Still good?” He asked, his voice sounding more like a growl at this point.

“Uh-huh,” you managed to groan out as Yoongi had started to draw circles around your clit.

He scissored his fingers on either side of your clit, causing you to shudder.

“So sensitive. Lean back a bit,” He wigged back with you following, relaxing up against him. You put your legs up, bending your knees and causing the fabric of your dress to become even more pushed up. You felt him gently explore your entrance, before pressing a finger inside of you. “Fuck.” You let out.

“All in good time,” He teased, his breath on your neck feeling extra hot.

He added a second finger, pumping them in and out while his thumb circled around your clit. Yoongi pressed kisses along your neck, alternating with sucking. You wished he was sucking something else, you found yourself thinking. “I could take you on the beach. Right here,” Yoongi said, beginning to feel the strain of himself pushing up against his pants. He wanted you so badly.

“Yes. Yes.” You found yourself saying. Yoongi removed his hand as you turned around to face him. You instantly connected your lips and straddled him, taking him by surprise. You felt him smile, as you kissed him. He reached a hand down the front of your dress, gently kneading your breast. You felt his erection pressing into you, causing you to grind down on him. 

He pulled away. “You are so beautiful.”

You smiled and ran a hand through his hair. You saw his eyes move from your face to the horizon. His smile dropped. “Fuck.” 

You turned around and saw the last remnants of the green light flash and the ships sailing on the horizon. You looked up to the sky and started laughing. “Ughhhh we lost track of time.” Yoongi rested his head against your chest for a minute. 

“Dammit.” You heard him say slowly as he pulled away, his face suddenly red.

You looked down and retied your bodice so your boobs wouldn’t flop out. “Hey, we can continue this later.” You stood up, fluffing your skirt back out.

Yoongi sat there for another minute, willing his hardness away. It barely worked but alas, the dead never stopped arriving. Death waited for no one. Even the Lord of the Underworld’s sex life.

NEXT CHAPTER

[aelin-queen-of-terrasen]

Secret relationship/I called you at 2am because I needed you for Jurdan

Thank you for the prompt! You're awesome! Sorry for the late, I finished it a week ago but it's been stewing in my drafts for some reason. Part - 2

──────✧❅✦❅✧──────

𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐌𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 [𝟏]

Cardan wished he was home.

After his elder brother Balekin had been arrested, the mantle of Elfhame corporations fell onto Cardan's shoulders. He couldn't remember the last time he had done something for the sake of entertainment or even had a well-rested sleep.

Even though it was well past midnight, Cardan had a lifetime worth of paperwork to take care of, a thousand fires to put out before he could retire for the day. He wished Jude was here. His personal assistant had been marvelous at what she did. Had it not been for their secret relationship and the breakup that followed soon after, she'd have still been working here, everything would have been under control.

He breathed out loud, eyes skimming over the paperwork. It was no good dwelling on those miserable facts.

His phone rang.

Cardan ignored it, was about to switch it off entirely to get the work done when he saw the number that flashed on the screen. Jude.

Jude had called—

"Hello?" Cardan's voice sounded all wrong to his own ears, heart beating loud enough inside his chest, Jude might hear it herself.

He froze when he heard the sob on the other side, a broken sound. "Cardan."

"Jude? Are you alright?" The pause on the other side was long enough that Cardan left his office, car keys in one hand and waved towards on of the employees to inform he was leaving. "Where are you, Jude?"

"I am—I didn't—I am hurt. I didn't know who to call," she said, voice breaking.

Something ached inside Cardan's heart, all his thoughts directed towards the brunette who had walked away from him seven months ago. Seven months and he still loved her as much.

"Where are you, Jude?" he asked softly.

She went quiet again, then there was some shuffling around before she said, "I don't know—there's this bar here, real sketchy place downtown, I am bleeding but I can't-I can't call ambulance."

He cursed under his breath even as he slid into his car and revved the engine, every instinct on edge. If she was where he thought she was, Jude had gotten herself into some big trouble. She had told him about the bar downtown where she used to do underground fighting.

He couldn't call an ambulance for her. It would raise too many questions. Gods.

One hand on the steering wheel, Cardan dialled a familiar number, adding her to a conference call with him and Jude. It rang thrice before she picked up, her voice sleepy and uncertain. "Cardan?"

He had never been more relieved to hear someone's voice. "Lilliver? How fast can you get to my apartment?" Jude groaned on her side of the line and Cardan stepped on the gas, speeding up all while the image of Jude bleeding out in some dark alley haunted his mind.

Lilliver didn't bother with questions, had likely figured it out by Jude's groaning. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Then she hung up and it was him and Jude again. He had been waiting for a phone call from her from the day she had handed him her resignation letter but if this was the price of getting her back in his life, Cardan decided he'd rather not have her at all.

Jude's panicked sobs had morphed into heavy breathing by the time he reached her. She was slumped against the back wall of the bar, half naked with her cotton shirt staunching the blood from a wound in her abdomen. All coherent thoughts flew out of his head when he saw the amount of blood, the ashen look on her face.

Oh gods, this was bad—

"Cardan?" The voice was quiet but firm, spurring him into action.

He scooped her in his arms, careful not to put pressure on the bleeding wound and helped her into the backseat of his car. Jude looked at him, exhaustion weighing her eyelids down but managed to croak out a thank you.

He tried to calm his own breathing as he started the car. "Jude, what happened?"

"I was-I fought this dude a few days ago, beat him and won a good eight hundred bucks. He cornered me in the alley today—had a knife and everything," her voice wavered and he considered telling her to remain quiet instead but she seemed glad to be distracted from her pain. "Son of a bitch got me good, right in the stomach. He brought friends, cheating bastard."

Cardan was speechless but he tried to keep the conversation going, if only for her sake. "You told me you were done with all this. You promised, Jude."

"I needed the money after I quit my job." Because of you, he heard the unspoken words hanging in the air.

Jude squirmed when he helped her out again, scooping her up in his arms. He tried to be gentle as he could. This was his fault. All she had asked him was to spend time with her, be a good boyfriend and he had prioritized his company over her, had almost taken her for granted. If he hadn't screwed it up, she would have her job right now.

He could have married her.

Instead, here she was on the verge of death all because he was too selfish, too ambitious to treat her like she deserved. Cardan wished he could go back in time and fix that mistake of his life, wished he could turn back time, change what had happened.

She winced. "I'm sorry," he blurted out, not sure what he was apologising for.

"It's not your fault." But it was. It was his fault and he was going to fix it. His girlfriend or not, never again would she have to risk her life in order to earn money. Jude was stubborn, would never accept his help but he would find a way.

Besides, she had always been better at his job than he could ever hope to be.

The guards outside his house were already scrambling to open the doors, offering to carry his Jude over to a guest room. Cardan refused to let anyone near her, barking out commands at them for things they would need. "Is Liliver here?" He could have cried from relief when one of the guards nodded.

Fand was making her way towards him already. Among his security detail, Jude had managed to befriend the outspoken female who looked at him in concern. "What happened to her?"

He pushed past her, not in the mood to answer questions. Jude had lost too much blood already, he would have to do something about that and soon. Liliver rose from her seat in the living room, following the two of them to Cardan's bedroom where he lay her gently on the bed. "Do whatever you need, my resources are yours but you need to save her. I don't—please."

She grimaced at the sight of the passed out, still bleeding Jude and sprang into action. Cardan didn't know how long he stood there for, mind numbed as he followed every instruction his friend barked at him. Jude couldn't die, she couldn't get hurt, he needed her to live.

He'd accept her anger or her indifference or whatever punishment she saw fit for this. Cardan needed her to wake up, to know she was alive.

This was one punishment he won't accept. Not her. Never her.

He didn't sleep even after Liliver told him she had done all she could and Jude would probably come back to consciousness by the morning. I didn't know who else to call, she had told him. She would have never called him if she had a choice, likely felt like she had no other option.

Cardan stayed awake all night keeping an eye on her, his hand gripping hers as if she would disappear if he released his grip. She would hate him in the morning, would shout fowl words at him for as long as her voice would allow, would probably go red faced in the face and then go back to giving him the cold shoulder for the rest of his life. She would remind him of all he had lost, the chance he had wasted away. She would break his heart all over again and it would hurt.

And when she did, Cardan decided he would let her ruin everything he was.

──────✧❅✦❅✧──────

Tags:

@judexcardanxgreenbriar // @thesirenwashere // @nite0wl29 // @queenofgreenbriar // @jurdanhell // @mysweetvilllain //@clockworkgraystairs // @blog-lady-vi // @the-dark-swan //@storiesandschemes // @fangirltrash74 // @augustintodarkness // @queen-of-glass // @jurdan7 // @aesthetics-11 // @mijaldraws // @hades-flame // @sensitivehighlord

[therainbowwillow]

When Hell Freezes Over AU: Epilogue

“I’m not ready for this,” Orpheus whispers. 

Eurydice rocks him back and forth. “You’ll be okay.”

He shakes his head. “This is my punishment, isn’t it?”

“Hush. No, it’s a practicality.”

“I’ll see them again. All the people I...” His voice breaks off with a sob. 

“I’ll be right there. Plus, it’ll be good to get some fresh air,” she changes the topic, “Does it wear on you? The underworld air? I worry sometimes, Orpheus...”

“I wear a mask,” he protests, wiping his eyes. “It filters out the smog.”

She sighs. “Your voice shouldn’t have to take so much strain.”

“Shouldn’t you wear one too?” he inquires. “You aren’t really dead.”

“I’m not really alive either. You are.”

He laughs, more of an quick exhale. “I came close to changing that.”

“You pulled through,” she reminds him. 

It had been torturous, watching him struggle to survive. But she hadn’t dared to let him die. He would have been alone, on the other side of the Styx. Sure, it would’ve been just minutes before he was ferried across. She had never let the coin Hades had given her leave his person, so he would have payed his fare with ease. Still, she hated to think of his terror when he found himself all alone, a shade on the banks of the dismal river.

“Only just,” he says, “And mostly thanks to you and Hermes.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“I was asleep! I didn’t help much,” he jokes. After a moment’s pause, Orpheus sighs. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d rather file death certificates than visit the surface.”

“By file death certificates, do you mean doodle in the margins?” she teases, attempting to lighten the mood. Orpheus had never been very efficient at filing paperwork. Still, they’d needed the money and though he wouldn’t admit it, he wasn’t strong enough to work in the factories. Even now, she doesn’t think he’d last very long. He tires easily even on their short walks through the streets of Hadestown. Filing paperwork for Hades had certainly been easier on him. Still, Orpheus wasn’t particularly cut out for office jobs.

“Oh, hush,” he laughs. “I wasn’t doodling. I was writing music!”

Eurydice smiles. “In the margins of important paperwork.”

He opens his mouth to reply. Then he closes it. “Fair.”

Eurydice drapes her arms over his shoulders. “You’re gonna be alright, lover. I’ll be there, Persephone will be there. Hermes too.” Without thinking, she says the final name with a slightly harsher tone than the first two. 

Orpheus picks up on it. “Eurydice, he saved my life.”

She narrows her eyes. “By nearly ending it?”

He sighs. “Can we not do this right now? Please?” His eyes are still puffy from crying. 

Eurydice nods and presses her head against his chest. “I’m sorry,” she mutters. 

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” she says. “I’m sorry, Orpheus. It’s just... hard to forget.”

“I’m not asking you to forget. But I forgave him and I’m the one who would’ve been on the receiving end of that knife.” 

She winces, hating to hear him speak of his near-death so casually. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Talk about his betrayal like someone stole your pocket change.”

“I’m not! If someone stole my pocket change I-” She glares at him. “Alright.” 

They sit in silence, leaned against each other for a moment before Eurydice speaks up. “We should be going.”

Orpheus nods. “How long’s the walk?”

“To the station, not too far,” she says. “I can help if you need,” she adds, realizing he’s afraid he won’t make the journey.

“Yeah,” he responds. His gaze is fixed over her shoulder.

“Hey, look at me.” He glances at her face and then back out the window beyond her. “Orpheus, it’s okay.”

“Please don’t say that.”

“I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true,” she promises.

He makes no reply, instead opting to push himself to his feet. He lifts his single bag of belongings over his shoulder and steps towards the door. Eurydice slings his guitar over her shoulder and takes his hand. Together, they begin to navigate the winding hallways and staircases of the residence that only fractionally belongs to them. 

They had chosen Hades’s great tower for a home mostly out of necessity. At first, Eurydice had picked it because Orpheus was too sick to be moved. When he was strong enough to sit on his own, she posed the option of moving away. It was Hades who had refused her offer. The remaining shades who had arrived in the underworld thanks to Orpheus’s song weren’t keen on seeing the poet in the streets. So they had only switched floors. The fifteenth story had been their home for the first year or so in the name of protecting Orpheus.

Once Hermes had returned the last few out-of-place shades to the surface, Hades himself had asked if they wished to find a place of their own. Orpheus had refused this time. He had taken up a job filing paperwork on the forty-fifth floor. He was too weak to walk much farther than the short distance between his bedroom and the elevator. Taking note of his troubles, Hades had allowed them to move to the floor where Orpheus worked, converting half of the storage corridors into a cramped but cozy home.

Orpheus had been more comfortable here, quite clearly. His walk to work had been shrunk to only a few steps, which prevented reoccurring incidences of Orpheus passing out on his way to the elevator, an event that had happened a few more times than Eurydice cared to admit. 

With his increased sense of security, Eurydice sometimes returned home to discover Orpheus strumming his guitar. He had been afraid to spare it so much as a glance when he had first come to his senses in Hadestown. Still, he hadn’t dared to sing. Just plucked out a few notes on his out-of-tune instrument. He had jumped back, almost dropped his guitar into the fireplace when he had first noticed her listening. 

“When does the train leave?” he mumbles, as they reach the end of the hallway.

“Whenever we get to the station. We have as much time as we need.”

Eurydice guides him down the hallway. They step inside the elevator. “How are you holding up?” she gently checks on him.

Orpheus shrugs. He leans against the wall.

“When was the last time you slept?”

“Why do you care?” he snaps. “Can’t we just go?”

She hides her concern at his sudden outburst and adjusts the bandanna over his face. “Because I love you.”

Orpheus takes her hands. “Do we have to do this?”

“It was part of the deal,” she reminds him.

“It was supposed to be ten years,” he retorts.

...

Eurydice leads him through the smoggy streets, a map in hand. She doesn’t trust herself to find her way to the station by memory, even without the Lethe in the way of her thoughts.

The longer they walk, the farther behind Orpheus falls. He’s been quiet the whole way, so she’s allowed him space to sulk. But now he’s almost a block behind her slowest pace, so she doubles back. He takes a step, as if to prove he’s well enough to walk and leans against the nearest wall.

“Orpheus?”

“I’m right behind you,” he mutters.

“Do you-”

“No,” he interrupts. “I’m fine.”

“I hate to say I don’t believe you,” she says. “Your leg?” He nods in defeat. “Okay. Sit down. Please, Orpheus, tell me when you’re hurting.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. 

Eurydice feels his tears soaking her shirt. The workers in the street glance at her. “Hey. Hey, it’s alright, Orpheus.” She strokes his hair as he sobs against her. “I’m right here. I always will be,” she promises. 

After a moment, Orpheus looks up, his eyes reddened with tears. “Eurydice...” She wipes his cheeks with her sleeve. “We should keep going.” His voice is small and strained. She hears the desperate fear in his tone and wonders if he’s right, if they ought to turn back. But this was the agreement and she fears betraying Hades’s contract more than anything else. 

“Let’s go,” she says, after allowing him a few minutes’ rest. “Can you stand?” He glances away, unwilling to meet her eyes. She reads him easily; the answer is clearly ‘no’. Eurydice lifts his arm over her shoulder and pulls him to his feet. “Try to step when I step,” she instructs him. 

He does try. Eurydice sees his effort in his every movement, but it is slow progress. His face is pale under the too-bright lights. He looks fragile down here, he always has. A single mortal in a kingdom built for dead men and gods. He is out of place, more so than even Lady Persephone. For the first time, Eurydice wonders if it would’ve been easier to just let him die. Is all of this worth avoiding those few seconds of hurt? A shade among the thousands...

Orpheus coughs and sinks more of his weight against her. He looks as frail and helpless, his arm draped over her shoulder for support. Finally, she spots the train station. Eurydice can make out the form of Persephone rapping her fingers against a bench, waiting impatiently. “Persephone!” she calls out. 

The Queen looks up, for a moment searching for the source of her name. She’s at their side an instant later. “Orpheus. Look at me, honey.” Persephone places a cool palm against his forehead. “I can carry him,” she says. Eurydice hands Orpheus to the goddess, who scoops him into her arms as if he weighs nothing. 

Eurydice follows her to the train, where Persephone helps Orpheus into a booth. Eurydice takes a seat beside him. He rests his head against her shoulder. “Get some rest,” she says. 

“Eurydice, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean... any of it.”

She presses a finger to his lips. “Shh. I know that, Orpheus. I’m right here.”

He’s half asleep when he speaks up again. “I wish we could go home,” he says

Eurydice is taken aback by his statement. She had never stopped considering the surface her home. When had he? “We...” Are. She wants to say it, but the words don’t come out. She pulls him tight into her arms.

...

The train pulls to a halt. Eurydice wakes Orpheus with a gentle shake. He blinks, tensing at the realization of his location. Eurydice forces a smile. “We’re... here,” she says, faking enthusiasm. 

The doors roll open, revealing Hermes, a light snow coating the train station behind him. Orpheus recoils at the cool breeze. Eurydice squeezes his hand, concerned. His eyes seem to beg her not to let go. She helps him to his feet, her fingers entwined around his and not relenting for a second. They step onto the platform, where Hermes pulls Orpheus into a tight embrace. He looks shocked for a moment, before he sinks into the god’s arms. Hermes whispers words of comfort to the young man. “I missed you,” he says.

“Ho- the bar?” Orpheus quickly corrects himself. Home is Hadestown. Home is his little nook behind the bookshelves where he tapes up music that he knows he’ll never sing. Home is not the bar he had run from. It has been six- nearing on seven- years now since he’d seen the establishment. 

Hermes nods. “If you’d like, we can go,” he says, finally releasing Orpheus from his embrace.

Eurydice takes Orpheus’s hand. As they walk, she can’t help but notice how much more alive he looks up here. The bags under his eyes haven’t gone away, nor has his heavy limp, but his eyes are brighter in the light of the sun. And the way he looks at her, as they stand before the bar. He’s smiling slightly. Nervous, but smiling. 

She remembers all at once that he belongs on the surface, where the light bathes his cheeks and his eyes sparkle with warmth. Eurydice realizes, too, that she isn’t holding his guitar. Instead, Orpheus clutches it tightly in his shaking hands. He catches her staring at him. He half-smiles, half appears to be on the verge of tears. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” he admits, as Hermes opens the door to his small bar. 

“Please don’t stop thinking it,” Eurydice whispers.

The crowded bar erupts into cheers when Persephone steps inside. “Look who’s late!” someone teases.

“I ain’t late!” Persephone retorts. “What is it? March...”

“Twenty-first,” Hermes informs her, tapping his watch. “A minute past midnight.”

“Oh, for the sake of the gods. Sixty seconds late and this is my greeting?” she jokes. “Next time, I’ll be sure to forget the wine.”

The crowd boos. Persephone flicks the cork out of a bottle with a wink. “Kidding.” She pours the first glass and swallows it with a single sip. 

As she passes around wine glasses, the bar patrons seem to notice Orpheus’s presence. Uneasy murmurs fill the room. Eurydice hurriedly guides her lover through the crowd to a relatively secluded table where she takes a seat across from him. She knows this place all too well. How many times had she sat at this very table, drinking glass after glass of unaffordable wine, praying that the alcohol would numb her to the cold? Today, she doesn’t accept even a single sip. Orpheus needs her.

“I missed this,” Orpheus tells her, after minutes of silence. “I know it isn’t the same, but it... it isn’t all that different either.”

Eurydice moves her chair to his side of the table. “We can pretend it hasn’t changed,” she says, softly.

He nods. They sit still for a while, watching the increasingly drunken celebrations. Persephone laughs and dances with mortals, many of whom are new faces. Eurydice remembers she and Orpheus had danced like that once. She turns to watch Orpheus instead. His jealousy is plainly written across his face as he gazes at the dancers. He glances at his leg. It had never fully healed, having become infected in the woods.

Eurydice grabs his hands and pulls him to his feet. Gods, she will not watch him endlessly pine after a dance. “I can’t,” he mumbles.

“Yes, you can!” she encourages, “We’ll go slow and we can stop if it hurts. Let’s try, at least.”

Reluctantly, he accepts her offer. She places her hands on his hips and sways back and forth. “You okay?” she asks, after a moment.

He nods, humming along with a few notes of Persephone’s song out of habit, before he catches himself and falls silent.

Persephone’s singing louder now, with a drunken lisp to her voice. She’s standing on a table, stomping out the beat, while Hermes looks on, pitying his furniture. She leaps off of her vantage point and into the crowd. The surrounding party goers catch her.

Orpheus laughs, to Eurydice’s surprise. Laughter had been a rarity between them for far too long. His eyes sparkle with genuine happiness. She can tell there’s no sadness in the way he smiles.

He dances with more vigor now, too, suddenly twirling her under his arms. She laughs, as he invites her to return the motion. His spin is awkward and clumsy, but perfect all the same. He bobs back and forth to the music, grinning all the while.

A woman appears at his side. Eurydice starts at the sight of her, but still she holds tight to Orpheus, praying he doesn’t notice his lover’s recognition of the girl he had encased in ice six years prior. Somehow, the woman smiles. She smiles at the man who once ended her life. “You know what I could do with right now? Some real music.” She gestures to Orpheus’s guitar.

He blinks in surprise. Before he can turn her down, the rest of the bar patrons are cheering their agreement. He sighs. “I’m out of practice,” he informs the woman. To Eurydice’s relief, he doesn’t seem to recognize her.

“Nonsense! Give us a song!”

“I...” He glances at Eurydice. She nods her hopeful encouragement. What she wouldn’t give to hear him sing again. How many times had she tried to convince him to do so down below?

“Please?” the woman begs.

He takes a deep breath. “I’ll try.”

A grin spreads across the girl’s face. She grabs his wrist and pulls him over to the bar counter, pushing past the chewing crowd. Eurydice hurries after him. “Up here!” she calls, leaping onto the countertop. Hermes cringes at the dirty boots on his hard-bought furniture.

Eurydice helps Orpheus up, watching him carefully all the while. He’s clearly anxious, but there’s a tiny glint of excitement in his eyes. She lifts him to his feet, standing beside him above the crowd.

Orpheus takes a deep breath. Last time he’d sung, he had delivered a ceaseless wintertime to the surface and underworld alike. He had frozen a year’s harvest and starved countless people. How many of his accidental victims are staring up at him now? Eurydice wonders.

Eurydice brushes her fingertips against his hand. “It’ll be alright,” she whispers.

Orpheus strums a chord on his guitar. The crowd cheers. Spurred on by their enthusiasm, he continues. The notes are simple, nothing like the complex harmonies he’d written up back home. Still, the onlookers clap and whistle their approval. It’s Eurydice he watches, though. She gazes at him, beaming with such pride that he can’t help but to go on.

He finds himself pleasantly absorbed in his own melody. The song seems to morph and change as he sings, from a simple celebration of spring to a story of his love. Soon, he finds himself singing the very same notes he had vowed never to hear again on the day he had fled. The song that had lost him his lover. Yet it feels so easy to sing... so natural that he can’t stop himself. The world seems to warm with each note.

Eurydice sways to the music, caught up in memories of their first meeting. Orpheus’s stupid grin. His paper flowers. That song. It had surprised her in its beauty when she had first heard it, but it shocks her more now. He’s singing! She had begun to lose hope that she’d ever hear him produce a note again.

The clock says he has been performing for almost ten minutes, though it feels over too quickly to Eurydice. With the last notes, he hands her a bouquet of carnations and the crowd erupts into applause. Orpheus is grinning, slightly out of breath when the song ends. Hermes helps him down from the counter. 

He offers Eurydice a hand as well. Hesitantly, she takes it. Six years and she’d never gotten a chance to ask him why. For all of his warnings, Hermes had fallen himself victim to one of Hades’s impossible contracts. Success or Orpheus’s death, and he’d signed his name. She clutches his hand tighter than she needs to. “Why?” she hisses, too quiet for Orpheus to hear as the crowd chants his name.

She doesn’t need to elaborate. His expression darkens. “I believed in you,” he tells her. 

“And if you were wrong to trust me?”

“Then you would have taken up permanent residence in Hadestown. Orpheus would not have been apart from you,” he explains. “That was the agreement.”

Eurydice exhales sharply. “Yes, he would have. The deal was that I wouldn’t be given a choice but to kill him, my hands willed to harm the love of my life. You,” she spits the word like a curse, raising her voice, “agreed to take everything away from me. He would never have chosen to live with the woman who murdered him.” The crowd is watching them now, a few dozen sets of eyes on Eurydice.

Orpheus takes her hand, in a weary attempt to pull her away. Without words, his expression alone pleads her to stop. “Let him answer,” she snaps. He tenses at the harshness in her voice and backs down. 

“I’m sorry.” It’s pathetic, Eurydice thinks, a god, whispering his apologies. 

“That’s it? ‘I’m sorry?’ And what would you say if I had killed him, at Hades’s will? ‘Deepest condolences?’”

Orpheus takes a step towards Hermes. “I forgive you,” he says, genuinely. “Besides...” He sighs, slinging his guitar over his shoulder. His expression changes to one of sadness once more. “If there’s anyone who owes an apology,” he addresses the crowd, “It’s me.”

Eurydice falls silent, taking a step back. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, but hadn’t she known that he would jump to his adoptive father’s defense, whether or not the god needed it? She feels guilt crash over her as he fiddles with the base of his guitar, his anxiety quite apparent. She wants to speak up, to tell him that he had caused none of this, but she cannot find the words. 

“I am sorry for the grief I caused you,” he continues, speaking with rehearsed eloquence. Still, she hears the trembling of his voice over his feigned confidence. “The sorrows I brought you are unforgivable and my wrongs cannot be righted. But I can at least provide you this.” He hands Hermes a bag of coins. “Drinks are on me this week.” 

The drunken crowd explodes into shouts and cheers of joy, as if they had forgotten Orpheus had ever wronged them. Hermes closes his hands around the bag. “This is too much coin. Enough for a month of wine for everyone in this bar, if not more,” he says.

Orpheus half-smiles. “You always complained this place was drafty.”

Hermes sighs. “I can’t accept this.”

“I’m not asking.” The poet tucks his hands behind his back so Hermes cannot return the gift.

“Where did you get this?”

Orpheus shrugs. “I’ve been filing paperwork for Hades. It’s a bit dull, but I don’t mind. It... it’s a good distraction.”

Hermes stares at him, dumbfounded. “Paperwork?”

Orpheus’s cheeks go pink. “Is it really that unbelievable?” he asks.

Eurydice answers. “Yes. I was under the impression that you were only touching up your skills at drawing portraits and writing music.” His face turns a deeper shade of red. 

“I was... distracted.” 

Eurydice realizes the implication and struggles to stifle a laugh. “By me?”

He bites his lip. “I...”

“There wasn’t much else to look at, I suppose,” she says, laughing, surprised by how easily his humored embarrassment cheers her up.

Orpheus takes her hands in his, his expression turning solemn once more. “Eurydice... I’ve found forgiveness,” he begins. “And I’ve forgiven.” For a moment, she almost grumbles her distaste, before she notices how clearly rehearsed he sounds. How many times has he repeated these lines to himself in preparation? Gods, had he been that afraid to approach her? 

Orpheus draws a shuddering breath. He fixes his eyes over her shoulder. “But I...” She can tell he breaks from whatever script he had planned to follow by the way his words quicken. “I can’t bear to see you two argue! I love you, Eurydice, but Hermes raised me. Why do you blame me for having allegiance to the man I call my father?”

She opens her mouth to reply, but once again finds herself unable to produce words. “Orpheus...” she finally manages. “I’m sorry.”

He gives his head a slight shake. “No, it’s alright. I would’ve said something sooner but wasn’t sure where to start.”

Where to start? How about the hundred times she had brought the topic up? All of which she feels desperately guilty for now. Before his fateful trip to Hadestown, he had never been shy to voice his discomfort when something unpleasant was brought up in conversation. During his years underground though, he’d become quieter. Eurydice had always known the guilt had worn on him, but she hadn’t fully realized how much her words had exacerbated his pain, partially because he was almost never willing to mention it.

She finds her eyes drawn to Hermes. She has avoided looking at him for years, always sharply reminded of her trials in the forest when she had accidentally spared him a glance. For the sake of Orpheus, she looks at him now. His eyes are duller than she remembers. He looks older, fatigued, even. She is sure that Orpheus had noticed all of this long ago and scolds herself for not doing the same. 

Eurydice had felt the effects of Orpheus’s lament, but not as Hermes had, she now realizes. She had been practically a shade when she had approached her lover, wailing his sorrows to the winds. But Hermes was alive. Immortal, maybe, but the power of the song had the most severe effect on the living, made clear by the fact that Eurydice, half dead, hadn’t been frozen solid in her approach. Hermes had suffered worse than she had, and she knows it. It’s visible in the lines on his face and the way his hair is parted to hide the scar he’d received when the winds had flung him backwards and slammed him into the ground with force enough to concuss a god. 

“I’m sorry.” Her voice is nothing more than a whisper. “I am so sorry.” Eurydice isn’t sure if she apologizes to Orpheus or Hermes. Maybe both. 

“I don’t know that I deserve your apologies,” Hermes says. 

“You risked everything for us.”

“And I’d risk it all again.” It is a completely truthful statement, Eurydice knows.

“Thank you,” she says. And she means it. 

...

For six years Orpheus had hoped she would see that Hermes had never intended to hurt them and finally, she had. He feels unburdened for the first time in what feels like an eternity. He’s crying, he realizes. Eurydice notices too. She breaks free from Hermes’s embrace and pulls Orpheus into her arms, swaying back and forth. “I love you,” he whispers. 

“I should’ve seen this sooner,” she says, ashamed.

In part, he wishes she had. All the while, he understands why she had avoided the possibility for so long. Hermes’s agreement had seemed ill-conceived, even to Orpheus, who had experienced the consequences of his stormy weather first hand. But the deal had been signed for a reason, a cause which lay more with Hades’s wants than any other consideration. Control was all the god cared for and no amount of quick words from Hermes could have talked him down. Orpheus’s father had accepted the least detrimental terms he had been offered.

“You saw it. That’s all that matters,” Orpheus tells his lover.

Hermes excuses himself to allow them to talk.

Instead, Orpheus finds himself following Eurydice as she guides him up the stairs. She pushes open the door at the top after a brief pause, revealing a room far more comfortable than the one he had left behind. The bed linens had been replaced. The nightstand, where he had found his guitar is barren, save for a vase, containing a single dried carnation. 

Eurydice pulls open the curtains, allowing moonlight to spill into the small bedroom. She takes a seat on the bed and beckons Orpheus to follow. He does, habitually drawing his guitar into his hands. Eurydice leans back in bed, propping her head against the pillows with a sigh. “I could... sing something,” Orpheus says. “If you’d like.”

She grins, throwing her arms around him and pulling him down with her until his head rests against her chest. “How could I refuse?” 

Orpheus listens to the faint but still steady beat of her heart. He plucks out a few notes on his guitar, drawing each one out, as if to imitate the murmuring from the bar below them. “La... la la la..” he half-hums, half-sings.

Eurydice sighs with relaxation. “La... la... la-la...” It’s the same tune he had sung in the bar. The carnation in the vase darkens in color, the brown tips of its petals change to a deep red, unfurling into a full blossom. 

Eurydice plucks the flower from its vase. “It seems you haven’t lost your touch,” she says, smiling. 

“Hm?” He takes the flower and twirls it between his fingers. “I’m out of practice.”

“It’s hardly noticeable.”

He continues to sing, the melody becoming more complex as he continues. He had memorized the way the notes had looked when he had written them out in Hadestown. For the most part, Orpheus had known how they would sound, though he had never planned to test them out loud. As he sings, he edits details, tests new lines. It’s easier with audible reference. What might have taken him days previously only takes minutes when he can hear what his notes sound like instead of only imagining them. 

He sings long into the night, watching as Eurydice’s eyelids grow heavier as his song lulls her to sleep. He listens to her soft breaths, feels the rise and fall of her chest beside him. The vase of flowers blooms fuller with each new line. His notes coax more buds to form. Deep red poppies and pearl white lilies. Carnations, both pale and rosy. 

The moonlight beams through the window, nearly sinking below the horizon by the time he finally closes his eyes. He sets his guitar beside the bed and hums the last few notes of his song. He feels warm air across his cheeks, creeping in through the rickety walls. Orpheus drifts off to sleep, in his own bed, in his own home, Eurydice resting at his side. Only now does he realize how much he has missed this.

[shy-magpie]

RQG 157

these things get long and are by definition one spoiler after another, so live blog under the cut

pre episode nonsense:

My hopes for this episode are mostly just the obvious: For Zolf to pull out of his spiral; for Azu to talk to someone about how she's doing; for Hamid to find his footing with the Kobolds (loving that they are devoting a proper arc to using unearned privilege/power rather than pretending it doesn't exist); more Cel lore; a Wug; and for someone to shake answers out of the Brorb. Not sure Alex is going to let us get to know the kids individually which makes sense as juggling 7 new NPCs would seriously cut into everyone else's screen time. I think we will get more of Skraak & Hamid working through their issues, and Skraak's helping the kids through recovery. If we are very lucky maybe Zolf & Skraak will talk rather than just have Zolf resent the Kobolds for putting Hamid in a place to fall into old habits. Okay lets hit play!

Episode live blogging:

Intros are quick: Zolf sounds low, Ben sounds higher energy than he was.

Oh the Brorb drawings come better when the other half is distracted but not thinking about the real topic.

Krakens are through out the globe, unknown numbers, not true instances of Shoin, network is down.

Cel and I both react to having Shoin be the one to come closest to a truly non physical form.*

Krakens are cloned brains in robot bodies. Specifically said Daleks not Jurassic Park.

Shoin thinks he sent a ransom note using the Kraken as a threat against the world.

Does not handle it well when Zolf hones in on that no one knows who he is, much less trembles at his name.**

Hamid follows Zolf's lead and twists it towards boasting about beating the Infection. The talking half doesn't seem to know how he did it as clearly as the drawing bit. Unfortunately its strictly surgical which would be hard to reproduce at scale even before you consider the side effects.

Quick huddle with the rest of the team:

Cel always wanted to go to London?

Zolf wants to ask more about how the infection works so they could prevent infection. Wilde thinks he is suggesting using Shoin's solution, I get Alex has to catch people up but I don't like Wilde being a paragraph behind me or underestimating Zolf.

Bryn wants to review the diary. Alex confirms the diary says he had a possible  way to "end it" as a whole.

They go back and Cel feigns being extremely impressed that Shoin might have a way to stop the infection. I think having time to regroup cut him off from his memory of the infection again. Alex spells out Shoin loses coherence whenever they bring up the infection/the time period around when he was infected.

Heal check time. Zolf crit fails. Azu got a 29 and can see where his theory was better than his surgery. It may be an aphasia (issues to with communication. can't get to certain words, some can't be spoken even if he understands the concept; others he can't understand if he hears them even if he uses the word/concept himself. Brain trauma, memory problems more severe the more recent you get, sounds like unable to store short term memory properly so anything longer ago than a week but after surgery likely lost.)

Cel switches to the simulacrum. He verbally dismisses it as a waste of time. His hand keeps drawing based on the previous question re:stopping the infection.

Alex calls for a sense motive. Zolf & Azu see the latest drawing is a landscape using technical notation. Its a barren mine. Yes! it's the entrance to Svalbard. Cel can see its a circuit. Alex makes us/Lydia wait until after he's done with the simulacrum stuff.

Shoin thinks using humans as your base design to improve from is the wrong approach, gives some credit to Francois Henri for taking a different approach.

The circuit maybe to transmit something, it needs an organic component. Cel couldn't roll much better then that so they probably need to kick it towards the Harlequins to set a team on.

Shoin is moaning about paying the bills. Took on the contract to provide Simulacrum fluidics to Damascus for the money.

Drawings change shape get less technical and focus on the cavern entrance. Ben catches it sounds yonic, Alex was trying to not go there but did he really think you could go from cave imagery to seed imagry without stopping there?

Hamid tries to get more on how he caught the infection.

Bryn and Alex spell out that to get answers you ask a real question he won't answer verbally but will answer with his hand, with a decoy to keep the talking him distracted while the hand answers.

Decoy question is about Harrison Campell.

Concept drawing of a person, overwhelmed by an image of a huge figure with lines going from the small to the large? Is he suggesting they plant someone they prepare to be infected, and have them infect it back?

Proofs? Minor changes between the proofs and published version of early Campbell books.

Another review session upstairs. Hamid's red string wall got cited as being useful! Cult of Hades/Wellington may have been the one to hire Shoin to make parts for Damascus. Zolf and Hamid talk briefly, about work and as dry "stick to the subject" as possible but they are talking productively.

Oh Ben finally gets in that the interrogation is hard on Zolf's knees because he has to keep his legs out of the cell. He snaps a little at Cel when they comment on cell vs Cel. Carter suggests "naughty box" which nicely derails that point of tension. Cel refers to Shoin as being more pleasant to talk to than Carter. Not sure if that undermines the tiny Cel/Carter ship or fuels it with tension.

Cel asks who hired Shoin to make Sim parts. He can answer directly. Well directly for him, it seems to be mostly justifying stealing Tesla's work on the basis that Tesla wasn't going to implement his theory. Hamid snipes him with a shot praising Edison to get him back on topic. Shoin says Edison was being backed by a big investor. Is it to much to hope this is Alex finally consolidating the factions? If Hades is Edison's investor (leaving Edison & co as effectively their minions, rather than a faction of their own) and the factory owners we can cut down on sides considerably.

He goes on about how he spied on Henri, religion as money maker. Shoin was directly approached by Hades lot. Shoin made sure his bits won't work since he didn't want competition. Wellington was his contact with Hades. Wellington always had a pair of cloaked figures.  Vinegar + squizard = funny? Could be useful.

Do not follow what is going on with the hand.

Shoin is still unstuck in time and thinks he is going to connect them. Cel unplugs the speaker on his villain speech. Cel induces a dream state by powering him down

~break~

Cel suggests  painlessly killing him. Zolf seconds the idea because its immoral to keep him like that.   Hamid points out the longer the keep him around the more likely it is for someone to be infected. Wilde rules they should kill and seal it off.

Cel & Zolf have an argument about having the Kobolds handle the remains. Cel calls Zolf out on his inconstant stance on whether the Kobolds can be infected because if he doesn't believe that then he is risking them.

Wilde is moving on? Cel suggests letting the Brorb die, putting it in a bag of holding, keeping the bag in the anti magic field.

They can't just call Einstein because using unofficial channels is bad when irregular behavior is a sign of infection(?)

Alex's unhealthy attitudes about productivity are called out when he refers to the time Wilde spends thinking/planning before getting their transport arranged as "working" (with the inverted commas) rather than considering it part of the work.

They work out possible paths if teleporting is off the table.

And the boys are snapping at each other again. Zolf, you can't flip out every time you are reminded that Hamid doesn't have the experience or expertise of a seasoned sailor. Yeah you did leave the team without your skills and maybe the kid was a bit green for a field promotion; but you know what? He did a fine job, and the other choices were Sasha, who wouldn't lead, and Bertie, who shouldn't. Just because stepping down was the right thing to do, doesn't mean you get to lose it when you are confronted with the mere allusion to the idea it had consequences.

Barnes tells Hamid why going over the pole is a really bad idea. That Azu's suggestion is carrying Hamid has troubling symbolism.

Zolf actually comes more or less to Hamid's defense by pointing out that all their options are bad options, so having a go at Hamid's idea in particular is unwarranted.

I'm not going to bother listing out options. They will pick one or won't need to pick one. If we have been a very good fandom Alex may reward us with Earhart coming back as their preferred transport.

There we go, Hamid suggests her, Zolf seizes on the idea compliments Hamid on it, and immediately takes it to Wilde. Thank God he isn't so far down he can't do that. If he isn't compulsively shooting down any hope (especially from Hamid) then he really is on the upswing from the low brought on by quarantine stress.

Lydia isn't happy that there isn't going to be an American chapter. Then again we wrote off Svalbard, so don't give up!

Its the Northwest Passage and its so weird realizing that not everyone has it as a cultural reference. Wonder if it's an Oregon thing or a US thing.

Yes it would have been cool, but I think Alex is not going to let us have cool new story arcs when we haven't played with the ones we have at home.

Einstein and Earhart are our two best transport options. I am a happy fan. Especially if Zolf has to use his family and Earhart’s reaching out to him near the end of the journey to appeal to her. I mean we did get more on Zolf's relationship with his family than I expected after Paris, so I'm not going to sulk if they don't pursue this, but it would be nice.

Conflicted as a fan, its hard to remember that this taking months extra is a bad thing when the end of the series is feeling too close for comfort.

Zolf, look at you leveraging your experience with moving even when things feel hopeless!

Cel I love you, kraken as submarine is brilliant. Air kraken is suggested by Carter.

Hamid plays with the ideas while Alex goes "why?". Because you are going to have to work a hell of a lot harder than that if you want Hamid to see it as a no win situation rather than proof he needs to redouble on cheerful creativity. Feeling like he had no options led to the worst parts of Hamid's life, the things he is truly ashamed of; having few losses outside of those, he is going to make Kirk's Kobayashi Maru hang ups look amateur.

Zolf is heading to the beach.

Cel is checking on their village.

Hamid wants to contact Einstein himself, Zolf says he should talk to Wilde about that. Hamid wants Zolf with him for that meeting. Zolf either doesn't want to be a safety blanket, wants Hamid to get used to dealing with Wilde directly, or completely missed Hamid offering a chance to work together because he is incapable of seeing Wilde as an opponent. He does say some nice things about being a team.

Hamid tells Cel to say hi to Jasper for them. He is good at the people side of leadership. Remembering names and relationships, knowing how to show he cares because it's important to Cel without overstepping. If Zolf can learn to let go of the rank stuff, they could be an unbeatable team of co leaders.

Zolf nods at Azu. Azu smiles proudly back. Alex jokes about not liking giving them time to heal because they coordinate.

Hamid offers hugs to both Cel and Zolf. Because this entire character is a "fuck you" to toxic masculinity and he is not afraid to openly show affection to his friends.

Cel gives him a great hug.

Zolf hesitates but gives him a pat on the shoulder. Hamid's has high enough charisma to make that not awkward. Good kid, accepting that Zolf is reaching out as far as he can.

Hamid talks to Skraak. Hamid is worried about taking the kids. Maybe Skraak can convince them to stay & help Jasper with science. Because RQG loves us and wants us to be happy, they are considering a fantasy some of us harbored since "science" as a serious possibility. Could solve the issue with Alex not wanting the kids to take up too much screen time too. Skraak is the perfect character for Hamid to have as his second. He believes in Hamid, and can be confided in, but isn't going to take an ounce of self pity or bullshit.

Alex that village better be okay. Smoke? Controlled burn. Ben lightens the mood. The tank is still guarding the village. The barricade is up but they are guarding about as well as a village of level 0(1?) characters can be expected to.

They are having a party and there is a bon fire. Because Alex knows we wouldn't have trusted him if there wasn't a little scare with the smoke. !puns

The village is visibly healing since the weather is fixed. They thank Cel but know better than to ask.

Jasper! Jasper is looking good. He stepped in as a leader of the village. Cel and I could burst with pride. Jasper thinks Cel is coming to stay, Cel tries to explain they are going to help save the other villages around the world and mentions that Jasper would like the Kobolds.

!puns

* One day I need to hunt down the right corner of SF because there has got to be a decent amount of trans humanist fiction for trans humans out there somewhere.

**Not sure if I should feel bad for hoping this gives him a safe target for his destructive tendencies. Ideally Zolf would get past that point without indulging his dark side lest he reinforce bad coping mechanisms. Ideally Zolf would have weekly therapy without the fate of the world on his shoulders too. Its the more personal version of looking forward to a fight after Hamid's been stressed because he seems to find cooking baddies cathartic.

[starless-night-fright]

For once, I’m actually going to liveblog my reactions for Episode 10. 

The bubbles just...ruin the mood. Those are like “I made eye contact with my soulmate and we’re so in love” bubbles, not “I’m running away because someone I trusted and held close to me actually is part of the organization that has made my life hell and I need to stop their evil plot” bubbles. Plus mixed in with Lucien’s betrayal and the music? I cannot take this seriously. 

....What’s with the collars? 

I also cannot get over the “Potato Chip Princess”. We’re 10 episodes in, and I’m pissed that they didn’t translate it as Miss Chips, seeing as they translated the names to fit the English Server. 

I can’t wait for a revamped Blu-Ray edition where Kiro’s smile actually melts into a serious face, not something...whatever that was that he did. 

WHOMST’VE?!

I like the foreshadowing with the coin. 

“It’s too bright!” Sir, are those sunglasses for show? 

Oh my God. 

NO! NOT THE ROBOTS!

Excuse the fuck outta me? 

Cut to the cheery middle theme music for commercial break! 

Okay, okay, so the scene with Kiro’s childhood? This was from a Rumors and Secrets that hasn’t been released in the English server. I think it was that Rumors and Secrets, at least, since it explained that Kiro gave MC a bear. But, the biggest thing, was that he was non-verbal and basically ended up replacing some kid that died, and since he didn’t speak, there was no way he’d tell. 

At least one robot survived

She looks so disgusted. 

The amount of times Kiro has fallen, this episode should be called “The Two Times Kiro Almost Fell to His Death and the One Time He Symbolically Did.”

This is SO MEAN. LIKE. HE KEEPS FALLING AND I’M LIKE “DID THEY FUCK IT UP? NO?!”

The candyyyyyyyyyyy

“Kiro, you’re a fatass, but so am I, so I’ll go eat a bunch of sweets with you.” ALL LIES. 

Ooooh, that deep voice. Hello there.  

The use of the bell sound is interesting.

The don’t explicitly state that there was the sound of the stairwell falling, it’s just implied. The first gunshot, and then the fucking chaos after it adds so much more drama. 

MC dragging the pipe on the ground with determination, not crying, and ready to save everyone is fucking sexy, okay? 

Okay, she was crying. BUT STILL. The way she beats the shit outta the panel, and letting out her frustration? Good. The music? SO FUCKING GOOD. 

She thinks of the boys as she falls. Even Lucien. Which - even though her hurt her - she still cares about him. 

I love Gavin showing up but it feels kinda...awkward with the animation? Just them falling down slowly. He’s all scratched up and dirty. A pretty good detail, imo. 

I don’t know how to feel about the lack of music. 

I still cannot get over the cheeryness of the fucking ending. 

In a lab, with some ominous music and then - 

EVIL PIANO INTESIFIES

So, My thoughts here. 

I really like most of the changes they did. There’s more emotional payoff for Kiro’s sacrifice here, in my opinion, they way they foreshadowed him pretty much dying. The thing that’s mean is that I really doubt that we’ll get Helios here. Which means that people only watching the anime will think Kiro fucking died. And that’s so mean to do in an Otome anime. 

I am kinda bummed with Artemis not being there, though. 

Also, I really, really don’t like that Episode 11 is Victor centric. I get that it’s for equality among the boys, but the biggest thing is that Victor’s chapter in this arc ends with him killing MC. I have no idea how they’re going to put Victor’s chapter here, in episode 11, still have Lucien kill of Hades, and have Gavin join the military before MC sacrifices herself.

This is also the second time where it would make most sense to have the next episode be Gavin, and it switches to another character. Fuck the balance of the bois, I want my logical storytelling dammit!

I also am hoping they won’t cram 3 chapters worth of content into 1 episode, and have 12 be the beach event. 4 dates crammed into the last episode would sooooo ruin the atmosphere of the what’s happening here. 

[nicostolemybones]

The Battle of Area 51

“This is not a game,” Nico lectured sternly, and Percy snickered. “This is no laughing matter, Jackson! Okay, let’s run through the plan one last time! Ares cabin, Clarisse, you’ll lead the charge, take down the guards, lay down cover fire for the Naruto runners! Poseidon Cabin, Zeus cabin, you guys whip up a storm to help the Ares cabin! Apollo cabin and Hunters of Artemis, you’re the snipers, I want you on high ground firing arrows at them! Aphrodite cabin, charmspeak those guards to let us past and to give us access codes to all the rooms and spill all the secrets! Hecate cabin, use the mist to make decoys! Nemesis cabin, remember, this is vengeance for all the imprisoned aliens and that’s why you’re here! Demeter cabin, slow the guards down with thick vines and poisonous plants! Athena cabin, you’re working on infiltrating and hacking all the computers! Hephaestus cabin, burn down gun stations, jam missiles, Festus can burn down doorways, I want to see you guys working on all the technology we steal and I want you all to figure out all the machines inside and use them for our advantage! Dionysus cabin, get them drunk, make them temporarily mad, weaken their defences! Iris cabin, use your abilities to disorientate and distract the guards! Hypnos cabin- CLOVIS WAKE UP- send the guards to sleep when you can! Hermes cabin, you’re stealing and sneaking in whilst the guards are distracted! Hades cabin- well Hazel- summon obstacles and summon weapons, shadow travel aliens to safety. The rest of you, just fuck shit up with your abilities! Romans; same rules apply, and follow the orders of your Praetors, do not go against orders unless necessary!”

“LET’S CLAP SOME ALIEN CHEEKS!” Connor yelled. Nico glared at him, whilst the younger campers plus Percy erupted into giggles.

“There will be no clapping alien cheeks,” Nico sighed in exasperation, “no alien cheeks will be clapped by anybody, by Olympus what the Hades is wrong with straight people?”

“Wait you’re gay?!”

“Yes but that’s not the point, just- go blend in with the mortals! Solace- you’re with me, we’ll go in with the Naruto runners and you need to make sure we don’t infect the aliens and they don’t infect us, and treat the wounded.” Percy wolf-whistled, so Nico summoned a skeleton to smack him round the back of the head. The group of demigods dispersed amongst the mortal army- which wasn’t much, but between the Kyles, weeaboos, tumblr trash, and Naruto runners, there was a fair few, and some cosplayers, DnD players, and medieval recreation nerds seemed to have a fair amount of weapons and armour- even if most of it was plastic light sabers, Klingon Bat’leths, and various other fantasy weapons.

Everything was quiet for a while, and the battle was more a staring down contest between the guards and the civilian raiders. Phones were beginning to live stream, and that’s when the Stoll brothers yelled the immortal battle cry “DO IT FOR THE VINE!!!” and the mortal crowd roared and cheered, repeating the battle cry.

“PEANUT BUTTER!!!” Tyson yelled as the crowd surged forwards. Nico screamed, Naruto running as fast as he could towards the guards, summoning skeleton armies of Naruto runners to back them up, but as soon as the guards opened fire, many Naruto runners gave up and turned away running back, or decided it best to run “normally”. One dedicated man had turned his electric wheelchair into some kind of turbo charged mini tank shaped like a Dalek. Fortnite dancers fortnite danced as they charged, Harry Potter fans desperately yelled out Unforgiveable Curses. Stargate fans dressed as Jaffa and Goa’uld warriors charged with staff weapons and pellet guns, some wearing “Free Thor” t-shirts- but not Marvel’s Thor or the Norse God thor- but rather the tiny alien guy Nico recognised from when Will made him watch Stargate. The Stargate Atlantis fans came dressed as Wraith instead. Marvel fans were clad in full superhero gear, although some fights had broken out between them and the DC fans. Star Wars fans dressed in Jedi robes. Clad in armour, the demigods didn’t look out of place. Nico was pleased to see the Egyptian magicians being lead by Sadie and Carter Kane, Magnus Chase and Samirah al-Abbass leading the Valkyries, Alex Fierro next to Frank Zhang shapeshifting into whatever they could. Alex stopped occasionally so she could spray mace into the eyes of Terfs.

Nico shadow travelled at the last minute, grabbing hold of Will and pulling him through the shadows. Will didn’t slow down when they emerged, and the image of Will Naruto running headfirst into a wall was going to be a source of laughter in Nico’s mind for many years to come. Thankfully, he didn’t do a Jason and knock himself out. “Ah fuck, I can’t believe you’ve done this!” Will gasped, and Nico raised his eyebrow. In the distance, they heard Grover cause a Panic- although it didn’t affect the guards about to shoot Will in the face, so Will let out a shrill whistle and Naruto ran for it.

“Dork,” Nico jibed, pulling Will into the shadows again. Nico meant for them to land inside an aircraft hangar- but it soon became clear that they were inside some kind of alien spaceship.

“Holy Hera,” Will gasped, “Nico THIS SHIP HAS A STARGATE! NICO LOOK THAT IS A STARGATE, IMMA DIAL ABYDOS-”

“Focus, Solace,” Nico warned, “we can do that once we get this back to camp. I wasn’t allowed to drive the sun chariot so I’ll drive this time.”

“I get the feeling I’m gonna die if I let you drive,” Will replied, and Nico huffed.

“That’s if I don’t kill your stupid face first,” he retorted proudly, and Will snickered, looking around the ship.

“OH MY GODS NICO THERE’S A LIGHT SABER HERE!”

“DIBS THE RED ONE,” Nico yelled, rushing over and grabbing one, almost decapitating Will in his excitement.

“We should summon up a certain ghost,” Will grinned.

“Are you suggesting we prank call Castellan?”

“Nico, dude. You have to, for humanity. Do it for our children.”

Several runs to McDonald’s later and Luke Castellan’s ghost was confronted by Nico in pitch black armour and a light saber to speak the immortal words: “Luke, I am your father.” Luke’s ghost laughed. The gods applauded from Olympus. Will was unable to get up off the floor through his raucous laughter.

After several minutes of exploring the craft, the two demigods were armed with phasers and now possessed the infinity gauntlet- although they both agreed not to let Percy near it in case he dabbed rather than Thanos snapped at monsters. Nico shadow travelled a fair amount of the loot back to camp, where Chiron stood facepalming and shaking his head. This is when Nico learned that the Party Ponies had joined the raid and found out that Monster Donut were sponsoring Area 51. Nico returned to find Will making a flower crown for a baby alien he’d found hidden in the glove compartment. “Is that what I think it is,” Nico questioned, and Will smiled.

“An alien? Well yeah.”

“No, I meant a baby. Are you seriously holding a baby?”

“Yeah, a cute little alien baby, I made them a flower crown and put a bow in their hair! Well I hope it’s a baby otherwise I just told a whole-ass adult I’m their daddy now.” Nico choked- Will didn’t appear to realise the innuendo his words would have turned into if the alien was an adult. Will appeared to have adopted an alien child and that somehow melted Nico completely. Stupid son of Apollo being a perfect dad to an abandoned alien baby found in the glove compartment of a space ship.

“You can’t just raise a child, Will, the parents won’t pay child support and you’re like- fifteen and you look- you look twelve, okay, you look like a foetus!”

“Nico I’m only two months older than you,” Will laughed, “I’m still fourteen like you are, idiot. Although technically you’re ninety, you can be the grandpa.”

“I’m not going to be your daddy, Solace,” Nico replied, forgetting how it may have sounded like an innuendo, and Will choked and spluttered.

“That word is officially banned,” Will squeaked, and Nico quickly nodded in agreement. Thankfully before it could get any more awkward, the alien child started to cry. “Oh my gods Nico what do I do with it?”

“Does it have an off switch or batteries you can take out like the babies they give you in school?”

“Um- I can’t see any off switch, Nico, what do I do?!”

“You’re the doctor! Sing to it! Just don’t do a Hera and yeet it off a mountain or out of a window, I don’t need you Percying this into a worse situation than it already is!”

“Oh my gods I’m a single parent before I’ve had the talk,” Will whined, trying to hum a lullaby to the alien baby, which screeched, turned into a bug, and ran. Will shrieked and Nico accidentally summoned a pile of alien skulls. “Hey! My singing isn’t that bad,” Will protested, and the alien bug screeched again and shot some kind of web at Will’s face. Will squealed, trying clumsily to wipe the webbing off his face. Once Nico stopped laughing, he helped to pull the webbing out of Will’s hair, although once he managed to detangle the last of the webbing, he found himself enthralled by the soft bouncy texture of Will’s hair. It was curly like Nico’s, but dryer to the touch, probably a testament to the hours of sunbathing Nico figured Will had to do in order to stay tanned all year round. He didn’t realise he was obsessively caressing his best friend’s hair until he felt Will’s hand on his shoulder. Nico gasped, snapping his hand back and muttering an apology, but Will merely smiled and gods that smile melted Nico. “Fellas, is it gay to kiss your homie at Area 51,” Will asked to nobody in particular, and Nico found himself turning puce as Will leaned in, placing a gentle but certainly not platonic kiss on Nico’s lips. Nico’s brain seemed to short circuit, skeletal butterflies resurrecting down his spine and in his stomach.

When Nico’s brain finally managed a coherent thought, all he could manage to say was “that’s gay.”

Will snorted, resting his head on Nico’s shoulder as he laughed silently. “You’re gay,” he finally replied through giggles.

“Well you kissed me, you’re gay,” Nico retorted with a huff.

“Yeah, but is it gay if it’s your homie and you’re in Area 51,” Will asked with an impish grin, lifting his head and giving Nico a mishievous grin.

“We are gay, you dumbass,” Nico replied, lightly shoving Will’s shoulder.

“I guess we are,” Will replied with feigned thoughtfulness lacing his voice, “maybe we should make out just to be sure.”

“Don’t push your luck, Solace,” Nico said sternly, and Will pouted comically. Nico stood on his toes and leaned up, but he was too short to reach, so Will leaned down and Nico was finally able to place a rough kiss on Will’s lips.

And of course, that just had to be the exact moment to hear a chorus of “two bros, chillin’ in a space ship, five feet apart ‘cause they’re not gay!” They broke apart immediately, startled by the presence of an Iris message showing Percy, Jason, Leo and Piper all grinning stupidly at them and Annabeth rolling her eyes.

“I’ll kill you all if you dare tell anyone,” Nico warned, raising skeletons to chase after them- although the skeletons were certainly not human. Leo and Percy screamed and ran, whilst Piper and Will laughed loudly. Jason merely raised his eyebrow, and Nico shrugged in response.

“So, that’s your type, huh,” Percy grinned, “I never thought we’d share a type!”

“What,” Nico snapped.

“Bossy blondes,” Percy replied, and Jason and Annabeth glared daggers.

“I agree,” Piper chimed in, “bossy blondes are worth the trouble.” This time, Jason and Annabeth both blushed.

Nico shrugged, looking back to Will, who seemed to be pre-occupied with the Stargate behind them. “Well, this one’s my bossy blond,” Nico replied fondly.

“Troublemakers are my type,” Annabeth replied, and Percy and Piper bowed proudly, “and Jason’s.”

“My type is pouty emo kids with long hair and sexy accents,” Will replied, and Nico blushed darkly.

“Your type is troublemakers,” Piper replied, “the ideal OTP formula is bossy blonde and troublemaking brunette, you can’t change my mind.”

“Whatever,” Nico protested. The Iris message cut off when a fight broke out between a Star Wars stan and a Trekkie.

“So,” Will began immediately, “can we be boyfriends now?”

“Only if you keep PDA to a minimum,” Nico replied, and Will beamed, glowing a warm amber light. Before they could do much more, however, a loud explosion ripped their attention away from each other. They both ran out to find the source of the explosion, and that is where they found Clarisse refereeing a battle between Shaggy and Thanos. The Stolls were running a betting ring, and Nico was sure they were all gonna die. But hey, it was a room full of Millennials and Gen Z, so nobody seemed particularly bothered by the danger of the situation, because this footage would certainly be legendary. Thanos snapped, and Shaggy disintegrated, only to reform using 1% of his power and steal the gauntlet. Shaggy dabbed, and Thanos was no more. Clarisse blew her whistle and the fight was over- the most epic showdown in human history and it had only taken seconds. Within minutes, lightening struck, and that was the moment Percy groaned loudly in realisation that the gods had been responsible for Area 51 all along.

“FUCK YOU, ZEUS,” Percy yelled, and the lightening would have struck him if it wasn’t for Shaggy eating the lightening bolt and letting out a loud burp.

“Do you have any wisdom, O mighty one,” Kayla asked, bowing at Shaggy’s feet.

“Sometimes you just gotta eat the enemy, man,” Shaggy replied, and the demigods let out a collective awed ‘ooohhh’. It was that moment that Shaggy burped out a heart-shaped arrow, and Nico realised that Shaggy had vored Cupid. Nico felt a smug grin break through his usually stoic expression, and Jason cheered loudly from the sidelines.

“Anyway, Shaggy said gay rights,” Will grinned.

“Actually, young man,” Shaggy said, gently resting his hand on Will’s shoulder, “I say gay and trans rights. And on that note, I think I might assassinate the president! Until next time, guys, gals, and non-binary pals!” And with that, and a wink to Alex Fierro, Shaggy dissipated into the wind, enraging the bigots and empowering the queer kids.

The raid continued into the night, the Stolls helping to take technology back to camp and Clarisse leading the charge against the military. It was only when Nico and Will made their way to the middle of the camp, all of the aliens freed and all technology liberated, that the end of the raid was in sight. Nico opened the final door, the entire raid party behind them, to find Rick Astley tied to a chair, singing Never Gonna Give You Up. It was then that they realised: they had been Rickrolled by the government.

[dyde21]

Grown up

This is based off a prompt from @cakesnomnom of an older Percy and Annabeth living a cute domestic life! I hope you all enjoy it! Warning, bit raunchy humor for my usual work but nothing bad. =P

XxXxXxXxX

“Sally… are you sure? Really, I don’t mind. It’s not a problem…” Annabeth said, running a hand through her hair.

“Annabeth, dear, you look like you’re about to pass out. It’s fine, I’ve done this twice before, I have a bit of practice with it.”

The corner of Annabeth’s mouth quirked up slightly. Leave it to Sally to say things how they are. “We’ve just been busy finishing things with the venue and catering…”

Sally just shook her head across the iris message. “I know some wonderful florists that I can get a deal with. It’s not a large wedding either so it’ll be fine. Just rest up and enjoy it, okay? That’s what I’m here for.”

Annabeth smiled, nodding in defeat. Sally could be as stubborn as her son. 

“Thank you.” She finally said.

Sally just beamed at her. “My pleasure. Now I have to go but tell Percy I say hi, okay? Love you, dear.”

Annabeth nodded. “Love you too, Sally.” She said, waving once before waving her hand through the mist to dismiss it. 

Leaning back in her kitchen chair, Annabeth just let her head fall back for a moment and took a deep breath. She could practically feel the weight fall off her shoulders. One less thing to worry about felt like a gift from the gods. But like, an actual welcome one for once.

Leaning forward she drew a thick line through “flowers” on her latest iteration of her “To-Do” list.

That only left… a lot. 

Standing up, she pushed her chair back and walked over to the window of their small apartment in downtown New York. Scooping up her cooling coffee from the table, she took a sip and just stood in peace for a moment. Some part of her wondered when Percy would be back with the groceries. Things had been a bit hectic since he had proposed to her and she teary-eyed accepted on the beach. Ever since they had graduated, things had thankfully settled down for a bit. It was clear they could never live a truly normal life, but this little apartment had been their own sort of elysium. 

She was happy to discover though that time had done little to dull the burning love she felt her boyfr- fiance. It still felt a little weird calling the dork she had known for so long that. But she couldn’t be happier. Just thinking those words made her chest warm and a jolt of energy coursed from her head to her toes. 

She sighed, taking another sip of her coffee, wishing Percy would hurry up. She should have just ordered out for dinner so they could have stayed home all day together. She toyed with the idea of driving off to vegas, grabbing Sally on the way and having a small impromptu wedding just so they could get it over with and get to their honeymoon where they would have two weeks of nothing but each other’s company to enjoy.

With a sigh, she set down her coffee on the table again and figure she should do a little more work while Percy was out rather than just daydreaming like she did when she was a teenager. She was on her way to thirty now.

The sound of keys opening their door jolted Annabeth to attention, and before she really made the choice to she was standing in front of the door, watching it open and seeing Percy waddle his way through the door with both arms full of groceries threatening to spill over. 

“Hey babe. I’m ho-” He was cut off as she stared at her, a bit caught off guard to see her standing there waiting for him. That only lasted a moment before a grin crept on his face. “Missed me?”

Annabeth just flushed red, realizing how childish it looked. “I thought you might need help with groceries.” She muttered, looking off to the side and ignoring how much her ears burned. 

Stepping forward she grabbed two bags from him. “Well… maybe a little.” She confessed, kissing him on the cheek before walking back and setting the bags down on the counter. 

It had taken quite a while, but Annabeth had forced herself to pick up the habit of being a little more honest with herself and Percy. It was one thing to know your fatal flaw, and it was another to work on it. 

“I should hope so, soon-to-be Mrs. Jackson.” He said, causing another jolt of energy through her system. She was really starting to like the sound of that.

“Well, I missed you too. Especially when picking out laundry detergent. I don’t get why there are a million different brightly colored bottles with vague names on them. I really feel like they’re just confusing us intentionally with all the choices…” He continued to rant with a smile about shopping and Annabeth just stood next to him, unpacking the bags as she bumped her hips into his.

They finished the bags, closing all the cabinets and Percy just turned to her. “You really should come next time, it’s more fun shopping with you anyway. You never forg-” He was cut off as Annabeth had closed the distance and cupped his face with both hands before kissing him.

Percy was surprised, but only for a moment before he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. They kissed in their peaceful kitchen for a few more moments, before Annabeth pulled away and took a deep breath. 

“...I should go shopping more often.” He teased, causing Annabeth to laugh. “Maybe. But for now you should shower. You stink like sweat.”

Percy shrugged. “Not my fault it’s so hot out.” He said, kissing her forehead once before walking towards their room, throwing his shirt over his shoulder as he walked. 

Annabeth leaned around the corner to watch him walk away, her eyes glued to the muscles on his back as he undid his belt. Biting her lip, she considered joining him in the shower too, but shook her head and focused on making some food for lunch. She knew  him well enough by now that when he got out of the shower the first he’d do would be to start pawing through the cabinets and start devouring whatever he could get open first. Settling for a simple sandwich and chips, she made his just the way he liked it, humming to herself. Compared to the stress she felt this morning while working on plans, right now she just felt at peace. This was on the one place she found she truly could find peace.

“You know me so well.” Percy’s voice sounded from behind her, as she felt his arms wrap around his waist and pull her closer, resting his chin on her shoulder as he looked down at the food. 

Annabeth snickered, leaning her head back slightly to rest against his. “Not the most complicated puzzle out there.” She teased. Some stray drops of water dripped from his hair and she pouted. “You’re still soaked! Move, you’re gonna get me wet.”

Percy leaned back, raising an eyebrow with a troublemaker smile at her. It dawned on her a moment later but Percy just innocently took a bite of his sandwich and grabbed his plate and started walking towards the couch. “Love you.” 

“Love you too.” She mumbled, annoyed that the smile on her face was truly stopping her from getting upset at the brat she would be marrying soon.

He had flipped on the game and was eating his sandwich happily like he had no cares in the world. 

Right when she sat down, without even thinking he just lifted the plate so she could rest his legs over his lap, a habit she had picked up some time as she leaned against the side of the couch.

“Oh, your mom says hi, by the way. She said she’s going to take care of the florist for us.”

Percy looked over, a mix of emotions on his face. “That’s great but I feel bad…”

Annabeth just shrugged. “I do kinda too, but I really do think she wants to do it. Probably her way of helping out, plus she probably would do a better job than either of us.” 

Percy nodded. “That’s true…”

“Besides I’m pretty sure she was happier that we’re getting married than even we are.” She teased with a laugh, and Percy laughed in turn. 

“She had been nagging me for months, and for the whole month afterwards she practically started every conversation with “I can’t believe you did it finally.” 

Annabeth just laughed, dropping a chip on the floor accidentally. “True, you did take a while…” She teased.

Percy shot her a mild glare. “I was waiting for the right moment. You know how much I love you… I just… didn’t want to screw it up.”

Annabeth was touched by his sincerity, pausing for a moment. “You’re cute when you’re honestly.”

Percy just rolled his eyes. “Fine, I won’t do it again.”

Annabeth just smiled, moving her plate to the side as she sat up properly, kissing his cheek. “I mean it, it was really sweet that you cared so much. But I am happy that you’ll be my husband soon finally.” She said, looking down and twisting the ring on her finger happily. 

Percy blushed red, looking away and nodding. “Me too.”

Annabeth just shifted to rest her head on her shoulder, curling her legs up under her. 

Annabeth wasn’t sure how long they laid on that couch together, the fan gently blowing on them as they pretended all their responsibilities didn’t exist. It wasn’t like she had planned to avoid being productive for the rest of the day, but she felt into a comfortable groove with Percy and didn’t exactly want to break it. Everyone else could wait a day.

When Annabeth woke up draped across Percy’s chest, she just smiled, burying.her face into his shirt a little more, enjoying the familiar scent.

Their legs were tangled up, and she wasn’t sure when they had switched from idle chit chat to napping together, but she sure as Hades didn’t mind. 

“Perce…” She mumbled half asleep. It took a few more attempts before he finally woke up enough to look at her bleary eyed. “Hm..?” 

“We fell asleep. Again.” She muttered.

“So…?” He said through a yawn.

“We missed dinner, and if we keep sleeping we’ll be up super early tomorrow.” She explained, though her voice betrayed how much she’d love to stay here with him.

“So?” He repeated, a sleepy smirk on his face.

Annabeth just headbutted his chest gently. “Shush, we need to get up, and I’m getting hungry. Pizza?”

That seemed to do the trick as Percy was suddenly a little more awake. “Fine, but only because I’m hungry. I expect you to be right back in my arms when we get back.”

Annabeth was too tired to hide her blush. “There’s no place I’d rather be. Now let’s get going.”

She said, crawling up him slightly to share a brief kiss with him before she forced herself to her feet. Looking down at her still dishelved fiance as he looked up at her like she was an angel, Annabeth realized things were good. That “To-Do” list felt a little shorter, and she just knew things would work out in the end.

Offering a hand up, she helped her lazy fiance sit up. “Go fix your hair and get changed so we can go out. And wipe your chin, you drool when you sleep.”

[rumpledgoldenweaver]

A Bear In Need Of Rescue

Written for the January @a-monthly-rumbelling prompt “How on earth did you get up there?” It kind of got away from a bear in trouble but I hope you enjoy anyway! Read on my blog https://earlyrisingwriting.home.blog/2020/01/09/a-bear-in-need-of-rescue/ 

Rumple had never felt so relieved as when he pulled into the car park of the hotel, almost immediately finding a space. Switching off the engine he let out a small sigh. Gideon had fallen asleep at some point and Rumple was loath to wake him. Fishing his phone from the glove compartment, he sent Belle a text message saying they were finally here. He decided to wait for her reply instead of getting straight out of the car. He had a slight headache so a couple of minutes quiet wouldn’t hurt. Closing his eyes he gave a small thanks to the car park gods.

Maybe he could book a head massage.. maybe Belle would give him a…

Tyres squealed, an engine roared then a car screamed through the previously silent parking bays jolting both Rumple and Gideon awake.

“What the ever loving fu..”

“PAPA! You sweared! Mama won’t.. PAPA! Look!! it’s a police car!!!” Gideon bounced in his seat.

Sure enough an unmarked squad car hurtled after the first vehicle, disappearing towards the rear of the hotel.

“Your Mama takes us to all the best places Gideon.. come on m’boy, lets go find her before either of those lunatics come back”

“Gideon keep your voice down, the whole hotel doesn’t need to hear you” Belle admonished gently “I know it’s all very exciting but..”

“It was Mama it was! The police car went MEEEMAW MEEEMAW VRRROOOOOOM”

Rumple shook his head “There’s a children’s area in the grounds of the hotel, would you like to go play for a while son?”

“It’s nearly bath time” began Belle

“You really think he’s ready for a bath and bed? He’s bouncing off the walls, he napped on the way here. Let’s take him, it might tire him out”

“Can I take Bear please? Can I? Can I?”

“Okay okay” groaned Belle knowing she was already defeated “but don’t lose him”

Gideon’s over excitement at the police chase was swiftly replaced by over excitement at the play area

“IT’S A PIRATE SHIP!!! C’mon Bear we’re going to sail the seven seas and chase booty!”

Belle nearly choked “He’s going to what did he say?”

Rumple chuckled “Let’s find a bench and sit down, I’m far too old to chase after him. As long as we can see him he’ll be fine”

“Don’t need to see him, we’ll hear him”

Lucy was bored, she’d been at the play area for fifteen minutes with her doll Tinkerbell. There were other children there but they just wanted to play house. Lucy preferred adventure. She spotted a boy, slightly younger than her, chasing round, pretending to sword fight and clutching a teddy bear. Now he looked like fun.

“Hello. I’m Lucy. This is Tinkerbell, she can fly!”

Gideon stopped his sword fight “I’m Gideon. This is Bear.. he can fly too”

“Bears cannot fly”

“Yes they can. Watch!” Gideon threw Bear up into the air with all his might.

In the middle of the pirate ship was a tall mast. Near the top was a mock crows nest. It wasn’t big enough for a child, but it was big enough for a bear. Which was just as well because that’s where he landed with a soft thump.

Lucy looked in horror. Gideon stood with his mouth open “Oops”

“I can’t believe they got away” Weaver strode through the hotel reception. He needed fresh air.  

“They can’t have got far. They have the advantage of knowing the area, we don’t” reasoned Rogers “I’ve asked the local police to put out extra patrols and.. did you hear that? Sounds like a kid in trouble”

Weaver snorted “Kids are always in trouble, it’s what they do”

“Look - over there, in the play area. There’s nothing we can do about the case for the moment. Maybe if we help then the hotel might forgive us for tearing up the car park”

“Okay Batman let’s go save the day”

As is often the case with parents who’s children have got themselves into a scrape, Rumple and Belle were verging on the kind of full scale public row generally conducted through gritted teeth and harsh whispers

“I cannot climb up after him Belle, let me use mag..”

“NO. I’ll go up after him”

“Not in those heels you won’t”

“No shit Sherlock. I’ll take them off”

“And certainly not in that skirt”

“EXCUSE ME? What is wrong with my...”

“Hi” said a dark haired young man who had suddenly appeared by Belle’s side “I’m Detective Rogers and this is Detective Weaver” he indicated a surly looking older man who reminded Belle slightly of her husband “Can we help?”

“It’s our son – he’s stuck. He’s too scared to climb down”

Weaver followed her line of sight, Sure enough there was a young boy clinging on to the mast of the wooden ship “How on earth did you get up there?”

“Bear flew up here. I came to rescue him”

“Oh I see” Weaver nodded sagely “That was very brave, but now you need rescuing?”

“Yes please” whimpered the boy

“Well you’re in luck because Detective Rogers here is the best rescuer I know”

Rogers looked at Weaver “Me?”

“Yes you. Off you go”

“Right then mate, let’s get you back on dry land shall we?” Rogers smiled as he started to climb the small rungs that were set into the mast. He reached Gideon easily “Now then, where’s this errant bear? In here?” he reached into the wooden bucket and retrieved the teddy.

“Thank you” sniffed Gideon

“No problem. I’ll climb back down a little and you follow. You won’t fall, just keep going”

Slowly the two of them made their way toward the ground.

“What’s your name son?”

“Gideon”

“Nice to meet you, I’m..”

“Captain Hook!” exclaimed Gideon suddenly noticing his prosthetic “Mama! Papa! I’ve been rescued by Captain Hook!”

Weaver tried hard to contain his laughter however it exploded out of him in a coughing fit.

Belle and Rumple were mortified “I am so sorry” they both began at once.

Rogers waved it away “It’s fine honestly. If it makes the lad feel better I don’t mind at all”

Rumple handed over a business card “If there is ever anything I can help with, just call”

The two officers started to head off when Weaver’s phone rang.

“Yes” there was a pause then “When? Which direction? Okay” he snapped the device shut “They’re on the move Rogers, come on”

The Gold’s watched the men hurry off in pursuit of their quarry. Rumple presumed it must be the boy racers from the car park. Out of sheer nosiness he used his enhanced hearing to eavesdrop on their conversation. It seemed the reprobates in question were headed out of the city with the local police force giving chase. A germ of an idea took root in Rumple’s mind. Would it be so bad if he gave a helping hand?

“Are you listening to me” Belle’s voice brought him back to the present.

“Sorry.. I was just..”

“Thinking of using magic. I know that look Rumple. Why?”

“I want to help them” he’d learned the hard way about not telling his wife the truth “they got our son to safety”

“Okay.. but there’s no magic here so how can you do that?”

“I don’t need magic as such. Just the dagger” he tapped his jacket where the blade lay hidden “You take Gideon back to the room, he’s had enough excitement for one day. I promise to tell you everything when I’m done”

Belle wanted to argue, but she’d learned some hard lessons during their relationship as well so she simply nodded and did as he asked. It wouldn’t stop her from worrying though.

Rumple waited till she was out of sight then found a bench to sit on set far enough back into the gardens he wouldn’t be disturbed. He didn’t need long. He took the dagger from his jacket, closing his eyes, reaching into the very depths of his soul to give the darkness a prod.

“What can I do for you Dearie”

“Would you like a trip out?”

“Ooh lovely! Where are we going?”

“Not me. You”

“Put your foot down Heller! The cops are gaining on us”

“I’m going as fast as this heap will go. If you wanted faster you shouldda got a car with an actual engine in it instead of a hair dryer!”

“Just get us out of here and onto the main highway” Hades growled

“Hello Dearies!”

The two men shot round to see the weirdest looking man.. Was it a man? sitting on the back seat. He had wild hair, green skin and reptilian eyes.

“What the f… shit!” Heller swerved the car, across the road, to avoid rear ending the vehicle in front then back again to miss an oncoming truck. Horns blared and language flew from the other drivers in their wake.

“I don’t think much of your driving skills” the imp huffed. Waving a clawed hand he took control of the car bumping it up onto the pavement, driving straight into a large overgrown hedge. Heller and Hades made to get out but the Dark One was too quick, a snap of his fingers sent both of them to sleep. Finally he took a small pouch from his waistcoat pocket, emptying the contents – some of the more exotic mushrooms the Enchanted Forest had to offer – over the back seat then disappeared.

Weaver had just got back to his car when the phone rang again. He frowned as the officer related the details of the arrest to him.

“A what in the car? A green skinned imp… mushrooms? That explains a lot. We’re on our way. Thank you Officer Humbert”

“Say what now..?” laughed Rogers “Oh my..”

Weaver grinned “Come on Captain Hook, we’ll wrap this up and go raise a glass to our little green friend”

“Less of the little if you don’t mind Detective”

Weaver looked round in surprise “Did you hear that?”  

Worry started to gnaw it’s way from the pit of Belle’s stomach to the forefront of her mind. Almost an hour had passed since they’d left Rumple in the gardens to do who knew what using means she probably wouldn’t approve of. Gideon was sound asleep on the sofa bed, clutching Bear tightly.

Picking up her phone and putting it back down again did nothing to make it ring. Unable to settle she decided to take the towels left on the bed by housekeeping and stack them in the bathroom. In order of size. Anything to distract herself.

She had just finished reorganising the pile into a pyramid when she thought she heard something. There was a faint knocking sound coming from outside the room. She walked quickly to the door and put her ear to it

“Belle.. Belle it’s me. I can’t.. I can’t get in”

“Rumple! Hang on.. just hang on!”

She turned the lock, pulled open the door only to have her husband almost fall on top of her. He looked very pale.

“What on earth happened? Rumple? Rumple! Are you okay?”

She manoeuvred him to the bed, sitting him down before he fell again.

“So tired Belle, need to sleep..”

“I’ll get you a glass of water and then help you into..” A snore cut off the rest of the sentence. “Bed” she sighed.

At least he was there and in one piece she told herself. So much for this fun family weekend. She supposed she should get him undressed even if the sheer number of clothes he had on meant that would be no easy task. Certainly there were more agreeable circumstances to peel off the layers one by one.

Rumple wasn’t the largest of men but in such a deep sleep he was a dead weight. It took her almost twenty five minutes to complete the task. “Why” she muttered as she put his suit back in it’s bag “can you not wear jeans and a shirt? I bet it doesn’t take that detective’s wife half an hour to get his clothes off”

With her husband a little more comfy, Belle decided a glass of wine was in order. A glint of metal caught her eye, the dagger was lying on the bed next to it’s owner, almost winking at her. Before she could stop herself the blade was in her hands “Dark One I summon thee” she whispered.

Rumple turned on his side and snored even louder.

“Y’know Dearie” a familiar voice trilled behind her “of all the humans I’ve been attached to over the centuries, your husband is easily the most charming”

Belle couldn’t help but snigger “Will he be okay?”

A green skinned hand touched her shoulder “He’ll be fine. Promise”

“What did you two get up to?”

The Dark One giggled “Well Dearie, I got to drive a car, catch some rather pathetic miscreants and I may have left some of those mushrooms from the forest that you were told never to touch as a memento”

“Sounds like fun”

“Oh it was” he grinned “Now I must be going and you Dearie need to get some sleep” he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Belle felt the tingle of magic, she was now dressed in her nightie, all the lights except Gideon’s small bedside lamp had been turned off and the bed covers turned down. Rumple was underneath them. Belle couldn’t help but giggle when she realised his underwear was now on the floor. Snuggled up against his back Belle soon started to drift off.

“Love you”

“Love you too Mrs Gold”

[ancientwastedlores]

The Support System (Ch: 12)

STORY SUMMARY: The Avengers have managed to collect all the infinity stones across the universe, and are currently keeping them in far corners of the world, only for research and to see if they can improve the planet and its people. Reader is a researcher with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, as well as a field agent. Loki is currently serving time for his actions in New York City in 2012, and struggling to gain acceptance from the Avengers, when reader decides he just needs a PR manager of sorts.

PREVIOUS CHAPTER AO3: The Support System. Find this chapter on AO3 here. 

Warnings: none

Audience: general.

______________________________________________________________

CHAPTER 12:

‘You dated Raunverkuleiki!?’ you shout, walking into the dining room.

Loki is the very picture of relaxation, with his boots off and his feet up on the ottoman, reading his book and sipping a green tea. You are amused and irritated at the same time.

‘When the hell did this happen!?’   ‘It was before I met you’ he grins.   ‘Yeah NO SHIT’ you kick his feet off the ottoman and sit.

He laughs and sits up straight.  

‘How did you… I mean. HOW?’   ‘You see, when a two people meet each other, and they like each other...’  

You glare at him and he shuts up, an insolent grin still across his face.  

‘She’s so beautiful’ you say.   ‘She really is’ he agrees.   ‘Why’d you break up?’   ‘Oh, it was never serious. She had her duties to her people, I had pranks to play on mine. It was very amicable’.  

You still wish Loki was a little excited, or at least sharing your enthusiasm, but the magnitude of how okay he is with this annoys you. But there was nothing more to say about it. You shrug and stand up to walk away.  

‘Oh, but we did have excellent sex, specifically because she can manipulate reality, so when she was close to…’   ‘La lalalalalala’ you shut your ears, ‘Bye’.   ‘No, wait...’ he gets up, shuts his book and walks over to you. ‘That was like a million years ago. It has nothing to do with my present, I hope you know’.   ‘Um…’ you don’t understand why he feels the need to tell you this. ‘Yes, I know. I was just curious. It seemed interesting’.   ‘Right’ he looks relieved. ‘Well. Bye then, I’ll return to my book’.  

He sits back down, and you give him a confused look and walk away.  

xx

‘Where is this camp?’ Clint asks.   ‘I don’t know’ you respond. ‘Only Tony knows, and he won’t tell anybody. He says for security reasons’.   ‘It’s just a refugee camp’   ‘Which has the Power stone, yes. Tony doesn’t want anyone but him to know where it is’.   Clint rolls his eyes. ‘He’s a control freak’.   ‘You’re surprised?’ you laugh. But you’ve Tony long enough to know that he won’t tell anyone else just so they can’t be threatened by Hydra.  ‘Ready?’ Tony walks into the lab. ‘We leave for the airstrip in ten’.   ‘Roger that’ Clint gives him a small salute.  

Everyone is curious to meet Chikara now, after seeing Raunverkuleiki. Natasha is absolutely captivated, much to Bruce’s jealousy and amusement.  

Cars carrying Clint, Nat, Bruce, Tony, Vision, Loki, Raunverkuleiki, and you leave the Tower for Tony’s airstrip. You’re sharing a car with Raunverkuleiki, who is sitting in the backseat with Nat. You can’t help but keep looking back at Nat, who is staring at Raunverkuleiki so obviously, and Raunverkuleiki, who you are sure notices it, looks like she enjoys the attention. You smile to yourself and look ahead again, and start a conversation with the driver.  

xx 

Raunverkuleiki floats into the jet, her hands running over the leather fabric of the seats. She takes a seat by the window, and wiggles, possibly trying to get comfortable. You see the vigorous shake of her head as she promptly stands up.

‘She doesn’t like the seat’ Vision says. ‘Yeah, I figured, I got the statis cube’ Tony says.

As if on cue, two men wheel in a large statis cube. You spot them wheel it in, and swear that you saw Raunverkuleiki clap her hands from the corner of your eyes. She runs into the cube and curls up.

‘She really loves that cube, huh’ Nat remarks. ‘You think you’d keep her warmer, Nat?’ you nudge her. ‘I…’ she looks at you in shock, then frowns. ‘Shut up’ she walks away. You grin. ‘What’s the joke?’ Tony asks, buckling his seatbelt. ‘Nothing…’ you say innocently, taking your seat.

xx

14 hours later, you arrive at the undisclosed location. Tony is the first to disembark, and he is greeted with howls and cheers. You watch from the window as little children run up to hug him. He has practically adopted the whole planet at this point, and you chuckle to yourself.

He continues waving and hugging little children. He whispers something to the guards, and the guards motion for the people to go back to their homes. A few more cheers and howls later, the square is cleared, and the rest of your crew disembarks. Raunverkuleiki is still in the cube, which Tony figured, so he just got the men to wheel it into the house kept ready for your crew.

‘When do we see Chikara now?’ you ask Tony. ‘After everyone sleeps. No one here knows what’s powering their camp, I don’t want to draw any attention to us’. ‘So… what’s your cover story for coming here now?’ ‘Bruce has been working on advancing some medical tech, so our story is that we’re here to upgrade the facilities here. Which isn’t a lie’. You’re impressed. ‘So is Bruce at the clinic now?’ you ask. ‘Yup’. ‘I’ll see what I can do to help then’ you wave goodbye.

xx

Night falls. There is total darkness in the camp, not even a streetlight on. You walk out of the house and look up at the stars clear in the black sky. You stand there, letting your body relax as your head hangs back.

‘Hello’ Loki comes up behind you. ‘Hi’ you say, without looking away from the sky.

He grabs your arm gently and pulls you down with him to lie on the ground. You laugh.

‘What are you looking at’ he asks. You point at the stars. ‘Do you see that star over there?’ ‘Yes?’ ‘That’s Andromeda. And the constellation to the left is her mother, Cassiopeia’. ‘Really’ he says. ‘No, I have no idea, I just slapped some Greek names on that’ you giggle. ‘You try’ ‘Okay’ Loki points to a star far left. ‘That’s Hades and…’ he trails his finger down, ‘…over there is Perseus, who is running from Hades’. ‘Oh, why is that?’ you ask. After a pause, Loki says, ‘He stole Hades’ favourite flute’. You laugh out loud. ‘Okay, okay, over there…’ you point far right. ‘Is Zeus’. ‘And the constellation below is a goat’ he continues. ‘Oh yeah, I totally see it. So that’s the goat, that’s Zeus and’ you trail your finger across a line of stars, ‘that’s Zeus’ dick’. ‘Oh my god’ a horrified laughter escapes Loki. ‘And what’s that over there?’ he points to a star above them all. ‘Oh, Hera. She’s watching over this whole thing, plotting her revenge’. ‘I see. I suppose the star below is Dionysus then’ he grins. ‘Drinking his wine and watching all this tomfoolery unfold before him’.

The two of you laugh for the next few minutes, enjoying your jokes and each other’s company. You aren’t aware of how long you’ve been laying there like that, but you know quite some time has passed.

‘Enjoying ourselves?’ You sit up to see Tony. ‘Hi! We’re just stargazing’

Tony extends his hand to help you up and you take it. Loki gets up as well.

‘We’re taking Raunverkuleiki to Chikara’ Tony says. ‘Thought you’d like to come’. ‘Of course. Is everyone?’ ‘Not Bruce, he wants to work in the clinic still. But the rest. We’ll head out in five’. ‘Copy that’.

xx

It’s quite a walk, and Tony refused to take a car for fear of waking someone. Once you’ve reached the outskirts of the camp, he stops. He takes out a dial from his pocket and punches in some numbers, and it looks like an invisibility cloak has fallen.

‘Fury helped set it up’ Tony explains, answering everyone’s question. ‘It’s the same tech they use to hide the heli-carrier when in surveillance mode’

Behind the “cloak” is a machine that might possibly be the size of the Hulk. It doesn’t make any noise, but lets out a bright purple light that you hope people in the camp will not be able to detect.

Tony goes closer and opens up the statis cube, similar to where Raunverkuleiki was kept, and opens the door. You don’t know how, but you can feel the power die in the camp. Tony steps back and motions for Raunverkuleiki to come forward.

She cocks her head to one side, an action you find extremely endearing, and suspect you will dearly miss when she leaves, and she walks ahead, her body again moving like liquid. You steal a glance at Natasha, whose eyes are locked on Raunverkuleiki’s hips. You shake your head at Nat’s blatant gayness and look back at the expected reunion.

‘She’s trying to wake her up’ Vision says. You put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Let it play out, Vis. Like a beautiful, silent film’.

Her hand extends into the cube to touch the stone, and immediately, a power surge hits the camp, with lights in every house switched back on to its maximum and machines that make noise roaring through the silent camp. The rest of your crew is also knocked a few feet back. The power has died now, but you hear people start to wake up and screech.

‘I’ll just put them all to sleep, shall I’ Vision says, and leaves. It sounds sinister, but you know he’s just about to use the Mind stone to make people fall into a deep sleep.

You stand back up again, waiting to witness a reunion. The purple light gets bigger. A head pokes out of the statis cube first, then arms, then a torso, and finally legs. You don’t believe in a god, but are prepared to make this whole experience your religion. 

Chikara is bigger, MUCH bigger than Raunverkuleiki. Raunverkuleiki is slightly taller than the average female, but Chikara is towering over everybody, glowing purple. You notice her movements aren’t fluid like Raunverkuleiki, but somehow more authoritative.

You can’t believe you kept her locked up in a cube this whole time.

You see Raunverkuleiki float up to be face-to-face with Chikara, and try to decipher their conversation through body language alone.

Raunverkuleiki points below her, at your group, and they continue making hand gestures and moving their shoulders. It looks heavenly, but you do want to know what they’re saying.

‘Loki…’ you whisper. ‘What are they saying?’ ‘She’s just asking her if she would like to go back’. ‘Oh…’ you seem a little disappointed, but you knew it would happen.

Loki puts an arm around your shoulder. ‘We’ll find a way to help these people’. You hope so.

Vision returns finally, and stands by Tony. Raunverkuleiki comes down to face Vision, and puts her hands on his shoulders. He nods.

‘She says since you agreed to let Chikara be free, Chikara will remain and power this camp until you find an alternative source. She does want Raunverkuleiki to stay with her, though, and keep her form’. ‘We… no one at camp can see them like this’ Tony says.

Chikara sits down on the ground cross legged, which results her now being about four feet above eye level to everyone. She leans forward towards Tony, and Tony takes a step back.

‘Chikara thanks you for freeing her, but says you cannot control her anymore. She wishes to keep her form’. ‘Just gonna be bullied into it, huh’ Tony says.

He looks to Natasha, who usually handles the diplomacy stage of things, but quickly decides she is going to be completely useless in his quest to get them to change back. He sighs.

‘You have to stay behind the cloak then. If people here see you, there will be trouble. I’m just trying to protect everyone’. ‘She agrees, and says she will stay under the cloak’ Vision says. ‘Well…’ Tony shrugs. ‘Guess that’s it then’.

You feel it’s quite anti-climactic. But you aren’t sure what else you expected, really.

Raunverkuleiki and Chikara sit by the machine, and Chikara sticks her hand inside the cube. Even though there is no indication for this, you feel the power come back on.

‘I uh… I gotta put you back under the cloak now’ Tony says.

Vision nods for him to go ahead and Tony removes his dial to hide them. As the shield goes up, you spot Raunverkuleiki excitedly wave at you. You wave back laughing.

[somelizardperson]

Descendants 3

ok so i finally took the time to properly watch d3 and i made some notes throughout, so here they are:

- i love how in d2 mal tried her best to look like and be what audrey would be bc she thought that’s what ben would’ve wanted, and now audrey is changing and looking more like mal bc that’s what she thinks ben likes

- i like what they’re doing with audrey. she does have a point: even if she kinda behaved like a bitch, she was dating ben, and mal basically just drugged him and everybody disregarded how audrey felt. it was never addressed. ben didn’t even properly break up. with her, he just started declaring his love for mal. also if audrey is the one to finally make mal face the consequences of her actions and actually LEARN then i’m down

- why are all the adults looking at mal when asking what to do?? she ain’t even queen yet, and she’s the least qualified in the room to deal with these issues. they’re both teenagers, but ben has at least been trained and prepared to be king. why are the adults so irresponsible??

- “i dont want to take away your dream” why the fuck is she prioritizing ben’s wishes?? this isn’t about him, it’s about all the innocent kids stuck on the isle!!

- ben is a bit more likable now i guess? he hasn’t done anything overly stupid and annoying yet, so that’s an improvement.

- ok i think the fact that mal now starts prioritizing auradon over the vks is basically down to society’s pressuring her. all of the core 4 were transferred to a more privileged life, but the difference is that mal basically became a public figure, and in order to stop society from scrutinizing her she became what society wanted to see. she had this theme in her outfits and presentation of this rebel, bad girl, she wears a dragon themed dress as an homage to her heritage, but she’s not a rebel. she’s exactly what auradon wants her to be, just repackaged to look super cool and progressive. evie, the girl who likes glamour and fashion, and always wanted this luxurious life is a way better representation of a rebel, since she remembers what life was for her back at the isle and wants to help those who were less lucky. mal can’t ACTUALLY represent the vks properly.

- damn i love celia she’s adorable (and dizzy too)

- i LOVE the parallels between audrey’s upbringings and the vks. it kinda blurs the lines between auradon being “the place for the good guys” and the isle being “for the bad guys”, since evil can still be raised in auradon and the isle could be home to genuinely good people (dizzy, for example). and i like how when they find out that the crown was stolen they immediately assume it was uma, not even considering someone from auradon could’ve done it.

- “so long suckers” DAMN I LOVE HER

- they ride BIKES now what a glow up

- carlos just ditching jane’s birthday is a mood

- audrey ominously singing happy birthday is sponsoring my gayness

- i love celia. did i day that yet?

- i can’t help but want to make carlos’ hair into a mini-ponytail on like the top of his head, you know what i mean?

- what the fuck did they expect when they just parked the bikes without looking after them? of course harry fucking stole them you’re on the isle.

- this entire dungeon thing gives me a disneyland ride vibe, and i dig it.

- hades not actually having the dog would make sense, since why the hell would they give him the giant dog which could potentially cause a ruckus and destroy the place? i mean, they did take away magic, so it would make sense dangerous pets would also go.

- OH FOR FUCKS SAKE OF COURSE HES HER DAD.

- ok but it kinda recontextualizes her desire to close the barrier forever, since it could read as an attempt to cut off her parents, since hades could’ve also tried to take adcantage of her like maleficent.

- “try being married to your mamma” SO THEY WERE ACTUALLY MARRIED??? this shit is like disney’s own crack fan fiction what the fuck

- i love how celia just accidentally walked in on this family fighting session and is just in the background watching the entire thing

- hades has his nailes painted??? valid

- i REALLY hope they won’t make audrey into just a “crazy ex”, bc she has a point!

- ok ben starts getting on my nerves again. “who put a spell on you?” “just give the septor and i’ll forgive you”. he still doesn’t understand that it was his fault for never addressing mal drugging him into a relationship. nor him, nor mal apologized for dismissing audrey like that. bal have some cute moments but the fact that this relationship’s fundamentally based on toxicity is never addressed is bothering me too much to enjoy it.

- what was harry and gil’s shipname again?? i forgot, i’m just gonna call them garry bc that’s fun. anyway i love them.

- UMAAAAAAAAA SHES BACK I LOVE HER

- uma is the real vk activist we need!!

- i love how the pirate crew are all chaotic neutral.

- why did nobody take evie’s gum?? don’t be mean to evie!!

- i just love the pirates. they are my fucking saviors right now.

- there’s so much sexual tension between everyone in his movie and celia is just in the background forced to watch all of it

- tbh the songs aren’t that bad so far, i didn’t like vk day, but i like the energy night falls brings into the scene, and i like this entire scene overall.

- harry’s face when evie complemented his accent is adorable.

- “i love you” “i love you” GAY. the fucking look in evie’s eyes when she said that? GAY.

- gil suggesting to play the icebreaker just to complement jay had gay energy

- celia genuinely caring about the twins and dizzy is simultaneously adorable and also breaks my heart

- “well we haven’t actually used the l word yet” doug and evie are better off breaken up. and. by that i mean only evie, i don’t give a shit about doug.

- is she actually singing a song about doug? oh my fucking god.

- JUST FUCKING BREAK UP. NOBODY GIVES A SHIT ABOUT DOUG. EVIE DESERVES BETTER.

- does disney actually think anybody gives a shit about doug?

- HE FUCKING WOKE UP

- i was waiting for him to not wake up and evie thinking that he doesn’t love her and going on about how sad she is only to then realize she is the one who doesn’t love him. like, how cool would it be for disney to leave one of their female leads to be single at the end of a movie? instead of having her realize she’s in love with him and this is true love her going through a realization that she doesn’t love him and that it’s ok? her realizing she doesn’t have to constantly be trying to look for her true love and take things slow? but no, we have to make her first proper relationship her last.

- i’m still convinced janelos is mlm/wlw solidarity

- wh- why is harry flirting with jane? wha- is this a ship now? is harry/jane a ship? hane? jarry? what the fuck?

- celia and uma eating cake together is adorable

- both uma and celia are adorable

- just generally uma eating cake is adorable

- i’m at the point where mal is all alone now, and i’m glad the theories that the core 4 is gonna divide into two “teams” based on the trailers didn’t turn out to be true. mal is probably the only one who didn’t actually change her ways as a villain but just switched sides. she’s still selfish at the core, and i like that they’re singling her out to really challenge her.

-on that note it could actually be completely fucked over and not addressed again but oh well. i’ll have to wait and see.

- i like her taking responsibility. yes, mal had a hard childhood, but she had to now put in the work to be a better person. she has a supportive environment which are her friends, so now she just has to put in some effort.

- dizzy saying “same” like that saved my life

- mal!! finally!! apologizing!! to audrey!! yes!!

- mal!! admitting!! that her own idea!! was wrong!! yes!!

- yes i approve this plan let’s abolish borders too

- UMA JUST FUCKING REJECTING HARRY DMFNSKFNSN

- ok so what’s the harry and audrey ship name? haudrey? audarry? haurrey?

I honestly don’t think this was a bad ending to the trilogy. I have mixed feelings about the core 4 going back to see their parents in the end, but it was overall an enjoyable experience, and probably my favorite of the 3. I’m gonna write some more coherent thoughts on it later, since this post is already too long djdjdsks

feel free to respond to this post and start a discussion

[damarcore]

fics i need to write: au edition

last updated: 4/16/2020

this is SO LONG, i am SO SORRY, but once again i am welcoming all questions about any of these! come poke me with a cattle prod until writing/headcanons fall out.

aerin: hey corlath, catch *throws harry*

tags: aerin drags harry au

here is the single post about it. it is long, so i will not be copy-pasting.

life???/death gods au

tags: gods au

(was once a hades/persephone au but i have no chill, so it Spiraled.)

the land of the dead is being harassed by a mortal but powerful group of necromancers. corlath, king of the dead, goes to the god of diplomacy to ask him and his queen for assistance, and is soundly denied. on his way out, he sees a goddess he doesn't know, and his long-forgotten heart whispers that she's a dead god, too; but why would she be in the living gods' realms?

harry can't remember anything before waking up in the desert between the lands of life and death, but she does know her brother is calling her the wrong name; when she asks him why he won't just call her harry, or why she isn't allowed to set foot in the desert, or how she's supposed to be a goddess of plants when he barely lets her go outside, he only gets a pained look and changes the subject. eventually, fed up, she walks into the desert just to see what he's forbidding her from; there she meets the dead king, who asks how she's brought life into a place that hasn't seen it in a thousand years.

daemons au

tags: daemons au

blue sword edition: settling is when you just decide what form you want your daemon to take, right? it's proper for a lady's daemon to be small and elegant, so cystennin-call-me-tenny is a robin, soft and sweet. sure, it's bad form to turn into other things once you're an adult, but harry figures that being kidnapped is the exception to the rule.

(corlath’s folstza daemon, very carefully carrying a little bird in her mouth, is Not Expecting him to suddenly grow twice her size; corlath’s jaw aches in sympathy.)

(now what, says everyone who is not corlath, staring at the massive fucking wolf laying on the desert sand, knocked out with his human.)

(uh, says corlath, and zhadia stares at him judgmentally as only a cat can.)

(i couldn’t fit it in the blurb, but: luthe’s daemon is a badger, courtesy of @luxpenumbra. this information needs to be in the world.)

hero and the crown edition: it's taboo to have reptile daemons, so of course on top of everything else wrong with aerin, while she's still recovering from the surka her daemon settles as a massive lizard like a flat, wingless dragon she can barely lift to go upstairs.

when they tire of galanna’s pointed barbs about how dragon-like he is and finally finally finish the kenet and get around to killing real dragons, they stretch the limits of their bond over and over, until one day aerin realizes she’s walked twenty feet from kian without noticing and horror dawns on her, and she remembers stories of witches and their range and how her mother’s daemon could fly higher than the tallest castle tower without flinching.

they lose track of each other, with maur. it's just too big, and they're both too injured to move, and at the end of those agonizing few weeks apart they can’t tell the physical aches from the ones in their soul. later, they find it’s almost a blessing; kian can’t climb the steep stairs of agsded’s tower, and aerin can’t carry him and gonturan and all the surka leaves all at once. it’s safer to be apart, for now.

(if they’d known “for now” would end up being a few centuries aerin would have dragged him up the stairs, everything else be damned, but she’s a little glad kian doesn’t have to hate someone with her face.)

the lady king

tags (eventually): corlath-sol au

(or “the one where corlath is a lesbian, because the author is queer and has no chill, and also homophobia doesn’t exist in any universe i write because i said so”)

corlath is seventeen when her father dies. the priests hem and haw and arrange a marriage to some powerful man or another; someone, they reassure her, who will take the throne of the king and lead damar when she is still grieving. every other sovereign has ruled perfectly fucking well while grieving, she thinks, and writes her own name in the book of kings before anyone can stop her. when she first pulls gonturan from its sheath it sings in her hands, calling yes, yes, i’ve been waiting for you,  and corlath says oh and cries for the first time in too long.

the meeting at the outlander post would almost be funny; no one in her own country has dared look down on her for her gender in at least a decade, And Yet. she decides within half a second that forloy won’t be speaking for her, not when the big soft thing that calls himself commissioner hems and haws and says my dear madam—hmm—your highness and explains like she’s a child why he can’t help her.

(harry. has never had to look upwards at another woman before. it’s definitely a new experience, and it must be the reason for the strangeness in her chest every time she looks at corlath, right? right. of course.)

dadjack au (until i get a better name for it)

tags: dadjack au. also on ao3, but i’ll be heavily editing those chapters.

(wherein jack is harry and richard’s father, and their mother is a damarian woman who makes somewhat questionable choices about her daughter’s powers.)

miran’s family has been builders and fixers and tinkerers since before the lady aerin killed her first dragon, and so when she sees the glint of kelar in her baby daughter’s eyes she resigns herself to harry taking apart anything with moving pieces as soon as she figures out how to walk. then harry screams, the windows shatter, and the only thing she and jack can think to do is leave the desert in hopes distance will cool the heat of harry’s power. she still carves a blessing into metal chains, begging it to protect her daughter from herself. 

(in her fear she forgets the first lesson you learn when dealing with any magic: it is not your friend. choose your words carefully.)

(what does it mean, to be protected from yourself?)

modern au: the blue sword

tags: modern au, twitter au

part one: harry, bored out of her goddamn mind, is Good With Computers. so good that her brother gives her two options: come to daria and switch her major to something harmless, or face the consequences of accessing government secrets for shits and giggles goddamnit harry what the fuck. because she’s not stupid, she goes. then the damarian king comes to visit and she thinks, what the hell. why not. what’s the harm. richard only babyproofed english secrets, and pokes her nose through his phone, just to see.

corlath finds out that someone hacked his phone while he was meeting with the english and is angry for all of ten seconds until he figures out it was some college student, then curious, then horrified and elated. he offers harry a choice, too: he can press charges for her hacking him, or she can tell him how she did it, because damarian code is meant to be unhackable except to those with a Gift, and she can come help him win a war. because she’s not stupid, she goes.

part two: sometime after and during All That, social media exists. corlath loves his wife, aerin is good at being places she shouldn’t, and luthe is cryptic as always.

steampunk(?) au: the hero and the crown

tags (eventually): steampunk au

connected to the modern au! i can’t find my notes on it but it features aerin pioneering clean energy and being a tinkerer, luthe the toymaker, and northern automatons. just all of the automatons.

“my ot3 gets to nap in the sun away from all the bullshit” au

tags (eventually): ot3 au

i don’t have notes for this one either but you should ask me about it anyway because it’s Good. aerin, tor, and luthe navigate this whole relationship thing while one party is an antisocial hermit and the other two are royalty. featuring tor rightfully going What The Fuck at mage bullshit, luthe pulling pigtails, and aerin sighing a lot.

[whitewolfbumble]

Of Gods & Goddesses - Chapter Four

A Modern & Fluffy Greek Mythology AU with Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: The connection was immediate and the mystery behind Bucky Barnes ran deeper and deadlier than you thought. Falling in love has never been this complicated, for a goddess or otherwise. A modern reimagining of Hades and Persephone, with Bucky the God of Spring and you the Goddess of the Underworld.

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Reader (aka God!Bucky x Goddess!Reader, Persephone!Bucky x Hades!Reader)

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3.5k

MY MASTERLIST // OF GODS & GODDESSES MASTERLIST // CHAPTER THREE

The city was long since in your rearview mirror with the dark green forest a wall on either side of you as you sped through.

He had been a little tense, arms and legs held together unmoving and stiff when the two of you had slid into the black car. Now, the further you had gotten towards your house, the more relaxed he had become and the more tightly wound you had become.

This is insane!, you thought to yourself, repeating it for the hundredth time and gripping the steering wheel all the harder. Never have you analyzed anything less in your entire existence or chosen to disrupt the balance of things in such a way.

What were you supposed to say when he asked why you weren’t there tonight? What were you doing here now? Why had you insisted on doing this?

You couldn’t just steal a god and take him back to your house. There were rules. There were reasons why this wasn’t done.

You glanced to him, eyes shooting over to the passenger side and held him in your gaze for a moment.

He was sitting here, hands folded easily in his lap now, a vision in the dark shadows of the night that veiled you both. But while you sunk into the shadows easily, he was somehow still full of colour and that glow of calm energy, deep jewel tones breaking through the darkness.

His eyes, watching out the window at the greenery speeding by, were a deep alexandrite blue with little flecks of icy beryl set into them. His hair in the darkness looked like onyx with flashes of chestnut and amber and carnelian. As always he had that almost invisible aura of glowing new life, pale and beautiful and small.

You saw another colour too, something light in shade below his eye, forming just under his skin. It was a tint darker than his lips, though you doubted it would stay so light for long.

“Nat told me a little about what happened tonight,” you said quietly, eyes back on the road and mouth as dry as you could ever remember it being. Gods, you could use a bottle or two of champagne right now. “Who did you get in a fight with?”

He pulled a bit of a face, shrugging as he looked down to his hands.

“T’Challa,” he started, stumbling through words laced with sadness, confusion, and embarrassment. “I guess I… well, he said I did somethings. Awful things. But I swear, I didn’t. At least, I’m pretty sure I didn’t. I can’t exactly remember.”

“Hmm,” you mumbled through your teeth, trying to quell the cold fury inside you. That was a side you couldn’t let Bucky see yet. “He’s determined guy, I’m surprised you didn’t lose an eye.”

“Steve got him off me,” Bucky admitted. “But I don’t think he was quite done yet. Managed to break away to the balcony.”

“All the better reason to get you out of there,” you said more to yourself, grasping at any straw you could to justify you stealing a god away from his home. And not even one of your own gods working under you.

“Well, I’ve never been to the Underworld before, or your realm at all I guess,” he said, eyes looking somehow brighter. It was almost like he was looking forward to this?

A crooked grin cracked through on your face, a mixture of validation and amusement sprouting in you. You were happy from the distraction from your anger and self-doubt anyways.

“Well, you won’t be able to say that much longer…”

You faded out, the massive black gates and concrete fence looming just ahead. You nodded out the windshield to the structure that was stories high, dark, and intimidating. There was a veil or mist, slightly murky and shimmering just before the gates. You drove through without interruption, passing through the wobbly mist to the clarity of the other side, and officially into your realm.

“We’re now officially within the Underworld now. So welcome to my home, I guess,” you added, frown following. Gods, you desperately needed to brush up on your small talk and social interactions. You’d be cringing over that one later.

You curved around with the circular driveway, a black marble and gold detailed fountain in the middle of it, parking in front of steps up to the impressive front doors. Nothing about your home was ordinary, to be sure.

“It doesn’t have the height or grandeur of the Tower,” you said, feet crunching the gravel underfoot as you walked around to him. “Or as much plant-life as you would probably prefer, but it’s home.”

“I thought it…” he started before turning and walking in step with you up to the doors. “I thought it would be… I guess different.”

You weren’t exactly shocked at that reaction, giving him a smile as you opened the door, pushing it in to reveal the sprawling space inside.

“We’re in my realm, sure,” you said, throwing your keys into a gold bowl on a low white table. “But that back there was the South Gate. The Underworld you’re thinking of is just west of here, at the aptly described West Gate. Here it’s less dead souls and mist covered wastelands, and more minimalism with a cool colour pallet.”

You walked just a couple steps ahead of him, floor to ceiling of windows on your left and modern art decorating the grey concrete walls to your right. Bucky wandered behind you, taking it all in.

“I won’t go over a full geography lesson here,” you said. “But it’s important that you stay on these grounds, within this building. I won’t get into what lurks beyond them, but in here you’ll be just fine.”

You looked back hesitantly, wondering at what point he’d snap-to and demand to be returned. But he quickly nodded in understanding, eyes going back to peek into large rooms as he walked by of what were mostly art collections, sculptures, and rare jewels on display.

You ended up in your living room, with low and long leather couches, a lengthy fireplace set into the wall, and a stocked bar to one side.

“Kitchen is through there, and I’ll set you up in one of the spare rooms,” You couldn’t remember the last time anyone had stayed in one actually. “If you need anything, I’m here. And Veronica, the A.I., of course.”

You briefly debated going through a tour of all the rooms; anything to keep from having an awkward conversation of questions from him you couldn’t answer yourself.

It was only you and him here though. It wasn’t like you could put off talking to him forever.

He was silent as you turned to him, fiddling with your hands under the silence that was fast turning tense, at least to you.

He only watched you softly though. Was he waiting for you explain why you had broken your promise to him? Why you had abandoned him to a party only to be attacked when he was looking for you?

In the mere minutes from when you first noticed, that mark under his eye had gotten darker. Oh gods, you had done that to him. You might as well have anyway. He wouldn’t have gotten into with another god if you had kept your promise.

He trusted you, believed you when you said you would be there. He had made himself vulnerable and you felt that in turn now.

Your face scrunched a little, sympathy pain stabbing in your soul. Reflexively your hand went up to touch the bruise just under his eyes, the colour already a plum-like purple now. Your fingertips didn’t touch him, hovering just over the spot.

“I’m so sorry,” you said morosely, your eyes glued to the injury but his locked to yours. “I feel responsible for this, I should have been there. I don’t really have an reason I can give. Nothing good enough to justify this anyways.”

You were snapped out of your misery by his hand taking your wrist. His skin was so warm compared to yours, the heat of spreading through you in a moment. Only then did you catch that look in his eyes, soft and intent at the same time. He moved your hand to rest on his face just like you had wanted too, the connection another jolt of heat through your body.

“You still came,” he said, voice low and quiet. “There’s nothing to forgive, Y/N.”

You held your breath as your fingertips moved gently and slowly on his cheek. Bucky did the opposite, not holding his but instead inhaling a deep contented breath, moving in closer and placing his forehead to yours. If his eyes were open he would have seen a kind of thrilled panic in your eyes.

How had you, the relatively brazen one, and the shifting man you met on the balcony switched places? Now you were the unsure one, breath rapid and mind racing, too afraid to move and break the delicate equilibrium of this moment.

How was he this comfortable with you? Why had he wanted you to touch him?

...But did it matter? At least in this moment you couldn’t believe it did, a haziness falling over your brain as that magnetism he exuded overwhelmed you. Combined with that floral, spring rain scent of his you were done for.

You had no choice under that sway but for your muscles to relax into him, his hands coming to your waist to steady you.

“I think…” he whispered, a gentle night breeze on your skin. “I think I missed you.”

You swallowed, another wave of dizzy hitting you. What was he saying?

“You don’t know me, Bucky,” you said, that heady floral smell filling every pocket of your lungs. It was as though you had been transported into a field thick with wildflowers and sun and rain. You could smell the beautiful florals, feel the heat of the sun, taste the mist of rain on your tongue.

“I know,” he agreed, swallowing. “But I still did.”

This was insane and you knew it, but you didn’t care. You had thought about him since you met him. You were losing sleep over him. Torturing yourself over trying not to think about him. Your heart broke when you refused to see him out of your own spiralling doubt. You snapped when you heard he was hurt. You stole him away in the middle of the night. You had him in your arms now and decidedly didn’t want to let go.

“If it helps,” you spoke, barely audible in the little space between you. “I think I did too.”

His reply was unspoken, just the feeling of his arms wrapping and tightening around you.

Yes it was insane, but it was true and in this moment it felt real.

“I think I-” you said, pulling away slightly and stopping short as you saw what was around you.

Mouth ajar you looked around, taking in the scene of your once clean-cut minimalistic living space.

The blue and grey space was filled to the brim now, transforming from a space you knew well into a full blown greenhouse of sorts. Vines had climbed up the walls, covering them in a thick leafy tangle. Green sprouted under foot, thick and lush grass and leaves covering the sealed concrete.

The most stunning were the flowers though. It practically stole your breath away. There were more varieties than you knew, blooming and growing everywhere. Blue and violet Floss Flowers, light peach Peruvian Lilies, white and butter yellow Windflowers, ruby red Persian Buttercups, bright turquoise Blue Himalayan Poppies, and so many more. They filled the once dark room with blooming, beautiful life.

“What is it?” Bucky asked. You looked back to him with a disbelieving scoff before realizing his eyes hadn’t left you.

“Your handiwork certainly brightens up the place,” you said with a grin, gesturing around you.

His eyes glanced to the side for a second before back to you. It took a moment, but his face pulled into one of confusion. Slowly this time he looked around the room and actually saw it now, eyebrows shooting up and eyes wide at the display all around him.

“Oh gods,” he said, instantly fighting within himself to either laugh at this or be embarrassed by it. To your delight he ended up smiling, a moonbeam bright look that made your soul hum in a contented way you swore you had never heard before. “I swear I didn’t mean too. I’ll fix it, I’m so sorry.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, a warm smile on you lips. You put your hands back to cup his face, leaning him back down to you, as you had just been.

“Please don’t,” you said, quietly. “Not yet.”

The warmth in you smile matched his, growing as fast as the flowers had.

“Okay Y/N,” he hummed, settling easily into holding you again. Whatever hum your soul had made sounded exactly like the one he did just there.

You thought there maybe should be some awkwardness or shame or something nagging you. But there just wasn’t. Only the smell of spring and his warm arms around you. There wasn’t room for much else.

Your attention was was pulled just to the side of the pair of you, wrapped up together. You thought the movement would be more stunning flowers growing, but you found quickly you were quite wrong.

You didn’t blink and didn’t move, just spoke to Bucky with a clear and steady voice

“Bucky,” you started, voice a warning. “Don’t. Move.”

You felt him stiffen under you just as a distinct vibrating growl filled the room. The aggression in the sound was palpable, and you felt his hold on you tighten, pulling you deeper into him. Slowly he tried to turn his body and block you from whatever was making the noise

“Bucky, don’t,” you whispered, eyes moving to lock onto the large black figure just in the shadows.

“What is it?” he whispered, lips brushing your ear. But at the sound of his voice the snarl grew louder and angrier, conjuring up visions of nightmares.

You lifted your hands off of his shoulder, raising them up slowly. Carefully and with deliberate movements, you reached down to Bucky’s hands at your sides and removed them. You held on to one wrist, moving so that at no point were you completely detached from him, but shifting your body so you were in front of him, facing the creature making the noise.

You felt more than a little resistance from Bucky, who was not all too pleased to be behind you, despite being unaware of the danger he was in.

“Bucky… this is Cerberus,” you said, calm and steady. The commanding tone was neutral and controlled, but the threat clearly wasn’t over yet. “Cerberus, this is Bucky, God of Spring. He’s welcome here, and you’ll treat him as such.”

At that there were three distinct clashes of teeth flashing the shadows, snarls and bellows ringing out like thunder. The fury behind them was not thinly veiled at all, murder and blood in every snap and rumble.

This time when you spoke your voice was lowered, sounding cold and deadly and spreading a chill through the room with a single word.

“Enough.”

Bucky couldn’t see it but your eyes were taken over by a glacial blue colour, clouding your irises, pupils, and whites of your eyes completely. It was death and ice and lightning held in your eyes, displaying pure power and directed solely at Cerberus before you.

In the darkness you saw three sets of purple eyes flash with that same icy look. After a moment the growling stopped, and the three set of eyes faded into one pair, melting back into their violet glow.

After that Cerberus stepped forward, looking rather displeased but not murderous at any rate, so that was a start.

You relaxed immediately, moving out from in front of Bucky, who was looking wide-eyed at the creature as Cerberus stepped into the light and jungle of a living room.

He was built like a wolf, long black hair and tail shining in the moonlight coming through the gaps in the vine-covered windows. You walked up to him easily, patting his side. Your head was about at his shoulder, with his sharp teeth and predator eyes looming just above you protectively.

“I know he’s a little dangerous looking, but if you give him space there’s no need t-”

When you turned to look at Bucky you didn’t find him across the room, but right up to Cerberus, both hands scratching the dogs chest and craning his neck up to look fondly at the black beast.

You swore both you and Cerberus had the same stunned and surprised expression on your faces watching Bucky, who had a rather goofy expression on his face.

“Who’s such a good protector, huh?” Bucky said, voice low and like he was talking to an infant. “Who’s a good protector?”

You watched as slowly Cerberus sat back on his hind legs, wary eyes on Bucky before stretching his neck up for Bucky to scratch more.

“Oh please,” you muttered to yourself, leaning against the dog’s fluffy side.

“Who’s such a god boy?” Bucky asked, and you felt a breeze on your legs. Looking back you saw a bit of a wag from your so-called murderous beast.

“Alright, I think it’s time you got back to work,” you said to Cerberus before speaking to Bucky. “And you got some rest.”

Bucky parted with the beast with a last scratch before you two began walking down to the hall to the bedrooms. You casted a glance back to Cerberus, who was hopefully off on his nightly patrol, slinking back silently into the shadows.

“I think he likes you,” you said, a little floored. Besides Cerberus loving you, you didn’t think that was possible.

“That’s great, I-”

“No, that’s definitively not great!” you said, laughing incredulously at the turn of events. “He’s supposed to protect this place, I can’t have him rolling over for complete strangers!”

“What about gods who are not so much strangers?” he asked, the smallest hint of mischief in his eyes.

“I mean I’m happy he didn’t tear you to shreds, Bucky,” you said. You slowed down and stopped in front of a bedroom door, Bucky following your lead and doing the same. “But I think I better have a talk with Cerberus in the morning all the same.”

“So he protects this place?” he said, conversationally with that look still in his eyes. You wondered if he was purposely lingering. If so, you didn’t really mind that at all. You weren’t sure you wanted to say goodnight just yet. “And you while in it, I assume?”

“Yeah,” you said. “He’s usually pretty good at both. The best, actually.”

“So,” Bucky started, taking a step closer to you. “If I were to hold you again, would he show up looking to kill me again?”

“I uh, I don’t know actually,” you said, a heat flushing your face. You didn’t get too many visitors keen on wanting to hold you, the Goddess of the Underworld, afterall.

“Okay,” Bucky said, taking another step closer, the length of his body practically pressed to yours now. If you didn’t know his any better his height and frame would seem intimidating, but your fluttering heart was not out of fear. “Can I try it, just to see?”

“If he does shred you before you can soften him up, you’ve been warned,” you said, trying to hide in sarcasm.

It wasn't exactly a "no" though and Bucky picked up on that with a grin.

Your fluttering heart felt as though it bloomed in your chest the moment his arms wrapped around your waist, pushing the pair of your closer together. Close enough to breath him in, feel his heat, hear his heartbeat.

That haze of intoxication filled you again, the connection in you so strong to be near. Now that you had him so close it overwhelmed you, thawing you out and filling you with a bubbly firey warmth. It was like he was turning your cold, wintered soul into spring again.

It could have been minutes or days he held you and you held him, but at some point Bucky brought you gently back to reality.

His lips found their way to your ear, gently brushing your skin as he spoke. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

You stepped back rather quickly, breath rapid in your lungs and that warm haze covering you. Again you saw Bucky, now with that same delicate white flower crown wrapped loosely around his head. Again it had bloomed in a quiet moment between you, a beautiful fragile thing, sitting gracefully on his brow.

“‘Night, Bucky.”

You didn’t know how you walked back to your room, or why you change out of your pajamas just to get into fresh ones. This night was not the one you expected to have in the least, your mind fuddled and heart thumping loudly.

When you entered your ensuite, running the tap and heating up the room with steam, you looked up and saw yourself in the mirror. Somehow, wrapped around your head in a small circle was a wreath of dark green stems with pale blue blooms. Unmoving in front of the mirror, you took in that wreath and it's ethereal glow, seeing those same small white flowers accompanying those little blue blossoms, matching the flowers Bucky had on his.

You still didn’t know what you were doing, but whatever it was you liked it.

_______

CHAPTER FIVE

_______

A/N: Hope you liked this one darling! Please let me know what you thought and if you want to be tagged in this! Thanks!

Permanent Tag List: @dontpanc, @smodvocate, @bunsterjonez, @captainrogerrsbeard, @marveloustrashpanda, @hangirl93, @buckybonky, @friendly-neighborhood-lich-queen, @thisgirllikeme, @jjsoccer11, @innerpandablizzard-blog, @fanatic-fanfic, @mdgrdians, @christinky, @universal-death-of-a-fangirl, @cauraphernelia, @cassiopeia-barrow, @ailynalonso15, @1elboomdemsechevarria, @cameronskywalker, @rogrsnbarnes, @verygraphicink, @onlyanothersocialcasualty, @lisalisa007, @james-bucks, @zannemes, @msruchita, @breezy1415

Of Gods & Goddesses Tag List: @holyfuckinghale1975

Buck Barnes Tag List: @bexboo616, @kaaatniss, @lost-in-translating, @emabookcookie, @jewelofwinter, @crazybutconfidentaf, @jitterbuck