It was common knowledge among the gods that Aphrodite's and Hephaestus's marriage was not one of love - as ironic as that might be for the goddess of love. It was really unfortunate for both of them.
Hephaestus, being the lame and cast-out god that he was, had doubted since his arrival in Olympus that he would ever receive a wife from Zeus in the first place. None of the goddesses had taken a particular fondness to him, despite still being quite handsome and capable with the forge. But he was kind, and the gods such as Apollo had taken to him as if he was born of Hera and not thrown off the side of their home when he was a child.
Really, despite the scarring on his left cheek and chin, which looked like he was severely burned and not healed properly, and his lame leg, his brothers thought he was quite attractive. So all in all, Hephaestus's life was a content one, if a little lonely.
And then one evening, when he was down in his forge, his 'everlasting' fire source happened to die down to an ember that no iron or steel weaponry could be formed on. Mumbling his frustration to himself and ready to head in for an early night, the source of his problem made herself clear.
Hestia revealed herself behind a rack of armor he had prepared for Ares, and was blushing furiously at being caught.
"S-sorry to disturb you, Hephaestus, I think I got too close and the flame reacted to my presence. I – um, I should probably go." Ah, so that's why his flame had died down.
Hephaestus blushed in return and casted his eyes downward. He never thought that Hestia would be down here, watching him work. It was quite a surprise, and a pleasant one at that and he didn't want to scare her off. Hestia was always kind to him, and he had taken a liking to her presence.
"Oh, it's quite all right, Hestia. What are you doing down here?"
"To be truthful, I wanted to watch you work." He looked up at her words, and saw she was quietly fidgeting with her hands. Was she nervous? "It's just, you're always so focused when you work, and it's quite beautiful to watch." It was her turn to look away from his dark gaze.
He gave a nervous laugh, and his blush deepened. Hestia, one of the most gorgeous goddesses, thought he was beautiful. "Oh, that is very kind of you, Hestia. If you would like, you can visit more often, I would gladly enjoy the company." When she looked back up at him and smiled, he couldn't help but give her a goofy grin in return.
"Well, what are you working on now?" She sat herself down onto a stump he used to cut wood, and when he looked back to his fire it was the largest and strongest he had ever seen it. He turned to her and started to explain the newest weapon he was working on for Zeus, and she listened intently.
So every night that she was available, Hestia would steal away to Hephaestus's forge and watch him work, where he was not awkward or afraid of the gods' criticisms, but strong and true to his craft. And they would talk, growing closer with each passing day, until Hephaestus knew that he loved her.
And even though Hestia wanted to love him dearly, she could never be his. She was a virgin goddess, after all, and was not to be promised to any god.
She had found love in Hephaestus, and although she did not want him to be so alone again, she could never be the love he was looking for, although she desperately wanted to be. When she visited him that night, it was with a heavy heart, and when Hephaestus saw his fire die to a single ember instead of the large inferno that Hestia usually caused with her presence, he knew something was wrong.
"Is something the matter?" He asked nervously, keeping more distance from the pure goddess than he usually would. He sensed the tension in her stance, and it made him nervous and worried.
"I cannot visit anymore, Hephaestus." She said rather bluntly. Better to cut the tie cleanly, she supposed. She avoided his eyes as much as she could.
He was stunned for a moment, worried this would eventually happen, but responded quickly, afraid she would leave if he hesitated a moment too long. "But, why? Was it something I have done? Please, Hestia, think this through –" he tried begging, but she raised her hands to stop his rambling.
"Please, do not make this harder on me Hephaestus."
"Can I still see you?" He asked, never taking his eyes off of her. She minutely shook her head. "There must be something –"
"Hephaestus!" She lifted her head to look him straight in his eyes. Silent tears were rolling down her face and she was trying to stifle her sobs. "I am meant to be a virgin goddess. I cannot be what you seek of me. I cannot love you, as I wish to Hephaestus. You deserve more." And she was gone, only to be seen during Council meetings and occasionally around Olympus.
He could not be consoled for his loss. He threw himself into his work, rarely leaving his forge and sleeping there when he could. The gods attempted to cheer him up, but it was no use as his heart was broken. Unfortunately for him, Zeus saw his son's distress.
And as only Zeus could, he made the situation worse by attempting to fix his son's loneliness with a chosen bride.
Who so happened to be Aphrodite. Being the goddess of love, after all, would help his son's kind but lonely heart, right?
Aphrodite herself was not faring with this whole situation much better.
Aphrodite was one of the more dramatic goddesses - believe it or not. When she had the opportunity to grab onto a new emotion of love or jealousy or heartbreak, she held onto it for as fleeting of a moment it was and emphasized it until she was seen as a simpleton goddess that found her pleasure in men and drama and attention.
But underneath the dramatic shell was a fragile little heart that was born to love, truly love someone, for all of their flaws and aptitudes. Unfortunately, Aphrodite could never find the god that would be able to cherish her heart in all her years on Olympus, so the title of seductress she took to shield herself from the deceit and pain that was destined to happen if she found herself in love with a god.
When she first met Hephaestus, she knew he was different. He was not arrogant like Ares or aggressive like Poseidon – he was kind and gentle, which was odd for the god of the forge, and she was drawn to his nature. He reflected what she needed, but she had no doubt he simply saw her as flighty and foolish, her ocean eyes shallow to the depth his dark ones held.
And in all honesty she was scared to even talk to him. She was scared that he would see right through her façade and see her tired little heart and try to fix it. She was, really, scared to fall in love with him. She was certain that once she did, there would be no returning if he did happen to break her heart.
So her own fear stopped the goddess of love from trying to love. Instead, she watched him from a distance, longing for his affectionate smiles to turn her way and grace her. But it was not her that he fell for, but it was Hestia.
Of course she knew, of course, she was the goddess of love after all so of course she could sense when two of the gods would be in love and she was so frustrated and mad that she went to her own home in Olympus and cried until she was composed enough to invite Apollo into her bed to forget something she never had in the first place.
And when Hephaestus's heart was broken the last thing she wanted to do was to be married to him.
She could deal with a god infatuated with her beauty, but a god that was still in love with someone else, especially a god that she truly wanted to love? Really, really bad for little Aphrodite.
Their wedding was a celebrated affair, with all of the gods on Olympus celebrating the marriage of Hephaestus, the one god who really deserved to find happiness. Dionysus provided the spirits for the occasion, and the party went long into the night. Even Hestia had shown up for a brief moment or two to give the couple her blessing, and Aphrodite saw the sadness that pooled in her husband's eyes.
That night, when they returned to Hephaestus's home, he showed her to their bedroom and welcomed her with somewhat open arms.
To be honest, Hephaestus never thought he would have a chance with the goddess of love, since she always seemed so perfect and alive, when he was much too somber for his own good. Now that she was forced to be his wife? He was sure she would hate him, and his heart longed for the warmth Hestia showed him.
"I'm sorry about this whole affair, Aphrodite, I did not mean to drag you into the middle of my own heart ache."
"It is quite alright, I understand. You need not worry about my emotions in this whole thing anyway, I will make sure to stay out of your way." Not the prettiest way for her to say it, but she really did want to give Hephaestus room for his heart to settle again. She did not want him to force himself to love her because of their arrangement.
So, she does not care at all that she is now married? I am nothing?
"Ah, I see how it is then. Yes, let me suffer while you go and have more affairs even though you are newly married. Why not! I am nothing but a cripple anyway, nothing worth fighting for here." He was kind, but he would not take insult to injury, especially from his new wife.
He always thought there was more to Aphrodite than meets the eye, but perhaps that side of her would be reserved from him.
Aphrodite was taken aback by his reaction. She had never heard him raise his voice, let alone so violently, in front of anyone before. "No I did not mean –" she began, but was cut off by Hephaestus storming towards the door in a rage.
"I need to think. Please, stay, use what you need, wife," and he slammed the door and was gone, leaving Aphrodite cowering and hurt in her cold wedding bed.
She cried herself to sleep, cursing her heart.
But in the morning she was again Aphrodite – the seductress and heart breaker and lover, and she would not let her cruel husband break what was hers.
While Hephaestus was gone, he saw the error of his ways – it really was not Aphrodite's fault that she was also in this mess, and if anything she was probably trying to be considerate. He really did not mean to be cruel, or to start their marriage so horribly, and Aphrodite probably thought him the monster that his body deceived.
He really did not know what she liked, or how he could say sorry, but he did see her with wonderful jewelry all the time, so he spent the rest of the evening at his forge creating a masterpiece for his wife to wear.
He slaved over the perfect necklace to represent his perfect wife. Where Hestia would be very subtle, Aphrodite was larger than life in personality – not the dramatic princess she showed to the world, but the excitement she found in new music and passion over affairs at Council.
When he was done, he rushed back to their home to find that is was quite empty. Well, he couldn't really blame her for leaving. But when the minutes turned to hours, worry started to settle into the pit of his stomach.
And when she returned in the evening, obviously a little too happy and sated, he really regretted leaving the night prior. When he stood up from his seat to take a better look at her, she was not in fact as happy as her flushed cheeks seemed to show; her eyes were glassy and her smile was very small, as if painful to uphold.
"Ah, Hephaestus, so nice to see you home," her voice dripped with venom and her eyes bore into his, until she had to look away because of all the sadness that they held. He did this to her after all, and it was not her he was sad about, but his lovely Hestia.
"Yes, I just wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. Uh- here." He gave her the box that housed his creation, unsure of how to proceed any further with Aphrodite's fury.
She looked at it hesitantly, and when she opened it to find the beautiful necklace that was adorned with amethysts and emeralds and covered in gold, her eyes widened in visible surprise. This was absolutely lovely! And it was for her?
Aphrodite didn't know what to say to this turn of events, she had never seen Hephaestus's jewelry before, but she had heard it was beautiful and this was definitely beautiful.
But, is this what love was? Aphrodite didn't really want a relationship built on gifts and pretty things if she didn't have his heart. Especially if he had left in a huff the night before because of his sore emotions.
This was too much for her for one night, but if this was all that he wanted than she was more than willing to look happy at his peace offering in exchange for a 'happy' wife, and to continue on as they had – she had plenty of suitors looking for her hand for the night, and by keeping her happy with jewelry she was sure this could work out… somehow.
"This is beautiful, thank you." She gave him a soft smile and turned around so he could place the necklace on her neck. The feel of his hands on her neck sent shivers down her spine, which was new and quite exciting really, and she noticed he lingered longer than necessary on the curve of her neck. She wished he would make this easier on both of them.
Hephaestus knew that something was still wrong, but that would just mean he needed to try harder to win her affections back. He knew being the goddess of beauty that she probably did not find him very handsome, but with his art perhaps he could convince her that he was not as horrible as he was made out to be.
Hestia still burned in his heart, but he had the future to look forward to, and when he again went to the forge he immediately went to work on his next piece for Aphrodite.
While Aphrodite immediately went back to Ares's bed.
It had been months, perhaps years, since their marriage, and Hephaestus had lost track of time. Every day, he would work in his forge creating a new piece of jewelry for Aphrodite, and return to their home to find her flushed and breathing heavily from her private excursions.
But every time he would present to her his new creation, he would not see indifference, or anger, or mockery in her eyes, but sadness, and every night that they slept as far away from each other as possible, he would try to decipher that sadness and understand how to fix it.
Aphrodite had become his world, and every time that she had that sad look in her eye it made him sad, and he just wanted to kiss her eyes and her face and her everything until he could see the little spark he had never seen before but knew was in there.
But every time that she would go and find a new affair with Ares or Hermes or whoever, it broke him a little more in turn, and he just wanted her to stop a minute so he could really look at her and she could look inside of him and see that he wanted to love her with everything he had.
So one night as he sat at his workshop, he created a net to trap her with one of her lovers; he finished earlier than he usually would and found her in Ares's mansion.
Then the whole affair turned sour and instead of giving her a wakeup call, it turned into a fiasco with the gods shaming Aphrodite while she tried to scratch her way out the net with tears covering her cheeks, and he wanted to scream at his brothers and sisters that his wife was not a whore!
So when Aphrodite finally fled back to their home, he followed her immediately, knowing fully well that she would be absolutely infuriated.
Why would Hephaestus do that to her? She knew she was no Hestia, but she had stayed out of his way and accepted his peace offerings and what else did he want? Her heart so he could break it while his belonged to another? She stormed off to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her and waited for his imminent arrival, hoping that he would take his time enjoying his fame at humiliating her once and for all.
But she got no such luck, and he arrived immediately after her. To his surprise, she was not fuming angry, but was instead curled up in a ball bawling under the silks in the middle of their bed. His heart ached at the sight, and her being angry would have been much better.
"Aphrodite –"
"Please, no." Her voice was muffled by the pillow she was stuffing her face into, scooting away from the general direction she heard his voice. "I-I really don't need you to pretend to love me, Hephaestus. I was fine before all of this happened. I know you still love Hestia, and that's fine, but just don't bother me about it anymore." She whimpered, and all of a sudden everything seemed a little clearer to Hephaestus.
He sat in a chair, keeping his distance from the woman he really needed to love. She was no Hestia, it was true, but she was bright and beautiful and everything that he was missing before she showed up.
"I'm so sorry Aphrodite, I know you won't believe me, but embarrassing you was not my intention. And I know my jewelry hasn't been enough for you, I should have seen that from the beginning, the only reason I ever made them in the first place was because they reminded me of your beauty." His voice was a gentle whisper, as if afraid to startle her further, and he sounded so genuine, she paused for a minute. When he saw her blue eyes poke out from where they were hiding under the pillow, he smiled, and she hadn't seen him smile in so long it made her blush. He really was very handsome.
"You're one of a kind, and I didn't know how to show you I wanted to care. And I do want to care, properly, because now I know gifts won't win you over, and you deserve more than just those."
"I love your gifts, you make them just for me." She sniffled a bit, and he smiled at her, his eyes boring through hers and right into her soul.
"I do, but I want to show you more how much I truly care. You are no Hestia, but I do not want you to be, nor should you be. I want you to be you, because you are my wife and my future, and I wouldn't have it any other way."
She let his words sink in, and it made her heart flutter. She felt like she was floating, but then - "Why did you throw that net at me?"
He had the decency to blush, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "Well, it seems very foolish now, but I wanted to stop our routine, it was really hurting me." His eyes started to tear up, so he looked away from his wife's gaze, "I wanted to… wake you up, I wanted to show you, you didn't need a lover's arms to warm you at night, because I was right here, and I just wanted to hold you and cuddle you in the night."
Her giggle made everything better, but when he looked up and saw her eyes tearing up again he panicked, "What's wrong?" He had probably messed up everything again.
She got up out of the bed and threw herself into his lap, hugging him tightly while she sobbed into his shoulder, "I'm sorry Hephaestus, I was just so certain that you could never even look at me without thinking of Hestia and I was so scared to – to…"
He pulled her back enough to look into her eyes, "You have nothing to apologize for, do you understand?" Her nod was barely visible, "This has been my doing, all of it, and I'm so sorry. I hope that we can start again, because I really care about you Aphrodite, the real you. The one I see in your eyes when you think no one can see."
Now, Aphrodite just wanted to cry from happiness. But instead she lowered her head until their foreheads touched. Starting again, that sounded nice. And for once in her life, she wanted to jump in and let her heart decide. She didn't want release, she wanted to cuddle her husband and tell silly stories into the morning.
She let their lips touch in a light kiss, and it burned her like no one else could and it was sweet and awkward, and much too short but for now it was enough.
He gave her that smile that made her melt and she grinned at him for all she was worth, letting him carry her back to their bed like a true bride where he held her until she told him everything she feared and he did in return.
And they learned that they absolutely fit perfectly together, and Aphrodite was certain she never wanted to let go. And Hephaestus's next project was a ring – a special ring, just for his wife.
Edited: January 28th, 2016