Stay
Hades awoke to a soft pink glow emanating from the space beside him in the bed. He peered through the gloom to see were he was. Ah, the guest bedroom. He blinked blearily and turned his attention to the sleeping form curled up next to him. The last few days rushed back to him in a deluge of memory and his heart broke all over again.
Hera's formal accusation. The trial of Apollo. Persephone's testimony. Hades had been in the room, seated beside the other members of the Six Traitors Dynasty. He remembered his rage growing out of control, to the point where the two nearest marble pillars of the hall cracked and crumbled while the roof groaned in distress. Zeus had wisely called for a recess after that. During the trial, Demeter stifled her sobs but continued crying even when she was silent. Hestia sat horrified at first, but then her face quickly set into harsh lines of ire. Hera, as the accuser, remained the perfect picture of level-headedness and righteous anger. Hades could see the hatred burning behind her eyes, but only because he knew her so well. She restrained herself for Persephone's sake. Hera couldn't be seen as unduly biased. Not if the accusation was to be taken seriously, not if Persephone was to be believed. Artemis sat in the row of seats at the very back of the hall, unable to look up from the ground. Her mind attempted to reconcile her filial love with the heartrending guilt she felt for her best friend.
Zeus had presided as the official arbiter, as the King of the Gods. But he was well aware that four of the six highest gods were out for Apollo's ichor, determined to assign him a fitting torment in the depths of Tartarus. A ruling was handed down at the close of the trial: Helios would tend to the duties of the Sun God during four decades of punishment. Furthermore, Apollo would never have contact with Persephone again.
Hades rushed from the hall as soon as the sentence was announced. Persephone was trying to make her escape as quickly as possible. The corridor seemed to stretch before him as he ran, calling after her. She stood stiffly, facing away from him with her shoulders shaking. Approaching her cautiously, he asked where she planned to go. Did she have somewhere she felt safe?
She surprised him with a tight hug and cried hard in lieu of a response. He understood. She couldn't go back to Artemis' and if she left for the mortal realm, Demeter would once again stifle her in attempt to keep her safe from everything. Especially after all this. Quietly, he begged her to stay with him until she found somewhere better.
He had given her as much time off work as she needed. Hestia had replaced the TGOEM scholarship with a no-strings-attached tuition fund for Persephone. She could return to school whenever she felt ready.
Over the past few days, Persephone had her own personal pack everywhere she went. All his dogs refused to leave her side while she cooked or read or jogged. When he had come home that night, he was just in time to see her set a flower crown of blood-red roses on Cerberus' head. All the other dogs were already wearing woven crowns or collars, except for Fudge who wiggled beside her impatiently. Hades couldn't help but smile. Dear gods, she was spoiling them.
He had shot up in his own bed upon hearing her scream, running to her room in seconds flat. When he burst in, he saw her burying her face in Big John's fur and hyperventilating. Her name passed through his lips like a reverent prayer. Their eyes met and before she could finish reaching out her hand, he was beside her. She had asked him to stay. How could he refuse?
Now he lie beside her, with her tucked under the covers and him staying on top. He had started wearing undershirts and lounge pants in the evenings, trying to make sure she felt comfortable around him. If he had bothered to ask her, Persephone would have told him she felt comfortable around him no matter what. But he hadn't.
The goddess stirred and turned towards him. She smiled sleepily when she saw him and entangled her hand with his. "Hades…thank you. For everything…" His thumb of his other hand brushed over her cheek. He couldn't get out a coherent sentence before he curled into him and softly said, "0%."
Hades smiled. Let Hecate run the Underworld for a while. He'd let the Styx run dry before he'd leave this bed.