She slept on a bed of flowers.
Figuratively, he would romanticize about how any bed they shared together would seem like a bed of flowers. Her perfume flooded his senses; being so close made him feel like floating.
But here, on the Upperworld, dozing in the sleepy meadow, she slept on a literal bed of flowers.
Hades hardly ever slept. He constantly had work to do. The Gods didn't need sleep and there was no rest for the Lord of the Dead. Mortals were constantly dying: dying in war, dying in famine, dying by disease, dying in their sleep if they were lucky.
Many prayed for a painless death in their sleep. Thanatos obliged them,though only sometimes.
And so, Hades hardly slept.
Persephone, on the other hand, absolutely loved to sleep. She was like a flower in many ways, preferring to stretch out her arms and open herself up to the sun after a long night's rest.
Sometimes he wondered if they hadn't married, if she would have been swept off of her feet by Apollo or Helios. They both seemed to be infatuated with her.
He couldn't blame them.
But that didn't mean he didn't have to enjoy it.
It was moments like these he enjoyed. It wasn't exactly spying on his wife. Hardly the case! It was just watching over her, enjoying her slumber. The few instances where he could leave the Underworld because not that many people had died that day, or he was exceptionally quick with his judgments.
These were the moments he lived for, if one could call it living, when he was with his wife.
She was so happy to be surrounded by life again.
Like a ghost, he moved closer to her. Her breathing was slow and paced. Her figure was surrounded by flowers of every sort, but usually roses, lilies, and hydrangeas. Her favorite flowers to grow.
Perhaps that was why they were associated with funeral rituals…
Hades had a habit of being remarkably still, especially when he was alone or determined with a task. Being around Persephone, however, all he wanted to do was move. Take her in his arms, touch her, kiss her, dance with her, anything at all, just to be with her.
Her wild auburn hair was a halo around her head. The curls twisted around the closed flowers like vines, tangling the little buds in her mane. He stared in longing at her hair. Hades still had several months to wait before he could be with her again. How he missed threading his fingers through her tresses…
Before he could stop himself, he held his breath and wound his pinky around a curl. The lock held onto his finger. He dared not to touch her anymore despite the urge he had to hold her close. He didn't want to disturb his slumbering beauty. He shouldn't have been there at all. But just one moment with her…
The moment was up. He should go.
He delicately pulled his hand away, the strand of hair unraveling itself from his hold.
Her eyes gently fluttered behind her eyelids as she dreamed. Her lips were parted every so slightly. With every inhale he breathed, she smelled faintly of a different flower. His heart was so full of love and longing, he thought it would burst.
He brushed his lips against her forehead, the faintest whisper of a kiss. Without saying a prayer of "I love you," he turned back to slink into the shadows and spill back into the Underworld.
A few more months wouldn't be so bad…
Hades lifted his bident to command the ground to crumble away into shadows.
"I'd like it if you stayed," came the soft voice, whispering and heavy with sleep.
Hades froze, caught in his act of seeing her when he wasn't supposed to. He turned back around to see Persephone, still lying on her flower bed, her green eyes hazy from sleep, but focused on him.
"As you wish…" he murmured, kneeling before her and kissing her on the lips.