Marriage with Hephaestus was absolutely amazing, and Aphrodite could not ask for a better husband, companion, and lover.
Well… not lover yet.
Despite being really married now, they had yet to officiate their commitment and Aphrodite, quite frankly, was aching for her husband. She wanted – needed – him, and every night that passed by just made the fire in her grow even hotter. It was getting unbearable.
It was not as if they had not wanted to make everything 'official'; Hephaestus was starting to reach his limit of waiting as well, if he was honest, but it seemed time was not on their sides as ironic as that might sound for immortal gods.
Ever since their wedding night, when Aphrodite's exhaustion ruined her attempt, they had barely a moment to spend together. With all the time Hephaestus had spent with Aphrodite recently, the demands for his skills were piling up, forcing him to work the day until dinner, where he would eat and talk with his wife all night, trying to appease her need of him since he would not be useful in other ways for the time being with his exhaustion. She did not mind, for she knew how busy he was, but their long discussions into the night only made him work slower and thus the cycle continued.
Well, Aphrodite had had enough, and she was ready to put her foot down. She wanted her husband as she had never wanted a man before, and she knew he deserved a break from all his long days and nights.
She already had the perfect arrangement in place and all she needed was a distraction for her husband, and to make sure her surprise would be well received.
She did not want Hephaestus to fall asleep in the middle of her seduction, of course!
(She knew how that turned out - at least weeks without any seduction to follow - which was not ideal.)
When she saw Hephaestus off for his day of work, she kissed him a little bit more passionately than she usually did, and he returned it in kind, drinking all of her in. She still got butterflies in her stomach when he paid so much attention to her, and she smirked into the kiss before pushing him off.
Her smile held promises for more to come, and the look he gave her which was full of hunger made her cheeks flush before he was off again to his forge.
Calming herself enough to think clearly, she called upon Hestia who had turned out to be a good friend to both the new bride and groom, and she was always willing to talk and bond with Aphrodite during the day when her temple was less busy than usual. Today, knowing full well that Aphrodite had something planned for Hephaestus (she was really bad at hiding her excitement), she came as soon as she was able.
"Yes, Aphrodite? What has gotten you all excited?" Hestia's smirk was knowing, and a little amused in her own right.
"Oh, is it really that obvious?" Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as her hands rung in her robes in anxious excitement. For being the goddess of love, her husband made her flustered a little too often.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, she patted beside her in an invitation for Hestia to sit which she gladly took, before launching into an explanation of her situation and her plan. By the time she was done, she could not look Hestia in the eye properly and she really just wanted to get all of this into motion before she died from the butterflies threatening her stomach.
If I was not mistaken, I would say she is the virgin goddess.
Hestia could not hide her amusement behind the goofy smile she wore on her face, but she was more than willing to distract Hephaestus from working and going home long enough for Aphrodite to prepare their home for her… plan.
She went off to follow Hephaestus to the forge, and Aphrodite set off to prepare the house.
"Hephaestus!"
"Ah! Dammit, woman! Don't scare me while I'm hammering!" Hephaestus turned around to see Hestia standing there with a wide grin on her face and an evil twinkle in her eye. Their rapport had turned to one between siblings watching over each other, and he couldn't be happier about it. Unless she showed up and her face had that look on it.
"What are you up to now?" She tried to hide her amusement, but it was obvious she was hiding something.
"Nothing! I've just seen you working hard all the time now, thought you might enjoy a break, perhaps a stroll around Olympus?"
If there was one thing he learned from the woman in his life, it was to not question their intentions. And, swear on the Styx, he did deserve a break after all the hard work he had done as of late.
Perhaps I'll have enough energy for my wife. His smile was radiant every time he thought about the beauty that was all his, and his gaze became distant for a few seconds. Hestia knew that look, and instead of ruining his daydream she simply grabbed his arm and dragged him out for some much needed relaxation.
Aphrodite was quite pleased with herself. She had prepared everything for the arrival of her husband – she had decorated their bedroom with candles, red ribbons to adorn their furniture, and red roses to cover the bed as her signature. It was absolutely perfect, and she then spent the day preparing with her muses the perfect dinner for her husband, though it took much longer than she thought for all the muses had different opinions on what was best… and she just hoped dinner would pass by quickly.
Finally, she readied herself as she had never done before – her hair was to perfection, she bathed in scented soaps and oils to smell just like roses, and she adorned her girdle. She pulled a house robe over her ensemble – which just fit her curves and showed her body enough to be sensual but not gaudy – and awaited for her husband's return.
She heard his return and was surprised, for he was quite early and Hestia was always precise in her timing, but she welcomed him nonetheless. She positioned herself on their bed and waited for his approach.
As she heard him approach the bedroom calling her name, she scrambled towards the bed for the final piece of the puzzle to be put into place. But of all the times to be clumsy, it had to be now for the poor goddess of love.
Before she could make her way onto the bed, a stray sheet had made its way onto the floor and subsequently under her foot, making her fall face first into the mattress.
She gave out a surprised squeak, and fumbled with the sheets in a fight to not look completely foolish in front of the one man she was trying to impress, but it was to no avail as the sheets decided to fit back.
When Hestia said she wanted to take a stroll around Olympus, Hephaestus should have known she meant the whole of Olympus. She had nearly wasted away his full day, but when he saw it was past-due the time to return home, he bid her a quick farewell before she could protest so he could see his lovely wife again.
He had to thank her, though, for although the walk was strenuous it was a welcome relief from being hunched over the fire of the forge, and he felt reenergized and refreshed, which he was certain his wife would use to her full advantage.
Not that he was complaining.
However, when he returned home to find Aphrodite not waiting for him with a scowl on her face for being late, he assumed the worst and went off looking for her throughout their home. That's when he heard the squeak and a struggle coming from their bedroom, and ran off as quickly as he could.
Only to find his wife in a heap of crumpled sheets with a shamed look upon her face, as if she had spoiled something wonderful. He was amused and his smirk showed it, but utterly confused, until he looked around the room once again. It was decorated in fine ribbons and candles, and looking at his wife again he saw that she was in nothing but her girdle and house-robe.
Everything quickly clicked for Hephaestus, and he asked, rather stupefied, "You did all of this for me?"
She had never seen him grin so widely, which made her feel slightly better, "Yes, but as you can see I ruined it. For being as graceful as all the mortals claim, I sure have two left feet when around you." His smile grew if that was possible, and her cheeks flushed. She looked away from him and continued, "I must look quite foolish, me with all my plans."
She tried laughing at herself, but when she looked up again to see Hephaestus with that serious look in his eyes, she stopped.
He approached her on the bed, until he was lying beside her and she could feel the heat from his body and he could smell the roses from her now slightly rumpled hair.
"You are adorable."
"Well, that wasn't exactly what I was going for." But she couldn't hide her smile, and his eyes drank in the sight of his wife. He had never seen her more beautiful – with her cheeks as red as apples and her hair slightly messed, giving her the look of an exotic princess, and her eyes with that twinkle that was saved just for him.
"I really don't deserve someone like you." Before she could protest about how wrong he was, he leaned forward and captured her lips with his own. Her noise of protest was replaced quickly with her moan of need – need only for him.
Before they continued, however, Aphrodite needed to say one more thing, which she had been too shy to do before, only whispering to her husband in the dead of night when she was sure he was asleep.
And now, she needed him to know that she really didn't deserve him either.
She pushed him back enough to breath, their breath mingling together, before she declared to the world in a whisper only loud enough for him to hear "I love you."
And then he was on her and invading her mouth and kissing her neck and she had never seen him like this, but she liked it and she was moaning his name while he touched and kissed her everywhere.
She had never had a lover be as attentive to her as she was to them, and she was slightly flustered at how odd it felt but she welcomed it while Hephaestus stripped both of them of their clothing while his mouth never left her skin.
Between every kiss he left on her skin, showing that she was his, he whispered into her skin "I love you", hoping to convince her of her worth and that she was beautiful but not just because she was destined to be so as the goddess of love.
And she couldn't get enough of Hephaestus's touches and kisses and him being so close to her, and she had never felt this way before and it was amazing. None of her other lovers had shown her such delicate care, yet she was not sure what to do with herself while she was lavished upon.
Between her own bliss, she tried to push Hephaestus off to show him the same attentions, but he would not allow it, "Let me love you. Really love you." And she understood what he was asking and she let him feel every inch of her, let him feel every gasp she gave and shudder of her body.
"Next time, however…" She breathily replied, but could not finish her thought for her husband was chuckling against her skin and the vibrations felt like perfection.
But then his teasing was not enough and too much at the same time, and she was begging for him and he could do nothing but give in to her, and then they were one and it was the most amazing feeling for both of them.
Once they were done, and they were satisfied and tired, they lazily entwined themselves on their bed until even they could not tell where one ended and the other began. No words were spoken, for they were not necessary, and they shared soft touches and kisses into the dawn.
"I love you."
Aphrodite, without hesitation, had never felt more content in her life.
A/N: Thank you for all the favorites, follows, and views! Leave a review to let me know how I'm doing, and if you're still liking it so far! Also, I'm not sure where I wanna take these two next so if you guys have a prompt for me, let me know it! :)