Chapter 4
~Earlier~
Persephone let out a long, relaxed sighed as she toweled her hair dry. She slipped back into her underthings and slid her arms through the sleeves on Hades' shirt. She giggled quietly as she did up the buttons, quite sure the garment looked ridiculous on her. He was never anything but kind to her, so was it really a surprise she felt comfortable enough to use his shower or wear his clothes?
The cool air hit her as she stepped outside of the foggy bathroom and she shuddered a little. Glancing around his room out of curiosity, something caught her eye. There was a beautiful antique typewriter sitting on his desk and next to it…a light pink envelope. Her named was scrawled across it in flawless cursive and a thought struck her. Maybe something had come up and Hades had to step out? It would be like him to leave a letter, his habitual formality dorky but endearing to her. She used her nail to pry the envelope open.
"Dear Persephone,
By now, I should be able to let these feelings go. It should be enough for me that you're in my life at all. I should count myself lucky that you consider me, a god who reeks of death and misery, to be your friend. I thought that as more time passed, I'd be able to detach myself, create some much-needed distance from you. It seems that it doesn't make any difference. I love you, still. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. I knew from the moment I met you: I'd pay you a salary to barge in on every single aspect of my life. I can't ask that of you, but I also learned that I can't force myself to stop feeling this way. I've tried, and quite frankly had about as much success as Icarus in his little endeavor…
You don't belong with me, you don't belong in my realm. You belong with someone like Apollo or Eros. Spring and sunshine, life and love. Anyone would be a better match than I would. You can't blossom down here. I"—
Knocking and low creak interrupted her reading. She looked up to find Hades standing in the doorway with a shocked, almost worried expression. His eyes darted between her and the letter in her hands.
"Hades…what is this?"
"You weren't supposed to read that."
"I saw it sitting on your desk with my name on it, I thought you'd left it for me. Do you-do you mean what you wrote?"
His words caught in his throat. Lying was useless, if she'd read any part of it she already knew how he felt about her. He might as well confirm it: "Every word."
Her eyes bled a dark shade of red and a crown of thorns began to weave itself through her hair. "...Let me set you straight, Hades. I belong wherever I want to be, with whoever I want to be with! For someone so ancient and knowledgeable, you're a real idiot sometimes. Thank you so much for taking the time to consider what I want and not just mentally hoisting myself into the arms of whoever you delusionally think is better than you."
Hades felt his chest ache; she completely misunderstood him. He never meant to tell her what choices she should make, he never meant for her to see the letter at all! "Little goddess, I-"
"That's right, I AM a GODDESS. I deserve respect and consideration and-and..." Her eyes glistened and her breathing hitched. "I thought you looked at me differently than everyone else. People see me as this-this child who has no idea what she's doing but you've never made me feel that way, until now." She closed her eyes and a few tears dripped down her cheeks. When she opened them again, he saw that the red was gone and the branches in her hair had blossomed and withered in quick succession.
"I'm capable of making decisions for myself and discerning what's good for me. I know what I want. And it's you." She looked up at him through tear-flecked eyelashes and held her breath.
Hades couldn't think or-or see straight or move… He shook his head lamely in an attempt to process the information. "How...? You… Persephone… Nobody wants me. No one pines for the god of the dead. This can't be real."
Dainty pink feet softly trotted over the plush carpet. Gentle hands rested on the sides of his face and pulled him down. "Hades," she whispered as her lips hovered over his, "I love you too."
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I might end the story here? I can add another chapter if you'd like, but this doesn't seem like a bad place to stop. Let me know.