(Random AU): Backup

Hades awkwardly messed with his tie, grimacing at the mirror. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for the worst.

When Zeus had irritated him into accepting a blind date, it hadn't quite dawned on him what he'd agreed to. He'd only wanted his older brother to stop pestering him.

Her name was Persephone. Apparently, she was a friend of one of Zeus' former girlfriends, Demeter, or something. According to Zeus, she was his age and studied botany, and naturally, her hobby was gardening. That little fact would've been interesting had Hades not despised plants. The whole date was probably going to be a lecture about what type of fertilizer to use, or all the different varieties of some random flower.

At least he didn't have to pick her up. There was that.

He had backup waiting, just in case.


"Hi," Persephone said nervously. She reminded Hades of a china doll; ivory skin, petite frame, an innocent, childlike face. He forced a smile and a "Hi" that he hoped didn't seem sarcastic. He noticed she was wearing a floral dress. Of course she would.


At some point, they got to the "Tell me about yourself" part, which Hades loathed. She was a studying botanist, a vegan(obviously,) and an only child. "And, um, I like gardening," she finished lamely. Hades wanted to rip his hair out.

"So, um, what about you?" Persephone asked. He was about to respond when his phone started buzzing obnoxiously. He glanced down at the screen and fought to keep from grinning. "Sorry, I have to take this," he said, rising from his seat. She gave a polite smile as he walked towards the back of the restaurant.

He hit the TALK button. "Hello?"

"Hey, Romeo," Zelena's voice said coyly. "How's the date going?"

"Spectacularly," he replied dryly.

"That well, hm?" She was laughing. "Well, don't worry. I'm on my way."

"Good," he said firmly. "Hurry. I can't take much more of this."

Her laugh rang through the phone again. "Poor thing. I'll see you in ten." Zelena hung up. Hades stuffed his phone into his pocket and spent as much time he could making his way back to the table.

"Everything all right?" Persephone asked, concerned. "Yeah, everything's fine," Hades said dismissively. "Just my mother reminding me to do something."

"Oh." They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, until she tried to break the ice. "What did you say you-"

"Hades!" Thank heavens. Backup had finally arrived. Zelena pushed past the hostess, a worried look on her face.

"Zelena?" Hades tried to act confused rather than relieved. "What are you doing here?"

"Zeus told me where you were. Thank goodness I was able to find you!" she said frantically.

"Why? What's happened?" Persephone inquired. Hades hoped she didn't catch Zelena's look of disgust.

"Thanatos is at the hospital!" Zelena exclaimed.

"What?" Hades said incredulously, fighting back a smile.

"Who?" Persephone looked utterly lost with the conversation.

"He was out running. A car hit him," Zelena said tearfully.

"Ok, ok, calm down," Hades said. Zelena pretended to sob.

"I don't know if he's going to make it."

Those drama classes were clearly paying off.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do," Hades said gently. "I'm going to take you to the hospital. We'll stay there until we know what's happening, okay?" Zelena nodded wordlessly.

Seeing Persephone's suspicious look, he added, "Your boyfriend's going to be alright, okay?"

Zelena's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second. She was probably going to make him pay for that later. Instead, she nodded again.

Hades turned to Persephone. "I'm really sorry," he lied.

"No, it's fine!" she insisted. "Go."

Hades led Zelena out the door, arm around her shoulders.


As they neared the parking lot, Zelena punched Hades in the shoulder. "That's for saying Thanatos is my boyfriend," she said, though her tone was playful, and her eyes sparkling.

"I think she bought it," Hades said off-handedly, rubbing his shoulder good-naturedly.

Zelena scoffed. "Of course she bought it. Do you doubt my acting skills?"

"Not at all."

"That's what I thought," Zelena said smugly. "You owe me, by the way."

"Indeed I do. Any ideas as to how I might repay Your Highness?" Hades joked.

"Your Highness...Mm, I like that," she laughed. "Tell you what, servant, you can drive me home."

Hades grinned at his best friend.

"Of course, Your Majesty."

I feel kinda bad for making them ditch Persephone like that... Whatever, it wouldn't have worked anyway.

I'm writing this approximately two hours before the new episode, btw.

Oh, and my computer broke, so I'm putting this on my Kindle. Sorry if there are any errors.

Review, please! I didn't get too many after the last chapter and I'm worried no one liked it

(Btw, I went to this awesome mini convention at my library, and I had so much fun!)