Chapter four

We were eating a dinner of tacos (yuuuuuuum) when it happened.

There I was, devouring my food as if I'd been starving and gulping down soda as if my life depended on it, while Persephone daintily took delicate bites. She had a thoughtful expression on her perfect face as I was drowning my drink, my throat feeling very parched.

"Hades sent for me today." She said suddenly, out of nowhere.

I choked on my soda and started coughing, hacking is the more proper word, I suppose.

"Oh goodness, are you okay?" Persephone exclaimed, rising from her chair to help.

I waved my hand in a gesture to tell her to sit. "W-what…" I gasped, trying to catch my breath. "What do you mean…Hades called?" I felt better now, but I moved the glass as far from me as possible. I wasn't even going to touch that thing while we had this conversation, for safety precautions.

She put her fair hands into her lap and stared down at her feet. "Well…Hermes came by today while you were out doing you business, you know your movie thing. I asked him what he wanted and he said Hades sent him to tell me that he wanted me to come back down to the Underworld. He apparently told Hermes to tell me that he was so very sorry."

"And you believed him?" I demanded.

She looked offended. "Of course not! I'm not stupid. Anyway, Hermes told me that Hades wanted to meet me tomorrow in the Underworld. He said he wanted to apologize."

"B-but you're not actually going to go are you?" I scoffed in disbelief.

Persephone gazed at me and I noticed how her eyes twinkled and shone even though she was frowning upon me. "I have to, Apollo."

I shook my head, feeling anger start to build up inside me. "No, you don't Persephone! How do you know he won't just use this as another opportunity to hurt you?" I cried in exasperation. "You don't know. How do you know what to expect down there?"

She glared at me. Her eyes weren't twinkling now; oh no, now they were burning with green fire. "You don't understand."

"Then please explain why you want to risk yourself, your own emotions, to get an apology that isn't even sincere from the most untrustworthy, horrific, atrocious god there is?" I snapped.

"Why do you care so much anyway, Apollo? I thought you'd like me to leave. I thought you hated having me here." She retorted, leaping to her feet.

I stood. "Stop putting words in my mouth! I never said, never thought, such a thing! Why would you think that?" I was almost shouting now. But then again so was she.

Persephone put her hands on her hips. "oh, I don't know, maybe because of the fact that you seem annoyed at everything little thing I do. 'What do you want for dinner?' 'Oh, I don't care' 'fine, leave me to make all the decisions'!" She mimicked the earlier confrontation bitterly.

I scowled. "Big deal, that doesn't prove anything."

"Like hell it does!" She yelled.

"Fine!" I shouted. "Go, run away back to your precious Lord. See if I care! 'Hades is SO handsome, SO muscular! Who cares if he cheated on me, who cares if he broke my heart? Just as long as he's good looking he can do whatever he wants. He can go cheat on me with hundreds of other women, all my other friends, as long as he loves me dearest!' Well, I've got news for you Persephone: he doesn't love you! Never has, never will so get over it and move on woman!"

Persephone clenched her fists and stormed toward me. Before I could even raise a hand to defend myself, she backhanded me across the cheek. It stung like hell. I held my tender cheek and glared at her. Oh, she was gonna get it now.

Her smug look was soon erased as I grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms behind her back in one swift movement. She cried out, in shock more then pain, and kicked me in the shin. I cursed and grasped a lock of her hair and pulled.

"OW!" She yelled and swung around punch me in the gut.

"Shit!" I groaned, hunched over.

She pulled away and kicked me where it hurts. I toppled to the floor in pain. Damn, that woman knew how to fight!

She looked her nose down at me. "You know, for a guy that brags about beating people up, you sure suck at fighting. A girl just whopped your butt, Ares would be disgusted. But then again, we all are." She turned away from me as if to leave.

I snapped. There was no way she was going to leave, satisfied at having kicked my ass. I lashed out with my foot and caught her ankle. "AH!" With a yelp she fell to the ground, startled. I made my move.

Lunging forward I grabbed her flailing wrists and pulled them over her head. One of her feet caught my back and I grunted at the pain. I straddled her and with my weight overpowering hers, she stopped struggling. We were both panting from the fight.

My voice came out a gasp. "Don't…start a fight you…can't win."

Persephone scowled and spat at me.

I grabbed her hair in my fist and forced her to look at me. "Stop it." I growled.

"Let me go!" She screamed.

"No. Not until I know you've calmed down enough that you won't do anything irrational." I said firmly.

She snorted. "I don't do anything irrational Apollo."

"Oh really, then what was that fight you started all about?"

"Oh, you know you deserved that! You just wouldn't shut your big stupid mouth and so I did something about it. Explain how that is irrational."

I stared at her. "You are the most stubborn person I've ever met, you know that?"

She almost smiled. Almost. "You are the most arrogant, I've ever met."

I gazed at her, and she stared me in the eyes. It was then I noticed our positions. I was straddling her hips and we were only inches apart, so close our lips were almost touching. Wow. How'd that happen? I knew it should be awkward but my heart was beating so fast and she looked so good right then. My breathing grew shallower and I could see her breathing become hitched as well. My lust to kiss her, to ravish her right then was almost overpowering. I could tell she felt the same.

"Arrogant, huh?" I whispered huskily.

"Yeah." Her pink tongue darted out to wet her lips. "Really obnoxious and stupid."

I leaned closer. "Is that so? Well, do you like to see the other side of me?"

"I don't know." She smiled sexily. "Do you want me to?"

"I've been wanting to show you for a long time." I could barely think. Something, a little voice in the back of my mind, urged me not to do this, telling me I shouldn't, that this was totally and completely out of proportion. But I wanted to. Oh I how I wanted to.

Forgetting everything, all coherent thought, I closed the space between us.

God, her lips were perfect! So moist and soft. And wait. Was she kissing me back? Oh good god she was! I let her wrists loose and cupped her face tenderly. Her hands moved up to pull me closer.

I let my hands roams down her delicate curves and soft skin, emitting a small moan of pleasure from her. This was it! Finally after so many years we were finally going to-

That's when the doorbell rang.