Hades opened the door for Persephone as she carefully climbed in the black sleek limo that Charon had ordered specifically so that it could cross the River Styx without his direct involvement. Hades walked round and got in as well, his tall muscular figure slinking into the car without hassle. Persephone could admire the gracefulness of his body, and she could see that any woman who could ignore his reputation would lust after him with such fury.
Suddenly she remembered Minthe, the solid fling Hades had a few centuries ago that made Persephone almost go Hera on the poor girl. Jealousy had never occurred to Persephone when she agreed to marry Hades, but seeing that mortal gazing up at Hades with such intent...
"Everything alright dearest?" Hades suddenly said bringing Persephone back into the present. She hadn't realized her face growing a deep hot red as she felt her cheeks burning against her skin.
"Fine husband" she said trying to wave the past away "I'm alright."
Hades lifted one dark eyebrow at her but she simply looked away and stared at the fast moving outside that was blurring by in the limo's window. He sighed and rubbed part of his forehead. This may prove difficult for them if Persephone chose to keep her feelings bottled up inside. He may have not spent as much time as he should of with her, but he knew when his mate was feeling negative. It was just a shame she wouldn't share with him...
"You know that if we are going to pull off being madly in love it may help if we spoke to one another more" he said calmly, trying to keep his voice as even as possible. Upsetting Persephone may not be the best choice for either of them.
"I know, I'm sorry" she suddenly said "I'm just so used to keeping my thoughts to myself. You know how my mother gets. If I said one thing she would go on a rant about how she felt about the situation and I would never get a word in edge wise."
"Well that will not come from talking to me" Hades said relaxing a bit, remembering that Persephone's issues weren't exactly with him, but Demeter instead.
"It's just" Persephone said biting her lip a bit "I was remembering when you were seeing Minthe."
"Ah" he said quickly.
Hades tensed a bit at the name, remembering his little fling with the mortal girl Minthe in the early stages of his marriage to Persephone. He had thought that they were on the same page, and that they could see other people if they so chose to. He had never known Persephone to get jealous, but that day was a bit different then most.
"I never did get to apologize to you for that" Persephone said taking a deep breathe "It's just, she had told me you were interested in her because I wasn't for filling your needs and by the time the argument was over I was stomping her into the ground."
Hades remembered watching that, the horrible fury and embarrassment that had escaped his dear wife that day. Minthe should not have run her mouth like she had, but before Hades could intervene and reprimand the girl, Persephone had raged out and trampled her.
But, after the anger had settled, he had watched his wife start crying tears at what she had done, her emotions getting the best of her. To pay for her outburst, Persephone had risen a new plant from the spirit of Minthe and called it Mint in her honor. Now it was a household plant that everyone enjoyed in either their gardens or the flavor in their mouths.
He smiled suddenly, thinking that although she had lost her temper, she had made that mortal girl immortal in her own way to repay for her anger. He suddenly took Persephone's hand in his and gently rubbed the top of her hand with his thumb in slow movements.
"It was my fault" he said gently shaking his head "I should not have thought it would be right to put you in that position. You lost your temper, yes, but I was the one at fault. In the end you were the one that came out saving face. You took her life and gave her a new immortal one."
"I just couldn't believe I was capable of doing that" Persephone said looking down at her lap.
"You are capable of so much Persephone" he said gently "You simply need to realize it and then control your greatness. My mother told me that too when I was very young and discovering my powers, and now look at me."
Hades motioned like a fool at himself before giving her a wink which she simply rolled her eyes with a smile. Her husband always knew what to say to make her feel at ease, even for her mistakes.
They spent the rest of the car ride in comfortable silence, content with just being with one another. It made Persephone feel as if she could really pull this off. She may not be in love with Hades, but he was dear to her in such a way as no one else could be. If she could grow from that, maybe she could convince others that they should not be apart.
The booming of the music could be heard from the gates of Dionysus's House as the limo pulled up through the driveway. Persephone shook her head with a smile.
"Some things never change" Hades said also grinning as he looked out the window to see lights dancing everywhere from every window. Maenads danced wildly in yards and gardens as Persephone saw their bodies twirling by and then disappearing into the sculpted bushes that lined the maze gardens.
The limo slowly pulled up as a girl dressed scantily in a toga and a decorative wreath in her hair opened the door for the couple with a lust filled smile at both of them before closing it and drifting off with the other girls that had come out from the hoppin house before them. They both looked up at the huge house that Dionysus had chosen to look like a Roman temple, with vines cascading up along the pillars and huge windows decorating the walls in between. Every color and manner of light was strobing and flashing out of those windows, and they both knew eventually they would have to go inside.
Persephone looked up at Hades who glanced down at her before straightening up and giving a slight cough.
"Well" he said "It's not or never wife."
He silently held out his arm for her to take, nervous that she might not. He had been waiting for Persephone to back out of all of this. For her to take a chance at real happiness and go running back to Zeus to be married to a god that would love and worship her like she deserved.
But instead, Persephone smiled at him and wrapped her arm in his gently.
Hades could feel a lightness in his heart, that once again she had chosen him before anything else. He led the way with her by his side as they both walked up the stairs towards the big old fashioned doors. There was no sense in knocking, nobody could probably hear them over the music as Hades pushed open the doors to the biggest party he had seen since the Great Gatsby era.
Men and women, gods and goddesses, creatures and things flooded around the huge house dancing and laughing and screaming at new surprises that came at them from every corner. Persephone felt a huge grin cross her face, thinking that this little test might actually be fun as she saw nymphs she knew running around dancing and laughing while spilling wine all over themselves.
"Let's go find Dionysus" Hades said in her ear which to deafened everything else around Persephone. It was amazing how she could focus on his voice and his voice alone sometimes. It was like a beacon of light that made sense in all the chaos.
They kept together as they weaved through the crowd, the dancing fools all smiling and giggling and moving against one another. It would be the party of the century if anyone remembered it the next day.
The main party was in a ballroom, with different colored streamers cascaded across the ceiling and wrapping around the many columns that lined the ballroom. A set of huge staircases sat at the end of the room and in the middle perched in a big golden throne sat Dionysus with his fiance sitting happily in his lap as they both drank and listened to the music.
Dionysus didn't look a day over 500 as he sat youthful and happy in his chair, his wavy brown hair held back by a decorative wreath of wine leaves and berries. He dressed in a toga of his choice as did his bride to be, a theme that seemed to fall only on him and his maeneds that danced around the property wildly.
They walked up the steps that led to where the two sat, their arms still linked together as they had been the entire time. Persephone had seen some gods and goddesses staring at them, almost in disbelief that the King and Queen of the Underworld had actually arrived together.
Dionysus though took one look at the couple and shouted in joy as he and his fiance bounced up from their throne together.
"UNCLE HADES!" Dionysus bellowed over the music "And my queen Persephone! You two actually made it!"
"We wouldn't have missed it" Hades said letting the fool give him a big sloppy hug. He had always like Dionysus, even if he was a drunken mess sometimes. But he had found happiness and love, even in a mortal. He would have to make a mental note to give the girl something fit for a bride of a god.
"Ariadne you look absolutely beautiful" Persephone said as she bowed her head at the girl.
"Thank you my lady" she said blushing, for it was almost not heard of for a god to bow to a mortal "Dionysus's nymphs made my dress and my wreath for me tonight. I just can't believe it's finally happening."
"May your marriage be a long and happy one" she said smiling brightly.
"It should be!" Dionysus piped up "I mean just look at you two. If the God of the Dead can have a happy marriage, why shouldn't we? Right pookie?" he said kissing Ariadne on the cheek.
Persephone looked over at Hades for a moment with a confused look, but Hades simply gave her a small shake of the head saying it wasn't the right time or place to ask questions. Persephone simply smiled and walked over to Hades, her arm wrapping around his again as she slightly leaned into him.
"Just look at them Ari! So into each other, amazing that they made it this long with Demeter always on their case!" he said laughing it up.
Persephone now wondered how much Hades had told Dionysus in the few moments she had spoken to Ariadne.
"If you'll excuse us Dionysus" Persephone said with a dramatic wink and a sly smile "I'd like to enjoy the night with my husband."
"By all means my queen!" Dionysus said sitting back down with his love in his lap "Enjoy the night and yourselves!"
Persephone gave a slight bow before dragging Hades down the steps with Dionysus laughing about how the couple couldn't wait to be alone with one another. She weaved in and out through people, never once letting go of her husbands hand since her body was too angry. If Hades was just going to blurt out their situation to every god he saw then why make her act like they were in love with one another? Why put her through this and have her stress over whether or not her freedom was at stake?
She dragged the God of the Dead behind a Roman column and nearly pinned him against the stone as the lights danced between the shadowed part where they stood.
"What was that all about?" Persephone said with a loud hiss.
"What do you mean?" Hades said confused "I merely gained Dionysus for our cause."
"If I didn't know any better you just told him the truth!" Persephone said "And if that's the case then why have us both go through this act? Why make people think we are in love and then just tell them that we aren't? What's the point of all that Hades!?"
Suddenly Hades stood straight and bent his head down towards Persephone, his eyes piercing and serious.
"I told Dionysus that our love was stronger then ever, that we were even thinking about me coming to see you in springtime so I wouldn't have to be away from you from you for so long. I told him the only problem was getting Demeter to agree with it. Dionysus offered his villa for us to meet in if she wouldn't agree to the terms which he thought were reasonable anyway. I didn't tell him the real reason, I know what that would do to your reputation" he said evenly and almost chilly towards Persephone.
Persephone felt like sticking her foot in her mouth for assuming Hades would betray her, but damn it, she was nervous that she couldn't pull this off.
"I'm sorry" she said softly.
They both looked at each other slightly filled with anger when suddenly Persephone spotted Pan coming through the darkness with a bunch of nymphs in tow. This was the time to prove to Hades that she could act as well, and get the sweet satisfaction of showing that creepy satyr that she had chosen better.
Quickly she grabbed at Hades's jacket hard and pulled him into her, her lips crashing down into his as they backed into the column hard. Hades felt her lips and a sudden wave came over him as his hands wrapped around her waist, his hands grabbing at her with such fierceness he had never felt before. His body awakened even more as Persephone pushed her body against his, his kisses growing deeper as she pushed into him.
Persephone felt a hotness growing inside of her, a want she had never felt before but grew deeper and more intense the more she pressed herself into Hades. His kiss deepened as she took his lips in hers, his tongue finding places inside her mouth that made her legs want to turn to jelly. She had almost completely forgotten Pan as he strolled by with his nymphs, their faint giggling being heard over the loud music as they talked about how cute the couple looked. She heard Pan scoff and trot on, his tail clearly in a tangle as he watched his former fiance making out hard with her husband.
But Persephone found her lips still on Hades even when the group passed. Her hands now let go and gently moved across his chest, a faint hiss escaping his lips as he caught her hands right before the reached to his pant line.
"I think we should get some air" he got out finally, trying to remain cool as he backed away from Persephone.
She looked at him confused for a moment, a need in her body that she couldn't quite put her finger on pulsing inside of her. But instead of questioning, she merely followed Hades out into the garden, her lips hot from the kiss they had both shared.
If Hades had not wanted it then why did not push her away?
And why had he not stopped when Pan passed?
