The Last Bite

Chapter 10: Spring and Winter

Disclaimer: I do not own the Greek myths, I'm just using them for fun.

They had kissed before, most definitely, but it had only been once before, on the day of the wedding. She had been in tears of hate, and although he had been happy, seeing her pain had hurt him to. So that kiss had been bitter, wet, full of the pain she had then been feeling and the suffering he had always felt. It had been quick, over before anything could be felt, and she had turned away from him, then openly weeping as they were proclaimed husband and wife. And that, that tear filled kiss, had been it.

He had tried to kiss her again after the wedding, tried desperately to get his wife to feel something other than hate for him, but she had never let him, instead turning away so that his lips fell to her forehead, her cheek, her hair—never her lips.

So to feel her lips on his now, those sweet luscious things, was like he had found heaven. His mind was a sea of turbulence, but his heart was, just from such a simple touch, beating like it never had before. Beating in a way that made him seem human, made him seem, for the first time, alive…

If she had pulled back then, a glare on her face, tears once again in her eyes, it would have been the end for him. But to his heart's delight, to his mind's astonishment, she didn't, but on the contrary only seemed to press closer into him, her mouth moving against his in a way that sent fire through his entire being, made him feel as though he were in the fires of his own Underworld, enduring the sweetest punishment of all. Her lips…

Her arms were on his shoulders, squeezing, silently encouraging him with her lips, with her mere presence, to give in, to kiss her back, to take what she was offering…

He was having doubts, those thoughts that constantly plagued him when it involved her, as he tried to resist the lure she was presenting for him. Those sweet, soft lips, her hair, her skin… He kept his eyes squeezed shut so he wouldn't see her face, so afraid of what might be there, and what it would do to him. Break him or save him….

She pulled away then, and he to fight himself to keep from opening his eyes to gauge her reaction. Her hands stayed on his shoulders, her body up against his, so warm, so inviting…

"Hades…"

His name, whispered against his lips by the breath of spring, by her breath that felt like the sweetest breeze. It sent a shiver trembling down his spine, and sent a stab of longing, of emotions so great that they almost physically hurt him, to his heart, and he knew, knew by the way she was no longer pulling away, by her lips hovering inches from his—the greatest temptation of all—that he could no longer resist her.

He gave into the fires with a groan the shook them both, his mouth slamming against hers in such a way that she gasped, more breaths against his lips as he kissed her with all the passion he had held back, his arms wrapping greedily around her waist, pulling her closer, even closer, as his hands got lost in her fiery locks.

The kiss grew only deeper once he realized that she was, for the first time, kissing him back, her lips moving perfectly against his, her hands gripping his shoulders even tighter, possessively, urgently, as she moaned and he groaned back.

Lips parted, fire raged as winter and spring danced together in their kiss, and behind his eyelids he saw an explosion of color, felt for the first time the immortality, the invincibility, that he possessed.

A god and a goddess, a man and a woman… Hades and Persephone…

It was how it was supposed to be.

They broke apart with a gasp, her forehead falling against his chest, her arms staying on his shoulders. She stayed with him… This time, when Hades opened his eyes he was the one crying after the kiss, tears as cold as his soul had always been sliding down his face silently, as though all that coldness in him was finally being drawn out.

He was afraid to move, afraid to move, afraid to even breathe. She was in his arms, she had kissed him… His mind was churning, his heart floating higher and higher up in his chest until he felt as though it would float away from him and his body, break free to Mt Olympus in higher. He was higher than Zeus, had all the power in the world so long as this petite girl was secure in his arms. In his arms by her own free will…

He was supposed to be angry at her, supposed to be pushing her away, telling her to leave. But…He couldn't. Too long had he longed for her touch, to have her in his arms, that he found himself loathe to move. The challenge didn't matter, Hermes seemed nonexistent. There was only Persephone, breathing softly against his shoulder, her hair tickling his chin as he held her closer, always closer. And there was only Persephone…

"Hades…" For the first time he hated hearing her voice, knowing that it would end the silence, end the bliss he wished could last for all eternity. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing that he could just block out the world at the moment, the reality that not even the immortals could hide from.

But she was starting to pull away, draw him away from that piece of heaven he had always desired. He tried to hang on to her for as long as he could, but she was moving back steadily, her eyes, those bright eyes, staring up at him, her lips so red and full and kissable… He didn't even realize he was trembling until she reached up a slim, warm hand and placed it on his cheek, and he was in heaven all over again.

"Hades…" she was whispering, "I came here for you; I came all the way down here to just be with you. I wanted to tell you back in the throne room, but you didn't give me a chance…"

He couldn't bear to believe it; he just wouldn't. Was she really saying…?

He drew away from her with his eyes still closed, feeling his chest start to heave under all the pressure as he struggled to breathe, to understand, to grasp what she was trying to tell him. "Why…What did you come all the way down here to tell me?"

Her answer could make or break him, and they both knew that. There were too many possibilities, too much past drama between them. Would it be good or bad…? Fear and hope warred inside him, and he found that the fear—after living such a life that he had—was stronger than the hope. In this dark realm, this bleak immortal life he lived, where could he possibly find hope?

Everything inside him was convinced that it would be a reason to break his heart as she opened her mouth again, her blue eyes soft on his. She was just being kind to him because she knew that the response, the truth, would kill him. That kiss had meant nothing to her; she still felt nothing beyond friendship—if even that—for him. A lost cause; the perfection definition of his love for her. Why had she even kissed him…? She was probably engaged to Hermes, about to tell him that this was goodbye, forever. She would never miss him; never think of him again…

All his dark thoughts floated around inside him to settle on a single moment as she began to speak, and he was undecided on whether he should even listen…

"Hades, I'm sorry I just barged in here like this, but I have to tell you…Please don't turn away…I came to tell you that I…I haven't stopped thinking about you since I left here! I can't…I don't understand why, but you won't leave my mind! I think about you all the time now, I wish you were always with me…! I don't understand it completely yet, but Hades…"

He was in shock when she looked up at him, her eyes—the window to the skies—shining up at him with all the light he had always been deprived, leaving him melting, leaving him only with his heart, pounding and skipping in his chest as she uttered the words he had longed to hear for too long, those words that would set him free of all his darkness, of the dank dungeons he had for too long been trapped in. Those words, made as immortal as he was throughout time, universal throughout all lands, all realms, mortals and gods alike…

Those words that would keep her with him forever.

"Hades, I think I'm in love with you."

--

Hermes knew that there was only one person who would ever manage to talk sense into Persephone. Demeter was always there for Persephone, always there to draw her back before she went too far, make her see the reality of the situation before it hurt her. Demeter would know exactly what to do to get Persephone back, and, as it was his hope, to get Persephone to forget all about Hades and love only him.

Hermes had never considered himself to be the jealous type, the possessive type, but Persephone was different. Persephone had always been his friend, from when they were small, through all the hardships. He had always considered her a sister until about a year ago, when he had for the first time really looked at her and seen how her looks were changing. The baby fat that had plagued her had melted away into sharp, distinct features, high cheek bones and perfect lips. Her body had developed stunning curves that rivaled those of even Aphrodite, and her voice had changed from innocent to sexily sweet, taking on a pure ringing quality that he could spend all day just listening too.

She had to return his affections, he was sure; after all, he had been with it through it all, her whole life. How could she even consider Hades before him? He had a feeling that Hades was manipulating her in some way, bribing her to come back to him. He probably hired a seer to bewitch her, or tempted the fates to make her return to him. It was the only explanation; Persephone wouldn't willingly return to the man who had captured her; he knew that. Demeter would make her see, break the curse, and Persephone would listen to her. After all, there was no one Persephone loved more than her mother.

The cabin was silent when he arrived; as though Persephone were still inside, sound asleep like always instead of miles underneath of him. His hands clenched into fists at his sides as he approached the front door. He hesitated outside of it, wondering if he should knock first. He had been in the house plenty of times before, but never so late in the night…

Before he could make a decision the choice was made for him when the door suddenly swung open, and a frantic Demeter stared back at him.

"Demeter-" Hermes began, but was cut off by the goddess's frantic voice.

"Persephone! Where is Persephone?"

Hermes closed his mouth, blinked in surprise. "Oh, so you noticed she was gone?"

The air grew colder around him, the grass turning brown beneath his feet—dying—as she leveled him with a glare that made him wince. "Are you implying that I wouldn't notice my daughter was missing?" she demanded in cold tones, and he had no choice but to shake his head no for fear of her making it start to snow.

"Good," Demeter relaxed a little, enough to make the air warm again but not enough to make the grass and leaves green again. "Now Hermes, tell me, have you seen her? Where is she?!"

"That's what I came here to tell you Demeter; I know where Persephone went!"

"Well then please Hermes, tell me!" the distraught goddess pleaded, and Hermes could see in her great blue eyes—so much like her daughter's—the extent of her concern.

"Well, I think that she might be seduced—"

"By who?!" the air grew colder again in the Demeter's wrath, her fear. "Dammit Hermes, just tell me!"

And Hermes knew that there was no going back.

"She went down to the Underworld. I'm so sorry Demeter, I tried to stop her…Demeter…?"

The goddess had gone still, too still. For a moment he could not read her eyes as the air began to heat up, as the leaves began to rustle and the grass began to ripple. Very slowly Demeter turned unfocused eyes on him, and he nearly took a step back at the fury he saw blazing in her eyes as the temperature took on an unnatural heat.

"He took my baby…" Demeter whispered as the leaves began to fall off their branches. "He stole her from me again…"

Hermes felt useless as tears began to well up in the mother's eyes, and tentatively he reached out, hoping to offer so comfort… Until her palm connected with the side of his face.

Yelping he jumped back as Demeter turned on him, her eyes wild as her hair escaped its ponytail in tendrils of fire. "You just let her go! You just let her walk to him…!"

"I-I tried to stop her Demeter, but she wouldn't listen! I think Hades is doing something to her, bribing her somehow, entrancing her—"

"Well of course that's what he's doing!" Demeter snapped, "My baby would never go to him on her own! Oh gods, what if he's already married her again!? Oh lord, I can't take that…! Oh….!"

For a second she began to sway on her feet, and Hermes had the idea that she might just faint. "Do you want to sit down?" he quietly asked, and was startled by the way she suddenly snapped to attention, her once swaying body becoming rigid as her hands turned into fists at her sides.

"No!" she practically shouted at him, "I can't ever sit down knowing she's down there with him! Oh gods, we have to talk to Zeus, now! How could she…? How could he…?!"

Hermes had no choice but to follow the frantic Demeter as she took off in a dead run towards Mt Olympus, the leaves behind her, the trees, the flowers, all forms of earthly life dying as she ran past them, leaving the earth cold and barren as up above the clouds swirled to cover the black sky in another layer of darkness, and Hermes knew what was coming.

By the time they reached Mt Olympus, Demeter not pausing in her run, it was snowing, and Hermes could only watch the small flakes fall, accumulate, and wonder how much longer it would take for the white substance to completely bury the earth and with it, the Underworld.

--

She had no idea how he'd take it; in fact, she wasn't even sure yet how she herself would take it. She waited for the regret to sink in as she watched the emotions flicker across his darkly handsome face, waiting patiently as the shock wore off and the astonishment sank in. She was even more astonished herself to find that she felt no regret as she looked up at him, gazing up at him through her lashes. Waiting for something…Anything…

Her heart wrenched in her chest as the awe wore off and the suspicion set in, that familiar shadowing in his eyes taking over until she knew that he would pull away from her, yell at her and try to push her away to protect himself. But she wouldn't allow him, wouldn't let him go—not this time.

"Hades!" She grabbed the front of his tunic, pulled him back to her even as he tried to pull away. "Hades, I'm telling the—"

"No!" he abruptly cut her off, reaching up to grab her hands as he tried to pry them off. "I can't take this Persephone; I can't take you abusing my feelings like this! Do you really think I forgot the challenge!? Do you really think that one kiss would make me forget about how you looked at Hermes?!"

"Hades, I didn't—"

But he had wrenched away from her, darkness surrounding him as he stepped back, his eyes glowing like fire at her. "Don't you dare try to deny it!" he hissed, "I don't know who you're trying to fool—"

"Gods Hades!" She was done; she was done with his assumptions, she was fed up with always being talked over, never listened to. "Hades, will you just shut up and actually listen to me for a second?!"

She had to give him credit; he recovered from his shock in record time. "Why should I?!" he yelled back, "Just so I can learn that you're leaving me to rot down here again, leaving me for the bright, sunny Hermes and the land—"

"I never said anything about Hermes, dammit, and he's not a part of this! This is only you and me, and that's it!"

"No, it's not!" he growled, "You only want me to believe that!"

"Why would I do that?!" she shrieked back, "Hades, didn't you hear me!? I love you, you idiot! I love you!"

She said it so urgently, so desperately, that for a moment she saw him hesitate, saw the anger die down some. And she took advantage of it.

Launching herself at him, she could only cling to him as she looked him directly in the eye, her mouth inches from his.

"Hades…"

The anger had died down, leaving a hurt, a fear lurking in his eyes, his soul, that broke her heart all over again, and she could only hold him tighter.

"Hades, I promise to you right now, on all my immortality, that I won't leave you again. I…I honestly don't think I even can. Just seeing you again…I know I broke your heart the first time, and I am still so sorry about it. If only I had realized what I was feeling, if only I had looked inside of myself and seen…"

It was them breaking point for them both. She could see through the tears collecting in her eyes his face contort, felt the shudder go through him and knew she had won. Spring seemed to burst around them as his lips slammed down into hers as he finally gave into the temptation, fell for the goddess that he was sure would be the end of him.

And together, lost in their warmth, Hades surrounded by his own personal spring, neither of them aware of the freezing earth above them…

That's it for now, please review!