Chapter Two: A Meeting in a Coffee Shop
Hades had lain awake all-night thinking of Persi. Her dark skin, her dark hair, and her brilliantly vibrant eyes. And, of course, he thought of what she had said to him.
A bribe to convince you not to tell Mother you saw me here. Please don't tell her. I'll get in trouble.
He had contemplated calling Demeter, not to tell her he had seen her daughter working in the mortal realm, but an attempt to discover more about Persi disguised as a quick and curious catch up call. But Hades was not the one for quick and curious catch up calls, so he had shot down that idea almost immediately.
He had at least informed Hecate of his encounter, mostly because she had kept bothering him about why he had asked her if she knew anyone by the name of Persi. Hecate had said she did not actually know that much about Demeter's daughter, only that her name was not Persi. She had suggested Hades try asking Hermes about her when he came to work, since he and Demeter were both Olympians, but Hades had shaken his head at the idea. Working with the young god cost Hades enough energy as it was. He did not need a favour from Hermes.
The next day, Hades had wrapped up his paperwork as quickly as possible and sent a quick message to Hecate that he was taking a break and would be back within the hour. It was a Wednesday, and so she was currently on psychopomp duty, therefore by the time she texted back and asked what in the Underworld he was doing, he had already left.
When he arrived at Cassie's Coffee this time, he did not have Cerberus with him. Even Cerberus had to work, after all. There were no guests that day either, just one lonely barista stood at the till. Thankfully, the one that Hades desired to converse with.
"Good morning," Hades said as he approached the till.
"Good… good morning," Persi stammered, her wide eyes tinted with teal.
"It is quiet today," Hades remarked as he looked around the empty shop. "Are you the only one here?"
"Oh, no. Cassandra is just out the back doing some work, and Arachne is on her break," Persi answered, leaning her elbows against the till. "Wednesdays are always quiet, probably because Psyche isn't in, so it's only us three. Did you… want something…?"
"A luxury hot chocolate. I found it was surprisingly tasty yesterday," he replied, and as she started to tap away on the till he added, "And this time I shall pay for the cream. I think you know I can certainly afford the extra."
"Of course…" Persi muttered, taking in his ridiculously expensive attire. She took his money, handed him the change, and told him to wait for his drink at the end of the bar.
"What is the daughter of Demeter doing in a mortal coffee shop?" Hades asked, leaning over the end of the bar so he could watch her make a drink.
"And what is the god of the dead doing in a mortal coffee shop?" she asked in reply. "Also, please keep your voice down. The others don't know."
"Ah, I apologise," he said. "And also, you cannot reply to my question with another question."
"Oh, but I can, and I did," she mused, waiting for the drink to steam. "If the three-headed dog yesterday was anything to go by, you must be Hades."
"And, if Hecate is right, you are Kore," Hades replied. "Goddess of spring?"
Persi shrugged as she poured the drink into a mug. "Kore is what Mother named me, but here I go by Persi. I couldn't exactly go around with my 'god name' so I picked another. It's short for Persephone."
Hades' eyebrows rose. "An interesting choice of name. Depending on the way you write it, it could translate to bringer of death."
Persi blinked. "Well, uh, I meant it more to mean bringer of wisdom… but bringer of death seems to be accurate. You're here, after all."
"Yes, but you said yourself I am the god of the dead. I am not the god of death; I merely keep it in check," Hades said. "I am here because Odysseus recommended the place. We run into each other on occasion when we take our dogs for walks."
"Oh, Odysseus recommended us?" Persi asked as she swirled cream on top of the hot chocolate. "He's sweet. Always tips when he orders."
Hades' back stiffened. Tip? Was he meant to tip? He pressed his lips firmly together. Tipping now would be awkward, surely. He would have to tip next time. He would just have to make sure there was, in fact, a next time.
"And what about you?" Hades asked as she handed him his drink. "If I am correct, Demeter does not let you leave Mount Olympus."
Persi bit her lip, unable to look at him. "She does on occasion… like for some festivals, Thesmophoria in particular since that's her own festival, but, besides the odd visit to the corner shop if I run outta milk, that's it… She says it's for my protection, but it gets awfully boring with no one to talk to, you know?"
"I know," he said, reaching forward to peel her hands away from the mug.
She squeaked at the touch, immediately pulling her hands away, and then her cheeks reddened as she looked up at him, losing the teal in her eyes as she gave a small, bashful smile. "Sorry, I was in my own world. But what I was saying was I only ever talk to Mother, and Hermes when he visits on the odd occasion for tea."
"Hermes?" Hades asked.
"Yeah. I think he takes pity on me because we're both young," she said, reaching out to catch a marshmallow as it fell from his drink. "I ask Mother if I can visit him for a change instead of the other way around, but she won't let me. Thinks he's way too irresponsible to leave me on my own with him."
"Hermes is irresponsible," Hades said. "He has a bad tendency to steal my cutlery."
"He is the god of thieves, after all." Persephone giggled briefly, then sighed. "Other than that, it's just me. So, I sneak out to the mortal world to work a human job for something to do. Only on weekdays when Mother's also at work. I can't escape on the weekends."
"Sounds…" Hades wanted to say something comforting, but comforting was not his forte. He didn't know what to say her story sounded like, so he let his voice trail away.
"It sounds like a privileged person unfairly complaining, I know," she said.
"I was not going to say that," he insisted, which was true. He had not planned on saying anything. "If anything, I am a privileged person complaining."
"That might be a little more accurate," she said, her eyes flicking down to his waistcoat. "I mean you have… amethysts on your waistcoat buttons."
"They are purple diamonds, not amethysts," he said. When she raised her eyebrows, he added, "I know, that makes it sound worse. They are a tad rarer than amethysts."
It was perhaps best to not explain how expensive this waistcoat was.
She chuckled at this, and he was once again struck by how beautiful her smile was. In fact, he could feel the colour rush to his cheeks. In an attempt to hide it, he mimicked her pose of chin in hands. Then he thought he must have looked ridiculous considering how frightening his corpse-like appearance was. He sat back up straight and stared down at his hands as if they had betrayed him, for he did not know what to do with them.
"The humans here don't know I'm a god," Persi explained as she drifted back behind the bar to wash some jugs. "It provides little freedom, but at least it is some."
"I…" Hades frowned. He what? She waited for him to continue, a trait he wasn't used to amongst the people he conversed with. He paused to take a sip of his hot chocolate, a task that was not the easiest considering the amount of cream on top. "I somewhat understand your plight. Not entirely, but I was forced to live in the Underworld against my will."
Persi tipped her head to one side. "Mother tells me you picked the Underworld."
"Only because my brothers picked the heavens and the oceans first," Hades said. "I was therefore left with the Underworld. I remember the event clearly."
You look like you're dead already, so you might as well be in charge of them.
His gaze flickered down to his literally white hands, skinny enough that you could see the ligaments move when he wriggled his fingers. Corpse hands, for a corpse man. It made getting rings that fit exceedingly difficult to purchase.
"You don't enjoy the Underworld?" Persi asked.
"No, I do. I crafted it into a home I care for. But…" He sighed. "The other gods treat the Underworld as if is it a cursed place. As if being a chthonic deity is a punishment. We are strange, and the Olympians do not like strange."
"The Olympians are uptight, aren't they? Acting all high and mighty calling themselves the Twelve." Persi drifted away so she could wash some jugs. "I wish I could craft my prison into a home I care for. At I least made my bedroom comfy, and Mother doesn't judge be for my choice of bedcovers. I just wish I had someone to spend time with, you know? Outside of work, I mean."
"I somewhat understand that too," Hades said, looking her up and down as she had her back turned to him. She may have been on the shorter side like her mother was, but she certainly was not as slender as Demeter. A pleasant figure, Hades thought.
"You don't have friends?" Persi asked.
"Hecate claims I am too reluctant to use the word 'friend', but I would say I have a few, Hecate included."
"Hecate? As in goddess of all things witchy?" Persi spun around, her eyes shining. "I always wanted to be a witch when I was younger, but Mother wouldn't let me. Apparently, they're dangerous."
"I would hardly call Hecate dangerous. She is merely a secretary and is too glued to her phone to cause havoc. A hassle, yes, havoc, no."
At least, not anymore.
"Well, I doubt being a witch will suit my aesthetic. I love my bright colours after all. I doubt you've ever seen a witch in green or pink."
"I could imagine a forest witch in a dark green, perfect for a goddess of spring."
Persi giggled as she tottered back to join him at the end of the bar. "I'll have to put in a request with Mother to see if she'll let me be a forest witch, though she'll probably say no."
"You have my vote, at least, even though it counts to naught amongst the Twelve," Hades remarked. A tiny bit of red seeped into Persi's cheeks, and her eyes softened into a paler green as she smiled at him. He coughed. "I have a few friends in the Underworld. I have Hecate, Nyx and her children, the Judges of the Dead too, though Minos can be terribly grumpy and arrogant at times, especially for a dead man. I cannot forget Cerberus. If you want a good dog, he is the best. He has a large soft spot for Hecate, though. She and I still do not understand why one day the mortals started to associate her with dogs…"
"You named your dog Spot," Persi said.
"I did not," Hades said, even though, technically he did. He coughed. "Regardless of that, I was trying to make a point. I have a few friends but… sometimes I still feel lonely and unwanted. I fear I will never have a proper companion, no one to share my thoughts and desires with. It is lonely, though not to the extent that you are, I am sure."
"I'm not here to compare who is lonelier. We all have our individual worries and they are all of equal importance," she said softly, and he made a mental note that those were wise words to live by. "The Underworld sounds fun. I wish I could see it."
"I could always ask Demeter if she would let you."
Persi puffed out her cheeks. "She would never let me go to the Underworld."
Ah, yes, because the Underworld was a dangerous, hazardous place. Hades sighed.
"Persi, is everything—"
Hades' head jerked up as a woman appeared from the back of the shop. It was the same dead-eyed one who had served him the day before, only he had distinctly remembered her glasses and matching earrings had been purple. Today they were a bright yellow.
"Is everything okay out here on your own?" The woman stared unfazed at Hades.
"Oh, yeah. I was just chatting to the only customer here. No biggie," Persi said, grinning as she waved a hand at Hades. "Perfectly fine."
"I should be leaving. I have work to return to," Hades announced, and then he stared down at his hot chocolate, barely touched.
"Oh, you should have said so. Let me just decant that into a takeaway cup, though I might have to sacrifice some of the cream," Persi said, and before Hades could agree she had snatched up his mug and scurried away to the other end of the bar.
The woman in the glasses was still staring intently at Hades. He knew that stare well—someone who wished to talk but felt too inferior to do so. Whilst Persi busied herself with pouring the hot chocolate into a takeaway cup, Hades said, "Please speak your mind."
She took a moment before answering, perhaps hesitant to speak to an evident god. "I do not want trouble in my shop. And I do not want my girls scared."
Her shop. Cassie's Coffee. Persi had mentioned a Cassandra, so this must be her.
"You do not have to fear about potential trouble. I have not come to cause any," he said. "And I shall try not to scare your girls."
"Here you go," Persi trolled as she came skipping back, shoving the hot chocolate into Hades' hand. Her eyes once again had a real hint to them. "Enjoy!"
"I will, thank you," Hades said, and he left without another word.
It was only when he was a few paces from the shop someone called out, "Hey! Hey!"
Already, her smooth voice was feeling familiar. Persi had ran after him, and now she was beckoning him closer.
"Will your manager not get suspicious seeing you run after me?" Hades asked as he stepped closer to her. He was almost an entire head taller than her, perhaps even more, so he forced himself into a slouch so he would not seem too opposing directly in front of her.
"Oh, I told her you'd left your wallet behind," she said.
"But I did not?"
"Yeah, but she doesn't know that. I just wanted to ask something before you left."
"Ask away."
"Right, well, you see…" She laughed hesitantly as she tucked some strands of hair behind her ear, only for them to immediately fall back. "My days off are always Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but mother's always working Friday so I can do whatever I want. Can I come visit you in the Underworld?"
Hades blinked, breath catching in his throat. "I would say yes, but I would also hate to incur the wrath of your mother if she were to catch you sneaking away."
"Oh, but she won't find out if I'm careful." She clasped her hands together and stared up at him with large eyes. "You said yourself that you want a proper companion, and I'm so bored stuck at home. C'mon, only for a few hours. Please?"
He had to look away to stop their eyes from meeting. He was unsure of why meeting her gaze was a bad thing, perhaps because she was so alluring, and he was the opposite.
Perhaps it was simply because he was shy.
"If it were to please you, you may very well visit," Hades said. "It would please me too. I never get visits from the other gods."
"Excellent," she chirped, clapping her hands together. "Friday it is then. I'll see about getting Hermes to take me there. He works with you, right?"
Hades frowned. "He does, yes."
"Double excellent," she said, and she stood up on her toes, reaching up to brush a hair behind his ear. "I can't wait."
"Neither can I," Hades said, the colour rising to his cheeks again. Just as she turned to head back inside, he said, "Just one more question. You can say no if you like, but may I call you Persephone? The name suits you."
"Bringer of death?" she asked, and then she grinned. "Of course, you can. Now, drink your hot chocolate before it goes cold. See you Friday!"
Hades was left standing there, hands clutched around his hot chocolate. He raised one hand to his head, finding she had left a flower tucked behind his ear, not just his hair. With no one around to see, he smiled, and supposed he better head back to work, and prepare for Persephone's visit on Friday.
A/N:
Thanks to everyone who's read this fic! Next update will be the 31st and we get to see two new characters. Hope y'all can wait until then :)
Blake
