Chapter Seventeen: Another Dinner With Aphrodite
Persephone was in the bath when she called Hades and said, "Guess who has the house to herself tonight?"
"I would assume you," Hades replied, "but that does make me curious as to where Demeter is."
"She's staying the night at Aphrodite's," Persephone said as she created small flowers in her palm, then dropped them onto the surface of the water. "As in staying the night staying the night, not just staying the night, if you get what I mean."
There was a small hmm sound from Hades, as if he was listening to someone else for a moment, then he said, "I am aware of Demeter's and Aphrodite's relationship. I believe, a long time ago, Aphrodite once referred to themselves as friends with benefits."
"What?" Persephone sat up straight in the bath. "Really?"
Why she was shocked, she didn't know. That was the precise reason Demeter had stayed behind with Aphrodite and Ares that night.
"But that's not what matters," Persephone said as she sunk back down into her water, miserably spinning her fingers through the water and making her flowers float away. "Aphrodite knows."
"Aphrodite knows what?" Hades asked, and Persephone sighed and told him what had happened over dinner, namely Harmonia accidentally messing up and calling her Persephone instead of Kore, and how Aphrodite had overheard. On the other end of the phone, Hades sighed. "I knew Aphrodite couldn't be trusted."
"No, I think she can," Persephone said as she drew flowers in the bubbles. "She had a chance to tell Mother, but she covered for me instead. Maybe if I can convince her to stay on my side, she can distract Mother a bit…"
Hades hadn't liked the idea of Persephone going to dinner again with Aphrodite, but Persephone figured she had no choice. If she didn't turn up, that would be exceedingly suspicious, and Aphrodite could easily grill Harmonia for answers instead. If Aphrodite was going to know about Persephone's adventures outside Mount Olympus, it had to come from Persephone herself. Only that way would Persephone be able to convince Aphrodite to keep everything a secret.
And, if that failed, Hecate texted Persephone later saying she could always curse Aphrodite, but that was to be a strict last resort. Persephone had gulped. She was sure Hecate was the last person you would want to curse you, being the goddess of witchcraft and all.
Soon, Thursday came around, and Persephone stood before Aphrodite's house. She had left work a little earlier than usual, so she could go home and have enough time to get herself dolled up, only under the promise that she would tell Psyche and Arachne everything over lunch the next day.
"Kore, my dear," Aphrodite said as she opened the front door, and she beamed. "I'm so glad you could make it."
"I'm glad too," Persephone said, and her eyebrows rose at Aphrodite's attire. She wore only a think, silk, dressing gown—emphasis on only.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was in the middle of a photoshoot," Aphrodite said, and she beckoned Persephone inside.
"A photoshoot?" Persephone asked as the door was closed behind her. Aphrodite smirked, then Persephone added, "Oh, you're a… model, aren't you?"
"A nude and lewd model, the most popular online," Aphrodite mused as she beckoned Persephone to follow. "Not that I need any of the money that I actually earn, and neither does Eros. We give most of it away to other sex workers. Got to support our own domains, yes?"
Persephone nodded. She'd been on the internet long enough to know of Aphrodite's profession, though she'd never supported it herself. Aphrodite was, after all, her mother's best friend. It would be a bit weird.
"Mother, are we continuing with the photoshoot?" Eros asked as he appeared at the other end of the corridor, holding a camera. He was wearing booty shorts again, and a shirt with only half the buttons done up.
"Not now, darling, we have a guest," Aphrodite said, and she waved a hand at Persephone. Persephone waved awkwardly.
Eros grinned. "Hello, darling. How's my Hermes doing? You speak to him regularly, yeah?"
"Oh, he's doing fine," Persephone said, and she still couldn't get over Hermes and Eros having had a fling for several years. "But I think he's a tad over you."
"A shame," Eros said, and he held a hand dramatically to his forehead. "He was good in bed."
"Ew! I don't want to hear that—Hermes is basically a brother to me!"
"Go away, darling," Aphrodite said, and she ushered Eros away.
Eros gave Persephone one last wink, then strutted away. Persephone, being unashamed as she was, couldn't help but look at his butt as he left. Psyche would definitely appreciate it too—maybe she and Persephone needed to spend an afternoon stalking his social media. Over lunch the next day could work, if Arachne let them.
"How about you wait in the living room whilst I get changed?" Aphrodite said as she led Persephone to the front room. "Ares can keep you company. Oh, never mind."
Persephone and Aphrodite stuck their heads into the living room, where Ares was fast asleep on one of the sofas. A game controller had fallen from his hands, and on the TV in front of him were the big, bold words game over. It was a bit amusing to see someone as frightening looking as Ares, with his mohawk and leather vests and tattoos to be so peacefully asleep on the sofa.
"Babe, wake up," Aphrodite said, and she drifted over to kiss him on the forehead. "You died."
"I what…?" Ares mumbled as he opened an eye.
"You died," Aphrodite said, and she pointed to the TV screen.
Ares blinked, then shot up, and yelled, "Fuck's sake! Fuck—ugh!"
"Now, now, it's only a video game," Aphrodite said, and she kissed him again before she drifted away back towards the doorway, where she patted Persephone on the shoulder. "Can you keep Kore company for a second whilst I go and get dressed."
"Sure," Ares said, in the most unenthusiastic manner possible. Aphrodite blew him a kiss, then disappeared.
"You're, um, passionate about video games, aren't you?" Persephone asked as she remained awkwardly hovering in the doorway.
"I can't get past this level, and I was almost there until I fell asleep," Ares said as he picked up the controller and clicked restart. "Come on, don't just stand there. I know I look like I would, but I don't bite, especially if you're Harmonia's friend."
"R-right." Persephone nodded, then sat down on the sofa next to him. She watched him play his game for a second—a violent hack and slash—then said, "Sorry for waking you up from your nap."
Ares grunted. "I don't care. I hate sleeping all day anyway."
"Sounds like you need a bit of ambrosia to wake you up."
"Unfortunately, ambrosia makes me go bloody apeshit," Ares said, and he grunted again as his character was thrown across the screen. "And I'm not allowed to go apeshit."
Persephone snorted. "You're the god of war, isn't that your job?"
"It's supposed to be," Ares said. "Unfortunately, war is bad, therefore I'm bad, therefore I'm forbidden from doing anything to do with my actual domain."
"Oh," Persephone said. "Hence the naps."
"Hence the naps," Ares repeated sullenly. "And the violent video games."
"Well, if I'm ever in need of a big strong guy to do some real fighting on my behalf, I know who to call," Persephone said. Ares didn't say anything, but the corner of his mouth did quirk into what she supposed was a smile.
Ares had died again by the time Aphrodite returned in one of her usual sheer dresses. He gave up and quit the entire thing.
"Go have a nap upstairs, babe," Aphrodite said as she took his place on the sofa next to Persephone. She had two glasses of ambrosia, and even though Persephone didn't really like that stuff, she still took a glass. She would need it for the upcoming conversation.
"I'm not tired," Ares said, and he yawned.
"Go have a nap," Aphrodite said, and she smiled. A little menacing, actually. "Then you will be nice and refreshed by the time you need to pick the kids up from school."
Ares sighed and left the room, and Persephone turned to Aphrodite and said, "it must be awful, not being able to do any domain stuff."
"He tried to get into wrestling once, but he crushed his opponents so badly he was forbidden from that too," Aphrodite said, and now her smile was a little sadder. "He tries his best, bless him, but all he can do is help around the house when he can. He's gotten quite good at building flat pack furniture, and he's excellent at threatening and torturing creepy men."
Persephone didn't know what building flat pack furniture and torturing creepy men had in common, but she supposed both were a good skill to have in some regards (especially if your girlfriend was Aphrodite, who probably got hit on a lot by creepy men). Still, something tugged at Persephone's chest at the thought of Ares being barred from his godly duties, and she said, "I know what it's like not being allowed to do anything."
"Speaking of which," Aphrodite said, and Persephone's stomach churned. Time to face the inevitable. "You don't actually spend all of your time at home, do you?"
"Did Harmonia tell you?"
"Harmonia hasn't told me anything, and I haven't asked, because I didn't want to stress her out," Aphrodite said, and she paused to take a sip of her ambrosia. "But Harmonia knows you, and said she met you when she was with Eris. Eris barely comes to visit up here, so I can only assume you met them in the…"
"Underworld," Persephone finished.
"Right, and what were you doing in the Underworld, behind Demeter's back?" Aphrodite asked. When Persephone said nothing, Aphrodite rested a hand gently on her arm. "I promise I'm not going to tell Demeter, even if she's my best friend. Trust me, I have never agreed with her for keeping you inside, even though she has her reasons."
"You know why she doesn't let me outside?" Persephone asked. If anyone knew, Demeter's best friend had to, right?"
Aphrodite's nose wrinkled slightly as she said, "Let's just say she doesn't trust the other gods, especially the men."
Persephone really didn't need any elaboration on that.
After a long sigh, Persephone gulped down her ambrosia, then said, "I have a job."
"In the Underworld?"
"Olympus, no," Persephone said, and she took another gulp of her ambrosia. "I have a job in the mortal world, in a coffee shop. I work Mondays to Thursdays, though I finish early on Thursdays. I was there this morning, actually."
"Oh, interesting," Aphrodite said, and she leant back into the sofa, crossing one leg over the other.
"And, as I was working there one day, a certain god from the Underworld came by unexpectedly," Persephone said, and her cheeks warmed. "We got along so… so I secretly meet up with them from time to time, when I'm not hanging out with me human friends…"
Aphrodite gasped, so melodramatically that some of her ambrosia spilled over the edge of her glass. "Are you dating Hades?"
"Wh-what!?"
"Well, you said secret meetings, which imply dating," Aphrodite said, and she grinned wickedly. "It could be platonic, but I'm the goddess of love, darling, I know my differences between each type of love."
"But h-how did you guess Hades?"
"Because he's the only chthonic god that would dare step foot into the mortal realm. Usually to walk his dog, from what I've heard, but I'm not entirely sure. I haven't spoken to Hades in quite some time."
Persephone sighed again, then downed the rest of her ambrosia. "I… I might be dating Hades. But he hasn't done anything to hurt me, I promise! I know the bad rep he gets up here, but he's really just a sweetheart, and he looks after me, and so does Hecate…"
"Darling, I don't judge someone based on a false reputation," Aphrodite said. "I'm dating Ares after all, and I've got a pretty bad reputation myself. Apparently, it's fine when men sleep with multiple people, but as soon as I start dating someone else, despite the fact my husband is perfectly okay with it, I'm the bad guy."
"It's tough being a girl, huh?" Persephone said.
Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it, darling. Now, Hades is the one that calls you Persephone, I assume? That is what Harmonia called you, I believe. Bringer of death?"
"Bringer of wisdom," Persephone whined. "But yeah, that's the name I use whenever I'm not on Olympus. I couldn't exactly call myself Kore when going to work for some mortals, could I? But Now all my friends call me Persephone… the girls at work, Hades and Hecate, and even Hermes, I don't feel like Kore anymore."
"So, would you prefer if I called you Persephone when Demeter isn't around?"
Persephone smiled. "Persephone or Persi, whatever you want."
"Oh, Persi sounds so cute," Aphrodite said, and she clinked her still half full glass against Persephone's now empty one. "To my little Persi."
Persephone smiled some more, but then she frowned a little and said, "You really won't tell Mother, will you?"
"And ruin a budding romance?" Aphrodite snorted. "I'm the goddess of love, darling, I'm all about forbidden romances. If I ruined everything, that would be quite against my domain. I'd probably be asleep for a week. Besides, I don't think Harmonia would like to see you upset. She's already a little attached to you."
Oh, bless Harmonia, Persephone thought. And maybe now that meant Persephone could have another god friend that she didn't have to hide from her mother, since Demeter would presumably trust her best friend's daughter.
"Anyway, I'll keep everything a secret until you're ready to tell others yourself," Aphrodite said. "And I'll even provide… distractions for Demeter, in case you want an evening to yourself."
Persephone let out a sigh of relief, then she grinned and said, "Thank you so much, Aphrodite."
A/N
Really sorry it's been a long, long time. I was recently working on editing an entire manuscript in time for Pitch Wars, and it took a lot out of me. I hope you enjoyed having more Ares and Aphrodite this chapter! My own interpretations aside, Ares is one of my fave gods besides Hades and Persephone. It always upsets me that he never gets any love in adaptions.
Blake
