The next chapter!

I apologies for taking so long. I suffer from terrible procrastination.

Btw, the Hera Christmas story is planned for December this year. Mainly because it fits that time of year but also becaue I have another story planned before that.

Hera's POV

"I DON'T NEED TO GO HOME AND CALM DOWN!" Athena shouted, proving Zeus' point more.

"ATHENA! I WILL NOT ARGUE WITH YOU ABOUT THIS ANY FURTHER, GO HOME!" Zeus finally shouted, his temper flaring. It was quiet for a while as Athena clenched and unclenched her hands, her lips pressed tightly together. Her eyes shone with fury and she shook with uncontrollable anger. After about half a minute, she finally materialized out of the room.

As soon as she left, Zeus collapsed in his seat and pressed his hand on his face. He let out a tired sigh.

"Well," Hades said, breaking the silence. "This makes me glad I'm not a cheater like Zeus. That way, I don't have to deal with any of his problems like annoying children."

"Shut-up Hades," Zeus grumbled, not having the energy to fight with him.

"Besides," Poseidon said. "Your children are plenty annoying."

"Excuse me?" Hades asked, anger rising in his voice. I decided to stop this fight before it could begin.

"Hades, that almost sounded defensive. Don't tell me the Lord of the Dead has a soft spot for his kids," I said. I gave him a knowing smile. Hades jerked his head back.

"Wha- Of course not! I don't have a soft spot for anyone!" Hades shouted. Persephone gave him a look. He quickly realized his mistake. "No one except for you, my dear."

She rolled her eyes. "Nice save, dear."

"So... what now?" Hermes asked. "Do we continue the game?"

Zeus stood up. "You all may continue. I'm going to find Victor."

I could practically sense the annoyance radiating off him, and I curiously wondered what my husband had in store for the winged traitor when he got his hands on him. I tilted my head at him inquisitively.

"What do you plan on doing once you find him dear?" I asked him. Zeus pressed his lips tightly together and turned his head away.

"It only concerns me," Zeus said. I huffed.

"Whatever you say," I crossed my arms and leaned back. I could honestly care less about what happened to Victor. As long as he gets a suitable punishment, it's fine.

"Ooh, ooh, dad!" Ares said waving his hand in the air. "Can I go?"

"Uh... sure," Zeus said, raising an eyebrow at our son's odd behavior. Ares stood up and did a fist pump.

"F#$% yeah!" Ares shouted. My cheeks flared.

"Language, Ares," I said.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Ares replied nonchalantly. I could tell he was still too giddy about going with Zeus to care about what I had to say.

"Why on Gaea is Ares excited about going to find a traitor?" Rhea asked. I placed a finger on the side of my cheek in a thoughtful way.

"I have... a few ideas. It's for later though," I waved my hand dismissively. I heard Hephaestus groan.

"What is it?" I asked in annoyance. What's bothering him now?

"Ares left before I could dare him!" Hephaestus complained. I shrugged.

"Well, dare someone else." I said as if it was obvious (which, it was). Hephaestus sighed and mumbled a few words under breath, which I didn't quite catch. None of them had better been about me.

"Persephone, truth or dare?" Hephaestus asked. Persephone looked uneasy, probably remembering the question he had asked me.

"Truth... I guess." Persephone said. "Just nothing too embarrassing, please."

"Is it true that Hades has a blood fetish and you like to satisfy it?" Hephaestus asked. Persephone's jaw dropped.

"I said please!" Persephone said aghast. "Besides, that's two questions."

"No it's not." Hephaestus disagreed.

"Yes, it is."

"How so?" Hephaestus asked.

"You asked if Hades had a blood fetish and if I like to please him with my blood!" Persephone said.

"Well, do you?" This wasn't Hephaestus voice. It was Demeter's. Persephone shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh..." That was all Persephone said before Demeter went ballistic.

"You let him drink your blood!?" Demeter shrieked.

"Only little cuts on my finger." Persephone replied feebly. Hades smirked.

"I also like to bite into her lip to draw blood, then I like to suck on it. Mmm..." Hades hummed contently to himself. Then he shifted in his seat and flapped his robe a little. "Is it getting hot in here?"

Good grief...

"I can't believe you let him do that!" Demeter said to Persephone. The younger goddess looked sheepish.

"Sorry?" Persephone said.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, yo-" Demeter stopped in mid-rant when she noticed Hestia giving her a pointed look. Demeter took a shaky breath. "I-It's fine."

Persephone's eyes widened. "E-Excuse me?" She asked as if she had heard wrong. I narrowed my eyes, thinking the same thing. Demeter is fine with it?

"S-Sure. If you want to have a... creepy blood fetish with your husband then who am I to judge?" Demeter said, although she sounded like it was physically killing her to do so. I looked back at Hestia as if I could find the answer to Demeter's odd behavior in her. I didn't although I did notice Hestia had a soft smile on her lips.

Hades and Persephone stared at Demeter as if she had just said, "Cereal sucks!"

"Do you... mean that?" Persephone asked, as if validating whether what Demeter said was true. Demeter nodded, though with visible effort.

"Yes," Demeter said. It was a while before Persephone broke into a grin. She hugged Demeter.

"Oh, thank-you for understanding mom! It means a lot," Persephone said. Demeter smiled contently and hugged her back, seemingly pleased with Persephone's reaction. Hades though, made no move to hug her and stared at his mother-in-law as if she was planning a plot worthy of Kronos. He had this absolutely paranoid look.

"Yes..." Hades said slowly, looking at Demeter as if she was a viper about to strike. "That was... unexpectedly kind of you."

Demeter looked up at him. She smiled widely, although anyone could tell it was strained.

"I'm glad... Hades." Demeter said pleasantly even if it sounded like she had just about chocked when saying his name. An awkward silence fell on the table. Persephone though, seemed to be the only person oblivious to it, completely content in believing that her mother was changing for the better.

"Can I go now?" Hermes asked at last. Well, it was his turn.

"Sure," I said. "Why not?"

Hermes smiled pleasantly. "Poseidon, truth or dare?"

Poseidon seemed to take this into careful consideration. Well, it was Hermes. Only a fool wouldn't think before answering.

"Truth," Poseidon replied, surprisingly enough. Hermes face fell slightly but lightened up again when he thought of a question.

"Out of all the women in this room, who is the least date worthy?" Hermes asked. I felt myself stiffen and look at Poseidon with the rest of them women, waiting for his answer. I wasn't particularly interested in dating him (being so loyal to my husband) but I didn't want to be called date unworthy either.

"Can it be someone who just left?" Poseidon asked.

"In this room, Poseidon," Demeter said in annoyance.

"Drat," He mumbled. Then he looked around. "Eh, I guess my mom. Nothing personal but even for gods it's odd to date one's parents."

"Unless you have the Electra Complex like Athena," I heard Apollo whisper under breath. Hermes snickered. I wasn't quite sure what it was but I got the implications. I glared daggers at the two, not about to tolerate them joking about Zeus with another woman, his virgin daughter no less. They both cringed back in their seats.

"What about me?" Artemis asked Poseidon, her voice harsh.

"Excuse me?" Poseidon asked.

"If you had a choice between me and your mom, you would pick me?!" Artemis practically screeched the last part. Poseidon gave her a weak smile.

"Most women would be happy with that news," Poseidon said. Artemis ran over to him and began smashing her fits over his head.

"Pervert. Freak. MALE!" Artemis said each word as she hit his head. Poseidon merely winced when she hit him over the head, showing no other sign of acknowledging the injury.

"Oh, male?" Poseidon said dryly. "You got me there. Don't know how I'll recover from that insult."

It was when she smacked him hard against the face he let out a grunt of surprise and caught her next swinging fist in his hand. His eyes glowed blue with power, and I could tell she had finally angered him. It was rare for anyone outside of his brothers or Athena to do this. Most of us were to wary of his rather unfortunate problem of mood swings to dare to try and set him off.

"Enough," Poseidon said harshly. The blue in his eyes intensified with restrained power, fighting to be released. He pushed her back forcefully into the kitchen counter, no doubt leaving a bruise. He looked away and closed his eyes. Poseidon then took a deep breath in, held it and released it...

He repeated this process two more times before opening his eyes. They were back to normal and there wasn't a hint of the anger he was radiating earlier. His usual mirthful smile was back.

"So, who's turn is it?" Poseidon asked Aphrodite conversationally. She took a few seconds to regain her bearings.

"I believe it is Rhea's turn because Ares isn't here," Aphrodite replied. Mom was currently mumbling something under breath which I couldn't quite catch because she was so far from me. Hestia caught it though and she hissed. Hestia hissed. For a moment I was shocked, unable to do anything else but stare. It seemed everyone else was on the same page because they looked at her just as surprised. I just couldn't believe it.

What did Mom say to get that reaction out of Hestia?

So, we'll stop there. Sorry it wasn't longer. Next chapter will almost certainly be from Zeus or Ares POV because you'll need to see what they are up too. Not sure if I'll have a truth or dare round in the next chapter. I'll try to though.

P. S. Favorite moments of the chapter?