Persephone was having nightmares again. Despite the implications, Hades and Persephone slept in the same bed. She was just much too

uncomfortable to sleep alone in the castle. Hades always made certain to stay on his side of the bed. If she had any of her mother's dignity,

she wouldn't have allowed otherwise.

In her sleep tonight, she mumbled Demeter's name many times, and whimpered. Then she began to cry. Hades couldn't wake her up in

nightmares like this. It could disrupt something aboveground, in Olympus or elsewhere.

What he could do, though, was send her good thoughts. He sang a lullaby in his head that his mother Rhea had sung to him. He recalled

the tune rocking him to sleep, and even as he sung, he became drowsy.

Once he had run out of verses, he began to tell her stories in his head. I remember the time when Zeus was trying to court Hera. She was

very stubborn. He decided to make an animal in her honor, and told her he would make it as beautiful as her.

But, the first few tries were quite insulting results. First came a hippopotamus, then a rhinoceros, and then the elephant. He got so many

slaps across the face that his cheeks were bright red for days! Hades laughed aloud a little, but stopped himself quickly.

He finally decided to ask Demeter and Hestia for help, which took some convincing. He eventually ended up with the peacock, and Hera

agreed to marry Zeus.

Persephone did not stir. Hades felt his lips turn up in a smile and he was finally able to fall asleep himself.

The fire in the corner of his room was never out. It was smaller in summertime, when the warmth from Aboveground shone on even the

Underworld. Now it was large and warm again, and shone steadily on the once dark room.

Several winters later, Persephone had stopped keeping track of her time spent in the Underworld. Hades still came up to greet her, and

Demeter still paid him some bodily injury every time she saw him. The routine began to be expected, and maybe a little boring.

One winter, Persephone, who didn't believe in the abandonment of living things, brought down a present.

Hades was roaming the Fields of Asphodel when the goddess came up, and behind her bounded a puppy. This black little dog had three

heads. Hades stared at it in wonder. Each of its heads panted at a different rate, making him wonder if this was an "it", a "he", a "she", or a

"them".

"The people aboveground abused these little guys. Isn't that terrible?" Persephone said, scratching the creature behind the ears.

Hades nodded confusedly. Even though they were quite fearsome-looking, they still loved some belly-rubbing. He pictured the fright-

inspiring expression on his red-haired guest's face and the rage in her voice as she would have taken the beast away from whoever had

been mistreating it.

As Persephone rubbed enthusiastically, Hades mused. "You know, Thanatos has been complaining of having a hard time keeping track of

multiple souls at once," he told her.

As if he had heard his name, Death appeared next to the castle. "Yes," he agreed, placing his hand over his heartless chest, "it's quite

stressful, being Death."

Ignoring him, Hades went on, "Perhaps they could help him."

"That's a fine idea," Persephone said. "They were very protective and loyal to me aboveground."

"What should we call them?'"

"Their mother called them Cerberus, collectively."

Thanatos raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You spoke to their mother, Lady Persephone? As in, a dog?"

Hades almost smiled at the look on her face. "Of course," she said as if it were elementary. "Wouldn't you want to make sure their mother

gave you permission to take her offspring?"

Since Cerberus wasn't ready to settle down for sleep at all, Thanatos decided to take the creature for a training lesson.

As Persephone and Hades watched them walk away, Hades said, "It is thoughtful of you to bring Cerberus down. Thanatos always wanted a

partner." Sure enough, they were getting a little distracted, playing fetch.

"I understand that it must get lonely down here. They seemed to like you! Now you can have a friend or three while I'm up there,"

Persephone responded. Hades smiled at her fondly. "I think you should smile more," the goddess said pensively. He gave her another,

befuddled smile. "You're much more handsome when you smile," she concluded, and kissed his cheek before going back inside.

The Lord of the Underworld stood there for an eternity, holding the spot on his cheek like he'd never let go, face redder than it had ever

been before.

A/N- In apology for all of my time away from the keyboard and this lovely website, I am uploading a double chapter right now.

If anyone can forgive me for being so unreliable, I will atone for my mistakes with the rest of the story which I intend to post today or tomorrow! Everything will be posted and done very soon.

Thanks for reading!

- A.Z.