Aiden froze instantaneously, and only continued to gaze into my eyes, like how I gazed into his. In his eyes, I could see very clearly the emotions that were running through him at that very minute, but the one emotion that overshadowed the rest was relief.

He was so still that I began to get worried. I gripped his wrists tighter, my fingers urging him to move his hands.

His hands then left my face and tore away from mine in a flash. I was barely able to register what happened before I was suddenly pulled into a tight, desperate hug.

Aiden's arms were wrapped protectively around my frame, my hands pressed between our chests. He buried his face into the curve of my neck and I could feel his warm breath fanning my skin.

While I stare at the door in shock, I could hear him whisper, "You're remembering… Oh, my lovely Persephone…."

I don't know what's suddenly gotten into me, but I pushed him away then.

I was sure that I had used my inhumane strength to force him away from me. But he didn't seem too affected by it, only taking a few steps back. He looked shocked as I backed away from him.

I didn't take my eyes off him. And because of that, I could see the hurt that was beginning to form in his fathomless eyes.

I raised my hand to my lips and bit on my knuckle. That was a little habit of mine; I do it each time I realize I've just made a mistake.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, my tone sincere and apologetic, and I then returned to his arms. A small smile began to form on his lips as he reached out for me and pulled me into a gentler hug this time.

We stood like that for a while, just hugging each other and listening to each other's breaths. His embrace felt like a safe fortress. I didn't want to leave. I also didn't want to speak because I didn't want to halt the quiet moment. But unfortunately, curiosity got the better of me.

"I'm so confused," I whispered into the curve of his neck. "Who are you? Aiden? Or Hades?"

"Both," he simply answered. I pulled away slightly to look at him, but my hands were still around his neck and his wrapped around my frame. The small but gentle smile of his was still on his lips.

"I am Aiden Cole," he answered solemnly. "But that is the name I am using now, in the guise of a mortal. Since the dawn of history, and even until now, I have always been Hades, God of the Dead and King of the Underworld."

He silently raised a hand to caress the side of my face. I leaned my cheek into his palm, feeling the comforting warmth it radiated.

With a genuine smile and eyes that were full of love, he whispered gently, "And you are my lovely Persephone."

No…

No, that can't be…

That's not possible…

There is no way in the entire universe that Aiden Cole is Hades, the Greek God of the Dead and the ruler of the Underworld.

And there is no way that I, Spring Korey, was Persephone, the Greek Goddess of Spring and the Queen of the Underworld. And most importantly, Hades' wife.

No. That is definitely, entirely impossible.

Is it?

Suddenly, without any warning, tears began to flow out from my eyes at quick speed. I buried my face deeper into the curve of his neck, wetting his smooth skin with my tears. Aiden did not say anything. He quietly held me and whispered words of comfort into my ear.

I felt so stupid. Why was I crying all of a sudden? And in front of him?

It was because I was so very confused. I was confused about who I really am. I was confused as to whether or not I was human. I was confused about how this had to happen to me. In simpler words, I was confused about everything now.

Aiden's arms didn't leave me as he led me to the couch, sitting me down gently. I continued to cry softly as he ran his fingers through my hair and rubbed my back. I made no move to stop him. In fact, I wanted him to do it. His touch was so soothing and comforting. It felt like it was the only thing that was holding me onto reality.

"Wait here," he said softly before getting up from the couch and walking away. I panicked slightly, thinking that he was about to leave me alone. But I stopped it from fully taking over me, because I know Aiden would never leave me alone.

I guess he must be in the kitchen, as I could hear the sound of a refrigerator opening and closing and the clanking of glass against what might be a porcelain kitchen island.

He reappeared a few minutes later with a tall glass of water in his hand. After taking his seat by me again, he raised the glass to my lips and tipped it so that the water flowed into my mouth. I drank silently, concentrating on the delicious feel of cold water on my lips that still held the sweet taste of Aiden's lips.

When I had drunk every drop of water, Aiden carefully set the glass down on the coffee table. A soft clank could be heard from the touch of the two glasses.

He sat on the edge of the couch, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. I never looked away from him or said anything. I felt like now, it was his moment.

"I'll tell you everything now, if you want," he said. I had not missed the fear in his voice. He was probably thinking that I would be afraid of what he was going to say.

I kept myself cool and collected as I answered, "Alright."

He then shifted, straightening up his back as he inched closer to me. When he turned his head to meet my eyes, our faces were only a few inches apart.

With a long, deep breath, Aiden finally begins.

"The Fates predicted that the twelve Olympians, including you, me and Hestia, would be thrown out onto the Earth, where we would live amongst the humans until a thousand years have passed, and we could go back to Mount Olympus. Or in our case, the Underworld."

My eyes widened in a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "Why?" I questioned. "Why did the Fates predicted that?"

He shrugged. "No one, not even the gods, understood why they predict such things. But one thing's for certain, it will happen, with no questions asked. Maybe it's a lesson, to make us see how the mortals we rule live. Maybe it's a punishment, for the greed inside all of us."

I took note of the seriousness in his expression. He looked really upset just by talking about it. I was tempted to reach out a hand to touch his cheek with my fingertips, but he turned away before I could and looked down at the floor. I could not see his expression, but I clearly saw how his hands suddenly clenched into fists.

"I was so angry that I had to leave the Underworld, the realm that I have called my home. I did not like living among mortals. I did not like to witness the sins they commit. It grew over the centuries, until it seemed as though none had any shred of virtue left. I swear upon the river Styx that if I was still the God of Dead, I would have sent all of them to forever burn in Tartarus. But no, I could only stand by and watch. It made me so angry."

Then he whipped his head to me, and I was immediately fazed by the angry fire that was burning deep inside his pitch black irises.

Under his breath, he seethed darkly, "But that wasn't what made me so angry. It was losing you."

Aiden's eyes flew shut as his tightly-clenched fists began to tremble.

"I was so angry that I lost you. I would have been fine with the damn punishment with you by my side." And suddenly, with a new malice in his tone, he snarled, "But no! Your blasted mother had to steal you away from me!"

Impulsively, he grabbed the glass off the coffee table and flung it to the wall in front of us. The glass broke into many pieces upon impact with the mahogany wall, just a few inches short from the expensive flat-screen television. I jumped at the sudden noise of glass breaking and the tiny pieces raining down onto the floor.

I slowly looked away to him, and saw him clutching his face with both his hands. While silent, his whole body trembled fervently.

It was then I couldn't help but feel that I have witnessed his rage before. But of course, it was bound to be one of my lost memories.

I felt sad, seeing him like this. It immediately gave me the desire to comfort him as best as I could. So without hesitation, I reached out to peel one of his hands from his face. He looked up and turned to me slowly and I saw that there were tear tracks on his cheeks.

That was a first. I never knew a god, a powerful one at that, could… cry.

I brought him into an embrace, and he complied. I had the need to be closer to him, and I didn't know what's gotten over me, but I moved to sit on his lap. Aiden, or Hades, didn't object. In fact, he actually looked delighted, judging by the small smile on his face. He held me gently while I grasped the side of his face and made him look at me as I ran my thumbs over his tear tracks.

"Sshh... It's alright, Hades. I am here now," I whispered comfortingly.

He smiled and leaned in to kiss me. I didn't hesitate to kiss him back. And the kiss was as amazing as our first. It was comforting, loving and sweet. I feel as though I could do this all day, and with him.

When we both pulled away at the same time, I ran my finger over his lips. He smiled underneath my touch and kissed the tip of my finger.

Suddenly, I began to hesitate as a question formed in my mind. I had a feeling it would displease him, but I really had to know. Sucking in some air, I whispered softly, "Please tell me what my mother did. I'm sorry, Hades, but I need to know."

Aiden's/ Hades' eyes hardened again, and I immediately began to worry. But thankfully, after taking a deep breath, he responded calmly.

"She took you away from the others, including me, after our last rebirth. She stole you and hid you for many years. She lived amongst the mortals, and after many years of being separated from the fellow gods, none of us could track the both of you down. The scent of mortals has rubbed off on you and your aura has become weak."

My eyes bulged at his explanation. I didn't understand any of it. What rebirth? My mother stealing me away from the other gods? What?

"What do you mean?" I whispered questionably.

Aiden/ Hades sighed. "For each century, the gods would be alive for the first half of it, meaning fifty years, and then be gone for the other half."

"What happens to us in the second half of the century?"

He shrugged as he answered, "I don't really know. We just…. disappear."

Woah. Now that was really…. wow. I don't even know how to explain what I was feeling right now.

I leaned in to rest my head against his shoulder, and he smiled at the gesture and kissed the tip of my nose. I smiled at his sweetness, but my smile disappeared once I had asked the second question.

"Do we stay the way we look now throughout the years?"

He nodded.

"If so, why do I have memories of myself as a child?" I questioned.

That question seemed to have shaken him to his core. He shakily moved me so that I faced him again, and he lifted an index finger and placed the tip in the middle of my forehead.

"Mind tricks, Persephone," he muttered, and I shivered a bit when he used my 'other' name. "Demeter inserts these images she created, and passes them off as your memory. "

Hearing that, I felt my heart sink.

So… All those memories... were a lie?

No...

I felt the tears flow down slowly again as I took everything in. I wanted to scream and shout and maybe just punch a wall, but Aiden's - I mean Hades' - arms around me cushioned all these feelings, though not completely.

Suddenly, a new thought comes into my head. A thought that I now so badly want to tune out and forget about.

But curiosity overpowered me.

"Is Demeter my mother? And I mean the mother I stay with now."

A few seconds passed before he finally said, "Yes."

That only made me feel worse.

How could my own mother, the very woman who gave birth to me, do such things? How could she lie to me for over several hundred years and still be fine with it? This was the woman who I thought was a simple florist and an overprotective mother. I would never have expected her to be a runaway Greek goddess.

Aiden, or maybe I should just call him Hades now, kissed my lips softly again, and that prevented me from breaking down. As I twined my fingers in his hair, I thought about how he was like a life raft, keeping me afloat in the ocean of lies.

He was the only thing saving me.

I didn't know how long we had been kissing or how we did it, but when I finally broke out of my haze, I saw that I was lying on top of him on the couch and he was in the middle of pulling off his shirt.

"Oh God!" I shouted as I scrambled off him and onto the floor, falling on my behind. He sat up with wide, wild eyes and a confused yet hurt expression on his face.

"No! No! Aiden! Hades! I didn't mean to! I just-"

A finger to my lips, and I heard him say, "Ssshhh. It's alright… I can wait…."

A shiver ran up my spine at the realization that at some point in the past, I had actually slept with Aiden, in his actual identity of Hades. Though I seemed frightened at the thought, it actually felt…. nice.

Hades gently pulled me off the floor and sat me down on the couch once again. With one arm encircled around me, he asked, "So what would you like to do?"

I bit my lip to look as though I was thinking. But in reality, I knew exactly what I wanted to do now. Something I've always wanted to do since a long time ago.

"I have many questions."

Author's Note:

Hey guys. I just wanted to let you know that I kind of fell asleep in the middle of writing this -_-

That is all.

Muse of Fanfiction