The watching Fates knew very well when to turn away when the couple was about to give themselves into their long-awaited moment of intimacy. Instead, they focused their mysterious green eyes on Demeter.

They watched as she sat at the head of the dining table of her home, hands covering her face as she cried into her palms. All around her, everything was a disaster area. Fabrics torn to shreds, wooden furniture destroyed into pieces and glass broken into sharp shards.

That was evidence of the wrath that the goddess possessed.

Demeter pulled her face away from her hands, revealing it to be red with tear-stained cheeks and complimented with sad and angered olive green eyes rimmed with hot tears.

All of a sudden, the Harvest Goddess screamed in anguish, shot up from her seat and banged her fists upon the dining table. The table broke in an instant at the contact, accompanied by a loud CRACK!

Demeter screamed her anger and grief into the air once more before falling back down onto her seat and resuming her original position; slouched with her palms covering her face.

The Fates did nothing else but shake their heads in dismay.

This may not end well… Clotho silently thought to herself.

When I slowly woke up, I was very aware of a few things.

Firstly, I was in a bedroom that had black walls and a dark and polished wood-panelled floor. One wall of the room was entirely a window, allowing a view of the dark forest outside and the moon. In the room there was a door that led to the bathroom, a study table and a chair, a bookshelf, a wardrobe and a bed.

Secondly, the modern bed was California king-sized, had soft white sheets, multiple pillows ranging from colours such as red, black and gold and felt like the softest of clouds, and a comfy black comforter.

Thirdly, I was lying face-down on top of a man on the bed, our bodies covered by the comforter. My head was tucked underneath his chin, my lips touching the skin of his neck. My arms were limp on his chest, while his were wrapped around my waist, holding me close.

Lastly, both of us were naked, and clearly had sex just a few hours prior.

If it had been any other man, which I knew it will never be, I would have leapt up in shock and start worrying about whether we used protection and start fretting over the possibility of me being pregnant already. But no, this was Hades. This was my husband. It was alright.

I smiled at the feel of his warmth and planted a soft kiss to the curve of his neck. I could hear him sigh in content and his hands traveled upwards to caress my bare back. I wasn't aware that he too was awake, but I was glad he was. I shivered in pleasure at his touch and languidly lifted my head to look at him.

He had the most beautiful smile on his lips. It was the smile of pure happiness and satisfaction, as though he had just achieved something he had worked so hard to get. And I knew why; he searched so hard for me, and now he finally got me.

"Hey," I whispered, my lips curling into a smile as well.

"Hey," he replied, his smile still staying in place as his obsidian eyes gazed at me lovingly.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips full against his. He kissed back eagerly, a groan sounding low in his chest. My hands travelled up his perfectly-toned chest to cup his face as I continued shaping my lips against his.

"Persephone," he whispered against my lips in hazy pleasure, his fingers entwining within my russet hair, which were draped around his face like curtains. "I love you."

My breath hitched at his words, and I could feel myself blushing just from hearing him say it. Even though he had said it to me many times before, which I do cherish, it felt so nice to hear him say it after our blissful night together. It made the moment even more special than it already was.

"I love you too, Hades," I replied with love and adoration in my tone. "Never doubt my words."

To enhance my claim, I gently sank my teeth into his bottom lip, and he made a sound that was in-between a groan and a growl. Then I slowly pulled away to look at him. He gazed at me with a dazed smile.

I stayed quiet as I smiled down at him and my thumb caressed his perfect cheek bone. I let the perfection of the moment seep into me. Inside, I knew that 'Spring Korey' had just lost her virginity to 'Aiden Cole'. But in truth, it was just a blissful reunion between Hades and Persephone, who had been separated for too long.

"Everything was so perfect," he told me. "Too perfect. I was nearly close to thinking that I wouldn't feel that pleasure that I could only get from you ever again. But I was wrong. And even until now, the pleasure you give me is never even an inch away from bliss. Truly, I want no other than you, my lovely Persephone."

His words touched my heart and immediately sent a wave of happiness throughout my body. I held back tears as I leaned down to kiss his forehead, showing him that I loved him just as much.

"I'm so glad that you've found me," I whispered against his skin. "You don't know how very thankful I am for that. You really don't. The only thing I can give to you to show you that is my eternal love for you. Only you, Hades."

His hands cupped the sides of my face and he pulled me down so that both our lips met once again. It was such a very sweet kiss; sweeter than even the best sweets in the world. I relished in the sweetness of his lips, and yet I was still yearning for more.

When we finally pulled away, he tilted his head up to kiss the tip of my nose, and I giggled in response, earning a small chuckle from him.

"Now if you don't mind, my sweet, I think it's time for both of us to get washed up," he told me with an eager grin.

I then obediently rolled off him, lying on my back beside him. I watched as he sat up and moved to sit on the edge of his side of the bed, his back facing me. But when I gazed upon his bare pale skin, I gasped.

There were claw marks criss-crossing his back in every direction. Some were the colour of pinkish-white, fading to fit the tone of his pale skin, while others were still transitioning from red to pink.

I remembered that I sometimes had my hands on his back when we made love, but I would never have expected to have done this. It made me blush instantly.

He seemed to have felt my gaze upon him, for he turned and smirked at me.

"I didn't expect you to be that excited, to be honest," he told me in his husky voice. "I kind of have gotten quite the shock when I felt the first few scratches."

I bit my bottom lip in embarrassment as I studied the criss-crossing pattern of the marks I had imprinted on him. I sat up, clutching the comforter to my chest, and reached a hand out to touch his back. It was smooth under my touch, but very hard with lean muscles. My fingertips ran over each mark gently.

"I'm sorry," I murmured as I dropped my gaze guiltily. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Indeed, I felt bad for doing this to such a beautiful creature. It was as though I had just destroyed the works of an Old Master, and I felt immensely guilty for it.

He turned to face me and, to my complete surprise, he grasped the hand that caressed his back and brought it to his lips.

"Don't apologize," he told me with a smile. "You hurt me good."

Hearing him say the last few words made the blush on my cheeks became warmer and allowed it to spread all over my face, and that made him laugh wholeheartedly. Despite the embarrassment, I too giggled.

He then stood up, his hand still holding mine, and asked ever so politely, "So, my queen, may we take our bath now?"

I gave him a grin and nodded my head eagerly. "Let's."

Demeter lay still on top of her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. If it weren't for the slight motion to indicate that she was breathing, she could have been mistaken for dead.

She wasn't, but she felt like it.

This was exactly how she felt whenever Persephone left to spend the allocated six months in the Underworld. The emptiness caused by her daughter's absence always struck her deep inside her heart, and until now it never seemed to heal.

Her mind was full of images of her lovely daughter, more importantly from the time when they still lived as goddesses. She remembered every little detail; her smile, her laugh, her skill of crafting the most beautiful bouquets and flower crowns, how she always danced in the meadows full of colourful flowers that she had willed to bloom. Everything about her precious daughter was a treasure.

But now Demeter wondered, what had happened? How exactly did Persephone change so suddenly? How did she managed to fall in love with Hades, of all gods? How did she manage to find the will to defy her own mother and beckon Zeus to allow her, a goddess that radiated life, to spend some time with the God of the Dead? How did the meek Goddess of Spring turned into an iron-willed Queen of the Underworld?

"She's a woman, Demeter. She is no longer a little girl," a masculine voice said from the door.

Demeter was not entirely frightened by the unexpected answer. She slowly brought her head up from the pillow and looked at the direction of the voice. Leaning against the door was none other than the mighty Zeus.

He was not dressed in the business suits that he always donned in his famous image of 'James Evans'. Instead, he wore a simple green polo shirt which showed off his muscled arms, jeans and boots. His shoulder-length blonde hair was let loose, framing his masculine face perfectly.

His piercing grey eyes assessed her, while she glared at him.

"Get out," she said with malice in her tone. "Seeing you only makes my mood worse."

Zeus remained quiet and studied the angry mess that was Demeter. The Harvest Goddess was very well-known for her violent mood swings. Sometimes, he can't help but think that even Hera seemed docile in comparison to her.

Finally, he asked, "Why do you hang on so tightly to her, Demeter? Why can you not let Persephone live on her own will?"

Her anger flared up in an instant, and she shot up into a sitting position. Scowling, she seethed, "She is my daughter! She is my flesh and blood! She is a part of me!"

Zeus stood firm as he coolly answered, "She is my daughter as well. So why is it that I can allow her to have her own life, while you cannot?"

Demeter angrily got off the bed and made her way to stand in front of Zeus, so that she can shout at his face, "Look at what happened, Zeus! I left her alone and she got herself kidnapped by our wretched brother! She allowed him to sway her with lies! She was stupid enough to be tricked into eating those cursed pomegranate seeds!"

At this point, Zeus can no longer take the words that were coming out of her mouth. He took an intimidating step forward and replied in a hard voice, "She was not kidnapped. She had allowed Hades to take her to the Underworld. He most definitely did not sway her with lies. He told her his true intentions without hesitation. And she definitely was not tricked into eating those seeds. A few months after the incident, I decided to see everything for myself, and I witnessed Hades giving her a choice to stay in the Underworld or return to the world above. She decided to stay with the intention of still visiting you. She partook in those seeds at her own will."

"WHY!" Demeter screamed in a mixture of anger and desperation. "WHY DID SHE DO IT IF SHE KNEW IT WOULD UPSET ME?"

Still standing firm, Zeus answered, "Because she fell in love."

"BAH!" she scoffed, turning away from the King of the Skies and made her way to the window which faced the gardens. Standing in a tense position, she looked outside.

The garden was dying. The bark of the trees were chipping away, the leaves were dried up and shrivelled while the petals of the flowers were losing its colour as life slowly seeped away.

It reminded Demeter so much of when she had first created winter out of her sadness. Only this time, there was no snow, for the Earth had long grown accustomed to the seasons that it was now able to manage the cycle on its own. But even then, Demeter can cause the nature to have a negative effect with her sadness.

She felt Zeus standing right behind her, but she does not turn.

"Our daughter is special, Demeter. She had managed to make Hades fall in love as well. Hades could not have been any happier. They have children now. Our grandchildren. You have played with them and taught them lessons about life. You treat them as part of your kin. So why is it that you still cannot accept Hades and you would even think of stealing Persephone away from her family?"

Demeter did not relax from her stiff posture as she answered in a hard voice, "I do not wish to answer that, Zeus."

He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. He took a step closer to her, standing by her side. When she finally turned to look at him, he asked, "Do not wish to answer, or you just cannot find an answer?"

She gave no reply. She only glared at him before turning to look at her dying garden again.

Zeus sighed, and knew that she would not respond. He then decided to not spend another unnecessary minute in her room, for he had other businesses to attend to. But he quickly fished something out of his jeans pocket, grasped Demeter's hand gently and placed the item in her palm.

She did not pull her hand away immediately, but she turned to look at what he had given her.

It was a platinum-coloured hard plastic card, with only the words 'EVANS INDUSTRIES' and 'VIP' printed on one side in bold black letters.

"If you ever wish to return with us, there will be some of my private jets at the Portland International Airport. Show this and you will gain easy flight access." Then he hesitated, but finally added, "I do hope you would reconsider."

And in a blink of an eye, he vanished.

Demeter looked at the spot where he had just stood, before looking at the card once again. So this was her one-way ticket to returning to Greece. It felt heavy in her hand, same as how the burdens of making the final decision was heavy on her shoulders.

Silently, she walked back to the bed and lay down once again, putting the card delicately on the top of her night dresser.

Author's Note:

I'll be honest with you. I kind of was embarrassed as I wrote the Hades & Persephone scene. But I am pretty satisfied with it. I'm also satisfied with the Demeter & Zeus scene as well.

Ah... love and angst all in one chapter.

Muse of Fanfiction