"Do you like the tattoo?"

"It's a little showy, ain't it, lover?"

"Just answer the question, Seph."

"Fine."

"…I await your response, dear wife."

"You want my real answer or the one that'll make you happy?"

"Ideally, both would suffice."

"Could be worse, I guess. You know I've never liked that Wall."

"It's necessary, lover, to protect Hadestown from—"

"I know, lover. I've heard your rallies before. Lots of times. Too many times."

"Even so, the Wall is a work in progress."

"So you got it tattooed in permanent ink? You're really stretching those brain cells, ain't you?"

"Hmph. Should've known you'd disapprove."

"And if you'd known would you have gone and done it anyway?"

"…"

"Answer me, Hades."

"Perhaps I'd have held off until you were more…agreeable."

"And you think in a few weeks I would've fallen all over you for it!? Who do you think you married, lover?"

"My most beloved wife, Queen of the above and down below and ruler of my heart."

"…All right, Mr. Hades, you still know how to make a girl swoon. I just hope that needle job didn't hurt too badly."

"Hm. Now that you mention it, part of it's still quite sore."

"Oh?"

"Right here. And here, and…here…"

"That's your mouth, not your arm."

"So?"

"…Suppose I'd better help kiss it better."

"I thank you for your support, Persephone."

"Mmm. Less talk, more…support."

"What in Sam Hill is that?"

"What's what?"

"That brick."

"It's the Wall, lover; we've had this discussion before."

"No, not on your arm. Here—stop wiggling!"

"You tickle!"

"Look, Hades. On your chest. By your heart."

"Ah. That—"

"You go and expand it without telling me? Some secret plan to get Persephone all riled up for you?"

"No, that…I've no idea how it got there."

"…"

"No fooling you, I suppose. The bricks began manually; you know that. But…"

"But what?"

"These have sprung up, over time. I can't seem to stop it."

"Is it dangerous?"

"How should I know?"

"You're the master of this domain, the king of shades and bricks and everything dead! If anyone should know, you should."

"If I knew half of what went on in my domain do you think I'd need a Wall to begin with?"

"Does it hurt?"

"No. Instead, it…When a new brick appears it warms briefly, then settles."

"Well, do you at least know how it happens?"

"…"

"Hades. Lover. It'll be okay, just let me know."

"I suppose…it began when I called a shade down to the Underworld. You know. A new Worker. Brick sprung up shortly after."

"Oh gods, Hades—"

"Relax, lover. There were papers to be signed, and I swear on the Styx that was all."

"Well I swear on the Styx I'm going out to get a drink. Don't wait for me."

"Persephone—lover—wife!"

"And you'd better learn how to read a calendar next year—you picked me up a full week early! Hermes says Ma was beside herself."

"…Hmph."

"Look, Persephone. Look at all I've accomplished in your name."

"Hades…that Wall's gotten so big I can't see the sky."

"There is no sky down here."

"You know what I mean! What's the point of all this? All those bricks, all those souls…"

"Like building the Wall, every brick is needed and useful, every slab of mortar necessary. The Workers are an extension of it and my will."

"Do you even hear yourself any more?"

"Quite clearly. And I can hear them too, working for the betterment of Hadestown."

"I did not sign up for a guided tour of a kingdom that gets worse and worse every time I visit—which is something, since you seem to pick me up earlier every year!"

"I miss you."

"…I miss you too, Hades."

"Then there is no problem."

"Those bricks are covering your whole body, lover—gone all the way down to your…extremities."

"It doesn't hurt, Persephone. Look—not even ichor comes out when it's scratched. I'm fine."

"It hurts to even look at those bricks!"

"Then look at my face."

"Hades…"

"Look at me, Seph."

"Why is this happening, lover? What happened to us?"

"Maybe you should ask that little flask hangin' off your wrist like a keychain. You want to talk things springin' up, now that's a problem."

"How I choose to medicate is none of your business."

"A wife's vices are none of her husband's business?"

"Vices!? Says the man who can't sit still 'less he's abducting another Worker!"

"And I'm sure you've abducted more than your fair share of wine across the eons!"

"Oh, we're going that route, huh?"

"And for the record, I do not abduct."

"Whatever."

"You have your ways of coping, lover, and I have mine. We both know this."

"…Hmph. Fine. But you best not be playin' dominoes with any of those shades or I'm filing for divorce."

"Of course not. Never."

"Hades?"

"What?"

"You're limping."

"It's fine…Just a little stiffness. Comes with being one of the elder Pantheon."

"You sure that's all it is?"

"Positive."

"…Talk to me, Hades. I know things…haven't been easy."

"No thanks to you."

"Oh, thanks."

"Or me. I know you're unhappy, even if I can't imagine why."

"…Well, I at least want to know you're alright. Before I go."

"Do you have to?"

"Yes. Train's a-waiting."

"You could stay longer."

"Hades, those mortals need me!"

"And what would one missing day on their calendar hurt, hm? Our calendars of seasons would barely notice at all."

"Seasons are still seasons, lover, and I have to go when my Ma needs me. The mortals need me."

"I need you too, lover."

"Hades…"

"Please."

"I…"

"Just a day."

"…Just a day. Now you'd better get yourself sat down, that limp looks even worse."

"O-of course, lover."

"Lover."

"Oh gods, Hades, your foot…"

"It seems it was more than just stiff bones and weary muscles after all."

"You can say that again—diamonds and calcified bones? Look at yourself! I can't tell where it ends and you begin!"

"And yet here I stand, Persephone. Just as the Wall stands proudly, so too must its king."

"Stand, nothing, Hades. You…need…help."

"I'd be more inclined to believe you were sincere if you didn't take a drink between words."

"It ain't right. That Wall ain't right. L-look at what it's done to you….gods, my head…"

"Persephone? Are you well?"

"No!"

"Then come closer. Into my arms."

"H-Hades…"

"I'm strong enough to take you home safely. To keep my treasured wife with me, as we both convalesce."

"Ain't right… none of it…"

"It's all right, Persephone. Once we arrive in Hadestown, you'll see the fruits of my labors."

"You mean that Wall again."

"Not just a Wall, lover, the measure of how much a man loves his wife. What more could you ever ask for?"

"How 'bout a stiff drink?"

"Ha."

"Ha. I'll build a wall outta your foot if you don't knock it off."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Yeah, I bet you would. Now turn down the lights so I can sleep off this headache."

"…That's the sun, lover."

"Oh. Oh, gods."

"…"

"What?"

"…Nothing."

"That look ain't nothin'. Tell me, Hades."

"Do you still love me?"

"What kind of question is that!?"

"Answer me, Seph."

"…Yes, Hades. Of course I still love you."

"That's all I needed to hear."

"Do you still love me?"

"Oh gods—Persephone—gods—please don't—I can't—"

"Hades! Hades, I was just—calm down!"

"Argh!"

"Hades! Your leg—"

"I-it's fine. Just a weakness. It will pass."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"You're positive."

"Yes. …As to your question, I will love you until my dying day, Persephone."