by RM Virtues
“We can talk about this more later,” he says plainly, straightening his tie.
“What do you mean ‘later’?” Zeus scoffs.
“Exactly what I just said, Zeus. I don’t know how else to say it.”
“So you’re just - not gonna do anything!”
“I never said that, but I’m certainly going to need more evidence than a picture of a masked man in a maroon car.”
“So you don’t trust me?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
“You don’t have to!”
“Because if you’re right, trusting you is the reason why we’re here in the first place!”
It’s only when the silence falls between them that Hades’ voice echoes back at him, showing just how loud he’d become. Another first really. He’d scolded Zeus before, sure, but he wasn’t the type who lost his temper so easily. He hasn’t slept though, and Zeus’s constant pushing isn’t helping him resolve his own reservations.
“I’m not going to make a decision on a whim,” Hades resumes coldly. “That is where you and I differ, brother. That is why we are still here at all. If one of the heirs of Tartarus did this, I will find out. Otherwise, I will keep looking, but we are not going to go to war at noon on a weekday because you identified a fucking car. Do you understand me?”
Zeus says nothing for a long time, and Hades keeps his eyes trained on his brother’s face. He cannot back down. He cannot let this get swept aside. Zeus has to understand. He is not allowed to make any foolish decisions right now. It could cost them all far too much.
It could cost them everything.
At last, Zeus turns away, but before he can stalk towards the door, Hades grips his arm. The elder has a few inches on him but feels even bigger at the moment.
“I said, do you understand, Zeus?”
Zeus grits his teeth. Then he nods, and once Hades releases him, he stalks out of the office and down the stairs, pouting all the way.
It’s just another thing to worry about. That’s what Hades tells himself because somehow, that has always made it okay.
Though it feels like this time might be different.
23
Persephone
Persephone stretches as her eyes flutter open, adjusting to the darkness of Hades’ room. She knows it must be well into the day by now, but his blackout curtains make it nothing short of a guessing game. She glances over at the clock on the end table. Half past noon. She groans before rolling over the other way, right into Hecate’s still form.
Persephone freezes, fearing she might wake her up, but Hecate giggles and turns to look at her, eyes dancing with amusement.
“You’re awake,” Persephone hisses, relaxing back into the pillows.
“Barely,” Hecate hums, stretching out herself now. “You two nearly killed me.”
Persephone smirks. “That good, huh?”
“Mhm. Plus, it’s been awhile.”
The brunette clucks her tongue. “There is no way you and Thanatos aren’t rolling around with each other here and there, right?”
Hecate snorts. “I meant like that. We never have the time to go that many rounds, and it’s been awhile since we’ve had - company.”
“Ah.” Persephone’s eyebrows raise, lips quirking. “I’m glad we could make some magic happen for you then, and I’m sure we can do it again if need be.”
They grin at one another. “I’d appreciate it. I’ll even bring the toys next time.”
“You better.”
A pleasant silence falls over them as each of them seek out their phones, checking for messages or missed calls. Without Zeus or her mother hounding her, the only notable notification is a text message from Aphrodite, stating she would be by in the afternoon and that the news of Asphodel had spread like wildfire across the city. Persephone wonders about the details, but she isn’t ready to look at the news coverage or social media posts just yet, especially from show critics. Setting her phone down, she stares up at the ceiling.
“You think he’s okay?” she asks.
“I think he wants to be,” Hecate returns as if she’d been wondering the same thing. “And I think he’ll tell us that he is. That’s what he does, but - this place is his home and his heart. It’s the one thing that was his. Not his father’s or his mother’s or Zeus’s. He built this, and to have someone try and take it from him, no matter the reason... It’s - personal.”
Persephone turns on her side to face the other woman. “I could feel it, when we were driving over here. He wouldn’t say anything or - show anything, but I could feel how - afraid he was. It scared me too.”
“It used to scare me too.” Hecate turns to her as well. “I guess it still does. I used to believe that it should. And not because he doesn’t handle the emotion well but because - he doesn’t handle the emotion at all. To him, every problem is tangible. He’s used to being in control, to being the anchor when everyone else is being thrown around by the waves, and to him, anything less than that is failure. And this is… It’s big. It’s the biggest thing to ever happen to him. Not to Zeus or to his parents or even to the district, but to Hades personally. This is a man they say is immortal. Imagine what could happen if a whole city starts questioning that.”
“What can I do?”
The redhead smiles. “That’s the beauty of you, Seph, and - how he feels about you. I think you can do anything you think you need to. You sense things like that, you can put your foot down. You can make him face it, but-” She grabs Persephone’s hand. “You don’t need to try and fix him. Even if he needs it, that’s not your job. That’s not anyone’s job. You just need to let him know that he can be himself with you. Apart from that, business is always gonna be business.”
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that he feels somethin’ for me at all.”
“Oh, it’s more than something.” She chuckles. “I don’t know all the details, but whatever happened the other night with him and Zeus, it was because of you.” Persephone frowns, but Hecate squeezes her hand. “Hey now, that is not a bad thing. The first time he’s ever stood up to Zeus? We’ve been trying to get him there his whole life, and you did that. You don’t have to make him stronger, Persephone. You make him want to be stronger on his own, and that is more than enough. You just gotta let him be.”
It’s Seph’s turn to laugh. “You’re really good at this, you know? The talking.”
“It comes with the job.” She smirks. “I do the talking, Charon does the thinking, Thana does the doing, and Hades brings it all together. We had a lot of practice with each other. How else do you think we run this place? You think your man is downstairs greeting people? Please.”
Persephone laughs harder. “I definitely would never picture him doing a thing like that.”
“We all have our roles. We’ve settled into them alright.”
The brunette sobers now, looking up at the ceiling. “Looks like I’m gonna have to find a new one for now.”
The redhead frowns now. “Oh, right. The show.”
“Yeah. Calliope will probably wanna go back to Deucalion Heights without a venue.” She remembers how distraught the other woman had been in their short conversation the day before. “Either to work on something new for the time being, or to tend to the other productions she has going right now.”
Hecate’s brows knit. “Why not one of Aphrodite’s places?”
“I wish we could, but even if she has the space, we can’t just set up acrobatics anywhere. The stage has to be made for that.”
“And there’s no other place in Khaos Falls like that?”
“Not that I know of. That’s why it was so important we get the extension here.”
Hecate is quiet for a moment, but Persephone can hear the cogs turning in her head. It soothes her, but of course it does. That’s the redhead’s entire charm. She knows how to make people feel safe. More than that, she knows how to make people feel like they deserve to be.
“I’ll look
into it,” Hecate says finally. “Don’t give up hope yet. I’m not gonna let you leave town without doing everything that I can. Dio and I have a few tricks up our sleeve we might be able to pull for something like this.”
Persephone grins, her heart fluttering. “Don’t play with me now.”
“I would never.” Hecate squeezes her hand once more before releasing it and sitting up in the bed to look at her. “Until then, if you get bored, you can always work with me down in the casino offices. In a paid position of course. The amount of people you deal with daily is entirely up to you, and the job is pretty straightforward. You’re smart, and you have a business degree already, don’t you? I could teach you in no time.”
“You mean that?”
“Oh, that’s nothing, Seph, of course.”
Persephone can’t explain how much that means to her. It’s not that she’s giving up on her dream. Of course she isn’t, and if Calliope insists on her returning to Deucalion Heights for the offseason, she will. However, a chance to stay close to Hades —not to mention Hecate and Aphrodite as well— is something to keep in mind. She appreciates it more than she can ever say, and she’s come to love Asphodel as an extension of Hades. It’s the first time she’s ever been genuinely happy in her hometown, and she would do anything to savor it.
“On one condition though,” Hecate goes on, now turning back to the bed with the most mischievous look Persephone has ever seen on anyone’s face. “And it’s important.”
She raises a brow. “And what is that?”
“You help Dio and I plan Hades’ birthday party.”
She realizes then that she doesn’t even know when his birthday is. “And - when is that?”
“Three weeks from now, the third of next month, but we want to have the party just before so he’s not expecting it. Especially with this going on, I think he needs it.”
Persephone grins now, nodding eagerly. “I’m in.”
* * *
By the time Persephone and Hecate make it downstairs, Aphrodite has arrived, and she embraces Persephone the moment she sees her on the landing outside of Hades’ office. Hecate says goodbye to them and enters the office with haste. Persephone only catches a glimpse of the casino owner where he sits at his desk, Charon and Thanatos at each shoulder as they all look over something in front of Hades. She tears her eyes away and focuses on her best friend.
“You sure it wasn’t your mama?” Aphrodite huffs, cupping Persephone’s face. “You still haven’t told me what went on with her.”
She’s absolutely right, and Persephone concedes.
“Come on, girl,” she sighs, taking Aphrodite’s hand. “I’ll tell you everything over coffee. Upstairs out of earshot.”
“Oh, we goin’ to the penthouse?” She smiles at last. “Okay, let’s do that.”
Persephone cuts one more glance through the window of Hades’ office just as he looks up. She waves at him, and he smiles bashfully, offering a wave back. She gestures towards the elevator, and he nods before turning back to a talking Thanatos. She likes to know that even in his darkest hour, she can still make him smile. It makes her feel better about her own strife.
Once she and Aphrodite are settled in the living room with fresh coffee, Persephone unwinds fully, dragging a hand through her hair.
“You look beat, girl, what’s up?” Aphrodite asks, raising a perfectly shaped brow.
“I don’t have a job,” Persephone chuckles although there is nothing funny about it. “Just a couple nights ago, I’m standing in my mother’s house telling her I made it, and then this happens.”
“And again, are you sure she had nothing to do with it?”
Persephone doesn’t answer right away, pinching the bridge of her nose. Is it possible that this is Demeter’s real response to everything Persephone had thrown at her the other night? Yes, but she’d already assured Hades that Demeter wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize her status or the peace in the Harvest District, especially when Persephone left on her own. If things were different —maybe even if she knew about the whole mess with Zeus— that might be another story, but as it stands, she doubts it. Her mind does wander briefly to Adonis, but as childish as he might be, he’s not that stupid. Demeter would kill him before Hades ever got the chance, and if Demeter didn’t, Persephone might do it herself. No, there’s no way.
“Naw,” she sighs at last. “My mama is proud as all hell, but she’s not that.”
Aphrodite rolls her eyes. “So she just dragged you outta here by your pigtails or what?”
Persephone snorts. “No, no. She sent Adonis to ‘fetch’ me.”
“Oh, no.” They both laugh. “Are you serious? I know he threw a tantrum.”
“I drove there myself, but he had the decency to hold it in until I was on my way out.” She wets her lips now, looking over at her friend. “I told them about Hades.”
The other woman gasps, nearly choking on her coffee. “And?”
Persephone shrugs. “Adonis did his thing, but my mama didn’t say a word. I think my auntie’s alright.”
“She’s always alright with you though. That woman loves you, like for real.”
“Don’t I know it.”
Hestia is the quiet saint of the Harvest District. Many knew about Persephone’s transition, but few knew of Hestia’s. She’d guided them all, Demeter included, through the whole thing. Passing came so easy to the elder, and by Demeter’s account, it always had. Persephone had been in awe when her aunt had first come out to her, but it had helped her put her own pieces together. Hestia had spared her so much pain and confusion. Sure, her father returned more than enough of it, but that didn’t negate Hestia’s contributions. She went unnoticed by almost everyone in general, but that was her strength. That was how she made things happen.
“So Hades thinks Tartarus did this?” Aphrodite goes on.
Persephone sighs. “Honestly, I don’t know what he thinks. We didn’t really talk about it… Actually, we didn’t talk about it at all. Hecate thinks so though. She’s betting on Tethys.”
“Mm, now that I can see.”
Both of them nod with a mutual look of disgust.
“Hades was gonna review the tapes from yesterday,” she recalls although her voice is still distant. “He very well could’ve cracked the case by now.”
“Let’s hope,” Aphrodite sets her mug down on the table between them. “And Zeus? He back off yet?”
“I blocked his number. Hades got on him the other night though too, and I’m willing to bet he’ll do it again if Zeus comes around here.”
“So you’re staying here for good then?”
Persephone glances over at her to find the other woman grinning, and she rolls her eyes. “It was supposed to be more convenient for work.”
“And—”
“And hush your mouth.” Aphrodite giggles as Seph flips her off.
“You’re here for him. Be real about it at least.”
Persephone shrugs. “It’s still… I mean obviously I’m serious about it. I never would’ve told my mama if I wasn’t, but there’s still that fear that - especially now without a job, I’ll just become Hades’ woman.”
“You don’t ever have to be just anything, Seph. I know this is an unfortunate example under the circumstances, but Nyx has never been just Erebus’s wife.”
“It’s her district.”
“And Erebus is - Erebus. His family is practically royalty in Old Crete, and they own multiple districts. He came here for her, and he’s never tried to overshadow her. Hades damn sure won’t do it to you.”
“You’re forgetting we’re talking about Hades though. I don’t wanna have to screen interviews for 20 questions about him for the rest of my life.”
“Most people don’t even think he’s real, so you should be more worried about people calling you a liar.”
“‘Dite…”
“Okay, look. I can’t promise that won’t happen, but I can promise you can say no.” She reaches over
and pats Persephone’s leg. “Here’s what you gotta accept, Seph. You’re always gonna be Demeter’s daughter to somebody, and you might always be Hades’ woman to somebody else, but what matters is who you see when you look in the mirror. —And if you don’t see it, I will be happy to point out that you’re a fucking superstar.”
“Ugh.” Persephone lets her head fall back against the chair. “I hate when you say shit like that. I don’t even have an argument.”
Aphrodite snickers. “That’s the point. And I’m just glad I don’t gotta worry about you in that apartment anymore.”
“I can promise that you won’t have to worry ever again. If I ever leave here, I’m coming straight home to you.”
“Damn straight.”
And at the moment, despite all of this uncertainty, Persephone feels like she just might have it all. Not only that, but she feels like she might just deserve it too.
24
Hades
The sun is beginning to set when Hades heads back to the penthouse, feeling worn out and exhausted. The last few hours have been little more than a circular argument that led them to the same conclusion they’d all apparently walked in here with. And truly, Hades feels worse than he had at the start of it.
The doors open to the elevator, and out steps Aphrodite, who he offers a smile to.
“You look a mess,” she states matter-of-factly. It makes him laugh.
“I feel it,” he returns, running a hand over his unshaven face.
They’re quiet for a moment, and the elevator doors close again, leaving them on the landing. She stares up at him, observant, and he stares too, expectant.
“Thank you,” she says finally.
“For what?” he questions, brows knitted.
“She and I have been through a whole lot. She’s family, and she’s - happy. That means a whole lot to me.”
“I think it’s me who’s grateful.”