Thoughts Of Hades' Love

Thoughts of Hades' love

I keep imagining Hades’ lovestruck, flustered expression when he first sees Persephone

It was probably in Olympus at some meeting that Demeter took her to, and he’s embarrassed by his brothers, teasing him and putting him down, and he catches Persephone watching and he’s blushing so bright and pouting and sulking

And then again when she wanders into his home and he’s just doing busywork, and he’s older now and a little more confident but not by much and he’s flustered all over again, jolted by the presence of this beautiful girl, power in her every step, and remembers how she had stood up to Zeus at that meeting, and how she was stronger than him, and when she asks to stay what is he supposed to do? Say no?

He knows the repercussions but he has such respect for her- that’s how it all started, pure respect, not love, not obsession- and he knows how the others treat young gods. Knows Demeter will leash her daughter to her side like a misbehaving dog. Knows how betrayal feels. And besides, maybe he can learn from her how to be so confident, so self assured. How she captured that power in her walk, in her expression.

When she tells him how she fakes it, he doesn’t understand. She tells him how scared she is. How when she came down here she was about to run back when he had caught her.

“You can never let them see,” she said easily, picking seeds from the pomegranate. “If they see how you feel, they can use that,” Her deep golden brown eyes pierced his, the wisdom in them made him sit back. “And they will drain you.”

It wasn’t long before they came for her. For once, he saw the fear in her eyes. And that, more than any advice she had given, made the mask of confidence and power fall over him. It was easy to tell them of the mistake she had made. She had eaten of his realm, she could no longer go back. It was her choice; he knew he couldn’t keep her and he wouldn’t try. But they didn’t need to know that.

Half of the year, they settled. It was enough for the young goddess and so it was for him. It was hard when she left. How odd, too. He had been alone for his entire life, shunned here, happily deprived of his family. But here he was, lackluster for mourning of his new- what was she now? He supposed she was considered his wife now to the others. To him, she was a friend. Someone to stand beside.

Her return made him warmer than he had ever been. She smelled like sweat and moss and lakes, her tight coiled curls wreathed her head like a crown. It made him want to make her one of her own. She was happy to be back, she said, and he stared. He told her no one had said that about this place before and she laughed, a hearty, shining thing. He felt his pale cheeks grow splotchy.

The love took longer. Hades was a cold place and a colder person. But he would quickly learn what spring does to winter. It wasn’t her beauty that thawed him, though that didn’t help. It was the way she leaned into him as he worked, how she talked and listened, her unabashed joy at the simplest of things. And then the strength, the elegance, the anger. She was a force that he was happy to stand behind. But instead she chose to stand beside him. Never a subordinate, always an equal.

He didn’t realise how warm his heart had grown until he caught himself staring, just like that first day. Her hair in a cloud of curls, eyes bright but firm, her confidence radiating. He was so in love it was stupid. The gods don’t love their spouses. But here he was, locking their fingers together.

She kissed him as if it was something they had done a thousand times before and told him she loved him the same way. When he responded, she looked surprised for the first time. He dragged her closer, whispering it again like a hymn, more for himself than for her. No matter how surprised she was, he was moreso.

Love wasn’t meant for gods. But he wasn’t sure they counted as gods down here. In the depths, they weren’t king and queen they were husband and wife. And he would never stop looking at her and getting flustered.