Chapter Text
It had been a painful 4 months for Hades. It felt as though it had been an eternity since he escorted Persephone to the train station for her departure to her ma's country house that sat on the outskirts of the bustling city. The city, a neon acropolis as Persephone had called it. High rise buildings, pricey apartments that rose alongside the skyscrapers and the flashing lights of the traffic. The noise was not so bothersome to Hades for he worked in a factory, so naturally, he was used to the orchestrating hums of machinery.
Despite all the noises of the city and the occasional fighting outside his apartment, Hades found his penthouse too quiet to his liking. No howls of laughter from the woman he loved, no music or partner to dance with in the evening, no dinner companion nor was there someone he could rant to about work in bed. She hadn't called! Not once in three months. He would consider Eurydice an acceptable companion but she wasn't exactly the same as Persephone was. When it came to listening to his rants, she would bring up her own opinions. Dances, she would refuse. Dinner, as long as she could bring her musician of a boyfriend, Orpheus. Laughter? Not so much. The songbird, as Hades and Persephone called Eurydice, was just his assistant so, he wasn't expecting so much from her especially with that firey attitude of hers. If it weren't for her job, she could snap at Hades whenever she wanted but, of course, she kept that controlled.
Most of the time, the three of them would sit in Persephone's little bar beside Hades' factory. Orpheus tended the bar in Persephone's absence, a job that earned him plenty while he worked on his music. The most they would talk about was about work but not much was spoken when Eurydice walked into the bar with a rather grumpy looking Hades.
Orpheus didn't dare speak, only greeting the older man with a nod before getting them their drinks. Eurydice said nothing as well, glancing at her boss now and then as she tried to read through that stone cold expression of his. She froze when Hades glanced at her with a hint of a glare, challenging her to glance again. Out of some mechanism of hers, she returned the glare with her own, only deeper. Orpheus backed off a little to prevent from being caught in the middle but after a minute went by, he stepped up with the courage he had managed to gather.
"C-Can we just cool off a little here?" he stammered, hands outstretched in a gesture to move them away from each other.
"Someone's a little hot headed here and it sure as hell ain't me, " Eurydice snapped before turning her head away to look elsewhere.
"Well, thank you for stating the obvious for me, assistant, " Hades murmured in that low growl of his.
"Now, are you going to speak or keep sulking?" Eurydice asked, still turned away.
"If it means not having to listen to you, songbird, I'll proceed sulking, " Hades answered plainly.
"And now you sound like a child. It's a wonder if Lady Persephone pampers you into this childishness, " Eurydice muttered.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hades' face fall. That was when she realized that she had found the answer to her question. Persephone. Well, that was one part of the puzzle, but the rest of it? She had to push the stubborn old man for it. Turning to look at Hades, she watched as he clasped his hands together and pressed his knuckles to his lips. He pondered in his thoughts, wincing when he felt the cold metal of his wedding band. A reminder of the absence of his wife's warmth. He let out a long sigh and before Eurydice could ask her burning questions, he spoke.
"She hasn't called. No letter, no message... Nothing," he murmured in a grumble.
Eurydice let out a quiet hum in thought. "She might be busy. You know, tending her mother's garden or doing whatever her mother is asking her to? You've told me quite a bit about Lady Demeter so, I'm assuming it's got something to do with her nagging...?" She scruched her nose lightly her questioning statement.
"I don't know. She always finds the time to call me, one way or another. She- She doesn't even have to call me, a simple message would do. That shouldn't take much time to type and send, " Hades rambled, looking a little distressed by this.
"Ever tried checking your emails?" Eurydice asked, tipping her head.
"She doesn't know how to use that. Prefers letters, she said. But yes, I have checked. I've asked Hermes for news, said he's got nothin'. What if something happened to her? Something I don't know of?" Hades asked and looked at Eurydice.
His face was blank but the more Eurydice looked into his dark eyes, she saw desperation and longing. Anyone could have missed the sadness in his eyes but she took one good look. Seeing her boss vulnerable was new, too new. She wasn't the best at comforting people, yet alone her boss, but tried her best.
"She might be busy. After all, we know Lady Persephone can't really sit still for a minute..." Eurydice murmured and shrugged lightly.
"That's... That might be true, yes. But a message - "
"She probably has her phone tucked away somewhere in her luggages, sandwiched in her dresses maybe, " Eurydice interjected quickly.
"Yeah... Yeah... She doesn't use her phone much..." Hades muttered in defeat.
As Hades was about to bring up another ridiculous thought, Orpheus cleared his throat, catching Hades' attention. The boy had been quiet for quite a while that Eurydice and Hades had forgotten that he was there. He tugged at the tablecloth in his hand nervously and his gaze wandered from Eurydice to Hades' untouched drink.
"Maybe you could try calling her, " he suggested with a nervous smile.
Eurydice nodded rapidly at that. "Yeah, that! Ever tried that?"
Scowling, Hades shook his head in embarrassment. "Never did."
"Then do so! Do it now! If you can't wait any longer, do it sooner, " Eurydice urged and poked at his phone that laid beside his large hand.
Picking up his phone, he took a deep breath. He was hesitant, worried of the response he might receive. What if there was really a reason that she wasn't calling? An awful reason. Perhaps she had found another man, someone better than he was. What if - The questions plagued his mind and he slapped his phone on the bar top. He didn't realize he had been holding his breath, having had released a loud exhale when his phone made contact with the bar top. Eurydice and Orpheus exchanged disappointed frowns but left Hades to decide what he was going to do.
Downing his drink, he dug through his breast pocket for money, slid it to Orpheus then left with a quiet wave of a good-bye. The walk back to his apartment wasn't so quiet. He spoke to himself, cursed and scolded himself for being so stupid and sensitive. Talking to himself made his walk seem a lot shorter than it was. In a matter of minutes, he was already standing at the door of his penthouse. He opened the door and stared into the darkness, taking a moment then stepped inside.
~
Hades ignored his work. He had taken a quick shower and now he laid in bed, leaving Persephone's side empty like it had been for those 4 months. His phone sat in his hand, Persephone just a call away. Just one push of a button and the device would reach her.
'Do it, coward. Call you, wife. No one's here to judge you.'
He smacked a hand against his forehead and dragged the hand down his face with the most dramatic groan. Without looking at the phone, he dialed her number and pressed it to his ear. Each beep was painful, one after another. His heart slowed to the pace of each beep, a heavy hammering against his ribcage. He waited, another reminder of a promise they made when she left.
'Wait for me?'
'I will.'
The last beep sounded and the only thing the device reached was her voice mailbox. He moved to lower the phone from his ear to spare himself from that obnoxious default response from the voixe mailbox but stopped when he heard her voice.
'Hello, this is Persephone! I'm glad you called, whoever you are, but I apologize for not answering. Leave a message and I'll try my best to get back to you. Ma, if this is you, I'm doing fine. Pa, if it's you, kindly never call me again. Orpheus, my boy, I'm probably the worst boss in the world but I promise I'll get back to you! Hades... My love-'
A smile stretched across his lips, the widest in months.
'I'm sorry for not answering but I promise I'll make it up to you for every missed call. I love you and please, feel free to call me a thousand times until I answer. I love you lots, lover, just know that I always have you in my mind... And lastly, Songbird, do take care of my husband. He does need pampering at times.'
A final beep and that was it. He hadn't heard her voice for too long but this was enough for him. He settled his phone on the nightstand beside his bed and closed his eyes, a contented smile upon his lips. He could sleep slightly better. He still longed to speak to her, to see that quirky smile but he wasn't going to be fussy. Not after an exhausting day. And with that, he dozed off, falling into a deep slumber.