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Persephone watched as Hades disappeared from her view. He had left her to descend furthur into the underworld alone, closer to their home. She stood stiffly, lips pressed into a tight line to stop any profanity from pouring out of her lips. She wanted to curse at all of this. Curse at Hadestown, curse at the factories, curse at her husband. She resisted every itching urge to curse as she made her way to her home, a mansion that sat too comfortably away from the industrial site of Hadestown. Kicking the door open, she flung her suitcase across the marble floor, barely reacting to the loud thud that sounded when it hit the wall. When the door slammed shut, the walls shook and she let out a frustrated scream.
If anyone were there to witness the rage Persephone was in, they would run without a thought. She was just as frightening as Hades was, except she was more expressive. She punched the air with tightly clenched fists, cursing at nothing in particular. She kicked at several things she saw but nothing that was fragile. Without much of a thought, she threw a fist at the wall and a sickenig crunch sounded. Not that she was bothered. She remained in that position, her now broken fist still against the wall, her back hunched and her head lowered. She took several deep breaths in attempt to calm herself down but the pain that stung her knuckles proceeded to remind her of the pain she was in. Mentally.
For centuries, she had held herself together, proper and composed with that stupid drunk grin of hers. Here she was, after centuries of trying to stay sane, she was broken. The crack had grown and shattered her whole. The strong woman that she was, or that she thought she was, was gone. In a blink of an eye. It was just yesterday when that strong woman existed, yesterday and the day before and so on. Destroyed by a crack.
Removing her fist from the wall, Persephone dropped her arms to her sides and walked to her room. She kept her head low, dark eyes fixed on her boots as she dragged herself up the stairs and to her shared room. Her bright green dress contrasted with the entirety of Hadestown. Like a faint candle in the dark, and that sickened her. Unzipping her dress, she searched through her wardrobe for a better one, eventually picking a black dress. The design was almost similar to the green one she was now stripping herself of, but it just lacked the color of life. She grabbed the black flower crown of hers from the top shelf, in replacement of the bright red flowers in her hair and redid her hair into something neater. It took only a few minutes for her to change, and she stood in front of the mirror to evaluate herself.
The longer she stared at herself, the deeper the scowl upon her features became. Raising a finger at reflection, she took a step closer to the mirror with an accusing look.
"You did this to yourself, you fucking idiot-" she jabbed her finger at the mirror. "It's all your fucking fault! You're miserable, you're useless, you can't even fucking walk straight these days! All. Because. Of. One. Goddamn. Decision. That. You. Made!"
The look in her eyes betrayed her anger as tears beginning to well up, stinging the corners of her eyes. She tried to hold them in but a hot tear trickled down her cheek stubbornly. She watched her reflection as more tears began to fall and land at her feet. In defeat, she let herself cry quietly. Her chest rose and fell quickly the more she cried. Her sobs bubbled up slowly, coming out in soft gasps of air and hoarse exhales.
Storming to a compartment in her wardrobe, she yanked open the little door to pull out a bottle of alcohol. Yes, she had a stash for 'emergencies' and she was desperately in need of one. She had to numb herself. The people in Hadestown and above would mock her if they heard about her breakdown. How the once strong and tough goddess was reduced to angry tears because of how miserable her life was. Popping the bottle open, she tipped it into her open mouth. She didn't know which beverage she was consuming but the way it burnt her throat satisfied her. She didn't stop, she couldn't. Not until she was numb.
Hades returned to his home after attending to certain matters at the factory. He had heard nothing from his wife for the whole day, something he was growing used to already in the past few years. Stepping inside the mansion, he noticed a few things. One was Persephone's abandoned suitcase lying by the wall and another, a slight dent in the wall that was stained in gold blood, obviously belonging to Persephone. Tutting softly, he went to pick up the suitcase, only to be met by a loud groan from the staircase. Turning his head, his gaze landed on his very drunk wife. Persephone stood at the last step with an empty bottle in her bleeding hand, a glare upon her features before it turned into a look of disgust.
"Well, look who's back-" she slurred as she stumbled off the last step. "My dear husband."
He nodded. "I see you finished a bottle in a matter of hours..."
She gave him a smirk that dripped of venom. "Two, actually. I could do a lot better than this."
Better, she made it sound as though she had achieved an amazing feat. Shaking his head, he abandoned the suitcase and went up to the woman to take the bottle out of her hand. With a hiss, she drew away from him and scurried off to another corner of the room. Waving the empty bottle in the air, she let out a monotonous laugh of victory.
"Oh, this brings me joy, husband-" she hissed as she held the glass to her chest.
"What a surprise. It was a wonder if there was anything that could bring you joy these days," Hades responded plainly with a wave of his hand.
"It certainly isn't you!" she snapped and with that, the bottle fell to the floor and shattered.
She stepped over the glass shards, trying her best to stay on her two feet as she approached Hades. She took deep breaths, her chest heaving heavily while Hades stood calmly as he waited for her to reach him.
"You stand there acting like there's nothing wrong, husband. And you're right, nothing's wrong- Absolutely not! Because you can't see it. You're blinded by this stupid acropolis of yours, these neon lights blind you- oh, yes," she growled, and inched closer to him.
He could smell the thick scent of alcohol in her breath, so concentrated, anyone could've gotten drunk with a few whiffs. He didn't move from where he stood, and clasped his hands behind his back.
"You see bad intentions in everything I do. You don't realize that I do it for the love of you," Hades murmured.
"You think you know of the things I love! You think, but you never listen. I've become a stranger to you, haven't I? I don't want any of this!" She gestured randomly.
"I listen. It is you who refuses to speak when I'm listening," he responded.
She sniffled loudly and huffed. "When I do, they land on deaf ears and you do absolutely nothing! When I tell you to stay, you don't! I just want my goddamn husband! The man I fell in love with!"
"I took the effort, Persephone, to keep everything alive here. Our relationship, the business. Everything. And this is how you express your gratitude?" Hades asked with a raise of his brow.
"How do you expect me to be grateful?!" Persephone hissed through gritted teeth.
A beat then a slow breath. "I don't think you ever will because you're just like them... Your father, your ma, and the rest who live in Olympus. All in the lap of grandeur. Well, I apologize if I can't provide what they have above," Hades murmured.
Persephone's hand snapped back and slapped Hades across the face as hard as she could. Her brown eyes were gleaming in tears and to see those tears, she would have had to be up close and she was. She grasped the collar of his shirt and shook him vigorously in a drunken violent rage. Her fists pounded at his chest but he didn't budge nor did he react. Numb, not immune.
"You son of a bitch- I am nothing like those assholes in Olympus, yet alone my Pa! I am nothing like them!" She screamed.
Out of exhaustion, she crumbled to her knees, her hands clinging onto Hades' vest weakly. She let out a loud sob and buried her face in her hands, sitting hopelessly at her husband's feet. Her sobbing carried through the house, loud and agonizing. Hades moved away from her and that only made Persephone crumble more with a tight pain in her chest. She clutched at the pain in her chest and bent over to hide her agony. She didn't want to know what Hades was doing or where he had gone. She could lay on the ground all day if she wanted to, wallow in her sorrows but the thought slipped from her head when she felt his arms around her.
Hades' large arms moved to wrap around her carefully and she was pulled to his chest with one gentle tug. She didn't protest or struggle against it. Instead, she leant into him, her tear stained cheek pressed against his chest, over his heart. He gathered Persephone in his arms like a bundle, seating her on his lap as a hand rubbed her back in a soothing manner. What a disaster she was. He could feel her small frame trembling against him, her body flinching at every hiccough from crying too much. Kissing her forehead, he reached a hand to her cheek to wipe away the remainder of her tears then rested his hand there.
Persephone was stunned and her tears died down quickly. She could hear the rapid pounding of his heart but he showed no signs of panic. He was scared, just as scared as she was but she knew he had trained to build his strong facade. She looked up at him quietly and watched as he gazed back at her. His expression showed concern and there she saw the worry surfacing in his eyes. Worry that this may be the downfall of their relationship, that there was no way he could fix this.
She stared at him, not blinking, and her arms snaked around his neck to cling on to him. Sniffling, she buried her face in the crook of his neck and cursed softly against his skin. It earned her a deep chuckle in which she responded by pounding his chest, only lighter this time. She pounded once then twice, stopping when her knuckles began to hurt. The numbness had gone.
"Why-?" was all she could mumble.
"Because you're my wife... And I love you," he whispered quietly.
A small smile crept up the corner of her lips. "That's the corniest shit I've ever heard."
He chuckled softly. "You know it's true."
"I know... Can't run from that." Her voice quivered, unsure of everything that was going on.
Hades only held Persephone closer, if that was even possible. He nuzzled into her hair and closed his eyes, sighing quietly against her head. He cradled her in his arms, hands grasping her gently while she soaked up every bit of his affection. He pressed a lingering kiss to her head and ran a hand through her hair as she gazed up at him.
"How do you even cope with me?" she muttered in a low voice.
"Honestly, I don't know... I suppose love and marriage does crazy things. How do you cope with me?" he looked at her with a raised brow.
"I don't know either. Probably does comes in the marriage package..." she snorted but grinned a little.
They both laughed awkwardly before sitting in silence in each other's arms. They had no intention of letting go yet but the floor was getting rather uncomfortable. After a while, Persephone broke the silence.
"I'm sorry, lover... For behaving like this. Like such a foolish child, I wasn't thinking," she murmured rapidly.
He shook his head lightly. "Shhh- it's okay. We have our moments. Sometimes, we have to let it go... Right?"
"Yeah... Yeah. You're right. Ugly moments."
"Very ugly moments. It's okay to be vulnerable, Seph. Gods or humans, we're the same thing. We live on emotions, we breathe the same, we eat the same. It really is okay to let yourself succumb to these sort of emotions. Better than keeping them in," he told her softly.
"Can it always be like this? You here with me and not in that office of yours?" Persephone blurted out before she could think twice.
Without a moment's hesitation, he nodded. "Of course. I'll be here. Hit me or strangle me. Whatever makes you feel better."
"I meant the cuddling but thank you for that offer."
Hades smiled lightly and pressed another kiss to her head. Getting up, he picked her up from the ground carefully and made his way to their room upstairs. He hadn't realized that Persephone dozed off in his arms until he laid her in bed. She curled up into the sheets, a hand tucked under her head and her legs splayed across the bed. He tucked her in properly and made sure she was comfortable. He removed the flower crown from her thick curls of hair, slid her boots off her feet and loosened the corset of her dress. He laid the blanket over her shoulders and adjusted the pillows for her. When he felt she was comfortable, he turned to walk away but stopped. She wasn't actually entirely asleep yet for Hades had heard her mutter something.
"I love you..."
He closed the door and returned to Persephone's bedside, sitting on a chair to watch over her. If he was going to make things right between them, this was a start.