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she held the crumpled paper in her hands.
the writing was sloppy and the paper was ripped.
her careful eyes scanned the paper as hades sat on the floor. he held himself tightly, his hand tangled in his silver hair.
--
he's not worthy of her.
he watched her from across the room. he was slumped back into his seat, a glass of scotch hanging loosely from his hand. his button down was partially unbuttoned, hanging low.
he stared across the room at his fiancée. a black bodycon dress clung to her figure, with a white fluffy jacket hanging loosely off of her shoulders.
she was taller in her shoes, sleek black heels. her long, light pink hair, was pulled up into a high ponytail, a deep blue flower crown lining her head.
she moved slightly to the music, dancing along with artemis.
zeus decided to hold a party, inviting all gods to a celebration.
he watched her as she moved, her curvaceous body sliding carefully around, her hair flowed in the wind and a soft smile graced her lips.
a small yellow form hurdled through the crowd, on a hunt for a certain someone.
she was pushed and shoved, knocked over and trampled by large forms dancing around the dim space.
large pink eyes landed on the form and she glanced over at her dance partner.
"hey artemis, i need to do something. i'll see you in a bit."
the purple goddess simply nodded, watching her friend as she stalked off into the distance.
the small pink figure bent down carefully, picking the small girl up in her arms.
"hebe are you ok?" she asked, fixing her hair.
she nodded, wiping the tears out of her eyes.
"what are you doing down here? don't you normally stay with your mama or up in the hallway?"
hebe was still getting accustomed to the wild party life that her parents lived, often getting overwhelmed by the environment. persephone related a lot, when she first came to olympus, parties were terrifying to her. she felt for the small girl.
"uncle hades was looking really upset upstairs and i know you make him really happy so i wanted to come get you." she looked away shyly.
persephone felt her face heat up.
"hebe honey, where is my husband?"
"i saw him upstairs." she said.
"ok baby, i'm gonna go take you up to him. let's get out of the party, i could use a break too."
her heels clicked softly against the marble staircase as they walked up to the spacious seating area.
there was a round table with a glass of scotch and a tie strewn loosely across it.
"he was sitting here earlier." she murmured, looking embarrassed.
"hey it's ok honey. let me call him."
his phone buzzed softly in his pocket.
he was seated in the back hallway, his back pressed against the cool wall. a small notepad was in his lap, excess paper thrown loosely across the floor. he was a little drunk and drowning in feelings.
hey drunk actions are sober thoughts
after he watched his soon to be wife, he felt the tears begin to well up in his eyes.
he pushed away from his chair, shoving himself onto the floor of the hallway.
he tried to remember what his therapist suggested, scouring through his brain for something that would help him.
write a letter
he pulled out his small notepad and wrote out his feelings, every single thought he had towards persephone. it was short, but it conveyed every single pent up emotion and feeling.
the phone snapped him out of his fog. he lifted it carefully from his pocket and glanced at the name.
my love <3
he crumpled up the note and stuffed it in his pocket, answering the phone.
"hello?"
"hades, love, where are you?"
"i'm in the back hallway why?"
"hebe and i were looking for you. you sorta ran away?"
"oh yeah. come meet me back here."
"we're on our way."
the two ladies strolled down the dimly lit hallway, eyes peeled for a familiar sapphire figure.
she found him crouched on the floor, surrounded by eraser shavings and crumpled paper. the weight was lifted from her arms as she placed the young girl on the floor. she found her way to the larger man, crouching down and touching his shoulder. she knew to be careful when he got like this.
"hades, honey?"
he just grabbed her. his hands slid around her waist and he pulled her into his shaking form. she smelled like roses and vanilla, his favorite. his nose was buried in her hair, he inhaled deeply, taking in her scent. her presences, scent, color, voice, everything about her was so comforting. his heart rate slowed as he cuddled up with his fiancée
"mm what did i do to deserve you?" he murmured.
hebe watched from afar, too afraid to approach the couple in their tender moment.
there was a shift and a soft blue hand was extended, opening their hug to the little girl.
the three of them stayed like this for what felt like hours. finally they broke. they rose carefully, persephone still cradling the girl in her arms.
they found their way back to the crowd, taking in a deep breath before diving in. persephone walked hebe down to her parents, pushing her way through the crowd to make it to the yellow and purple figures.
"persephone darling! how are you?" hera asked, reaching out and taking the child from the pink body.
"i'm just lovely," she smiled. "hades and i are actually gonna get going. just wanted to let you know and drop your daughter off."
"oh is everything alright?"
"oh yes, hades just isn't feeling his best so we decided to just head home. i'm getting pretty tired as well."
"ah ok. well sending him well wishes. see you at dinner next week." her hand held persephone's shoulder tenderly.
"goodbye." she smiled.
she had never truly thought about her place now. in her brain she had always been a low level b grade goddess from the mortal realm. but in only two months, she would be a queen. she was going to hold power, and be able to hold her own banquets, and have her own kingdom. her heart raced at the thought and she wasn't sure if it was from excitement or anxiety.
she shoved through the crowds and found her way back to her husband. he was sat at the table, aimlessly swishing the alcohol around in his cup.
she ghosted her hands across his back before leaning over and sliding her hands down his chest. supple lips press tender kisses to a strong sapphire jawline.
he rose and gathered his stuff, checking to make sure the note was still tucked safely into his pocket.
their hands intertwined, grasping at each other desperately as they made their way out of the building.
they slid into the back of hades car, his driver taking them back to his estate. the doors slid open and they stumbled into their home.
they made their way to the bedroom, not bothering to change before dropping into the bed.
the mattress shifted under them as he turned to face the woman. his hand reached out and brushed across her cheek.
"i love you baby."
"I love you too honey."
and they drifted off to sleep like that.
--
"hades what is this?"
"I wrote it back at hera and zeus' party. when i ran away and you came to me with hebe." he refused to meet her eyes.
she glanced down at the paper in her hands.
i always thought i might be bad now i'm sure that it's true
cause, i think you're so good
and i'm nothing like you
it was short. a simple message scribbled across a miniature notepad during a party.
he looked down at the floor.
"just watching you, be so effortlessly beautiful. you're this ray of sunlight and sunshine in my life. you're the most beautiful being i've ever seen."
"hades..." she gripped his chin, shifting it to face her. "i love you." she pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "look at you go, i just adore you."
she murmured.
he pulled away forcefully, shocking the poor girl, before beginning to walk down the hallway, away from the small pink figure.
she sprinted, full force, full speed, and pressed herself against him. she pulled his large form backwards, her arms sliding around his torso.
the moment her soft embrace enveloped him, his walls cracked, tears streamed down his face as he cried.
"i wish that i knew, what makes you think i'm so special."
she held his quivering form while he fell to the ground, his chest heaving as he sobbed.
they stayed like that for hours, cuddling and comforting each other. when hades didn't show up to work the next day, hecate barged into his home. however, her face softened at the sight before her. hades was sprawled across the floor, persephone cuddled on top of him. a fuzzy weighted blanket was thrown loosely over their bodies.
she let him skip that day.