Chapter Text
He stood outside the door, pretending not to listen as the muffled voices discussed and then argued back and forth. He’d gotten good at pretending not to listen, it helps growing up being dragged to every meeting with his mother as she never liked him being far from her. But he was never to know what was being discussed, always left just outside looking in.
“I’ll discuss this no further!” He heard the voice boom, it sounded like Thor, king of the gods, he’d decided a few centuries ago that he preferred that over Zeus but his mind was constantly changing. Steve’s ears perked at the commotion, yelling between Poseidon, no what was it again? Loki, and his mother dominated the space.
“She deserves to be present at these meetings! I thought this was the meeting of those incharge of the domains, that includes the dead!” Loki shouted but his voice was calm and powerful.
“She’s not welcome here and you know that Loki! You want the nymphs running for the hills? Death follows her steps. How can we trust her to have any input that would be positive for the living!?” Demeter yelled and Steve could hear the emotion in her voice, she always cried when she was angry, it always scared him.
Steve knew who they were talking about, her name wasn’t often spoken out loud in Olympus but everyone knew her. Queen of the dead, the Underworld and rivers that ran through it. Her name meaning invisible in ancient Greek culture as a nod to her lack of presence in the mortal realm and ability to move without ever being seen. His mother, Demeter, called her the devil or Satan, said that’s what the mortals chose to call her so, so would she. The Romans called her Pluto but most commonly she was Hades. Maybe she preferred something else, maybe her friends called her something of her choosing but nobody believed she had any friends, just the judges that worked for her and Charon, the ferryman.
“Hades?” Steve questioned under his breath and he felt stillness around him for a second. Movement stilled in an alleyway that sat between the streets of Olympus. The demigods of Hades knowing when her name was spoken.
Demeter burst from the room, her eyes red and a scowl ever present on her face. She didn’t say anything to Steve, just stormed out of the building, expecting him to follow. He did. He was her son after all.
“Mother why don’t you want the queen present?” Steve tried to ask it casually as they worked in the garden. He’d been thinking about it all day, it didn’t quite make sense that she wasn’t there. Hades was one of the big three, there was even a seat for her in the boardroom beside Thor and Loki. She’d been cast out long ago though and he never knew why. No one really did it was so long ago the stories had morphed.
“Satan is the epitome of evil my flower. Everything she touches dies and we can’t have someone like that speaking on issues of the living now can we?” Demeter spoke through her teeth, keeping her hatred controlled around her prized possession.
“But what about what she-”
“I won’t discuss this further with you Percy. There’s a reason the mortals do not worship her as they do Thor or even us. Do not question this further.”
In the streets of Olympus when Steve is buying fresh fruit and bread for dinner his eye catches the blackened footsteps of Minos. The footsteps black with soot as they trailed down the side of the street to the edge of an alleyway. He saw a man, dressed in all black a pouch at his side and a falcon on his shoulder. Talking to him, as if the complete opposite stood Bucky, sun gleaming off him. They were deep in discussion and Steve tried to slowly make his way closer without raising suspicion but the falcon looked directly at him as soon as he took a step.
Immediately after the bird squawks in the man's ear and ruffles his feathers, then he’s gone. Down the alleyway that Steve swore was a deadend and Bucky is left by himself tucking something in his pocket.
“Steve,” Bucky nods as Steve makes his way over.
“Who was that, they looked like one of the Underworld demigods ? What are you doing?” The questions fire out of him before he can help it and Bucky sighs.
“Business of the Underworld isn’t business of the god of spring Steve, not yet” Bucky mutters the last part under his breath. The two stand there, Bucky trying to find an excuse to leave, he shouldn’t be out this late, early rise in the morning.
“Loki has a point, she should be in those meetings!” Steve speaks up, there’s more to this he thinks.
“Oh yea? You spoken to your mother about that?”
“My mother has her opinions,” and they’re wrong.
“Your mother ‘s the captain of the anti-Hades committee pal, I’d watch what you say about the Queen of the Underworld in these streets.” Bucky’s head tracks those walking by, he better not be caught talking smack in these streets. The last time was bad enough.
“You agree with me though,” his voice is hushed, peering around to make sure no one is listening, it’s hard to keep secrets in Olympus, everyone knows something about someone they shouldn’t. “You think she should be there too so why aren’t you speaking up about it?”
“It’s up to Thor ultimately you know that, whatever we say doesn’t matter if he doesn’t agree to it.”
“Maybe he needs to be convinced.” Steve didn’t know why he felt so strongly about any of this. He didn’t know why he felt the need to fight for her. Maybe it was because she wasn’t here to fight for herself. Maybe it was that feeling of calmness he felt when he spoke or thought of her. Stillness in the air when he thought of her name, he wanted to keep that.
“And you’re going to do that?”
Steve looked towards the alleyway he saw Sam turn down, “there's few that can convince Thor of anything, Loki is one, Jane another.”
“But Hades has always been the devil on his shoulder.” Bucky’s eyes follow Steve’s to the alleyway, he knows what’s down there and let out a sigh. Everyone knew the stories of the big three’s childhood, Zeus the one who came up with the plans, Poseidon the one who played tricks, and Hades. Small Hades, the rutt, the one who followed along. The one who convinced Zeus that it was a good idea to zap Demeter while she played in the meadows or that the horses would like swimming in the sea. Though Poseidon pushed equally as hard for that one. “I can’t help you get out of this one Steve.”
“I never ask you to get me out of things Apollo.”
“Don’t call me that I feel like I’m getting told off. You’ll have to go to Peter, he’s the only one that can go in and out.” Bucky had a bad feeling. The moon started to rise above them and he wish he had his sister here to help him talk some sense into Steve, nothing good would come of this.
“I know what I’m doing.”
“You don’t Steve that’s the problem. What are you going to do? Go down there and see her? Have a meeting with the queen of the dead? And say what exactly? She’ll smite you on sight, no gods are allowed down there apart from Peter.”
“I’ll figure it out. This isn’t fair to her, she’s as important as Thor and Loki, they’re siblings, she should have a seat next to them in Olympus.”
“There's more to this than you know Percy.” Steve cringed at the nickname his mother had given him, he knew Bucky only said it in retaliation to him calling him Apollo earlier.
“Plenty of time to find out then.”