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Persephone sighed to herself as she was waiting up for Hades Friday night. It was almost 10pm and he wasn’t back from work yet. She’d known when they got together that the man was a workaholic but at first, he’d done so good. When they first started dating officially, they had standing dates on Tuesday and Friday. That had continued even the first few months they were married but around the time of their first anniversary, work started to consume him again. Now three years in, she’s sure he’s fallen back into pre-relationship habits.
She understood, running a realm was hard and as Queen she had her fair share of late nights but she always made sure to take the weekend. Always with out fail she made sure to take the time to recharge for the next week. Hades did not and it was starting to wear on both of them.
This was getting fixed tomorrow. Persephone was going to teach Hades how to behave on the weekend. Persephone sent Hecate a text saying her and Hades would not be reachable for the weekend and started planning. She was going to make tomorrow the best day for her husband.
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Hades finally made it home around midnight. The house was quiet, the dogs and Persephone had long gone to bed. He just made his way to their bedroom quickly going about his routine and getting into bed. He didn’t even notice that furniture had been rearranged as he passed the living room, he was so tired.
Hades fell into bed and pulled Persephone into his arms. He might not get to talk to her this evening but he was not missing holding her. Persephone stirred softly but didn’t fully wake before settling into his arms. Hades smiled, kissed the top of her head and quickly fell asleep.
Hades woke hours later surprised to find he was alone in bed. Normally he was the first one up. “Seph?” He questioned softly wondering if she was still in the room.
When it became clear he was alone he reached for his phone only to find it missing. He knew he’d set it on his bedside table last night. Hades got up not bothering to put anything over his boxers. “Sweetness?” he called wondering if his wife knew where his phone was. He needed to check his emails.
“In the kitchen!” she yelled at him. His timing was good. She was just finishing up the last of the food. She’d gone all out for breakfast. Today was going to be a lot of eating.
Hades headed towards the kitchen and was confused when he saw the sheer amount of food that his wife had prepared. “Are we having guests?”
“No, I just thought you might be hungry. I wasn’t sure if you ate last night,” she smiled patting his chest. “Take a seat I’ll bring the food over.”
“Have you seen my phone?” He asked still confused but willing to follow his wife’s lead. “It’s not on the nightstand.”
Persephone sighed hoping to get at least through breakfast before he started asking about his phone, “It’s hidden,” she said simply looking over at her husband. “You’ve been working too hard. You need time to rest. We are having a real weekend.”
“Sweetness, don’t be ridiculous. I’m fine, I need to check my emails. Not everything can wait until Monday,” he responded frustrated.
“What time did you get home last night?” She demanded not liking his tone. “You need to take care of yourself. You are allowed to take a break! Now sit down and eat your breakfast,” she ordered not even caring if he took offence. He was relaxing this weekend god damn it, whether he liked it or not.
Hades sat down and frowned at his wife. They didn’t normally argue but when they did it was typically about him not taking care of himself in a way, she found appropriate. His self-deprecating ways often lead him to neglect himself in some ways. They didn’t talk much during breakfast. Hades was pouting. There was no other word for it. He didn’t like it when his electronics were out of his reach. Persephone was worried about her plans if he was already fighting her on things.
As they were finishing up their food Persephone finally spoke. “What do you want to do today? This is supposed to be a relaxing day for you. We could take a bath in your stupidly large mineral bath?” she suggested hoping his frustration had faded with the food.
“Seph, is this really necessary?” he asked her softly just wanting to do his normal working Saturday.
“Yes!” she scoffed unable to believe her ears. “You can’t take care of your realm if you aren’t taking care of yourself!” She sighed, getting up from her chair and making her way over to him before sitting on his lap. “Let me take care of you.”
Hades melted, her face was filled with love, worry, and devotion, “Okay sweetness. We can relax today,” he said softly giving in. Truthfully, he was tired, more tired than he’d been in a long time. “How do we weekend?”
Persephone smiled widely at him. “Well, do you want to start with a bath?”
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The bath had been relaxing but ended up not lasting long. They’d decided that today would be simple and kept platonic. Persephone had been missing her cuddle time and was insistent that they play catch up. However, being naked together, even in the opaque water was a bit too much temptation.
Currently, they were both on the couch. Hades was laying down with his head in Persephone’s lap, half asleep, a silly comedy movie was playing on the TV. Persephone forced him to put on his coziest sweatpants and one of his Underworld Con hoodies. She was also dressed in fuzzy skull covered pj pants and a white cami.
Persephone had never told Hades the truth about the sweatpants. She’d told him it was a mistake with the laundry but in reality, she’d dyed the lightest pair of his sweatpants pink. She’d done it as a joke and seeing him in such a feminine color just made her giggle. It also made her stomach flutter but she wasn’t ready to look at those thoughts yet.
The dogs were milling around and Cordon and Russel started to fight. “Cordon, Russel stop! Daddy is trying to sleep,” she whisper-shouted at the dogs. Both ignored her.
“It’s okay, Seph,” Hades mumbled before calling Cerberus to take care of the other dogs. Cerberus was a good boy and did well rounding up his siblings.
Persephone smiled at his sleepy mumble and looked down at him. The only time he was thins relaxed was when he was asleep. She didn’t know how he managed to function with the amount of stress he’d been under for the last 2000 years. Scratch that, he dealt with it by drinking and smoking, which wasn’t dealing with it at all. She’d stick with the plan and work on the other self-care skills later.
Big John came over, hopping up on the couch to snuggle by Hades’ feet. At least he’d had the dogs all those years, so he wasn’t alone.
“Hades?” she questioned lightly not wanting to wake him if he was asleep.
“Hmm?” He hummed groggily opening his eyes. He was still tired and if all that was going to happen today was cuddling, he might as well catch up on some sleep. He always slept better with her anyway.
“You need a nickname. You have so many for me, but I just call you by your names,” she said frowning, “The one time I tried and called you Aidon you looked disgusted,” she laughed softly at the face he made. She wasn’t sure why he disliked it so much but calling him Aidon was not an option.
“I don’t need a nickname, Sweetness,” he mumbled smiling up at her.
“Yes, you do!” She insisted, “you’ve banned anyone from saying Big Blue and that’s the closest thing you’ve had to one,” she whined. “I feel so loved when you call me Sweetness, or little goddess, or my flower. You get to feel loved too.”
“Then call me that,” he shrugged still not grasping why it was a big deal to her but willing to concede.
“Call you what?” she asked confused. She hadn’t called him anything.
“Love, my nickname, that is only for your lips, can be love. I’ll remember how much you care whenever you say it,” he spoke softly reaching a hand up to stroke her cheek.
Persephone beamed before leaning down to kiss him, whispering “okay, Love. You know, pink really is your color,” she teased knowing breaking the sweet moment. If she hadn’t, she might have gotten a little teary and she didn’t want that.
“It’s the reason you’re not allowed to touch my laundry anymore,” he groaned. A few other items had turned pink on the same day. Even though he didn’t really wear them, he couldn’t convince himself to throw them out. He didn’t want to hurt his wife’s feelings over something that was a mistake.
Persephone just laughed and pushed his hair off his forehead, “let’s get lunch, then I have an idea.”
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Her ‘idea’ was something she called a blanket fort. He finally noticed that she’d moved furniture around. Just about every blanket in the house was in the living room along with every pillow. Hades really didn’t understand any of this so he just followed the directions she gave and enjoyed that it made her happy.
Hades had to admit that when they were done it looked quiet cozy. The blankets were supported with vines and his crystals. She’d found some twinkly lights somewhere and strung them up inside. There was also a small mountain of pillows that they could adjust until comfortable.
“So, why’d we do this, again?” he asked confused. He didn’t understand the point of making a tent inside.
“Just get in,” she demanded rolling her eyes still smiling at him. Her practical husband needed to learn some frivolity.
They both crawled into the fort and got settled. Persephone ended up with her head on his chest, tucked under his chin. She loved getting to listen to his heartbeat. It was one of the most relaxing sounds in the world.
They rested quietly for some time. Hades thought that she might have been the one to fall asleep when she finally spoke. “I used to do this all the time with Krokos and Withy,” she whispered, “on rainy days when we were little, we’d build a fort and hide from the others. We’d tell secrets and stories. Mama would always make us sweet treats too eat too,” she smiled sadly, “I miss them.”
“I know you do, sweetness,” he soothed kissing the top of her head. “I know I don’t replace them but I’ll build a fort with you anytime you want.”
Persephone laughed smiling up at him and hugged him tighter, “we are going to be cozy in here the rest of the day. Only leaving to get food, use the bathroom, and books.”
Hades chuckled and kissed her again, “Anything you say Sweetness.”
“I’m glad to know you’ll listen, Love,” she whispered up before kissing him again. She liked the thought of him being obedient but that was another thought she just wasn’t ready to touch yet. She just smiled at her husband and cuddled tighter knowing there was plenty of time for her to examine those thoughts later. Right now, she was just going to enjoy her weekend.