The life exotic [Hades]

[persephone]

Persephone watched the cab roll away for an abnormally long amount of time and swallowed the nervous lump in her throat. Looking up at the dreary gray sky, she walked to the door of her husband's house. "Our house," she said, mentally kicking herself. Even in the rain, the place looked inviting. It was all dark brick, done in the French manor style, but wasn't so large as to look formal and austere. The plants and shrubs that lined the walkway were thriving and vibrant thanks to her. If Hades had his way the whole yard would probably be filled with rocks, but Persephone had insisted and put a little bit of herself into keeping the yard perpetually beautiful.

Clutching her black umbrella a little tighter in her hand, she walked up to the doorway and reached out a black-gloved hand toward the doorknob before drawing it back. She was cold and wet in her black dress and heels and wanted to get inside but something held her back. It was early. Not particularly early in the day, but it was autumn. Not winter. She was early. How should she explain her sudden appearance? A million excuses flashed through her head-her shop closed up early for the season. She wanted some of her clothes. She wanted...well. Him. Persephone forced herself to ring the doorbell and yanked her arm quickly back as if a snake had bitten her. Might as well get it over with.

Of course, she had her own key, but it would feel odd just letting herself in. She hadn't been back in five months, after all. For all she knew he could be neck-deep in paperwork or...with someone else. After a few second of torturous silence Persephone let the large brass knocker fall once on the door and leaned against it.

"Hades, are you there?" She asked, refusing to use his mortal name and trying to hide the strain in her voice.

[Hades]

Hades sat at his desk in the study. It was a nice room, large enough for what he needed with a desk and several bookcases. The entire house was done in what constituted as a French Manor, or at least that was what Persephone had told him when they bought the house. It was their house, but often times it just felt like it was his house. They were still married and lived together, but just like before they only lived in the same house for six months out of the year. She was welcomed to come stay with him sooner if she wished but that hadn’t happened yet. Hades had hoped that over the years she would forgive him and learn to love him like he loved her but that was not the case. No matter she had insisted upon decorating the house to her liking, which he was fine with. He also didn’t mind supporting her, he wanted to make sure she was happy. It was just recently, within the past couple of hundred years, that he had finally began to see why she preferred it up here and not trapped in the underworld with him.

He heard the doorbell ring once and looked up from his work in surprise. He wasn’t expecting anyone and people tended to leave his house alone. There was only one other person that would come by but it wasn’t time for her yet. He should know, that day was always marked on the calendar. Plus Persephone had a key to the house and therefore could let herself in. Hades decided that he would just leave it; the person whoever they were would leave soon enough. He turned his attention back to some paperwork, it wasn’t difficult but rather time consuming. He was being to get board with all of the jargon crammed together on one page. It was enough to give him a headache, well almost enough. He was sure it would take a lot more then paperwork to give him a true headache. Then again that was something his youngest brother managed to do just by being in his line of vision. His attention was once again pulled away from his paperwork when he heard the sound of the brass knocker. Hades frowned wishing the person would just leave him alone. Then the sound of his name, his actual name reached his years. There were a few people who were aware of his name and fewer who would dare utter it. Not to mention the voice was female, and he defiantly knew that voice.

Intrigued in what had brought her back to him so soon, Hades pushed his chair away from the desk and walked slowly down the stairs to the front door. She had come to him, pulling him away from his work not that it mattered he was going to take a break soon, but she could wait a few more seconds. It wasn’t long before he reached the front door; he unlocked it and pulled it open. Not wanting to give her a chance to change her mind, Hades reached out to grasp Persephone’s wrist. Of course she was free to leave if she really wanted too he was certain she could get out of his grasp but he hoped she stay. “Why don’t you come in and we can talk?” He was highly amused by the sight of her standing in front of him. She was here early and he wanted to know why.

[persephone]

Persephone tapped her foot out of nervous impatience and looked down at the slick black pumps. They were quite expensive. Hades had been with her when she got them-"Stop it, brain"-and hadn't done anything but quirk an eyebrow at their impossible height. He'd bought most of the things she was currently wearing and most of the items in her suitcase as well. Perhaps he'd tired of her already, like she'd tired of that impossibly loud, plaid shirt she'd bought when they were trendy. Perhaps she was like last season's trend and after an admittedly long "season" he'd tired of her, and was now entertaining himself with a mortal girl, or worse, Aphrodite herself, the tramp-

Her breath caught in her throat as the door she was leaning against gave way, and before she could open her mouth to say anything Persephone felt her husband's strong grasp close down on her wrist as she half-stumbled into the foyer, dragging her suitcase in behind her. She stood up straight, brushing a few stray water droplets off of her coat, and slid out of it with a shiver. The house was warmer than the outdoors, but her hair and parts of her dress were a bit damp. She couldn't look at Hades. Persephone busied herself with fixing her coat, smoothing it out and hanging it properly on the wooden rack beside the door.

"What did you want to talk about?" Persephone asked airily, sliding one manicured hand over her hair as she turned to glance in the mirror.

She hoped that he would let this go. Surely her suitcase was indication enough that she was there to stay for the winter. Hopefully he wouldn't question why his wife was home so dreadfully early. Perhaps he wouldn't say anything at all and they could just fall back into the rhythm of winter as they'd always done.

"Have you seen my mink stole?" she murmured, placing her hands on his shoulders and fiddling with the collar of his work shirt, "I think it's in the back closet but I'm not sure if it needs to be dry-cleaned or not...they're showing that Dvořák opera next week at the O2, perhaps we could go?"

Persephone batted her eyelashes at him and looked up expectantly into his face with a pleasant little smile that gave nothing away. Something in her melted when she saw him, even stuck in a mortal body. He had the same familiar eyes, and looking up at Hades, she allowed herself to admit that she had missed him.

[Hades]

He watched as his wife stumbled into the foyer, sort of damp from the outdoors. It was a wonder she hadn’t fallen when he opened the door. She looked beautiful, then again he always thought that, but being up here really suited her. Now if only the mortals didn’t exist then he would be fine but for now, for freedom, he would suffer with them being around. She addressed him but he noticed how she made it a point not to look at him. Sometimes he could understand her and other times she truly was a mystery to him. She came here early and now wouldn’t even look at him; it was probably some sort of female goddess thing that he could never understand.

There was something in her voice that told him it would be best to drop the subject he wanted to talk about the most. For now it would be enough that she came to him early, but later they would talk about why she came running back to him when all she could think about during winter was spring, when she could leave. Hades was spared trying to come up with another topic of conversation as Persephone continued on. As she fiddled with his collar he slid his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him. He was much more open with his emotions then people thought, at least in the privacy of his own home.

“It is in the back closet but it doesn’t need to be dry-cleaned.” His tone of voice mimicked hers. “I make sure to have your clothes ready at least one month before you return.” What he didn’t tell her was he did it one month in case she returned early, but he never thought she’d actual do so. Right now he was pleased with his decision. “” He took pleasure in spoiling her, he honestly did love her but he was sure she told everyone he was awful to live with. But that wasn’t his fault that would be the environment; the underworld wasn’t the most pleasant place to begin with. “If you would like you’re more then welcome to buy a new dress.” He could probably use a new suit as well but he would let her decide if she wanted him to play dress up for her. It had been awhile since the two of them had done something together in public, Hades found himself looking forward to it.

She finally allowed herself to look at him and he was pleased. Though he didn’t show her that, he was sure she knew regardless. He wasn’t that hard to read at times, and he didn’t think that he was that hard to live with either. It amused him some of the portrayals the mortals had come up with of him. All wrong of course, he was nothing like the being they associated with death. After all he was much more mild mannered. They made him out to be some sort of monster when what had really happened was a misunderstanding between himself, his youngest brother and Persephone.

[persephone]

Persephone looked questioningly at him until he answered and she smiled for real this time. He was better than she gave him credit for sometimes, and it seemed that he was perfectly willing to play nice, at least for the moment. She was already thinking about the opera. Nothing cheered her up more than the classics, even if they'd become classics after she was already a few thousand years old.

"New clothes would be nice," she said with a sigh, leaning up to kiss his cheek, "I need a dress to wear. Perhaps a green one this time. But I may already have one."

Persephone untangled herself from her husband and picked up her suitcase, giving his hand a small tug before she let go and walked to the back bedroom, the one reserved mainly for her clothes and other accessories. Sliding off her heels, she kicked them into a nearby corner and opened her large closet before scanning the rows of colorful clothing laid out in a crisp, tidy array.

"Do you still have that Armani suit, the one with the buttons I like?" Persephone called into the hallway, reaching behind her to unzip the back of her dress, "You could wear that."

He probably didn't remember, come to think of it. Most men, at least straight men, didn't exactly have an eye for tiny details. Hades was better than most, but Persephone suspected that she'd still have to rifle through his closet herself to get out what she wanted. They did make a rather nice couple together. She'd never be as vain about Aphrodite about her looks, but Persephone didn't mind this mortal body in the slightest. Reaching into her closet, she plucked out a long, white gown that she hadn't worn in awhile.

"What about this one? I know it's old-fashioned, it just...reminds me of...before."

The dress was a one-shouldered "Greek" gown made of the same light, airy material Persephone had always loved. It reminded her of the things she used to wear, years and years ago, before the gods had been forced to mingle with the mortals and settle for rougher clothing.

[Hades]

He wasn’t surprised when his wife mentioned that new clothes would be a nice decision to her closet. Sometimes he wondered if she actually wore all of the clothes she bought or she just bought them because they were cute. “I’m sure you have one somewhere in your closet.” He was amazed that she could even keep track of her clothes. Though he doubted the fact that she owned a green dress would keep her from buying another. He kissed her back, on the check and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before she untangled herself from his grasp and walked away.

He followed her into their back bedroom positive that even though she walked off their conversation wasn’t over. They could go days without talking to each other or even seeing one another during the winter months when she would come and stay with him. He wasn’t quite sure if it was her choice or somehow the pomegranate seeds were still keeping her bound to him. Regardless he treasured her presence and enjoyed the moments when they could get along.

“Probably, somewhere.” Hades responded not entirely sure which suit she was referring to, but knew that he never got rid of anything he always let Persephone do it. So if she remembered the Armani suit then chances were it was still somewhere in the house. “That sounds fine.” At least for now he was spared form needing to play dress up

Hades looked at the dress once and smiled. It wasn’t forced nor was it something he could stop from happening. There weren’t many things that reminded him of the past, in fact it was something he’d rather not remember but there was one good thing that came out of all the torture he endured and that was his wife. “I think it’s perfect.” His voice was soft, not timid or shy; it was generally the tone he reserved for children or teenagers when he saw them in the underworld. A gentle voice, which showed he cared. Not that he hadn’t used it on his wife before but it had been several months since they talked. “So it’s settled then, we’ll go next week.”

[persephone]

"It's a date then," Persephone replied, hanging the white dress back in her closet with a fond smile.

She stood in front of the open closet, green eyes looking over the rows while she was lost in thought. Most of her warm-weather clothing was still in her suitcase, she'd only left a few things here. Granted, it was turning out to be a chilly, miserable August, but Persephone's closest was stuffed to the brim with winter outfits. Her fingers snaked up behind her back and finished unzipping the black dress she'd been wearing. Stepping out of it, the goddess grabbed a hanger and added it to the rack without turning around to see the expression on her husband's face at the sight of her standing there in her underwear.

Persephone supposed it didn't matter anyway, she didn't have a seductive bone in her body. Aphrodite, in one of her more rude moments, had once said that the goddess of the Underworld was "about as sexy as a common house plant." Perhaps that was true. She never played any of the games Aphrodite did, they were too exhausting. Besides, Persephone knew nothing about casual affairs, having been with the same person since time immemorial.

"I'm sleepy," she murmured suddenly, turning back toward Hades, "Would you want to lie down for awhile?"

The rain was making her drowsy, but her mind was going a million miles an hour. Thinking about Aphrodite always put her in a foul mood. Last she'd heard the other goddess was living it up and frequenting all the bars and clubs in town. Hopefully Hades wouldn't run into her, she'd probably try to seduce him too, even though Persephone had made it perfectly clear that she'd have the other woman's head on a platter if such a thing ever happened. Hugging her husband do surreptitiously hide the look on her face, Persephone yawned and closed her eyes. Some rest, in the king-sized bed Hades normally had to himself, would do her good.