Queen of the Dark

Chapter 9

Hades paced in his quarters, having an existential crisis. Blaise watched on in concern, but knew better than to try and stop him.

It had been a few months since Tom had begun courting him. They had gone on dates and he was still receiving gifts from his king. The gifts slowed down in frequency, but never in quality or thoughtfulness.

But that was his problem.

Hades had been certain that Tom had wanted him as his queen just to prove that he could have whatever he wanted, and he was still trying to work past that assumption. This mindset was problematic for him because, well, Hades was falling for the man. He was completely and undeniably falling for the man who killed his parents, leaving him to grow up as an orphan. Yet, he didn't care about that. His parents were never a big part of his life, but Tom was.

Tom was the perfect gentleman to Hades. He had yet to push him to do anything Hades didn't want to do, save for marking his Elites. He always listened to what Hades had to say, no matter what he had previously been doing. The dates they went on were always quiet and romantic, not loud and extravagant.

Sure, he was overly possessive, but he had slowly been letting up on some of the restrictions recently. For example, he had allowed Hades to have physical contact with his friends and family when they came to visit (this had earned Tom a happy kiss on the cheek, which he had adored). He had also allowed Hades to go out to the gardens and to move around the castle freely, as long as he had Blaise for protection.

It was clear to Hades that neither of them had been in a relationship before. Tom was slowly learning how to not be too controlling, but he very clearly had never courted before, though Hades thought he was doing an excellent job. Hades himself was no expert in relationships. He was too self-conscious and had low self esteem, but being with Tom had slowly raised it. He still hated his body, but he wasn't about to verbally degrade himself anymore.

So, yes, Hades was head over heels in love with a murderer. However... it was war. Tom doesn't kill for no reason and he tries never to waste magical blood, but it had been war. Hell, Hades had killed Quirrel, which made him a killer too. The thought made him physically shudder.

"Calm down, Master," Asura hissed. "You're wearing a hole in the floor."

Looking down, Hades found he was right. The stretch of floor he had been pacing on was slightly lower than the rest. He plopped onto his bed with a groan. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked dramatically.

"Maybe," Blaise began drily, "you should consider that the Dark Lord actually loves you back. He's been proving it for months."

Hades sighed, knowing his best friend was right, but at the same time, doubting himself. "Tom is perfect, Blaise! He is hot and kind and he cares about me. He gives me choices and doesn't expect me to fight in the war if I don't want to. He gives me gifts and spends time with me every day, even if he's tired. How can I ever return that?"

"Maybe a kiss?" Blaise suggested with a knowing smile. "A real one this time? You know he won't initiate it."

"I know," Hades agreed reluctantly. "I've never kissed anyone before, though. What if I mess up? What if he doesn't like it?"

Blaise snorted disbelievingly. "I doubt that. I bet he'd actually be honored to be your first kiss."

Hades had to admit he was right, and so, with his mind made up, Hades started to plan everything. He would make sure everything was perfect.

∆_______________∆

Tom was very much enjoying his relationship with his queen. While he would like to go further, he was happy with what he had. He loved spending time with Hades and seeing him smile. He loved everything about Hades.

He was just finishing up his paperwork for the day before he got to go see his queen. He was reading the last report from Yaxley and frowned when it mentioned prisoners. He would have to visit them to make sure they weren't someone that Hades cared for.

He sighed and put the report aside before rising. The dungeons could wait. He wanted to see his queen. He strode down the halls towards his lover's quarters and lightly knocked on the door.

When it opened, his words got stuck in his throat.

Hades was wearing a set of casual robes that accentuated his beauty perfectly. His long hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and he smiled shyly up at Tom. The smile was so demure and made him look like an angel. Not that he didn't usually.

"Hi," Hades said softly.

"Hello, Love," Tom managed to say. "How was your day?"

Hades blushed and looked up at him through his eyelashes. "It was good, thank you. How was yours?"

"It was eventful," Tom admitted as he settled down, sitting in an armchair that he had put in when he started visiting. "Bella is complaining to me about the lack of raids, so I'm planning on giving her a new toy to keep her busy. Yaxley's group brought in some prisoners to pick from."

"Oh?"

"Don't worry, my queen. I wouldn't dream of hurting someone you care for. Would you like to join me in choosing Bella's new toy?"

Hades smiled again and nodded. "I think I'd like to know who Corban caught."

Tom smiled and stood again before holding out his arm for Hades to take. Once Hades had his mask on, Tom donned his glamour walked them down to the dungeons and to the most recently filled cell. "Here we are."

Inside the cell were several redheaded men. Two looked bored while the other two looked panicked and scared when they saw Tom in his glamour.

"Pollux, Castor, I'm disappointed in you," Hades said with a frown. "You got capture by Corban."

The two looked down shamefully, making the other two look confused. "Sorry, my lord," one twin said.

"They caught us off guard," the other admitted with a disappointed scowl.

"Just don't let it happen again," Hades said as he waved his wand to release them. He turned to Tom. "Find different toys for Bella. She can have Hermione."

Tom sighed and nodded. He looked at the other two redheads. "Names, my queen?"

"That's Charlie and Bill Weasley and these are Pollux and Castor. They've been mostly neutral, except Dumbasadoor is using Bill's cottage with his wife as a safehouse. I imagine this raid was on the Burrow?"

"Yes."

"And they didn't catch Ronald or Ginerva?"

"They were at an Order meeting with Mum and Dad," Pollux said.

"I see. You two, go to your rooms. If you are stopped, feel free to test out that new toy I gave you yesterday."

The twins exchanged delighted looks before bowing and skipping out the door, knowing that Hades wouldn't hurt their brothers.

"What is going on?" Charlie asked hysterically.

Tom ignored them and turned to Hades. "And these two?"

"Put them together in the highest tower and assign Vinny to their care."

Tom smirked. "As you wish, my queen."

Then, Hades went shy again and leaned up, connecting their lips in a soft kiss for the first time. When he pulled away, Tom was frozen and could do nothing but watch as Hades ran back to his rooms.

With his lack of concentration, his glamour fell, allowing the two Weasleys to see what Hades always saw, being keyed into the glamour so he could see through it.

He turned to them and glared once he regained his senses. "Not a word of this to anyone!" he hissed at the snickering Bill and the confused Charlie.

He sent them up to the highest tower and assigned Vinny to them before hurrying to his rooms. It was definitely time to go to sleep, but he couldn't. He lied awake all night, thinking of that perfect kiss.