Hades

Chapter 12: Death is Not a Lover

Previously on Hades

~Hades' Point of View~

I watched the slug who reeked of jealousy drag Aurora down the steps and away from where I was standing. She stumbled on her feet to keep up with him, but he payed no attention.

What a pompous little...

I reached down to grab the crumpled piece of paper that had fallen out of her pocket on her way out, and unfolded it, gently smoothing out the creases.

I turned around slowly, holding up the paper towards the man whose number was messily scribbled on it.

"I'm gonna take a wild, wild guess," I dryly laughed, "and say that this belongs to you?"

***

"That's besides the point." He challenged, turning to face Hades. "Has nothing to do with you if I contact her or not, right?" He walked towards a small table against the wall and help up a photo frame, studying it gently while his voice did the opposite. It was a picture taken by Poseidon of Zeus, Hades, and......

"You work day and night, never leaving the underworld for anything and one day you just.....you just magically appear, Hades?" He tossed the photo frame back on the table, facing his brother once more. "Do you take me for a fool, or are you fooling yourself?"

"ENOUGH!" Hades snapped, his throaty voice rumbling throughout the empty manor.

"Why?" Zeus prodded on, not backing down. If this was the only way to get his stubborn older brother to snap out of it and face the reality of things, then so be it. It was worth it.

"Why should I, when you know I'm right? You can't toy with her like this!"

"How dar-"

"You can't follow her around like a stalker, you can't intervene with her life, you can't flip the switch inside of her to make her feel if you don't plan on loving her back! How cruel of you!"

"Love you say??" Hades interjects. "Do I look like someone who finds a lover, and gracefully rides into the sunset with them?" He began to yell, quieting Zeus. "Well??"

Zeus remained silent, knowing this was a touchy topic for Hades. He very well felt like he was treading on thin ice himself.

"Well I'm not!! You of all people should know! If true love exists, where's your lover? You come here time to time to look for her, and yet here you are! Still wandering around like a blind idiot!"

"What exact rule states I have to find her so quickly??" Zeus laughed disbelievingly. " I'm doing more than enough looking for her. All I need to do is believe in love, Hades, and I'll find it one day. Seems like that's something you've lost hope in."

There was a silence following Zeus' words. They hit hard, and he knew it, but it wasn't entirely his fault.

"Love-" Hades starts in a tone so low its almost a whisper. "-is a burden....I'd rather never get tangled in ever again."

Hades couldn't help it. The pain after all these years, the silence he was forced to live in, the solitary life he dragged on for decades after Persephone. It slowly picked him down over time, and it was finally beginning to take effect.

"Hades........" Zeus started, surprisingly at a loss of words. He knew his previous experiences had changed him forever, but he would've never dreamed that Hades would give up. If he stays true to his words, the gods will definitely need to hear about this.....