#‘til death

[persephoneflowerpetals]

‘Til Death

Chapter 13: It’s Happy Ending Time!

Chapter 12: Hostile Takeover

SURPRISE! I finished this chapter up so freaking quick lol! Here’s a lovely way to end your week! ❤️ But oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is the last chapter! It’s been a journey! I just wanna give the BIGGEST thank you to everyone who’s been keeping up with the story and hanging in there through my long hiatuses lol! Seriously, I didn’t think anyone would be too interested in this fic or my Persephone, but I was blown away by the amount of support I’ve gotten from people over the past few years (can’t believe this fic took me like 3 years to make lmao), so seriously THANK YOU SO SO SOOOO MUCH to all my followers, mutuals, and to the future readers who stumble upon fic some day! 🥰🫶❤️💕 This is the LONGEST fanfiction I’ve ever made in my life and I’m glad I could improve my writing as I continued making more chapters! I’m honestly really proud of myself for this and this fic has really made me consider taking a career in writing someday ☺️💕 Also, this isn’t end, I can absolutely promise you that! I have TONS of new fanfictions and even some new fic series based off of aus that I’m planning on writing so please stay tuned for more Hades and Persephone fics! And again, thank you to everyone for reading my self indulgent fanfiction and I hope you’ve enjoyed it and that you enjoy this final chapter! 🫶❤️

By the time Hercules, Pegasus, Hades, and Persephone left the Underworld, it was very late at night. The moon and the stars were still shining brightly and beautifully as Morpheus finally finished draping his blanket of sleep across the night sky, blessing the mortals who were staying up late with a peaceful slumber.

Hercules and Pegasus soared across the sky as Hades and Persephone followed close behind in Hades’ chariot until the group made a landing at the top of Mount Olympus.

Hercules then dismounted from Pegasus and gave his head a little pat before making his way up the large set of stairs made of fluffy clouds and over to the tall, golden gates that seemed to gleam and shine even under the moonlight. He took a deep breath before knocking on the gates.

In a blur of light blue, Hermes zipped over to the gates. It seemed that he was working late tonight, as he was fully dressed and didn’t seem to be the least bit sleepy.

“Hey! Alright, man! It’s Hercules! What brings you by?” Hermes greeted cheerfully as he opened the gates.

“Uh, I was just wondering if I could talk to my father. Normally I’d just visit his temple, but um...” Hercules nervously explained as he glanced back at Hades and Persephone who were standing on the steps further back behind him.

Hermes looked past Hercules’ shoulder and blinked in surprise, “Woah, am I, like, seeing things or is that who I think it is?” he asked as he removed his glasses and wiped them off with the hem of his chiton before putting them back on.

“Yeah…this is kind of a…special situation. That’s why I wanted to talk to him here.” Hercules said with an awkward smile as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yikes. I’ll grab your pops for ya, but I dunno if he’s gonna be too psyched about this, man. Good luck.” Hermes said skeptically before zooming off in a flash.

Hades, who had been watching the short interaction from afar with Persephone, frowned as he crossed his arms. “Yeah, I’m definitely not getting in. I should be the one doing the talking.”

“Just relax. If anyone can convince Zeus to let you back in, it’s him. Have a little faith.” Persephone assured him.

“Hey, if that kid’s gonna be pleading my case, I’m gonna need more than ‘faith’, babe. I need a divine miracle…and a good lawyer.”

Zeus and Hera then approached the open gates with warm and welcoming smiles. Hercules noticed that they were still in their sleepwear and felt a little guilty for waking them up at this hour, but this was a matter far too important to wait and discuss until morning.

“Hello, darling.” Hera greeted as she went to hug her son and give him a kiss on the cheek.

Zeus let out a hearty chuckle as he patted Hercules on the shoulder, “Hercules, my boy! It’s wonderful to see you! What — “ he began before glancing behind Hercules to find his notorious little brother giving him a nasty glare in the distance.

“Hades…”

Hades rolled his eyes, “Oy vey. Here we go.”

“I thought I told you to never show your face here again!” Zeus growled as he lunged in the direction of Hades, the dark clouds above them starting to rumble with thunder and release small flashes of lightning.

“Father! Wait! I can explain!” Hercules exclaimed as he jumped in front of Zeus.

“I brought him here.” He confessed.

Both Zeus and Hera looked at their son with a nonplussed expression as some of the other gods on Olympus started to gather around behind them. It seems Zeus’ outburst had woken up most of them and they were curious about what was going on.

“What?! Son, why would you do such a thing?!” Zeus asked.

“Hades is losing his powers. If he doesn’t marry Persephone by sundown tomorrow, he’ll lose them forever. If you could just lift Hades’ ban long enough for the wedding — “

“Persephone?” gasped Demeter as she quickly stepped away from the crowd and moved closer to the open gates.

“No! Absolutely not! It’s out of the question!” Zeus objected, the clouds above rumbling with thunder yet again.

“But father!” Hercules pleaded.

“I cannot allow this traitor to return to Mount Olympus, even if he is losing his powers.” Zeus said as he glowered at Hades, who glowered at him right back.

“After turning his back on his own family, I think that losing his powers would be a rather fitting punishment compared to banishment.”

“But, if Hades loses his powers, then he can’t rule the Underworld properly. He needs his powers back.” Hercules explained.

Zeus gave Hercules a stern look. He loved his son very much, and he hated to argue with him, but he had to put his foot down and make him understand that this was something he wasn’t going to change his mind on.

“My boy…”

“Father,” Hercules interrupted, “I know you’re still really upset with Hades, trust me, I am too, but…I can’t believe I’m saying this…I think there’s some good in him.”

“Good?! Hercules, he stole you away from us and tried to have you killed when you were a baby! He unleashed the titans, took the entire pantheon prisoner, and tried to take my place as King of the Gods! What on Gaia’s green earth would make you believe that he’s good?!” Zeus argued.

“Because, I heard Persephone say that Hades tried to sacrifice everything to save her!” Hercules said boldly.

Zeus, Hera, and Demeter all looked at Hercules with confusion and concern.

“Save her?” They asked in unison.

“Yes, it’s kind of a long story that…well even I don’t know a lot about, but what I do know is that Hades was willing to give up the entire Underworld for Persephone, and when Hades didn’t have the strength to keep fighting for her, she was willing to protect him. I know it sounds crazy…but I think if Hades actually cares about someone that much, then he must not be entirely heartless. I mean…I kinda did the same for Meg when she sacrificed her life to save mine.”

The dark, thundering clouds above Zeus began to dissipate as he listened to what his son had to say.

“Yes…well…I…”

Hera smiled as she placed her hands on Zeus’ shoulders. “Zeus, dear. Look at them.” She said as she nodded in the direction of Hades and Persephone.

Persephone held Hades’ arm as she glanced up at him with an anxious expression. Hades looked back down at her with a small reassuring smile as if to silently tell her “everything will be okay”. The spring goddess then smiled and cuddled into his arm as Hades gazed at her fondly.

“Have you ever seen Hades look at anyone in such a way before?” Hera asked her husband.

Zeus was a silent for a moment as he watched them, almost studying the couple in awe. He’s really never seen Hades this way before, so…in love. The way he gazed into Persephone’s eyes and smiled so tenderly at her; Zeus looked at his beloved Hera that way every day. It really started to make him see his brother in a whole new light. This certainly didn’t excuse all of the terrible things he’s done, but…maybe Hercules was right. Maybe Hades wasn’t the cruel and selfish god he thought he was.

“No…I don’t believe I have.” Zeus replied, his tone sounding almost astonished.

“Our Hercules may have a point. I agree that his heinous deeds are inexcusable, but if Hades was willing to make such a large sacrifice for love, perhaps we should allow Hades a second chance to gain back our trust. He is your little brother, after all, and if Hercules was kind enough to set aside his differences to show him mercy…then maybe we should as well.” Hera proposed.

His wife made a good argument. What Hades was had done was truly nefarious and he could probably never completely forgive him for betraying him in such a heinous way, but Hera was certainly right about one thing. Hades is his brother. He’s family.

As much as Zeus felt Hades’ predicament was very well deserved, there was an aching feeling of sympathy for him. He looked so weak and tired; he’s never seen his flame so small. It also seemed that he was genuinely in love with Persephone and from the looks of it, she was just as crazy about him. It’d be callous of him to make them suffer and deny them marriage.

He wasn’t quite sure what had transpired before to cause Hades to make such an extreme sacrifice to give up the Underworld, but if Hades was truly willing to go that far for Persephone…then maybe there was hope for him. Perhaps Hades deserved a second chance to redeem himself. Who knows? Maybe Persephone will be a positive influence on him.

Zeus turned his head towards his wife and smiled as he placed a hand over hers on his shoulder. He then sighed and walked down a few steps from Olympus’ entrance.

“Alright then…” Zeus announced, “From what I’ve heard and witnessed here tonight, I believe that Hades…has the opportunity for a second chance…to make things right and earn back our trust. So, as King of the Gods, I decree that as long as Hades remains married to Persephone…his sentence of banishment from Mount Olympus will be lifted. Therefore, I will allow Hades and Persephone to be married on Olympus.”

Both and Hades and Persephone were taken aback by Zeus’ compassion. Hades raised his brows, rather surprised that Zeus was being so kind and wondered what the catch was. There had to be some sort of downside to this.

The other gods, however, were silent. Only a few quiet gasps and murmurs could be heard from the crowd of gods that had gathered around the gates.

Hercules began to clap as Hera joined him. Demeter joined in as well and soon enough, the rest of the gods were all cheering and applauding for Hades and Persephone.

The couple grinned ecstatically and looked at each other before leaning in close to share a loving, celebratory kiss. Once they separated, Hades glanced to his side to see Zeus approaching them with a smile that quickly faded into a more serious expression.

“However, if you ever try to double-cross me or this family again…there will be consequences much more serious than banishment, is that understood…brother?”

Hades rolled his eyes (yet again) and nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Sure. I’ll be on my best behavior. I’m humbled by your bountiful mercy. Yadda, yadda. Okay? Is that it or do I need to start groveling?” He replied sarcastically.

Zeus cocked his brow at his brother’s insincere thanks. He was definitely still the same old Hades in personality.

Persephone chuckled nervously, “It’s okay, Zeus. I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble…and thank you.” she said, sounding much more sincere than Hades.

Zeus nodded with a smile, then walked back up the steps to his wife and son as Demeter rushed down the stairs to meet Persephone.

“Persephone!” She called out as she took her daughter’s hands in hers.

Persephone started to get a bit nervous. She knew her mother was okay with her dating Hades, but marrying Hades was another thing entirely.

“Sweetpea…I’m not trying to talk you out of this, but are you sure this is what you want? Do you really want to marry Hades?” Demeter asked, wanting to be sure her daughter wasn’t trying to marry Hades out of pity.

Persephone nodded, “Yes…I love him…” she confidently declared as she looked over to Hades who was looking right back at her with an affectionate smirk, “…and I know he loves me too.”

Hades grinned as he approached Persephone and her mother, wrapping his arm around Persephone’s waist to pull her close to his side. “You bet I do, babe.”

“Well…if that’s the case, and he truly makes you happy…then you have my blessing.” Demeter kindly affirmed.

“Oh and, Hades…” She began, her warm smile quickly shifting into an angry frown as she aggressively grabbed the collar of his chiton to pull him down to eye level.

“If you EVER do anything to break my daughter’s heart again, so help me, I will — “

“Mother!” Persephone chided.

Demeter gave her daughter an apologetic smile as she let go of Hades and sighed.

“Just…take good care of my flower. That’s all I ask.” she calmly requested.

He looked to Persephone, smiling at her fondly once again.

“Don’t worry. I will.”

Hermes then flew up above the group of gods to address them, “Alright, cats! Let’s clear out and get some sleep! We got a big fat Greek wedding to plan in the morning!”

And with that, the gods dispersed, going back to their little palaces in the clouds as they quietly chattered about the big event that would take place tomorrow.

~X~X~X~X~

Night soon turned to morning as Apollo rode his chariot across the sky. The big day had finally arrived: Hades’ and Persephone’s wedding. There was excitement buzzing in the air as all the gods did their part to make Olympus look magnificent for the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Persephone stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom in her mother’s cloud palace as her sister, Despoina adjusted her wedding dress. She was as nervous as a bride could be on her wedding day. This was a very important day for both her and Hades and she wanted to make sure everything was perfect (apparently, old habits die hard).

“Are you sure this bouquet isn’t too much?” she nervously asked her sister as she looked down at her large bouquet, “I know flowers are kinda my thing, so they should be big and extravagant, but I don’t want them to be too extravagant, y’know? But I don’t want them to be too plain and boring either.”

Despoina shook her head and rolled her eyes as she tied the fabric on the back of Persephone’s dress. “Perse, seriously, it’s fine. Just chill out. You’ve got wedding jitters.” She reassured her with a small smile.

“I know. You’re right.” Persephone agreed before taking a deep breath.

She looked in the mirror for a moment, admiring the gorgeous white dress Aphrodite had made for her, then suddenly gasped as a brief thought crossed her mind. Despoina looked at her worriedly, wondering what catastrophe had happened for her to panic so abruptly.

“Oh, gods! I just remembered I never finished spring! What am I — “ Persephone fretted as her mother walked into the room with a veil.

“Calm down, blossom. I’ll take care of it. You just relax and focus on getting married.” Demeter said as she created a flower crown to attach to the veil and carefully placed it on top of Persephone’s head.

Persephone closed her eyes and took another deep breath once again.

“Right. Okay.”

Meanwhile, Hades was standing at the center of Olympus dressed in his best chiton and himation. These garbs looking much more formal and regal with a darker shade of black and dark blue compared to the ones he usually wore. He also had gold cuffs on each wrist to match the golden laurel wreath his wore on his head (secretly hoping it wouldn’t draw too much attention to pathetic little flame he had left up there).

He held his classic skull shaped clasp (also gold colored to stick with the gold theme had going) between his sharp teeth as he struggled to keep the fabric of his himation together on his shoulder, trying to make sure it looked nice and proper.

“Well, little brother,” Zeus said loudly as he suddenly came up behind Hades and gave him a strong pat on the back, causing him to stumble forward.

Hades’ eye widened in surprise as he turned his head towards Zeus and gave him a small, annoyed glare before rolling his eyes and shaking head. He then took to clasp out of his mouth as he turned his attention back to his himation.

“I never thought this day would come.” Zeus continued with a warm and hearty chuckle.

“What? The day I would come back to Olympus?” Hades asked casually, sounding a bit annoyed as he put on his clasp.

“Well, yes, and the day you would get married. It’s hard to believe my little brother has finally settled down!”

Hades rolled eyes once again as he continued fixing and adjusting his himation, trying to ignore his brother.

Poseidon then came up behind Zeus, holding his trident as he put a hand on his older brother’s shoulder.

“Haha! Yes, we’ve been taking bets for centuries on whether you’d actually tie the knot one day! I just can’t believe it’s with Persephone! I dunno how you managed to woo a goddess so out of your league, but by gods, ya did it! Good for you, brother!” Poseidon teased as he removed his hand from Zeus’ shoulder to playfully punch Hades in the arm a little too hard.

“Ow!” Hades winced as he rubbed his arm while giving his other brother the same annoyed glare.

“Haha! We thought you’d have to resort to kidnapping in order to find a bride!” Zeus laughed as Poseidon laughed along with him.

“Ha! Kidnapping! That’s a good one!” Poseidon wheezed.

Hades did his best to keep his temper as his brothers teased him. Last thing he wanted was to get kicked out again and ruin his own wedding.

“Oy. I knew there was downside to this.” He thought to himself as he turned to face his older brothers.

“Heheheh, yeah, yeah. That’s real great. Hilarious. I gotta go. Gotta talk to a guy about a cake.” Hades lied with a phony laugh as he walked away from the two who were still cracking up.

“Yeah, so funny I forgot to laugh. They keep it up I’m gonna turn this wedding into a funeral!” He said quietly to himself.

~X~X~X~X~

It wasn’t long before the ceremony was finally set up. Olympus looked absolutely astounding! The marble pillars (that were actually made of clouds) were adorned with spiral strands of bright leafy vines and light pink roses. There was a beautiful, lavish fountain that flowed with ambrosia (that the other gods had to keep Bacchus away from in fear of him swimming in it). A group of cherubs began to play a romantic melody on their instruments as dozens of gods and titans gathered around the altar where Hades and Hera stood.

On the outside, Hades looked pretty cool and collected, but on the inside, he was rattled with nerves, but in an excited sort of way. He’s been waiting for this moment since the day he truly fell for Persephone. He has never been more ready for anything in his entire immortal life. Persephone, the goddess of spring, his one and only love, was about to become his wife.

Oh, he loved the way that sounded.

Persephone, his wife.

No doubt he was going to take every chance he could get to refer to her his wife after that day.

Suddenly, a cherub flew up to Hera and quickly whispered something in her ear before flying off.

“We are ready to begin.” Hera announced as the guests who had been excitedly chattering amongst themselves got quiet.

The cherubs that had been playing music before silenced their instruments and everyone looked opposite of the altar.

The cherubs then started to play a slow, enchanting song…and there she was.

Persephone, holding her big, extravagant bouquet of blue forget-me-nots and bright yellow daffodils began to walk slowly down the aisle with a shy little smile. Her dress fit her so perfectly, she truly looked like a goddess.

Her hair was put up in an elegant low bun, wavy strands of hair framing her face beautifully while her lovely eyes glimmered even more than usual from her shimmery golden eye shadow. On her head sat a gorgeous flower crown made of small white flowers and roses with a dainty white veil attached in the back.

Hades was absolutely speechless.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was the most beautiful goddess that has ever walked the cosmos. She was glowing. She was ethereal. She was ravishing.

He simply couldn’t believe that this stunning goddess was about to become his wife for all eternity. He has never loved anyone else more than he loves her. That dazzling goddess walking down the aisle was his soulmate.

Persephone smiled a little more as soon as her eyes met Hades’. She saw his lovestruck gaze right away and it made her smile even more.

Hades nearly melted right there and then. He was so overcome with emotion for her; he did his best not to start tearing up. Not that he was too ashamed or embarrassed to cry in front of Persephone, but he knew if he shed even a single tear, his brothers would never let him live it down, so Hades kept it together.

However, Persephone was already starting to tear up, trying to steady her breathing in order to keep herself from breaking down.

When she finally reached the altar, Hades took her hand in his, gently rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb as he looked at her with an adoring smile. Persephone took a silent deep breath and gave him an equally adoring smile.

The song then came to an end and Hera began to speak,

“We are gathered here today on Mount Olympus, home of the gods, to celebrate this momentous occasion and bear witness to the divine matrimony of Persephone, the Goddess of Spring and Hades, the God of the Underworld. May these deities always be blessed with peace and joy, and may their love be eternal.”

The couple then turned to fully face each other, Hades still keeping hold of Persephone’s hand as they prepared to make their vows, their eyes staying completely locked on one another.

“Hades, do you take Persephone to be your wedded wife, to love and protect, to cherish and respect, to honor and trust for all of eternity?”

Hades looked deeply into Persephone’s eyes as he uttered those two beautiful words,

“I do.”

Persephone’s lips quivered a bit through her smile as tears began to well up in her eyes again, trying so desperately not to start sobbing. She closed her for a moment and took a short breath to calm down as she felt Hades give her hand a gentle squeeze.

“Persephone, do you take Hades to be your wedded husband to love and protect, to cherish and respect, to honor and trust for all of eternity?”

Without any hesitation, Persephone proudly and lovingly declared with all her heart,

“I do.”

“Then as Queen of the Gods and Goddess of Marriage, I — Hera, pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss th— “

Hades and Persephone could hardly even wait for Hera to finish speaking as they threw themselves into each others’ arms and shared a passionate kiss, the other gods and titans ceremoniously clapping and cheering for them all the while.

Hera blinked in surprise for a moment, then smiled as she chuckled softly and clapped along with the crowd of guests.

Suddenly, Hades felt a surge of powerful energy rush through him, like a wave of heat flowing throughout his entire body. He reluctantly broke the kiss as he stepped back and looked at his hands that were starting to feel very hot.

Persephone watched him curiously with a bit of concern, wondering if he was okay. His form began to glow an essence of light blue as his hair that was almost as short and small as the flame of a candle stick, abruptly burst into a fiery, blue blaze.

No longer did he feel weak and weary; quite the contrary, actually. Now he felt as strong and energized as ever, like he could take on the cosmos.

Some of the guests gasped and watched in awe as Hades beamed and flared up, practically engulfed in bright blue flames. He pumped his fists in the air and did a little happy dance.

“BOOM! BADA BOOM! YEAH, BABY! HADES IS BACK IN BUSINESS!”

Persephone grinned from ear to ear, extremely overjoyed that her husband finally got his powers back. Hades then looked over to his wife with a suave smirk.

“C’mere, you.”

He grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him, practically sweeping her off her feet as he dipped her. Persephone gasped in surprise and giggled as Hades once again gazed into her sparkling, eyes.

The pair leaned in close as their lips met again for another kiss, Persephone placing her hand on his cheek to caress his face as Hades held her in his arms.

As the couple separated once more, they looked out into the crowd of guests. Demeter and Despoina clapped and smiled as Demeter wiped her tears of joys away from her face.

Next to them stood none other than Rhea, sobbing happily as she blew her nose into a handkerchief. “That’s my, baby boy!” she wept proudly.

Hades chuckled and waved to his mother in the crowd as he gently pulled Persephone closer to his side. He then glanced over to her and gave her playful smirk before picking her up bridal style and carrying her away from the altar through the Olympus gates, down the stairs, and over to their chariot that was waiting for them as the crowd of guests followed them, still cheering and clapping to see them off to their honeymoon.

Hades stepped into the chariot as he carefully put Persephone back down. The goddess then looked at the beautiful bouquet she still held in her other hand and tossed it into the crowd of cheering guests. A group of single goddesses began darting towards the flowers, only to be intercepted by Thallo (who Persephone kindly invited to the wedding), who had leaped in front of them all to catch the bouquet in her mouth.

The unicorn then trotted up to Pegasus and nuzzled her head close to his as she fluttered eyelashes. Pegasus let out a bashful whinny/chirp and flapped his wings as Hercules and Meg (who had also been kindly invited to the wedding by Persephone) stood by him and laughed.

Persephone giggled and looked at Hades who pulled her to his side once again before taking the reigns with his other hands.

He then looked back at the guests and gave them a playful little salute and a wink as Persephone looked back with him as waved to everyone before taking off into the sunny afternoon sky.

Pain and Panic (who were also allowed to attend the wedding despite the “no minions on Olympus” rule) watched as the happy couple flew off into the distance. Pain waved as Panic cried and obnoxiously blew his nose into a handkerchief.

“Don’t ya just love happy endings?” Panic asked his friend as he sniffled.

So, you’re probably wonder what’s next for the lovely couple? Who knows? However, their story certainly isn’t over.

One thing is for certain, though, you don’t need the Fates’ eye to see that they both lived happy ever after.

~X~X~X~X~

Meanwhile, in Tartarus…

“ARRGH! I WAS SO CLOSE! I had the key right there in my hand!” Hecate shrieked before raising a big heavy hammer with a grunt and slamming it down atop a large rock, watching it crumble to bits.

“Ugh, well, you can’t blame us, Hecate.” Canis said as he walked past Hecate carrying very heavy bits of rock on his back in a leather pack.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not our fault you’re a total clutz.” Lupus added as he straggled behind Canis, his pack looking much heavier and overfilled compared to the other empusa.

“OH, SHUT UP, YOU IDIOTS!” yelled Hecate.

“Hey, hey, hey! What with all the yapping over here?!” A random imp asked as he walked up to the three while holding a clipboard in his hand.

“Less talking and more smashing! We got another load coming in!” He said as he pointed upwards, an avalanche of large rocks suddenly tumbling down in front of Hecate.

Hecate growled as she raised her hammer to smash another rock as Canis and Lupus walked off to deposit the bits of rock in their heavy packs.

“Someday I’m gonna get my revenge on that stupid, lovesick son of a — “ Hecate grumbled to herself.

“Hey! I told you to can it over there! This is the land of eternal punishment! Not the land of group therapy! Now, shut up and get to work!” The managing imp yelled from the distance.

Hecate huffed and grumbled an insult under her breath before rolling her eyes and smashing another rock.

[starcurtain]

Comparing Aventurine's "Keeping Up With Star Rail" to Mydei's is so funny because

Ratio: 🥺👉👈 D-Does he like me?

Meanwhile...

Phainon: I would like to confirm, for the public record, that Mydei and I fuck.

[itadooori]

what squid game did yall watch

[kendallroyjenner]

i don’t think hacks is queerbaiting i think they’re tapping into the universal truth that having a true creative partnership is inherently romantic. and gay.

[guyspleasehesmyfriend]

everyone crying about “twink death” when we should be celebrating twink EVOLUTION

he is reaching his final form: twunk.

[shotmrmiller]

getting rescued out your car during a blizzard or something, oil frozen solid in the tank and you've nowhere to go, phone showing no bars until a big, gruff man in inappropriate winter attire almost rips the door off its hinges to get you out and stuffs you into old truck, engine chugging louder than the biting winds outside, placing a coarse, thick blanket over your trembling shoulders.

you tell him through chattering teeth that you'll leave come morning, won't overstay your welcome, but he doesn't seem to care much about what you're going on about, not even looking at you once.

that's fine, he wasn't even obligated to rescue you from what would've been your tomb and while your breath is visible inside his old vehicle (no heater) and his worn leather seat is numbing your bottom, you're grateful.

until morning comes and you ask him to take you back to your car since the blizzard is over and the sun's been out for hours.

"not takin' ya anywhere 'til i'm paid back in full. think the wood i used to keep your pretty arse warm is free? think the food you ate fell from the sky? get back inside 'n run yaself a bath. i'll be in soon."

[hbmmaster]

new wiki just dropped

[fentanylaced]

[numbuh424]

TW // Blood

Lawlight Week Day 5 - "Sharing Food / Cannibalism"

[apollabarnes]

inhale 'til your lungs get sore

cw: major character death, ghosts, magical realism 8x15 coda (on ao3)

"That does look worse from up here."

Tommy tensed, his hand tightening on his arm. He glanced sideways, wary of reacting too strongly around the Army. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his eyes drifting back to Evan.

"I mean. Dying," Bobby said dryly.

Tommy hiccuped a laugh, turned it into a cough. He swallowed around the tears in his throat.

"You should call Eddie before they come out," Bobby continued, pacing in front of Tommy.

Tommy spared a moment to be glad that Bobby had moved so it was easier to talk to him before he realized could see Evan on the screen through Bobby's face. Christ. What were the odds that he hadn't cleared that last building and they were in a crumpled heap of metal in the middle of downtown?

He shoved down the part of him that hoped it was true. Even if he would rather be dying than Bobby, that would mean that Evan — and selfishly, so selfishly, Tommy would trade Bobby for Evan in a heartbeat. Considering Bobby had just done the same thing, Tommy thought Bobby might forgive him if he knew what he was thinking.

"Not really my place."

"No one else has the bandwidth to deal with it right now. And if they tell him later, if they realize that they forgot, the guilt that they'll—"

Bastard. Tommy pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to remember what his corporal had taught him about notifications. There were two flights out of El Paso left tonight. Be succinct, be clear, don't use metaphors, and —

"Tommy? Why are you calling?"

Tommy would have appreciated another few seconds to get his thoughts together. "Eddie," he said, taking a deep breath. "A call went bad today. Bobby died."

Eddie stayed silent on the other end of the phone.

"There are two flights left. I can get you a ticket, Chris too, but you need to —"

Evan scrambled to his feet behind Bobby's head and Tommy saw him turn towards the door right before Athena came out.

"Yeah, two tickets, do that," Eddie said finally, his voice cracking.

"They're not — everyone else is still on the scene, they're not being allowed to leave yet or they would have called themselves," Tommy offered, floundering, "I didn't want you to not know."

"Text me the gate details."

Any other day Tommy might be offended that Eddie hung up on him. Tommy purchased the tickets and forwarded the confirmation to Eddie, keeping one eye on the screens and Bobby. "What happens when they come out?" Tommy asked, quiet. He was pretty sure a ghost could hear him no matter how quietly he spoke. "Are they going to be able to see you?"

"That wouldn't be a good idea right now," Bobby smiled at him, the edges of his face blurry. "They wouldn't handle it well. You take care of them, Tommy."

"Shit goodbye," Tommy muttered, tapping his thumb against the pads of his fingers. Okay. Take care of them. Hen and Howie still needed to get to a hospital; he didn't trust that the Army doctor hadn't overlooked something when his main concern was the virus. Ravi, too. Karen and Maddie would want to be there, which meant… babysitters. He could handle that.

Evan and Athena had cleared the area covered by the cameras. He turned away before he could watch the Army take Bobby out, ducking out of the main tent and heading for medical.

"Howie, who watches Jee overnight?"

"Huh?"

"Howie," Tommy softened his voice. "Who watches Jee when you and Maddie both work overnights?"

"Anne," Howie blinked at him, shaking his head, "Tommy?"

"One and only," Tommy said carefully, pressing a hand against the plastic tent. "Can I have her number?"

"I should — I should call," Howie said, staring past Tommy.

"I got it, Howie. What's her number?"

Tommy tapped the number into his phone as Howie dictated it to him. Tommy had to fight the urge to walk away as he made the call, so he'd be closer to Hen, but the look on Howie's face was haunting. He put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Hi Anne," Tommy kept his voice gentle, as soothing as possible. "This is Tommy, one of Howie's friends. He's okay, but he and Maddie aren't going to be home tonight. Can you watch Jee until tomorrow?"

"Of course. Is Hen all right? Do Denny and Mara need someone to watch them?"

"I'm going to ask her right now. Can I text you when I know?"

"That would be good. Toni and I were going to have a movie night, it would be easy to keep them all at one house if the kids are okay with that."

"I'll ask them and let you know. Thanks, Anne."

Tommy stared at the phone when he hung up. God, where had the time gone if the kids weren't asleep yet? "Okay, Howie. I need to talk to Hen, but Jee might have a sleepover with Denny and Mara if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, yeah, that would be…" Howie trailed off.

Tommy wanted to stay. "Text Maddie, let her know Jee's taken care of."

Tommy repeated the whole thing at Hen's tent, digging his nails into his palm when she started crying. Toni was also in favour of the sleepover, so Tommy left it up to them to decide which house they were going to spend the night at.

"Tommy, what are you doing here?" Hen asked, scrubbing her hands over her eyes.

Tommy wanted to scream. "I have no idea. Trying to help, I guess. I have to go check on Ravi."

"Yeah, okay." Hen looked in the opposite direction of Howie's tent. "Sounds good."

He called the administrative line for dispatch as he walked over to Ravi. Tommy knew that all of dispatch already knew the call had gone bad, but he still spent a few minutes going over it with Sue and arranging for Maddie to get a ride to the hospital once they knew where everyone was going. Sue passed along that they'd already pulled the 118 off any calls until B shift got to the station. Tommy sighed. "I'll find a way to get the gear back."

"Don't bother. We have drivers on the way to get the trucks and the supplies."

"Thanks, Sue." He paused. "Can you do me one more favour?"

"I'm fine," Ravi said, before Tommy could say anything.

"Probably," Tommy agreed. "You still got knocked around pretty good. You should get checked out at a real hospital."

"They said I was fine."

"They were concerned about a virus. We're concerned about everything else." Tommy looked at Karen. "Athena's probably in the middle of giving everyone hell and Sue's working on getting ambulances here. Toni and Anne are watching the kids, so all you have to do is drive there once we know which one they're going to."

Karen eyed Tommy curiously. "You've been busy."

"Not much else for me to do around here."

"Tommy!" Evan scrambled towards him when he came back into the main tent. "I thought you—"

"No," Tommy said emphatically. "I was making some calls."

He turned towards Athena, lightheaded when he saw the expression on her face. "Sue's sending two ambulances to take everyone to the hospital."

"Good." Athena turned back to the Colonel, her voice hard. "We're leaving."

"Sergeant Grant—"

"—is leaving," Tommy said, stepping in front of her. "As is the rest of the 118." He squared his jaw, crossing his arms over his chest. "They've earned that much."

"I'm not done with you either, Firefighter."

"Then arrest me. I can't wait to call my lawyer," Tommy shot back. He watched the Colonel pause. "When you decide what you want to do with me, I'll be at the hospital with them."

Ambulance sirens cut through the air.

"Let's go," Athena said, taking Evan's arm in hers. "Tommy."

"Yep." Tommy saluted the Colonel with enough attitude to make it clear it was not out of respect. He spun on his heel, following Athena out of the tent.

"I gotta…" Evan stared at his phone, his eyes hollow. "I have to call Eddie."

Tommy checked his watch. "You'll only get his voicemail, Evan," he said quietly. "His plane's already in the air."

"Oh," Evan deflated and Tommy leaned forward, catching his phone before it could drop to the floor. Ravi flinched. "You called him?"

"You and Athena seemed like you were pretty busy."

"Even after…?" Evan took a shaky breath, his brow furrowed.

"He's going to meet you at the hospital," Tommy said, not willing to get into that whole conversation in front of Ravi. Or at all. It seemed trivial and stupid now. It had been stupid when he said it, but— "There's a car waiting to pick him and Chris up when they land."

"Oh, fuck," Evan flushed. "I should have done that."

"It's okay, Evan. You can take care of them at the hospital," Tommy promised.

"Ravi, man, how are you doing?" Evan asked, leaning past Tommy to look at Ravi.

Ravi shrugged, his shoulders drooping. "I'm fine," he muttered, crossing his arms. "You didn't have to put me on the stretcher."

"Ravi, you got blown up and stopped breathing for a minute. You're riding on the stretcher," Evan said firmly, clasping a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but I'm—" Ravi stopped abruptly, the blood draining out of his face.

Tommy shoved the puke bucket onto his lap, just in case.

"This is a nightmare," Ravi stared out the back window. "I want to wake up."

Same, kid.

Evan's chin wobbled once. "You're going to be okay, Ravi."

Athena was waiting outside the hospital doors for them, Hen and Howie already swept away by the doctors for surgery and check-ups. "Sue Blevins said to call if we need anything. Maddie's going to be here soon," she added, looking over at Evan. "The two of you are in line for concussion protocols."

"Athena!" Evan protested.

"You are getting checked out, Evan Buckley, if I have to handcuff you to a bed. And I can find a second pair if you want to argue with me too," Athena looked over at Ravi.

"Concussion protocol sounds awesome," Ravi said after a beat. "Where's that?"

"Fine," Evan sighed.

Tommy's phone rang. "That's the station," he told them. "I've got to take this. Text me if there's anything I can bring back with me. Hopefully I won't be long," he added, jogging for the front doors.

"Hey, Melton."

"Is it true? Did Nash really—"

"Yeah," Tommy swallowed, sinking onto the nearest bench. He tipped his head back, staring up at the sky. "How long am I grounded for?"

"How long do you need?"

"I'm pretty sure that's not how suspensions work."

"Funny thing about that. The Army was out here trying to light someone's ass on fire to get you fired and now it's all 'please thank Firefighter Kinard for his assistance tonight' so…" Melton paused, a hint of amusement in his voice, "Hard to hand out punishment when the people pushing for it change their mind."

"Stellar." Tommy sighed.

"You're not actually about to get arrested, are you?"

"Probably not. Call back tomorrow."

"I'll juggle your schedule, get Donato in for the next few days. Just in case."

"You're an eternal optimist, Melton."

"Fuck off, you know they beat that out of you in basic."

Tommy dragged a hand over his face. "I'll you know when I know things."

"Appreciate it. Let someone at the 118 know to call if they need anything."

"B shift is on their way to the station — you might want to try and call them there and make the offer. I don't think A's going to be back on their feet for a while."

"Will do. Take care of yourself, Kinard."

"That could have gone worse."

"How long have you been… hovering there?" What was the correct term to use when a ghost was lurking? Tommy glanced down. Yep. Bobby's feet were firmly — if translucently — on the ground. No floating required.

"Long enough," Bobby said, which wasn't really an answer.

"Okay." Tommy nodded. "I should—" he gestured over his shoulder, back towards the hospital.

"Eddie and Chris are here," Bobby told him.

Tommy checked his watch. Shit. He hadn't noticed the time passing. "That's good. They all need to be together. What do you think, snacks?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're here?" Tommy shrugged. "Kind of expected you to not show up again after you disappeared from the tent."

"Yeah," Bobby frowned. "Don't tell me you're disappointed."

"Aren't you? Wasting your haunting on me?" Tommy scrubbed both hands through his hair. "Sorry, that was—"

"It's been a weird night," Bobby offered helpfully.

"Tell me about it."

Tommy spent ten minutes staring at the menu board in the hospital coffee shop before giving up. "Two of everything you have left," he said, glancing over at Bobby. "And drinks. Um. Ten of them." Tommy rattled off most of them without an issue, pausing when it came to the Grants. Bobby took over, and Tommy repeated their orders to the cashier.

He took the bag that the cashier offered him gratefully, glad that he could balance a tray of drinks in each hand without issue. Tommy started with Karen, handing over her drink and the first box of food. He did a slow counterclockwise loop of the waiting room, pausing in front of Athena and the kids. "I had to guess. Hopefully they're okay," he said quietly, handing May another box.

"Thanks, Tommy," Athena murmured.

"Yeah, no problem."

The only people he hadn't talked to yet were Evan, Eddie and Chris and Tommy made himself walk over there without pausing, handing out the last of it and sinking into the chair beside Evan.

"One of us would have helped you bring all this back," Evan said quietly, leaning in so Tommy could hear him.

"It's fine. I managed," Tommy whispered back. "You all needed to be here together." He was suddenly, viciously tired.

"Okay. We're still waiting for news."

Tommy nodded.

"—mmy? Tommy." Evan shook his shoulder.

"Yeah," Tommy blinked, his head fuzzy. "Sorry, repeat that?"

"They're sending us all home. Hen and Chim have to stay overnight but they're not allowed to have any guests. I'm — I'm gonna stay with Maddie tonight. Eddie and Chris are going to—"

"—the house," Tommy finished with him. "Makes sense." He resisted the urge to scrub his hands over his face, blinking one more time.

"What are you gonna…" Evan trailed off.

Tommy shrugged. "I'll make sure Karen and Ravi have a way to get home and then…" he glanced over at Athena, frowning when he saw Bobby behind her. "If you need anything, just give me a call."

"I don't think you should be driving," Evan said, his brow furrowed.

Tommy yawned. "Definitely not. Uber, though," the corner of his mouth twitched in an attempt at a smile, "I can order with the best of them."

Karen had convinced Ravi to spend the night at their place; Tommy wasn't sure how and he didn't ask. It certainly made getting them both home easier. He tried not to notice how often he found his attention drifting to Evan as they waited, Eddie and Chris leaving first and the Grants leaving after them.

"Aren't you going with them?" Evan asked, when Tommy didn't get in the car with Karen and Ravi.

"Other direction. I ordered one for myself. It'll be here in ten minutes," Tommy said easily, lying through his teeth. "That's you and Maddie, right?"

"Yeah. Let me know you got home all right, okay?"

"Of course."

Tommy waited until the car had pulled out onto the street and disappeared around the corner before he wandered back inside the hospital, making his way up to the ICU.

"Is Rick here tonight?" he asked the charge nurse.

"Who's aski… Tommy?" She pulled her glasses down, squinting over the rims at him. "Christ, kid, what's it been, three years?"

"Aw, Mona, you remember me."

"I remember those biceps," she hummed, looking him up and down. "What do you want Rick for?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Nope. I do want one of whatever you've got in that box of yours. Rick's down the hall in 8. You can wait for him out here."

"Deal. Jelly filled?"

Mona leaned in, dropping her voice. "See, I told him dumping you was something he was going to regret. Here you are remembering a girl's favourite order and you weren't even trying to get into my pants."

"Mona, you're young enough to be my aunt."

She cackled with delight. "If Rick doesn't want to help you with whatever rule you're breaking, come back to me. That was smooth."

"What on earth are you up to, Tommy?" Bobby asked, following him to the chairs against the wall and sitting down beside him. Tommy really hoped that they weren't there long enough for someone else to need it. He didn't want to see what would happen if Bobby didn't move fast enough.

It was too quiet to talk back to Bobby without someone noticing, and Tommy didn't really want to pretend to be on a call in the middle of the night in the ICU, so he pulled out his phone and started typing a note. Figured you'd want to keep an eye on Hen and Howie tonight, and if you're stuck with me, then I'm going to stay close.

"I think I can travel around without you."

Let's not test that out tonight. I'm just going to ask Rick if there's somewhere I can crash. Lots of on call rooms that don't get used.

"Rick's an ex?"

Sort of. Well, I was the rebound guy. So it didn't go anywhere.

"Went somewhere far enough that his coworkers remember you."

Tommy rolled his eyes. Sorry I'm a catch, he thought about typing out, but then he'd just get caught up in all the times being a catch hadn't been enough. I picked him up after work sometimes.

"Tommy?"

"Hey, Rick," Tommy stood up, smiling. "Been awhile."

"Yeah," Rick nodded, pulling Tommy into a hug. "You look good. Well, you look like you haven't slept in two days, but other than that."

"You don't have to lie," Tommy joked. "I have a favour to ask."

"No promises yet, but hit me."

"Is there somewhere I can crash tonight? A couple of my friends are in Critical Care and — no visitors, you know — but I wanted to stay close just in case."

"Yeah, of course. That's easy. I thought you were going to ask me to sneak you into Crit."

Tommy shrugged. "That might be an ask for the rest of their friends tomorrow."

"Tommy," Rick laughed. "There aren't enough blowjobs in the world for that favour."

"You say that now," Tommy joked. Back when they were dating, Tommy would have made good on the dare. "How's Colin?"

"He's taking the bar next month so he's been horrible to live with, but other than that," Rick said, waving Tommy down the hall, "Here's our four star on call room. Close your eyes and ignore anyone else who comes in here. Sorry about not having ear plugs."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Snacks, for whoever wants them," Tommy added, handing off the pastry box he was still holding.

"Like I said, easiest favour you could have asked for," Rick leaned against the door frame, watching Tommy. "Hey, about the other favour. You should come over for dinner after Colin's passed that fucking test. And if you're not… you know. You could stay over."

"Dinner sounds great," Tommy glanced towards the door, glad that Bobby had disappeared to see the others. "I'll let you know about the rest."

"My shift ends at seven, I'll make sure you're awake before I take off."

"Perfect. Hey, stay safe tonight."

"I don't leave the building. I should be telling you that." Rick knocked against the door frame, pushing himself off it. "I'll warn Mona that you're in here."

Tommy remembered to text Evan and lie about getting home. He set his phone on do not disturb, hesitating for a moment before making sure that Evan could call through. He tucked his flight suit and phone underneath the bed before closing his eyes and hoping that he was just having a very, very bad dream.

"They're refusing to let anyone in before visiting hours at nine!"

"Evan," Tommy said gently, bracing his forehead against his knees. "They've got rules they have to follow, too."

"But— don't they know that— Maddie's—"

"Baby," Tommy interrupted before Evan could get going again. "Everyone in here is having the worst day of their life. I promise they're taking good care of Hen and Howie."

Evan's breath hitched and Tommy played back what he'd just said, wincing when he realized he'd used a pet name.

"I have a friend who works in the hospital, okay? I'll give them a call and see if they can tell you more about what's going on." Tommy looked up, holding a hand up when Rick opened his mouth. He shook his head and Rick shrugged, sitting down across from him.

"Are you coming back today?"

"I have to go to Harbor and talk to my boss, but if I can get to the hospital today I will."

"Text me?" Evan asked, his voice shaking.

"Yes," Tommy promised. "I'm going to hang up now, okay? I'll talk to my friend and let you know what's going."

"Okay. Tommy…"

"I'll talk to you soon," Tommy promised. He hung up before either one of them dissolved into tears, letting his head hit the wall behind him. It was a satisfying thunk.

"Don't do that," Rick said, leaning forward and slipping a hand behind Tommy's head before he could do it again. "Baby, huh? Sounds like it's just going to be dinner."

"Shut the hell up," Tommy managed, shaking his head. "It's complicated. Fuck."

"This about your friends?"

"Yeah," Tommy nodded, looking over at Rick. "Any chance you'd be willing to harass a few colleagues for information?"

"I'll sic Mona on them." Rick looked Tommy over, his eyes critical. "You need a shower. I'll find you a pair of scrubs." He poked Tommy's arm. "Hopefully you don't rip them. Get up, let's hit the locker room."

By the time Tommy had spent twenty minutes under a scalding hot shower, Rick had tracked down a pair of scrubs that would fit him and Mona had a full court update that Tommy was able to pass on to Evan. "I should turn my phone off," he told Rick, flipping it in his hand as they walked out together. "Just…" he glanced out the doors, catching Bobby lingering near the ambulance bay.

"Come on," Rick slung his arm around Tommy's shoulders. "I'll give you a ride to your station, save you the Uber trouble."

"You don't have to do that, I'm sure Colin—"

"—Is very glad for every moment I'm not home so he doesn't have to feel bad about ignoring me to study," Rick finished.

"Okay." Tommy was too tired to argue, sliding into the passenger seat of Rick's sedan. Bobby popped up in the backseat.

"Doctor, huh? Guess you've always had good taste."

Tommy snorted, waving Rick off when he looked over. "Sorry, just thinking about what these friends would have said if they were around while we were dating."

"Probably the same thing that Mona tells me every few months," Rick joked.

"Hey, uh… if you see anyone when you go back for your next shift, maybe don't tell them I stayed at the hospital last night."

"I see you're still terrible at sharing," Rick said dryly. "Don't worry. I'll consider it doctor-patient confidentiality."

"I wasn't sure I'd be able to stay, so…" Tommy shrugged. "Definitely wasn't sure you'd be able to pull strings for ten people if they all wanted to stay. Which they would have."

"Ah. In that case. I appreciate that you're terrible at sharing."

Chief Simpson was apparently livid that Tommy had absconded with another helicopter and gotten out of it because the Army wasn't willing to publicize what had been going on. Melton was amused in the way that all vets tended to be when another vet gave the Army the finger, and everyone else at Harbor wanted him to teach them to do barrel rolls.

Tommy was exhausted. Grabbing a few hours at the hospital had done less than nothing, and he still had to get home on his own.

He texted Evan.

Need to grab a few hours, putting my phone on silent. Setting an alarm for three hours and will let you know where I'm at then.

Tommy turned his phone to silent before Evan could reply.

"You look like dogshit," Lucy said bluntly, coming to a stop in front of Tommy.

He blinked at her, his keys dangling from his hand. "I think I need to call a cab."

"I got you." Lucy bundled him into his truck with surprising speed. She put on the classic rock station that Tommy liked, lowering the volume. They didn't talk on the way home, or when she helped Tommy into the house, or when she bullied him into his bedroom.

"I'm going to get a ride back to the station," she told him, tapping her fingers against the back of his hand.

"Take the truck," Tommy offered. "I can get back to Harbor. Or you can pick me up. Whatever."

"I'll pick you up. Get some sleep, Tommy."

Tommy hated that she could see through the cracks now. She'd had an idea since the breakup, but now… god. "Thanks, Lucy."

"Yeah, I got you." Lucy smiled tiredly. "I'll lock the door behind me. Text when you wake up so I know you're not in a coma."

"That might be prefer—"

"Not a good joke to make today," she reminded him.

"Yeah," Tommy squeezed her hand. "Let me know you got home all right."

"Moira Blake is a fucking terrible mad scientist," Tommy said, staring at the ceiling. "Who doesn't make a stockpile for themselves when they can't be sure one dose will enough for an untested virus?"

"Rewriting history?"

Tommy groaned, leaning up on one elbow. Bobby sat at the end of his bed. "Just saying, that crazy woman could have inhaled it at the lab and then what would she have had to try and sell? How could she know that one dose was enough protection for a human? Actually, how could she know one dose would be enough for permanent inoculation? What if she got infected twice? I bet she hadn't been able to test the R-naught before they kicked her out of the lab — hey, I'm allowed to know weird things too," he protested, watching the expression on Bobby's face.

"I never said you weren't."

"And I know what you're thinking, it's not because of Rick."

"I never said that either. Have you considered that you're trying to assign logic to something inherently illogical?"

"Says the ghost sitting at the end of the bed. Come to think of it," Tommy said, gesturing angrily, "how could she be sure that the one dose of the virus she made would get out of the lab? Without it, her antivirus was useless and not worth anything, and she didn't exactly go back to her house and make some more to release somewhere else. What the hell was she — has she never watched a James Bond movie?"

"Sorry, just checking, but are you advocating in favour of the mad scientist right now?"

"No, just — it was so stupid. She knows the protocols, she should have known that the doors would come down in a fire and there was a chance the virus would get trapped in the lab and burn up. I don't want her to be good at her job but why did she have to be so bad at it?"

"She could have been worse," Bobby offered.

"Yeah, the virus could have made it out of the lab," Tommy agreed. "Doesn't mean that what happened isn't a worst case scenario."

Bobby smiled. "That's nice to hear, kid."

"Yeah, if I were you I'd be shocked that people miss you." Tommy rolled his eyes, sitting up properly. "If you're sticking around I might as well get up."

"You're not sleeping well," Bobby said, following him into the kitchen.

Tommy found himself getting two cups out of the cupboard automatically. He paused, looking up at Bobby. "Can you—?"

"I don't know." Bobby tilted his head, staring at the cup. "I haven't tried."

"I'm not a huge fan of this one, if you want to," Tommy offered. He filled Bobby's mug with water, shrugging when Bobby raised an eyebrow. "Not going to waste a coffee if you drop it. And of course I'm not sleeping well. You've seen the last few days," he said simply.

Bobby huffed, reaching out for the mug. Tommy looked out the back window, unsure what he wanted to happen but worried that if he stared too hard, nothing would happen.

"Huh," Bobby said curiously. Tommy looked back. The mug was intact, there was water missing, and there was nothing on the floor.

"Huh," Tommy echoed. "You want some coffee?"

"Cream, no sugar."

Tommy dumped the water out and filled the mug with coffee, carrying them both out to the living room. "You can have the armchair," he told Bobby, sinking down on the couch. "What are the odds that I actually get some sleep today?"

"Better if you stop talking to me," Bobby said blandly.

Tommy flipped Bobby off and closed his eyes. The television clicked on and over to the baseball game, volume barely audible, and Tommy drifted off to the dulcet tones of the Padres broadcast.

Tommy startled awake when a cabinet door crashed open in the kitchen. Was Bobby—

"Buck's cooking. And he's about to pop his head out and apologize for waking you up."

"Tommy, shit, sorry, go back to sleep."

"Evan, how did you…" Tommy frowned.

"You didn't move the spare," Evan said. "You really should do that when you break up with someone, you know."

Tommy checked the clock. "I missed the alarm?"

"I got here about five minutes before it was going to go off. You looked… I thought I should let you sleep. You made two cups of coffee?"

Tommy laughed, his voice rusty. "Trying to stay awake. What are you doing here?"

"We got kicked out of the hospital. Visiting hours, disruptions, tests, et cetera…" Evan shrugged, frowning . "I cooked all night at Maddie's. She told me if I came back and kept cooking she'd — with love — kick me to the curb. So I, uh," he scratched the back of his neck.

"Thought you'd terrorize me with your cooking instead?"

"Terrorize implies that it's not going to taste good," Evan said, sniffing haughtily.

"Right," Tommy inhaled deeply. Ah. The famous Bobby chili.

"He's going to ask about the—"

"Cocoa powder's on the top shelf over the stove," Tommy told Evan.

"How'd you know that was what he was looking for?"

"How'd you know that was what I was looking for?"

Bobby and Evan overlapped with each other when they spoke and Tommy blinked, rubbing a hand over his forehead. "Evan, you told me that story the first time you made me chili last year."

"You remembered that?"

"I told him you were good for him."

"…What?" Tommy asked, unsure of which one of them he was actually responding to.

"You remembered that?" Evan asked again, his voice shaking.

"Of course I remembered. It was important to you so it was important to me."

"Tommy, are you awake right now?" Evan asked.

"I mean, I don't normally talk in my sleep. Or imagine my… you breaking in to cook me dinner, so I'm going with yes?" Tommy asked, looking at Bobby's chair in confusion.

"So you're saying all of this on purpose?"

"Was I not supposed to remember the things you tell me?" Tommy asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm confused. Is me remembering a good thing or a bad thing? I can tell you I remember from when he made it for us before my transfer if you'd rather."

Evan crossed the living room in three large steps and knelt down in front of Tommy.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked softly.

"You helped me run away from the Army and you remember the goofy little stories that I told you," Evan said, equally soft. "I'm going to finish making dinner, you get some more sleep. We'll talk about how I no longer accept you breaking up with me in the morning." He smiled faintly, cupping Tommy's cheek and pressing a soft kiss against the corner of his mouth. "I think I can out stubborn you."

"I've never been un-broken up with. I might be bad at it," Tommy said, swallowing hard.

"First time for both of us. I think we'll nail the learning curve," Evan said brightly, standing up. "I'm taking this coffee away from you," he added, reaching for the one in front of Bobby.

"Not that— take this one," Tommy said, handing his cup to Evan. "That one's far enough away I won't go for it."

"Okay, weirdo." Evan laughed at him. "Close your eyes and go to sleep."

"Remind me to tell you about the time I unfired Buck," Bobby said, waiting until Buck was back in the kitchen to have some more of his coffee.

"—Did Bobby really unfire you?" Tommy called into the kitchen.

The tin of cocoa powder hit the floor with a clatter. "Who told you that? Was it Chim?"

[blog--witch]

Absolute slay of a poster for the 10th year of your annual eternal paul blart podcast

[persephoneflowerpetals]

‘Til Death

Chapter 12: Hostile Takeover

Chapter 11: Last Chance

Chapter 13: It’s Happy Ending Time!

Back in the Underworld, Hecate, Canis, and Lupus were scattered about the throne room in search of something of high importance. 

“UGH! Where in this lifeless realm is that stupid key!?” Hecate exclaimed as she looked behind Hades’ throne. 

“Jeez, don’t you just hate it when you lose your keys?” Lupus asked as he flew up next to Canis.

“I know, it’s the worst.” Canis replied.

“Without the key to the Underworld, I can’t claim this domain as my own! I need that key!” Hecate explained as she plopped herself onto Hades’ throne to think, her chin in the palm of her hand as she tapped her fingers on the arm of the throne.

“Well, we looked just about everywhere, so if they’re not here, then they must be with Hades.” Canis said as he flew over to Hecate’s side.

“And he’s still on his date with the powder puff.” Lupus added, following Canis.

Hecate gave a menacing grin as she steepled her fingers, sitting back in Hades’ throne. “Hmm, then I’m sure he’ll be crawling back here all alone any minute now.” She surmised.

Right at that moment, the doors to the throne room opened with a loud, echoing creak as Hades and Persephone entered, walking hand in hand with a smile on their faces that immediately faded when they spotted Hecate sitting on Hades’ throne.

“Wow…that’s pretty good timing.” Canis said.

Hades frowned as he let go of Persephone’s hand, eyeing the smug goddess on his throne. He opened his arms in a welcoming fashion as he approached her.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my biddable little underling. What a surprise.” He said with feigned cordiality.

Hecate gave him a wry smile as she rose entirely from the throne, her feet hovering about a foot off of the floor as she floated over to the couple.

“In the immortal flesh.”

“So, Hecate, babe, to what do I owe the displeasure of having you and your filthy winged mutts back in my domain?” He asked, crossing his arms.

Canis and Lupus took immediate offense to the comment and rose from the floor, each flying to Hecate’s side.

“Filthy!?” 

“Mutts!?”

Hecate placed a hand on their heads and slowly pushed them back down to the floor.

“Down, boys.”

The pair of empusa walked off in opposite directions, both giving Hades a side-eyed glare.

“You didn’t get the memo, Hades? As of today, the Underworld is under new management.” She explained as she snapped her fingers, quickly manifesting heavy golden chains to wrap around both Hades and Persephone.

The couple fell to their knees as soon as the thick chains appeared on their bodies. They wriggled and squirmed, trying their hardest to break or slip out of the chains, but it was no use.

These unique and powerful chains were the same type of restraints Hades had used on the gods when he held them prisoner during his siege on Olympus. No god could ever break the chains once restrained, no matter how incredibly strong they were. The only way they could escape the chains was if someone freed them, and that didn’t seem to be happening any time soon.

Hecate grinned wickedly as she floated back over to Hades’ throne and sat down, chuckling as she watched the deities struggling to free themselves of their constraints. 

“Oh, this is just rich! I’d tell you both to give up now, but it’s just so entertaining to watch you both suffer! I swear, this is better than any Greek tragedy I’ve ever seen!” Hecate laughed.

“I mean, really, Hades. Did you honestly think things would just undoubtedly work out for you? That you’d be able to beat the sundial and get everything you want in the end? Well, news flash, old-timer: your time is just about up.” She taunted as she manifested her hourglass into her hand.

“I guess you procrastinated a little too long with those wedding plans, huh, lover boy?”

Hades looked up at Hecate with a mix of anger and confusion. “Who told you?” He asked, the question sounding more like a demand rather than a query.

Persephone glanced between the two gods, wondering if she was missing something. “Told her what?”

“You mean you forgot? Wow, those nymphs were right. You really are as dumb as you look.” Hecate scoffed as she rolled her eyes. Hades and Persephone both frowned at the comment while Hecate continued to speak. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember the reason why you and Hades had even met in the first place.”

Persephone thought back for a moment, recalling her first encounter with Hades and why he had originally dragged her down to the Underworld.

Then, a sudden look of realization came upon her as she looked over to Hades, her tone sounding almost hurt, “Your powers…I didn’t…I thought you just made that up...that’s…that’s why you proposed.”

Hades looked at her apologetically. He knew how this all looked, and the last thing he wanted was for her to think that he was playing her for a sap. He opened his mouth to speak but was abruptly interrupted by Hecate.

“That’s right. Your precious Hades may have fallen madly in love with you over time, but you were always his one-way ticket to getting what he truly wanted all along: his powers.”

She then rose from the throne once again to approach the gods. Hades sneered as he watched Hecate float over to Persephone.

“And if I had to guess,” she said as she snatched the daffodil Persephone had been holding out of her hands, inspecting it as she held the stem between her fingers, “I’d say you fell right into his trap, didn’t you?”

The couple glared at Hecate as she continued to mock them, “Well, I’d ask what to bring to your wedding, but…there won’t be one, because you’ll be dead, and he’ll be wasting away in Tartarus!” she cackled as she carelessly tossed the daffodil behind her shoulder, letting it fall to the floor like a worthless piece of garbage.

Meanwhile, Pain and Panic stood outside the entrance of the throne room, carefully peeking their heads out as they watched the scene unfold. They looked at each other nervously, realizing that this was practically all their fault.

“Oh, I knew this was gonna come back to bite us in the tail! Oh, this is so bad! We can’t just go in there and stop them! Hades and Persephone will be done for! What are we gonna do!? What are we gonna do!?” Panic fretted quietly as he trembled and paced around anxiously. 

“Relax, would ya?! We’ll just go for help!” Pain suggested in a hushed tone, trying to not draw any attention to themselves.

“Go for help?! Even if Persephone’s down here, what kind of god is gonna want to help Hades?!” Panic asked frantically. 

“I wasn’t talking about a god.” Pain replied with a devious smirk. 

Panic froze for a moment as he stared at Pain, his expression now matching his friend’s as he nodded. “Ahh, now I gotcha!”

“C’mon! Let’s go!” Pain said as he and Panic ran down the stairs. 

~X~X~X~X~

It was a surprisingly quiet night in Thebes. In an enormous palace not too far from the hustle and bustle of the big city-state, Megara stood outside, taking freshly dried clothes hanging from a clothesline and folding them neatly into a woven basket as she hummed a sweet little tune.

Not too long after Hercules chose to stay on Earth with Meg, he invited her to move in with him in his huge palace, knowing that her company would make the place feel a lot less empty. They’ve been together for about two years now and were still just as crazy about each other as they had been when they first met.

Just as Meg grabbed the last of the laundry, she turned to find the familiar sight of her beloved boyfriend and his trainer coming in for a landing on his trusty bird-brained steed, Pegasus. She smiled as she folded the last toga in her hands and placed it into the basket.

“Hey there, tall, Greek, and handsome. I see you saved the day again.” She greeted as she watched Hercules and Phil dismount from Pegasus’ back.

Hercules chuckled and approached Meg, brushing back his wavy ginger hair. “Yeah, it took all day to take down that Nemean lion, but I got the job done.”

“I’ll say!” Phil added proudly. “You should’ve seen ‘im in action, Red! That kitten had no chance against ‘ol Herc! We would’ve brought home a pelt if it weren’t for those stinkin’ ‘monster animal rights’ activists. Buncha hippies.”

Hercules chuckled again as he crossed his arms. “It’s alright, Phil. I don’t need to bring home a trophy every time I save the day. As long as everyone’s safe, I’m happy. That’s what being a hero is all about, right? Defending the defenseless. I learned that from the best.“

Meg giggled and shook her head. “Wonderboy, you truly have a heart of gold.” She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Unfortunately, the sweet moment between them didn’t last very long, as they were interrupted by the sound of distant panting and wheezing. Meg, Hercules, Phil, and Pegasus all turned their heads to find Pain and Panic flying towards them.

“Her—huff—Herc—huff—Hercules!” Pain wheezed as he stopped flapping his little wings and landed on the ground face-first, while Panic landed on top of him, causing Pain to groan in discomfort.

Meg scowled at the imps and planted her hands firmly on her hips. “Great. Look what the three-headed dog dragged in. What do you two want?”

Pain lifted his head with a bunch of grass stuck in his mouth. “We — phlbew,” he spit out the grass before speaking again. “Uh, we need your help! Like, yesterday!” Pain said, as he shoved Panic off of his back with his elbow.

“Yeah, right. Like, I’m gonna believe that.” Meg replied skeptically.

Panic, now regaining some of his energy and strength, hopped up from the ground and dusted himself off. “No! No! H-Honest! We—We really need your help! The Underworld is in danger!” Panic exclaimed with urgency.

“Aw, that’s a load of minotaur manure if I ever heard it! Everybody knows Hades got outta the River Styx about a year ago. The Underworld should be just fine with that schlub runnin’ the place again.” Phil said, as he crossed his arms and frowned.

“No, you don’t understand! Y’see, it’s a long story that we really don’t have time to explain, but the important thing right now is that Hades and Persephone are being held captive by Hecate, and if we don’t save them this very second, then Hades is gonna lose his powers, Hecate’s gonna take over the Underworld, and then she’s gonna get rid of Persephone! The entire cosmos is hanging in the balance!” Panic frantically explained.

“Persephone?” The trio asked in unison.

“As in, the Goddess of Spring?” questioned Hercules.

“Yeah, and she ‘n Hades are gonna be up the River Styx without a paddle if you don’t do something! You gotta come with us to the Underworld before it’s too late!” Pain urged.

“Hecate can’t rule the Underworld! She’s just as evil and ruthless as Hades! She doesn’t even offer paid vacations in her minion benefits package! That’s just cruel and unusual! Please! You gotta believe us!” Panic pleaded.

Meg eyed the imps suspiciously before glancing over at Hercules. “I don’t buy it. If I know Hades, and unfortunately, I do, he probably just fed them that story to lure you down there.” She surmised.

“I’m with Red on this one, Herc. These bozos are up to somethin’.” Phil added, as he looked up at Hercules.

Pegasus whinnied and squawked as he nodded his head, agreeing with the pair.

Hercules looked at the three indecisively before looking back over at the imps who were now begging to the demigod on their knees.

“Please, Hercules! Ya gotta help them!” Pain pleaded.

“If you won’t do it for Hades, then at least do it for Persephone! She’s the sweetest goddess in the whole pantheon! She doesn’t deserve any of this! If Hecate gets rid of Persephone, then there won’t be any spring, then Demeter will get mad and start a famine, and then the entire cosmos will be doomed!” Panic desperately implored as Pain nodded in agreement.

Hercules looked at them apprehensively and closed his eyes before letting out a big sigh. “Alright…I’ll go.”

“What?!” Meg and Phil exclaimed in disbelief as Pegasus squawked in surprise.

“Herc, kid, ya can’t be serious!”

“You actually believe them?! It’s obviously a trap!”

“Yes, I do believe them.” Hercules answered confidently. “Hero rule number 79: A hero is willing to put their personal opinions aside to help those in need. Besides, even if it is a trap— “

“Which it’s not!” Panic declared.

“I’ve defeated Hades before, and I can certainly do it again.” Hercules continued as he walked back over to Pegasus.

“At least take me with you so I can help! I know Hades better than you do.” Meg suggested while she chased after Hercules, stopping him from mounting the flying horse.

“Meg… I want to, but…I can’t. I really don’t wanna risk losing you again, especially if this is a trap. If you go with me, Hades could use that against me to get what he wants. I promised myself I’d never let anyone hurt you ever again, and I’m gonna keep that promise.” Hercules explained as he gently brushed Meg’s long, auburn bangs out of her eyes.

“Well, then…ya better come back in one piece. ‘Cause I’m not losin’ you either, ya big lug.” Meg said with a warm smile as she cupped Hercules’ cheek, looking him in the eyes.

Hercules smiled back as he gazed into Megara’s beautiful violet eyes. “I always do.” He softly replied as he tenderly held her hand that cupped his cheek.

“Hey! Can ya save the kissy-kissy stuff for later? The cosmos is still in danger, y’know!” Pain shouted.

Meg rolled her eyes as Hercules climbed onto Pegasus’ back. Pain and Panic then riotously ran towards the winged horse, Pain tripping over Panic’s feet in the process as they called out to Hercules.

“Hold on! Wait!” Panic yelled.

“We flew all the way out here! At least give us a ride!” Pain said as he and Panic were suddenly swooped up by Hercules and placed onto Pegasus’ backside.

“Aw, why do I have to ride in the back?” Panic pouted as he covered his nose while looking at Pegasus’ tail.

“Alright, Pegasus! Let’s fly!” Hercules gallantly commanded. Pegasus squawked as he spread his large white wings and flew off into the night sky. Pain and Panic screamed in fear as they clung onto Pegasus for dear life while Meg and Phil watched the lot fly out into the distance, hoping that the imps were genuinely telling the truth for once…and that Hercules would actually return.

~X~X~X~X~

“Just how do you plan on killing an immortal goddess?” Persephone asked with a disbelieving tone.

Hecate grinned devilishly, “Easy. You turn them mortal.”

With the flick of her wrist, Hecate manifested a small glass vial with a skull shaped topper into her hand, a bright pink liquid bubbling inside of it.

Hades recognized the glass vial in an instant, his eyes widening in surprise. “Wha— How did you —?”

Hecate rolled her eyes exaggeratedly as she shook her head, “Oh, come on, Hades. You’re not the only god in the cosmos with the power of alchemy. I am the Goddess of Witchcraft, after all. I can create any potion imaginable. Even the highly exclusive ones…like yours.”

Hades scowled at her as she continued, “However, my concoction is much more efficient compared to that dud you used on that nephew of yours. I guess you could say it’s more…potent. Just drinking more than half of this potion will cause any deity to be completely mortalized, and once your darling Persephone does just that, I’ll have my minions take care of the rest.”

Lupus and Canis then approached Persephone on each side of her, licking their lips as they bared their razor-sharp teeth.

“I call dibs on the torso. Lots of extra meat.” Canis said as he and Lupus eyed Persephone like a juicy steak.

Hades grimaced as he watched Hecate’s minions try to intimidate Persephone, wishing he had the strength to break the chains that confined him so he could burn them to a crisp. Hecate then raised her brow and smirked at Hades insidiously.

“However, I could spare her life…if you hand over the key to the Underworld.” She suggested as she casually eyed the potion in her hand.

Hades simply rolled his eyes at the idea, “Yeah, not gonna happen, babe. Nice try, though. A for effort.”

Hecate shrugged as she turned away from the gods. “Well, then, I suggest you say your final goodbyes while you still can.”

Hades wasn’t buying it. Everyone loved Persephone. If anything happened to her, Hecate would feel the wrath of all Olympus. She wouldn’t dare. 

“Please, you’re bluffing.” He scoffed.

“Oh, am I?” Hecate asked with an amused and cocky smirk. She then snapped her fingers as Persephone disappeared from Hades’ side and reappeared by Hecate in a puff of dark blue smoke.

Hades watched as Hecate opened the vial and grabbed Persephone’s face, squishing her cheeks so she’d be forced to open her mouth. She then brought the vial close to Persephone’s lips, tipping it ever-so slightly. 

“What was it you always said? ‘Everybody’s got a weakness?’ Well, I believe I’ve found yours, haven’t I? How much do you love her, Hades?”

Persephone stared at the vial in terror as she watched the pink liquid slowly flow towards the lip of the vial. She then looked at Hades, hoping he’d do something, anything to help her.

Hades internally panicked, as he looked at Persephone’s terrified expression. Obviously, she wasn’t bluffing. How ironic that the very same potion Hades had created to take down Zeus was now being used to take him down.

Persephone tried jerking her head back, but Hecate kept her grip on her cheeks. The potion was mere inches away from spilling over the lip of the vial. Just a single drop could transform her into a demigoddess.

“Alright!” Hades shouted.

Hecate lowered the vial a bit, still keeping it near Persephone’s mouth as she waited for Hades to admit his defeat.

“I’ll give you the key. The Underworld’s yours, but only if you leave Persephone alone…and make me mortal instead. You can do whatever you want with me after that.”

“Hades!” Persephone exclaimed in shock.

Hecate let go of Persephone’s face and moved the potion away from her mouth as she floated closer to Hades. “Well, that’s certainly an interesting offer, but I have to decline. She’s my insurance, after all and I simply can’t run the risk of her ruining my plans, now, can I?”

“What risk? It’s Persephone! She’s a seasonal goddess! C’mon, what’s she gonna do? Flower ya to death? She’s harmless!” Hades casually stated, sounding as if he were trying to settle a deal.

Persephone frowned and raised her brow, feeling rather insulted by the statement. “Excuse me?”

Hades ignored her and continued, “Think about it, babe. Even if she goes and blabs about this to the entire pantheon, they won’t do anything. They hate me up there. They’d be more than happy to get rid of my handsome mug, so why waste your potion on her when you can put it to good use with me, huh? What have you got to lose?”

“That’s…a surprisingly good point...that requires some thought.” Hecate said as she tapped her chin. She then turned to her minions and snapped her fingers.

“Boys! Staff meeting!”

Canis and Lupus immediately flew over to Hecate who began whispering to them, trying to properly weigh the pros and cons of Hades’ proposal.

“Hades! What are you doing?!” Persephone asked quietly, wondering why he would go to such extreme measures.

Hades looked at her sympathetically as shrugged, “Saving your immortality, babe. Hey, I mean, I’m losing my powers anyways. I might as well be mortal. It’s not a big deal.” he admitted.

Persephone began to tear up. Hades was genuinely serious about this. He was actually willing to turn mortal and lose not only his life, but everything he had just for her safety. She couldn’t let him do this.

“Yes, it is! It’s a huge deal! She will kill you, Hades!” She quietly exclaimed as her tears started to fall down her rosy, pink cheeks.

As much as Hades hated to see her so upset, he gave her a soft smile, trying to reassure her that he was perfectly content with his decision. “I know, and I’m fine with that if it means you’ll be okay. Believe me, I’d much rather go back into that river for eternity than see you floating in there.” He confessed as he looked into her tearful eyes.

“Hades…” Persephone choked back a sob. She couldn’t believe that Hades was willing to go through with this…all for her.

Hades then forced his attention back to Hecate, “Hey! Do we have a deal or what?”

“No! Hades! Don’t!” Persephone cried.

It took all of his willpower, but Hades refused to acknowledge her. There was no going back on this, and he couldn’t let her change his mind, no matter how hard it was to listen to her desperate cries.

“Hmm…” Hecate hummed as she placed the top back onto the vial and turned back around to face Hades.

“Don’t do this. Please.“ Persephone softly wept, hoping that her pleas would convince Hades to come to his senses and back out of the offer.

“Deal!”

Hecate grinned fiendishly as she snapped her fingers, the chains confining Hades disappearing from his form so he could take the large black key out of his himation. Hades then begrudgingly handed over the key to Hecate who immediately snatched the key out of his hand to ogle it like a precious jewel.

The Underwolrd enchantress raised the key up in the air victoriously as she cackled. 

“At last! The Underworld is finally MINE!”

“That’s what you think!” A distant, echoing voice called from outside of the throne room.

“What?!” Hecate exclaimed in confusion as she, Hades, and Persephone looked around the throne room in search of the mysterious person.

SWOOSH

In came Hercules, flying into the throne room with Pegasus through one of the windows that overlooked the River Styx.

“Wonderboy?!” Hades asked in pure bewilderment. Hercules was the last person he expected to come to their aid.

Hercules then drew his sword and led Pegasus towards the three gods below, the flying steed swooping down past them in a flurry of blue and white as Hercules cut the chains that were wrapped around Persephone with his sword while one of Pegasus’ wings collided with Hecate’s hand that held the key.

Hecate gasped as she watched the key go flying across the room. She whipped her head around and sneered at Hercules as she pointed to him.

“Get them!” She commanded her minions.

Lupus and Canis did as directed and flew over to Hercules and Pegasus hovering above the 3 deities; the pair of empusa bared their teeth and growled ferociously.

While Hecate was momentarily distracted, Persephone quickly took the opportunity to take the potion away from her, darting towards her and reaching out for the potion as she bumped into the enchantress from behind. Hecate, not expecting the sudden collision, dropped the vial, the glass shattering on the floor as the pink potion spilled out and immediately evaporated into thin air. 

“No! My potion! Ugh, you stupid little —“ Hecate yelled as she summoned a large ball of dark blue static-like power into her hands to attack Persephone. 

Just as she raised her hands, ready to attack, she was hit with a small ball of fire, the flames barely hitting her shoulder. She looked over at Hades, who was glaring at her, and scoffed.

“Ha! Was that supposed to stop me?” She asked with an arrogant smile.

“No, actually, it was supposed to distract you.” Hades answered with a smirk.

“What?!” Hecate turned her head and gasped in surprise to find Persephone going for the key across the room and grabbing it from the floor.

“Hades!” She called out as she threw the key over to him.

Both Hades and Hecate attempted to catch it, reaching up for it in the air, but unfortunately, Persephone had thrown it too high for them to catch, causing the key to fly right over their heads and out of the other window in the throne room. Hecate went towards the window and watched as the key fell straight down to the ground floor and landed with a faint, echoing clink.

“My bad.” Persephone apologized with an embarrassed and slightly anxious smile.

Hecate grimaced furiously as she floated towards Persephone, powering up her hands once again. “Oh, it will be.” She threatened before throwing a large ball of magical power at Persephone, the harsh blow causing her to fly backwards across the room and straight into the wall.

Persephone groaned and winced as she held her abdomen where she had been hit, doubling over in pain in a fetal position.

“Persephone!” Hades cried out as he watched Persephone take the hit. The god, completely infuriated by the fact that Persephone had been injured, then mustered all of the little bit of power he had left in him to fight Hecate, glowing as red as he could as he growled and gave her a death glare.

He formed a medium sized ball of fire into his hand before throwing it directly at Hecate who countered it with her powers. The goddess then blasted Hades with a burst of her own power, causing him to stumble back a bit, but Hades wasn’t giving up. Back and forth, Hades and Hecate barraged each other with magical power and blasts fire until Hades finally became too weak and exhausted to keep going.

Hecate immediately took notice as she continuously assaulted him with surges of her powerful static-y magic until he fell to the floor. Hades, completely worn out from the intense fight, tried his best to find the strength to keep fighting back as he attempted to get up from the floor.

The enchantress approached him, looking down at him as she chuckled villainously. “Not so hot now are you, Hades? Look at you. You’re pathetic. You don’t stand a chance against me.” Hecate spat before raising her hand, summoning a very large ball of power to finish him off.

“But I do!” Persephone said confidently from across the room as she stood from the floor.

Hecate, not perceiving Persephone as a threat, smirked and laughed. “Okay, powder puff. You wanna play the heroine? Show me what you got.” Hecate taunted as her hands glowed dark blue with power.

Persephone glowered at the opposing goddess as small vines covered in thorns started to curl around her wrists and up to her shoulders.

Meanwhile, Hercules and Pegasus remained above the three gods, as he fought back against the two flying wolves who snapped, snarled, bit, and scratched at the horse and hero, all while nimbly weaving between giant stalactites that jutted from the ceiling of the throne room.

“Hyah! Get back!” Hercules shouted as he swung his sword at one of the wolves who swiftly dodged his swing, the edge of the sword just barely clipping their fur.

“Y’know, for the son of Zeus,” Canis began nonchalantly as he dodged another swing from Hercules’ sword, “— I thought he’d be way better at this.”

“I know, right? This guy is supposed to be ‘The Hero of All Heroes’? Give me a break!” Lupus agreed as he dodged a hind kick from Pegasus.

Suddenly, the booming sound of large feet reverberated from outside of the throne room, the power of each step causing the ceiling to quake as bits of stone fell to the floor. Canis and Lupus, who were flying across the room and away from Hercules and Pegasus, paused for a moment.

“What in the Underworld is that?” Lupus asked.

BOOM!

“YEE-HA!”

Pain and Panic burst through the doors (and walls) of the room atop Cerberus whose three heads aggressively snarled and barked at the empusa.

“Oh, this is so not worth the pay raise! I’m outta here!” Canis exclaimed as he cowered back in fear.

“Right behind you!” Lupus added as the pair of winged canines made a hasty retreat out of the throne room window, all while yelping and whining like a couple of puppy dogs.

Pain and Panic laughed triumphantly and they high-fived each other as Hercules and Pegasus flew over to them.

“Hey, nice job, fellas. Not bad for a couple of henchmen.” Hercules said with a smile.

“Aw, well, y’know!”

“Heh, heh! You’re too kind!” The pair bashfully gushed before Cerberus ran out of the room, barking and snarling, most likely trying to chase after the empusa.

“Woah! Hey! Good doggy! Slow down!” Pain exclaimed as he and Panic tried their best to stay aboard the giant hound.

Back on the ground, Hecate and Persephone were still entangled in a raging battle against one another. Thorn-covered vines now covered most of the throne room, causing it to look almost like a jungle and Cerberus’ abrupt entrance didn’t seem to deter either goddess from fighting.

Persephone commanded another vine to burst out from the small cracks in the floor of the throne room to wrap around Hecate’s ankle in attempts to ground her and keep her from floating above the floor.

Hecate easily escaped the vine’s grasp and vaporized it with her powers as she floated towards Persephone who was now backing away from her. The enchantress then casted another powerful blast of power towards Persephone, who nimbly dodged the attack.

“Why don’t you just give up, Persephone? Hades isn’t worth fighting for! Look at him! He’s a loser! He used you! He’s only marrying you because he wants to keep his status as a god! He doesn’t actually love you! Just do yourself a favor and let him go already! You don’t need him!” Hecate persuaded as she gestured towards Hades who was glaring at her from floor, still struggling to regain his strength so he could help Persephone.

Persephone glared at Hecate as well before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Y’know, Hecate… I’ve been doing what everyone tells me to do for my entire life, which is really long time, and honestly…” she explained in an unusually calm tone, “…I’m sick of it!”

The spring goddess then summoned yet another vine from the floor, this one much thicker than the others she had created before, as it wrapped around Hecate’s legs, keeping her grounded to the floor.

Hecate attempted to escape from the vine’s grasp, but its grip was far too tight for her to get away. She then proceeded to blast away the vine with her powers, but the vine remained around her legs. She looked up at Persephone in bafflement.

“Wha—?! How?!” 

Persephone manifested another pair of thick vines from the ceiling of the throne room that briskly wrapped around Hecate’s arms and torso, making her look just like Hades and Persephone did when they were bound by her chains.

Hercules saw the vines emerge from the ceiling and got a clever idea. He looked at Pegasus with a knowing smirk before leading the flying horse over to the vines to detach them from the ceiling. 

Persephone glanced up and watched as Hercules took the vines in each hand. He smiled and winked at her as if to silently tell her he had a plan. She smiled back as she covertly used her powers to let the vines grow longer as Hercules and Pegasus flew across the room.

Persephone looked back over at Hecate who was still struggling to escape the grasp of the bulky vines.

“I am the Goddess of Spring, and nobody can tell me what to do, what to think, how to feel, or who I can and can’t love…” Persephone confidently proclaimed as she slowly approached Hecate who stared at her anxiously. She stopped once they were face-to-face and looked her at with a steely and dauntless expression.

“Especially. Not. You.”

Persephone waved her hand in the air and in an instant, the vines that held onto Hecate’s legs loosened up. Hercules, who had secretly coiled the vines from the ceiling tightly around the large stalactites on the ceiling, immediately let go of the vines in his hands, causing Hecate to go flying around the room in a burst of speed that could possibly match Hermes.

Hecate screeched and hollered as she was suddenly flung out of the window of the throne room, landing straight into the River Styx with a big splash.

The angry, miserable souls immediately started grabbing onto her to drag her under as she struggled to remove the tangled-up vines from her body while shoving the dead souls off of herself. Persephone rushed over to the window and smirked as she watched Hecate in the river.

“Ugh! Ulch! Get off of me, you disgusting mortals! Don’t touch me! Ugh!” 

Hades pushed himself off the floor with a strained grunt as he made his way over to the window to join Persephone in watching Hecate get her just desserts.

“Don’t fight back, Hecate! It only makes ‘em angrier!” He sarcastically shouted to her with a smug grin.

Persephone laughed as she looked over at Hades who looked weary and tired, despite his arrogant smirk.

“Are you okay?” She asked with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Hades casually replied with a shrug. He then looked away from Persephone, with a guilty expression as he rubbed one of his shoulders.

“Look, Seph…about that whole proposal thing, I didn’t —“ Hades began before Persephone cut him off with a quick kiss.

She looked up at him and smiled, trying her best not to laugh at his dumbfounded expression, “I know. My answer still stands.” she said with a smirk.

Hades smiled at her affectionately, very relieved that she didn’t take his proposal the wrong way.

“I just can’t believe you were willing to give up everything…for me.” Persephone confessed as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

Hades’ affectionate smile remained on his lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him. “Seph, baby, best believe I’d do anything for you. You know what they say: People do…stuff when they’re crazy in love or…I dunno, somethin’ cheesy like that. Whatever.”

Persephone laughed as he leaned in to kiss her once again, their lips meeting as they held each other close.

Just then, Hercules and Pegasus, who had flown out of the other window after the couple reunited, re-entered the throne room. Hercules noticed the pair in a loving embrace and slowly approached them with an awkward and slightly uncomfortable smile, however, neither deity seemed to notice his presence. He glanced over at Pegasus, who had a disgusted expression before covering his face with his wings. The demigod rolled his eyes and shook his head, trying not to laugh, before looking back over at the couple. He cleared his throat, feeling a tad guilty that he had disrupted their romantic moment.

“Ahem…um, sorry to interrupt.”

The couple broke their kiss and turned to look at Hercules. Hades immediately gave him an annoyed frown.

“Are you still here? Get lost already, would ya, huh? I’m kinda busy here.” He snipped as he gestured to Persephone who gave him a stern look.

“Hades!” She scolded.

Hercules chose to ignore the rude comment as he handed the key to the Underworld over to Hades, “I believe this belongs to you.”

Hades scowled as he quickly snatched the key out of Hercules’ hand and shoved it back into his himation. “Alright, now beat it. Amscray, before I sic the dog on ya.” Hades bluntly demanded as he nodded towards the now destroyed entryway of the throne room.

Persephone rolled her eyes before giving him a small shove with her arm, trying to get his attention.

“What?” Hades asked her, still annoyed by Hercules’ presence.

“Be nice! Thank him!” Persephone whispered as turned towards Hades and nodded towards Hercules.

“Nice?! Babe, the only person I’m willing to be nice to is you, okay? I’m not gonna thank that chump! I didn’t want him coming down here in the first place! I hate him!” Hades hissed as he turned to Persephone.

“He was kind enough to help us! Just say thank you!”

“I’m not —“

“Can you do it for me, at least? Please?”

“Oy…fine. Okay.”

The gods turned back towards Hercules as Persephone smiled at him politely. Hades rolled his eyes and frowned as he crossed his arms, pouting like a moody teenager.

“I suppose I should thank you for coming down here to help us out…” Hades began, refusing to look at Hercules.

“But, I won’t! So, goodbye! Exit’s that a-way! Don’t let the gates hit ya on the way out, Wonderboy!” Hades said sarcastically with a fake smile as he pointed towards the demolished exit.

Persephone sighed and facepalmed while shaking her head, realizing that it would probably be futile to try and get Hades to actually be civil towards his nephew. She gently grabbed Hades’ arm as she gave Hercules a kind smile.

“What he means to say is…thank you, Hercules. I know you’re not especially fond of Hades after all the terrible things he’s done to you and the rest of the pantheon, so it means a lot that you were willing to come down here to help us.”

Hercules smiled and bashfully chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck, still not really used to conversing with the gods so casually. “Heh, well, there’s no need to thank me.”

“Yeah, I coulda told ya that.” Hades mumbled under his breath.

Hercules ignored him as he continued, “I’m just glad I was able to make it here in time to help.”

Hades rolled his eyes once more, clearly annoyed by his “kind and humble hero schtick”.

“Yeah, whatever. Just don’t think this whole escapade changes anything, alright? You and your old man are still at the very top of my list.”

Hercules looked at Hades, his smile fading a bit as he replied, “And you’re still on mine…uncle Hades.”

Hades glared at the demigod’s sarcastic little remark, secretly wishing he had enough strength and power to take him out. Persephone looked at Hades, noticing that his flame was very small and weak now that he used most of what was left of his powers to fight Hecate. She then remembered that Hades was on a time limit and could probably lose his powers completely at any time now. 

“Wait, Hades, how long do you have before you lose your powers?” Persephone asked with urgency.

The question immediately brought Hades back to the reality of the moment. He was still on the verge of losing his powers. He glanced up at his head, not able to see his flame, but knowing that it was probably puny by now. The god sighed and looked back at Persephone.

“By sundown tomorrow.”

Persephone instantly perked up with a smile. “That’s great! We have plenty of time! We’ll just go to Olympus and get married before —“ She said happily before Hades spoke up.

“Uh, one small wrinkle, babe. I’m still banned.”

Persephone’s joy quickly faded, “Oh, right…. I forgot.”

“Why don’t you two just get married here in the Underworld?”  Hercules suggested.

“We can’t. In order for a marriage of the gods to be binding, we have to get married on Olympus by your mother, and if Hades is banned then…we can’t get married…and Hades will lose his powers.” Persephone explained before looking over to Hades who was looking back at her with disappointment. He noticed the solemn look on her face, as if she were about to cry, and wrapped his arms around her to hold her close.

Hercules looked at the gods with concern. He’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that he thought Hades losing his powers would be a very fitting punishment after all he’s done. However, he knew that wanting petty revenge like that would be stooping down to Hades’ level and that’s something he’d never do as a hero.

After all, he was willing to put his grudge against Hades aside to help take down Hecate and save the Underworld. It would be cruel of him to just walk away and leave them miserable like this.

There had to be something he could do to help them. Hercules stood there and pondered for a moment until a viable idea came to mind.

“Hold on, I think I can pull some strings.”

[sdwajones-art]

"Til Death" Aftermath

He's fine.

Everything is fine.

It's. All. Fine.

[oofouchstovehot]

pov breaching the contract death #87

[merrysithmas]

something something how Bilbo kept his last promise to Thorin, You're going to live

by immortalizing him in a Legend that would rival any of the fair tales of the Elves, he brings Thorin to life again and again and again, whenever he tells the story of Thorin Oakenshield and his Company, saviors of Erebor. Thorin, his friend, doomed by the same dark magick that lurked in the Ring inside his pocket. Thorin who threw off the crown of Thror and instead reached for Bilbo's hand as he died.

the King Under the Mountain who defeated Smaug and Morgoth's accursed gold within the mental labyrinth of heady greed which burned in his mind from a life of poverty and ostracization, and the horrors of being a refugee. the darkest evils meant to corrupt and damn good hearts.

Thorin, who achieved more, who knew more in those fleeting cold moments of his death than most rulers can ever hope to glean from vast fortunes and countless years

You're going to live, it becomes a threat and a curse to the gods, because if Bilbo can't have him then Death can't either, he thinks while scribbling and scribbling.

and so this is how Thorin Oakenshield passes into legend - by the hand of the hobbit he gripped in preference to gold.

[theoldkyokodied]

posting this one seperatly bc of the subject matter uhm. anyway