#sweet pea x lilith

[lilhemmo]

i would love to see some domestic lilipea? like just livin’ their lives, grocery shopping or laundry or making dinner together or something if you’re up for it? i just love domestic dynamics.

a/n: i… love.. them.. so.. MUCH!!!!!! also, this is a modern!au - i wasn’t sure if you wanted to see them in the hades!pea setting or what lol 

ps, i got cARRIED AWAY I’M SORRY I LOVE MY CHILDREN

“You know how much I hate people.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Just please say there will be beer.”

“All the race car beer you can drink in the world, baby.”

“Fine.”

Lilith chuckles, rubbing his shoulders from where she stands behind the couch, “You know I wouldn’t expect you to sit through a social gathering without some kind of alcohol.”

“Thank god for you,” he tilts his head back so she can kiss him. Her palms squeeze his cheeks and she giggles against his lips, “Yes, you absolute drama queen. Now, let’s go to the store.”

“It’s not enough that I have to agree to having people invade our home, now I have to endure the grocery store too?!” 

She smacks him on the back of the head lightly, “I will pour all of your beer down the sink.”

An hour later, sitting in the meat section, Sweet Pea contemplates how much trouble he’d be in if he just ran home right then. He rests his head on the arm bar of the shopping cart, groaning loud enough for Lilith to hear him.

“You are the biggest baby I’ve ever met in my entire life,” she sighs, tossing another package of bratwurst into the cart. “I’m literally trying to have social interaction like the majority of human existence, and you’re acting like I’m plucking your toenails out one by one.”

“I’d rather you do that,” he sighs, standing back to his full height. He taps his silver rings against the plastic on the cart handle, unable to sit still for even a moment. 

Lilith raises a brow, “Don’t tempt me.”

He gets a mischievous look on his face just then, reaching out to snatch her by her belt loop, “And if it weren’t bad enough, you look hot as hell. Can’t wait to get you back home.”

She’s trying oh-so hard to keep her expression annoyed instead of enamored, but it’s difficult with the darkness settled in his irises. Lilith pats him on the chest, “That’s no way to talk to a lady.”

“You like how I talk to you just fine.” Sweet Pea rolls his eyes and squeezes her backside before she can unravel herself from him. She glares at him over her shoulder before walking back down the aisles.

He doesn’t mind - just means he can keep ogling her ass. 

-

“Why do we have to clean like the Queen of England is coming to visit?” Sweet Pea whines from the bathroom, toilet brush in his hand. Lilith is across the house in the living room, folding the remaining laundry into various baskets.

She’s sighing for like the umpteenth time today, “Because we can’t let them know we exist here, Pea, duh.”

Sweet Pea growls before furiously scrubbing the toilet until it’s clean. He sets the brush down and wipes his forehead with his shirt sleeve, turning to look at Lilith. A gentle smile tugs at his lips as he takes her in - dark, curly hair twisted into some sort of messy, frizzy bun atop her head, his t-shirt encasing her smaller frame, her honeyed skin glinting in the morning sunlight that’s filtering in through the blinds.

Something swells up in his chest and he walks over, squatting beside her as he takes her face between his hands. Her eyes go wide, those purple irises that never cease to amaze him, and her mouth parts to protest, but he claims her lips in a gentle kiss before she can admonish him for distracting her.

A hum passes between their tongues, gentle sounds soft and sweet from their throats. Lilith tucks her hands against his calves, anchoring him to her. He drinks her in like she’s his last breath before parting, eyes still shuddered closed. 

“What was that for?” her voice is slurred with serotonin, steely irises sparkling up at him. 

He tilts his head, “I’m glad the universe brought you to me.”

“Wow,” Lilith squeezes him around the legs, “you’re being rather philosophical this morning. Usually you’re not even awake yet.”

Sweet Pea rolls his eyes, “Don’t ruin this for me.”

She laughs and pushes herself upward to plant a quick kiss to his lips, patting his thighs, “You’re cute when you’re in love with me.”

-

Only their closest friends know how good of a cook Sweet Pea is. Specifically on the grill. Inside the kitchen, Lilith is in her domain. Her mother was a whiz in the kitchen, and she only got it honestly. 

Fangs, Toni, and a few others make their way to the backyard. There’s a patio kitchen area - something Sweet Pea insisted upon when they first started talking about house plans - and that’s where everyone gathers. 

A fire pit is burning just a few feet away, the boys gathered round with beer, talking Serpent business. Lilith curls up on the bench swing with Betty and Jellybean, giggling about some thing or another.

Sweet Pea casts a glance across the yard, eyes falling on her frame. A calm washes over him, and all he can think is: I’m home.

-

“So, was it as horrible as you thought it would be?”

“There was a lot of beer. Made up for the excruciating reality of being known.”

“That’s what I thought.”

-

a/n: AND. SCENE.

for those who don’t know, here’s lilith! 

taglist: @southsidearchive @theangriestpea @the-gargoyle-queen @sweets-rivervixen @wayward-river @sweetwaterprincess @hughstheforcelou

[waterloou]

Some moodboards inspired by the beautiful fic, forbidden fruit by @lilhemmo

Please go check it out! Literally my eyes have been blessed by this piece of writing. Also Morgan is literally the sweetest human being ever like you’ll love her

[sunroki]

Nathair Pt. 6

Nathair means snake in french btw

Masterlist

“What makes a place feel like home? Is it warmth and familiarity? Some idealized, make-believe TV version of the American Dream? Is it love and acceptance? Or is it simple safety?” -Jughead

              Lilith is now the leader of the Serpents. These were the first words spoken by Jughead the second he sits on the other side of the plexiglass divider from his father.

            “Who the fuck is Lilith?” Forsythe Pendleton Jones the II looks at his son, confused. No one had come in to visit him in a week and a half.

            “Wait, has no one come in and told you anything?” Jughead proceeds to regale his father with the epic tale of Lilith Nathair Devereaux, true heir to the Serpent Kingdom (not that it is much of a kingdom). He allows his father to cuss and curse Tallboy’s name before continuing. “Every single member of the Serpent youth has pledged their loyalty to her. The plan is to tell everyone tonight at the Whyte Wyrm, since they’re gathered there for Lili’s initiation.”

            “Wait, she’s not even a Serpent, and you and your friends have sworn your loyalty to her? What the hell, Jughead, I thought you were smarter than that?” FP shakes his phone at his son, making Jughead flinch backwards.

            “She is a Serpent. She has a jacket. As I said before, she is Blair Devereaux’s great-granddaughter. If that doesn’t make her eligible to be a Serpent, I don’t know what does.” Jughead counters.

            “Fine. But if Tallboy is gone, who is going to do the initiation?” FP frowns at his son.

            “I am. I’m the second highest, in terms of respect. Well, third, once you get out of here.” He has hope in his eyes as he speaks those last couple words.

~

            “WHAT IS THE FIRST LAW.” Jughead roars at Lilith, sending spit flying from his mouth.

            “A SERPENT NEVER SHOWS COWARDICE.” I might, in the face of your spit if you do that again Lilith thinks in disgust as she wipes his saliva off her lips.

            Sweet Pea watches in amusement, chuckling to himself at her obvious contempt for the boy in front of her now. He shudders then, thinking of his role in the coming hours, dreading when he had to slam his knuckleduster-wearing fist in to her cheek.

            “WHAT IS THE SECOND LAW.”

            “IF A SERPENT IS KILLED OR IMPRISONED, THEIR FAMILY IS TAKEN CARE OF. AND STOP SPITTING ON ME.” The other Serpents howl with laughter at the addition to the law, and wear impressed looks, as no one had ever talked back during their initiation.

            The ceremony continued in similar fashion, until it was time for the next trail. “Retrieve the knife.”

            Sweet Pea, as one of the ones hiding the snake from sight, moves to the side, revealing the hissing rattlesnake curled around a green-handled switchblade. No one dared move a muscle as Lili walks up to the tank. She takes a seep breath, and sticks her hand into the danger zone.

            To everyone’s astonishment, she doesn’t reach for the knife at first, but reaches in and pets the snake, letting it slither up her arm to rest across the back of her neck. She takes the knife then, holding it up in triumph. The Serpents erupt into cheers, the volume back up to full.

            “Oh my god Lili, I have never seen that before!” Toni rushes up to Lilith, asking questions about how she was able to tame the snake.

            “I have always loved snakes, and usually the trick is to just go slow, and let them smell you before you try anything. It also helps that I snuck into Tallboy’s trailer a couple days ago before we knew he was the Black Hood, and let her get used to me.” Lili holds her hand up to the snake, which uncoils from her shoulders and comes to rest wrapped around her wrist. She walks back to the enclosure and lets the snake back onto her rock.

            Jughead walks over, and places his hands on Toni and Sweet Pea’s shoulders, signaling that it was time for them to line up for the gauntlet. “Lili, it’s time. Go outside to the back.”

~

            Lili looks through the tunnel of people, catching Sweet Pea’s eye. Good Luck he mouths. Thanks is her reply. Everyone’s eyes are on her as she steels herself and takes a step into the first punch, thrown by Toni. The second punch was one to her solar plexus, the only part of the stomach you can’t clench, which knocks the air out of her.

Sweet Pea watches as the girl that he is not sure he hates anymore gets the shit beat out of her. He watches as Fangs kicks her in the knee, and then punches her in the nose. By the time she reaches him, Lilith is bruised and bloody, but still has not fallen, something even Jughead was not able to do. He clenches his fist as she nears, preparing himself.

“Jus’ ‘o ‘t.” Lili can barely speak through her swollen lips, which he wishes were caused by something far more pleasant. What the fuck man. I’m about to punch her in the face. I cannot be thinking about how badly I want to kiss her. Stop, no I don’t. Sweet Pea curls his fist again, and brings his arm up, catching Lili’s cheek with the edge of his brass knuckles, splitting it open, even more blood pouring down her face. She stumbled backward, but didn’t fall, balancing herself before she raised her fist up above her head. “I ‘id ‘t!“

Toni laughs, comes forward with Lilith’s Serpent jacket, and hands it to Sweet Pea who draped it around Lilith’s shoulders.

“Congrats, now let’s go get you cleaned up.” Sweet Pea steers her into the back room of the Whyte Wyrm and closes the door.

@southside-sinner @serpent-princess @ssouthside-serpentss @becca-in-the-southside @pea-pod-squad @bby-simone @kneesheee @sprinklesandsugarcubes

[annikavelde]

{.385.}

.:ANATOMY:. Head: LeLutka - Avalon Body: Legacy  Skin: Persephone - Lenore (EVO X only) *NEW* Hair: DOUX - Andrea w/ DOUX - Jane Bangs Horns: Cerberus Xing - Enochian Succuba - Horns Veins: Hollow - Curse Lip Tattoo: Lilithe’ - Dagda Tattoos - Triple Line @ The Warehouse Sale .:CLOTHING:. Harness: AYO - XXV @ Kinky Event Chain: Salem - Hel Chains Top: Moon Elixir x MUSE - Miss Behave @ LEVEL Corset: Salem - Millicent Corset Arm Harnesses: AYO - Hei Tao

.:SCENE:. Background: Cerberus Xing - Crucifix Corridor Pose: Mewsery - Sweet Pea

[sweetfogarty]

My first Riverdale Recommendation is going to @lilhemmo‘s fic Forbidden Fruit!

Fic type: Ancient Greek mythology!AU

Pairing: Sweet Pea (Hades) x Lilith (OC)

Summary: “They just don’t understand us,” she whispers, her eyes faltering down to her bloodied hands. “We’re different, that’s all.”

She looks up at the statue of the terrifying figure of Hades, the god of the Underworld. The moonlight glints off of the marble as the cool air sweeps like a balm over her skin, the hair on her body standing on end.

“They say that you’re a monster,” she smiles, her eyes shining under the stars, “but I don’t believe them.”

Recommendatory note: Morgan’s fic has quickly become a Southside favourite among a vast number of blogs, and for good reason. It is beautifully written with some of the most immersive detail I’ve read in a fic and it some absolutely stunning graphics to go with it. 

As a sucker for ancient history and mythology I thought I might enjoy this, but it has surpassed all my expectations and has firmly rooted its place as one of my favourite fics to come out of the Riverdale fandom ever. This is a fic that I can’t get enough of and I look forward to each and every update. 

The Southside fandom absolutely needed something like this to get us excited again during the hiatus, but I firmly believe that even those from outside the Southside faction of the fandom would enjoy this just as much as we all do.

If you’re looking for a new fic to read, definitely choose this one- you will not be disappointed. 

To read more fics by Morgan, check out her masterlist here!

[lilhemmo]

Okay so I noticed you've been getting requests for lilpea ficlets and I'm sure you're swamped but the opportunity to talk to you is an opportunity to talk to an fucking phenomenal writer who deserves the world. K? If you have time, a lilpea high school AU would be adorable. You pick the trope obviously

a/n: it’s been AGES since i’ve written for sweet pea/riverdale. and even longer since i’ve channeled lilith. but, i want a little more variety on my blog so here you go! please feel free to send in requests of any type! i didn’t really pick a “trope” for this, honestly. i just did a quick lil high school au! 

ps, i FORGOT how nice it is to be SPECIFIC and not write X READER FICS. thank god for lilith.

“I can’t believe you’re intermingling with those stuck up Northsiders,” Pea growls, bouncing the basketball under his knees as they sit on the bleachers.

Lilith rolls her eyes, “Listen, be diplomatic about this, okay? We’re basically living here. We may as well make as many friends as we can. And that Betty chick is number one on my list.”

“You just think she’s pretty,” Sweet Pea tosses the basketball towards her, Lilith catching it in her gut. Her violet irises glare down at him, full lips tugged into a fine line, “And? What about it?”

Sweet Pea reaches out for her, beckoning her closer, “Not gonna dump my ass for a Northsider, are ya?”

She puts the ball in his lap, curling her fingers around his cheeks to tilt his head upward, “You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried, Sweets.”

He smiles, a rare occurrence if she’s not present, and purses his lips to kiss her chastely. A hollering comes from across the court where Reggie makes obscene gestures with his hands. Sweet Pea is stood to his feet before Lilith can grab ahold of him, his steps echoing in the otherwise empty gym.

“You know, if you and your little demon-girl want to make out, you can do it away from the rest of us.” Reggie spins a basketball on his fingertip, smirking across the court at Sweet Pea. He flinches as the Southsider gets too close, fists balled up at his sides.

“Reggie, you son’ve a bitch,” Sweet Pea’s biceps flex with the muscle memory of how to sucker punch. He tilts his head, “You’re lucky I don’t lay you out in front of the whole damn team. I already tripped you up at practice this morning, and in gym, and this is what you think you should do?”

Reg’s dark eyes take in Sweet Pea’s taller frame, packed with dense muscle. He holds his hands up, pouting his full lips, “Hey, Sweets, I just-oh shit!”

Sweet Pea has decked him in the face, shaking his fist from the impact, “Damn, Reg, got a hard head, don’t ‘ya?”

Reggie is reeling, falling backward into the arms of the rest of the basketball team. He seethes through his teeth and surges forward, ready to return the favor, when Lilith steps in between the two of them, palms on either of their chests.

“I swear I’ll give him a good talking to, Reggie,” Lilith looks towards the Northsider, his eye already swelling. “You should go get some ice on that.”

Despite everything telling him to slug Sweet Pea, Reggie turns and walks to the locker room with the other athletes in close tow. Lilith shakes her head, chuckling to herself as she turns to look Sweet Pea in the eye, “You’re a sap.”

“What?” Sweet Pea narrows his eyes, “I-I am not.”

Lilith grabs him by the shirt to yank him down to her level, only to press a kiss to his nose, “You literally just got angry with him because he called you my nickname for you.”

The Southside Serpent blushes just enough for Lilith to know that she’s gotten it right. She pats him on the cheek before releasing him, wrapping an arm around his waist, “Drive me home?”

“Pfft,” Sweet Pea tucks her under his arm, kissing the top of her head, “Like I’d let anyone else do it.”

“I dunno,” Lilith trails off. Her eyes dart in every direction, “Maybe I could ask Reg for a ride home?”

Sweet Pea’s fist curls around her bicep and he starts to grumble and growl, but she squeezes him around the waist with a giggle, “Sweets, babe, calm down. I’m kidding.”

“Damn right. Like Reg could even put up with your smart ass.” Sweet Pea leans down to grab her up, tossing her over his shoulder, a pert slap landing on her backside as he does so. Lilith squeals, holding him around the torso to keep herself steady, “You dick! Put me down!”

He laughs, “Not many Southsiders let their girls call them dicks, sweetheart.”

“I’ll call you anything I like.” Lilith huffs into the fabric of his leather jacket, pouting even though no one can see her. Sweet Pea walks with her strewn over his shoulder through the Northside parking lot until he reaches the spots where all of the Serpents’ motorcycles are set up.

After placing her back on her feet, Sweet Pea pats down her hair and clothes to get her back from her disarray. He rolls his eyes at her facial expression - eyes unable to focus and a bright flush on her cheeks. He’d never admit it aloud, but he loves the innocent fullness of her cheeks and roundness of her eyes. The way her amethyst eyes sparkle when she looks at him makes him sure that he’s doing the right thing most days, when otherwise he’d feel like he were failing.

Lilith pokes her index fingertip into his ribs, glaring as menacingly as she can when she looks like she’s embarrassed, “Listen here - I don’t like-oh.”

Sweet Pea grabs her by the waist and pulls her upward, kissing her square on the mouth. He laughs as he pulls away, leaving her dazed at the sudden action. Pushing her curly locks away from her face, he nods to his bike, “Wyrm first - you got that test tomorrow, right? Can’t have you flunkin’ out on me.”

Her eyes are shining up at him once she shakes out of her stupor, fingers wrapped in the cloth of his flannel. Lilith leans forward to thump her head against his chest, “And here I was, trying to get you home so I could have my way with you.”

A mischievous smile tugs on Sweet Pea’s lips, “Finish that studying and you can have your way with me in the Wyrm’s supply closet. C’mon.”

-

a/n: IT WAS SO BAD. BUT. I’VE GOT TO GET MY TRAINING WHEELS BACK ON SO I CAN FINISH FORBIDDEN FRUIT. 

tagging: @southsidearchive @hughstheforcelou @the-gargoyle-queen @theangriestpea @wayward-river 

[lilhemmo]

22 and 23 with lilith and sweets

request: from this list from @southsidearchive - “I’m calling it. We are officially lost in the woods.” and “Why are you going towards the creepy noise?”ship: sweet pea x lilith (oc)

Cheryl and Toni’s haunted house and hayride were the talk of the town every year. There’s candy and booze and zombies, everything that budding adults could want in a spooky holiday event.

“I don’t know why you won’t go,” Lilith nudges Sweet Pea with the toe of her boot under the coffee table. “Fangs and Toni go every year.”

Sweet Pea puts his cup of black coffee back down on the table, pulling glasses off his nose to look her in the eyes, “First of all Toni lives there. She has no choice.”

Lilith narrows her eyes at him, her mug warming her fingertips, “You know what I mean, you rotten thing. Your friends are all there!”

“Don’t know if I’m to the point of calling you my friend just yet,” he jests coolly, a smirk playing at his lips. He thumbs at the pages of the book on the table, marking his place because he knows her too well to think that this conversation is just over.

“Well, whatever I am to you,” Lilith starts, the spice from her latte warming her throat, “it shouldn’t matter because Fangs wants you to go. He’s just too nervous to make a big deal out of it to you.”

Sweet Pea rolls his eyes and tosses his glasses onto the countertop, “Why would I make Fangs nervous?”

“Maybe because you’re, I dunno, like six foot of pent up rage and frustration?”

“I am not-”

Lilith raises a brow and he shuts his lips.

“You are known not to change your mind, even when Fangs is involved. But, I think you should just sacrifice one Friday night and go. What else better have you got to do?” she asks, tilting her cup against her lips after she finishes speaking.

Sweet Pea notices the little glimmer in her purple irises that she always gets when she knows she’s going to change his mind. Somehow she always bullies him into doing things he’d rather not.

“I’ve got books and beer, what else do I need?” he wraps his tattooed fingers around the handle of his mug and leans back in his chair.

Lilith sighs and shakes her head before gnawing on her lower lip, trying to figure out the best way to guilt Sweet Pea into coming. She takes a breath, “Listen, I get you not wanting to socialize, but it’s your friends. And it’s me. Don’t you think you could make an exception for just one Halloween?”

It’s really unfair the way her eyes are boring into him like some sort of lasers, and the way the pout on her full lips makes his heart beat heavy in his chest. He groans and she’s trying not to break character because she knows she has him hook, line and sinker. 

Truth be told, he’s not sure when he’s ever been off her hook.

“Fine, but there better be beer.”

“I’ll stash you some in my purse.”

--

It was supposed to be a simple haunted corn maze, that’s all.

How did they end up in pairs? Sweet Pea doesn’t know. 

All he knows is that Lilith is gripping his bicep for dear life as he trudges through the winding maze of fresh corn stalks. He sighs when her fingers dig into the skin of his arm but he won’t complain because tonight is specifically not about him.

“Lilith, no one is going to hurt you, I swear,” Sweet Pea grunts out the words, trying to make them sound as far from protective as possible.

She sniffles a little and it makes his heart twinge, “I-I know that, like deep down, but I’m still scared, you know? It’s dumb, I know. I-I’m sorry.”

Instead of patronizing her like he really wants to, Sweet Pea begrudgingly wraps his arm around her shoulder and tucks her into his side, the blush on his cheeks unable to be seen in the darkness of the night. She fits right into him, her arms circling around his waist as her cheek presses into the fabric of his flannel shirt under his Serpent jacket.

“I think we should go left, we haven’t gone left yet,” Lilith murmurs, her fingertips twitching against his ribcage in what he can only assume is anxiety. He nods, keeping his palm tight on her shoulder so she knows that he won’t leave.

“Left is good,” he answers.

It takes a little while, but finally they wind their way into a horde of zombies. Seven people with fake blood and wounds start to chase after them to turn them away from the direction they’re going, and Lilith’s first reaction is to punch the nearest one in the face. He or she goes staggering backwards, giving them both enough time to turn and jog towards a new curve in the maze.

“Holy shit, Lil,” Sweet Pea laughs as they slow to a walk again. “I didn’t know you had such a wicked right hook.”

Lilith is laughing through quick pants of breath, but the smile on her face makes his insides turn to rubble. She laughs, eyes sparkling under the stars, “Mom taught me that.”

She squeezes his hand and it’s the first time he realizes that she was ever holding it in the first place.

Surprisingly, he doesn’t retract from her. Mostly to keep her from being embarrassed, he tells himself; there’s no reason to draw attention to it because it’ll just cause her to become more flustered than she is already and he’s not sure if he could handle her at that level.

“I don’t think we’ve gone this way,” she mutters as she drags him to the right, very far away from the zombie horde.

And, like a little lost puppy, he follows.

--

It takes another thirty minutes, but finally Sweet Pea breaks his self-imposed vow of silence: “I’m calling it. We’re officially lost in the woods.”

“It’s not the woods, dummy,” Lilith smacks the back of her palm against his arm. She laughs and leads him through another winding path.

He grunts, “There’s no way that Thistlethorn, or whatever the hell this place is called, is this big. We’re lost.”

“Think of it as an adventure,” Lilith grins up at him. She’s really close, close enough that he can feel the warmth of her skin and smell the floral fragrance of her perfume or her shampoo, whichever it is. The intoxicating concoction of her eyes, her lips, and her smell, makes him fall under some sort of spell and he finds himself thinking that maybe it is just an adventure.

Sweet Pea will not let her know that’s she’s won, so he huffs out a grunt and rolls his eyes to conceal his succession. He sighs, “Fine, Lilith. Whatever. Just lead the way.”

The giddiness in her step makes some sort of fluttering feeling in his chest, right where his lungs are kept hostage. He is short of breath for just a moment, but then as she’s leading him through the moonlight, he catches himself and follows after her.

--

“Hah, suckers!” Reggie pumps his fists in the air as Lilith and Sweet Pea break out of the maze. He grabs Veronica around the waist and twirls her in the air, “Told you we’d beat those guys, Ronnie.”

Veronica fusses at him not to mess up her costume makeup, just a simple cat eye and some over-exaggerated contouring to pair with her kitty ears. He chuckles before kissing her on the top of the head, turning to look at Betty and Jughead emerge from another exit.

“All that’s left is Fangs and Kevin,” Jughead mentions. His cheeks color but he says what he’s thinking, “Although, I’m not sure that they’re very preoccupied with getting through the maze anyway.”

Sweet Pea scrunches up his nose and Lilith leans into his side automatically. Somehow his arm reaches around her shoulders like muscle memory as she dips into him, holding her close enough that he can rest his chin on her head. He does not miss the look that Toni flashes him from across the yard where she’s manning a punch bowl and finger foods, dolled up in witch costume.

“You ready for the haunted house part?” Lilith is stood in front of him now, her body blocking him from anything and everything in his way. She is smiling too bright, her eyes too wide, and so he finds himself saying yes even though he really wants to curl up at home with his book and his beer until he falls asleep in his recliner.

She peals in laughter, eyes squinting shut so he can no longer see the amethyst of her irises. Her hand squeezes his tightly, pulling him towards the entrance to the manor.

As soon as they walk through the double doors, the entire atmosphere goes cold. He feels Lilith’s shoulder shake beside him and despite his better judgment, he is peeling off his jacket and wrapping it around her upper body.

“W-Wait, I-I don’t want to t-take this from you,” she chatters out, her shoulders hunching to try and hold her body heat in. Sweet Pea shakes his head, “S’fine. I’ve got a couple layers on anyway. You need it more than me.”

The fact that he’s saying this about his Serpent jacket makes Lilith’s throat go numb. She can’t even force a line of gratitude from between her lips. All she can do is slip her hands through the jacket and allow it to envelope her in some sort of safety net.

She tries her luck again and finds his hand by his side, threading her fingers through it with bated breath until he reciprocates.

And when he does, she lets her breath out through her teeth.

--

“W-Why are you going toward the creepy noise?!” Lilith manages from where she’s hidden behind Sweet Pea’s broad shoulders. Sweet Pea laughs, the sound vibrating his body, “Because it’s usually the scariest bits that you have the least to be afraid of. They’re just trying to keep us from finding the exit to where the party is.”

Lilith blindly trusts him, digging her nose between his shoulder blades so she doesn’t have to watch as a masked villain pops from behind the curtains. If she’s being honest, it’s also to keep herself from punching someone else in the face. She can’t handle being responsible for two broken noses in one night.

“See,” Sweet Pea murmurs, turning his head to speak over his shoulder. “There’s the red rope, and Toni is gonna let us inside.”

Lilith peeks out from behind him, her frame easily hidden behind his own. She smiles at the sight of Toni Topaz, abandoning Sweet Pea to rush forward and grasp her friend up in a hug.

“God, Toni, you’re going to have a lawsuit on your hands tonight,” Lilith laughs into her friend’s shoulders. “I punched one of your zombies in the corn maze.”

Toni kisses Lilith’s cheek before releasing her, “You’re lucky it was Andrews. He just laughed it off and is drinking whiskey at the bar. I’m sure an apology wouldn’t hurt, though.”

Lilith nods and turns to find Sweet Pea stood behind her. She grins up at him and he forces his face not to mimic her expression with the way her smile makes his heartbeat quicken.

“Free booze inside, right? The least you could do for scaring the shit out of us,” Sweet Pea brings Toni in for a hug of his own. She laughs, swatting his chest, “Oh, Pea, you know better. You pay us to scare you.”

“Hardly seems like a fair trade.”

“No one said anything about fair, honey.”

Sweet Pea keeps the retort on his tongue because Lilith is pushing her way inside with a final goodbye to Toni. She twirls around, the ends of her skirt flowing under the lights of the dance floor.

“What a way to blow off some steam,” she laughs, maneuvering her hands around in a way that Sweet Pea can only describe as sensual. Something electrifies his body and he forces something akin to words out of his lips about grabbing drinks.

Of course she doesn’t care, but Pea needs some liquid confidence if he’s going to survive the rest of the night.

When he gets back, her eyes are glowing playfully under the lights, a flush on her cheeks from dancing and her body has begun to sway almost of it’s own accord.

“I’m sorry I dragged you here,” she apologizes after taking a sip of whatever is in the cup that he brought her. She sets it down on the table beside where they’re standing, “I-I thought that Fangs would care more, or Toni. I guess you were right.”

Sweet Pea shrugs, tipping his glass back to take a long drag of the on-tap beer for the night, “S’all right, Lil. I’m fine. Like you said, I had nothing better to d-”

“I wanted you to come.”

He’s lost for words, running his tongue along his teeth so he can gather something like his pride back together. He keeps his jaw from going slack but it’s not easy.

Lilith’s cheeks are bright red, her dark skin favoring the color naturally. She swallows and he watches as her throat bobs, “I-I wanted you to come. I wanted to spend time alone with you. Without the others.”

“That’s generally what alone means.”

It’s not what he meant to say, but it’s the only thing he could force out.

Lilith looks stunned and she takes a step back from him like he’s wounded her, “Y-Yeah, yeah, I guess so.”

Sweet Pea puts his drink down because he really doesn’t want her to walk away, and grabs her by the hands, keeping her anchored to him.

“That was a dick thing to say, I’m sorry.” He shakes his head and wishes he hadn’t taken such a deep swig of that beer so quickly. Lilith chews on her lip for a second before responding, “No, it’s fine. I-I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“I’m glad you did,” he recovers. He blinks hard to shut the stars out of his eyes, “I wanted to come. I’m the one that got us paired together for the corn maze. I wanted to be alone with you too.”

Lilith’s body seems to lose the tension she was holding in her bones before, and she takes a step towards him, barely any space between them now. All Sweet Pea can pay attention to is the way that his Serpent jacket hangs off of her shoulders, coupled with the purple dress she chose to wear tonight. How did she know that purple is his favorite color?

“Y-You did?”

He can’t help it when the laugh escapes his lips, but it’s not one of humiliation, but rather relief. He allows one hand to reach up to cup her jaw and he nods, “I’ve been trying to figure it out, but I’m absolute trash at relationships. I figured our not-date-dates at the coffee shop were enough to give the hint and you’re normally such a first move kind of girl that I--oh.”

Lilith’s lips are on his and he can taste the cocktail on her tongue. She’s toying with the buttons of his shirt and all he can think about is her slowly peeling it from his shoulders and throwing it on the floor.

He manages to respond before she pulls away in shock, leaning down to better accommodate her size. He wants to pick her up by the thighs and haul her out of Thornbush - or whatever the hell it’s called - and drag her back to the Southside, but he won’t put her through that here in front of everyone else.

“First move kind of girl, hm?” she asks as she peels herself away from him, coming down from her tip-toes.

The sultry look in her eyes is sinful and he has to stop his imagination from running as he holds his hands steady on her hips now, not allowing himself anything further. He nods, swallowing thickly before speaking, “I’m not good at this. I thought you might be better. And if you thought I was worth your time-”

“You’re worth it,” she says quickly, leaning up to push one gentle kiss to his lips. The heat of a blush creeps up her neck and she can’t stop wondering how long she’s waited to feel Sweet Pea’s mouth on her own.

Lilith runs her thumb over his pectoral and looks up at him through her lashes, “What do you say with us starting to make those not-date-dates into totally-date-dates?”

It is Sweet Pea’s turn to steal a kiss now, bent at the waist to capture her mouth quickly before murmuring into her lips, “I’d like that.”

“Then it’s a date,” she whispers, forgetting her drink and losing herself in his eyes.

---

a/n: thank you so much for this prompt!! i loved writing it!!

tagging: @melton-my-heart @thesweetestsweetpea @theangriestpea @the-gargoyle-queen @jezzabelleserpent @vannahsunshine @sweetpeasbabydoll @sweetfogarty @wayward-river @hugharekillianmelou @princesweetpea @southsidewrites

[lilhemmo]

i would love to see what lilith and sweet pea are like in a modern day setting??? like an established relationship and just to see what they would be like??!?!

a/n: omg someone wants to see lilipea in a different setting??? this is so kind!!!! i hope you like it! it’s kind of a fall-y piece! and it’s a college au!ps, sweet pea literally can’t get enough of lilith. that’s it. that’s the story.

Fall Semester

The door slams shut by way of a foot to the slab of wood.

Lilith rests the bags of groceries on the countertop, a sly smile at what is inside one of the bags in particular.

The television is still on, playing an episode of some law show, textbooks strewn across the coffee table. Lilith steps behind, looking over the back of the couch to see a sleeping Sweet Pea clumsily laid out on the furniture. She smiles and turns back to put away the cold items before making her way back to the living room.

She squats down on the ground beside him, gently touching his jaw with the pad of her thumb. A smile tugs at her lips as her thumb roams, finding his freckles and imperfections.

When she reaches the tip of her thumb to his lower lip, his mouth twitches in the threat of a grin, but he corrects it before it’s too noticeable.

“You’re not very sneaky, you know,” Lilith murmurs, ducking her head to the crook of his neck, kissing with an open mouth. She can tell he’s holding back a noise in the hollow of his throat, so she kisses there where his pulse pounds.

Sweet Pea reaches out to grasp her by the waist, dragging her onto the couch to lay atop him, “Don’t like you.”

“You can’t fool me,” she chuckles, tilting her body so she’s straddling his waist. “You’re absolutely, irrevocably, undeniably in love with me, you liar.”

His hands rest sinfully with his thumbs drifting just under her sweater, eyes half-lidded from sleep as he faux-glowers up at her. Lilith can’t hold in the giggle as she drops forward to plant a kiss on his lips.

The groan that emits from the back of his throat keeps her there longer, her hands cupping his cheeks as he pins her tighter.

“Oh, no you don’t,” she murmurs, still not separating from him. Her lips are still hovering a hairsbreadth away from his, “You swore to me that you’d do it and you won’t distract me with your kisses.”

Sweet Pea leans upward to nip her lower lip, pulling her back in for a while longer. He manages it for another few minutes, linking his pinkies in her jean loops and running the rest of his fingers along her hips underneath her sweater.

“You promised,” she mumbles, running her thumb along his collarbone.

He sighs, resigning himself away from her to lean back into the pillow and closing his eyes. Sweet Pea lifts one eyelid, “You’re not going to tell the other Serpents, are you?”

Lilith’s smile is so giddy that he could kiss it till her lips were raw. She practically stumbles off of him, rushing into the kitchen to rifle through the grocery bags. Sweet Pea rises from the couch, following her lazily.

“You already have a midterm?” she asks, pulling the medium sized pumpkins out of the bags. Lilith turns to look over her shoulder and back to the coffee table, “It looks like things are getting pretty hot and heavy in there.”

“I was trying to get it hot and heavy in there,” Sweet Pea scoffs, standing behind her with their bodies flush, hands running over her shoulders and arms. He rests his head on her shoulder despite her fidgeting, “Professor Lodge has it in for us this semester, I think.”

He places a few open-mouthed kisses down the column of her throat, nudging her hair out of the way. Lilith’s body instantly reacts to him, rolling back into his warmth. It’s difficult to keep her head from lolling back to rest against his chest.

“You’ll do well, I’m sure of it,” she encourages, drudging out the pumpkins and the carving tools. “I think I’m going to roast the seeds and everything, get our money’s worth.”

Sweet Pea noses the collar of her loose-fitting sweater off her shoulder so her collarbone is exposed. He smirks against her warm flesh before trailing kisses over the deeply tanned skin. Lilith brandishes the knife playfully, generically pointing it in his direction, “Don’t make me threaten you, Sweets. You’re the one who agreed to this, you’re going to follow through.”

“You’re lucky I love you,” he mutters against her earlobe, pressing one last kiss there before extracting himself from her.

Lilith smirks over her shoulder, barely glancing back at him before turning her attention back to the vegetable in question. She grabs a couple of items off of the counter and then passes by him in the kitchen to make her way outside onto the back porch. He watches as she makes herself at home, setting up the pumpkins and the tools and a small kit for carving pumpkins.

“Well?” she calls, eyes shining bright in the afternoon sun. “You coming, or what?”

Sweet Pea nears the back door, leaning against the frame, “Is or what still an acceptable answer?”

“Not if you want to sleep in the bed tonight,” Lilith fights a smile to look intimidating. She beckons him with the wave of the knife, and he steps out with his hands raised in surrender, eyes wide with fear.

Christmas Break

“You know, it’s kind of sad that none of us have family that’s worth visiting for the holidays,” Toni raises her glass of eggnog for a toast. Fangs shrugs, “Found family is sometimes better than blood.”

“Oh, don’t go soft on us now, Fogarty,” Sweet Pea nudges his friend with his boot. He rests his forearms against Lilith’s shoulders as she sits between his knees on the floor.

“Just means less to have to buy a bunch of useless gifts for,” Cheryl shrugs, tipping her glass of champagne to the back of her throat. “No mummy or daddy to waste my precious trust fund dollars on.”

Sweet Pea rolls his eyes and goes to speak, but Lilith pinches his ankle in anticipation for his remark, keeping him quiet with a frown on his lips.

Everyone passes around gifts, they play a few quick rounds of games, drink a little, and then everyone heads out to their respective houses. Fangs and Toni are the last to leave, their significant others’ eyes glazed with sleep so late at night, but neither willing to give up the conversation.

“TeeTee,” Cheryl groans, “if we don’t get home, I’m going to have horrid bags under my eyes for our photos tomorrow. I can’t have ugly bags under my eyes for Christmas photos!”

Toni rolls her eyes but rests her palm on Cheryl’s cheek nonetheless, promising her they’re on their way out. She gives Sweet Pea and Lilith one last hug before they all make their way out of the apartment and back to their cars.

“Now that they’re gone,” Sweet Pea murmurs, the taste of whiskey still on his lips as he turns and grabs her up by the waist. Lilith squeals, holding onto his shoulders for support as her legs wrap around him with ease, the familiarity of the position like muscle memory.

“Do you believe what Fangs said?” she asks him seriously, her eyes mellowing as she touches his cheek with her fingertips. “About found family?”

Sweet Pea tilts his head, grabbing her thighs for support as he walks her to the kitchen counter, depositing her there as gently as possible. His thumbs brush up under her bright purple sweater, tickling her hips.

“My parents left me, so I don’t have much of a choice.”

She pushes his hair away from his eyes, gingerly cupping his jaw, “You’re my family now. You know that, right?”

Sweet Pea’s never been great with words, and so instead he leans forward in a hurry and kisses her unabashedly. Their noses knock together, as do their teeth, but neither of them mind. Her hands rifle through his hair, pulling him by the nape so their bodies are flush.

His hands pull her at her back pockets, their hips pressed to one another with fervor. A quiet moan at the back of her throat brings him back to the present, pupils blown wide as he looks her in the eyes.

“You’re my family too,” he manages, voice only cracking once.

Lilith can’t handle the amount of emotion in his irises, and so she pulls him down for another smacking kiss, tongue pressed against teeth as her hands grip at him clumsily. She brings her hips up, beckoning him to pluck her from the countertop and take her elsewhere.

Christmas Morning

The next morning, Lilith wakes to the feel of Sweet Pea’s thumb brushing over her hip bone. She curves her back into him, their bodies flush with one another as she leeches from his heat.

“Merry Christmas,” he murmurs, lips against the shell of her ear. His tantalizing voice is gruff with sleep, vibrations from his throat against her neck as he kisses down her skin.

Lilith can’t help the toothy grin that splits her lips wide open, “Merry Christmas.”

Hot fingertips trail over her body, lifting up the hem of her shirt to dive underneath and continue their exploration. He can’t help it as his thumb brushes against the underside of her breast, teasing the flesh there for a moment before making a path to her belly button with his fingerprints.

“Babygirl,” he murmurs, nosing her neck.

Her eyelids flutter closed at the combination of his husky voice and the pet name. She tilts her head to rest on his shoulder, neck craned to give him better access.

“I love you.”

Lilith sobers as soon as the words leave his lips. It’s not like she didn’t know already, but hearing him say it is a whole other story. She swallows thickly and heat pools in her belly.

She turns, gnawing on her lower lip as she faces him. A palm caresses his cheek, thumbs lingering on the fullness of his lower lip. Lilith smiles and he watches her purple irises glitter in the morning sunlight.

“I love you too,” she responds, giggling when he bites the tip of her thumb playfully.

Sweet Pea can’t stand the sweet look in her eyes any longer, so he turns his chin just far enough to capture her lips in his own. He slots a knee between her thighs, brushing their hips together as he inches closer. Lilith gasps as his thigh slides closer, her knees clenching around him. He takes the opportunity to slip his tongue behind her teeth, loving the way she eagerly sucks on his tongue to the point it sends a jolt down his spine.

“I-I,” she exhales quickly as he ducks his head to her neck, making quick work of her throat. Sweet Pea chuckles against her jugular, an open mouthed kiss pressed hotly to the flesh.

Lilith’s hands grip at his arms, his shoulders, his hips, anything she can grab ahold of. A thin t-shirt is the only barrier between her and his warm skin, and she considers shedding it, but knows that they have to get up soon so she can bring him his gift.

“S-Sweets,” Lilith manages to choke out his name, although it comes out as a moan, which only stirs him on further. He sucks a patch of skin between his teeth, lavishing the area with his warm tongue as his hands knead against the flesh of her backside.

“Love the way you say my name,” he murmurs when he’s finished, the pulsing spot a dark red in contrast to her brown skin. He kisses his way to the collar of her shirt, his nose nudging the offensive fabric away so he can kiss to the valley of her breasts. “Love your body, love your heart.”

Sweet Pea presses a kiss over her breast where her heart lies underneath. Her breath hitches and she digs her nails into his shoulder blades.

“I-I have something for you,” she gasps, forcing her eyes to open so she can look him in the eyes. 

Oh, what a mistake that was.

Sweet Pea’s eyes are shaded by half-open lids, but the iris that she can see is a deep, chocolate brown, studded with black pupils. His cheeks are flushed and his lips are swollen, his body still rustled from sleep.

“We don’t have to open gifts yet, baby,” he tells her, reaching up to push away a stray lock of hair. Sweets smiles, “I was having fun.”

Lilith manages a smirk, rolling them over so she’s straddling his waist, her hands dangerously close to his throat as they rest on his collarbones. She tickles the precipice where his shoulder meets his throat with the tips of her thumbs, threatening him with a good time.

“Your present will be here at ten, darling,” Lilith coos, brushing her thumb over his jugular. She does not miss the way Sweet Pea’s throat bobs, his Adam’s apple raking against his skin at the action.

The words sink in and the arousal slowly slips from his expression to be exchanged for confusion, “B-Be here?”

Lilith leans down to press a quick peck to his lips before rolling away and traipsing towards the bathroom. She turns on the shower, “Yep! And it’s already after nine, so you’d better get ready.”

Her back is to him, but she feels the warmth of his palms skate up her hips, “Oh, as if you could get away from me that easy.”

Their shower lasts longer than normal, but they’re clothed and fed by the time the knock comes on the door.

Lilith forces Sweet Pea to sit at the base of the Christmas tree, eyes closed via blindfold. She giggles as she takes the present from her neighbor, thanking the older woman for watching over it for her.

Sweet Pea hears some mumbling, his ears perking up at the sound of nails against the countertop.

“Bab-oh!” Sweet Pea reels backward as something comes bounding in his lap. He peels the blindfold off of one eye to see a black German shepherd puppy slobbering all over his legs.

She’s staring at him in waiting, watching as he scratches the dog behind the ears, marveling at his excited tail wagging.

“Wow, I-wow,” Sweet Pea looks up at her, his hands preoccupied with the puppy, but she knows that he’d be touching her if he had the chance. “You’re amazing. I can’t believe-”

“You’ve only been talking about our future dog for like, two years,” Lilith shrugs, trying to appear nonchalant. She bites her lip, “I figured now was as good of a time as any to finally follow through.”

“Cerberus,” Sweet Pea says quietly, tasting the name on his tongue. He chuckles, “Yeah, you look like a Cerberus to me.”

Spring Semester

You’re beautiful, he thinks, chewing on his lip as she lies down in the grass. Absolutely radiant, just like spring.

Lilith looks up, catching him staring, and a gentle smirk tugs on her lips, “Are you staring at me again, Sweets?”

“You are my girlfriend,” he tilts his head, nudging her thigh with the toe of his boot, “I think I’m allowed to stare. Encouraged, probably.”

She laughs and he thinks it’s worth the corniness of his prior statement just to hear that little bell in her throat jingle. He turns back to his book, trying to absorb as much as he can before his final this evening.

A gentle melody hums past Lilith’s lips, and it’s soothing to his irritated soul. She is weaving together some wildflowers in the form of a crown, pinks and yellows and reds all together, looking like a thing of beauty. He’s sure it’s just because her hands have touched it. 

It’s as if she comes alive in Spring. 

Every year, without fail, she is a sickly thing in the winter time, making for the start of the Spring semester to be quite horrible for both Sweet Pea and her grades. However, as soon as the sun melts the snow, she’s a new person, a fresh being, ready to conquer whatever life may throw at her.

Her cheeks glow pink and her eyes are a glittering amethyst. The tan of her skin is darker, her lips full and her body more confident as she sways around campus.

“I love you,” he interrupts her singing.

Lilith smiles at him, the crown twirling around in her fingers, “And I, you, darling.”

Summer Semester

Summer means planning for the fall. Summer means a small break before another semester slams itself into them like a freight car. Summer means warmth and water and sunshine. Summer means happiness.

Lilith curls into his body, the warmth filtering in from the blinds making her body blissfully happy. She covers him like a blanket, unwilling to move until he pushes her away. His lips find every patch of skin possible, lazy kisses drawn out over her shoulders and chest and neck. Cerberus snores lightly at the foot of the bed.

“Do you ever think about the after?” she asks him, traipsing her fingernails over his biceps, tracing the muscle there repeatedly.

Sweet Pea nips at her collarbone gently before answering, “After graduation?”

“Yes and no,” Lilith answers cryptically, typical for her. She releases a sigh at the feel of his mouth traveling along the expanse of her throat, his hands hitching her shirt up to travel the expanse of her back.

“Honestly?” Sweet Pea murmurs, his voice vulnerable.

Lilith leans back, the heat of his mouth leaving her as she does so. She looks him in the eyes, watching as his irises skirt over her face in a frenzy. In an attempt to calm him, she presses a palm to his cheek, anchoring him to reality.

He lets himself drift into her touch, eyelids threatening to shutter closed as he follows the path of her hand. Sweet Pea faces her when he answers, eyes gentle as he gazes up at her, “I just see me and you. That’s my after.”

The implications of his words settle on her heart, making the little organ beat erratically. She curves her palms around either of his cheeks and pulls him into a kiss.

Cerberus stirs at the sudden movement, a whine peeling from his jaws as he stretches himself awake.

“You’re my after too,” Lilith murmurs, barely pulling away from him. “I was made to fall in love with you.”

And who knows when they finally break away from one another, kisses and loving forgotten?

It’s after something. Or anything. Perhaps it’s just after.

A/N: SWEET PEA JUST LOVES HIS LADY ALL RIGHT. fight me.

tagging: @melton-my-heart @the-gargoyle-queen @hugharekillianmelou @southsidearchive @thesweetestsweetpea

[lilhemmo]

the forbidden fruit (sweet pea x oc) || lilith ↳ Sweet Pea turns and touches her cheek with his knuckles as he flashes her a smile, “And why on earth would the god of the dead save a mortal life?”

“Maybe because you just couldn’t get enough of me while I was living.”

ao3 | wattpad | masterlist | moodboards

[lilhemmo]

the forbidden fruit pt. one

the forbidden fruit PART ONE: the prophecy & the outcast

THE PROPHECY

Long ago, there was a prophecy foretold. One of great fortune, but also of great demise.

Zeus, after hearing this prophecy, was in great duress, unsure of how he should react. He confided in his younger brother, Poseidon, and together they came to a conclusion.

“No one must know,” Poseidon whispers, careful that little brother Hades does not overhear. He pulls on Zeus’s tunic, “If we are to do this, then not another soul shall be wary of the prophecy, brother. You cannot tell even Hera of our plan. The Others would never trust you again.”

“Do not consider me a fool,” Zeus snaps at his brother. He narrows his eyes and lightning bolts race around his irises. “There is a place we can send him. Away from us, where Mother and Father cannot follow him. It is forbidden should a Titan step foot there.”

“And how should we explain this banishment?” Poseidon wonders.

Zeus takes a short step away from his brother, “Oh brother, it’s simple – we don’t. We send him to the Depths and keep him busy guarding the souls. He shall never know of the prophecy, never understand what is to come. It is what is best for us all.”

“Given the prophecy,” Poseidon considers, “maybe I should be on his side.”

“It would not be wise to oppose me, brother,” Zeus snatches him by the collar. “It would not be wise.”

Poseidon shrugs his shoulders, calm as ever with a gentle smirk, “The Oracle does not speak half-truths, brother. Should you do this, know that it will not solve your problems forever. But do not forget – only a god can kill a god.”

“Do not explain the laws of life and death to me, brother!” Zeus thunders, pushing Poseidon away with a harsh shove. “Or I shall show you right here and now how exactly a god may kill another god?”

“What are the two of you discussing now?” young Hades rumbles, his voice deep and his eyes deeper. He crosses his arms over his chest, “Did Aphrodite turn you down again? Or was it one of those mortals this time? Pesky little cretins, they are.”

Zeus reaches out and touches his brother’s cheek with his fingertips, a sad smile on his lips, “Oh, brother, I do pray that one day you will forgive me.”

“Forgive you?” Hades questions. “Zeus, what ever do you mean?”

There is a sad smile drawn over his brother’s lips, but Hades only gets a glimpse before the whole world turns black.

THE OUTCAST

There was a time in her life where she opened her lips for no one.

Now, it seems, she cannot force them shut.

“Add Ares to the list,” she says with weeping breath. She wipes at her eyes, insatiable tears flowing like a river, “He claimed my brother today. Well, actually, likely not today. But today is the first I’ve heard of it.”

Her mind wanders to her first time visiting this devil in the night, when she was but a young girl with pain gouged in her heart like a spear.

“What is wrong with them?” she cries, digging her hands into the dirt. “The gods are supposed to be powerful, just beings who only strike humans for justice or for mercy. This is not mercy!”

“What did my father ever do to Poseidon?! What did he do to wrong the god of the sea?” She sniffles, ignoring the tears and snot collecting on her face. Instead, she looks up at the statue made of marble, terrifying in the night, and whispers: “How do I fix this? He is your brother, is he not? Surely you can speak to him?”

When the statue does not answer, and there is no sign of the ground opening to bring her father back to the land of the living, she slams her hands into the ground again. She prays he can hear it, prays that maybe he is connected to the life force of the ground and that she has punched his very soul.

“Do you have a soul?” she asks, tilting her head as if expecting the statue to respond. “I’ve heard stories of you, Hades. Stories that you do not answer to prayer, yet here I am despite the fact.”

She kicks the base of the statue and snarls, “So much for god of the underworld.”

“First my father,” she whispers as if the words will make him appear only to be dragged away again. She wipes under her nose, her lip trembling as she brings her eyes to meet his, “Then my mother’s fields…”

“Your brother is an absolute heathen!” she shouts, stomping her feet against the tiled floor of the temple. Her hands shake and she knows that if she had the power to move mountains, she would be at Olympus in the blink of an eye.

She throws her arms up in the air, the wind biting at her in the eve of night, “Throwing a lightning bolt at our field?”

“First, the middle child takes my father from me, then the eldest steals away our means to life. When will you wrong me, youngest brother?”

Her eyes water and her belly rumbles. She covers her stomach with her hands and wills it to quiet. It feels like something will eventually claw its way out from inside of her, bringing the death and destruction she feels to befall the earth she lives in.

“That grain was supposed to supply us with enough gold to make it through the harvest,” she whispers. Tears drip from her cheeks to the marble where her toes curl against the stone. “We may have to sell my horse just to tide over until next season.”

She reaches out to touch the foot of the statue, the stone cool to the touch. “Please, I don’t know how we will conquer this hardship. Please, give me strength. You’re all I have.”

She laughs at the memory, her chuckle thick with emotion. She looks up at his statue, those same emotionless eyes staring back down into her soul. Someday she knows she will look upon his face and be able to reach out and touch him, her skin met with something other than cool marble.

Instead of lingering, she retracts and chews on her lower lip until it cracks and bleeds. She swallows, her throat bobbing, “They pushed me again today.”

Hot tears crawl down her cheeks and she roughly pushes them away. She knows he wouldn’t care for her tears, he’s had enough of them. He’s seen so many, he’s likely tired of her weeping.

“What good is she if she can’t protect a fair maiden from the sickness of love’s first bite?!” Her shoulders rack with sobs as she shares in her friend’s heartache. “She is meant to protect and keep sacred the idea of love, the idea of romance! How is this protecting anything?! I had to hold her as she cried into my arms until she was bone dry, her soul sucked out of her through her tears. Where is Aphrodite now?!”

She stomps around until dirt cakes her sandals, her ankles sprinkled with soil. She crumbles in front of him, a mess of limbs, and sighs, “I’ve decided men aren’t worth my time, let alone hers. I will keep her safe from them. Should they come near us, I will bite them at the neck so they bleed.”

She laughs at her own naivety, her arms wrapped around her waist as she reminisces.

“I just don’t understand,” she looks up at him for some kind of answer even though she knows there won’t be one. Her nostrils flare as she attempts to keep her lip from trembling, “I show up in a black dress instead of a white one and suddenly they are jesting that I am really Lilith the Evil One reincarnated.”

She blinks the tears away, “You know what? I wish I was in fact Lilith the Evil One so I could choke them with my mind and make them bleed until they breathe no longer.”

She clenches her grimy fist and imagines her oppositions’ throats between her fingerprints. The idea alone makes her tears melt away and a smirk tug on her lips. She purses her lips and looks up at his statue, wondering if she is making him proud with the evil thoughts rolling around in her brain.

“I am tired of living here, Sweets,” she grumbles. She looks up at his statue and tastes the name on her tongue again, remembering the day she gave it to him.

She paces around the temple, her eyes darting to each of the angels guarding the King of the Underworld. She runs her fingers over the beveled columns, daring to get close enough to him that the chill from the marble tingles against her skin.

“Hades,” she murmurs, rolling his name around on her lips. She bends down to her knees, knowing full well that this is how you pray to the gods, even the one who keeps the dead contained. She shakes her head, “You deserve a better name, one separated from your dwelling place.”

In doing so, a small batch of pink and purple sweet peas blossoming at the base of his statue catches her eye.

She leans over to run her thumbprint over the petals of a singular flower before looking back up at the figurine loitering over her. A smile pulls on the corners of her lips and she nods, “Oh I just love these little sweets, Hades. They’re so pret-wait.”

Picking a blossom, she rises back to her feet and pushes the pink flower behind the statue’s ear and murmurs, “Sweets – that’s what I will call you. You’re every bit deserving and it’s much more beautiful than Hades.”

Her upper lip curls in mock disgust before she starts to giggle. She picks a few more of the flowers and brings them home with her, finding a small vase to keep them captive in. She knows they will only live a few more days, but it is worth it because every morning before she walks to town, she’s reminded of him and the companionship she has found in the Lord of the Undead.

“One day you will take me away from this horrid place, I just know it.” She smiles with her teeth and wonders if he’s listening. “You will rise from the Depths and take me home with you. I am unfit for this earthly plane. They do not appreciate me here.”

The familiar sound of snake bellies in the grass makes her giggle. She leans down as the two black serpents slither from behind the statue. The smaller of the two wraps itself around her arm, traveling up toward her neck.

“Hello little one,” she whispers, running the pad of her index finger over the female serpent’s head. “Tell your Maker that I say I’m waiting on his response. I still have yet to hear back from him.”

The thicker of the two snakes slithers around her ankle and rests his head on her toes. He flicks his tongue out and it brushes the knob of her ankle, so she bends down to show him the same affections with a light giggle.

“Oh, you’re jealous, darling. Don’t worry,” she reaches down and runs the backs of her fingers down his nonexistent spine. He takes the opportunity and ravels himself around her arm, mirroring the smaller serpent on her right bicep.

The smaller serpent flicks her tongue out against her cheek, making the young woman laugh. She kicks back her head and squeezes her eyes shut while the bubbling sound tumbles from her lips.

“I will see you both soon,” she promises, pressing her palms flat to the ground so they can unwind themselves from her. She touches the tops of their heads one final time and goes to speak when a voice in the distance distracts her.

“Lilith!”

“That’s me,” Lilith tilts her head downward to look the serpents in the eyes. “Tell Sweets I say hello, won’t you?”

a/n: please tell me what you think!!! i’m so nervous to post this that i’m practically sweating!!

LINKS: ao3 | wattpad | masterlist

READ PART TWO HERE

I WANT TO COMPLETELY UTTERLY AND FULLY DEDICATE THE ENTIRETY OF THIS FIC TO @thesweetestsweetpea BECAUSE SHE HAS BEEN MY ROCK, MY SUPPORT SYSTEM, AND MY CALM IN THE STORM IN FIGURING THIS FIC OUT SO SEND HER THANKS BC WITHOUT HER THIS WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE

tag list (message me if you would like to be added or removed!): @trash-trashington @blueboi-345 @acciohermionejg @sweetsserpent @omgspnfanfiction @bugheadworld360 @myfavfanfix @fjziwnnfkcks @nohemi2500 @sophia-psycho4death @wintercourtsq @ellsbells2143 @jezzabelleserpent @imyourliquor-youremypoison @serpentiinequeen @serpentcentral @reckless-love3210 @brittanyvengeance @thatlittlesectoroftheuniverse @ansia-sapone @twopointthreefour @softpuregayangels @theheavycrown @fadingweaselpicklepurse @thick-madame748 @oof-its-a-misfit @ominous066 @browneyesandsquishythighs @bettie-chachki-50-70 @serenityofsuffering666 @spsandfangsbestgirl2 @scorpionsuns @dwayyy @solosoulbrew @thebookfairy @kingbouji3 @aliteralhotmess @rivendell101 @southsidewrites @cactiem @reblogserpent @sweetsserpentine @worriestothewind @serpentnanarose @sweetpeasjelloshot @sweetpea-cc @cherysbombshell @beginningstofandom @southsidemistress @starryeyedparker @miffy-melly @exquisitley-obsessed @sweetpeasbabydoll @kinkysweetpea @writing-in-riverdale @the-gargoyle-queen @bitchiloveher @sweetpea-fvck @serpentsluttsstuff @sweetsfuckingpea @softherns @freakingbradleys @theangriestpea @sweetpeassweetpea @sweetpeasbellamy @inyourwildestdreamslove @sunshinechaos @stories-from-my-notebook @amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines @sweetserpents @fictionsofriverdale @buggiebreak @riverdale-events @otps-killing-me-not-softly @foxyfangurl @benhargreevestentacles @blush-and-books @helloscorpious @narvvi @fangirlfree @bvbblegvms @technoshuri @mari-cross @thedarksideofriverdale @griffins-and-gargoyles @melton-my-heart

[lilhemmo]

S U M M A R Y :

      “They just don’t understand us,” she whispers, her eyes faltering down to her bloodied hands. “We’re different, that’s all.”       She looks up at the statue of the terrifying figure of Hades, the god of the Underworld. The moonlight glints off of the marble as the cool air sweeps like a balm over her skin, the hair on her body standing on end.

      “They say that you’re a monster,” she smiles, her eyes shining under the stars, “but I don’t believe them.”

In other words, a retelling of the story of Persephone and Hades, in which Persephone can’t wait to get to the Underworld. 

last updated: august 4, 2019 more details under the cut:

MAJOR AUTHOR’S NOTE: you really do have to forget everything you think you know about mythology in order to read this without being super critical. the cast, for example, doesn’t exactly line up “age-wise” with how myths go, but it was fun and i picked who i thought fit best with the god/goddess that i chose. if you have any suggestions for the remaining/TBD characters and their roles, please feel free to send me a message! 

SUMMARY:  Hades, portrayed by Sweet Pea, is sent to rule the Underworld for his own safety after his brothers, Zeus (Reggie) and Poseidon (Jughead), tell him of a terrible prophecy which will ultimately result in his death. After a few hundred years, an unlikely mortal comes slipping through the Gates of Hades. She may turn out to be much more than she appears.

ao3 | wattpad | fic tag

fic master page | forbidden fruit details page

FIC IS UPDATED EVERY FRIDAY EVENING AROUND 9 PM EST (please let me know if you want to be tagged in future parts)

M A S T E R L I S T :

part one: the prophecy & the outcast part two: the downfall part three: the surface part four: the awakening part five: the disparity part six: the twins part seven: the warning part eight: the oracle part nine: the bolt part ten: the torment part eleven: coming soon! epilogue: coming soon!

C H A R A C T E R    C A S T :

ps links take you to a moodboard/picspam for the characters :) also note - some gods/goddesses are genderbent to better fit the casting roles!

MAJOR GODS/GODDESSES

persephone - lilith (oc) hades - sweet pea zeus - reggie mantle poseidon - jughead jones hera - veronica lodge artemis - cheryl blossom apollo - archie andrews dionysus - fp jones athena - betty cooper aphrodite - josie mccoy hermes - kevin keller ares - hal cooper hephaestus - fred andrews demeter - (no riverdale character, she is played by herself!) hestia - mary andrews MINOR GODS/GODDESSES

achlys: the goddess of poison - penelope blossom aether: the god of light and the atmosphere - TBD aion: the god of empirical time - TBD ananke: the goddess of inevitability, compulsion and necessity - hiram lodge khaos: the goddess of the chasm - chic chronos: the god of time - TBD erebus: the god of darkness and shadows - TBD eros: the god of love - TBD gaia: the mother earth goddess - TBD hemera: the goddess of daytime - TBD hypnos: the god of sleep - TBD nemesis: the goddess of retribution - alice cooper nesoi: the goddess(es) of the islands - TBD nyx: the goddess of the night - hermione lodge ourea: the goddesses of the mountains - TBD phanes: the god(dess) of light and goodness - TBD tartarus: the god of the inferno - TBD thanatos: the god of death - TBD uranus: the god of the heavens - TBD

A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY WONDERFUL FRIEND @thesweetestsweetpea FOR MAKING THIS STORY EVEN POSSIBLE. SERIOUSLY, WITHOUT HER, I WOULD HAVE STOPPED BEFORE I EVER GOT GOING. <3

current taglist (message to be added/removed):  @trash-trashington @blueboi-345 @sweetsserpent@omgspnfanfiction @bugheadworld360@myfavfanfix @fjziwnnfkcks@nohemi2500 @sophia-psycho4death@wintercourtsq @ellsbells2143@jezzabelleserpent @imyourliquor-youremypoison@serpentiinequeen @serpentcentral @reckless-love3210@brittanyvengeance @thatlittlesectoroftheuniverse@ansia-sapone@twopointthreefour @softpuregayangels@theheavycrown@fadingweaselpicklepurse @thick-madame748@oof-its-a-misfit@ominous066 @browneyesandsquishythighs@bettie-chachki-50-70@serenityofsuffering666@spsandfangsbestgirl2 @scorpionsuns@dwayyy @solosoulbrew@thebookfairy @kingbouji3@aliteralhotmess @rivendell101@southsidewrites @cactiem@reblogserpent @sweetsserpentine@worriestothewind@serpentnanarose @sweetpeasjelloshot@sweetpea-cc@cherysbombshell @beginningstofandom@southsidemistress@starryeyedparker @miffy-melly @exquisitley-obsessed@sweetpeasbabydoll @kinkysweetpea @writing-in-riverdale @the-gargoyle-queen @bitchiloveher @sweetpea-fvck@serpentsluttsstuff@sweetsfuckingpea @softherns@freakingbradleys @theangriestpea@sweetpeassweetpea@sweetpeasbellamy @inyourwildestdreamslove@sunshinechaos@stories-from-my-notebook@amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines@sweetserpents@fictionsofriverdale @buggiebreak @riverdale-events @otps-killing-me-not-softly @foxyfangurl@benhargreevestentacles @blush-and-books @helloscorpious@narvvi @fangirlfree @bvbblegvms@technoshuri @mari-cross@thedarksideofriverdale @griffins-and-gargoyles @melton-my-heart  @sweetfogarty @princesweetpea@xserpentlife @wayward-river @serpenthighkey @jinxfanfics @sweetpea-serpent-slut

[lilhemmo]

the forbidden fruit pt. two

the forbidden fruit PART TWO: the downfall

ao3 | wattpad | masterlist

start from the beginning

THE DOWNFALL

The first months after Hades learned of The Prophecy, he swore that he would be content being the ruler of his own dominion. He knew the consequences and the privileges that come with ruling over a kingdom of your own, even if it is full of dead people. He swore he would be grateful to his brothers for the gift they’d given him. After all, it’s not every millennia that you get your own dominion.

“My apologies, little brother,” Zeus helps his youngest brother sit up when he comes to.

When Hades can see again, he holds his brother by the bicep to steady himself. He blinks slowly, eyes bleary as he gazes around, “Zeus, where are we?”

“The Depths,” Poseidon answers on behalf of the eldest. He swallows thickly, across at his two brothers, “We brought you here for your own safety, Sweet Pea.”

“You know how much I hate that,” Hades pushes himself away from his brothers. He swipes at the ash and dust on his tunic to busy his hands and then kicks his boots against the ground. “What do you mean ‘for my safety’? Am I not safe on Olympus, with the two of you by my side? None of this makes sense.”

“No, brother, you are far from safe.” Zeus crosses his arms over his chest and looks his youngest brother in the eyes, “There has been a horrible prophecy foretelling your downfall. We have brought you here to keep you safe. Only those whom you permit to pass are allowed in.”

“Brother-Mantle, what is going on? I-I want to go home.”

“I know, Sweet Pea,” Mantle puts his hands on his brother’s cheeks and tries to hide his own fear. He swallows, his throat bobbing, “But this is your home now. You can make it your own – do whatever you like with it! Rule it with an iron fist, make those who would come across you into your subjects. It’s a beautiful gift.”

Sweet Pea angles his head towards him with tears in his eyes and the eldest brother feels the knife in his chest turn just enough to hurt. It is not every day that you banish your brother to the Underworld. Mantle wraps his brother in a hug and pats him on the back, reassuring him with gentle whispers in his ears, no matter how false they may be.

It did take time to get used to living by himself, guarding the wayward souls and keeping the Underworld safe from outsiders. Charon watches The River, and The Guardians are his second-in-command. The Judgers send the souls to their respective fields, leaving Sweet Pea with little to actually do. Roaming the Underworld is tiresome and boring after a few repetitive years, and there’s only so many times you can play chess with yourself.

There once was a time when Sweet Pea would visit the other realms, Olympus and Earth alike, but those days have long since passed.

“Brothers and Sisters!” he shouts as he pushes his way up the stairway to Olympus. He chuckles, out of breath, “I know it has been a few years, but I-ow!”

Sweet Pea’s body flies backward, knocking the breath from his lungs when he lands. He rolls over, cradling his throbbing abdomen. It is only when he glances up at just the right moment does he notice the shimmering field protecting Olympus from Outsiders.

“Zeus?” he shouts in panic. “Poseidon! Aphrodite?!”

Anxiety overwhelms Sweet Pea’s body and he brushes his hand through his hair, trying to calm himself. The sweat glitters on his brow as his forehead crinkles in confusion. He attempts to make sense of it all – why would the shield bar him from Olympus? From his family?

The shield only comes on when there are intruders, those banished from Mount Olympus.

Sweet Pea wonders, theorizes, that he has been labeled as exiled, unable to return to the Heavens because his name is on The List of The Forbidden. To test his theory, he boldly reaches out with one palm and swats where the field is glimmering. His palm stings as it snaps back to his body, pulsing.

It makes no sense that he would be barred from Olympus. He has not completed any of the Abhorred Acts; he has done nothing to warrant exile. Sweet Pea begins to rack his brain to try and understand what might explain why he has been banished from Olympus. Exiled.

‘The Prophecy,’ Hades remembers. He ducks his head and forces himself away from the steps that would usually take him home, take him to his family, and instead he walks down to The Surface. ‘Mantle is protecting me from The Prophecy.’

The Surface is just as haphazard as it was the last time he visited. There are humans lying on the edges of the roads, their bones showing through gaunt faces as they beg for spare coins with an empty bowl.

Sweet Pea reaches to hand him a drachma, but the skinny man withdraws his cup and scatters like a rat. The young god tilts his head in confusion but puts his coin back in his purse and continues his exploration of The Surface.

It seems that every time he shows his face to a mortal, they are quick to run away from him, or they begin to form groups and he can hear their whispers as he passes by. The weight of the world sits on his shoulders as he makes his way through the marketplace of The Surface. He has never felt this sense of dread hanging between his brows before. As if it were palpable, but just barely out of his reach.

“E-Excuse me,” a small voice pipes up from his side. Sweet Pea turns to look at the young woman dressed in little-to-nothing who is currently draping herself over his arm. He smirks and leans his body down to meet her halfway, “Yes?”

“I-uh, I need a favor,” she drops him a wink.

He nods in response and she bites her lip, “Well, you see, Lord Hades, I-I have someone who needs to be taken care of. And I’ve heard you do that sort of thing – could you help me?”

Sweet Pea narrows his eyes and disentangles himself from the harlot, “Excuse me, woman?”

“I-I’m sorry, my lord,” she ducks her head, “I was told that you were the Lord of the Dead, I-I thought you could assist me in my-”

“I am not a killer,” he seethes, snatching her by the arm. She cowers in fear and he watches as her pupils envelope her blue irises. He can smell the fear taking over her body and so he lets her go with a quick thrust of his wrist.

“Do you not know that it is against the law of the gods to directly murder a mortal?” he asks her indignantly. She whimpers before turning on her heels and running off to hide behind a street corner.

Sweet Pea scoffs, rolling his eyes as he makes his way further into the marketplace. The eyes boring into him from all angles makes it even more difficult to walk in a straight line. He can smell their fear – it is palpable in the air and it sticks to his nostrils as he breathes it in. The stench of their fright courses through his airways and pushes his hair upward at the follicle.

Finally, he can bear it no longer and he turns on the mortals, growing three times in size to better reach them all. His figure towers over them and they cower in fear.

“Is that how you see me, mortals?!” Hades’ voice bellows. He looks down at the people, his arms held out in vulnerability. “You see me as some almighty executioner?”

As to be expected, none of them answer and he is left with mere silence.

“If that is how you wish to be, then so be it.”

Hades waves his arms, dark smoke twirling around his body as he reduces himself back to his human-size. The onlookers grow in numbers as the smoke spins like a tornado, picking up nearby carts and merchandise. The mortals hold on tightly to the nearest object to avoid being swept up into his deathly cyclone. Then, after another moment, the smoke slowly dissipates into nothingness, only a shadowy figure standing in its place.

And then their worst nightmares are realized.

Screams echo from the crowd, piercing cries splitting lips as fingernails are digging at their eyes. Hades crosses his arms over his chest as he looks into the fearful minds of those around him. If the fear was not palpable before, it is now. The emotions coat him like a blanket, searing into his skin as he looks at them panicked before him.

The man in front of him sees a terrifying beast foaming at the mouth, it’s skin burning into flakes as it’s white eyes glare deep into his soul. A woman to his right sees a tall figure with blue skin and burning hair, worms crawling from his teeth and snakes slithering around his arms like bracelets. A young child sees a black shadow with white fangs, a golden crown seated atop his head – a true prince of darkness.

“There you go,” he whispers in defeat, his head hanging. Despite the chaos, he pushes through the crowd and marches back to the entrance of Hades. Sweet Pea loads into his chariot, his beautiful black stallions bucking at his arrival. He pats their backs and settles into his seat, the reigns between his fingers.

“Let’s go home,” Sweet Pea murmurs as he slaps the reigns.

The horses thunder down the road until the ground splits open and swallows them back into The Depths.

Now the god of the Underworld sits on his throne built from ash and obsidian, and he looks down at the dominion he’s been given charge of. The River flows through, dark and dangerous, as Charon floats his passengers to their respective dwellings. The Guardians – Grief, Anxiety, Diseases, Old Age, Fear, Hunger, Need, Death, Agony, and Sleep – hold steady at the entrance to Hades.

Even though he has this entire domain to rule as he pleases, and minions to order into submission, Hades is lonely.

Sweet Pea spends his time reminiscing on his life from Olympus – and it seems so far away now. It feels like it was eons ago that he, Zeus, and Poseidon would wander through the clouds and banter with one another; that he would feel Aphrodite’s touch upon his cheeks as her warm skin radiated against his own.

Instead, it was eons ago that he was confined to The Depths. Even though it was for his own survival, his own safety, Hades cannot come to terms with the exile. He is falling down a hole from which he fears he can never claw out of.

Hades stands from his black throne and walks down the pile of bones to the path that leads to Nowhere and Everywhere all at once. His sandals trudge through the ash of those long past, kicking their remains into the air only for them to settle once again.

The path takes him through a winding hall, built to the top out of the bones of the mortals who now reside in Hades. Truth be told, he is no longer sure of where this place begins and he ends. He caresses the wall, looking up into the soulless eyes of someone who once had a life and a purpose, something to live for.

“There is no purpose here,” he echoes somberly as he opens the door to The Forbidden Chamber.

When Zeus and Poseidon locked him away in The Depths, they told him of this chamber. They told him of it’s great power, and how he was to never allow another soul to enter it, for inside The Forbidden Chamber was The Forbidden Fruit. There are none who know of its full potential, of its full power, but Zeus did warn him that if there was to be a soul who ate from it, they might be trapped in The Depths for eternity, and whatever follows after.

The door gives way to the warmest room in The Depths. There is light here, and Hades believes that it is all because there is a soul living in The Forbidden Fruit. He swears he hears its heartbeat the closer he steps towards to The Fruit.

He recalls when his brothers first brought him down to this room; he remembers walking these halls with them as they warned him of the treacherous fruit that resided there.

“The one who eats of the fruit will be doomed to this place forever, Sweet Pea,” Poseidon warns as they break through the doors. “The number of seeds you ingest is the number of months per annual cycle you are beholden to this world. Those who want you in danger or out of their way will try to use it to poison you, to force you to eat of the fruit. This is precisely why you must never tell another of this place. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Jughead,” Hades uses the name like a weapon. He cuts his eyes at his brother, “I think I understand.”

Poseidon rolls his eyes, scoffing, “I swear, I get my head stuck in a wine jug at one festival, and the two of you can’t-”

“At least it isn’t Sweet Pea,” Hades argues, crossing his arms over his chest. He takes a look at the fruit and becomes somber at a memory of the origin of his name. “I couldn’t help it that I loved those flowers, they reminded me of Mother.”

Sweet Pea brushes his hand over the glass that contains the powerful fruit, a seemingly innocent object that could be his very undoing. Should anyone find it, should anyone understand of its power, they could chain him here forever.

A many years later, after Hades has seen countless souls pass through The River, the loneliness that began to plague him has yet to subside. There have been attempts to take The Underworld from him, but he has quelled them with the slashing of his sword and the flick of his fingertips, unleashing his dark magic on those who would oppose him. He enjoys the game, the bloodshed, and he does not fear for he has kept The Fruit hidden.

“We need a new protector,” he thinks to himself as The Guardians clean up the wreckage from a recent attempt to break a demigod from the pits of Tartarus. Hades walks around the planes of the Underworld, dragging his boots through the caked ash as he ponders.

He smirks before waving his hands through the air, contorting his fingers in all directions as incantations fall from his full lips. A dark being materializes from nothing, starting as a shadow and turning into something else. Hades pulls on thin air, teeth and hair and blood emerging from a tiny shadow wavering in thin air. Dragging his arms further and further apart, Hades creates what will soon be known to the mortals and gods alike as Cerberus, the Three-Headed Protector of the Underworld.

“C’mere boy,” he climbs onto the back of the middle head, scratching the dog behind his ear. “Let us show them what we are made of.”

Even still, as he and Cerberus wreak havoc on The Surface, it is not enough. The carnage and the retribution are not enough. Cerberus is an animal, incapable of speech no matter how much feeling he reciprocates with the looks in his eyes. Hades loves the beast, but he does not satiate the void for kinship, even if the animal can quench his bloodlust.

Years following the birth of Cerberus, Hades wanders the earth in search of a companion. He cannot find another who reciprocates his diplomatic sense coupled with the need for chaos and vengeance, but in his search, he does find a serpent at his feet.

He knows the animal is hated, feared, all for no reason other than its defensive mechanisms. He picks up the animal by its throat and stares into its eyes. Upon seeing into the void, he smirks and drags the animal back to the Underworld with him, strangling it in the process.

Hades buries the dead animal in the dirt beside The River and takes a deep breath, digging his hands into the soil. His eyes roll back in his head and a soft spell falls from his lips as he imbues the ground with the body of the snake, and the blood of his magic.

“Rise,” he speaks finally, his eyes opening to see a group of dark spirits in front of him, growing by the minute.

They smile in unison, revealing fangs and black eyes, “Yes, Maker. How may we be of service?”

-----

Hades allows the demons to roam the earth confined in their natural form, that of a serpent. When they return to The Depths, they are free to walk as human-like creatures, with bodies that can be either male or female.

“Why did you pick a serpent?” his favorite of the demons asks one day.

“Fangs,” Hades smiles and extends a hand to his friend’s face, the skin cold and scaly to the touch, “Serpents are hated on The Surface. They are avoided like a plague, treated as monsters. I saw them and I sympathized with them. And so, the one begat many.”

“And the many is us,” another female serpent raises her voice. She crosses her arms over her chest and flicks her tongue out before approaching Hades on his obsidian throne which burns endlessly, “Right, Maker?”

“Correct, Topaz.” Hades confirms with a sly grin. “And I allowed you to choose your own names because I believe in freedom. That is also why you are allowed to roam The Surface in your serpent form.”

Hades runs his fingers over his neck, which brings Fangs and Topaz’s attention to his skin where an image of a continuous serpent is burned into his flesh.

“That is where our essence resides, is it not?” she asks, unsure if she wishes to know the true answer.

Her Maker nods, a somber look in his eyes, “With every curse, every magic act, one must pay a price. When I created you, I lost a part of myself, the symbol of your existence stitched onto my skin for eternity.”

And so, the serpents and their Maker reside in peaceful amnesty. They grow close, forming bonds that will last more than lifetimes of the mortals who live above them. They tell him what has become of the earth, for as more time passes, Hades retreats further away from civilization and society.

Despite his newfound family, Sweet Pea grows bitter as the years pass. His family, his blood, do not visit, they do not call out to him. The mortals become increasingly defamatory of his name, blaming the Prince of Darkness, the Lord of the Underworld, for their loved ones’ deaths. They blame him for the wrongs of the world, the sins that they refuse to atone for.

And if they are not blaming him, they are praying to him. He hears pleas echoed with bloodlust and trickery. The only prayers that come to his ears are that of murder and wrong doing.

“Do they forget that I am also the god of invisibility, the god of riches?!” Hades slams his fists into his throne, cracking it. The divine properties of the throne allow it to repair itself before Hades even takes another breath.

He seethes through his teeth, “I am not a mercenary to further their cause. Do these incompetent mortals not understand that a god cannot directly kill a human? Do they not know of the law?”

Eventually, Hades makes the decision to curse his own ears so he can no longer hear the greedy human’s prayers. He removes himself from his temples, refusing to listen to their cries of death and mischievousness.

Their evil thoughts plague him no longer, and he refuses to admit that he sometimes misses the idle chatter of the insolent beings of The Surface.

The demigods visit him to try and trick him into releasing the objects of their quests from the pits of Tartarus. Every time, he gives them the option to turn around, to keep from crossing him, and yet every time, they choose to swing their blade.

The serpents notice the callouses growing on their Maker. He is becoming cruel, increasingly judgmental as he throws souls into the Fields of Asphodel, cursed to wander there. They fear for their own existence, for if their Maker cannot satiate his lust for injustice with the mortals of The Surface, what is to stop him from taking out his hatred on them?

There is a day, a long while after Hades begins to set like concrete, where his façade falters and he smiles for the first time in decades. Topaz notices it first, and she alerts Fangs. They watch together as a grin turns his lips skyward as he sits idly on his throne, a musical instrument in his hands.

“I do not understand,” Fangs whispers, his lisp catching the word. He looks up to his female counterpart and blinks, “I-Is everything okay?”

She nods, sneaking a glance at their Maker. Topaz swallows and reaches out to cup Fangs’ cheek, “Something is changing.”

A few months pass before it happens again. Hades is feeding Cerberus when Joaquin, another serpent with brown skin and blue eyes, notices the slightest of upturns of his Maker’s lips.

Immediately, he confides in his serpent family, whispering in their ears about how he’s never seen Maker’s teeth unless he was shouting at a wayward soul.

“I believe that Aphrodite has been visiting,” the tallest of the Serpents speaks with a smirk. Topaz waves her hand, “Regardless of who is visiting, it is none of our business to meddle with The Maker. Let him have his happiness.”

And so, the Serpents leave well enough alone. It is only when Hades has smiled for the third time that Topaz begins to question things. She has been by his side most days, also accompanied by Fangs, and so she knows there is no way a goddess could be slipping into his bed.

“We need to go to the surface,” Topaz whispers to Fangs one night after the other Serpents have slithered into their bed holes. “There must be an enchantress trying to lull him into some sense of calm before she lays claim to the throne of Hades.”

Fangs takes a deep breath before nodding, “I’m right behind you, my friend. Lead the way.”

The ground opens up near the Statue of Hades, and the two serpents slither out from it. They disentangle themselves from one another and move around from the back of the statue, surveying their surroundings.

In the distance, they see a small girl picking flowers, but she is the only human presence they can sense for miles. Even so, Topaz leads Fangs further into The Surface, and together they search for any potential threats to their Maker.

It takes hours, but the only mention of Hades from the mortals is that in passing, mentions of how to accuse the god of the underworld for their misfortunes. They finally return to the underworld, both agreeing not to speak a word of the possible threat to neither their Serpent family or to their Maker.

There is a lapse in time where the Serpents can feel their Maker’s temper begin to flare again. He has returned to his calloused ways, his judgment swift and the punishment unfair. For a fleeting moment, Topaz and Fangs wish the threat would return even if just so they can be reprieved from their Maker’s unkind behavior.

The moment is fleeting, but the Maker is taking a trip down The River when Topaz sees the warmth of a smile spread over his cheeks, his eyes averted to the bottom of the boat as he soaks in the feeling. She wonders if he even knows that his expression betrays him, but there isn’t time to ponder over such things.

“Surface. Now.” Topaz orders to Fangs.

They slip between the crevice in the ground, slithering to the front of the statue. They wander through the temple, searching for any signs of danger. To their surprise, they are met with a womanly figure, her hair braided away from her face and a plethora of flowers in her dark hair.

“Sweet peas,” Topaz speaks to Fangs in a language only they can hear. “Look familiar?”

Fangs glances up at the girl aging into a woman and he is sure that she is just as familiar as the flower. It has been years since their last trip to the surface, but he distinctly remembers the backside of a young woman fading into the smoke.

The backside of his tail flicks to hit Topaz, “She is the girl.”

Topaz turns to look him in the eye, her tongue flicking out from between her fangs. She cocks her head in questioning, but he merely gestures with a glance to the young woman sitting in the temple, singing a familiar song.

The song was written when Hades cut himself off from the world, disallowing humans to speak to him directly through prayer. Lyrics speak of death and dismay and she sings them with a smile on her face while twirling a sweet pea stalk in between her fingers.

“Oh!”

Topaz and Fangs expect her to try and stomp on them, to snap them at their necks. But what she does next surprises them.

“Why hello there, little ones,” she smiles with bright gray eyes. “Are you lost?”

Fangs turns to his serpent friend and then back to the human in front of them, completely dumbfounded. Hades had told them that serpents were cursed on The Surface, that humans detested them.

“Oh don’t worry,” the young woman reaches down to touch the tops of their heads with just the pads of her fingers. “I won’t hurt you. You’re too pretty.”

Later, when Topaz and Fangs return to the underworld, they still feel her warm touch bleeding from the crowns of their heads to the bottoms of their feet.

Fangs shakes his head, “There’s no way. The Maker cannot hear prayers. She wasn’t praying, she was just-existing. How is this-”

“Coincidence,” Topaz interrupts him. She shakes her head, “It is merely coincidence. Nothing more.”

-----

It takes years for The Maker to smile again like he used to. In the midst of the time between his last smile and his next, Topaz and Fangs scour The Surface to find the source of the warmth. They visit every spellbound place, every spot on The Surface that is imbued with magic. Their search always has them return emptyhanded, no less confused than they were when they began.

This time, his smiles are consistent. It is twelve days in a row with the soft expression on his face before Topaz pushes her way back to The Surface again.

She sits, waiting for the next day that someone will grace the Statue of Hades.

It is another three days before a woman with dark hair and grey eyes returns to the statue.

“Oh hi, little one,” she reaches down and pats Topaz on the top of her head ever so gently. She grins, “I have missed you and your friend these past weeks. Do you wish to stay with me while I talk to him?”

Topaz flicks her tongue as she considers the young woman’s words. She smiles with bright white teeth, sharp at the edges, and sits down on the temple floor, “He is the only one who understands me, little one. Sweets and I are the same.”

And suddenly it all makes sense.

----

a/n: i hope you guys liked meeting hades!pea - he is a treasure to write! i’ve decided i’m going to post a new part every friday around this time in the evening :) so be looking out for part three next week! and in the meantime, let me know your thoughts on the current parts that have been posted! 

tag list (message me to be added/removed):  @trash-trashington @blueboi-345 @sweetsserpent @omgspnfanfiction @bugheadworld360@myfavfanfix @fjziwnnfkcks @nohemi2500 @sophia-psycho4death@wintercourtsq @ellsbells2143 @jezzabelleserpent @imyourliquor-youremypoison @serpentiinequeen @serpentcentral @reckless-love3210 @brittanyvengeance @thatlittlesectoroftheuniverse@ansia-sapone @twopointthreefour @softpuregayangels@theheavycrown @fadingweaselpicklepurse @thick-madame748@oof-its-a-misfit @ominous066 @browneyesandsquishythighs@bettie-chachki-50-70 @serenityofsuffering666@spsandfangsbestgirl2 @scorpionsuns @dwayyy @solosoulbrew@thebookfairy @kingbouji3 @aliteralhotmess @rivendell101@southsidewrites @cactiem @reblogserpent @sweetsserpentine@worriestothewind @serpentnanarose @sweetpeasjelloshot@sweetpea-cc @cherysbombshell @beginningstofandom@southsidemistress @starryeyedparker @miffy-melly @exquisitley-obsessed @sweetpeasbabydoll @kinkysweetpea @writing-in-riverdale @the-gargoyle-queen @bitchiloveher @sweetpea-fvck@serpentsluttsstuff @sweetsfuckingpea @softherns@freakingbradleys @theangriestpea @sweetpeassweetpea@sweetpeasbellamy @inyourwildestdreamslove @sunshinechaos@stories-from-my-notebook @amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines@sweetserpents @fictionsofriverdale @buggiebreak @riverdale-events @otps-killing-me-not-softly @foxyfangurl@benhargreevestentacles @blush-and-books @helloscorpious@narvvi @fangirlfree @bvbblegvms @technoshuri @mari-cross@thedarksideofriverdale @griffins-and-gargoyles @melton-my-heart 

[lilhemmo]

the forbidden fruit pt. three

the forbidden fruit PART THREE: the surface

ao3 | wattpad | masterlist | askbox summary: the reimagined persephone and hades au that nobody asked for word count: 3.2k+  warnings: alcohol and blood tw part one | part two

T H E ��  S U R F A C E

"I grow tired of this world," she complains, digging her feet into the dirt. She looks up at his statue, glaring into his eyes, "I think you're scared of me, Prince of Darkness, Lord of the Shadows. I think that is why you will not come and find me."

Lilith shakes her head and a laugh bubbles from her lips, "I am glad to have you during this time, though. Mother is growing tiresome. She continues to tell me to be just like the other children, but I will not do it. I will not succumb to their weak-willed conformities."

She runs her fingertips over the engraving at the base of his statue, admiring how his name looks dug into the marble. Lilith tilts her head as the familiar sounds of her serpent friends distract her from her monologue.

"Good evening, darlings," she reaches out to the smallest serpent and allows her to crawl up her forearm and lick her face. Lilith giggles before petting the thickest serpent, scratching gently on the underneath side of his head.

Lilith lays down in the dirt, looking up at the night sky, "How can such terrible gods create something so beautiful?"

The bigger serpent slithers up her chest to look into her eyes. She smiles at him and he opens his mouth as if to reciprocate the expression, but he is still limited to his own body and therefore looks more intimidating than he means to be. Even still, Lilith rubs her index fingertip over the top of his head down to his tail.

"I wonder if Sweets knows that his nephew is throwing a party down here on Earth," Lilith raises a brow at the smallest serpent. "I wonder if he will attend?"

The Serpents stay until Lilith has to return home. They slip back to The Depths and morph into their human forms before seeking out their Maker.

"He's not going to listen to you," Fangs seethes as they approach The Maker's chambers.

Topaz shrugs, "It has to be worth trying."

The Maker looks down from his ashen throne and smiles at the Serpents down below. He materializes in front of them as a puff of smoke, a grin on his lips.

"Yes? Is there something you need, my friends?"

"Maker," Topaz starts, her clawed hands crossing together in front of her scaly body, "your nephew, Dionysus, will be-"

Hades shakes his head and holds his palm up, "Is this another ploy to get my back to The Surface?"

Fangs steps forward, tilting his head to implore his Maker, "Lord, we just want to see you get out of this bleak place now and again. It cannot be healthy."

"I will not listen to this," Hades waves his hand. "The humans do not appreciate my presence on The Surface. It is better for me to stay here, but the two of you are welcome to go and taste the wine of my nephew."

Topaz and Fangs glance at one another one final time before bowing their heads and stepping away from their Maker.

Together they spend days traveling back and forth to and from The Surface, spending time with Lilith, waiting on their next opportunity to try and convince The Maker to return.

-----

"I do believe your Maker should attend this festival," Lilith gushes one day a few weeks later. She rolls around in the sweet peas, laying on her belly and looking the snakes in the eyes. She grins, "I think he would love this festival. We are all gathering together to send coins down to The Underworld for the souls who have yet to pass down the River Styx."

She runs the pad of her finger down the back of the smallest serpent, "Won't he like that? It will send the wayward souls down The River, allowing him some sort of peace. Don't you think?"

The young woman with dark hair and gray eyes sits quiet, waiting for them to responds. The serpents' flick their tongues out in some sort of answer, and it makes a giggle split her lips. She purses her mouth and pushes her tongue between her teeth to mirror their actions.

"I will go and wait for him there," she tells them, "even if he does not come, I'll be there. Will you tell him?"

The serpents slither back into the grass and Lilith is left on her own once more.

They are quick to deliver the news of the event to The Maker.

"Good for them," Sweet Pea responds with a wave of his hand. "It will be nice to have a new rotation of wandering souls at the base of The River."

Topaz rolls her eyes and thrusts her hands towards the god, "You cannot go on like this forever, my lord."

"Oh, Topaz," he smirks in a devilish way, "you underestimate me."

-----

Lilith twirls a sweet pea stalk between her fingers, a girlish grin on her lips. She stares up at the marble statue, her savior of sorts, and sniffs the floral bud.

"I suppose I should stop telling you about these festivals to try and get Sweets to show, huh?" she asks the small serpent in front of her. Her smile falters slightly as the heat of tears wells up in the back of her eyelids, but she forces herself to pick up the pieces and continue on anyway.

"This one would be spectacular," Lilith explains. She rests the flower atop the tiny serpent's head, and watches as she tries to balance it on her scales. "It is a celebration in honor of Sweets himself. The whole city is gathering to celebrate the day he birthed the Underworld."

The serpent tilts her head and then coils around Lilith's arm, tightening around the appendage to steady herself. Lilith rubs her cheek against the serpent's head, closing her eyes at the motion.

"I understand why he keeps himself locked away in that prison," Lilith tells the serpent, her voice quiet. She has sadness hanging in her eyes, "He is so poorly treated here on earth, and in Olympus. All the other gods are clearly not supporting him like family should."

She shakes her head, dark hair falling over her shoulders. Lilith gives the serpent a half-smile, "I will take a sip of blackened wine in his honor, little one. I know you're trying your hardest to bring him to our land for a visit. He will come, but the stubborn god will have it be on his own time."

-----

Topaz grabs Fangs by the collar and practically drags him across the Underworld floor. He tries to push back against her, but it's no use – she's much stronger than him.

"Maker!" she shouts as Hades begins to walk down The River.

Sweet Pea looks over his shoulder and smirks, "Yes, Topaz?"

She huffs, her serpentine tongue flickering between her teeth. She crosses her arms over her chest, "There's a festival tonight, on The Surface."

"The Surface, you say?" he asks, sarcastically entertaining the idea. He tilts his head in the serpent-girl's direction, "I would like to see how you try and coerce me into attending this time, Topaz."

"I-It's a festival in your honor, my Lord," Fangs supplies, reaching out to touch Sweet Pea on the shoulder. He smiles, "They're going to be drinking black wine and eating dark fruits. There will be fires made and animals sacrificed in your honor! Tonight is all about you, Maker."

Sweet Pea rubs his face which has grown stubbled in his negligence. He chuckles, a deep rumble that shakes the very ground they walk on, "The humans do not wish for my presence on The Surface, my friends. They may claim this festival is in my honor, but I do not think I would be welcome."

"How could you not be welcome at your own festival?" Topaz sneers, narrowing her eyes in questioning. Fangs looks at her with widened irises, a warning in his gaze.

"The humans see me as they want to see me, serpents," Hades explains. "If I go, all I will do is frighten them."

"Not all of them," Topaz supplies in a high-pitched voice, avoiding her Maker's eyes.

Hades sighs, running a hand through his dark locks. He shakes his head and fights the smirk on his lips, "If you insist, my serpent friend. Ready the horses, we will leave soon."

He walks up the hill to greet his canine companion, his grin growing with every step he takes further into the ash, "Come, my pet. There's no reason you cannot join us as well."

Topaz turns her head in confusion, skin glittering as the fire permanently ablaze in the underworld glints off of her. Hades begins to twirl his fingers and Cerberus' body starts to contort, shrinking down into the dirt.

"Holy you," Topaz stares in awe at the single-headed, normal-sized dog loiters in front of her, licking at his Master's fingertips. He bounds around, dark eyes staring up at the both of them, waiting for some sort of affection.

Hades scratches behind his ears and looks up at Topaz, "I think we are ready to go."

-----

It is sunset when the black chariot from the underworld finally splits through the ground. There are lanterns hanging in the sky, burning blue to represent the fire of the underworld. As the chariot rides past, Hades watches from the distance as people drink from black chalices, their lips stained dark with wine.

He chuckles, "I would expect Dionysus is at the root of this."

"It's beautiful," Topaz hisses from around his bicep. The Serpents are still not allowed to show their humanoid form on The Surface, but they can still communicate with Hades despite their restrictions.

"It's something," Fangs echoes, twirling his head every which way to take it all in. He flicks his spiked tongue between his fangs and crawls onto Hades' shoulder to look out at the scenery.

Hades brushes his fingertips through Cerberus' hair, smiling down at his canine friend. The chariot halts and the god steps down onto the earthen ground. He then turns his head to glance at each of the serpents before pushing his way through the crowd gathered around a large fire.

The stench of hot blood and flesh fills his nostrils as the god walks closer to the pyre where the offerings are burning. Hades can feel the sacrifices make their way to the underworld; his body feels refreshed, restored. He opens his eyes and coils his fists, a triumphant smirk on his lips.

He pulls his cloak further around his face as he begins to weave through the crowd, Cerberus held on a leather rope attached to the god's wrist. The serpents hide under his clothing, tightening around his biceps and resting their heads in his collarbones.

As Hades passes, people grasp at their throats and bellies, complaining about a churning and a bubbling suddenly sparking in their bodies. He tries to steel his spine against their reactions at his arrival and wills himself to disregard the negative aura he's surrounded with. The serpents literally clutching his muscles does help to sober him as he feels his godly blood pumping in his own veins. Cerberus continues to guide him towards a fountain so he may drink from it, tongue parched from the heat of the Underworld.

Sweet Pea licks his lips and guards his face from those who might identify him, keeping his back to as many passersby as humanly possible. He swallows as he gets closer to the heart of the event, more humans crowding him and making him sweat.

"It must be the wine," he hears an older gentleman gripe. "Dionysus must have given us an old batch, uncured and rancid. I think I'm going to be sick."

The god refuses to pay mind to measly mortals. He huffs, thinking: They probably just can't handle the amount of alcohol Dionysus keeps. They'll be fine in the morning. Or they'll be dead. I guess I'll be the first to know.

Cerberus sniffs people's feet, drawing some attention but only to himself. The crowd loves to reach and pet behind his ears, and Cerberus has an equal desire for the affection. In his smaller form, his ferocities are fewer and he craves the human touch. Hades wishes that he were the same.

"I don't feel so good," he hears a small child whine from beside him. Their parent picks them up, holding them around the waist and shushing them.

Sweet Pea pushes closer, feeling stronger as the offerings grow in number. Prayers press against his ears, but he tries harder not to hear them. He grips the leather strap holding him to Cerberus tighter, the worn material biting into his palm and giving him some sense of clarity amongst the chaos.

Another woman turns as soon as he brushes past her shoulder, "Adrian, I am suddenly unwell. Do you think we might turn in early?"

The god hears voices such as this all around him, complaining of their sickened bellies and their rancid wine. He is suddenly so overwhelmed with the fearful thoughts of those around him that he doesn't pay attention when he bumps into a young woman, causing her to stumble.

He reaches out, accidentally touching her elbow as he steadies her. A swift apology passes his lips before he turns his back to her so she is unable to identify him as the monster she sees.

"It's quite all right," she chuckles, even though he's already dismissed her. "This wine is getting to my head as well."

Her mother, Hades assumes, reaches out and grasps her by the shoulders, "My love, I believe the wine has been poisoned or poorly prepared. Are you not sick like the others?"

Sweet Pea pushes past her just as he hears: "No, mother, I actually rather liked the drink."

The god tucks his hood further around his chin, hiding his true face from those around him as a crowd gathers to the bonfire.

"Tonight we celebrate the Prince of Darkness, the Lord of the Underworld, the god of The Depths!" A man stands tall in front of the crowd, his arms gesturing wide, "Tonight, we lift up our prayers to the most evil Lord Hades in hopes that he will turn his ear towards us and heed our cries! He has sworn off prayer, that much we know, but it is possible that if we can prove to him that we are worthy of his affections, he may open his mind to us all once more."

Suddenly, all around him, people begin to fall face first into the dirt, their hands raised above their heads as they recite prayers and passages under their breath. They dig their fingers into the ground and whisper to the god of death, eyes shut as the fire beats down on top of them.

The voices all come at him twice - once directly and once again indirectly. The amount of prayers pushing through the field of the underworld makes him dizzy and cold. He wraps his arms around himself in an attempt to hold his body together.

"I pray you will punish my husband," one woman requests with gritted teeth.

"Please, Lord Hades, help me rid myself of my awful wife," a man pleads with tears in his eyes.

"Oh, great god," an older man speaks, "please heed my cry and take my life. I am in far too much pain to stay here another day."

It is all so overwhelming. Sweet Pea's mind begins melding at the flood of voices and words and emotions coming through all at once. He blinks hard, trying to rid himself of all the negative, dark thoughts he is wading through.

"I think we should leave," Topaz whispers to her Maker, tightening around his bicep. Fangs gives him another squeeze, seconding her request, and Hades grasps Cerberus around the rope and tugs him away from the scene.

"I don't even know why I'm here," he hears another voice say. "None of them truly understand you, sweets."

The words make his toes dig in the dirt, his body halting as the nickname hits his ears. He looks around frantically, wondering if the source of the voice is one of his kin. Sweet Pea fights a smile at the idea of seeing one of his brothers again.

When he turns his head, all he sees is the backside of a young woman, dark hair covering her shoulders like a curtain. The spit in his mouth turns sour at his hopefulness. He scowls, and Hades pushes the thought of his family out of his mind. Hades begins forcing himself to walk further and further away from the gathering. People try to grasp him by the arms and legs and beg him to pray to himself, but he shakes them off and continues through.

His body is somehow weakened by the time he returns to his temple, legs shaking under the strain of being in a human form for far too long. He gasps, digging his palms into the dirt so the Serpents have a way to slither back down into the dirt.

"I need a moment, my friends, if you would be so kind," he manages to push the words through his white teeth. Sweet Pea sits on his knees, staring up at his very own statue, the marble looking back at him with soulless eyes and a broken heart.

"This is all they think of me," Sweet Pea whispers. "They think of me as some mercenary they can offer burnt rabbits to in exchange for my taking of a soul. I am nothing but a transactional god to them."

His lower lip trembles and he looks up to the heavens, "Zeus and Poseidon were right. I will always be in danger here, everywhere."

He beats his fists into the ground, cracking the stone he kneels upon. Tears drip onto the marble and he seethes curses through his teeth. Nothing can repair his damaged heart, his broken mind, not now.

Sweet Pea stands to his feet and the Serpents guide him to the chariot. Cerberus climbs in the front, awaiting his master. The horses buck, ready to return to their home. Their black hair gives way to a burning red mane, the heat from their flaming extremities warming Hades' face.

"Let's go home, my friends," he whispers, grasping the reigns and sitting back in his seat.

The horses are quick to pick up speed as the ground opens beneath them. The Serpents can morph into their opposing forms as soon as the grass grows back from where they once came. Topaz gasps for breath, the transformation still strange as it mutilates her bones and stretches her scaly skin.

Fangs lays his head on his Maker's arm, "I am sorry, Lord Hades. They do not deserve you."

The ride into The Depths is silent, save for the clambering of the horse hooves and Cerberus' occasional barking. Hades keeps one hand on the reigns and the other on Cerberus' neck, scratching him with his thumbnail.

They land with a thundering of hooves and a burst of flames as the chariot makes contact with the obsidian ground of the Underworld. Sweet Pea steps out, pulling Cerberus by the leash as the Serpents exit on the opposite side.

Sweet Pea bends down to unhook the leather from around Cerberus' neck when he feels the shift, the change in the atmosphere. Suddenly, the Underworld feels much-warmer.

He turns to ask Topaz and Fangs if they feel it too, but he's interrupted by a voice he's heard only in his dreams.

"Wow, it really is you."

-

a/n: OH MY GOD IT’S ABOUT TO HAPPEN!!! 

disclaimer: without @thesweetestsweetpea my life would be a wreck and i would’ve quit before i ever started. i am forever indebted to you, my darling. so send her a thank you if you liked this chap!

taglist (message me to be added/removed):  @trash-trashington @blueboi-345 @sweetsserpent @omgspnfanfiction @bugheadworld360@myfavfanfix @fjziwnnfkcks @nohemi2500 @sophia-psycho4death@wintercourtsq @ellsbells2143 @jezzabelleserpent @imyourliquor-youremypoison @serpentiinequeen @serpentcentral @reckless-love3210 @brittanyvengeance @thatlittlesectoroftheuniverse@ansia-sapone @twopointthreefour @softpuregayangels@theheavycrown @fadingweaselpicklepurse @thick-madame748@oof-its-a-misfit @ominous066 @browneyesandsquishythighs@bettie-chachki-50-70 @serenityofsuffering666@spsandfangsbestgirl2 @scorpionsuns @dwayyy @solosoulbrew@thebookfairy @kingbouji3 @aliteralhotmess @rivendell101@southsidewrites @cactiem @reblogserpent @sweetsserpentine@worriestothewind @serpentnanarose @sweetpeasjelloshot@sweetpea-cc @cherysbombshell @beginningstofandom@southsidemistress @starryeyedparker @miffy-melly @exquisitley-obsessed @sweetpeasbabydoll @kinkysweetpea @writing-in-riverdale @the-gargoyle-queen @bitchiloveher @sweetpea-fvck@serpentsluttsstuff @sweetsfuckingpea @softherns@freakingbradleys @theangriestpea @sweetpeassweetpea@sweetpeasbellamy @inyourwildestdreamslove @sunshinechaos@stories-from-my-notebook @amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines@sweetserpents @fictionsofriverdale @buggiebreak @riverdale-events @otps-killing-me-not-softly @foxyfangurl@benhargreevestentacles @blush-and-books @helloscorpious@narvvi @fangirlfree @bvbblegvms @technoshuri @mari-cross@thedarksideofriverdale @griffins-and-gargoyles @melton-my-heart  @sweetfogarty @princesweetpea @xserpentlife @wayward-river @serpenthighkey @jinxfanfics

[lilhemmo]

Hello beautiful human! I just finished getting caught up on The Forbidden Fruit after a friend recommended it to me to help with my severe Sweet Pea withdrawal (thanks alot Riverdale). Can you give any spoilers for upcoming chapters?

Hi there friend!! I’m so happy you enjoyed it enough to read all the way through!! What have been your thoughts so far? What would you like to see in the future?

Regarding spoilers, here’s a few!

- Lilith STORMS mount Olympus. Gotta protect her mans.

- we get to see Betty and Veronica!! And there’s ACTUAL female interaction

- direct quote: “I am the goddess of the living and the queen of the dead, what power have you disillusioned yourself into loitering over me?!”

- LOTS of lilipea kisses. they love each other. a lot.

[lilhemmo]

just saw that pic you posted with the tag "ship: lilith x pea" and now i want a quick little 5 sentence or so ficlet of the two of them cuddling!!! if you're up for it?

a/n: i have another lilipea request in my inbox (@blush-and-books) but i’m going to do a big fic for it lol so in the meantime...

Lilith is always the first to wake, which means she’s also the first to run her hands through his hair and down his shoulders until her fingernails tickle against the thin skin of his waist. His smirk gives away that she’s woken him, but he keeps his eyes closed nonetheless because he loves the feel of her fingers on his bare skin.

Sweet Pea is always the last to fall asleep, which means he’s also the last one to watch her eyelids flutter shut and her lips part with sleep, pouting once she’s fallen into the darkness. His touch wanders over her face and through her hair, eyes soft as he takes her in, breathing in her floral scent and allowing his lips to traipse through her hairline.

When they both are awake, hands are roaming and lips are aching, their bodies intertwined so you do not know where one ends and the other begins.

read the forbidden fruit here

tagging: @melton-my-heart @thesweetestsweetpea @southsidearchive @the-gargoyle-queen @hugharekillianmelou

[lilhemmo]

find me {where the wild things are}

a/n: for the @southsidearchive​ santa exchange, i got @findmeinpops​ for my secret santa! harry, i really hope you like it! i’m sO SORRY about the lateness. i’ve got two more fics coming for you soon to make up for it!!

pairing: Sweet Pea x fem!reader

trigger/warnings: a little blood (forgive him, he’s fighting a dragon); mentions of cursing; 

summary: Sweet Pea has never been a fan of magic. He’s also never been a fan of dragons. Kind of ironic that one needs slaying.

ao3 | wattpad | writing tag

LINK TO THE SOUTHSIDE ARCHIVE AO3 COLLECTION

It was not an easy decision, but money makes the man move, or so they say.

Desperation forces him to make the decision - eat or be eaten, so to speak. And this time, it is not just a metaphor, it’s a reality.

Sweet Pea is looking up at a dragon.

Sweet Pea hates dragons.

Kind of ironic that one needs slaying.

The sword lies heavy in his hands as he twirls the hilt in his grip, a deep breath inhaled through his lungs. He mutters a curse under his breath, rolling his eyes as the dragon reels its heavy head.

“Here we go,” he mutters, taking muddy steps forward, baring his teeth to the beast who holds his fate.

-

Drenched in sweat, caked in blood, Sweet Pea rolls his shoulders and his head lolls but he forces himself to keep upright so he can finish this dragon. 

It is bleeding from it’s neck and it’s underbelly, groaning and roaring every time it moves too quickly. A particularly loud wail echoes from its lips and Sweet Pea cracks his neck, taking a breath before pushing into another wave of attacks and parries.

“Hold on!” a voice echoes from the entrance of the cave.

Sweet Pea turns his head, momentarily distracted from the beast. He squints to get a better look at you, hands trembling as he attempts to keep the sword within his grasp.

The staff within your grasp glows a muted purple, sparks of energy flying off of it as you dig it into the dirt. You motion to the man with your head, smiling gently, “I can dull its senses if you give me a moment to recite a spell.”

Sweet Pea has never been a fan of magic.

Then again, he’s also never been a fan of dragons.

His nostrils flare as he takes you in, large cloak and wooden staff, “I will not be sharing my reward with you, mage.”

You snort, tapping your staff into the ground three times. The scent of the forest wafts in the air, swirling like a cloud of smoke towards the dragon. He feels his chest tighten, but somehow the ripped skin on his arms begins to stitch back together. 

“I need no reward,” you murmur as you step closer to him, still clutching the staff tightly in your grasp. You gesture with your free hand, two fingers in the air as you recite another spell under your breath, one that will now calm the dragon - freeing it of pain while also sidling it’s ferocity. 

Sweet Pea is able to slice his sword through a vulnerable place in the dragon’s scales. The dragon falls and the earth shakes, both of you having to steady yourselves against the wobbly ground. Once the dust settles, Sweet Pea turns his eyes on you and crosses the space between you within seconds.

“I said no splitting of the reward, mage,” he seethes, a finger pressed to your chest. He cuts his eyes downward, “I did not need your aid.”

You raise a brow, instead tilting yourself toward him, your own finger pressed between his pectorals, “Ah, yes, because you are soaked in dragon-blood, your boots are saturated with your own stench, and you definitely could have swung that sword one more time, I’m sure.”

That comment sets him backward, visibly wounding him. You smirk, twirling your staff between your fingers, “Is there anything specific you need from this beast? I do not need the reward, but I do need bits and pieces from the body for my stock.”

Sweet Pea is still reeling from your finger in his chest, the ghost of your touch resting there. He coughs to bring himself back to reality, stepping closer to the lifeless dragon, scales glinting like fire in the afternoon sunlight. Swallowing, he runs a hand over one of the feet, the claw blackened with earth.

“I will need to pluck the scales - they’re one of the most profitable bits. The teeth, too.”

“Great,” you smile, climbing up the arm towards the neck. “I just need the eyes and the claws. You can have the rest.”

Sweet Pea was not a fan of magic. 

But you might just change his mind.

-

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this!” you shout over the whirlwinds of the sea.

Sweet Pea narrows his eyes at you, “Mage, I was not aware you were to be onboard.”

You nod, fighting a smirk. He has windswept hair, a billowing white blouse adorned on his torso with tight-fitting pants to match. It’s enough to make anyone’s knees go weak.

“Well, when I heard you were a passenger, I knew you’d need my help eventually,” you manage before waving your staff in three circles, chanting a familiar calming spell under your breath. 

It takes a few moments, but the waves calm and the spirits of the ocean stop their chattering. You fall to your knees, surprised to feel a pair of arms circle around your shoulders to help you steady yourself.

You glance up at him, a thank you rolling off your lips just before your staff clatters to the deck and your body is soon to follow.

-

“Lilith, please-”

“Calm down, Pea. I’ve healed a few times in my life.”

“I-I know, I’m sorry.”

Your eyes peel open, senses groggy and dulled with some sort of herb that still tastes bitter in your mouth.

“Shh, she’s awake.”

The room is swaying and it takes you a moment to remember you’re on a ship in the middle of the ocean. When you remember the storm, you bolt upward, two pairs of hands on either side of your shoulders, hushing you and reminding you to take it slow.

“The storm,” you mutter, groaning at the feeling of your stomach swimming in its own acid.

Sweet Pea’s voice is soft, “You quelled it. You need rest.”

You shake your head, “Must watch over the ship.”

“We’re in calm waters now,” a careful voice speaks from beside you, opposite of Sweet Pea. Her skin is dark and her eyes are violet and there is a thrum of some kind of bond that flows through you.

“Healing Mage?” you murmur in a question.

She removes her hood and dark curls spring forth, woven with gold to match the tattoos on her face. The two of you share a smile as she replies, “Yes, love. You are a spellcaster, I assume? The waving of your staff on the deck would suggest so.”

“Born with magic.” You turn to look at Sweet Pea, who looks mildly perturbed at the revelation. Reaching out, you take his hand, “Thank you, for not letting me pass out on the deck alone.”

He shrugs, sitting down on your bedside, “You did save me the embarrassment of being killed by a dragon. I owed you.”

“I suppose you did,” you respond, finding his hand amidst the blankets currently bunched up around your body. Your voice turns earnest, something you hadn’t meant to happen, “Thank you.”

The way he looks down at you makes something twitch in your chest and you wish you were strong enough to cast a spell to take you somewhere else, anywhere else, but here. 

-

“I thought you hated magic?”

“What made you think that?”

You snort, watching as he takes up the entirety of your doorway, “The absolute look of disgust on your face every time I use my wand was a bit of a dead giveaway.”

He shrugs, stepping inside and closing the wooden door behind him with a loud thud. Sweet Pea thumbs through a few of your spell books as he takes steps to become closer to you.

“What can I help you with?” you ask after a few moments of silence.

Sweet Pea tilts his head, looking you in the eyes. You can’t help the smirk that tugs on your lips, and you’re thankful for it when it makes him chuckle.

He bites his lip, “My fields, the crops, they’re dying. The runoff from the kingdom is poisoning my land. I feed too many of the southern part of the kingdom to allow this to continue.”

“You feed the Southside?” you question, pushing your way through various bottles with different colored liquid. A few ingredients find their way to your worktable with the simple wave of your hand.

Sweet Pea nods, “Yes, the responsibility of the Serpent clan tends to fall on my shoulders. I inherited my land from my mother before she passed.”

He waits while you thumb through your potions and ingredients, the bottles and boxes floating through the air as you choose them. You laugh at a certain container and the sound brings a gentle smile to his lips.

“My father was from the Southside,” you mention.

You turn and begin concocting some sort of magical substance within a big, black pot that Sweet Pea will come to learn as a cauldron. His eyes track your motions as you flit about within your home, comfortable and fluid as you traipse throughout the space.

“Does the Jones family still live there?” you ask, trying to fill the empty void with some sort of conversation. “I once knew Forsythe’s son, but it has been a few years since we last spoke.”

Sweet Pea finds a seat at your table, his large frame folding in the small space, “Yes, Forsythe and his son still lead the Southside to some extent. They are the ones we send to meet with the king when there are needs we cannot fulfill ourselves.”

“Is that why you’re here?” 

He stops, unable to find an answer.

In the lack of speech, you can’t hold back a laugh. You turn to him, your thigh brushing against his knee as your potion bubbles. You tilt your head, “Sweet Pea, I’m teasing. Lighten your spirits.”

“Magic makes me uneasy,” he mumbles under his breath.

“Then why are you here?”

His silence is your answer.

-

The Southside’s crops flourish and you start to get more visitors.

First, it is Forsythe’s son. He remembers you from your childhood, before you fled the Southside after your father’s untimely death. 

Then, it is a young woman named Elizabeth, betrothed to Forsythe. He brings her to visit you, asking for some sort of potion that you’d rather not repeat to the general public.

Another time, it is a bombshell of a woman who introduces herself as Antoinette. You mesh with her easily, as she is trying to learn magic but mostly has a gift for healing. Your talents do not lend to healing easily, but you can work at it enough to teach her.

Sweet Pea is always their guide, finding his way to your home at least once every few weeks with some need for another potion or another spell or another enchantment or another magic item.

“If you would like to visit me, you can come alone, you know.”

It catches him by surprise as he ushers Antoinette out the door one evening. The moonlight glints in his eyes as he looks at you over his shoulder, his bottom lip dropping just enough to bare his teeth.

“I may have to take you up on that next time,” he manages before shutting the door behind him.

Your heart squeezes and you wonder if he’s telling the truth.

Your hands itch to craft a truth serum.

You restrain yourself.

-

It takes him another three months, but when your doorbell chimes, only one set of boots walks over your threshold.

“What is it you ne-oh, Sweet Pea.”

He looks tense - shoulders tight and jaw muscles taut. He ducks into your den, licking his lips as he attempts his first sentence.

“I, uh, I thought that I might-er, take you up on your offer?”

You find it in you to laugh, stepping forward to touch his bicep with just the tips of your fingers, “Great, I’ve just put the teapot on. Do you like earl gray?”

The tea does not have truth serum, you swear.

But somehow he wants to spill all of his secrets.

It takes an hour, but eventually he asks: “Did you cast a spell on me?”

The tea is cold against your lips, mug almost full thanks to the words that have superfluously flown from your lips since the moment you sat in front of him. You shake your head, setting the mug down on your tabletop, “No, I forced myself to stray from magic today, once you stopped by my door.”

“My father was murdered with magic,” he speaks quietly, covering his mouth with his mug after the revelation has been spoken.

You want to rush to him, to hold him by the cheeks and apologize for all of the nasty magic-wielders you’ve ever known and all those who might have had a hand in harming him.

“Nothing you can do,” Sweet Pea speaks curtly as if reading your mind. 

“I know,” you answer, “doesn’t mean I can’t be angered.”

Sweet Pea places his mug on the table next to yours and when his knuckles brush your own, electricity sparks up your veins. One of the side effects of having magic in your veins means that you feel things one thousand percent more than the average human.

“I’ve never met a good, honest wielder of magic,” Sweet Pea continues. He sighs and chews on the inside of his lip, “When I met you in the dragon’s cavern, I wasn’t sure if I should kill you or not.”

You scoot yourself closer to him, your chair scraping against the wooden floor beneath you. His eyes dart to yours, dark and tumultuous. You want to reach out, to graze your fingertips against his thigh, but you hold yourself back.

“Have you discovered what decision you should have made?” you ask, breathless.

Sweet Pea’s palm is warm when it connects with your knee, burning through the flimsy fabric of your skirt. Immediately, you cover his hand with your own, curling your fingers around his knuckles. His breath hitches and his throat bobs, but he answers you anyway.

“I know now killing you was not the right answer,” Sweet Pea leans in close to you, the tea on his lips tantalizing as his body tilts toward you. He licks his lips and you follow the motion with your eyes, wondering what his tongue would feel like against yours. 

“Now,” he whispers, “I’m wondering whether or not to kiss you.”

You can’t help the smirk that grows on your lips, “Oh, fear not, I can make that decision for you.”

Your mouth against his sparks some sort of electricity, but in the warmest, most inviting way. Tingles spread down from the base of your neck, pooling in your stomach as his lips move slowly, torturously against yours. 

One of his hands is in your hair, the other trailing its way up your thigh towards your hip, dragging you closer to him with every gentle noise your mouths make. He lets a groan echo from the back of his throat and you feel a certain twinge at the base of your spine which launches you forward, knees on either side of his hips as you settle against his body.

“At least one of us is decisive,” he mutters as his hands traverse your body. A smile turns his lips upward and you can feel it against your mouth, “If it were up to me alone, we would still be mixing elixirs.”

You roll your eyes as you pull away, thumbing through his hair, “I can mix you an elixir, Southsider. It’ll blow your mind.”

A soft look overtakes his face, his eyes gentle and his touch even sweeter, “You blow my mind, sunshine. No elixir required.”

You’re not sure how to respond, so you kiss him instead.

As you feel his spirit wash over you like sunlight, you realize he’s right - absolutely no magic required.

-

a/n: ahhhh this turned out better than i hoped??? but also not as great??? i dunno i just want you to love it!! i plan on writing for your other two prompts as well, but a family emergency popped up so i wasn’t able to get them all done in time, but i plan on posting them anyway! @findmeinpops​ again, i’m so so sorry i didn’t get this to you for christmas, but hopefully you can find it in your heart to forgive me!!