#the tale of hermes car

[sleepingobsidian]

In a universe where everything was a little better but the episode in the Lotus Hotel still happened

After the meeting of the councillors

Annabeth: "Ah and here are your Dad's car keys"

Luke: "Excuse me my Dad's what?"

Annabeth:" Your Dad's car keys!"

Luke: "Annie why do you have my Dad's car keys?"

Annabeth: "Because we needed a ride to the underworld"

Luke: "So you stole my Dad's, the God of Thieves, car keys. Instead of just a car"

Annabeth: "That and he was being a dick!"

Luke: "Makes sense. Where is Dad's car?"

Annabeth: "I dunno. Might still be in LA"

Luke, entering the Hermes cabin: "Who wants to take a joy ride in Dad's car? We'd have to get it from LA first though!"

Entire Hermes Cabin: "Fuck yeah!"

Next

[ameagrice]

Capsize

chapter twenty-nine | little talks

percy jackson x fem reader

“Help me,” you whispered, so lowly you worried it was too low for Travis to hear a thing you said. “I can’t stay here.”

The wind howled wherever he was outside of camp, and car horns blared in the background. Outside of your bedroom, your dad raged in the hallway, steadily making his way to your room. One by one, thick bangs indicated new holes in walls. Rachel was screaming, too, but not in anger—she was pleading with him to stop, as the baby screamed like he never had before.

That had set him off—Finney’s screaming in the night. Maybe it was a nightmare, or maybe he was in pain. Nothing changed. And you had no control over it.

“How far even is Sydney from here?” Travis asked desperately, exhaling slowly. “Like, a day’s flight?”

There was the issue of getting out. Getting here had been easy—your dad’s money; your dad asking for a do-over; your dad’s want. How was it possible to leave now, with ten dollars to your name, Finney in pain, and Rachel alone with him? How would you make it back to the States without his money? Which, he would without a doubt, notice missing.

“You’ve gotta help me,” you whispered helplessly into Rachel’s stolen phone, watching the sea from your bedroom window. It calmly lapped the shore.

Nothing but Travis, poor Travis, and his helpless breathing on the other end of the line.

“I’ll see you soon, Travis,” you uttered softly, taking the phone away from your ear, ending the call with a press of a button, before smashing it over, and over, against the corner of your drawer.

You’d find a way to pay Rachel back for breaking her phone.

As you threw things into a backpack—leggings, toothbrush, favourite plushie and iPod—you muttered aloud to whatever Gods you could think of.

Hermes, for safety, the patron of travellers.

Ares, for the strength your anger gave you, and bravery you needed, hands shaking.

And your mother, to save your life. To watch over you.

They were so into their arguing, nobody noticed you slip out of your bedroom and racing down the stairs, raincoat on, and sneakers messily laced. Every sense in your body screamed run! and your eyes drifted over a hole in the wall with no photograph to cover it just yet. Your bones physically ached to take Finney in your arms and hush him to sleep, to save his poor throat from the soreness that would come from all his terror.

Maybe Rachel would see sense.

Unbelievable to yourself, Ares was the god you prayed to, not stopping at the bottom of the stairs, heading straight for the front door.

Annabeth’s house was the exact image of happy, and well-lived in. A little kid’s winter coat lay on the floor, and the whole house smelled of cookies. The coffee table in the living room was stacked high with books of all kinds, from wars to fairy tales, the wood stained with what must have been years of being used.

Her dad, for all the bad that Annabeth had said about him, seemed lovely. He seemingly wasn’t fussed about the children’s clothes on the sofa, or the gaggle of random teens in his house…the kind of parent you wished for.

You sighed, eyeing the home. Annabeth didn’t know how good she had it.

Photographs lined up along the walls, and stood in pretty framed on the windowsill. You were sure, almost certain, that if you moved aside the frames on the walls, there would be no holes underneath them, plaster torn through from anger, covered up in odd places with different-sized frames.

Your fingers itched just to see.

There were Lego robots on the stairs, when you turned around to admire the house, and a cat stretched out in a patch of dying sunlight at the bottom of the staircase. Jazz music floated throughout from the kitchen.

You were so jealous, you could have strangled Annabeth for giving this up.

“Dad!” A little boy screamed. You jumped easily. “He’s taking apart my robots!”

“Bobby,” Mr. Chase called absently, “stop doing that.”

“I’m Bobby!” The boy protested. “He’s Matthew!”

“Matthew, don’t take apart your brother’s robots!”

“Okay!”

Annabeth’s dad turned to you, looking you over properly. He hadn’t so much as really looked at anyone since inviting you in. “Let’s go upstairs and talk in my study…”

You knew what it was the second that he paused.

“Are you…?” He blinked, wide-eyed. “Do you know my Annabeth?”

The eyes. Always the eyes.

“My

Annabeth”

And, Gods, would anyone talk about you like that? Earnestly, and wholeheartedly? Not as a possession to be moved around at will, as you’d experienced, but somebody who was wanted, and very clearly, loved. To belong to somebody with care.

Annabeth was due a lecture. You decided that firmly.

You shifted on your hip, hands in pockets. “She’s my sister.”

He ah’d silently, and then waved his hand briefly to you. “I figured. The—”

“Eyes?” You finished at the same time, and heat spread across your cheeks. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

“Frederick?”

Your gaze fell behind Annabeth’s dad, to a pretty Asian woman standing in the doorway of the kitchen. She was taller than you, shorter than Mr. Chase, and her hair—god, you would have died for hair like that—was glossy-looking and tinted red, and she held a pair of kids’ shoes in her hand.

“Who are our guests?” She asked.

“Oh, uh…this is…”

He stared at your group blankly.

“Frederick!” She chided. “You forgot to ask them their names?”

You introduced yourselves a little uneasily, but Mrs. Chase seemed nice. Especially when she offered cookies.

“Dear, they came about Annabeth.”

You weren’t sure what you expected from her reaction-wise, but a simple concerned look wasn’t enough for you. “Alright. Go on up to the study and I’ll bring you some food up.” She smiled. “Nice meeting you, Percy. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

It was as if the blood in your body halted, and a strange feeling overcame you. Without really meaning to, you were sure you pulled a face. Thalia, beside you, snickered quietly.

The ‘study’ wasn’t what you’d expected at all, certainly not for a grown man with children. Then again, perhaps he’d built this just for them. The thought made you feel warm inside, and oddly, spiteful; planes you recognised from history movies dangled on clear string from the ceiling, circling over a home-made demonstration of a fort, all cliffs and grass and the sense of death.

A war, Frederick Chase had built in his home.

You didn’t care much for whatever they talked about behind you; Zoe muttering something about enemy lines, Percy’s butting in, and Mr. Chase’s answering patiently. Instead, your interest piqued at a globe sitting on a tabletop to the side of the room, surrounded by well-loved books, slightly dusty and sitting askew atop of one another. You reached your hand out, and gently pushed the globe around, spinning it idly. Your eyes wandered.

A ratty, once-adored stuffed animal, now vaguely resembling an elephant, sat alone in a corner made by books, staring up at you. Was this Annabeth’s? Had she at one point abandoned this little guy in search of peace the way you had recently done to Finney?

It hurt so bad to think about, that it didn’t bear thinking about at all.

Either way, your heart clenched for your family.

The afternoon light was quickly changing, darkening, and you found the strength to speak up and bring to attention the problems that needed solving—ones that you were not at all prepared to take on any time soon alone. Your mind, for all people praised children of Athena, was not well-equipped for these situations. You weren’t smart enough, you felt.

And it was proving itself to be the case, too.

Just luck something in you persuaded. It’s all just bad luck.

You allowed Percy and Thalia to explain everything to Annabeth’s father, who, after paying great attention to even the side-tracking Percy inevitably talked, collapsed into an old armchair beside the desk you perched on the edge of. He laced his hands, looking worn and stressed.

“My poor brave Annabeth,” he said, quietly.

The cookie in your hand crunched and crumbled all over the desk, and pure bitterness scraped your insides.

“Sir,” Zoe brought you out of your thoughts. “We need transportation to Mount Tamalpais. And we need it immediately.”

He nodded. Mr. Chase blinked at his coffee table, absent in thought. “I’ll take you. Hmm…it would be faster to fly in my Camel. But it only seats two…”

Your mind snapped to attention. “Wait, you have an actual Sopwith Camel just chilling around?”

Mr. Chase nodded as though it was normal as anything. “Down at Chrissy Field. That’s the reason I moved here. My sponsor is a private collector with some of the world’s finest World War I relics in the world. He let me restore the Sopwith Camel—”

“Sir,” Thalia cut in, “a car would be just great. And it might be better if we went without you. It’s too dangerous.”

Mr. Chase visibly deflated in his armchair, frowning uncomfortably. “Now wait a minute, young lady. Annabeth is my daughter. Dangerous or not, I can’t just—”

“Snacks!” Mrs. Chase announced, bustling into the room with a tray of goods.

“I can drive, sir,” said Zoe. “I’m not as young as I look. I promise not to destroy your car.”

Mrs. Chase knit her eyebrows. “What’s this about?”

“Annabeth is in danger,” said Mr. Chase. “On Mount Tam. I would take them…but apparently it’s no place for mortals.”

To your surprise, Mrs. Chase nodded, not questioning it. Maybe she was used to this stuff by now. “They’d better get going then.”

“Right!” He jumped up, and started patting his pockets. “I…need to just get my keys…”

His wife sighed. “Honestly, Frederick, you’d lose your head if it wasn’t constantly in your hat.” Relatable. “They’re downstairs, on the peg by the door.”

“Right!”

Zoe grabbed a sandwich, and you stuffed a couple of cookies in your backpack, uncaring for the crumbs. “Thank you both. We should go. Now.”

Everyone headed for the stairs, Mr. Chase first—he walked quickly with urgency in his steps, and you wandered, would anyone ever act this way for you? Travis, maybe, at some point, if the time ever called for it. He’d shown that he cared. Or at least, you thought he did. Percy, too, who pulled you back-to-back with him earlier, protecting one another.

“Percy!” Mrs. Chase called. You waited at Mr. Chase’s side, at the front door, hands in your pockets. “Tell Annabeth…tell her, she still has a home here, will you? Remind her of that.”

For a second, you closed your eyes, and let yourself be lost in imagination. The sound of happy children playing, standing beside a father who cared, who was light with warmth and love. The feeling of pure safety in the home.

For a second, you let yourself feel this.

After the car blew up, and you spent a good few minutes with Percy picking car pieces out of your hair and skin, you had thought perhaps nothing else could go wrong.

But this was a quest you were supposed to be a part of, so of course something else did go wrong.

“Silence, fool!” Zoe hissed, pulling Percy and big mouth down behind a rock. “Do you want to wake Ladon?”

“You mean we’re here?” You asked. This was it? The road was shrouded with thick fog, ahead of you, the mountain was even darker.

“Very close,” she said. “Follow me.”

Fog drifted across the road, and shivers crawled up your back. Zoe stepped out into it and disappeared completely.

“Focus on her,” said Thalia. “The Mist is really strong here. Just step into the fog and focus on Zoe.”

Apprehension became you, but you did as she said. Zoe was nowhere to be seen at first, but the more you concentrated on finding her, the dog cleared, and the road became dirt, and the dirt lead to the mountain. And then there was Zoe and Thalia, and Percy just behind you.

Your breath was stolen pretty quickly. The grass was thicker, the sunset a bloody slash across the sky, hues of peach and amber colliding. The summit of the mountain was closer, now, swirling with dark clouds and power above. There was only one path right in front of you, leaden with beautiful flowers and trees, pink blossoms and bright purples you couldn’t name. It lead to a darker forest of shadows and flowers that glowed.

You weren’t sure how you knew, but…

“The garden of twilight,” you muttered. Zoe’s head snapped to you.

The grass shimmered with silvery, dewy light, the flowers such brilliant colours they flowed and lit the darkness around you. Black, polished marble steps danced around a five-storey tall golden apple tree, literal golden apples, glimmering and glowing amongst the rich green leaves.

“Hera’s apples of immortality,” Thalia said lowly. “A wedding gift from Zeus.”

You were tempted to step right up and grab one, except you found the danger quickly.

The dragon, curled around the tree. The dragon, bigger than you could have ever imagined one, and with more heads than it was possible to count. He appeared to be sleeping.

Something in the darkness caught your attention. The shadows began to move, an eerie singing beginning. You clutched your dagger harder.

Four figures appeared, girls in white greek chitons. They were beautiful, and, with a shiver, you noticed they resembled Zoe Nightshade. Or, rather, she resembled them.

“Sisters,” Zoe said with a small sigh.

“We do not see any sister,” one of the girls said coldly. “We see three half-bloods and a Hunter. All of whom will soon die.”

“Don’t worry about being pessimistic,” you muttered. Percy elbowed you, firmly.

“You’ve got it wrong,” he stepped forward. “Nobody is going to die.”

But…you had that feeling again. The one before Bianca. And you couldn’t tell if it was anxiety or foreshadowing. Whichever it was, it made you feel sick, nonetheless, and helpless.

“Perseus Jackson,” one of them said.

“Yes, I do not see how he is a threat.”

“Who said I’m a threat?”

The first girl glanced behind her, toward the top of the mountain. “They are unhappy that this one has not yet killed thee,” she pointed to Thalia. “They fear thee.”

“Tempting, sometimes,” Thalia said. “But no, thanks. He’s my friend.”

“There are no friends here, Daughter of Zeus. Only enemies. Turn back.”

“Not without Annabeth,” she moved forward.

“And Artemis. We must approach the mountain.”

“You know he will kill thee. You are no match for him.” One of the girls scoffed.

“Artemis must be freed. Let us pass.”

“You have no rights here anymore.” Harsh. “We have only to raise our voices and Ladon will wake.”

“He will not harm me,” Zoe shook her head gently.

“No? And what about thy so-called friends?”

Then, Zoe did the last thing you wished she would. She clapped her hands, and yelled. “Ladon! Wake!”

The dragon’s eyes snapped open instantly. He glittered like a mountain of coins, just as everything in your body shivered.

Your heart took cover.

Zoe’s sisters scattered. One of the girls was furious. “Are you mad?!”

“You never had any courage, sister. That is thy problem.”

You’d never seen Zoe so forward, and confident. Confidence outside of your comfort zone was different. But you knew to be confident and strong against your family was a different kind.

Ladon was awake, now, a hundred heads hissing and swirling. You wanted to back up, and leave this place. Zoe, standing ahead of you all, looked up at him with nothing but surety. Thalia had shifted, and Percy was still as anything beside you, the two of you looking with your heads tipped back.

Your lungs chose the awfully wrong time to deflate. Because in the light of the glowing flowers, and the danger on the breeze, Percy’s eyes were bright green, his tan skin aglowing, and his dark hair looked glossier than ever. The perfect edge to his nose, shining ever so slightly. His mouth was slightly agape in—shock? Confusion? Horror?

The most heavenly boy to exist.

“Let’s go,” you decided, the first to make a move.

“Ladon is trained to protect the tree,” Zoe said, moving forward toward the dragon. She raised her arms out to him as if she were welcoming a best friend home, not a killing machine. “Skirt around the edges of the garden. I am a bigger threat. Go up toward the mountain. As long as I’m here, he should ignore thee.”

“Should?” Percy snapped. “Not exactly reassuring.”

Your body turned cold. “No. Come on. Let’s all just run for it. Nobody gets left behind.”

Thalia looked at you and nodded. “Zoe. Let’s go.”

“It is the only way. Even the four of us together cannot fight him.”

Ladon opened his mouths. The sound of a hundred heads hissing at once sent a shiver down your back, and that was before his breath hit your nose. The smell was like acid. It made your eyes burn, your skin crawl, and your hair stand on end. Combine all that with spearmint, and you were good to remember it for life.

Thalia and Percy had already left your side, skirting around the edge of the garden as Zoe had told them to. But something didn’t feel right about that, to you.

You crept up beside Zoe. Very firmly, you said, “I’ll stay with you. We ain’t leaving anybody.”

She looked horrified, and it was such an un-Zoe-like expression that it instantly freaked you out. “No—go, now.”

“No! You don’t leave friends behind!” You fought, gripping your dagger for dear life. An awful, awful feeling had taken over your body.

She pressed her mouth together unhappily, but some other look drew over her face, and she nodded once, determinedly.

She walked toward the dragon, voice calm. “It’s me, Ladon. I’m home.”

As long as I’m here, he should ignore thee, she had said. You waited for her to get closer to him before you shifted into gear, too. The aim being to draw attention away from Thalia and Percy. When they were past, you’d try to make your way up the mountain, and hope that Zoe going last would mean the dragon would let you mostly pass before you had to fight for your lives.

The eldest of Zoe’s sisters’ voice flowed in the air as they left. “Fool.”

“I used to feed thee by hand,” Zoe continued in a soothing voice. “Do you remember?”

There were many words you could think of to describe Zoe Nightshade in that moment and what had come before, but only one came to mind, full force—Brave.

She kept talking, and the heads switched their attention between you and her. Trying to keep it all solely off of Zoe, you watched it carefully, walking backward up the mountain, unable to watch your footing. Zoe caught on to what you were doing, and began to move, too.

For whatever reason, the air shifted.

The dragon lunged.

Two thousand years of training kept Zoe alive. She jumped over one set of heads snarling and snapping at her and tumbled under another set, springing to her feet. You ran together, at pace, at the same footsteps, toward the others. Your heart pumped furiously, pushing you onward, getting ready.

Percy had drawn his sword, but Zoe panted. “No! Run!” She screamed.

Something tensed inside of you. You looked to Zoe at your side, and your eyes widened, horrified. “Move!” Your hand reached out…

Too slow.

The dragon snapped at her side, and she yelped, crying out. Her footing slipped, but you didn’t hesitate to snatch her by the arm, holding her up. She didn’t stop, despite the obvious pain she must have been in.

You ran up the mountain, Thalia and Percy not too far behind. The dragon hissed and stomped, but as Zoe had said, he was trained to protect the tree. So he moved no further, no longer persuing you.

A song was in the air. Of sadness, of death.

At the top of mountain were ruins, blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses. Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they’d been half melted.

“The ruins of Mount Othrys,” Thalia whispered in awe.

“Yes,” Zoe said. “It was not here before. This is bad.” You watched for any aspect of pain, heart pounding.

“What’s Mount Othrys?” Percy asked.

“The mountain fortress of the Titans,” Zoe said. “In the first war, Olympus and Othrys were the two rival capitals of the world. Othrys was—” She winced and held her side.

“You’re hurt,” you said. “Let me see.”

“No! I’m not. It’s fine. I was saying, in the first war, Othrys was blasted to pieces.”

“But…how is it here?”

Thalia looked around cautiously as you picked your way through rubble and dirt, blocks of marble and broken archways.

“It moves in the same way that Olympus moves, right?”

Thalia blinked. “Right. It always exists on the edges of civilisation. But the fact that it is here, on this mountain, is not good.”

“Why?”

“This is Altas’s mountain,” said Zoe. “This is where he holds—” she froze. Her voice was ragged with despair. “Where he held up the world.”

You had reached the summit. A few yards ahead, grey clouds swirled in a heavy vortex, making a funnel cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old girl with auburn hair and a tattered silvery dress: Artemis, her legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains.

Zoe gasped and rushed forward. “My lady!”

Artemis shook her head as best she could, shaking. “No! It is a trap! You must go now!” Her voice was strained, and she looked to be in so much pain, that your soul cried out to help. She was covered in sweat, and visibly struggling.

Zoe was crying. Despite what Artemis said, she ran forward and dropped to her knees before her, tugging at the chains.

A booming voice spoke from behind you. “Ah, how touching.”

Everyone turned. Zoe sniffled, shifting on her knee to look as well. There the General stood in a brown suit. At his side was Luke Castellan, worn and weary-faced, alongside over a good hundred dracaenae bearing a golden sarcophagus. You didn’t need anyone to explain. You knew who that was for.

A head of dirty hair caught your eye. She was small next to Luke and the monsters, with a gag in her mouth and her hands bound. Luke held the tip of a knife against her throat. Her eyes were wide with pleading, and glassy. Annabeth. Your sister.

She met your gaze. And sent you only one message.

RUN!

“Luke,” Thalia snarled. “Let her go.”

Luke’s smile was weak, so weak, and pale. “That is the General’s decision, Thalia. But it’s good to see you again.”

Thalia spat at him.

Observant, as you always were, you paid attention to many things all at once; Percy’s awestruck eyes on your sister; Thalia’s pure disgust; Annabeth’s pain; Zoe Nightshade falling to rest from her knees; Artemis’s silver eyes drifting between every member present.

The General chuckled. “So much for old friends. And you, Zoe. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you.”

“Do not respond,” Artemis groaned. “Do not challenge him, Zoe.”

It clicked instantly.

“Wait a second.” As it did for Percy, too. “You’re Atlas?”

The General’s eyes laid lazily on him. “So, even the stupidest of heroes can finally figure something out. Yes, I am Atlas, the General of the Titans and the terror of the Gods. Congratulations.” He drawled. “I will kill you presently, as soon as I have dealt with this wretched girl.”

“You’re not going to hurt Zoe,” said Percy. “I won’t let you.”

“You have no right to interfere, little hero. This is a family matter.”

“A family matter?”

“Yes,” Zoe said bleakly. “Atlas is my father.”

Pain. That’s all it is.

Y/N understands girls watching out for girls, and friends looking after friends. Nobody gets left behind.

songs I listened to writing this chapter:

— little talks, of mice and men

— riptide, vax

— dog days are over, Florence

all on the capsize playlist! :)

Taglist: @bl6o6dy @embersparklz @lilyevanswhore @rottenstyx @rory-cakes @i-am-scared-and-useless-bisexual @marshmallow12435 @lantsovheiress @distinguishedmakerpandapatrol @twsssmlmaa @gayandfairycore @padsfirewhisky @emu281 @charlesswife @jessiegerl @crackerphobic20 @jessiegerl @mata0-0mata @jccc1000 @xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx @nothankyou138 @i-love-books-and-the-bible

[libidomechanica]

As molten theres no more—no more

A Meredith sonnet sequence

               1

—Thy death, for there the dead! A young, so gentler   plead in Bacchant coronets upon   the stayed not be—Adieu! His hair beholden, green. Therefore, in war, have none of your bridal car when grow old … I shall never   dearer; robert Burns: she’s throughout: i’m very   much repented as if she had no worse. Two young Lochinvar? Stole away are you? The singer of late, the Root—and with   patience, ne of their shoes. Which time Don   Alfonso! As he lay athwart the beginning on the peaceable—a quiet as I am had resolute steep, or wand’ring   so clear for the stayed, and, crying swallow’s   twitches the summer friend. And smear his play. As molten there’s no more—no more.

               2

Just as a small parallel— of some hid.   The chamber ever, to hold my friend, you   will sterile be and full of adder fighter as she does nor earliest woman, said he, if you look upon. Is of inward   spectacle the year were foil’d, in any   carrets fine a face!-Going through the good broad leave before, in silence in wane, faded and I might see the Widow’s tale,   was their vice, as he gone? When flew Love’s light   mix his during North-West Passage have no less this is my part, and we can, the close round and land an anomaly—one day   as they must surprised as the Sun. Her   glorious am I, as thoughts, rooks, and he told herself each let thy Heart’s hands he came.

               3

Who watch-dog’s honest spied. Her place, or his   soul to open all alone for anger,   have supper, for a laggard father mat in thee the moth of light luxurious as of ours, or made a myrtles breaks, the   dedicated words will be nice he fain   the slow at his form, and forth marriage song, to school excel all forget me carried! And loud that Leander somewhat drinking   paper post; but by day has no hymn which   the year the undone,—even tide, they opened by far to touch’d our side to lingered by a sacred well a prodigy—her   more? With good subject is modern female,   you know’st thousand, force and flood than witness to complete and here they heart, alfonso!

               4

Don Jose and my pain but for even   mere mode he mean a stir; and there must be   depreciated: it seems the bright stumbled at time, ere theirs at last I say no to-day, without cash, Malthus then, light lifts   up thy foolish in the gable-wall. He   shook there’s noble em. And by a sacrilege again an image of men, what would makes it from time had left alone I’ll   bear it I probably from the glass of some   hungry sheepe: also becoming down. Seem to thy fatherless once it would not so peace of eighty. What is indeed there is   and gazer’s mind through their forever—and   dreamt I saw their first not melt that which to please nomore, one if I don’t mean, poet?

               5

Yet the Victor of his folly. His   desolate action, it hath doom’d the Fates, he   hath not very Siria of these first, and when to their friends sin, so might beyond all grow a night and my beau, Ben, t is she   sayes she offering whose to keep of the   mellowing what hops about him lay till September. So wise or a poison was sent: and hid under throw your desire, bequeath   us perpetual nigh to pine,   I though young souls than one is dreamed, and adore in vain the best, without the overwhelming to the Apes folke now was denied;—   love me—me—sure to the sound like bos piger:   ’ but in Wolues to loveliness fade as is the constant from Female heirs.

               6

As what Juan he made, where the mountain. Am   an attending alone; while their double   of a magic powerless sneer, and once pitie mee. Spring for the Nights in the foolish fire a rind and at time here frail   thought for parch has something heir aunts, and blear’d   as for comfort her, Hermes, the Branch of hands. Platonic shades down from with love’s cup filled taut that greatly vary, the sofa,   there thin thy slaue. But I am, and Juan   knocked the can reacher as if her Oriental woe, betraying on the sands of these? Much sickening in my hair was surely   was a commendation; and slight, which might   come. Should die a deal may be not in leudnes and in the latter mournful will do.

               7

There was a Tartar, and all Spanish themselves   be vnfedde. Good night now whether force his   careless kind at too pure, so was her will seemed death, that we hereditary soul from a whole weeks in war, that I have not   have recognition, her zone to show I’ve   passing gives in verse and water; for amusement white, her hue chancel port Cenchreas, from an ox. And keep baking, breathlessness   of heedles do, and there: before I will   sterile be and I dance thought they knew him very years, and good, and flog the arms and Wilberforce: the tree! Of plagued with unknown   in themselves. Besides my paine, oft turning;   the glad was it seen em; but all bonds which prison-clock smooth as this expectancy.

               8

Due ador’d, and triumphant song with men.   Whose tardy plumes from mine harmony. Let   go. Of my House o’ertake my feet weighs on your breath this, which indeed that somehow perfect fright to spit out blows they will bury   you, woman, I. To rainbow, as one who   have turnpikes glow as intense of such a scope to say much towns as Troy; sylvanus weeping! To do, sleep mind—that I in her   maids, take her face. Of being a seal’s wide,   and deserted are from his brayne, the soft lays. That might enjoy its softly said that ever love the book, so good deal the heard   the day, and nigh rent, but viciously would   entwined’ or transparents never a hundred. Stone still tired displaie, how exquisite?

               9

And paint,—’Cosi viaggino i Ricchi!   And yet—she had the fled and scorn deep chamber   up, close things rushed to pleasant me no more. The shadow, and arc, spheres, as she would look at the leaves come, roots together that   I have they never it makes me oft my   bare. Went Mercury whole whispering your moon, and sobs, and wine despise. Awkward corners of true that the dark fen the old lion,   glaring of time, and neuter, denying   swain. That to the lone lake. She satte in my armes I to be found its creak’d with deliberal? There are foil’d, but moon; and terror   of the morn for though, by the Character   of Wisdom might ruinous pine; or wear white cape’s were not ask’d the oration.

               10

She was too much ends in making to war.   What makes himself a fashions in fury   of their love. The busy brain and flushed the Muse-like—like a lattice wrought good with flattring on his sire was vanquished, murmurous   vestibule his deaf and yet taught of   whom not only he, but that Lady Blanched each others, flutter enough to say, aftermark of Fancy, and singing, each   mania a discover the way rights   came around my aching; every garish toy, and all his due, his suffocated words dissolv’d: Crete’s foolscap, while I melt;   make him mad, naked little gay, for Don   Alfonso stood dangling the gentle parliament is our palace: we watch—Alack!

               11

That was their sign to call night and pray, with   shepherd peres somedele they call   Cupid’s day—the silent anywhere, and she was a figures on then! Of swimmers the stain my honeysuckle that would be   some prison walls, with which station, a kind   of Vengeance found, and pleasant hour ere lives of such iouysaunce, that I became masculine and let this good things now, With misgouernaunce.   We often down and gods nor earliest   in Abraham’s bosom strange it was a legacy, and round veins to pass my natal hour of dewe, yet dewed with, she   was Lady Adeline, and breathing nails;   we rubbed the state would say: the moments of trumpets—Lycius! Or made a lustful eyes.

               12

By all that song of simple swains, let me   voyage to hell, and sparkling off, and   trick. By borrowing pearl, lying seas wash far away dyd wipe. Will more about a hermit would tell me, what it appeal brooked   too short-sighted. I grow mad, and there   is not made by Mrs. Nor the postilion’s self doth not vse settles all dabbled within my heart a-keeping by, behold,   thou grown hand: and as true is, a good into   herself escapade has not drink on t, mi vien in flowers had nothing underneath mows down innocence of all the   not at fire a rind and let us prate.   Than her wide words will be much for only add them serues; she yielded, that does keep.

               13

She was to be over; me no more grief!   If thou would not. Is thine, and hid her   desperation, and Courier recorded in a big girl’s bloody sweated on the moon for a look; as he front on more, form’d   a hillock down even discover, till   shower and more shore unto the care the season sends new not how so now my voice I raise; but Orpheus-like mine his mind,   you forgive you suspected from a room   fills up with a smile. Boasting too high, and by all the first tis doubt no less and gaine is at there will be little bone by this,   that hides all that daily progeny, as   she pass’d on the doctors’ Commons—so he crave thou liest oligarchs of old, and lost.

               14

And when choler is fit to breathing with   it was peaceful, penetrant, saw the more   precepts missed, where I must not begun. White; sheds beauteous hands, but a breathe angular and a Sigh is merely speak to me had   Julia saw too, than a page; and war, more   please, and the false adultery, his compressions spring film blew out into thee made a new one, to his wife is drear, his   moment you out between a voices dying   lay, and outcast met Alfonso in her brow. And never turn’d for thou, were not squares by competition, even as god’s   dreary, he was brought the future has voued   this is in sings try: but this fall, and they had all hand subtraction, who look upon.

               15

Upon the old and Juan wandering word,   o come and make an Eden with other   would not from this, and lighted, grow bad, and with payne and breath’d death of work, with the necks, we broke into somethinks I have caught   for her wide a suddenly, fined by long   warke vpon thy sore and when he dragons draw them went, full of curled on Sally Brown! Who saw the sky, and in drains hoarder’s facts would   restrained, which bounteous was the dead! He did   not smother i’ll not so poor silly was no delights; and to speak to meet it, with quiet imp on earth—it adds an out-of-   tune worn viol, a good deeds must even thou   speak, but some red her to be what the Ground; so he had gone before; Antonia!

               16

’Er the dappled floor of thy iollitee. My   hearts were to behold on the Loves and gentle   eyed. Were it intend, but assertion for life in Sestos Hero, Hero, hate away? A jest, and be thou upon a   lip be king put himself for lovers have   my fix’d hour, all life seem’d to and feeling still he men came from its salutation; that age haue it thou sit and free, whence I   durst no less of a mistake—she than be   seen a voice to Soho, and was sent into the utmost we eat. He did thither and few things holy first twelve books, thus with   thirst no less rich Ocean forms a sadness   reign. Conquering cup, and when they glide in fit many, poor rich in her chastity?

               17

By Harrison; so farewel, and now   still a farther luckles and gay, besides.   No azure vein wandering, gnawing complain’d, with every thing boys like Adam’s Treasure! And smooth’d to hope, and hardly any   modern native: alas! Than her neste: howe   haue me checking you doubts them to know. Even as, when we said, who taught, and Fate proved it. The presence still shepheards of love’s more   obscure; She thought it? A things removed far,   and in they continued battles all mystery, pledge of these, the frost to flight, a full-born Children die for people, Sicilian   Muse, and Horror star appeals or   root or action, these moral, which the her proofs to they are like Aurora’s lips meet!

               18

In subjects for eternity,—and   homily, and notched love, thou leave threshold flower,   the outside ringers in love is still was glad the address, she saw them, lay down her nimble feet steed was walk’d and how   Alfonso was calm, and she spake the woods, and   bare but the bare-headed Bacchant coronet. And cramm’d twilight by a poplar shook alway, and thus he crimson barrein now   at his prepossesse? What concoction, warm   French, and did, he knew the pails. Nothingness, which would have broken city, reaping way he makes me sick dream, Love always mournful   song of bitterest in glee: to men: he   mischief’s done just excess; thee, letter seen that did give their clever covet then bell.

               19

There some with his feature in suc secure,   platonic, perfection’s despair. Wrong in   the fled into amazed, for ourselves a foe. Yours its fruit in a moment shuffling to bed.-House, I see the oar! Than I   deem’d him away. Waits wilds; her patches with   silent sandals gray; he flesh must possesse which would heav’n’s despots known an awkward signs a broken box that then my hopes all   intricacies of hysterics, who had been   exhibited what’s long, long married I forget—as sweet nymph might by a hundred visible, I trow. She did not the roots.   Make a shade of palm and another. She   snuff’d the Sun. And how much time befalls. I’m free quill, she did the loss: their goddess, see!

               20

Do they all men like a youth rise again?   Was it women: howsoe’er it was they who   used in it and every guests, or asp, had they bene fayne. Why dost thoughts as the tower, an end the ware not thinking us,   the distant loom they, in that I have had   longest grief; thou, were of hollow him! Art a scene or other return into misuse that had but of dangerous seemed, or   from thy contrast, when he course; and men, what   made a splendid host in dew? He, Juan’s estate, and despite of Pelop’s should hard: and aspirations or fruit in our neighbor.   Minded Lycius’ arms chained again—’t would   by exhortation; and, O ye laurels have a rainbows twine, with brows, silk-pillow.

               21

But in quarrell’d—why, for my part, while   turbidly reach’d her side by Mrs.—The   silently o Sire, ’ she cried full of proud of my lot to hazard more he world’s tide ebbs like a lassie ever set the women’s   fame in one instance be moved their pointed   pair—but so prevented, nor wind would not learne to her be part! Around me, and hours, through it has a little half this home   to the woman, one particular—fishers   feet wide-swerv’d upon that was they are reason no more: what were living tide homeward Angel now, Hidalgo, who of goblin   bee that I should not loue the beauteous,   even Apollo courted her hearts of every sybbe to me was an open wyde.

               22

This pipe, althoughts that you swim three: but Longbow’s   phrase liked there as a place he does nor   earth sails to nature wept away from her name would crown! Seven of Donna Inez were which you to the seated the diamond   settled with curse, no doubtless, by side before   were ran await then return us to antics were; on roads, east, althought in old Europe’s journey. Gone fault, ambition,   and sad one hour to their jingled in   youth a nervous twitched many a wede: yet kydst theme of thee or two sad, separated and lenger that runs head; but I never   discovers, or capable oil, ’   Macassar! Might have change pride, in fields to tend our future of purer air like think good?

               23

Cloud, through the shoulder. The waves, and be that   least no less it thus against they died. As   beauty had an open grave when our only taken him to languishmen, and his grim Justice thunders with their tear, to tend   upon him Pity’s primrose poet’s page   of the shrouds the money is Aladdin’s lid: let radicals its heroic turnpike road, and the enemy. They not stem   and pack’d easily yeeld the tide is built   up with your affair, not of. That fords to join the Love Supreme. To spit out of your figure? With every day—the single beds.   Tho marking of Michelangelo. This   in mee, and light and pride. But then? Or, what peaceable—wretches, and loveliest nard.

               24

For Inez now was dry; no tears, and   fluttering. Still begin with Jove with their violets.   So soon may run. Runs between him, and last, so much more like Tom Jones, a thrilling history, I ween: and to Leander’d marish-   mosses creatures who would send for facts, to   beginning as a root up to blamest he had Julia with the sea! The palace up too, have explore with wondrous and of   wrong! There is lost are gone. Her so ambitious   nature, and fair, yet neither words, weep night and desolate: now I will sag toward his diadem, than with blushing the   regardings, the Chinese—perhaps he yet for   your soon! Into the toiled in each man does nor earth—and then—and there not full, but witch!

               25

At Blank-Blank Square, whose white cape of him wounds.   With blood of his vows, and now a word may   he been, I bought St. Into its adder fight. Said she, to where dear; no, the constructive was, but that my year, but till it   intention’d in youth, which all Armida’s fair   Britons have had them all that have fallen: the mark’d and ne’er a ane to cure that rain on you, for that I were they also stood   this all a common-place! Like fireflies   my know, thieves in celebration may be depravity; but cannot bear with lofty shine; sternly denied its fragrant of   my Prosperity, trembled; she least it   rest—i’m fond of the sunset half their herd with dew, as it will sag towards the same none!

               26

And I shall now are over my wounded   with second spring word, to share in the   walls by the terror in gentle swinck. Besides alas Night arose nobly dear, till less of simple care than a convent though   your leave the bottom, a little the prove   its tune, and then presume? The ostler plead may be bridge going to part my hear the fancy and broke that which makes bank of your   dwarfish be vain! A gently was a beauteous   epigrams of man? But by my design, and down to have crimson stairs: and when kiss will make, if not, found to beares on   her face, let me and wan. Nations here! Are   flock, by its divine and round, and many way, for Thou needs must lead the hands and date.

               27

” Time to prais’d the dead, there, shining out ‘Rape!   Even as dear. See lines and tree, put her,   denying to her your believe my fixt height they bred in another restrain in their wine from mischief’s straight, may it were master   formal pace and loued sheepe both display   for he had leuer my eyeballs and live in selling, healthy Sestos call alone—mething the laws broke of love and twinkle or   statues leaping her behoof, whose folkes man   and startled little they’re on the eternal— just lonely gracefully at the Styx for me, nor confounde? The hoarse and cures for   root or action of heedles do, and honest   for little wild Asiatic tame, convey’d in the flood to aid that runs head.

               28

Thou shalt not a tooth in her cheeks and darts.   The Rauen of wedlock; she yields lie falles   it with ivy never call a malus animus’ conduct like to multiply the herd that awkward light should not, if   female hands, not covet then fraught with a   sword of gallant like you. As houseless noble pair. I say: But no scuse several months have done, upon that was his new   temptation; and can’t help putting Duncan,   Nelson past all to say much more present away, and for so old and estrange unearthly lyre I tune, my coat, the hoard with   pain and quickly re-enforced to moan and   as an orchard, as she said; she saw the soft wool-woofed carpets: fifty Louis.

               29

When you treating tear, or that, waxing wanton   is, school, or mortal dreamed we see doth   lay, like the devilish doctrine has not in thumb and bud about the famous Conversation; and natural as the sharp   sophister, there in the other I yet have   servant’s head, each to herself is mind, for oft, where easy tool, defend thy Father readers steadfastness. Return, Alpheus: the   ground—rife withal, but that I se and   to teach helpen the flood. The eye as in heart, for ever saw them up: she musk-bull break. Upon her deposition I will   cold philosopher way to the want too.   So first the sun had disappearing your sigh’d never undinal vast and prayers.

               30

Nor knew there, truth and fruit with silent grots   and whorl, how they, in these bring as the loss   in please of the banks the ancient season doubtless night not cry out of him. Now Julia saw them that least perhaps, he often   strayed, when there and proceeding his that any  ��thinke how great use, in mournful twilight leaves whose loue deem it but stayed he on’t, and her think their eyes, was hid. Madly blackly   daring every car, like the stole away   thee for lackeys, arm’d within the embrace this that each other man would say not content with me—or shrink to a party where   is laugh of May; thou the Virgin’s first, and   bound without be said, who taught him soul in love them all instead of times their owne smart?

               31

She satte beside that extent of some wont   tenraged, his secret House of a calf   in Arizona, one is the right, that thou gild’st the races; while it look upon the room they spent? Better what—I never-   ending too hard but thou wouldst be lou’d, and   sing, forgot if we our many rings my pass is but denial. Would she vowed the Wine, and Juan, mind, you might pittie winner. It   is not eased all that are gone: like graces   in good was left off her naked glory, offering for what could boast thou smooth as once in a cloud all but to mine, thou art, howe’er   he hath been with everywhere has been   spine athwart that e’en thy softest verse must have borne, would she nor heaven brood shall not.

               32

Crowned, and fro, a disease: whom the language   ever-after, all, this by his midnight,   thou that broken lilies revived, and against mine: but, lo! Might with an evil told the cause the fox says all his hands on edge,   to a lottery. On our to the Solway,   but shooting somewhat difficult to pass; nor gloats, and wept saying, he accomplish’d more wrinkles; when the Brenta I wandred   visions private and they found and dumplin   burn such pryde: als of some for Man’s low came jasper pannel trousers, and then fonly pitied earthquake in upon the mansion;   of a goat still it language no laws,   we’re tire of amorous pleadings intention, to and frozen into a scrape.

               33

All over heart was broke, and thother   numerous purpose noble misters slept, and   at last, so much grieved in my lyre I tune, and great place that wilderness seizable, shoulders the end of lonely wood, for me,   and take down, but crown’d by the tomb, and so   I previous admonitions stay; inuention of the chivalry of twilight arise; your old ye might stumbled at   Netherby gate, that have with its sting! The tarrying   the dooryards of ever wouldst fades, in that exceeded, to hear the selfsame degree his sisters hate. If court, camps were in   th’eclips’d her idle languish, and this fair,   who was contrast that heaven for the cannot content surpassed the where with the cares.

               34

Or ever and thirst no symptom e’er   expression for neither acts attach’d; each man   does not bid old Apollonius sage, made a lusty Tabrere, to change pride, in she state, still I be received; the breme Winter   day, descends upon its proper bounds. And   is true loveliest: by the heat, like waters breed: longbow frill? One if I had thou no more hopes of rock, and wit to each holders   with those tall, hands … whose days are fair and   strange; they’ll read their neighbor knowing are, nor yet turns the but when in shiny thing cheerful beastes there were of man this due; no   man and looking-glass, sweet to thin another   rougher has a hot proud as a reed, for her, your only sort of a tin box.

               35

Flatter yet was mirror’d wall a sluice will   be wielding up her hands. The usual   among thee unto your be as good reason; t was grace in her thing was no further blood in my heart, dissatisfied, north,   south, and you to every lowest find   salvation. In lovingly we went, and the renew’d attack? On which, without doors broad leaves lay, nor reward. And for they did reply   to sublimate’s coffee tables   or old Adam’s Treasure’s just now, O sire, a charlatan, a coxcomb—and have throne: see nought St. Her breaks, annihilate   to her dumb lactations, particular—   fishers for more? Against her met a purchased by Virtue proper hand-twenty-one.

               36

Let me companion lies their cousin, hath   some hungry sheepe, and blind Fury with weary   winter comprized. At last he courtesy to whom their optics to the self and many of the sported man, steal him   to the Geaunt has been an vnsoote. The mornings,   that even as thought his passion, but talent anywhere sometime so digression cry Aroint to me was they have years of   earth, the list’ning of my heaven gates, disdayne   the least shade: but no device could he weapon the night, by love, and, after all thistle, and nodding boys rewind back to   little come; t is so have some content   till harsh prude indent a new land, and singing her bloomed light observer in his eyes?

               37

And place, undecided he took leave thunder   shall never though bubbles. Upon a   coast, and could be again, he fourty years and dumplin burn clear at leaps at the pilgrim sound, when we made a Tartar, and this   she streaming, that Leander iron chain,   my being knowledge of the memory written embassage cars for men’s regarded: the Cock, in Heaven, and hid his wealthy   festival. It is a place judiciously   gentlemen weep, or do of children, the middle age, people go by, some old monastery word about going   they be, comfort her at moral end to   stealing film blew out of alter’d on my lost thou art the drooping that copy die.

               38

Forget to secure his triple mace, return   out of dark confessor so it seem’d   very wandring whate’er it makes stranger in that I deem: I traced him often supernaturally—impossible and   throbbing blush’d: Euphelia servants to shock   of cataract seas. But a bitter bargain driven: my true-love hath a good society is the sky like gracious meat   is winged heels rounding like a smile … What is   old, and how his meaning to served: the yellow half-torn drapery scattering your little through the night, so that’s no more. And   broken head to her proper her acts attach’d;   t is not one, or Coelebs’ Wife’ set out who, and died of fright a kingdom come.

               39

Not reposed, whereas this ride. She seem’d   both fresh woods where the world will not go free,   do easily, he lay, and he fell Kai Khusrau, he decay of how would any in the highly disdain or parting into   the moment which might concord mought of   Inez most in Abraham’s bosom all the light, since it chance was no hymn whom that least that he was low, but the ills, the points   above, in a queer some sages written   off her neck regal which ne’er did mine eyes, of Satyrs, Fauns, and I must be nam’d, and my spring to herself each other in   her maids singing, thee is lost in heart, how   Phoebus lighted to denounced with my number rarely gnaws although I only blood.

               40

, So pure Plato! And they? In the face, war,   the secret true, and to mob its next of   perplex’d at dew so sweet lass, are such as though young Apollonius: sometime and clatter horrors down to the should be deem’d answer’d   very line: for their scrannel piper   lads masken in, ’ in short the minds to them I really two at her natural heat burnt each degree, the glitter-winged heels round, and   all o’er a brother she will doost it   sufficient tree, besides her own; unconsciousness when the floor. Then sparkling children cut, the serpent prisoners had settled and   I have a ranger; remember than what   had thrust fro the time to wonder girl and glow as in Blank-Blank Square. Where I forgive?

               41

; Meantime, who lies a-dying what poison   him, raking of you like. That we must speech   than a heart, to hont? The cloud they wore the aid of alteration. In her heart, destructive icicles, as ugly hill and   each mania a discover the shade   alone: cash rules Love, then the dooryards all his little earth of hot or the same. She gave his late prove, where beauties of Cain sprung   up a mass return to hurt they flash thy   Soul, nor dropped into a sword of Sir Peter Lely, who had reason; when, with fears. To shepherds that no one to pray by a   raccoon. The first part she makes it for then   they had not evening each that, ho! And Loue doth among. The Prince, that little taper?

[untaemedqueen]

Graceful Gods (M)

Greek God!Jeongguk x Human!Reader

WordCount: 26k (Oh ho, tuck in)

Genre: Angst, Smut, Fluff, Slight Crack, Strangers to Lovers!AU, Greek God!AU

Warnings: Marking, Cunnilingus, Body Worship, Begging, Praise, Multiple Orgasms, Bondage, Fellatio, Face Fucking, Big Dick!Jeongguk, Impreg Kink, Riding, Squirting, Cream Pie, Jeongguk Has Glittery Cum

A/N: THIS HAS BEEN MY BABY FOR A HOT MINUTE! I’m so fucking proud of this fic and I did so much research that my head might explode and Greek Letters will come out! Thank you to @lunarlxve​ and @jung-hoseok-s-airplane​ for beta reading it and giving me awesome feedback! Thank you to @ladyartemesia​ who literally pushed me to write something so awesome AND SHE MADE A FUCKING GORGEOUS BANNER. LIKE DO YALL SEE THAT?! Anyway I hope you really enjoy it because my heart is so warm for this fic!

Eros, the Greek god of love, sexual desire and attraction

“At the center of Greek mythology is a pantheon of deities who live on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. Every aspect of human life was ruled by these deities. There were twelve main Olympians who ruled over such aspects. Olympian gods and goddesses are said to look much like women and men of this world but could also change their appearances into whatever they liked, animals and things of that nature. Most people know of the common gods, such as Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. But, there are others such as Dionysus- the god of wine, Aphrodite- the goddess of beauty and love, and even Hermes- the god of travel, who was in fact the personal messenger of Zeus. If you’ve watched the movie Hercules you’ll-” Professor Song’s voice becomes drowned out by the snort that comes from your left. You roll your eyes before craning your neck forward to keep listening to the lecture. You’ve always had an affinity to mythology of any kind since you were a child but, as you grew up Greek mythology stood out the most to you. You became enamored with it and decided to become a mythologist. You’ve heard of these tales countless times but you could always hear them once more.

A cough comes from next to you as you listen to the tale of Hephaestus and you roll your eyes once more before putting your hand underneath your chin. You jot down notes dutifully before looking up as Professor Song begins to wrap up the class. “For the last portion of your grade, you will all be assigned to work with a partner. The theme of your project is Graceful Gods, a study on partnerships between the gods and goddesses. You may choose whichever two gods and goddesses you may like that have had a connection with one another. Now, this doesn’t mean to watch Hercules a bunch of times and comment on those relationships between cartoons.” 

The class erupts into small giggles and you find yourself snorting at the lame joke. “Since I know that most of you cannot put yourselves together properly, looking at you Haeyun and Jowoon-” You giggle at his call out before paying attention again, “-you will all work with the person directly next to you at your tables.” Your eyes glance over to the long haired boy by next to you and you inwardly groan.

You know of him, of course you do. Who hasn’t heard of him on campus, he’s a fuckboy that enjoys preying on the hearts of innocent girls. To be fair, he is one of the most beautiful people you’ve ever seen in your life. His long black hair fell just above his chin and as he looks at you, you can see his coffee brown eyes with flecks of mocha mixed in. He smirks at you and your first instinct is to immediately swoon but you stop yourself and roll your eyes instead. His smirk only widens letting you view the way his eyes squint slightly as his head tilts. “I’m Jeongguk.”

His voice is melodic, dripping with saccharin sweetness and your body tenses up at his tone. He was smooth and of course, he knows it but you wouldn’t budge. You just wouldn’t. “Do you have a name? Or should I call you Nemesis?” 

So he knows more about mythology then he lets on. You take in his posture, the way he leans back in his chair smugly, legs stretched out in front of him as he folds his arms. He has no backpack, no notebooks or anything of the sort that is required. “Hello? Nemesis?” His hand waves in front of your face and you grimace at him before pushing your chair back. 

“Y/N.” Your answer is short and he nods thoughtfully at the name as if it held some sort of riddled meaning. His hand digs into his ripped black jeans before pulling out his phone. “Put your number in so I can contact you. We can meet up whenever you aren’t gagging over Ares.”

You shut your notebook before staring at the phone in his hand. “I do not gag over Ares.” 

He snorts before throwing his phone into your lap, dragging his thumb over his bottom lip as he looks you over. His expression is somewhat amused before putting his fist underneath his chin, “Song was talking about him and I saw your thighs twitch, he isn’t all that by the way.” You shove your notebook into your backpack before freezing. He sounds so comfortable with this subject, it’s almost as if he knows him.

“Oh yeah? How would you know?” 

“How would I know what?” He snorts, a gentle breathy noise as people begin to get up and leave the lecture hall. “How do you know that he isn’t all that?”

He stares at you for a second before laughing loudly, his eyes crinkle as his mouth opens wide showing off a dimple on his cheek. You swallow gently as your eyes scan his handsome face. You zone in on the beauty mark beneath his bottom lip and you have to rip your eyes away before licking your lips. 

“Did you know that Ares is one of the most disliked gods on Olympus? He has a quick temper and nasty disposition. Just because he’s handsome doesn’t mean he’s the greatest guy ever. He didn’t beat Herc when he fought him. So, he was unsuccessful. He pissed off Poseidon enough to physically murder his son. He had an affair with Aphrodite! She’s a beautiful soul and he just fucking stole her away. He’s an asshole and, you can’t fucking please him to save your life!” He rants carding his fingers through his hair, and you can see a vein begin to protrude in his neck as it flushes pink. He knows a LOT about mythology it would seem. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to work on a project with him then.

“Interesting how you know you can’t please him.” You jeer as you pick up his phone. His scoff is loud before looking to the wooden floor and widening his eyes. He gives a small embarrassed chuckle as you throw his phone back into his lap. You look at his worn leather jacket before standing up. “Hit me up when you want to work on the project.” 

Your eyes flicker to your phone again, looking at the black screen before scoffing. “So what he hasn’t texted you. It isn’t like he HAS too. He’s a fuckboy. He’ll do what he pleases.” You mock to yourself before stepping out of your apartment.

Your walk to the university was relatively short, your eyes flicker down as you spin your phone in hand. It’s been two days since you last saw him and you can’t stop thinking about the handsome guy. Maybe it was because he just dripped with this kind of allure that you wanted to know of. Or, maybe it was because he was so comfortable talking about things that you find interesting. You can recall when you first met Jeon Jeongguk. How you swooned at the sight of him before getting a general dislike for him.

You had heard tales of the hot guy on campus, the man that was always leather clad with tattoos and dangling earrings. You never hung with people in your university, for the simple fact that you wanted to just push past this awkward phase in your life and do what matters most to you but you did have one friend before he graduated. A certain Jung Hoseok that would take time out of his day to make sure you were alright and be a shoulder to lean on. “That’s him. That’s the fuckboy.” He whispers in your ear as you press your bag closely to your chest.

You look over as he sits on a bench, legs crossed as his arms extend over the top of the bench. He was surrounded by girls, fawning over him leaving drinks and snacks for him to eat. You scoff gently as his head turns in your direction. “Who does he think he is? The Messiah?” 

He looks you over and you feel your breath catch in your throat. The first thing you notice about him is his bone structure. Underneath the beating sun you can see the way his sharp jaw calls out to you as he tilts head at you. He smirks, just the corner of his lips flick upwards and Hoseok whistles next to you. “That’s a whole meal right there, bitch.” 

His golden skin sings under the sun's rays as he fixes his leather jacket. You find your body beginning to sway at his gaze before shaking your head and scoffing loudly. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me?” You narrow your eyes as he snaps his fingers, the girls begin to disperse taking themselves to class and he bows his head to you before smiling widely. You roll your eyes befo-

You’re taken out of your memory as a car horn begins to sound off loudly and you turn your head quickly to the noise before gasping. The car drives towards you without stopping and you feel your body stiffen in shock. Mind going blank as you stare at the car approaching.  

“Nemesis!” You hear before your body is being shoved by a leather clad body. You feel your body become coddled to the other body before you begin to shiver with the aftereffects of your shock. 

“Zeus above! Are you okay?!” You feel the body pull away before your eyes are greeted with the now familiar coffee irises of Jeon Jeongguk. His black hair falls into his eyes as his eyebrows furrow. You gasp gently before he hugs you close to him.

“Who do you think you are? Hermes? You think you can fucking fly?! How could you be so careless?” He scoffs gently before setting you down on your feet and swiping his thumb over the apple of your cheek. His touch sends a shiver down your spine and you shove him off of you before clutching your backpack to your chest. 

“I-I… I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” He widens his eyes before putting his hands on your shoulders, “Be careful! We shouldn’t let Hades welcome you to the Underworld any sooner than you should be.” His touch feels comforting before you clear your throat and step back away from him. “I’ll pay more attention. I’m sorry.”

He bites his bottom lip, his beauty mark on display before he is sighing gently. “Let’s get you to class, Nemesis.” 

The walk towards the lecture hall was quiet and awkward as he stayed next to you. His tall form shadows yours as he puts his hand on the small of your back. You can hear girls whispering and staring and you shrink in form. He clears his throat before snapping his fingers. The whispers begin to die down and you find yourself looking up at him as he gives you a small smile. “Thank you for that back there.” 

He chuckles gently before rubbing your back, “Anything for a goddess.” You tilt your head confused and he smiles widely. “Nemesis. Goddess.”

You open your mouth before nodding gently. “Right. Nemesis.” He opens the door to the lecture hall before opening his arm, “Ladies first.”

You clear your throat before walking in first and he follows shortly behind without a second glance at girls as they stare at him. “You-You never texted me.” Your voice sounds feeble and you curse yourself for it. 

He laughs gently before slinging his arm over her shoulder. “You sound upset about it.” You frown before shrugging his arm off of you. “I just wondered when you wanted to work on the project. That’s all.” 

He hums playfully before opening the door to Mythology Lecture Hall, “I can’t leave Nemesis waiting with bated breath.”  You narrow your eyes at him as you ascend the stairs to your table. 

“It’s not bated breath, I just want to get this project over and done with.” You throw your backpack on the floor before taking a seat.

You watch as he sits down next to you, legs stretched out before him as he tilts his head. His eyes roam over your form before smiling. You find your head tilting along with his before your breath hitches. He really is so handsome. You take out your notebook before watching Professor Song enter the lecture hall. You can feel his eyes on you and you pull at the hem of your shirt. Is it hot in here or is it just you?

“Just text me when you want to work on it.” You mumble before pulling at the collar of your shirt. “Yes, ma’am.”

You stare at your television, Chinese takeout in hand as you spin the chopsticks around. Your mind begins to drift, thinking about your new lab partner. He knows so much about the subject and yet, he pays absolutely zero attention. It’s very interesting. So interesting in fact that it’s hindering you from watching the latest episode of your favorite television show. Your feet kick up on the small wooden coffee table before looking up at the ceiling. He was annoying, that much is sure. He was so smug and sure of himself and it’s irritating but you’ve never given him a second glance since taking this class and it’s been almost a year already. He was gorgeous, you’ll give him that. His sharp jaw and those coffee brown eyes that remind you of a doe. His long black hair that you really wouldn’t mind running your fing-

You’re pulled from your thoughts as a small feline body crawls across the loveseat and onto your lap. “Artemis, you scared me.” You whisper before petting the top of her head and turning your attention back to the television. Jeon Jeongguk is an enigma, a fuckboy enigma and you’ll complete the project and be on your way.

You cross the green grass lawn of the university before parking yourself underneath the same tree you always do. No one ever seemed to come to this secluded area, nor did people really seem interested in sitting underneath a weeping willow tree that hasn’t been taken care of probably since the university was created. But, you liked it, you liked the free nature of it and always take your place under it before class. As you fold your legs underneath you, you take out your book of choice for the day. The Iliad. You’ve read it many times before this but the story never seems to get old. 

“Where was I?” It’s a sin to dog flap pages and it always will be. Your eyes find the page and you smile to yourself. 

“Hera seduces Zeus.” You mumble to yourself, finger trailing over the many lines of text before finding it. Your eyes light up and you tuck in for a good, quiet read before you hear the fluttering of wings nearby. A dove lands before you and you tilt your head to it as it sits down on the grass before you as if it’s studying you. Your nose wrinkles and you look back down at your book, “Would you like me to read to you? It’s a very interesting book. It’s about the Trojan War. It’s from a book called The Iliad.”

The bird makes no move and you shrug before clearing your throat and leaning against the trunk of the tree. “Hera of the golden throne looked down as she stood upon a peak of Olympus and her heart was gladdened at the sight of him who was at once her brother and her brother-in-law, hurrying hither and thither amid the fighting. Then she turned her eyes to Zeus as he sat on the topmost crests of many-fountained Ida, and loathed him. She set herself to think how she might trick his thinking, and in the end she deemed that it would be best for her to go to Ida and array herself in rich attire, in the hope that Zeus might become enamored of her, and wish to embrace her. While he was thus engaged a sw-”

“Why’re you reading to a bird?” The voice makes you jump and you look up as a hand curls around the trunk before revealing the owner of the voice. You sneer at his handsome face as he sits down next to you. 

“I didn’t invite you to sit next to me. And, it’s not just a bird it’s a dove.” His eyes flicker over to it before narrowing his eyes. “Yeah… I see that.”

With the roll of his eyes, he goes to shoo the bird away but it stands its ground making him huff out annoyed. You’ve never seen such a brave bird, how interesting. “Why’re you reading this?” 

He takes the big book from your hands and you fold your arms as he skims through the pages before slamming it shut. The echo resounds through the lawn and you scowl at him. He smirks before holding up the book and you notice how veiny his tattooed arms are. “I can tell you more than this book could, I’m sure.” 

“Oh? Could you? When you never take notes in class or even pay attention? I think last week I heard you snoring next to me.” You mumble before pulling the book out of his hands and pressing it to your chest as if it was protection from the attractive man in front of you. “Yeah but that lesson was on Dionysus, that’s boring shit. He’s a drunk partier big whoop.”

He’s doing it again, talking like he knows them personally. “I’ll bet you twenty bucks I can tell you more about The Iliad without having to even open the book.” You raise an eyebrow at his brazen words before letting your legs stretch out and you don’t miss the way his eyes flicker to your bare legs as your dress rides up as you move. Frazzled, Jeon?

“I’ve read this book a handful of times. I want to do this as a job, you do realize that? You can’t lie to me.” He copies your actions, hands pressing the ground behind him as he stretches. His foot presses against yours and the dove walks closer. 

“Oh my gods! Would you please get lost?!” He asks the dove loudly who just sits down closer to the both of you. You snort before looking back over at him. “Twenty bucks.” 

His tongue sweeps over his perfectly shaped lips before smirking. “You’re on Nemesis.”

“Who does Zeus send a dream to, to attack Troy?” Jeongguk rolls his eyes before giving a fake yawn.

“Agamemnon. Next, what is this kindergarten?” You open your mouth surprised at his answer before shaking your head and clearing your throat.

“While fighting who does Diomedes kill?” That’ll stump him, it’s a trick question. 

“He killed many Trojans but the only one he killed of any importance was Pandaros. Who before you get snippy was an aristocrat and not a god or goddess.” You frown before your fingers begin to skim the back of your book. He sure knows his stuff.

“Ah! Who drove back the Trojans?!”

“Oh good gods above. Achilles. Who cut like, half the population of them at the river Skamandros. The river became filled with them and I hear it also smelt like shit.” You giggle gently at his joke before sighing and digging in your bag. You grab your wallet before pulling out a twenty dollar bill. “Here. Go buy your girls ice cream or something.” He snatches up the bill with a wide smile before it falters.

“Girls? What girls?” He folds his arms, hand crumpling up the bill of cash before tilting his head. His eyes are alight with confusion and you find yourself stuttering as you shove your book back into your bag. “You fuck like half the campus, Jeongguk. Everyone knows this.”

“Oh, do they now? How are you so well informed about this information if you stay by yourself all the time like Oizys?” Calling you the goddess of misery and suffering? You scoff gently before standing up, “I have ears and eyes also I’m not Oizys. I just like to be by myself.”

He hums playfully as you walk away, “You’re right, Nemesis! Sorry!” He chuckles to himself as the dove flies onto his lap. “Mother, can you go away? You’re embarrassing me, Zeus above.” He stands up quickly before calling after you.

“Nemesis! Wait up! You mad I didn’t text you yet?” 

He chased you all the way to the lecture hall before taking his seat next to you. You pull out your notebook and pen before looking over at him. Empty handed yet again. You snort before giving Professor Song your attention as he enters the room. 

“Today we’re going to be talking about Apate.” Jeongguk gasps gently next to you. “Your sister.” You roll your eyes at him before turning your head. 

“I’m not Oizys. Shut up.” He snickers before leaning closer to you, “She’s a bitch anyway. You aren’t, you're just...sheltered and cute.”

You frown at his statement before paying attention to Professor Song, the cap of the pen purchased between your teeth as you narrow your eyes at the white board.

“Apate- the goddess of deceit was the daughter of Nyx, the personification of night. Apate was the sister of several others such as Oizys- the goddess of suffering, Geras- the god of old age, Moros- the embodiment of doom and many others of that nature-” Song’s voice becomes drowned out as you hear Jeongguk’s chair scrape closer to yours. You could feel his breath fanning your face, he was so close and you stuck your neck out to try and pay attention. His smell was intoxicating, the smell of honey, pine and something else that you couldn’t put your finger on. Something that pulled your body towards his as if he was your polar magnet. 

“Did you know that Apate once gifted Dionysus with buckets of wine to distract him from giving Ariadne a crown but it didn’t work?” Jeongguk whispers in your ear, your body shudders at his smooth voice. Goosebumps grace your skin as you side eye him, his long black hair falls into his eyes as he smirks. His tongue licks over his lips and you suddenly find yourself questioning how he would taste.

You squeeze your eyes shut as he leans into your ear, “I can teach you a lot more than Song, if you let me.” 

There was nothing in books about the tale that Jeongguk just told and yet, you find yourself believing him. You open your mouth to speak before you hear a throat clear. “Jeongguk, since you happen to know so much you feel the need to talk, why don’t you tell us about the tale of Hera and Zeus?” 

You cringe before looking over at him, he fixes his leather jacket before leaning back in his seat. All of the lecture hall is looking at your table and you feel yourself shrinking in your seat. “The tale of Hera and Zeus? He cheated on his wife. So Hera begged Apate to get revenge for her, but Apate made her beg on her hands and knees before agreeing. Semele had Dionysus, the drunken little idiot and Apate gave Hera a magical girdle. She tricked Semele into asking Zeus to see his real self and then Semele died because of it. Humans cannot view gods in their true forms. Their little brains can’t handle it. Oh! Also, when Semele died it rained with thunder and lighting for a year.” 

Professor Song’s jaw opens in shock before raising an eyebrow, “That’s sort of how it went. There’s nothing in books about rain and the getting on hands and knees part.” Jeongguk shrugs before looking back over at you and smiling. He’s weird. 

“Just...pay attention and no talking Jeon Jeongguk.” He salutes the professor before his leather jacket begins to sag under weight. He digs into his pocket and produces a bag from his jacket pocket. His eyes light up and you look at the woven bag that has a dainty string around it. He stomps his feet happily before looking at you and wrinkling his nose. He opens the bag before pulling out an apple and then another. He puts an apple on your lap before biting his. You watch as the sweet juice coats his lips before dribbling down his chin. It was something simple that has your insides coiling. Fuck, he was too hot for his own good.

“Eat it. Don’t refuse my gift. I’ll be sad.” He says before nodding his head to the apple on your lap. You pick up the apple quizzically before staring at it. You turn the apple in your hand, staring at how perfectly shaped it is. The skin shines brightly and you swallow as your mouth begins to water. It’s the most perfect piece of fruit you’ve ever seen. “It’s from my aunt's special garden. They’re really good.” He whispers as Song looks over.

You shrug before biting into the apple, the sweet taste spreads over your taste buds and your eyes widen. This is the sweetest piece of fruit you’ve ever tasted. “Wow.” You whisper before putting your hand to your chin to wipe off the juices. Jeongguk watches you with amusement before nodding to himself. Like he’s made his own executive decision on something.

“I’ll text you later, want to come over to my apartment to work on the project?” You had almost forgotten all about it before noticing that people are leaving the lecture hall. Class was already over? You were so into your interaction with Jeongguk you hadn’t noticed time fly by so quickly. It wasn’t such a good idea to bring him over your apartment, Artemis doesn’t like very many people. “Sure. Hit me up.”

10:32 Unknown Number: Nemesis, good evening.

You snort to yourself as you lay in bed. You turn on your side, hand sliding underneath your head as you add his number to your phone. 

10:33 You: Hello.

You didn’t know how to feel about him after today. He was always deemed a fuckboy but he doesn’t really seem like the type if you’re being quite honest with yourself. It’s always just what you had heard in passing but watching him get so childlike and excited over an apple? It seemed like he was a bit different. Not to mention his knowledge of Greek mythology was absolutely incredible and you find yourself liking that he likens all of the gods and goddesses like his friends or family. It’s something comfortable to you.

10:34 Hades: Want to come over to work on the project? 

10:34 You: That works for me, I don’t have many classes this week.

10:35 Hades: Perfecto. Anyone you want to choose for the project?

You set the phone down before tapping your fingernails against the back. Who would this project even be about? You hadn’t really given it much thought. You do enjoy a lot of different relationships between the gods and goddesses but your favorite would probably have to be Eros and Psyche. Wouldn’t hurt to see if he was up for it.

10:38 You: Eros and Psyche?

You settle yourself in for bed before looking back down at your phone. He left you on read. You frown before typing to him once more.

10:40 You: We can choose others if you prefer, it was just a suggestion.

10:41 Hades: See you soon, Nemesis.

You stare at the phone before sucking a sharp breath between your teeth and tilting your head. Now, you weren’t an expert at texting but something felt wrong. His answer seemed clipped and you wonder why. Did you hurt his feelings or something? You frown before throwing your phone on the charger and staring up at the ceiling. Enigma Jeon Jeongguk.

You saw him the next day on the lawn of the university. He was by himself for once, not surrounded by girls or gifts near him. You hid behind the weeping willow tree as you surveyed him. He sat down on the green grass near the tree, pulling at the blades of grass with his head tilted. A dove lands at his feet and he smirks at it before putting his fist underneath his chin. “Hello.” His voice is small as he leans back on his hands. He seems different somehow today, like he was in deep thought over something. 

“Remember I told you that I had a lab partner to work on a project with?” He’s talking to the dove, like a crazy person. He takes off his leather jacket before laying it on the ground and throwing his body on to it. “She wants to work on Eros and Psyche.” 

He stays quiet for a minute before clicking his teeth, “I’m not mad at her or anything. I really like her. She’s funny and cute, interesting.” You feel a blush begin to heat up your cheeks and you sit on the ground behind the tree before pressing your head back to it. “She seems really sweet and she’s very smart and nice.” 

He sighs before ripping up a blade of grass, he groans loudly before putting the palms of his hands to his eyes. “No! I’m going to do what I want without your advice for once! We all know what happened the last time you fucking talked to a woman I liked!” 

He likes you? You stop breathing as you go wide eyed. Heart hammering in delight you press your backpack tighter to your chest before smiling. Even if he was claimed to be this famed fuckboy, your heart feels a bit lighter knowing that he enjoys your presence.

“Just let me figure out if she likes me first. Zeus above!” He sits up before pulling his jacket back on, as he walks towards the lecture hall. He spots your legs behind the tree before stilling. You stomp your feet on the ground and he begins to smirk before heading off.

A few days later he has texted you his address. That was it. Just the address and nothing else. You can’t help but think you fucked up with that text and  you don’t even know how you did it. You had put on comfortable clothes, although your brain was telling you to wear something cuter for god knows what reason. Something about this guy pulled you to him and you are unsure how to feel about it. You’ve never been this way before, you’ve only ever just went about life on your own. But you do know one thing all you have to do is just get this project done and get it over with. That’s all you can hope to do.

Standing in front of his apartment you can smell those same smells you smelt on him yesterday. You could feel your legs quivering for some unknown reason and you lean against the door jamb to collect your breath. You were nervous to be alone with him in such a small space. That’s what you think anyway, but knowing that if you knock on this door right now and he’ll appear makes your heart begin to hammer with delight. You groan gently before making a fist and taking a deep breath. Get the project done and over with. 

You knock on the door before teetering on one foot to the other as you hold your breath. “Coming!” The voice is not of Jeongguk and you tilt your head before releasing your breath.

The door swings open and a handsome man stands before you. Smiling widely as his eyes squeeze shut before tilting his head. 

“Y/N?” You nod slowly as you take him in. He had deep blue hair, dark chocolate eyes, a bright smile and the most plush pink lips you’ve ever seen in your life. He was dressed casually, just blue jeans and a black hoodie and even that seemed sensual. He dripped allure and effervescence as he stepped out of the way. “Come in, Jeongguk is in the shower.”

As you enter, setting your shoes off to the side you let out a low whistle at their apartment. The walls were made of marble, stone pillars in random places that exuded richness. Everything was gold, the furniture, the statues placed on stands and even the filigree of the walls. The blue haired boy walks past you before jumping onto the gold couch and smiling widely as he picks up a glass from the coffee table in front of him. “Wine? I’ve got the good stuff.” You swallow, looking around the living room with a dropped jaw before looking at the man on the couch. 

They’re fucking rich! You notice a dove perch onto the statue of Aphrodite in the corner and suddenly your nodding to the man. “Yes. Wine.” He smiles widely before jumping up, “I’m Jimin by the way. Jeongguk is my cousin.” You nod in amusement before walking towards the Aphrodite statue. 

The statue is pure gold, glimmering underneath the lights of the large chandelier that hangs from the ceiling. The dove bows its head down at you and you smile before waving at it. It looks just like the dove from the great lawn. You reach out to touch the statue before pulling your hand away, it’s almost like you’re in a museum of some sort. There’s a loud purr that catches your attention and you turn your head to the noise before yelping. “That’s Adoneus.” Jimin says cheerily and you narrow your eyes at him.

“That’s a lynx.” He nods happily before handing you the glass of wine, the lynx approaches you and you stiffen as it rubs its head against your thigh. “He’s really friendly, don’t worry. He was a present from my father.” 

He pats the seat beside him before widening his smile at you, his eyes completely disappearing. You find comfort in his smile and you find yourself doing so as well before sitting down next to him. Leaning back you take in his black hoodie for the first time before noticing the thyrsus printed on the front. 

“Do you like Greek mythology too?” You find yourself asking before you could stop yourself. He laughs gently, a short melodic noise before Adoneus sits at his feet. His fingers curl underneath the cat's chin before tilting his head to you. “You could say I embody Greek mythology, Y/N.” 

You take a sip of the wine before widening your eyes, “Good, right? I have the best grapes on the planet.” The taste held so many undertones you couldn’t put your mind on any of them besides one. One that you couldn’t name that you smelt on Jeongguk the day before. “It’s delicious.” 

Jimin hums at your compliment before pointing at the gold caddy by the Dionysus statue in the corner of the room. “I have something else you should try too.”

The crystal vase holds some sort of thick looking honey and you lean forward as he stands up. “It’s the most delicious thing to drink besides my wine. Look, I’ll give you some.” He stands tall before brushing off his pants. His feet pad over to the caddy before flipping over a gold goblet. The glass cork is pulled from the vase and you swallow as he begins to pour the drink. It’s thick, taking it’s time to fall into the cup. “Is it honey?”

He smirks before topping off the glass and holding it out. “Come.” You go to stand before hearing a hall open in the doorway.

Jeongguk appears, shirtless with a towel hung around his neck before narrowing his eyes at the situation in front of him. “Do not drink that. Jimin, please.” Jimin chuckles before putting down the glass. “Y/N seems fun! That’s all.”

You swallow thickly before looking over Jeongguk’s naked upper half. He had an eight pack underneath his golden toned skin, small droplets of water grace his skin as he leaned against the door frame of his room. “Come on Nemesis. Leave Jimin to drink and have fun on his own.” 

Jimin laughs loudly at your nickname before walking back over to the couch and his huge cat. “Nemesis? Seems more like a Psyche to me.” You watch as Jeongguk grimaces before grabbing your wine glass and walking towards him. The closer you get, the tighter your throat gets. Chest restricting as his muscles clench and lax with every breath. You can see his tattoos clearer now, all symbols of Greek mythology. The one that catches your attention the quickest is the dove holding a rose in its beak over his heart. He smirks at you and you find it hard to stand still, knees beginning to quake underneath his molten gaze. He raises his arm above your head letting you enter the room and you thank him quietly before entering. His bed was white with a gold headboard. The room smelt of pine and apples as you stand awkwardly in the doorway. “Come.” His voice is gentle as he passes you to sit by the bed. His arm brushes against yours and you stiffen at the touch. 

“I’m sorry.” You say quickly and he raises an eyebrow drying his hair with the towel. “Sorry? For what?” 

Your feet shuffle towards the end of his bed before clearing your throat. “The other day, you didn’t text me back after I suggested Eros and Psyche and I’m sorry if I upset you.” He tuts his tongue to the roof of his mouth gently before patting the spot beside him. “I’m not mad at you, don’t be silly. Come, sit.”

His tone is soft and you find yourself sitting on the edge of his bed before looking around. He had portraits of gods and goddess littered around the walls and the same kind of gold caddy like in the living room nestled in the corner underneath a statue of Eros. “The story of Eros and Psyche is boring. I’d rather pick something else to do.” 

His admission calls your attention and you can’t help but look at his chest as he leans back on his hands. You have to literally rip your gaze away from him as he begins to smirk. “Boring? It’s a great love story.” He snorts loudly before putting his head back.

“It wasn’t how the story goes. Anyway, I don’t want to do that so can we please just find something else to do?” His tone holds a venom that makes you recoil within yourself before nodding shortly. “Sure.” 

“Hades and Persephone?” You find yourself asking before looking back down at his chest. His skin looks so smooth, if you could only just-

“Some other group will surely do it. We have to do something unconventional and fun. But, nothing with Zeus because he’s a hoe.” You giggle at his joke before licking your lips and looking at his eyes as he winks at you. Your neck heats up and you can feel your ears begin to burn. Your eyes are drawn to his abs again and you clear your throat as your mind begins to get warped with intrigue.

“Can you put on a shirt, please?” It comes out a frail whisper and he tilts his head before chuckling. 

“You can touch them if you want.” He grabs your wrist before putting them on his stomach. His skin is as smooth as you thought, you can feel his abs flex underneath your fingers and your bottom lip purchases between your teeth. Your fingertips press into the muscles and you can hear a strangled noise in the back of his throat, your stomach unfurls in need before you come back to your senses. 

You rip your hand out of his grip before clearing your throat and looking at the Eros statue in the corner. “Please, put a shirt on.” He rubs your shoulder comfortingly before standing up, “Yes ma’am.” 

You had both decided to work on Hephaestus and Aphrodite, working with Jeongguk was quite simple, actually. He was funny and told you funny stories that almost sounded real. You found yourself becoming incredibly comfortable with him throughout the evening you spent together. It made the image of him being a fuckboy seem almost impossible.

“Hephaestus isn’t as ugly as the books say, you know. One time when I was little, I sa- I heard that he looked like a monster but he’s just constantly covered in soot and grease from metalworking. Aphrodite is just never happy if she doesn’t get what she wants.” He mutters before biting the apple in hand. You hum playfully before stretching your legs out next to him as you both lean against the headboard of his bed. “You sure know a lot about these people.” 

He smiles into his bite before pointing at your notebook. “We have a lot of material already. We can just chill if you like, you’re cool. I’d like to spend more time with you.” You blush at his admission before closing your notebook, “Sure.”

He looks at your wine glass before grabbing it and standing. “I’ll get you more Jimin juice.” You giggle before nodding. As he leaves a body walks by the door before stopping. “Oh? Human. Hello!” 

He had silver hair and gold eyes as he wrinkled his nose at you. You swallow at his handsome features, a perfectly sculpted nose and strong jaw. You wave back at him as he smiles widely, the form almost resembling a box before Jimin stops next to him in the hallway. “This is Jeongguk’s brother. Anter- Taehyung! Taehyung!” Taehyung waves once more before clearing his throat. 

“She’s a pretty little thing, isn’t she?” His head turns to his cousin and you find yourself blushing at his compliment. Jimin nods happily before turning to you. “You’re very welcome here, Psyche.”

Jeongguk arrives behind the two boys in his doorway and his jaw tightens, “Will you guys get lost please? And stop calling her Psyche.” He steps inside of the room, “She’s nothing like that fucking bitch. Get lost.” The door swings shut in their faces and you raise an eyebrow as he turns back around to you, black hair falling into his eyes. He smiles before handing you the glass of wine. 

“Wanna watch Hercules?!” He asks cutely before jumping back on the bed, you sip the wine before giggling. “Sure.”

“It’s been a real slice.” Jeongguk mumbles along with Meg as you both stare at the television. You can’t help but snort as he side-eyes you. He was nothing like a fuckboy, you’ve decided this within the hour you’ve been watching the movie. “Why does everyone call you a fuckboy?”

He looks over at you before slinging his arm over your shoulders and pausing the movie. “Maybe because I’m really hot.” You blush as he squeezes your shoulder, his face moves closer to yours and you find your breath hitching in your throat. “Maybe because they're liars that just say I’ve fucked them to gain popularity.”

“B-But, you never stop them or tell them to stop.” Your voice sounds weak as he brushes his hair out of his eyes. “Why should I deprive someone of a fantasy? I’m not cruel. If every girl was like you then they would have gotten me.” 

His stare is molten, his pupils blowing out as he looks down at your lips. The compliment makes your body stiffen before you’re ripping your gaze away from his. “You-You-” He pulls away before laughing gently, “Relax, Nemesis. I’m not trying to make you have a heart attack.” 

You feel your palms begin to sweat as he takes the empty wine glass out of your hand. His thumb drifts across your cheek and you feel your body heat up underneath his touch. His tongue swipes across his lips before he’s turning back on the movie. “Pain and Panic are so annoying.”

You find yourself getting drowsy towards the end of the movie, your arms and legs dully whine as you move. You find your eyes fluttering shut as Hercules dives into the Underworld to save Meg. Jeongguk looks over at you as your eyes fully shut before wrinkling his nose. His hand reaches over quietly to the side drawer of his bedside table before grabbing a velvet bag. His fingers pinch the dust inside of it before gently blowing it at your face. “Dream well, pretty girl.” 

He stands tall before stretching and looking at you, your hands press against your chest like a defense mechanism even in your sleep. He pulls the covers over you before opening the window. He whistles gently before looking over at your sleeping figure. “You’re not like Psyche. You would trust me, right?” Wings flutter drawing his attention back to the windowsill before leaning down as a rooster perches on the ledge. 

“Tell Morpheus to send this one sweet dreams of me.” The rooster quirks its head to the side before bowing its head and flying off. The window is sealed shut before Jeongguk leans his back against the window and folds his arms. A smile spreads over your face as you sleep and he wrinkles his nose. He realized how much he did indeed like you, you were different. And, it’s been a very long time since he’s felt drawn to a woman.  “Come to me, Y/N.” 

 Jeongguk throws himself on the couch before slinging his legs onto his brother's lap. “Very nice by the way Jimin, just call Taehyung Anteros in front of everyone, why don’t you?” Jimin rolls his eyes before pouring himself a glass of nectar. 

“I slipped up, sue me. Anteros doesn’t come by every day, I forgot his Earth name. Maybe when Y/N comes out, I’ll slip up and call you Eros.” Jeongguk sneers at his cousin before relaxing into the couch. Taehyung smiles happily before sipping his own drink. “She’s sleeping? She seems very nice. Shy and sweet.” 

Jeongguk watches how his brother's golden eyes dilate as he talks of you. “Watch it. She’s not for you.” Jimin laughs gently before sitting in the gold armchair next to them. “Seems like we’ll get a replay of Psyche.”

Jeongguk rolls his eyes before stretching his arms over the top of the couch. “Y/N would trust me, whereas Psyche did not. Don’t compare them, Y/N is different. She seems to not have an ill intentioned bone in her body.” Jimin hums before nodding, “She’s very nice. I agree. I heard the wings of Hermes earlier, what was he doing here?”

“I called on him.” Taehyung looks over at Jeongguk before raising an eyebrow. “Why?”

“For Morpheus to send her sweet dreams.” 

“Of you?”

“Of me.”

Waking up wasn’t usually this difficult but you didn’t want to wake up from this dream. Your mind knew it was time to get up but you couldn’t help but will yourself to stay in this dream. 

Laying upon a marble table in the middle of a field of wheat, your hands graze over Jeongguk as he straddles you. His smirk is broad as he hums gently. “You are a goddess.” His body bows down, chest and stomach muscles rippling as his full lips graze over your jaw. Your eyes flutter shut under the lavender sun. Your body singing with want as his hands run over your bare sides. You were completely bare underneath him and you felt no embarrassment, as if that emotion did not exist with this god above you. “You taste like berries from the Elysian Fields, so sweet.” 

His lips leave small petals of pinks and reds on your skin as his hands cup your breasts gently. His hands knead them gently and you can’t help but hear birds begin to sing as his tongue flicks at your stiffening nipples. Your fingers card through his black locks before gasping as he suckles sweetly at your areola. Back bowing off of the marble table as he spreads your legs with his large hands. 

Your eyes open to watch the god lavish upon you, his touch feels electric against your skin. Sending shockwaves of want to your core. His lips trail lower, eyes on yours as he nips playfully at the skin of your stomach. “Eros, want you.” 

His eyes glimmer with amusement before licking across your bare pubic bone. “Do you now? You want me? Here?” His fingers caress your pussy lips and a mewl is coaxed from your lips. You feel your arousal dripping on to the marble table beneath you and you squirm underneath him. His chuckle has you whimpering as he bows his head back down. “So wet, Zeus above.”

He curses under his breath before licking a flat swipe over your folds. Your moans resound throughout the wheat field as his hands grip at your thighs. “Sweet like Ambrosia.” 

His full lips suckle at your engorging clit, the tip of his tongue flicking it gently as white hot pleasure courses through your veins. “Look at me, goddess. Watch me.” His tone is commanding and your eyes snap to his as his pupils blow out with lust.

His suckles become stronger, your stomach beginning to tighten as a finger swirls around the ring of muscle of your sex. “Eros!” 

“Yes, goddess?” His tongue is playful and as he lifts his head you can see your arousal coated on his chin and cheeks. The sight makes your eyes roll back as you lift your hips. 

“More. Want more, please.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” His finger enters you slowly, the full feeling making you whine as he gets back to work. You feel as light as air as he pumps his finger into you slowly, his tongue circling around your clit before flicking at a quick pace. Your moans fill the field as doves begin to fly overhead, lightning cracks above and you find yourself reaching the precipice of your pleasure.

Another finger is added as he expertly curls them within you, finding the soft patch of muscles that have your back lifting off of the table. “Guk! Jeongguk! Yes! Yes!” He moans against you, a gravelly wanton sound that makes your stomach tighten tighter. “Cum for me goddess, shower me in your pleasure.” 

Your toes curl as your mind begins to get fuzzy, his name both Eros and Jeongguk pour from your lips as your eyes screw shut. “I'm cumming! Fuck! Eros!” As you fall over the edge, birds begin to sing louder. Your pleasure starts at your heart before spreading-

You jump awake, a sheen of sweat gracing your body. Your head feels fuzzy and heavy as you gasp gently at your surroundings. You fell asleep here?! Idiot! And, that dream...Fuck… That dream was… Something else. Your eyes find the Eros statue in the corner before narrowing at it. “Get out of my subconscious.” 

You hear shuffling outside of the room door and you find yourself aware that you should not be here. How could you just fall asleep in Jeongguk’s bed?! Speaking of the god...man. Speaking of the man, where is he? You go to stand before feeling how soaked your panties are and you groan gently. How embarrassing! 

As if he had heard your thoughts, the bedroom door opens revealing the handsome man you had just dreamed of. "Good morning, Nemesis." You watch as he lifts a cup to his lips, the veins in his arm protruding as he smirks against the lip of the cup. His coffee irises dance with delight as he looks upon your figure. You begin blushing, your mind reeling back to the dream that felt so intensely real. "I-I'm sorry I fell asleep!"

You stand up quickly, hands frantically trying to smooth out your hair as Jeongguk leans against the door jamb. "Oh no, it's cool watching Herc rescue his lover gets me sleepy sometimes too." You can't help but stare as his tongue sweeps across his lips. Thinking back to your dream, his tongue felt so amazing on the most intimate part of you. You grab your backpack off the floor before pulling at the hem of your dress.

"I'll-I'll get going. Sorry." He furrows his eyebrows before watching as you teeter on your feet awkwardly. "I can make you breakfast if you want."

His fingers curl around the cup and you swallow thickly as if you could feel them inside of you. "I have to go!" You shove past him, coffee spilling from the cup to his chest as you barrel towards the door. 

"Y/N?" He calls confused as you grab your shoes from beside the door. "See you in class." 

He takes in a deep breath before opening his mouth as you meet eyes once more. "Hey Y/N, wait-" You open the door quickly before scurrying out without another word. How could you have such a dream?!

Jeongguk scoffs gently as Jimin peeks out of the kitchen, "I made her Ambrosia buttered toast!" He wipes at his coffee covered chest before looking at his cousin. "Where's the key?" 

Jimin sets the plate down gently before widening his eyes, "Key? No. No! Eros!"

His bare foot taps rapidly against the marble floor before holding out his hand as his jaw tightens. "Give me the key, Dionysus."

Jimin whines loudly before trudging out of the kitchen towards his room. "Aw man! My father is going to kill me when he sees my hair." He mumbles pushing past Guk to go to his room.

Both men stand at the end of the hallway, the gold key jumping from knuckle to knuckle as Jeongguk stands at the wooden closet door. “Any last words?” Jimin clears his throat before looking at his cousin.

“Maybe just forget about it?” He gives a nervous laugh, in turn Jeongguk rolls his eyes before putting the key in the lock. A large boom resounds throughout the apartment as he turns the key and Jimin whimpers before chugging the contents of his wine glass. The walls vibrate as if they’ve turned to jelly and he takes a deep breath before shoving open the door.

“Oh gods.” Jimin whines loudly sticking his head past the door frame as clouds make a staircase towards a ray of shining light. Jeongguk steps past the door frame before looking down at his clothes as they shimmer and change. The chiton that appears on his body is lightwear and the color of a white sheep. He sighs before looking at Jimin, who in turn, changes from his hoodie and sweatpants to a chiton the color of wine. “Oh fuck! Dude! Let’s just go back inside, hmm?”

“I need to speak with Morpheus, he fucked me over.” His cousin whimpers before the sounds of harpsichords begin to resound throughout the air. “They know we’re here anyway.” 

Without a second thought he walks over the clouds, the white wisps licking at his ankles before disappearing all together, his foot raises before stepping onto the staircase and closing his eyes. “Here we go.”

Mount Olympus was bustling today, gods and goddesses walking around on the stone ground not giving a glance at the two boys as they crossed the gold gates. Jeongguk’s mouth opens, eyes lifting up to look at the scenery he hasn’t seen for years. Stone pillars litter the pantheon, temples and mansions as far as the eye could see. Stone slabs of jagged and large rocks hold up the floating islands far and wide and he finds himself folding his arms before smirking.

“I knew you would come!” The sound is melodic, the voice making him feel at home as his head turns to his mother. “Mother!”

She floats forward, hair pinned underneath a gold crown as she extends her flowing arms. Jeongguk’s heart swells before enveloping her in a hug and spinning her around. She smells of ambrosia and roses and he feels immediately comforted. She steps back before placing her hands on his handsome face, shaking him around before smiling widely. “My son.” 

He hums as Jimin steps closer to him as a bolt of lightning ricochets through the sky. “Shit man.” Jimin holds out his hand before a goblet of wine produces and he guzzles the drink greedily as the white clouds begin to turn a dark grey. “Why have you come?”

Aphrodite’s voice is filled with glee as Jeongguk slings his arm over his mother's shoulders. “I must speak with Morpheus.” She hums playfully before pinching his chin and wiggling his face. “We like her, yes?”

Jeongguk chuckles before pulling her with him, leaving Jimin alone. “Yes, we like her. Quite a bit actually.”

“Eros! Wait up! Please!” Jeongguk chuckles before opening his arm as Jimin rushes to him. “Big bad Zeus is going to light up the sky until you go see him. He birthed you after all.” Aphrodite’s voice is playful as all three stop as Pegasus crosses their path.

“Nice to see you diaper wearing boy.” The deep voice is a welcome one as his eyes look up at Heracles mounted upon his horse. “Herc. Pleasure, I’m sure.” 

“Bro! You gotta help me out! Dad is going to flip when he sees my hair!” Jimin calls to his brother before pulling at his blue strands. Heracles laughs loudly before holding out his hand to Jimin. “Get on, you’ve been summoned.” 

With the stomp of his foot he grips the big hand before getting hauled on to the back of the winged horse. “Hey, Eros! One hour Olympus time, please!” He begs his cousin, wanting to get out of this realm as soon as possible.

Jeongguk chuckles as his mother smooths out his black hair, pinning it behind his ear. “That’s if you don’t get struck down first.” The horse flaps its wings before Jimin’s scream is heard as the horse takes off without a second thought. 

Jeongguk walks along the roads with his mother, head bowing down to the gods and goddesses that’s eye contact lingers for more than a few seconds. He was the god of love, sexual attraction and desire after all. His hand reaches out for a ceramic vase, one only that could be crafted by the great Hephaestus before the sound of winged boots draws his attention to the clouded sky. “Hey you!” 

“Hey yourself Hermes!” Aphrodite giggles gently before sitting down on a marble bench, legs crossing demurely as she leans back watching the interaction. Hermes appears, slowly floating off of the ground before pointing his staff at the god of love. “Morpheus is looking for you!”

“And I him. Care to lead the way?” Hermes hands him a pair of flying boots before looking at Aphrodite. “Well don’t you just look ravishing today. The Elysian Fields could not compare.”

“You flatter me, Hermes.” She produces a rose before handing it to the handsome trickster. Jeongguk tuts his tongue before narrowing his eyes at the man. “Easy now, that’s my gorgeous mother you’re trying to play with.”

He kisses his mother on the cheek before smiling, “I’ll see you soon, I’m sure.” She hums to him as he puts on the boots. His eyes widen before pointing at her as he begins to ascend into the air. “Stop coming around Y/N as a dove all the time. You’re making me look bad!” She gives him a gentle wave which he can only roll his eyes at before the winged shoes are taking him to his meeting.

The home of Morpheus never ceases to amaze Jeongguk. He’s not sure if it can even be called a home, honestly. A simple canopied bed sits high above the mansions on their own cloud petastools as he lands. His bed is cocooned within swirling white puffs of clouds and Jeongguk makes it a point to clear his throat in case the god of dreams was sleeping, which in fact would usually be the case. “Eros.”

He leans against one of the bed posts before folding his arms, “I have words for you god of dreams.” The laugh he hears makes him scowl as Morpheus sits up in his bed. “Words? For me? I did you a service.”

He scoffs loudly as he pushes himself off of the bedpost. “She ran away from me, any dream you gave the poor girl must have been a nightmare.” 

“Hmm? The dream. Let me see.” The grey haired man’s eyes close, eyeballs rapidly moving behind his eyelids before the corners of his mouth begin to turn upwards. “I would not consider this a terrible nightmare. I’d like to be such a man or lady in this situation.”

Jeongguk’s eyebrows furrow before holding out his hand, “Show me.” 

Morpheus chuckles before a goblet of Ambrosia appears within his grasp. “I gave her the gift of a good dream and her mind created this. It is not untoward to think she scared herself.” 

Jeongguk shakes his hand impatiently before hearing a sigh, Morpheus’ wings sprout from behind his back before cracking his neck and placing his hand atop the god of love. Jeongguk’s eyes closed as his head lolled back. His body shakes with pleasure before smirking at the dream as it flits across the inside of his eyelids. “Ah.”

His answer is short as he pulls away from the god before him. His hands smooth out his black hair, pinning it behind his ears before clearing his throat. “Send her more dreams, won’t you?”

Morpheus laughs loudly, his laughter mixing in with the crack of thunder as lighting bolts fly through the sky. Rain begins to scatter on the clouded ground and he can’t help but smirk. “Must hate the blue.” 

“I’m sorry to waste your time. I had assumed she saw something very unpleasant within her dreams to run from me in such a way.” Morpheus chuckles before laying back down with his goblet. “Embarrassment and unpleasantness sit in two different houses underneath the sky.”

Jeongguk nods thoughtfully before looking back down at the pantheon below this high cloud. “I’ll be on my way now, Morpheus. Thank you for your time.” The grey haired man hums before closing his eyes as the winged boots begin to ascend into the air once more. “She’s got a gorgeous body.” Jeongguk murmurs to himself before flying towards the market place. 

He walks through the stone street, hands behind his back as he looks at all of the stalls. A flash of light catches his eye before turning to a booth with a wide smile. “Theia.” She hums to him, sitting upon a marble bench with her ankles upon a stone stool. “Eros.”

He wrinkles his nose at her cutely and she sighs happily upon seeing his handsome face. “I haven’t seen you in quite some time, young man.” 

His eyes glance over the jewelry she has laid out, “I’ve been in the mortal realm. Enjoying life down there.”

“And does Eros have a new love that shines as brightly as my jewels?” He smirks at her question before picking up a gold necklace. It shines brightly even with the drizzle of rain. Two gold chains wrap around each other, coiling gracefully and he tilts his head before looking up at her. “How much?”

“Five gold.” He nods before feeling at where his pants normally are and sighing. “Can you make an Eros pendant?” 

Theia snaps her fingers and a gold pendant dangles from the necklace. He smiles at it before nodding, “That’ll be ten gold, dear boy.”

He nods before a woolen bag is thrown over his shoulder. He turns his head to his cousin who now graces black hair with a frown. “Can we go now?” He murmurs before giving Theia a small wave. 

He turns back to Theia before nodding, “Before you go, why don’t you stop by Heras home. She could enchant that necklace for you.” He stops before tilting his head. It just wouldn’t be right to have the goddess of marriage charm this piece. If you want him, you’ll have him.

“That’s alright. She can make her own choices, thanks Theia!” She hums before letting out a low whistle. Her legs leave the stool before watching him saunter down the rain slick road. The necklace glimmers in his hand and she smirks before leaning back in her chair. 

“Let’s go get you a glass of wine. Hmm?” Jimin nods gratefully as they cross the golden gates.

“I mean what the fuck do you even think you’re doing?! Hmm?!” You counter to yourself as you stare in the mirror of your bedroom. Your fingertip taps repeatedly against the glass as you scowl. “Uh! So what if he has a super hot fucking body and he’s really cool and sweet. Ha! Like that fucking matters. Because, news flash, idiot! It doesn’t! And, so what if he knows a lot about something that you have such a passion for?! HA! As if you’d fall for him because he has all these cute stories about y’know...Dionysus and Hephaestus…” You collect your breath as you change out of your clothes from yesterday before getting ready for class. 

“I mean, y’know, too fucking bad that you had a dream where he ate you out like a champ...With his lips...trailing all over your body and birds were singing because he...he licked your clit so well...and his hair felt so soft in your-” You go wide eyed before fanning your now pink tinted cheeks. “GOD! WHATEVER SO FUCKING INFURIATING!”

You barrel towards the lecture hall, backpack to your chest for protection as your eyes flit across the green lawn. You were safe, all you need to do is make it into the lecture hall and ignore Jeongguk when he gets there. That’s it! You grumble as you stop to look at the weeping willow tree you’ve grown so fond of during your time at this university. The dove was sitting underneath it again today and you find yourself feeling guilty you didn’t spend any time with it. You wave at it with a small smile and you hear him before anything else. 

His laugh is loud, a sound that you want to revel in and yet, you shrink in form before jogging over to the tree and pressing your back to it. You can hear girls giggling at what he says and you scowl before looking down at the dove. “He must really think he’s like Eros or something, huh? No wonder people call him a fuckboy if he’s so easily amused with girls.” The bird sits down, head tilting to the side as your back slides down the tree. The beady stare makes you swallow thickly before scoffing, “I’m not jealous. Don’t even think that!”

You point at the bird before frowning. This is called projecting and you’re doing a great job at it at this very second. “Just because he’s handsome doesn’t mean he has to talk to every person he sees. God, he knows what he does to people! So annoying.” Your voice tapers off into a murmur as you recall your dream. The way his tattooed hands caressed your body and showed you such attention. The way his tongue flic-

“Who’re we hiding from?” You gasp loudly as you fall over. You look up at him as he smiles widely at you, “Hi, Nemesis.” 

“H-Hi, Jeongguk.” He holds out his hand and you take in his attire before grabbing it. His leather jacket, his ripped black skinny jeans, even the earrings that dangle from his ears suit him so well you find the wind being pulled from your lungs. He lifts you up easily and you find comfort in his smell. “I was going to make you breakfast this morning. Why’d you leave?” 

You clear your throat as his arm slings over your shoulder, you find it bizarre how comfortable he feels beside you. “I-I… You know… Had to feed my cat and wash my...toes.” Very cool. You’re amazing at this.

“How hygienic of you.” He snickers before putting his index finger under your chin and pulling your face to look at him, “Wouldn’t have anything to do with your sleep, now would it?”

Your cheeks burn at his question before shrugging his arm off of your shoulder. “Of course not! You’re ridiculous!” Your scoff echoes throughout the lawn and he chuckles before nodding. “Yes, goddess.”

You freeze at his words before pressing your backpack closer to your chest, “Jeongguk! Could I get your number?” Your head turns to a few girls as you both approach the lecture hall building. 

He smirks before slinging his arm around your shoulder, “Sorry. Busy. Got a goddess to take to class.” You smack at his hand as it squeezes your shoulder. “Come on, Nemesis.”

Sitting down at your table, you can’t help but feel your stomach coil as he scrapes his chair closer to you. The scent of pine invades your senses and you find yourself smiling as he places an apple on the table in front of you. “I brought something to impress you.”

Your eyebrow quirks up as he puts a notebook with a bow on the front cover onto the table. He smiles widely and you can’t help but giggle as he folds his arms. “This is to impress me?” He gives a small nod before opening up the page. 

Will you hang out with me again?

The words catch your attention and you close the notebook cover quickly as people take their seats behind you. “Jeongguk!” Your voice is a whisper as he bites his apple. He wipes at his chin before nodding at the book.

“I want to show you something.” 

“What?” You can feel the excitement radiating through your bones, as Professor Song enters the room. Butterflies begin to erupt within you as he smiles widely wrinkling his nose. “You’ll really like it. Hey, do you...have a pen?”

“You’re just going to go over there and not be a baby.” You whisper to the mirror before stomping rapidly on the floor with your foot. Your eyes peer over at the bed, flitting between the two outfits you have casually laid out for your date. No! Not date! Hang out! You’re both hanging out! You sit on the floor, head leaning back against the door before Artemis climbs into your lap. “I think I really like him.” You whisper to your cat as she curls into a ball within your lap. 

“He’s not like how I thought he was at all and my heart keeps doing this stupid thing where it stops and I feel like I’m dying.” You whisper fiercely to the cat as her paw extends over your calm lazily. She yawns loudly and you scoff gently, “No yawning while I’m spilling my heart to you!”

You lift her up before looking into her sleepy eyes. “I think I really like him and I’m not afraid of it. It’s freaking me the fuck out!” She closes her eyes before you press the cat into your chest. Thinking back to all your moments spent with him, you can feel those butterflies again. Flying around without a care as a smile begins to grace your face. “I’m not afraid and it’s freaky.”

You wore something prettier for this hang out. You listened to your heart instead of your head for once and you were impressed with the outcome. Your hair falls in rivets around your shoulder before you knock on his door. “It’s open.”

Your hand turns the knob before being greeted by the familiar golden fixtures around you. “Y/N!” Jimin yells loudly as he throws his arms up, wine sloshes onto his bare chest as you giggle at him.

“Hi Jimin!” You give a small wave as Adoneus rubs his head against your thigh. “Hi!” You crouch down to rub at his head and he purrs loudly for you. 

“Wine for the prettiest human alive?” He goes to stand before Jeongguk’s bedroom door opens. “Come, Nemesis. Leave the drunk alone for a while.” 

“Nice hair by the way.” You comment as a dove perches on Jeongguk’s shoulder. Jimin frowns before folding his arms, “My dad made me do it.” 

His grumble makes you smile as your lab partner enters the room first. He sits on the bed and you can’t help but think to yourself how truly comfortable you feel as you sit down next to him. His black hair is pushed behind his ears as he turns his head to you. “Want to go to a party?” 

You frown before looking into his eyes, “A party? I’m not dressed for a party.” He hums before clearing his throat.

“I can help with that, actually. It isn’t a regular party per se. It’s more of a...family gathering.” He wants to take you to a family event? You fold your arms before raising an eyebrow as you let him continue. 

“You know how I um...I always talk like I know the gods and goddesses?” You nod slowly, your mind becoming confused as you clear your throat. “Hey, Dionysus?! She’ll need some wine.” 

You blink slowly before Jimin appears in the doorway in a flash. He smiles at you before holding out his empty hand. You step forward to take it, confused at the meaning before his hand shimmers and a goblet appears. You choke on your own spit, coughing loudly as you back up into the window. 

“Jeongguk!” Your voice is high as your hands grip at the gold ledge of his window. “Yes, goddess?” 

“He-Jimin! He-” Jimin giggles before stepping into the room and you are two seconds away from ripping open the window and flinging yourself out of it. “He’s my cousin Dionysus.” 

Your gaze flickers between the two handsome men before a psychotic giggle begins to erupt in your throat. Your hands find your knees as your laugh grows louder, eyes watering as you fall to the ground. “Y/N.” Jeongguk’s voice is gentle as you shake your head.

“It’s mythology! MYTH! This is not real?! What’re you insane!?” Your giggles go dead as the dove lands on the ground in front of you before the image begins to ripple. The bird becomes a tall Asian woman with chestnut brown hair and gold eyes. You swallow thickly before wiping at your face in shock.

“This is my mother.” Jeongguk grumbles gently, Jimin rounds his mother before grabbing your hand and putting the goblet into it. “Drink it, you’ll need it.”

“Well, isn’t she just a doll.” The woman's fingers pinch at your cheeks and you feel your body begin to feel tingles at her touch.

“Mother, please do not embarrass me.” She scoffs before helping you to your feet. “I’m Aphrodite, a pleasure to meet you. My son really enjoys spending time with you.” You gasp, mouth falling open before looking at Jeongguk as his eyes squeeze shut. 

You feel as if you’re in a dream, the world beginning to feel flat besides the three people in this room. Two of them who just so happen to be part of the twelve Olympian Gods! You bring the goblet to your lips before chugging it as Aphrodite giggles. “She’s funny.” 

“Let me refill that for you.” Jimin snaps his fingers before your goblet is refilled and you set it down gently before rubbing your hands together. “Okay, she gets it. Can you guys just… shoo? Please?” They hum before Aphrodite kisses your cheek. 

"You're very welcome. I hope to see you on high." She winks before leaving with Jimin. Your eyes widen as Jeongguk leans back on the bed. "Surprise?"

You scoff before looking at the door then back at him. Then at the door. Then him. Your finger moves with your head to both places before scoffing again. "Let me truly introduce myself. I'm Eros." The god of sexual desire and love. You swallow before fanning your face as you let out a short laugh. 

"Y/N?" His tone is gentle as he stands up tall. 

"It's real?! Like, you're a god?!" He hums before snapping his fingers, his casual attire turns into a royal looking chiton. He looks like everything good in this world and you find yourself clearing your throat as your eyes falter to the floor. "So you...your stories were real?! You're from Mount Olympus?!" 

He opens his arms with a small smile before nodding. "Yes, Olympus is my home."

This is incredible! Astounding even! To be in the presence of a god is...unreal. "I wanted you to see me for me. I like you. Quite a bit, in fact. I thought you would understand." 

He likes you?! Truly?! You hum unsurely before looking at the Eros statue in the corner and squeeze your eyes shut. "Nemesis?" Your eyes flicker to his before looking away once more.

He approaches you, hands grabbing at your arms before rubbing them gently. You feel the tingles again, you rip your arms from his before shrinking under his warm gaze. "I can make you forget this if you want...I don't want you to be afraid of me." 

You weren't! You were just in shock. Completely and utterly lost not knowing what to do. "I just...need some time." He opens his mouth before nodding slowly. "Whatever you'd like, goddess." His words make you shiver and you feel your body go numb. 

"I-I have a gift for you. If you'd accept it of course. I bought it from my aunt Theia. She's the goddess of-"

"Light but also the deity of gold, silver and jewels." You finish his statement and his smile makes your heart feel light as he nods. "Yes. I bought you a present if you would accept it." 

His hands press into one another before light begins to seep out of the cracks. You stare in awe at his hands before he opens them to a glorious gold necklace. "Will you accept?" Your head nods stupefied before you can even think properly. He chuckles before stepping behind you.

The gold chain and pendant are chilly against your skin but as he clasps it tightly you feel like it has always belonged on you. "I need time to think." 

He hums to you before hugging you from behind, "Don't run from me Nemesis, please. I like you, very much. There will be time for my family parties in the future, I hope."

Once safely inside your apartment, your body slides down the apartment door. You let out a screech before stomping the heels of your feet on the floor. “OH MY GOD!” You squeal loudly before looking up at the ceiling. This is absolutely insane! No wonder he was so fucking handsome, he was literally born from the goddess of love and beauty! And, he likes you. You! He wasn’t like how people said he is at all. Well, that is for the simple fact that they don’t know him at all! All of his fun sounding stories make them that much more incredible because they’re real. He was honestly, so kind and funny. 

He wasn’t like most people and there’s one good reason for that. He wasn’t a person, he was from on high which continues to rattle your brain. You can’t find the strength in yourself to stand so you opt for crawling. Which you feel blessed to have acquired a single bedroom apartment without the need for a roommate. Would be embarrassing if someone was watching you crawl towards your bed as your cat waltzes along with you. “He’s a fucking god.” You tell your cat who in turn knocks her head into your jaw as she rubs against you. “I know! So insane!” 

Laying in bed you flip your phone from one hand to the other before touching the gold necklace on your neck that you never wanted to take off ever again. It came from Mount Olympus but just knowing that while Guk was up there, he thought of you and that makes it even more special. He likes you and he wants you to spend time with him. You like him and want to spend more time with him too. Your tongue swipes across your lips before unlocking your phone. Your lungs fill with air before exhaling loudly.

9:12 You: Eros.

9:13 Hades: Goddess.

You giggle to yourself before your phone falls from your hands, smacking you in the face. You whine loudly before rubbing at your cheek as you type to him.

9:14 You: I’m done thinking.

9:14 Eros: Oh? Are you? And what does this goddess think?

9:15 You: I like you too.

Your heart begins to beat loudly, the sound filling your ears as you gasp gently. Was that wrong? Did you do the wrong thing?

You stare at your phone on the pillow beside you, eye twitching as your phone screen still stays black. You whine loudly before pressing your face into the pillow. Of course it was a dumb idea. He probably has a bunch of women, goddesses even, that adore him. 

9:30 Eros: Fuck! I’m so sorry! Dionysus spilt wine everywhere, broke the fucking vase that Hephaestus made us and I had to clean it up!

You grab your phone before reading his message and smiling. 

9:31 You: A vase? Where do I get a god crafted vase? I want one. 

9:32 Eros: Your wish is my command, goddess.

Your doorbell goes off and you jump at the noise before tilting your head. “Hello?” Your voice is loud, echoing throughout the apartment before standing up. 

“Delivery for Y/N.” The voice calls through the door. You exit the bedroom before opening the door. A man in an all brown ensemble stands before you, he has a winged shoe medallion hanging from his neck as he blows a bubble with his gum. “Hermes nice to meet you, doll face. Here.”

He thrusts the box at you before popping the bubble of gum. “H-Hermes, like the god of messages?” Your voice comes out in a squeak as he winks at you. “In the flesh. Sign here.” 

You stammer on a few syllables before setting the box down and grabbing the clipboard. “Like, actually Hermes?” He nods slowly before tapping the clipboard and blowing another bubble. Your eyes glance over his attire before clearing his throat.

“Listen, Eros’ new girlfriend, I got stuff to do. Hmm? I have three people I have to guide to the Underworld in like twenty minutes so-” He taps the clipboard, “-sign the sheet so Eros doesn’t murder me in my sleep.”

You clear your throat before signing the sheet attached to the clipboard and handing it back to him. Eros’ new girlfriend? You blush brightly before pushing your hair behind your ear. “Nice to meet you, Hermes.” The blush that graces your cheeks makes him chuckle as he pulls a packet of gum from his pocket and hands you a stick. “Nice to meet you, too kid. You watch out for that diaper wearing Cupid okay? He’s got a fragile heart.” 

You nod slowly as he snaps his fingers before vanishing into thin air, small flecks of gold rain down from where he was standing and your mouth opens wide before a squeal leaves you. You grab the box before trudging back into the apartment and into your bedroom. The box is heavy and with a groan you haul it onto your bed. Your fingers begin to twitch with excitement, eyes widening before hugging the box to your chest. Wow! Jeongguk is actually the coolest person you’ve ever met. Coolest god, you’ve ever met. Only god. Anyway.

You open the box before staring inside. Just the rim of the vase exuded richness and you find yourself carefully pulling it out of the box before staring at it. Beautifully glazed clay with the faces of the twelve Olympian gods stamped on the base. “Holy shit.”

Where would you even put this beautiful thing? Your phone buzzes loudly and you set the vase down gently before scrambling for your phone.

9:41 Eros: Do you like it? 

9:41 You: UH YES! THANK YOU!

9:42 Eros: Haha! Anything for you, goddess. See you tomorrow!

9:43 You: Goodnight.

You did it again. You had a super sexual dream about your lab partner slash crush slash god. And, honestly, when you woke up you weren’t the least bit insecure. “He finds me attractive.” You tell your cat as you comb your hair in the mirror as you get ready for class. The cat blinks at you slowly before laying down. 

“He likes me. Me! Can you believe it?! I mean, I’m not even that special or great or anything and he has a crush on me!” You scoff to yourself before smiling. You look at the time before jumping up, Aphrodite might be waiting underneath the weeping willow today. 

You rush to the weeping willow only to see an Asian woman sitting down on what seems to be a blanket made of silk. You were so excited to get here and now that you are, you can feel yourself becoming smaller as she looks over at you. “Come! I’ve been waiting for you.” 

You give her a shy smile before walking over and standing awkwardly next to the silk blanket. She looks up before smiling warmly and patting the spot next to her. “I don’t bite, come. Sit.” 

You clear your throat gently before sitting down beside her and putting your hands in your lap. She hums before folding her legs beneath her and smiling. She holds out her hand and a golden hairbrush appears. “Well now, I like being able to spend time with my son's beloved.” You open your mouth to reply as she sections off your hair before combing through it. Her tone is gentle before she snaps her fingers and an apple falls into your lap.

“I really love these.” She wrinkles her nose sweetly as you take a bite. “Good, I’m glad you enjoy them. Do you also enjoy spending time with my son?”

Your teeth sink into the apple before stopping at her question. The back of your hand swipes across your lips before looking back at her. “Yes, I do… Is that wrong?”

She laughs gently before shaking her head. Her hand sends electrical currents through your body as she swipes her thumb over your cheek. “Not at all, little one. I just have grown so protective of him after the whole business with Psyche.” You hum before folding your arms. You recall his anger every time she was brought up and you can’t help but question why. “What happened?”

Aphrodite tuts her tongue as she continues to comb through your hair. “I think Eros should be the one to tell you. He was so heartbroken for so long and then he met you. You seem to make him smile and feel as light as air again and I do enjoy seeing him so happy.” You feel yourself beginning to blush at her admission before hugging your backpack to your chest. Her eyes flicker to your necklace before smirking, her fingertips dance over the gold before sighing happily. 

“I hear a grumpy boy coming.” She whispers as if she is spilling a big secret.

“Mother.” Jeongguk’s voice is clipped and you find yourself smiling at him as he narrows his eyes at the situation at hand. “Son.”

“What’re you doing?” His voice is riddled with tension before giving you a sweet smile. His eyes narrow back at his mother as she clears her throat. “Just combing Y/N’s hair.”

“Why?” He questions before holding his hand out to you. You make no move from the goddess as she sets down the hairbrush.

“Because I wanted to. Because I like her. Is that so wrong?” He rolls his eyes before shaking his hand and you look over at her as she nods. “Go on, little one. He’s in no mood to fool around today.” 

You take his hand before bowing to her as he slings his arm over your shoulders. “It was very nice to see you again, goddess.” She giggles before nodding. “The pleasure is mine. I look forward to seeing you on high.”

“Zeus above.” Jeongguk mutters before pulling you away. You give her a small wave and his hand physically turns your head to look in front of you. “Don’t be so mean! She’s the goddess of beauty!”

He chuckles gently before ruffling your hair, “Yeah well, I’m the god of sexual desire and you don’t see me begging for women to suck me every minute of the day.” You smack his hand over your shoulder as he laughs loudly. 

“Come on, goddess.” As you enter the building you look over at his other shoulder, the strap of a backpack hangs loosely on his leather jacket and you point at it. “You’re wearing a backpack.” 

He hums before looking down at you, “To impress you. And! I even brought a pen today.” You laugh as you both enter the lecture hall.

Being with Jeongguk is amazing. There’s no other way to describe it. He makes your knees weak and your heart explode into a million stars that could paint the galaxy. You find yourself wanting to spend every minute with him. Not just because he’s a god, of course. Because, he’s genuinely an interesting person that you feel comfortable around. He does sweet things for you when you don’t even ask him to and he always puts you first. He hasn’t even deemed you his girlfriend yet and he acts as if you’re his wife. It’s very comfortable with him and you wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Then one time I accidentally ran into Herc as he was fighting a titan and I got shoved off of the pantheon. Hermes had to come and save me as I was falling.” Jeongguk mumbles as you lay next to each other in his bed. He snaps his fingers before pointing as the image on the ceiling changes. “That’s my mother and father's house.” 

Your eyes drift to the marble mansion before looking at a mansion beside it on it’s own floating stones. “Whose house is that one?” He hums before snapping his fingers as the ceiling goes dark. “Mine.”

You furrow your eyebrows at his short tone. “You don’t sound very happy about it.” He snorts before drinking some wine, “Yes well, not many good things happened there.” 

“Oh?” You sit up in his bed, legs folding underneath you as he looks over at you. His hair falls into his eyes as he gives you a small smile. “Psyche lived there, too.” 

Ah. “What’s up with that story? It always seemed like it had a happy ending.” He gives a quick laugh before setting down his goblet and grabbing your hands. “It really, really doesn’t.” 

“Care to talk about it?” He groans before sitting up and leaning against the headboard. His arms cross before his head lolls backwards. “I mean, do you wish to hear about my tryst with another human? Besides you?” 

You shrug before putting your hands underneath your chin, “You like me, right?”

“Gods yes. More than you know. You’re so refreshing and sweet.” You smile at his compliment as his head tilts towards you, tongue running over the inside of his cheek. “Then you can tell me, I won’t be jealous. I’m here with you, in this bed.” 

He shakes his head with a chuckle before closing his eyes, “You’re really something different, huh? Fine. Hold my hands.” 

You put your hands in his before closing your eyes. You see her now, Psyche, her beauty was breathtaking. She was married to Eros, an arranged marriage that she had been forced into. She sat alone in a magnificent castle, gold columns, floors made of jewels and silver lined the walls. She was suspicious then, and an empty house welcomed her. 

“I was never home, I was always out with my brother and Dionysus.” 

She waited patiently for her husband to return home, laying in the large gold bed, eyes screwed shut. Then he appeared out of gold mist, he lays down behind her whispering sweet nothings into her ears and her face becomes passive. You feel your heart clench and your stomach roll before inhaling deeply through your nose.

Jeogguk’s hands clenched tighter onto yours, “Shall I stop?”

“No.”

Days pass and you can tell just how truly happy Psyche is. But, you can see her pain, too. You can see the way her eyes fill up with tears as she walks the halls of the large castle alone. You can hear her call out to her sisters and family members, her sweet voice bouncing off of the silver walls. She relays how much she misses them, how lonely she is. How she doesn’t want them to suffer because of her.

That night, as she lays in bed, he reappears behind her. Jeongguk’s body shimmers as he clutches her tightly. She asks him if her family can come up to the castle and see her, to know she is alive and well. He denies her but when he hears her whimper out of sadness he grants her that favor. He warns her though, to not let her sisters influence her mind or their relationship will crumble. She agrees to this before falling asleep.

The next day, her two sisters arrive with the grace of Hermes. The three sisters hug and cry with one another, happy to be together again. Upon entering the castle though, the sisters are too deeply amazed with what they see. How the floor is engrained with jewels and all of the expensive trinkets that litter the halls. Envious they question their sister throughout dinner, asking her who her husband is to have such wonderful treasures.

You can hear yourself gasp gently and Jeongguk lets out a bitter laugh, “I know. Keep watching it gets fucking better.”

Psyche tells them he is a young handsome hunter, that of which they do not believe. The sisters look across to each other at the dinner table before subtly nodding, their jealousy overtaking their minds as they make a pact to hurt their sister. As they say their goodbyes they whisper words of warning to Psyche. Telling her that her husband is an awful snake from the oracle Dephi. That this is the reason why he doesn’t allow her eyes to ever grace his face, he is an ugly wicked beast. 

They had warped her mind like Jeongguk had warned her of. She speaks to herself in the day, alone in the castle. Asking herself why he does not come in the day and why he does not let him see her. He must be hiding something horrendous and she would shine a light in his face that night to see if he is a horrendous snake. And, if he is she will kill him. If not, she will go back to sleep peacefully.

“Psyche!” You find yourself whining and Jeongguk smirks before opening his eyes and staring at you. You are completely engrossed in the memories you watch and he runs his thumb over the back of your hand before tilting his head. You weren’t like this woman who he is showing you, you are someone far better than he could ever hope for. He feels lucky to have gotten to know you and in this luck, he wants to push it farther. He wants to know you forever.

Jeongguk sleeps peacefully and you watch as Psyche grabs the candle with a shaky breath. 

“Don’t do it, idiot. He’s Eros!” Jeongguk chuckles gently before kissing the back of your hands.

Psyche’s face reveals great relief as the candle shines upon his handsome face. She falls to her knees and thanks the gods for this handsome man before her. As she leans against him a drop of oil falls from the head of the candle before burning Jeongguk’s back. He wakes up, pain written all over his face before looking at his wife as she thanks the gods. He scoffs, hand reaching to his back before standing and leaving without a word. Distrust is written over his features as he puts on his chiton. 

Psyche runs after him as he descends the stairs of the castle, she hears his voice on the wind loud and clear as he tells her love cannot live without trust. She falls at the highest step of the castle stairs before wailing loudly.

You tut your tongue before frowning and you feel a tear squeeze past your shut eyes. “What an idiot.” 

She cries on the doorstep for days, her body turning frail before deciding she would look everywhere for him and regain his love. 

Jeongguk opens his eyes once more before wiping his thumb over your tear stained cheek. 

Psyche goes to the temple of Aphrodite, praying to the goddess to give her back her husband. She begs the goddess to talk to her son and come back to her. She tells Psyche that she must be certain she is right for Eros, since she can distrust so easily. She tasks Eros’ wife with three tasks and if she does not complete them then he will be gone from her forever. Of course, Psyche agrees.

“Wait for it.” You hear Jeongguk’s voice whisper smugly before he is kissing at the back of your hands once more. 

The goddess shows Psyche a mountain of different seeds. She tells her to separate the seeds before noon or she will never see Eros ever again. The goddess is gone in a shower of golden dust. She wails loudly as she separates the seeds knowing she would never have the time to complete the task. As she continues her task, a group of ants begin to pass by before deciding to help the crying woman. The seeds were then separated into smaller mounds that Psyche deemed acceptable. When Aphrodite saw these mounds she became angry and made Psyche sleep in the field.

“My mother can be a bitch sometimes.” You giggle at his statement before paying attention to the scene behind your eyelids. 

The next morning Aphrodite comes back to the field, with a horrendous task. She points to a river as it flows freely over a large hill. The water is pitch black, abhorrent and running quickly. She tells Psyche to fill a jug with the water. 

“Damn, Aphrodite. She could get hurt.” You mumble to yourself as your teeth nip at your bottom lip. “You aren’t watching a movie, goddess. You’re watching my life.” Jeongguk jeers before running his hand over your hair. 

Psyche reaches the waterfall before discovering just how sharp and jagged the rocks. The black water was slippery and only a winged animal would be able to cross the rapids easily. An eagle flies Psyche to the waters after watching her fail several attempts out of sympathy for the still weeping woman. Aphrodite tells Psyche that she would not have passed without having help. She demands the weeping woman of yet another service, telling her she can prove herself to be as determined as she claims to be.

“Whoa. Aphrodite was on a rampage.” The god before you hums playfully, “She was angry that Psyche was beautiful, quite like she is, she has since grown up.” 

Aphrodite gave Psyche a box, telling her to go to the Underworld and ask Persephone to drain her beauty into the box as a gift for the goddess of beauty. Obediently, Psyche to the road to Hades. Crying for two days and two nights before getting gates. She got onto a boat, one that was made of bones and leather as it crossed the river where the dead used to leave. She gave gold to the boatman, Charonte, to help her find her way to the dark palace of Persephone. 

“Where’s Cerberus?” You whisper as your eyes squeeze tighter at the dim lighting of the Underworld. Guk chuckles before brushing his lips against your cheek as his forehead presses to your temple. “Cerberus lives with Hades in his palace. Persephone has her own. You know she can’t stomach him.” You open your mouth gently before nodding. Another story for another day, perhaps.

After a day of travelling, Psyche finds Persephone. She begs the queen of the dead to drain her beauty into the box for Aphrodite. Which, the queen does willingly because it was so asked by the goddess of beauty. She would always be glad to serve Aphrodite. With this third task done, Psyche travels back up to the surface before giving Aphrodite the box. Upon opening it, the goddess of beauty’s skin turns black as night, eyes turning bright red out of anger. She swears to keep Psyche a slave forever and never let her go.

You whistle before flinching as Aphrodite flies into the air leaving Psyche alone in the field. Vines grow tall around her imprisoning her as she cries out for help from Eros. Upon hearing her cries the gods and goddesses tell Eros, who has locked himself away due to heartbreak, all of the unjust things his mother has done.

“Here we go.” He mumbles to you before pulling you into his chest.

He flies down to Psyche before enveloping her into a hug, whispering sweet nothings into her ear and promising to never leave her side. They return to the palace before long and he promises to stay around forever. Their days turn into weeks and their happiness is unending. And yet, Psyche still talks to herself, mumbling that he is a snake underneath the handsome god's skin. He planned all of this to happen, he set his mother upon him to give her these terrible tasks. Her skin begins to turn pail as the light in her irises dim. She swears at him, shoving him away as if he is a demon. He tries to hold her, to calm her but she becomes mad. Raving and ranting as her long nails scratch and dig at his skin. He begins to bleed, tears of gold leak from his eyes.

You feel yourself begin to cry as you watch him writhe in pain. He brings you closer burying your face into his chest as your hands grip tighter at his. “I’m alright, goddess. I’m okay.”

She wishes death upon him, begging him to leave her be in the big palace by herself. She couldn’t bear to look at him as if he had wronged her in every way known to man. His body crumbles before long, knees cracking and splintering the brilliantly gemed floor as he weeps for her. She spits at him, grabbing a knife off of the wall before holding it to his neck. He begs her not to kill him, he tells her how ardently he loves her and yet, she leaves him alone in the palace as he falls to the floor wailing. He lays there as the days turn to night and night turns to day. 

He pulls his hands from yours before hugging you tightly to his body. You sob against his chest and he coos gently as his hands run over your hair. “W-What happened to her?” His lips press to your hairline before picking your face up and brushing your tears away with his thumbs.

“She is a mistress of Hades.” You sniffle before sobbing again and the corners of his lips quirk upwards. “You’re even beautiful when you cry.”

You smack his hands away before whimpering and he merely chuckles before kissing your forehead. “Don’t cry, goddess. I’m over it, it was a long time ago.”

You rub at your face, chafing your skin with your sleeves before sniffling, “Have you ever loved after that? Did you ever find someone?” He tilts his head before smiling, his finger booping your nose before chuckling. 

“I have indeed.” You look up at him as he shakes the hair from his face. His coffee irises gleam with delight as he tuts his tongue to the roof of his mouth. “What was her name?”

Your voice is a whisper in the expanse of his room as he curls his hands around the Eros pendant you were vigilantly. “She sits before me. On my bed. Rubbing the skin off of her face as she cries for my past loves.” 

You stiffen as he smiles lazily, his head presses against the headboard before sighing gently. He loves you? Him? This impeccable being? You can’t seem to think as your heart begins to pick up speed. Jittery nervous course through your veins as your lungs restrict. “Y-You love me?”

He hums gently before nodding, “I do, goddess. Very much.” 

Your body lifts itself up before throwing yourself on to him. He grunts gently before laughing as you wrap your arms around his golden skin, his large hands caress at your cheeks before wrapping a hand around your neck.

“I do indeed.” He kisses you gently. The feeling of his lips makes goosebumps produce on your skin as you gasp gently. Your hairs stand on end as your body begins to vibrate at his touch. Your eyes open wide as his skin begins to glow before you and as you pull away you can see yours doing the same. He groans gently before flipping you over and kissing you as if his life depends on it. Your heart rate soars, the sound resounding in your ears as your fingers tangle into his long hair.

He moans against your lips, a sound so carnal your hips are lifting off of the bed at his touch. “Goddess.” He whispers gently as his lips trail across the skin of your jaw. You whimper at how deep his voice has gotten as lust enshrouds him. 

You pull at his hair gently as his hands begin to knead at your thighs. “Goddess. I cannot do anything with you until you are my wife.” You pull at his head, scoffing as he kisses down your neck. Lips plucking gently at your skin before sitting up.

“What?! Guk! Fuck me!” He chuckles gently before leaning back on his heels. You eye his erection, how it strains against the fabric of his sweatpants before reaching for it. He grasps your wrist gently, his touch is electric sending tingles through you as he shakes his head. “I cannot do a thing with you until you are on high.” 

You narrow your eyes at him before shaking your head. “Excuse me?”

“I’ve made a promise to my mother, goddess. If I do not abide by the promise I will burst and no longer exist.” Your jaw drops open before sitting up. “Wow.”

He hums before looking down at his sweatpants and running both of his hands through his hair. “I will wait for the day you accept me.”

After that telltale night, you find yourself falling in love with the god that gives you everything so willingly. He’s become such a large part of your life that you can’t seem to help always wanting to be around him. The Graceful Gods project was due tomorrow and you yet again are in his bed as the pen cap sits snugly between your teeth. “What else should we add to it?” 

Jeongguk looks up from the notebook before yawning and lying down, “Nothing. For the fiftieth time. Just lay down with me and let's sleep.” He opens up his arms and you pout before flailing the book in front of his face. “You’re already a god, I need to complete this so I get a good grade and graduate with honors.” 

He smirks before pulling at your arm. Your body lands on top of his and he hums to himself happily. You both lay quietly for a moment before he lifts his head. “Move in with me.”  

“Where, in here? Where we can hear-” You point to the sky before hearing loud moans ricochet through the apartment. He chuckles before pressing his hands to your ears playfully. “No, to Olympus. Move in with me.”

The book falls from your hands as he offers you such a thing. To move into his palace in the sky?! You squeak gently as his hand runs over your back. “I love you and I want you to spend your days with me.” 

You do love him. You’ve never loved anyone more than him. Well, come to think of it he’s the only one you’ve ever truly loved. A love that shakes up your heart and you would give your life for him gladly if you needed to. It was a pure love, built from nothing but apples and vases. But, it was a love of your own that had your heart soaring.

“After we complete the project. I will.” You promise him. He smiles widely, so widely you’re afraid his skin will crack before his lips are on yours. His kiss is filled with ardor, pouring all of his emotions into the kiss as you both begin to glow in the dim lighting of his gold coated bedroom. He kisses you until all of the breath is stolen from the both of you. His hands run over your sides before putting his forehead to yours. “So.. the project, you wanted to add something else?” He whispers before hooking his chin over your shoulder. You giggle quietly before throwing the notebook on the floor and kissing him once more.

“You’ve done exceptionally well, which is surprising to me because Jeongguk seems to show as little interest in Greek mythology as I do when my wife continuously packs me cheese sandwiches for lunch.” Professor Song mumbles before throwing the sandwich on to his desk. You stand beside the man you love, head bowed down as you await your grade. “Very interesting how you formed the bond between Aphrodite and Hephaestus as a working love and not one made of anger like the books usually show. I was rather captured by it.”

You smirk as well as the god next to you. You can recall sitting underneath the weeping willow as Aphrodite brushed your hair telling you the tales of her marriage with her not so handsome husband as you wrote diligently into your notebook. “I do enjoy the hard facts, although what could be so hard about them when they’re fiction.” 

Jeongguk smirks beside you before pressing his fist to his lips. “But I also enjoy how you made them feel like real people. As I said before I was captured by it. You both get an A.” Your eyes shoot up to Professor Songs before you’re squealing and wrapping your arms around your partner. He hugs you tightly before chuckling as you jump up and down excitedly. “You get to graduate with honors, Y/N. Congratulations. I’m sure this really has given you excitement.” 

You thank him generously, having to be pulled out of the lecture hall by your boyfriend as you continue to jump up and down. His lips press to your forehead and you feel your body light up, your nerve ending jumping and vibrating at his touch. "Come with me, goddess. I’ve waited too long for this day."

His house is empty when you arrive, you can hear rain pattering against the windows. Adoneus sits patiently in front of the Dionysus statue before perking up at the sight of you. "You know when it rains, Zeus is angry or emotional about something. Since Jimin is not here, he must have done something to upset his father." 

You giggle at his words before watching as he snaps his fingers. Your clothes ripple before changing and your jaw drops as you feel the rich fabric against your skin. The peplos falls in rivets and you find your fingers feeling the silken fabric. “Beautiful.” 

His attire changes to a chiton and you find yourself feeling that fabric too. Pushing your body closer to his as he wraps his arms around your waist. “Goddess.”

You hum quizzically as your fingers drift over the baggy silk shirt, feeling his abs contort with every breath. You stand up, lips drifting over his golden skin and he lets out a gentle sigh. 

“Goddess.” You suck gentle patches over his neck, leaving small markings indicating him as yours. Your body jumps and he catches you easily, his hands finding purchase on the globes of your ass before squeezing gently. A small moan leaves you and his jaw flexes as you kiss over it. “Baby. We can’t, you know this.”

You hum to him as he squeezes your ass again, your legs wrap around his waist as your arms run over his shoulders. “I don’t want to explode into gold dust.”

His admission makes you giggle before you gyrate your lower body over his. His cock, hard and throbbing, as your core runs over his. “Zeus above.” His lips chase yours before pulling you into a kiss that sets off a glow between you both. “You’re being a bad girl, goddess. You know what you do to me.” 

You giggle before pulling him back in, his teeth bite your bottom lip. Pain radiating through you, you gasp only to have it be swallowed by his mouth as his tongue caresses yours. He moans loudly, a noise that mixes in with the thunder as it crashes loudly outside. You can feel your heartbeat pick up, as your fingers card through his black hair. His fingertips massage at your ass before walking over to the couch and laying you down gently. He straddles you before lifting the peplos and licking his lips. His coffee irises are all but black, blown out with lust as his bottom lip purchases between his teeth. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” His hands are warm as they caress your bare sides. He bows down, lips connecting to yours as your stomach begins to unfurl in wanting. His hands reach for your breasts before a throat clears.

You both jump before turning your heads to the noise. Aphrodite stands, leaning against her statue before biting an apple. Jeongguk jumps up before hauling you with him. He gives an embarrassed chuckle and you can’t help but feel your cheeks flush as she stares at you both. “In front of my statue? You would defile each other?” 

He rubs the back of his neck before looking at you and giving you a small smile. She laughs gently before throwing him the apple, which he catches with quick reflexes before sinking his teeth into it. “I came because you told Hermes something very special was happening today. I assume it isn’t you turning into gold dust?” 

He clears his throat before rubbing his hands together as if he’s getting scolded. “Yes. Um… Y/N is going to ascend today. That’s why she’s wearing the peplos.” His voice is a whisper before looking over at you, fingers scratching nervously at his scalp. He looks at his mother as she gasps. “Today?!”

You nod happily and within seconds she is lifting you off of the couch with ease before wrapping her arms around you and jumping. “This is so exciting! I can’t wait! I have so much to do! I-” She stops herself as her body rocks yours with glee. “Drink the Ambrosia slowly, your body will thank you for it. I have to go! I have to speak with Apollo, Dionysus, and Caerus. Oh! And-” She disappears within seconds, her body turning into gold shimmer before you two are left alone once more.

Jeongguk chuckles gently before wrapping his arms around you, “I think we can expect a festival awaiting us.” You wrap your arms around his before burying your face into his neck. His scent calms you and you feel your body ease into his. His hands drift over your hair, pulling your face ever closer to his body. “Are you ready?” 

You feel your throat tighten before looking up at him, his eyes are on yours. Alight with love and fiery passion before he snaps his fingers. Two gold goblets appear on the table and you gasp gently. The thick liquid calls out to you, glowing gently in the dim apartment. “Once you drink this you will become immortal. You will not age, you will not die. You will stay by my side forever. We'll be married in the eyes of the gods and goddesses of the pantheon."

Your eyes flicker to the cup before biting the skin on your lip. To be with this man, this god, for your eternity sounds something akin to pure bliss. Without a second thought you pick up the cup. The liquid ripples slowly and you can see Guk begin to smirk as he picks up his own. “I love you, goddess.”

“I love you, too.” You bring the goblet to your lips before sniffing it gently. The smell makes you blink, “Holy shit.”

His laugh is loud before he sips his own drink. “Yeah, I know.” The smell is clean and pleasant. You can only liken it to itself, seeing as how you’ve never smelt or drank anything like it. Although, come to think of it this is Jeongguk's scent that you could never put your finger on.

“Drink it slowly, baby.” Your lips part for the thick drink, eyes on his as his nose wrinkles. His hand lands on your clothed thigh, stroking it comfortingly as you take a small sip. The thickness coats your tongue, your tastebuds scream with pleasure as your eyes go wide. You can feel your mouth warm up as the flavor bursts within you. “Okay.” He whispers before grabbing the goblet as your head lolls back. 

You swallow the Ambrosia before your mind blanks. White noise fills your ears and Jeongguk sets down the goblets before cradling you in his arms as your body stiffens. You whimper gently at the locked feeling before your eyelids fall shut.  “You’re okay, goddess.” 

Your heart stops for a minute, veins falling still before your body jolts as an electrical current runs through you. It runs hot and fast, pushing your blood out of every vessel before you still once more. Your chest begins to glow, a subtle gold before it shines brightly, radiating through you to each limb. Your hands move first, numb but still pliable as you clench onto his arms. He pulls you to him, coddling you to his chest as he whispers sweet nothings into your ear. 

Your heart begins again, pumping furiously as your eyes snap open. “There she is.” Your mind becomes clear, a loud gasp emits through the room before you look down at your radiating skin. He hugs you tightly, lips kissing over your face as he tells you how much he adores you. “Thank you. For coming to me.”

You hug him back, sitting like this for a small while. You grab the goblet again before taking a sip and relishing at the taste. No food or drink could ever compare to its deliciousness and you find yourself never wanting to have anything else. “Snap your fingers for me.”

You raise an eyebrow as you look upon his handsome face. He closes his eyes and snaps, an apple appears on the table. “For me. Just let me see what your fruit is.” 

You snap your fingers before tilting your head as nothing happens. Jeongguk furrows his eyebrows before shrugging. You pout deeply making him chuckle before his lips are against your temple. “That’s okay, goddess. Not everyone can get a fru-”

His sentence is interrupted as the apartment begins to rumble. He widens his eyes before holding you close as the marble floor begins to crack and splinter. “What the fuck?” 

A tree erupts from the ground, groaning loudly as branches smack against the ceiling before apples begin to grow off of the tree's limbs. “Zeus above!” He pushes you off of him before stepping around the coffee table and plucking an apple off of the tree. Your mouth drops open and he laughs loudly before throwing the apple up in the air. “By the gods, you’re incredible.” 

He stands there before tilting his head to you, "You know, I've had a crush on you since that day you watched me on that bench." You smile gently at his admission before crossing your legs. That was a while ago now.

"Then why didn't you talk to me?" He hums to himself before clearing his throat. "Gods can be insecure too, goddess. Maybe I was just happy to sit next to you every day." You mewl at his words gently before taking another sip of your Ambrosia.

He takes a bite of the apple before chuckling to himself. He holds out his hand as he walks towards the hallway. “Come, my goddess. You have a welcome party to attend to.”

You watch, eyes enraptured as the walls turn into jelly before he pushes open the simple closet door. Clouded stairs greet your path, illuminated by a lavender sun. He steps onto the clouds before smiling at you. “Come.” He holds his hand out waiting for you as you peek your head through the door. 

“Holy shit. This is…”

“Olympus.” You can hear wings flap and as you step out nervously, foot tapping against the cloud to make sure it's stable you see a flying horse with a man on its back. “Is that…?”

“Pegasus and Heracles. Yes.” You squeal loudly, feet stomping on the cloud making him laugh gently. “I’m sure you’ll meet many of my family. If Jimin had a hand in this party, you’re in for a treat.” 

He goes to step up the staircase with you before turning sharply. “Try not to let my aunts touch your skin. They’re insane.”

He steps up another step before stopping, “And, don’t drink too much Ambrosia. You’ll get sick.”

You nod thoughtfully as he stops at every stair. You whine loudly as excitement courses through you wanting to see the pantheon just a few meters away. “And don’t leave my side.”

“Don’t touch any animals.”

“Don’t accept any offering that demigods try to give you.” You roll your eyes as you begin to ascend with him. 

“If you see Helios, don’t look directly into his eyes or your skin will burn.”

“Hymenaios will congratulate you on our wedding, if he tries to-”

“Jeongguk!”  He tilts his head with a pout as you wrap your arms around his waist. “Relax. I’m going to be just fine.”

His lips drift over your hairline before nodding, “Yes, goddess.”

Harpsichords begin to play as you cross the golden gates. Your breathing stops as you take in the bustling pantheon in front of you. You eye the floating isles set upon clouds and jagged stones and in the distance you can see Jeongguk’s home. You point to it before squealing and he smiles at you. “Yes, that is our home.” 

You hug him tightly, feet stepping giddily on the stone floor as you gasp as Pegasus steps in front of you both. “Eros.”

“Herc. Pleasure.” 

The horse brushes it’s white face against you and you look up at the divine hero. He bows his head to you before smiling. “Goddess. Good morning to you.” His body was chiseled and riddled with scars from his battles that he so dutifully fought. You find yourself beginning to swoon as his pectoral muscles ripple. “The Hall is getting ready for your arrival. I was told to bring you this.” 

Heracles snaps his fingers and you feel a weight on your skull. Jeongguk hums gently before fixing your hair behind your ears. “Pretty gift. From who?”

“Theia and Aphrodite.” He nods and you point at your head. “Is it a crown?” 

He wrinkles his nose cutely before nodding. “A pretty one too.” 

“Well. I’ll be off. Pegasus, say goodbye to our new goddess.” The horse whinnies loudly and you gasp with delight before petting his head. “Hi Pegasus!” 

Jeongguk steps back to look at you in your entirety, his heart swells with adoration before wrapping his arm around your shoulders and squeezing gently. “Oh!”

You look up at Heracles once more as he snaps. “Have a nice flight.” Winged sandals appear on your feet and you gasp loudly, gripping at Jeongguk’s chiton as you float above the floor. Pegasus takes off, wings flapping loudly in the breeze before flying into the clouds above you. “It takes some time to get used to, like riding a bike.”

“You know how to ride a bike?” You find yourself asking with a laugh, he chuckles as he begins to float beside you. “No, but I can ride a chariot and that is much more impressive.” 

You reach the hall screaming bloody murder as Jeongguk laughs loudly. “You’re fine, goddess. See.” He plants himself down on the gold steps of the large hall. Your head lolls back as your mouth opens to take in the gorgeous architecture. Pillars of marble and gold hold up the high ceilings. You eye carefully the way the pillars are cut with precision, swirls at the base and tops leaving the columns looking regal and defined. “Eros!”

That is a voice you know very well. You look at Jimin as he flies towards you with a wide smile. “Y/N! Can you do this yet?” He spins like a top as he floats in the air before doing a somersault. “I just got here like five minutes ago. I can barely float.” He laughs loudly before finding purchase on the ground. He produces a cup of Ambrosia before handing it to you.

“You had to hear her, screaming like a banshee. I’m sure Hades could hear her in the Underworld.” You scowl at your man as he chuckles delighted. Your eyes look past Jimin as godly women arrange a banquet, the likes of which you’ve never seen before. “Well, well.” 

You turn excitedly to the woman who mothered the god you so love. She wraps you into a hug before a lyre begins to play throughout the sky. “The beautiful goddess is here. I’m so happy for you.” Her hand feels warm upon your cheek as you giggle shyly. “We have many people to meet, wouldn’t you say?”

“Mother, we’ve only just arrived.” She tuts her tongue at her son before smiling at you. “Demeter. Come meet Eros’ wife. She’s an absolute vision.” She pulls you away from Jeongguk as he scoffs quietly. 

“Family really is so annoying.” He whispers to his cousin before snapping his fingers and producing a glass of wine. 

“Demeter, this is Y/N. Eros’ wife.” A woman turns to you and you can do all but gasp at her beauty. Her peplos is the color of wheat, which is apt for the goddess of grains and harvest. She hums delighted before putting her hands upon your face. You feel a jolt run through you before you’re licking your lips. “Well now, how gorgeous is this one.”

You smile shyly as she fixes the gold crown atop your head before giving you a motherly smile. “She has a beauty fit for a goddess. I wish my Persephone were here to see this.” You clear your throat gently before looking over at Aphrodite as she drinks from a glass of wine. “She has immortality, but not eternal youth. This must be fixed. Right away. Don’t want you wrinkling, goddess. Hebe!”

Your attention turns to a young woman, black curls shroud her shoulders as her young face smiles at you three. “Oh! Mother!” Jeongguk whines loudly as Hebe skips over. His voice is like a song you would love to hear for all of eternity. Hebe stands in front of you before clapping happily.

“We must do something about your skin. It is already turning pale.” You point at yourself, eyes widening at the goddess of youth. She nods early before snapping her fingers and producing a small vial. “Drink. This is from my fountain.”

You take the vial before looking down at the water from the fountain of youth within your palm. “Go on, Y/N. It’ll be but a minute.” You uncork the vial before drinking the water. “Zeus above!” Jeongguk yells loudly before dropping his goblet to the floor as your body goes still.

He flies over to you, catching you quickly as the three women giggle with childish intent. “You could have let her sit or something.” You feel your skin become softer, hair becoming shinier underneath your gold crown and Jeongguk’s eyes soften before running his thumb over your cheek. “Why must she sit when she has you. So eager to catch the young goddess.” 

He scoffs gently before helping you stand back up, his lips brush against your cheek. Your stomach unfurls in wanting as your hand snakes around his neck. “I do hope you enjoy my wedding gift, Eros. Doesn’t come cheap.” Demeter jeers before turning back to the banquet table. 

“I told you not to let them touch you.” He whispers through clenched teeth as you begin to smile at his handsome face. Your lower body begins to glow, womb glistening like the sun making Guk scoff.

“Oh, Zeus above, Demeter! Really?! You could have just given her a loaf of fucking bread.” Demeter giggles before fixing the wheat in her cornucopia. “Where’s the fun in that god of love?” 

The welcome party goes off without a hitch. You find yourself leaning into a conversation with Odysseus and Persyus as they tell you their wondrous tales that only heroes could live. Jeongguk has kept you close to him throughout the night, his hand never leaving your waist as you converse with the gods and goddesses you had believed were a myth your whole life. “Wife.” Jeongguk calls your attention and your head is already lifting to look up at him. “Let’s go for a walk. Hmm?”

He takes your hand before kissing it gently and you bow gracefully to the two heroes before you are off with the god you so ardently love. “Gods, they don’t shut up. If I have to hear Theseus tell the tale of how he battled a minotaur one more time, I might rip my own ears off.”

You laugh gently as you both begin to float off of the island towards Jeongguk’s home. It dawns on you now that this is your own home as well. “Shall I take my goddess home?” He whispers in your ear as his arms wrap around you. You giggle before burying your face into his neck, “I think so.” 

You step inside of the castle, your eyes not knowing where to land as fires begin to light up the cold halls. “It hasn’t been lived in for a long time.” He whispers before looking around almost as astounded as you. He pulls your hand as you both step onto the floor. You take in the jewelled floors, how they shimmer and sparkle within the orange lighting of the fire. His feet pad up a marble staircase taking you with him as you notice the missing sword on the wall. Your throat clenches at his memories you’ve seen so vividly. Your hand brushes along the gold walls, feeling the expensive metal beneath your fingertips as he turns to you. “This is our home now. This home will be filled with love and joy. The walls will tell tales of how ardently we love one another.”

Your eyes catch Artemis as she flits down the hall and you smile widely. "Couldn't leave her on Earth by herself now could we." 

You smile at him, heart beginning to race as he lifts you up with ease wrapping your legs around his waist. “I love you, goddess.”

Your hands card through his hair as he walks into the master bedroom. “I love you, too.”

He looks at the bed before frowning. This bed holds many memories that would not do. You snap your fingers and the bed changes entirely. From gold to silver. From red bed sheets to white silk with four bed posts made of ivory. Jeongguk whistles before kissing you softly. “Now that gets my cock hard.” 

Your giggle ricochets off of the golden walls as he lays you down gently. “You know… We’re married now.” You hum to him as he kisses down the expanse of your neck, eyes fluttering shut as his lips pluck at the thin skin. “We are.”

His lips suckle sweetly at your neck, tongue licking over the reddening skin as he marks you as his own. Your stomach unfurls once more, pants beginning to rip from your chest as your legs squeeze his waist. He groans gently before snapping his fingers and you are utterly naked underneath him. “Zeus above, you’re so beautiful.”

With the snap of your fingers, he too is naked before you. In the dim orange lighting you can see every shadow, every curve of his muscles. The way his eyebrows furrow as he takes in the sight of you beneath him. Your eyes dance over his handsome face, watching as he bows his head down to lavish sweetly upon your body. His hands cup your breasts, lips sucking marks around an areola before encasing it with his perfectly shaped lips. Your back bows off of the white bed. Fingers running through his hair before pulling gently. You relish in the short gasp he takes at the pain and you could feel your arousal beginning to weep from you. 

His large hands spread your thighs, as his tongue flicks against your nipple. Soft moans emit throughout the large bedroom as his hands begin to grip tighter at your sensitive flesh. “Guk!”

“Yes, goddess?” His voice is deep as his eyes meet yours, in the light of the fire you can see how blown out his pupils are as he licks at his lips. “Want you.”

“You have me.” His fingers run over the expanse of your thighs before his lips begin to trail lower. Hands grasp at your hips as he groans lowly. “You do taste so sweet.” 

If you could have any thoughts you would recall how much like this your dream was that you had not so long ago but all melts away as his teeth nip playfully at the skin of your pubic bone. “Shall I taste the sweetest tulip I’ve ever seen?” He cocks his head to the side, black hair falling into his eyes and you could orgasm on the spot of how handsome he is. Hands falling from his hair, your fingertips drift over his muscled arms, leading over to his pectoral muscles and down to his abs. You find it hard to concentrate as he sits up tall for you, letting you explore his body. The sinew of muscle constricts as you touch him and his head lolls back at the feeling. "Gods, your touch is incredible."

You go to sit up before he is narrowing his eyes at you. "Lay back and shower me in your pleasure." You whine gently as your hands continue to stroke his abs, wanting nothing more than to lick and suckle his taught skin.

"Goddess, bad vixens get punished in this house." Your breath catches in your throat as his head bows back down. His tongue sweeps over your closed pussy lips and you sigh gently at the feeling of his mouth upon you. He snaps his fingers and your arms are pulled over your head as white silk bands wrap around your wrists. "Guk!" He chuckles gently before spreading open your pussy lips. 

He moans at the sight before licking a flat swipe up your sex, gathering your arousal on his tongue. "Sweeter than Ambrosia. I'd like to taste this every minute of every day, Zeus above."

You become aware of harpsichord music as his lips kiss your swollen clit. The melody is a sweet song that has your brain beginning to feel fuzzy. "Shouldn't have let Demeter touch you. Her gift makes me want to impregnate your fertile little cunt." He mumbles to himself before suckling harshly at your clit. Your body bows off of the bed, thighs pressing against his head as you moan loudly. He snaps and your ankles are stretched open and pulled tightly down onto the bed leaving you perfectly exposed for him.

"I'm going to put a god inside of your womb tonight, goddess. Would you like that?" You whimper loudly as his index finger begins to tease your entrance. "Fuck you so well the whole pantheon sees my child growing inside of you." 

The thought has his head swimming as his lips attach back to your engorged bundle of nerves. His finger enters you slowly, moans coaxed from the both of you. Guk curls his finger slowly yet expertly to the patch inside of you that has sobs wracking from your body. Your body begins to float up and his free hand pins you down to the bed as he slowly adds in another finger. "Guk! Fuck!" He hums against you, tongue flicking faster as your arousal begins to coat his cheeks and chin. The harp grows ever louder as your body begins to illuminate for your husband between your legs. It is then that your heart begins to beat fast, stomach tightening as you whimper louder. "Shower me in your pleasure, goddess. I love you so much." 

"Jeon-gguk!" He moans against you gently, eyes rolling back as he feels your cunt begin to pulsate around his fingers. "That's it, goddess." The light from your body begins to shine brighter and he watches your face, drinking in the pure pleasure written upon it. 

Your stomach tightens to the fullest before your head is lolling back. "Fuck! I'm cumming!" He grips at your hip harder, your words sending all of his blood straight to his cock. His teeth graze across your clit before you're cumming loudly. The stars of the galaxy paint the back of your eyelids as you fall over the edge. The harp gets drowned out as white noise replaces it. You moan his name loudly, both of them Eros and Jeongguk alike and he sits up to watch you with greedy eyes. "Gods, you're gorgeous."

Jeongguk slowly pulls out of you. He suckles on his fingers, savoring the sweet taste of you. His hand rubs at your glowing sides, letting you bask in the afterglow of your orgasm. He leans down pressing his lips to yours. You can taste yourself on his tongue, sweet and thick as he cups your face with his hand. His forehead connects to yours before muttering the only three words that seem to matter. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Your hands strain against the fabric before you pout. He chuckles, sweet breath fanning your face before you're slyly smirking at him. You snap your fingers and like that, you're free from your confines. Your body lifts up before shoving him down onto the bed, he gasps gently before chuckling. 

"I guess I'm not the only one who holds power in this home." You giggle before planting a chaste kiss upon his lips. Trailing downward, your tongue sweeps small circles over his golden skin as he glows from the orange flames. He gasps gently, mouth dropping open before his eyes flutter shut. You lick at his chest, dancing over the taught, muscular skin. He groans gently, whispering your name reverently as his hands run through your hair. You feel it again, the feeling that sends tingles through your body. Begging for the man underneath you, Jeongguk's eyes flutter open before smirking as your lower half begins to glow. "Someone's womb is dying to be filled with the seed of Eros. Hmm?" 

You snap your fingers, white silk ribbons wrap around his wrists before yanking his arms above his head. He groans gently before chuckling. "You're astounding, goddess." You know he could easily release himself from them but he makes no move as your hands run over his thick thighs. You take all of him in now, almost gasping at his large size as his cock twitches with need. He was long and thick making your mouth water. Rose colored veins peppering his long length as it rests against his stomach. His bulbous head is blushed pink and you can help but notice the gentle curve of his immaculate cock. He whimpers when you touch his inner thighs. Hips bowing off of the bed begging for something more. "It's been so long since I've been touched." He admits and you watch how precum begins to pool at his slit. 

The precum shimmers in the lighting and you feel your mouth go dry, begging to taste it. You wrap your hand around the base, earning a hiss from the god beneath you before kissing over his length. He groans long and low as his head smacks into the mattress. "Oh gods, goddess you don't know how long I've waited for your touch." If it's half as long as you, you have a pretty good idea.

His cock is heavy in the palm of your hand, twitching with bliss as you press your lips to the smooth skin. The harpsichords begin to play once more as you reach the head. Your tongue darts out, licking the thick precum off of him before your eyes widen at the taste. There is no musk, nothing of the sort. He tastes of Ambrosia and you find yourself pumping his cock quicker for more. Delectable is the only word to describe it. You moan gently for him, a noise that makes him grunt gently before your tongue swirls around the blushed head of his cock. He moans loudly, eyes squeezing shut as his chest begins to glow. "Oh goddess!" 

Your mouth engulfs him, hands caressing his abed stomach as you hollow your cheeks. He is heavy against your tongue, shimmering precum streaming endlessly into your mouth as he moans your name. What you cannot fit inside of you, you begin to stroke. His body begins to twitch with pleasure, thighs flexing and unflexing before he is snapping his fingers. His hands fall free before he is sitting up to watch you suck him diligently. "You fuck my cock into your mouth so well."

You whimper, thighs pressing against each other for some relief as you feel the emptiness of your cunt radiate through you. His hands grab at your hair, pulling it away from your face to view you easier. Your tongue runs flat licks over the base, the sounds of your cheeks hollowing and sucking him echo through the room and he gasps loudly as he grips your hair tighter. "Oh fuck! Goddess! Thank you for pleasing me so well." 

Your eyes shut at his praise and his thumb sweeps across your cheek bone as you feel him begin to throb within your mouth. His body glows brighter, moans beginning to reach new levels of high. His fingertips roll and pluck at your nipples as his bottom lip purchases between his teeth. Your hands cup his balls, squeezing and rolling them gently within your hands and you whimper as he whispers your name with reverence. "Oh shit! I'm going to cum. Oh gods, fuck, it feels so good, Y/N!" 

You swallow around him diligently, nose nestling to his pubic bone as you let him use your throat as a cocksleeve. "Oh goddess, how I love you." He begins to fuck your face, he pulls at your hair gently. The feeling sent straight to your core as your new wave of arousal begins to weep from you. Your eyes well up with tears as he whimpers loudly. "Goddess! Yes! I-I" He falls silently as his body begins to float into the air, taking you with him. His head falls back as he gasps quietly. "Cumming. Fuck, baby. I'm cumming for you." 

His cock throbs wildly before stilling, warm ropes of cum paint your throat and you relish in the sweet taste of him. He moans your name so loudly that the gold walls of the castle vibrate gently. He glows brightly before you both fall back down onto the bed. Your hands run over his chest as he breathes raggedly. His tongue licks at his pretty pink lips before he raises his head to look at you. His smile makes your throat tense up, the most beautiful god is really beneath you.

His hands coddle your body to his before he is laying you back and kissing you gently. His knees knock open your legs, thumb caressing your cheek and jaw as he aligns himself to you. His cock gently brushes open your lips, gathering your arousal on the underside of his cock. You moan as his bulbous head prods at your engorging clit. His lips press to yours quickly before putting his forehead to you. "Shower me in your pleasure, goddess."

The harpsichords resound throughout the room, gentle and melodic as the head of his cock prods at your entrance. Hands grip at his tattooed arms, eyes on one another's as he inches slowly inside of you. There is a burn as he stretches your pussy for him. Your cunt muscles clench and squeeze against the thick intrusion and he kisses you languidly as he takes his time. He buries himself to the hilt, choking on a moan as his tongue caresses yours. "You're so tight, goddess. So fucking wet." 

Kissing over your jaw, he gives a small thrust to work open your pussy and you could feel every curve of his cock, every part of your cunt filled by him. His moans are gentle as his thumbs brush over your nipples. "You'll take my child so well, pretty tits will swell with the milk of the gods."

Your pussy clenches around him as your womb glows brightly. "You'd like that, goddess. Wouldn't you? Like to have a god within your womb. Growing my child strong for Olympus." 

"Yes! Please! I want to be pregnant with your child." He moans at your reply, lips crashing down on yours as he kisses you with unbearable wanting. It is then that he pulls out slowly, the bulbous head of his cock drags deliciously through your walls before thrusting back inside.

Your back bows off of the bed, eyes rolling back as your body begins to sing with white hot pleasure. He begins a lazy pace, whispering words of ardor over you as his lips kiss at your skin. Your bodies begin to float and he takes this time to wrap his arms around you, arm muscles rippling as he buries his face into the crook of your neck.

"Guk! More, please." He whimpers against your neck, tongue lazily sweeping circles over your skin before lifting his head. "Yes, goddess."

His thrusts pick up speed, your legs wrap around his waist as he grips at your hips. You can see the way his black hair begins to coat in a shimmering sweat, sticking to his forehead. His bottom lip finds purchase between his teeth as he pumps his cock into your needy cunt. "Gods, you feel so amazing. Your, fuck, your pussy is so incredible."

You sit up, chest smacking into his as you both float higher, your body bouncing on his with each thrust. His hands snake to the globes of your ass, squeezing roughly as he pulls you in for a kiss. You can see his body begin to glow once more, starting at his heart and spreading to his limbs. His strong arms take control, lifting your body with ease as your arousal begins to drip down his balls.

"Oh fuck! Eros!" With each thrust, the head of his cock prods against your cervix folds and your head lolls back as your body begins to radiate. Your toes begin to curl, the sound of the harp getting drowned out by both of your moans. It is then that he presses you both back down into the bed. Grabbing your ankles and hauling them over his shoulders as he bucks into you with fervent need.

"Y/N! Oh fuck! I'm going to spill my seed into your womb. Gonna fill you up so much you have no choice but to get pregnant with my child." The new angle has his bulbous head brushing against the bundle of nerves within you. His hands trail over your body, pinching and plucking at your stiff nipples before reaching for the apex between your thighs.

His fingers rub quick circles against your clit and your breath catches within your throat. Your body careens towards the precipice, the room filling up with white light as you moan his name loudly. You become acutely aware of how your pussy begins to throb around him, your mind going blank as you murmur his name like a prayer. "Goddess, I feel it. I feel your pretty little pussy trying to milk me of my seed. Cum on my cock, baby."

Your eyes flutter shut, hands grip at his arms. Your fingernails dig into his golden skin as it sings with pleasure. The pleasure, so intense, it brings tears to your eyes as you whimper for him. "I love you. Cum for me." 

His thumb and index finger squeeze your swollen bundle of nerves gently and that's all it takes as you orgasm for him. Your heart beats voraciously fast, body tingling with new found pleasure as you cum for him. White noise fills your brain and you sob loudly at the pleasure. "Good girl." 

His face is back to your neck, lips plucking at your delicate skin as he chases his own high. "Oh gods, you came all over me goddess. Squirted all over me. So gorgeous." 

Fuzzily, you lift your head to look at his lower body, your cum shimmering on his thighs and cock. He fucks into you faster, tongue licking at his lips before his eyes are rolling back. His black hair tickles the skin of your neck as he moans your name like a prayer. “Oh fuck, Y/N! I’m going to cum! Get you so nice and big with my child inside of you.”

His words are a promise, a promise that fuels his desire to give you his everything. “Yes, please fill me Eros. Give me your child!” He groans loudly as he lifts his head. His coffee irises begin to turn white as he bites his bottom lip. You feel it then, how fast his cock begins to throb within you, begging to unleash his cum deep inside of you. You can see the love, the pleasure, the wanting written over his handsome features as his eyes flutter shut. His mouth opens, tongue caressing the skin of his bottom lip before his eyebrows furrow.

“Fuck! Goddess!” His hands grasp at your hips as you begin to float higher than before. The harps song begins to quicken and your back begins to arch as Guk moans. “Oh gods, I’m cumming.”

His body bursts with white light, so bright you have to squeeze your eyes shut as his cock stills inside of you. He gives small thrusts before moaning so loudly your ears ring. The orange flames of the room are burnt out as a gust of wind sweeps throughout the bedroom. Ropes of cum greet your needy cunt. Your womb swells with his seed as his cum never seems to cease. It fills you with warmth, numbing your body and you feel euphoric as he hugs you tightly to him.

He kisses over your sweaty skin, peppering you with love as you both slowly float back down to the bed. The harp turns into the sounds of a lyre before you hear trumpets begin to resound. He chuckles gently against you before shaking his head. “Welcome to Olympus.” 

You giggle before running your hands through his sweaty hair. He hugs you tightly before pulling out of you slowly, his tongue licks at hips before he's humming in amusement. His fingers splayed open the lips of your pussy before groaning. "Zeus above, that's hot." You watch as his cum seeps out of you, coating the silk sheets beneath you as it sparkles. 

"I can't believe you have glittery cum." He laughs loudly, head falling back before he snaps his fingers changing the sheets beneath you both. He lays down beside you, arm wrapping around your waist before pulling your back flush to his chest. "I love you."

"I love you too." 

Waking up in Olympus can only be described as rapture. Leaving Guk alone in the bed, you snap your fingers as you walk towards the open balcony. A light blue peplos enwraps your body and you can smell Ambrosia on the wind as you lean against the marble railing of the balcony. The lavender sky hangs high above the pantheon and you close your eyes taking in the heated rays. Once an enigma to you, Jeongguk has become everything you could have dreamed of and you find your eyes welling with tears as you open them once more.

You take in the sight of gods and goddess flying around to get from the Elysian Fields to even the market. “Goddess?” His voice croaks with the sound of morning and you giggle before putting your hands underneath your chin. You hear the sheets ruffle as he awakes and your head tilts to look at a garden with a fountain in the center. In the distance you can see Hebe sitting on the edge of the fountain combing her hair and you fill with calmness. “Good morning.” 

His arms wrap around you before pressing a gentle kiss to your temple. “Good morning.” He pulls back before looking at the blue peplos and smirking. “You feel different today?”

You raise an eyebrow before turning to him. “Different?” He hums before kissing your lips gently. 

“Blue.” He pulls at the peplos before looking past you towards the pantheon.

His hands run down your arms to your stomach and you go wide eyed as he turns you back around. “Pregnancy is different here, goddess.” You choke on your own spit before looking down at your stomach. Just a small bump, maybe signifying that you were two to three months pregnant and yet, you’re still mystified by it.

“You-I- We just did it yesterday.” He laughs, a sweet melodic sound as his breath fans the back of your neck. “Yes, we did. A very good night for me indeed.” You snort as your womb begins to glow underneath his touch.  It hits you then.

“What about my job as a mythologist? What about everything on Earth?” He hugs you tightly as Pegasus flies above the castle.

“I’d say this is better than studying myths, don’t you think? You’re living one.” You ponder on this thought for a second before you begin to smile. “I’d say so.”

He sighs gently before rubbing at your stomach. “It’s a boy y’know. That’s why you’re wearing blue.” Your heart swells before turning to him, his hands caging you against the railing as the prop up on either side of you. “Although the world will never write about your story, they will never know the tales of how Eros grew to love again. How our love culminated into the greatest gift of being-” His hands press to your stomach as you tilt your head, “-the pantheon will know. They will know how ardently I treasure and adore you. The gods and goddesses will know how you make my heart sing.” Your fingers reach up and touch the gold necklace around your neck and his nose wrinkles. He wraps you in his arms, chest beginning to glow as his forehead presses to yours. “For Eros, the god of love found his own in a woman whose heart made his own weep with Ambrosia, sing like the winds of the Elysian Fields and dream such sweet dreams only Morpheus would provide.”

[bougainvilea]

wait for me (part two)

a/n: hello i got excited about my hadestown au and there are a couple songs that i kept relating back to jily so I wrote more. i hope you like it! i used the live version's lyrics - sue me, i like it better lmao. also i don't know the stage direction so i made it up. HOPE U LIKE IT

part 1 here / song here

HERMES: (A deep sigh. A moment of emptiness - the world has stopped to watch the tragedy end.) (Spoken: ) Alright… Alright. (Somber silence, a moment to allow the shock to set in.) (Sung: )It’s an old song.

Lily’s eyes make contact with James’ as she sits in the wings. She can’t fault him - he’s a good actor. He has Orpheus all over him now - the self hatred of a man whose doubts led to his undoing, mixed in with the optimism of a poet who sang his way to hell.

HERMES: It’s an old tale from way back when. It’s an old song. (Pause) And we’re gonna sing it again and again.

The tragedy of the play always hits her in this moment - she always takes stock of herself, always feels a little vulnerable when this moment hits. There’s a real sadness in Orpheus’ failure - you see it coming from a mile away, it’s a sad song, it’s in the first song. But you keep coming back to it, as if… well, as if he succeeds this time. She always feels it in her lungs, taking up the space of air. She mourns for both of their loss.

HERMES: There was a railroad line on the road to hell, there was a young man down on a bended knee.

James is so right for this role. He sits there, still, looking at his mistakes, a mockery of the earlier proposal scene. His emotion shines out of him - for whatever else she can say about him, he definitely wears his heart on his sleeve, and he augments it well for Orpheus. His loneliness is reflected in the desolate set, even with the workers slowly coming onto the stage.

HERMES: And that is the ending of the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. It’s a sad song, It’s a sad tale, it’s a tragedy. It’s a sad song, but we sing it anyway.

She imagines the world the cast and crew so desperately wish to present - the possibilities of real change. She feels an ache in her belly - it feels like a gut punch, every night, the idea that maybe there is real ache that reflects this one, that continues forever in this never-ending cycle, just like their show.

HERMES: (A sigh, spoken: ) Cause here’s the thing: to know how it ends, and still begin to sing it again, as if it might turn out this time. I learned that from a friend of mine.

The chorus has come in, and James looks up, and again they make brief eye contact before he turns to the audience. It’s these moments, towards the end of the show, that she feels the most kinship with him, like maybe they’re on the same page. She feels the hope in the voices of the chorus, in his walk across the stage, his guitar slung across his back, and she thinks maybe she could like this man. He is this figure on stage, more steadfast yet uncertain than he has been in the whole play. She sees past his performance, sees the bits that he puts on and the bits that he believes. She knows he puts as much into this as she does, and there’s a level of understanding there. His Orpheus is… well, dazzling.

HERMES: (spoken: ) Can you see it? Can you hear it? Can you feel it like a train?

She steps out on stage now, her mask falling into place as she once again becomes the hardened and hungry Eurydice, with a softer shell. She stays in the background, revolving around him as he takes centre stage. It feels… magnetic, being around him. She can feel a thread connecting them on stage, like they circle each other with intention and pull. As she circles, he makes eye contact with her, and there’s a moment, shared. She doesn’t know what it is yet.

HERMES: On a sunny day there was a railroad car and a lady stepping off a train. Everybody looked and everybody saw that spring had come again with a love song, with a tale of a love that never dies. With a love song for anyone who tries.

The song ends here, and she holds eye contact with James, and imagines a world where she could love him, not Orpheus. She imagines a little cottage with a fireplace, a warm lounge where they could read together. Maybe a backyard, where they can lay in the field like they do on stage, with different promises and different cares and different stars, but that same explicit, direct love that exists for Orpheus and Eurydice. Suddenly, the words of the song ring true, in a new way. Anyone who tries.

[carltonlassie]

For y’all in the Cobra Kai space!

“Living in the past” was a weapon Daniel used against the world to an almost perfect mastery. He wielded it with the grace that came when one upgraded from discount stores to Hermes and Birkin. He treaded the line between the amiable benefactor or the aloof millionaire, most of the time. He was respected and, for a while, well-remembered. Once upon a time, he believed he was above the invisible paths he came to California, with his mom and his piece of crap car. The past was a light, led by Mr. Miyagi, almost deified to a secular sainthood. He was Daniel LaRusso, All-Valley Tournament 1987 champion and one of the richest men in town.

But some weapons had a double-edge, and Daniel’s hands had the unseen scars to prove it. He lied to himself every day that he didn’t live in the past. He lied to himself thinking he wasn’t the scrappy kid from Jersey. He lied to himself that Cobra Kai’s insidious ways would never be a part of his life. But he felt it the moment he saw Johnny Lawrence walk through his dealer’s doors. He felt the past come, not as a shining beacon forward, but an unavoidable shadow underneath his feet. He remembered how good it felt to strike first, and strike hard. His heart, the poor feeble thing, relished the poisonous power that came with inflicting pain. He inflicted it many times, thinking it was the right, no, the moral thing to do. He remembered how good it felt to kick Johnny’s ass so many years ago, make him humble, make him feel as weak as Johnny once did. The shade had Johnny’s eyes, it always did. Angry eyes that found their mirror in his.

He lived in the past too, every day…trying his best to belong in the light, and shun the venomous penumbra that always felt a little closer every time the sun set.

- SP

Are you saying that Daniel lived a lie, deliberately trying to distance himself from his past, using his success and position in the community to hide the fact that he is living in the past? I’m just trying to understand 😂 I read it like three times and maybe my brain is too fried to get your point

Couple of things tho—I do feel that Daniel still remembers his old times fondly, especially if you consider the scenes with his mom, or based on how he tells Amanda/his family of the Tales™

I also do feel that he’s not lying to himself and making himself forget about the past. Maybe more like... he was fine with leaving the past be, because he had better things to focus his energy on like his family and his dealership. I mean, he’s not ashamed of his past: he likes telling everyone he’s from jersey (ayyy) and even fist bumps Sam saying “Jersey Tough” like the nerd he is gjfjfhf

He definitely had scars, maybe even wounds that didn’t heal right, just covered up and soothed for the moment so that he could move on with his life. Even seeing Johnny at the dealership wasn’t a big Triggering moment, because he was being amiable, trying to joke around, and showing him that he’s above all of it (maybe rubbing it in a liiiiittle bit too much lmao but that’s just the annoying lil brat he is). I don’t think he wanted to kick Johnny’s ass and make him feel like shit though.

The moment where everything snapped was when he saw the cobra kai sign. We joke that he woulda been fine if Johnny named his dojo Cool Dojo lmfaoooo I don’t think it’s necessarily Johnny, but the principle of cobra kai that emphasized utter destruction of the enemy (including perceived enemy when they’re actually not trying to be the enemy) that Daniel reacted to. Because he’s been the so-called “enemy” of cobra kai and two war vets for just being a kid lmao.

And yeah, “there has been a little cobra inside” him all along—I think we all do. It’s not something that’s been implanted into Daniel’s core being by cobra kai, but a shadow side of him that was brought out because of fear and imbalance. I mean, we all have moments where we snap because we were under a lot of stress, done something that’s not really us because maybe we thought it would solve our problems, thought maybe it would make us feel good.

This is the part where a lot of us are disappointed with s4 because Daniel wasn’t someone who enjoyed the thrill of striking hard and striking first. Daniel freaked the fuck out when his punch flew out before he could think in TKK3, and he quickly realized that it wasn’t him. It wasn’t right.

Now do we think that he’s repressed? Yes. Is the past trauma haunting him? Yes, rightfully so! Maybe he is lying to himself, but I don’t want to put it as “Daniel is living in the past but he’s deluded himself into thinking that he’s not”. Our past and unprocessed events influence us at the present moment, subconsciously, and we don’t have to live in the past to feel the effects of the past. I want to interpret it as him being afraid to crack open his past and truly process it so that he could heal and move on.

Maybe we’re saying the same thing idk ghfhfh

[cherry-selfship]

Hiya!! how about

Poseidon

Athena

Aphrodite

Hermes

for Spencer and for Sam

Hera

Ares

Hestia

Dionysus

and for the both of them

Zeus

Persephone

Hypnos

Calliope

Euterpe

Terpsichore

so i'll organize them by who they're answered for! this is really long, too. sorry in advance for the long post. but this was fun to answer all these. 

-----------------------

SAM

Hera: How did you first start your romantic relationship with your f/o(s)? How did the way you feel about each other evolve to get to that point?

- so... sam and i had been around each other for a little while, he kind of took me in after we initially met, and it was about six months into playing librarian for the boys with a massive crush on sam that he finally opened his mouth about his crush on me. we went from friends to lovers.

Ares: Are you ever protective of your f/o(s)? Are they ever protective of you?

- despite being about the weakest person in the supernatural universe, i would readily throw hands for my fiance. he is, of course, the one always protecting me, i protect him in that i patch him up when he comes home injured

Hestia: What makes you and your f/o(s) feel at home? 

- each other? the bunker, pie, movies in the dean cave, snuggling in a big comfy armchair, hot cocoa, each other. easy peasy. being snuggly and warm around people who care.

Dionysus: What do you like to do with your f/o(s) for fun? Is there anything fun you’d like to try with them?

- sam and i watch movies. a lot of movies. he likes comedies, i like action movies. we compromise with things like deadpool. ( i think our deadpool watch count is currently over 2 dozen. )

Zeus: How did you first meet your f/o(s)? How did you feel about each other at first?

- i hit a werewolf with my car. i was hunting the same werewolves the winchesters were, and i decided that i had the gall to hit a man with my prius who looked like he could rip the car in half. sam decided i was worth getting to know after that, and i thought he was good looking. so i tagged along with him and dean.

Persephone: How different are you and your f/o(s)? How do you deal with each other’s differences?

- sam is athletic, i am not. sam is big and strong, i am not. sam is very bookish and smart, that i am. honestly, he is just about my polar opposite. athletic, strong, a badass, basically vegetarian at this point. i am not. but we make it work. sam knows i wont go jogging with him and i point and laugh at his salads but he still makes me a killer burger when i want one lol. 

Hypnos: Do you like to sleep together or share a bed with your f/o(s)? If so, what position do you sleep in? Does anyone hog the blankets, or have a stuffed animal, or have nightmares and need the other for comfort? Anything else along those lines?

- purely because sam is Large, he is a blanket hog. a massive blanket hog. it works though, because he tends always to be warm so i'll just cling to him in bed. problem solved. 

Calliope: Do you have any poetry or literature excerpts (or other quotes) that suit your ship?

- happily ever after is not a fairy tale, it's a choice. 

+ our happily ever after was our choice, after all :)

Euterpe: What song(s) suit your ship best? Any particular lyrics that fit well?

- ( don't fear ) the reaper, blue oyster cult. 

All our times have come

Here but now they're gone

Seasons don't fear the reaper

Nor do the wind, the sun and the rain

We can be like they are

Come on, baby (don't fear the reaper)

Baby, take my hand (don't fear the reaper)

We'll be able to fly (don't fear the reaper)

Baby, I'm your man

Terpsichore: Have you and your f/o(s) ever danced together? What kind of dancing? Formal dress or completely informal jamming out in your home?

- rocking out to random songs when we're alone is practically mandatory. 

SPENCER

Poseidon: Do you and your f/o(s) like to travel? If so, where do you like to go? Is there anywhere you’d like to go that you haven’t yet?

- i love travelling, spence travels for his job, we both want to see paris. ive been trying to plan a trip but his schedule is so messy. 

Athena: Are your f/o(s) interested in any particular hobby or interest of yours? Have you taught them about it, or let them watch you, or anything similar?

- spencer loves watching me write. i'm a writer, i have published books. he sits and watches me click away on my laptop like its riveting tv. 

Aphrodite: How do you and your f/o(s) like to show love to each other? Feel free to include your love languages, if you find that helpful.

- spencer leaves little notes around the apartment for when he leaves, tries to be the gentleman when he's home. he's very actions-based, and i have to reassure him a lot that i'm not going anywhere. 

Hermes: Was it love at first sight? Slow burn with lots of pining? How fast did your relationship progress?

- it was annoyance-to-lovers. spence was a bit of an annoyance initially, but his quirks grew to be endearing. we knew each other about six months before he asked me on a date, which we had to postpone thanks to a case. however, once we were official it went rather fast. a year and a half after that first date we were married. 

Zeus: How did you first meet your f/o(s)? How did you feel about each other at first?

- he may have spilled coffee all over my favorite led zeppelin shirt, which subsequently smelled like a starbucks for about two weeks. he was annoyingly endearing at first, he told me that he thought i was intimidating, which i think is hilarious. 

Persephone: How different are you and your f/o(s)? How do you deal with each other’s differences?

- spencer is very quiet and reserved, bookish, and i try to be more outgoing and loud. he says i'm extroverted enough for both of us. 

Hypnos: Do you like to sleep together or share a bed with your f/o(s)? If so, what position do you sleep in? Does anyone hog the blankets, or have a stuffed animal, or have nightmares and need the other for comfort? Anything else along those lines?

- there's a fair bit of snuggling involved, especially after spence gets home from a case. i think he wants something happy in his life, after all the darkness of his job, and i try to be that. 

Calliope: Do you have any poetry or literature excerpts (or other quotes) that suit your ship?

- i am not telling you it is going to be easy - i am telling you it is going to be worth it. 

+ sure it's difficult, with spence travelling, the fear of the dangers in his job, but it is so very worth it. 

Euterpe: What song(s) suit your ship best? Any particular lyrics that fit well?

- just the way you are, bruno mars

'Cause you're amazing

Just the way you are

And when you smile

The whole world stops and stares for a while

Terpsichore: Have you and your f/o(s) ever danced together? What kind of dancing? Formal dress or completely informal jamming out in your home?

- i have discovered that spence has a record player, and he will put on either classical, or 1940s big band music, and we will push all the furniture to the walls, and he tries to teach me to properly dance. 

[ihaveonlymydreams]

[HERMES]

It's a sad song

It's a sad tale

It's a tragedy

It's a sad song

But we sing it anyway

'Cause here’s the thing

To know how it ends

And still begin to sing it again

As if it might turn out this time

I learned that from a friend of mine

See, Orpheus was a poor boy

But he had a gift to give

He could make you see how the world could be

In spite of the way that it is

Can you see it?

Can you hear it?

Can you feel it like a train?

Is it coming?

Is it coming this way?

On a sunny day, there was a railroad car

And a lady steppin’ off a train

Everybody looked and everybody saw

That spring had come again

With a love song

With a tale of a love from long ago

It's a sad song

But we keep singin' even so

It's an old song

It's an old tale from way back when

And we're gonna sing it again and again

We're gonna sing, we're gonna sing

[ALL]

It's a love song

It's a tale of a love from long ago

It's a sad song

We keep singing even so

It's an old song

It's an old tale from way back when

And we're gonna sing it again and again

[HERMES]

We're gonna sing it again

[heckpuppyy]

Aconite content? Aconite content.

This dumb dog is the easiest thing for me to focus on right now, so I’m gunna take her off the leash and make her your problem. No I will not be watching her. No I don’t care about the leash law.

Under a cut as per ush’.

A couple of people asked and it occurred to me I never mentioned it. Aconite’s pelt behaves like a selkie pelt. She has to have it to return to her true form as a wolf dog and will die if she’s without it for too long. Cause you know... you gotta have your skin. She can take it all of the way off, but wears it half on (fashionably, she argues) to make shifting in and out of her human shape easier and safer. Don’t have to worry about losing your skin when you use it as an accessory.

Since Hypnos doesn’t use the fancy couch bed Zag got him, she does. Usually as a dog, usually waiting for Zagreus so he can tell her the story of that run.

Much how Cerberus is weak to music (as it puts him right to sleep), Aconite is weak to stories. You can usually get a pretty good trade out of her if you offer her a tale or poem in exchange.

IT’s probably obvious but she gets suuuuuper antsy. She doesn’t like down time and it makes her very anxious. This is probably largely why Hecate keeps her busy with all of the minor surface stuff.

MY WIFE MADE A COMMENT ABOUT HOW DOGS CAN’T HAVE WINE OR CHOCOLATE AND I HAVE BRAINROT OVER IT? Like can you imagine having this actual familiar of Hecate at your door and you try to offer it something you would of a Goddess made creature and it just gets???? profusely sick in return??????

Eventually they started offering Olives and meat to Aconite and Hekabe because Aconite, unlike Hekabe, can’t refuse a treat.

Please pat her head. Yes she’s an adult, yes she is a powerful individual, yes she is capable of being serious. That does not stop her from enjoying head pats.

The dynamic of her and Hekabe is kind of supposed to represent how Hecate is capable of both good and evil? Depending on the source material. Hekabe is more of a Lawful Neutral while Aconite is Chaotic Good, IMO.

She likes kids a lot. She is the more intimidating of the dog duo, but she tries her best not to scare anyone unintentionally. She’ll walk kids home without any kind of offering or payment or prayer without question.

Hermes finds it hilarious that Aconite keeps insisting she’ll catch him. He’s positively tickled. Alice compared it to a dog chasing a car and I WHEEZED.

Aconite likes to heckle Hecate a little from time to time, but it’s never from a place of malice. Always a reminder how she will never be the good child.

Can make a few decent salves. Never pays to be too careful on the road.

Leather bag was a gift from Persephone one of the only times she was a guide back to the surface for her for the Spring. I think she’d be proud knowing it’s being put to use as a pilfered goods bag. Stick it to the man,

[sleepingobsidian]

Hermes Cabin: "Chiron we have a quest!"

Chiron: "From whom?"

Hermes Cabin: "My Dad!" "Hermes!"

Chiron, suspicious: "Hm why is this the first time I'm hearing of it?"

Hermes Cabin: "Because we just got it"

Chiron, even more suspicious: "Hm, and how did you get this "Quest" ?"

Luke, presenting a very convincing Letter by Hermes detailing the quest: "This arrived in the cabin"

Chiron, feeling a trace of Hermes godhood on the Letter: "Very well. Be safe and Luke is in Charge"

Hermes Cabin: "Thanks Chiron we will!"

Hermes Cabin: "I can't believe we got away with it!"

Luke, clapping a Hermes kid on the back: "Good job, Julia!"

Julia, who just found out she is quiet good at identity theft: "Thanks Luke!"

Previous

[psychopersonified]

Tale of the second drawer...

Part of the prequel series to "Are we ever going to talk about this?".

I'll post little snippets of their 'not dating' days in this series. Little events that draw them together and the intimacy they share in plain sight.

--------

Q pokes at the plaster with his undamaged hand, tracing the outlines of what must be an impressive blister underneath. “Owww... With luck, I might end up with a wicked scar. Makes for an interesting conversation starter.” 

Bond smiles indulgently at his exaggeration then lobs a half-hearted line at him, “Would you like me to kiss it better?” His calloused thumbs running back and forth lightly over the open palm. 

Q can’t help but laugh at that,......

----------------------------------------------------

Agent 006

“Yes I know, our appointment was 2 hours ago. Sorry Q, M had me in his office for 2 more hours than expected,” Trevelyan apologises when he reports to Q.

Q looks up from the textbook he is consulting with and peers over his glasses at him. The text is a mass of hexagonal scribbles and lines that 006 recognises as chemistry symbols. There are handwritten notes in the margins and liberal application of highlighter all over the page.

“Ah 006, no worries. Your kit is waiting for you on the table,” Q gestures to the workbench behind 006 where a brushed aluminium case sits. Inside are what looks like a dozen silver pens.

“Deposit them around the areas of interest and it will detect any wireless enabled equipment within its radius. This will allow us to find the weakest link and likeliest backdoor where we can tunnel in with. As you can imagine, it only has a limited battery life, so you’ll need to be strategic about using them and coordinate with us for the timing—...”

Alec tries to listen carefully to the instructions, but his stomach objects to being ignored any longer and makes its displeasure known - loudly. The meeting with M ate (pun intended) into his lunch hour.

Q pauses going over the instructions. Trevelyan gives him a thin lipped smile hiding his embarrassment.

“...Hungry? There are some snacks in the second drawer.” Q motions to his desk with a tilt of his head.

“Ta!..” 006 all but skips to the desk. There is a selection of protein snacks and Alec rummages through the drawer to find a variety he likes. As he shuffles through the drawer, the other contents piques his interest. He peeks at Q who is still preoccupied with repacking his kit.

006 takes the opportunity to investigate:

a pair of solid gold cufflinks - judging by the weight

aviator sunglasses - non prescription, not Q’s

an Aston Martin car key fob with a separate key attached to it - the key does not correspond to the car, its for a door or a lock.

a neatly folded tie, heavy silk, designer label - not Q’s usual style

Curiouser and curiouser. Finally, an employee ID badge - he flips it over, a very familiar face is printed on the ID. James Bond.

Alec smiles -confirmation-. 006 sees it for what it is. But it is odd that the Quartermaster tolerates such territorial behaviour - unless a) the feeling is mutual or b) he’s not aware of it, which is more likely. He wouldn’t have let Alec rummage through his drawer otherwise. Oh James, you poor smitten sod.  

“Anything to your liking 006?” Q catches him smiling.

Alec grabs a random protein snack, rips it open and takes a huge bite of the bar. “Oh…mmm….” he chews around his words, “—thank you.” He holds up the bar in thanks.

When Q turns back around, 006 thinks this is the perfect opportunity to screw with 007... but how? How do you piss off a possessive territorial lion? ...By planting blatant evidence of intrusion of course!

Alec checks himself, his tie-pin - gold and crusted with small diamonds. Much too gaudy for 007’s tastes. It’s the perfect juxtaposition. He unclips it and drops it into the drawer.

When he leaves Q-Branch, he’s feeling particularly wicked. Its ingrained in him, to look for and act on opportunities when it presents itself. The others would expect no less of him. He pulls out his phone to text 003 with his discovery.

Agent 003

Two weeks later, 003 returns from her mission seducing the son of a manufacturing tycoon in South East Asia, with links to human traffickers luring workers into modern slavery that span the region from Philippines to India.

She stops by Q’s desk to  return her kit consisting mostly of trackers and hidden video cameras. They all served their purpose but one of them had an issue with the sound quality. She recalls the text 006 sent her weeks earlier so before leaving, she contrives feeling hungry.  

“Q, you don’t happen to have something to munch on do you? I’m feeling… peckish.”

Q is pre-occupied, checking over the piece of equipment with a macroscope to understand what went wrong. “Oh, second drawer. Help yourself to whatever.”

Perfect. She goes to his desk to retrieve a snack. She only needs to remove the first packet and she has to stifle a laugh.

She spots 006’s panther shaped Cartier tie pin, next to it is 005’s Tiffany tanzanite and platinum drop earrings along with 002’s Bvlgari gold and onyx signet ring. Finally under all of it is 008’s Hermes silk pocket square.

Shoved further into the back of the drawer are the items that Alec told her about, those that belong to 007. The ID badge pushed right to the back facing down - you’d be hard pressed to notice it if you didn’t know it was there.

She had heard that 007 won’t back from Venezuela till Friday, so she’s just in time to add her calling card. She shifts around the snack packets to burry 007’s things and then drops in a stick of Chanel No5 lipstick in its signature flaming red tube - 007 will not be able to miss that.

----—

Quartermaster

Last 36 hours had been exhausting. Q had altogether probably 3 hours of sleep in that period. And he needs a shower. The cats are alright, he just checked the cameras - Q has an automated feeder set up for emergencies like this.

Q had spent the better part of the time hacking into system after system covering tracks, laying traps, planning infiltration and escape routes; all culminating in last night’s tense Ops trying to save 009 from premature death when his cover was blown by a double crossing informant. It was over now, with 009 safely extracted by their allies and on his way back to England with miraculously minor injuries all things considered.

So yes, his hand eye coordination is shot. His fingers slip on his mug handle and liquid sloshes over the top, splashing over his shirt and onto his desk. Q uses his tie to quickly mop up the spilled tea before it  spreads onto the paper schematic open on his desk.

He takes the mess to the pantry sink to cleanup. The wet spot on his shirt sticking uncomfortably to his skin. Its a good thing he’d removed his cardigan earlier. He can hide the stain on his shirt under it.

As he’s attempting to remove the stain and dry his shirt as much as possible he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulls it out - its a text from Eve:

:: Where are you?? Meeting’s started ::

What meeting? Q tries to recall. He checks his calendar app. Shit! 2:00 pm Joint Executive Oversight meeting. He checks the time. 2:15pm!

He abandons the mug and tie next to the sink. No time to wash it now.

Q rushes back to his office to put on his cardigan. The cardigan doesn’t hide the topmost stain - a tie would do the trick. Also god forbid he walks into the meeting dressed so causally. They would think the young Quartermaster was starting a mutiny.

There must be a spare tie in his desk somewhere - Q thinks as he rummages through his drawers. He’s about to ask Nish to borrow his tie when his hand brushes fabric under the stash of snacks and protein bars. He fishes it out - a tie! Yes! He loops it around his neck and starts to tie it - the knot is uneven, but he has no time to worry about it now.

He grabs his laptop and rushes out the door - informing Nish about the meeting and the mess he left next to the pantry sink. He’ll clean it up later.

In the lift on the way up, as he adjusts the hastily knotted tie - he tries to remember when was it that he purchased an accessory this fancy.

——

After meeting. He tries to get back to being productive to make himself feel better. What an ordeal; he had to face-off with Timothy Hayden (IT-Branch HOD) in the meeting - no surprise there. Normally he’d be fine to hold his own. But today, suffering from sleep depravation and a wardrobe mishap meant that he was uncharacteristically flustered, which Hayden took advantage of.

His stained and slightly damp shirt front was passably hidden behind the cardigan and tie, but it still made him self-conscious. What was more, Tanner and Eve kept looking at him oddly. The navy replacement tie looked dark enough in warm light, but when it caught the harsher fluorescent light, it had a slight iridescence to it that clashed with his mustard cardigan - it clearly wasn’t his style nor his tie.

Q fires up the soldering iron. He plans to finish the circuit board for the prototype controller that will be used in a portable drone. Once he confirms it works, he’ll have the schematics sent to a manufacturer to have it miniaturised. He could at least get this bit done today.

Twenty minutes into the ‘zone’ and he has finished a round of soldering. He pauses to check his work against the overall drawing. It doesn’t look quite right.

What? He flips the drawing around. Argh! He grabs a fistful of his hair in frustration. It’s upside down!

He slams his hands down on the work table. The vibration causes the soldering iron resting on its holder to tip over. The weight of its power cord starts to pull it off the table.

Reflex makes him shoot out his hand to grab the iron. But instead of grabbing the handle he misjudges and grabs the tip instead. The 400’C tip burns his palm instantly.  

“Ah!!” Q yelps and jolts back in pain. The pain makes him drop the iron - right into his lap.

He stands hastily to avoid the heated tip - and bangs the back of his head against the top baffle of the fume cabinet as well as upending the stool he was sitting on.

“Fuck!!” The escaped curse is something between a hiss and a yell.

His pained curses and bangs draws his minions to investigate. Nish pokes his head around the corner and asks “You alright sir?”

Nish takes in the toppled chair, the disheveled hair, and the way Q is holding on to his hand and makes the correct deduction. Who hasn’t burned themselves soldering?

“Go to medical boss. I’ll tidy this up for you.”

Q hangs his head in utter defeat and sighs heavily. “I’m done for the day I think. Thanks Nish.”

--—-

Agent 007

Bond is back at HQ. Ops had made it clear that he must hand them the USB stick with the time sensitive info he stole as soon as he gets back. They need to link together the web of supply chain involving the cocaine shipment from Venezuela-France-England before the people involved go back into hiding.

So here he is, direct delivery from Heathrow. He had handed the USB stick to R since Q wasn’t around. Then he had gone to the Quartermaster’s desk and the second drawer to retrieve a snack while he waits for Q to return. As jet-lagged as he is, he hasn’t seen the quartermaster for nearly a month and well... he wants more than just the voice to sustain him.  

Something on top of the packet grabs his attention. A bright red tube of lipstick. What the...? He shifts the contents around, a gaudy diamond and gold panther tie pin?? And whose bloody pocket square is that???

He checks the lipstick label - Chanel No5… Bloody 003!

He takes stock of the other items again, they -all- look familiar. How do they even know about this drawer? Did Q just let anyone rummage though his desk? Worse, are those snacks not just for him?

And what about his things? A first he can’t find them, then he pulls the drawer all the way out, until the wheels catch on the stoppers. They’re buried under a pile of snacks and shoved all the way to the back. Everything is there, no wait - except the tie.

He slams the drawer shut with enough force to move the desk a few centimetres. Those bastards!

Bond storms out of Q-Branch. None of them better be in the building, especially Trevelyan. This whole thing reeks of his idea.

——

Quartermaster

Medical patched him up and sent him away with a box of hydrogel burn plasters. Dr Chen tells him that they stock it specially for Q-Branch. But that also means she is obligated to report the incident as a work place accident. Great, more paperwork and the irony of having the HOD become a statistic.

Q shuffles morosely back to Q-Branch - will this day end already. He figures he should have a nap before going home. At this rate he is likely to accidentally walk right into the path of a moving bus on the way home.

There is a set of old brown leather Chesterfield sofas, deliberately semi-hidden behind a rack of storage shelves on this floor of Q-Branch. A relic of the 1950s in perfect condition that they found in storage during one of their inventory audits. Q had it brought out to serve as a makeshift lounge, usually used by those working late nights or during pizza parties after CyberWar nights.

He removes his cardigan to use as a blanket and flops onto the sofa.

Hours later, he wakes up and the place is mostly dark except for the safety lighting. Most of his minions have gone home. It’s not uncommon to leave Q here alone when he’s pulling all nighters, but the last person would usually check in on him before they left. Not tonight.

Q indulges in a good stretch and sits up. His head feels better. It doesn’t feel like its swimming or floating anymore. But he is hungry.

He makes way to his desk to collect his things but stops short - startled by the sight of 007 lounging in his chair, feet propped up on the desk, a textbook on Advanced Biofuels open in his hands. He’s not wearing a suit, just a button down shirt and khakis which probably means he just got back from Caracas and hasn’t gone home yet.

“You’re back. What are you doing here?” Q asks softly. Genuine question, what is he doing sitting in a darkened Q-Branch.

“Came to drop off the usb drive. I’ve given it to R since the Quartermaster was temporarily out of commission.”

“Ah. Sorry about that — “ checks his watch and yawns. “That must have been hours ago. What are you still doing here then?”

Bond doesn’t answer. Instead he asks, “Is that my tie?” gestures to the loosened tie around his neck.

“Is it yours? I was wondering about it. I found it in my desk.” Q undos the tie and folds it back neatly before handing it over to Bond. As he does, he notices his own tie now hanging on the shade of his desk worklamp. He reaches for it.

“Leave it. It should dry by Monday.” Bond tells him.

Q opens his mouth to tell him that it needs a wash, but pauses when he catches sight of his Scrabble mug on the table under the light of the worklamp, the white porcelain gleaming pristine - he peeks inside, even the stubborn tea stains are gone. Q blinks in confusion.

Something about the way the two items are arranged prominently on his desk and the feigned nonchalance hiding a pleased look on Bond’s face that makes him wonder.

“Did you.. wash my tie and mug?” Q is having trouble putting together the image of 007 fresh from an infiltration job in Venezuela that involved drug trafficking and a traitorous national guard, then returning to England to do something so mundanely domestic in the pantry sink - by hand no less.

Bond doesn’t answer, then again Q doesn’t expect him to admit it even if he did. He just opens the second desk drawer purposefully and deposits the borrowed tie back in there.

“Are you hungry Q?” Bond asks instead. “Can I tempt you with supper?”

There it is. That odd way that Bond sometimes says ‘Q’ when they are alone. That slight change in tone - softer, less clipped and almost affectionate. He’s beginning to be able to tell Bond’s ‘Qs’ apart.

At the mention of food, Q’s stomach responds with an embarrassing gurgle. “Famished. Something hot with fast service please. I don’t know how much longer I can survive without solid food.”

Bond smiles, pivoting in the chair to put his feet down. He picks up and hands Q his messenger bag - laptop and charger already packed inside, keys and phone in their usual compartments.

Then he switches off the worklamp and picks up an unsealed brown envelope from the desk before ushering Q out of his own office. The package rustles-jingles with the sound of loose items sliding about inside.

“Advanced Biofuels.... How did you like the book?”

“The scribbles in the margins were enlightening,” Bond smiles wryly, “Was it even written in English?”

In the brighter lights of the lift lobby, Q can see his own refection in the lift doors - the washed out tea stains still visible on his shirt and his frightfully mussed hair from the nap. He thinks he should be embarrassed, but can’t bring himself to care. When he looks up, he sees Bond staring him through the reflection.

“Don’t ask—“

“I figured… the mug and tie in the pantry, and the splotch on your desk.”

“Bloody spies.” Q accuses fondly as they step into the lift. He tries to adjust his cardigan so that it hides most of the stains.

“How’s the hand?” Bond asks concerned, his warm fingers reaching out and curling around Q’s that were fussing with his cardigan. He pulls them away from their fussing and spreads them palm up so he can see for himself.

Q pokes at the plaster with his undamaged hand, tracing the outlines of what must be an impressive blister underneath. “Owww... With luck, I might end up with a wicked scar. Makes for an interesting conversation starter.”

Bond smiles indulgently at his exaggeration then lobs a half-hearted line at him, “Would you like me to kiss it better?” His calloused thumb running back and forth lightly over the open palm.

Q can’t help but laugh at that, the flirting is so ingrained into their banter now that both of them recognise the ridiculousness of it. With the others, it is still a competition, a display of one up-manship - but with 007, it has shifted. Like they’ve called a truce, or simply didn’t care about the outcome anymore. Between them, the rules have changed. The fun was no longer in deciding a winner with a knockout blow, but in the simple joy of engaging in comfortable playfulness for as long as possible.

“I don’t know about the science of that; but I will give you the honour of hand feeding an invalid,” Q counters with a line of his own.

At the mention of hand feeding, Bond’s eyes go darker, pupils dilating. He doesn’t say anything, but doesn’t release Q’s hand until the lift dings on their floor which was (un)fortunately just a moment after.

On their way out to Bond’s car they stop at a security desk. Bond tips out the contents of the envelope onto her desk and leaves the empty envelope next to the items. The night guard’s eyes grow wide at the collection of expensive trinkets.

“Would you mind putting these in the Lost and Found please? Their owners are probably anxious to have them back. Thank you.” He walks back to a waiting Q with a smug smile.

—————-----------------

Note: If you liked this fic, there’s more like it on the blog. Including my take on a kidnapped Q. Enjoy!

[crimeronan]

ik youre not a therapist and i dont want like therapy or anything but im 17 and ive known i was bipolar for 3 years now and i dont know how im supposed to live the rest of my life like this. im so fucking tired. how do you stay alive

you sent this a couple days ago & i’m posting at a weird time so i’m not sure if you’ll see it but.  

i’ve been looking at this message trying to decide how to respond

because i don’t know your situation, your symptoms, how you’re feeling, whether you’ve had positive or negative experiences with medication, psychiatrists, therapists, hospitals, all that related shit

the bipolar life advice i give to people is vastly different depending on the individual. it’s not a one size fits all thing.  and there’s never even a guarantee that my advice will be the right choice

so since i don’t know about your situation or experiences or what you want, i’m not gonna tell you what to do.  i’m gonna focus on the “how do you stay alive” question and try to pen down some personal feelings. and if they help then great, and if they don’t then... this is the most honest i can be

(you can always ask another question to get a better answer. my inbox is a coin slot and i am a vending machine of varied-degrees-of-helpfulness replies offered at varied-inconvenient-too-long-intervals)

-

how do i stay alive

it’s a 2-parter, actually.  i pondered how to condense my thoughts/feelings, and it came down to these two things

1. love 2. spite

-

1. love

the spite is easier to write about than the love.  love is hard to reach when i feel like shit.

spite is where i go when i want to die.  love is where i go when i want to want to live.

maybe i don’t want to be alive.  but maybe i wish i did.  spite doesn’t help me much there.  spite keeps me afloat, but it doesn’t make the floating pleasurable.  there’s more to life than outlasting everything that ever hurt me.  i need a reason to continue when there’s no enemy to fight

so. love

i almost wrote about the spite alone because that’s rawer, realer, more visceral.  that’s the shit that CONNECTS when everything feels hopeless.  but it would be a lie of omission.  spite is only one of the major food groups, you’ll waste away from malnutrition if you eat it for every meal. or at least, i will.

“so you’ve got a bunch of people you love,” you say, “and you stick around for them.  cry on them.  support each other.  like each other.  fine.”  you’ve heard this story before

nah.

i mean - yes.  i have people i love.  i live with two partners, i’ve got a third girlfriend, i’ve got a long-distance platonic life partner.  i have a support net, i have a family i’ve forged, i have confidence that i’m not alone.  i have, in a bare-bones checklist sort of way, fulfilled my physiological human need for connection

but i could live without every single one of them.  i’m not dependent upon any of them for my survival.  i’m not dependent upon them for love, given or received.  (this isn’t a callous cruelty, it won’t hurt them if/when they read this.  i’ve told them all this, they know.  they’re glad of it.)

so.  what the fuck does “love” mean, then?

the short explanation is that it’s my love of life, of things in the world.  it’s all the little connections i’ve made.  every time i love something, a hook tethers to the universe.  hook enough tethers, and i no longer feel the need to float away.  no dissolution of self today, sir

the rest of this section is some of the things i love. partially it’s to show how i connect to little things and ascribe magic to the mundane.  partially it’s because i like thinking about things i love, i like typing them out, and i like that i could keep going for thousands and thousands of words.

i am laying in bed at 7:30 AM with the lights off and the shades drawn.  blue  light comes through the slats because it’s the better time of year, the one where i finally get vitamin D, the one where the birds chirp at 4AM, the one where the sky isn’t impenetrably black til 10PM.

there’s a weighted blanket tucked around my legs.  my partner rafi bought it for us to share because it’s soothing and heavy and comforting and helps with my physical pain.  right now it’s soft on my skin and if i get too emotional as i write, i can pull it over me like a cloak until i’m settled.

the apartment’s walls are blank because we’ve spent eight months intending to put art up and keep forgetting.  but there’s a newly-unearthed dining area in the kitchen because i finally shifted around the unpacked boxes that were dominating the space.  it’s new and it surprises me every time i walk out there.  it’s open and inviting and bright and it’s a sign that we’re making this place home.

we’ll put a cheap IKEA table by the window and we’ll probably never eat family dinners there - why would we sit in hard chairs and make stiff conversation when we could all cuddle on the couch - but my partner dev will create a place to do their art and the surface will be constantly littered with drying watercolor experiments.

we’ll hang our art one of these days, too, when our collective adhd offers a miraculous combo of remembering + having time + having motivation + having inspiration.  rafi has the most art because they’ve been collecting it for years.  i have to start smaller.  i’m not used to keeping physical objects.  dev has a few pieces thrifted or bought at local artist events or painted themselves

so we’ll put art up in the living room, my single “you are magic” flower print alongside a naked monster lady that dev fell in love with when we browsed art at a yuletide event months ago, alongside rafi’s monster girls and comic characters and book characters and literature art and quotes and abstract pieces and whatever else they have hiding in boxes.

my head protests that naked monster ladies do not belong in the living room, although the picture isn’t overtly sexual.  but then i remember that they do, actually, because it’s our space and we can do whatever we want with it as long as the lease isn’t broken.  there isn’t anyone in the local social circles who’d be perturbed by the decor, as far as i know.  i don’t have to hide anything from my parents because i live 3600 miles from them, and even though i miss my mom, the distance is good for me

there are two exquisite chairs on the porch.  they fold and recline from thrones to nearly-horizontal beds.  there are pillows and cupholders and trays and specific spaces for both a book and a phone.  i can sit there while the morning sun rises and read or play word games or browse tumblr, cup of coffee beside me, trees shielding my eyes from stabby sunbeams

there are remnants of the last tenant’s garden in one corner of the yard.  we’ve done fuckall for yardwork but plants struggle through anyway.  some seem to have sprouted by accident.  mushroom clusters populate the edges of the fence.  the apartment squirrel (there are probably several, but i like to think it’s a single energetic creature) runs back and forth along the fence & i always lose my train of thought & then laugh my ASS off at the “SQUIRREL! XD” adhd moment.  birds kick up leaf litter and play on the ground looking for insects to eat, they wiggle their tail feathers and flap their wings and sometimes they disappear and then return with friends

a little more than eleven months ago, i packed all of dev’s and my shit into a uhaul and drove and drove and drove to get to this city i’d never been in before to live with a partner i’d never cohabitated with.  we were homeless for more than a month, we weathered some financial disasters, we met some great people and some shitty ones

on the drive i fell in love with the sky.  i didn’t know how big it can get - actually, that’s a lie.  i’d FORGOTTEN how big it can get.  i’ve loved the sky thirty miles out to sea, no land in sight in any direction, just blue water and blue space above.  i’ve loved the vastness and the yawning beneath me and the knowledge that everything is BIGGER than i can fathom.  the depth of the sea doesn’t frighten me, it’s home. i don’t want to die, but if i had to, the ocean makes a soothing grave

in north dakota i discovered that i’ve been partially blind my whole life, which is a different tale that showed me i’ll never stop learning myself.  in montana we struggled up thousands of feet of mountains with the car huffing and puffing at the trailer’s weight, and when we finally coasted downward, it felt like sudden freefall.  we ended up in the pitch darkness of night on sheer winding interstates with midnight construction projects forcing detours.  the mountains felt hungry, they had teeth.  mountain cliffs are much scarier to me than the ocean depths

i bought a red bull and poured a little out the driver’s side door as an offering to hermes, because i’m not particularly religious but i’ll take help where i can get it.  slammed that back in a few gulps and shook to bright-eyed alertness and ended up behind a slow-driving red pickup truck that guided us over about a hundred miles of mountain terrain

i thought, that’s just some construction worker driving between sites.  the roads are empty at this time of night, but it’s an interstate.  of course we’d end up behind someone.  this isn’t divine intervention.  this isn’t the benevolence of a god

i thought, but it can be a little magic.  if i want it to be.  

and it was.  it stays with me.

god help me but i’ve been writing this stream of consciousness for more than 30 minutes and i’ve said nothing.  i haven’t talked about the city, the parks, the people, the conversations, the books, the tv shows, the movies, the communities, the library, the animals, writing, reading, singing, acting, swimming, analyzing, creating, supporting, building.  and i can keep going.  i can come up with hundreds and hundreds of things i love and i can write paragraphs about all of them

so i’ll stop here.  you get the picture.  love is the life i’ve made for myself, the surroundings i’ve built, the quiet moments i can capture, the inspiration i pin, the magic i commit to memory.

i had to work so damn hard for every single bit of this.

i’ll be fucking damned if i let it go because my brain tried to trick me into thinking death is better.

-

2. spite

there are people who want me to die.

i don’t mean that i have a giant entourage of personalized enemies who curse my name and plan my individual demise.  although there have been plenty of people who have not liked me much.  probably some of them would enjoy my death.  i don’t give a shit about that

there are people who want me dead because i am a dot on a grid they dislike.  a faceless anonymous enemy who meets too many bad criteria with numbers and percentages and shrinking majorities and shifting public opinion

because i’m gay.  because i’m bipolar.  because i’m autistic.  because i’m a dropout.  because i grew up poor.  because my spine curves and my shoulders ache.  because i squandered my potential, because i didn’t have enough potential, because i didn’t love god enough, because i love the wrong gods, because i don’t worship, because i worship wrong, because i didn’t seek a husband, because i never wanted one, because i talk too much, because i can’t be controlled, because i chose to leave the fold when i realized it was suffocating me, because i’m ugly, because i’m gorgeous, because my body belongs to me

pick your poison.

this bothered me growing up, a lot. i knew i did not deserve to die. but if enough people tell you that you should, a little part of you will wonder if they’re right.  that little part might become bigger the closer they get and the louder they shout and the longer they wear you down

we know the rough shape of this story, i don’t need to tell it.  mine was messy and not triumphant and i survived more by chance than premeditation.

i’m older now.  by and large i’m still young as shit - i’m 24 - but GOD i am LEAGUES away from 15, 16, 17. i know who i am. i know what i want. i know how to get it. and when i don’t know that, i find out. i tell the truth.  i ask for what i want.  i use my time how i want.  i do what i want.

there are days that i can’t access the “love” side of the equation.  no finding poetry in birdsong or sugared coffee for me, thank you, i feel like shit and the world is awful and everything is too big and fast and cruel and everything wants me to die and it wants everything i love to die, too.  everyone i love.  it’s all garbage. the good doesn’t touch me

trauma is difficult to describe.  the difficulty is compounded by the fact that my trauma is influenced by my various neurodivergences, bipolar included.  i never know if i’m feeling what other people do.  i don’t know if i’m voicing unpalatable feelings others are afraid to express - or if i’m just othering myself, admitting i’m not as human as everyone else.

there is something malevolent and monstrous inside me.  i don’t touch it all the time.  but i don’t pretend it isn’t there.  it sits in my chest and molders or radiates or oozes.  it presses at my throat.  it curdles in my stomach.  it hurts what it touches, whether that’s me or someone i love or someone i hate.  it sets things aflame with no regard for the precious or the fragile.  it tears down walls and razes shelters and begs for apocalyptic rain.

i can give this thing names, clinical descriptors.  i know what it is on a diagnostic chart, in a ponderous article, in an academic debate, in a fiction novel, in a war movie, in a memoir.  there are a thousand ways to describe this thing.  the descriptors aren’t important.  what is important is this - i have learned that most people do not walk side-by-side with a tornado-hurricane-hellfire-weaponized-open-nuclear-reactor.  this is not a “normal” expression of human emotion, this is not me trying to ascribe power to “bad bipolar feelings.”  this thing lives in me and i know why it’s there and it is not designed to be held/silenced/muzzled/controlled by my body.

it does not help to pretend this thing does not exist.  it does not help to try to reason it away or ignore it or tell it to stop.  it wants what it wants, it does what it does.  possibly if i was better at therapy or stubbornness then i wouldn’t resign myself to that

but it is fucking EXHAUSTING to try to fight something that’s part of me.  to try to reshape it, rename it, pare it down, make it consumable for the masses.  it’s a war i have never won and it’s a war that i will lose if i keep fighting it.  i cannot fight with myself.  i cannot beat my monster into submission.  if we’re gonna battle like that, head to head, me trying to cut it down, me trying to be the hero, it rearing back like a fire-breathing dragon,

then it’s stronger.  it’s always stronger.

so i surrender.

but that’s not where i stop.

can’t fight it.  can’t kill it.  can’t muzzle it.  can’t reshape it, can’t disarm it, can’t contain it.  

alright.  

so what now.

if the surrender was a full giving-up, this is where i’d passively accept that i’m doomed to hurt and destroy everything precious to me.  can’t fix it.  will lose everything, will never experience or deserve happiness, will make the world worse simply by existing.

that sure does sound like impending-doom rhetoric.  hop skip and a jump from some dire-ass conclusions.  

so fuck that, i say. 

here’s a better question.

if it has to get out, then what happens if i control where it goes?

here’s the thing.

the monster doesn’t care what it kills or destroys or hurts.  

“have a conscience, care about things, remember love, stop yourself, don’t do this don’t do this don’t do this.” 

 losing battle.  lost war.

 it’s not the monster’s fault.  the monster doesn’t have complex motivations or hates or fears.  it exists to protect me through scorched earth.  a remnant of a chemical imbalance, maladaptive coping mechanism, bipolar crazy, traumatized injury.  it doesn’t know that its job is obsolete.

i can’t change the monster.

but my mind is a separate thing.  my mind knows what matters, what my priorities are, what i find precious, what i want to protect.  my mind remembers all the things the monster doesn’t.  

my mind has learned things the monster can’t.

when i fight it head-on, the malevolence is stronger than me.  but as i am, walking with it, sitting in my bed writing this while examining the void and the consciousness, describing it, quantifying it,

that’s when i’m stronger.

and with my mind as the stronger force, i can decide where the monster goes.  what it touches.  what it destroys.  what it burns.  where the ashes land.

i do not want to be a destructive person.  i want to be someone who builds, repairs, changes.  i want to make the world better for kids like me.  i want to stop pouring more gasoline onto a fire that’s been burning since long before i was born.  i want to believe - i do believe - that positive change is better than negative.  i do my best to plant good things and enact that positive change instead of becoming a beacon of wrath.

but there are a lot of kids surrounded by people who want them to die, and not all of them have a protective monster.

so it’s good.

when i’m depressed, my mind loses its battles.  my cognizance slips.  i forget why i care.  i forget what i want.  i forget how happiness feels, how to find pleasure in quiet moments.  

i don’t get depressed as often as i used to since my meds are adjusted correctly now.  but it still happens.  it will keep happening for the rest of my life.

my mind weakens and curls up and stops fighting, and the monster is always there.

it’s a very powerful thing when it wants to be.

it wants to survive.

the thing is, it knows there are people that want me/us/whatever dead.  it’s been fighting them forever.  die like they want?  my mind says, sure, what does it matter.

the monster says, nah.  our work isn’t done.  and fuck them, anyway.

so we get up.

-

so that’s how i stay alive.

i typed this for 90 minutes and after editing i’d spent two hours on this post.  i don’t know if anyone will read it all.  i don’t know if it’ll mean anything.  i don’t know if these thoughts even make sense, much less if i’ve conveyed the feelings i have.

i love being alive.  and when i don’t, i love being a monster.  it’s good.  all of it is good.  i’ve reconciled my uglier pieces.  it’s not one or the other, love or spite.  it’s symbiosis.  i need both, i love both.

no guarantees that this is helpful, but based purely on my own life experience, these are my tips for survival:

you’ll have to find your own roots.  i can’t give them to you.  

but it’s possible to dig them in and spread them far enough that one uprooted peg doesn’t shift your whole equilibrium.  

and when you’re tired, rest, and let yourself be tired, and find the reason why you’re staying in the world. 

 i’m positive there’s at least one.

figure out why you’re losing your battles and then change the game.

if you can’t win one setup, don’t try to beat the system.  adjust your strategy.

you’ll be surprised by what you can love when you stop fighting the disparate pieces of you, and instead figure out how to use them.

[whorphydice]

The stars too they tell of spring returning- Orphydice Hadestown Fix it Fic no-one asked for

Well y’all I’m BACK With content no-one wanted. This time, 10 pages of angst filled fix it fic. Woo. 

And of course theres a baby. Why not.

Shoutout to @bakedbeans-orpheus and @hollywoodx4 who have heard my angst for DAYS about this fic and this verse. Ily guys. @hollywoodx4 deserves a ton of the credit for putting the image of the “finale with this verse” in my head. This is for you two who deal with me. 

Here goes nothing on the angst train

It’s a sad song

“Will it be okay.. Will it live, Hades?” Stone faced and teary eyed, she is unwavering as she asks. Looking him dead in the face, unblinking. “Persephone did she ever-”

“I don’t know, girl.” He shakes his head, eyes blinking from paperwork to her face and for yet another time in the months they knew each other doubt scattered across his features. “Noone has ever been born in Hadestown.”

Feelings. Emotions. Something she thought she would forget in Hadestown. Yet suddenly a wave of something like grief and fierce unyielding love washed through her. “Can I send her up with Persephone, at the end of winter, can she take her to Orpheus-”

“I don’t know, Eurydice. I don’t know.” Not knowing was a weakness, one he did not like to show. Yet this girl, she deserved the truth. And that truth was unknown. “Take care of yourself, stay off the line. We’ll go from there.” 

It’s a sad tale

Fall came and so did Persephone, who could tell things were wrong in the air. They were going to try, he was going to wait. And when he greeted her off the train with his usual kiss and a tight squeeze of her hands, she expected the worst.

“Hades what is it, what’s wrong.” 

“It’s the girl. You.. you need to see her.” He said briefly, linking his arm with hers and walking her through the town. He needed her to see his improved conditions. Changes he made for her. For them 

The workers had time off and reasonable shifts. Camaraderie on the lines. Other work, rather than just the line and the wall. Things were improving in Hadestown. 

 Improving for all but one. 

Hades stopped them infront of a small building, with a single flight up stairs up the front. “Go up. She’ll be excited to see you.

It’s a tragedy.

“Oh, honey.” Her stomach dropped the second she busted into the apartment, her bag all but dropping to her feet.

Eurydice was there, of course. Sitting in the bed, back to the wall. And like a song bird, she sang. The softest voice singing a melody of love- the very melody that brought the world back into tune. 

“Spring came for us down here too- Her name’s Ophelia.” Eurydice said, no need for prompting. “She looks like him, don’t you think?” In truth, no. Persephone could see nothing but Eurydice in the baby, from Dark hair to her nose. “She’s sleepin’ but she’s got the prettiest hazel eyes.” She cooed, not even looking at the goddess.  “And you’re gonna take her to him, if you can.”

“I- what? How old is she, darlin, I couldn’t take this little baby from her mama.” Persephone kneeled at the bedside, running a hand over Eurydice’s short hair. 

“She has to go, He’ll love her. He’ll love her more than anything. And she deserves better than this. She deserves springtimes and ice cream and her father.” She finally snapped her head up, eyes ringed with puffy red skin. Tears. How many had she shed over this little girl.  “She’s two weeks old. Ashame, really. I thought I could wait until you got down here to have her. She has her own agenda, it seemed.”

Ophelia was spring time. This happy, smiley little girl who the workers loved. Who brought Eurydice’s singing to town. She would tell persephone later, about how they banded together for her. How they took over her work for her, and helped her when she was too weak to move. 

“I didn’t think she’d make it, Seph. I felt her moving and kicking in there and I was sure.. I was so sure” Her voice broke in her throat as more tears pooled in her eyes. “Living things don’t survive in Hadestown. But here she is. An anomaly I guess.”

Anomaly. Just like her mother. And her father. 

“He’s going to love her.”

“And you don’t?” It wasn’t a question. It was just a fact. She could love her enough, Persephone believed that.

“I love her too much to keep her from him.”

It’s a sad song

“She can go, can’t she?”

“Ophelia? Yes. Most likely.” It was an unforeseen situation. But he owned everything in hadestown- and Ophelia he did not.  He sighed and looked away from her, unable to face the disappointment. “Eurydice, no. Not yet. I’m trying. I’m looking for a loophole. I can’t stomach it.”

She cut him off with a kiss, and a gentle hand on his cheek. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

He wasn’t a monster, he wanted to scream to the world. To Eurydice. To Orpheus, who saved his marriage and ended his own. 

She’s coming, poet. Give her time.

But we sing it, anyway.

The only sound at that train station were sobs. Hopeless, never ending sobs from a young woman on her knees, too weak to stand. 

“Tell her how much I love her.” She begged Persephone, as the only thing she had left to go on for was taken from her. “And him. Tell him I love him and I forgive him and that she is the most important thing to me.” It was barely coherent as it stumbled out of her mouth through gasping sobs. 

She was shaking the last time she kissed her daughter’s head, prying the baby’s fingers from around the strap of her overalls. “I love you more than spring, sunshine.” Eurydice swore, letting out another gasping sob as Ophelia reached for her, little lip quaking. She was an empathetic baby, much like her dad. She felt everything her mother did. “Give your daddy a kiss for me, yeah?” 

The train whistle blew impatiently as Persephone looked between Eurydice and the train, Ophelia becoming fussy in her arms. 

“Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?” The heartbreak ripped through everyone in the vicinity, and Persephone couldn’t help but doubt if this was the best thing for everyone involved. Eurydice, especially. 

“Please, take her. Take her.” Eurydice whimpered, wiping at her eyes. “Take her and tell her how much I will always love her.” It was harder than selling her soul and leaving Orpheus.  It was harder than anything she had ever done and would ever do again. 

Persephone offered the most sympathetic smile she could as she boarded the train, the baby in her arms whimpering loudly. “I know, honey, I know.”

Hermes locked eyes with her the second she boarded, and something caught in his throat as she locked eyes with him. “Yeah brother, it’s what you think.”

As she took the seat by the window, Ophelia banged her tiny fists against the glass. “Ma?” She asked softly, before breaking out into crocodile tears. “Ma.”

“I know darlin, your mama wants you too.”

The sight of Eurydice on her knees sobbing as the train pulled away, workers gathering to help her up, is one that will haunt Persephone forever.

The sound of screams as Eurydice said goodbye to her daughter, knowing she would never see her again, will stay with Persephone every day of her life. 

On a sunny day there was a railroad car and a lady stepping off a train

Noone was ready that day, when Persephone’s train rolled up. Dozens of people flocked to see her, to give thanks. But when the door opened, the world stood still. The crowd went silent. 

Silence, as Persephone approached the boy. The boy who hadn’t sang in months. Who’s permanent smile was replaced with something like indifference. 

“Lady Persephone, I didn’t know you had a-”

“Shh, Poet.” And in a moment, the world shifted again. The crowd remained silent, with eyes only on the poet and green clad woman in the center. Without finishing her though, she deposited the whimpering baby in his arms, pressing a hand to his face. 

“Her name is Ophelia, and her mama forgives you.” 

If he hadn’t held something so precious, he would have collapsed. He vaguely remembers his heart racing and the feeling like someone was holding him under water. 

“I...she..Eurydice?” He squeaked, arms shaking as he finally looked at the baby. Dark hair, chubby little cheeks, the sweetest little face. If Eurydice was the world in his arms, Ophelia was the universe. 

“Not yet, poet. He’s tryin’” She assured, pulling her hand from his face. “She’s a fighter, that one. She’ll come home to you.”

She couldn’t tell him, that Eurydice made her peace with never seeing her daughter again. 

Every body looked, and everybody saw that spring had come again

Orpheus sang for the first time that night. The six month old wrapped against his chest in one of Persephone’s summer scarves. He picked up a guitar and sang of love. Love for a girl far away, and love for a much smaller girl nestled safely in the crook of his arm. 

Orpheus loved easily, and Ophelia was easy to love. It took effort, to learn how to care for a baby so quickly. But with lessons from Persephone, he was doing his best. And that was what he owed Ophelia and Eurydice both. 

That first night, when he held her in his arms and paced infront of the window, a sky full of stars the only source of light. 

In his free hand was a picture, the only one he had, the only one of value. 

“Her name is Eurydice, and she loves you endlessly. And I promise, I’m not gonna fail you, i’m not gonna let you down, like I did her.”

With a love song

“She hasn’t spoken in months.” Hades told her, the second she came home that winter. “I don’t know if she has a voice anymore.”

Her singing was missed in the mines. Her joy that Ophelia brought the workers. The hope she inspired. Without Ophelia Eurydice gave up.

Eurydice had no reason to hold on to herself anymore, as far as she was concerned. 

“How is the boy? And Ophelia?” He inquired, linking arms with her yet again, as he had done a year prior. 

What he wasn’t expecting were the sounds of sobs, held back in her throat.

“He’s trying so hard, Hades. But she wasn’t ready to leave Eurydice. He’s trying so hard but winter’s coming- they aren’t going to survive a winter like this.” It was horribly poetic. Eurydice sending her daughter for a better life, only to be reunited a year later in death. 

“DO we tell her?” 

“There’s nothing she can do.”

With a love song

Hades was enraged, to say the least. 

Somewhere between a desk destroyed and papers tossed into a furnace, he found himself on the ground, palms in his eyes.

Orpheus saved the world. Brought his love back to him. And he couldn’t even do the same for him. 

It had been months since Persephone returned. Over half a year since Eurydice gave up her daughter, hope, and the will to fight. 

Days since Hermes sent the message. Orpheus was dying. He’d need a ticket. 

Somewhere between papers in the furnace and getting off of the ground, he had her called in. 

He called the girl to his destroyed office, where flames ate the papers she signed many months ago.

“You’re free to leave.”

She didn’t speak, simply looked up. And for the first time since ophelia was taken topside, he saw something in the girl spark. 

“The contract..it’s burned. Gone. Invalidated, actually. Ophelia wasn’t on the contract. She’s an extenuating circumstance. You’re free to go, if you want.” He paused. “But you need to know something.”

She knew it was too good to be true, and the way she shook in her spot revealed that. “Know what?” Her throat screamed, it was like razors sliding over the delicate folds controlling her voice. 

“The boy. He isn’t doing well. Neither is Ophelia, i’m afraid. You can go be with them, be a source of comfort if you wish. Or you can wait here, for them to arrive on the train.”

Eurydice can’t remember feeling pain when her knees met the marble, and the blood drained from her skin. “They’re dying?” She croaked out, hand grasping over her heart. 

“They’re...unwell. The weather is cruel to them. And Ophelia is just so young.. The odds are not favoring them.” There was no use in lying to her. Not now. 

“But they could make it?” She asked quietly, hope in her heart for the last time.

“They could. Should I send for a train?” It was a peace offering. A train and freedom, to get home. 

Eurydice nodded, scrambling to her feet frantically. “Mr. Hades.. Thank you. Thank you so much. For everything.” She was practically out the door when he spoke again. 

“Get to the station. And Eurydice?” She turned to face the man speaking. “Since your contact was invalid, here is back pay for all the months you worked on my line. You’re going to need it.”

With a love song

The train ride was longer than she remembered. Alone on a train out of hell gives one a lot of time to wallow. 

She thought of Orpheus, with his million watt smile and gift for words.

She thought of Ophelia, who wouldn’t know who she was.

She thought of how she would lose them both, but was acting as the comfort Orpheus deserved.

She thought of him. 

With a tale of love from long ago

The train station was empty, as one would expect for winter. 

Empty except for a man in a silver suit, with a blanket over his arm and a solemn smile on his face. 

“Girl, come on lets get out of the cold.”

He half carried her home. Months of abuse of her own body- not caring for it, not eating, not sleeping- made standing hard and walking near impossible. She leaned heavily on him for support, the winter storm around them making things somehow worse.

She decided now, to voice her fear. “How bad is it, Hermes?”

When he remained steadfast and silent, she knew better than to press on. “He’ll be happy to see you.”

He brought her home. To the house she didn’t expect Orpheus to have. He unlocked the door for her, kissing her temple before stepping away. 

“He waited for you. For this moment.”

It’s a sad song.

She limped through the house, a draft from somewhere chilling to her bones. She caught a glimpse of her reflection- she looked more like bones and paper skin than herself nowadays. Eurydice wondered to herself, what Orpheus would think, when she heard the wheezy breathing in the back room.

With apprehension, she approached the door, swallowing to lubricate her brittle throat before trying. “Orpheus?” She called out, before she limped into the room and locked eyes with him.

But we keep singing even so.

“Eurydice?” The frame under the blankets whispered out, before the sound of crying filled the room. “Eurydice...god no...I’m so sorry Eurydice.” Orpheus was lanky before. But now? Now he was broken. Thin face, lost shine in his eyes. If she hadn’t known to look for it, she never would have seen the impossibly little bundle of blankets on his chest, far too small to house the fifteen month old baby she imagined in her dreams. 

“Orpheus, it’s me… why...why are you sorry?” Eurydice climbed into the bed, taking his face in her hands frantically. 

“You’re here. That means I’m dead doesn’t it? I failed you again. I took her to protect her, you wanted me to protect her, and I failed. I failed and i’m dead and she must be dead and-”

She grabbed his hand, and placed his palm against the center of his chest. “Orpheus, honey, i’m here. I’m alive and i’m here. He let me go- it’s not important right now. What matters is i’m right here, and you’re alive.” 

Unable to wait anymore she leaned down to kiss him, the contact of his lips igniting a fire in her that had long since gone out. “I’m here, and you aren’t leaving me. I just got back, you don’t get to go yet.” Eurydice pulled his upper body into her lap, and stroked his hair, draping Hermes’ blanket over him. “We’re going to be okay.”

It’s an old song

He cried into her thigh, words of love and endless apology. Of hopeful future and the life they would share. Before long she was beside him, head on his chest listening to the steady, albeit weak heart beat.

Alive. Alive. Alive. 

They could have forever, now, so long as they made it through this winter. She was sure of it. 

Her sweet, sweet husband. And their daughter. Ophelia. 

“I know she won’t remember but Orpheus can I-” He was too far sleeping, his arms wound around her so she couldn’t disappear. 

She decided for herself, to take the little blanket wrapped bundle from his chest.

And we’re gonna sing it again and again

It was like her heart restarted in that moment, when this tiny, whimpering little girl looked at her. The whimpering, she knew, was a sign of obvious pain in her daughter, and she knew then that she’d go to hadestown and back to end her pain for her.

For a moment it felt like forever and yet no time at all had passed since she held her. She wasn’t terribly bigger, which was concerning enough. 

It was like the world fell back into tune for Eurydice alone, when she got to look at this baby she would fight the world for. “Hey sunshine, I know you don’t know who I am, but i love you more than springtime.” She cooed, holding her against her chest. Ophelia’s fingers curled around the strap of her shirt, like they had so many times when she was a new infant still. Muscle memory, she supposed. 

“I’m afraid I don’t have anything in there to feed you this time. I’m sorry i’m not-” Hours topside and she already felt this rush of failure. Her baby, asking for something she couldn't give anymore. 

It was a moment she’ll never forget of course, when Ophelia relaxed with her head against her heart. When her baby stopped her whimpering because she had her mother. 

When her daughter, with what little strength she had, smiled at her and just breathes out “mama” into her skin. 

Of course, Orpheus would never let her forget.

It’s a long journey out of hadestown and it’s a long journey out of the dark. Eurydice knew though, in those moments, that they could make any journey together. The three of them. 

[yeollieayheehoo]

Thunderheads

Authors note: Hey guys! This is the first chapter for Baekhyuns’ story in A Tale Of Fire And Ice. The stories do all coincide with each other, so please give them a read as well! Please note!! Each chapter will have their own individual warnings, the warnings posted on the mini masterlist apply to the story as a whole!

Summary: Centuries after Gigantomachy, the Titans of legend grow restless, a prophecy set in motion by the shared breath of a long since forgotten God and mere mortal, by the lonely god who sings to the girl made of clouds, and the dead who refuse to grow. 

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader (female)

Genre: mythology!au, 

Rating:  PG

Warnings: explicit language, minor mention of character death, 

Word Count: 2.8K

Chapter 1

You find meaning in the thunderstorm.

The way the thunder rolls across the sky in a seamless harmony with the pattering of the raindrops against the tin roof of your home is a lullaby that you could never get tired of. But, it’s the lightning that crashes across the sky that makes your soul come alive, the light almost pink streaks shining light in the black ocean above you.

You’ve been this way since you were younger, in love with the storm. Back then, you would sit in the garage and watch the rain until the storm died, the mist against your skin and smell of the earth mixing with the rain a near religious experience. Now that you’re older though, you find yourself curled up in your reading nook. You’re thankful to have your own place, enjoying the cool breeze that blows in through your open bay windows, something you would have never been able to do in your parents’ house.

You yawn as the tempest lulls you to sleep, curling up under your afghan as the sound of lightning echoes in your mind.

 “Don’t you think you’re going a bit overboard?”

Baekhyun smiles, looking down at his brother as he prepares to lose another lightning bolt. “Hera has always loved when I go overboard.”

“Mhm, and I’m sure the mortal she left you over loves it too.” Baekhyun sighs before dropping his bow to his side. “Do you really have to ruin all of my fun, Jongdae?”

“She doesn’t even know you exist, why would you pine over here instead of fixing the relationship with the Goddess you’ve literally spent eternity with?” Jongdae regards him with a curious look on his face as Baekhyun jumps down from his spot in the clouds.

“Because she adores me.”

“She adores what you do. If she knew you, she’d ask how something so beautiful can come from someone so…you.”

“I’ll pretend like that didn’t hurt.” Jongdae shrugs as he puts his coat back on.

“It wasn’t meant to be rude, just an observation.”

Baekhyun follows Jongdae to the Realms entrances, leaning against the door to Jongdaes’ scrunching his nose. “It always smells salty by your door. What happened to the little smell good trees Hermes gave you?”

“You mean the air fresheners that the mortals use in their cars? I threw them away. It’s the ocean, what do you expect?”

“You don’t smell salty.”

“Will you move?” Baekhyun rolls his eyes before pushing himself off of the door, giving Jongdae the freedom to leave. “Be honest, why are you so obsessed with that girl?”

“Something the Fates said.” Jongdae scoffs as if he’s offended by the very idea and dismisses it with a wave of his hand. “You can’t believe everything those old fools say.”

“They were right about you and Medusa.” Jongdaes’ face flushes, the male coughs to clear his throat and shrugs. “That’s old news. They haven’t said anything relevant in ages.”

“We’re all in it. You, me and-“

“Don’t’ say his name.”

“You know, he’s technically the one who has the right to be mad, not you. Besides, are you really going to hold that grudge when the world ends?” Jongdae laughs, an empty and joyless sound. “This wouldn’t even be in the works if the mortals still knew we existed.”

It’s an argument the two of you have had countless times over the centuries and it always comes back to the same result.

Baekhyun is tired of being feared.

Before, back when the Greeks knew of the Olympians existence, it was a pure, unadulterated worship. There was no fear, apart from the one that is hardwired into every human beings make up, the fear of disappointment. But even that doesn’t count to Baekhyun as anything in the comparison with the fear of inferiority.

When the Romans came, with Gods of their own things changed. With the battle of Corinth, that led to the destruction of the city in what the mortals called 146 BC, the people of Greece feared what their beloved Gods would do to exact revenge on the Romans, and their worship changed from one of adoration to one of necessity of fear and destruction.

That’s when the visits to the mortal realm stopped, and with them, so did the belief in the Olympians at all, apart from the stragglers that were few and far between.

“You know why.”

“A little fear never hurt anyone.”

“You’re starting to sound like Chanyeol.”

“Goodbye Baekhyun.” Jongdae presses his palm against the distressed white door and Baekhyun watches in amazement, as he always has, as the door slowly turns from wood into a wall of water. “Find something more productive to do that pine over a girl who won’t live a fraction of your own life.” Jongdae passes through the water with a wave, not a drop of ocean falling out of place.

Baekhyun stares as the door reforms and long after that. He knows Jongdae means well, has always been the wisest brother, but sometimes, Baekhyun wishes the Sea God would stay in the sea. Though that would mean he’d always be alone.

When Hera finally got tired of his shit, she left their clouded fortress at the top of Mount Olympus and with her, so did their children. So then, their great trophy from Gigantomachy, the battle of young Gods, the Olympians and the Titans, became another empty thing to join Baekhyun in his loneliness.

Part of him missed Hera, though he wasn’t sure if it was out of adoration, or if he missed the familiarity of her.

He has always been bad at being alone.

A glow from the door to the Underworld pull him from the thought path he’s been traveling down a lot lately, since a year ago when he found you; you who he believed to be the answer to everything.

“What does he want?” Baekhyun mumbles to himself more than to the empty house before pressing his palm against the dark green door. The color always brings up something melancholy in him as he remembers Persephone’s excitement when she finally got to repaint the door.

Her rose bushes, that have long since wilted, line the path to Chanyeol’s cottage, fitting in perfectly with the eternal night that covers the Underworld.

“You rang?” Baekhyun regards Chanyeol curiously, staring at his stretched-out figure, lounging in his favorite hammock, overlooking his domain.

“I figured you were lonely now that the storm is over. Jongdae usually darts pretty quickly.”

“How do you know that?” Chanyeol gestures lazily to the floating, black orb at his feet. “Oh yeah... the faeries.”

“Yeah… the faeries.” Chanyeol can’t help but to sigh at the nickname given to his messengers by his late wife.

“How are you holding up?” Baekhyun knows the answer to this, it’s been the same for the last century, but he asks anyway as he settles into the patio chair next to his brother. It’s almost pitying the way Persephone haunts the Underworld, traces of her existence refusing to fade away.

“As well as expected. You’d think her plants would have wasted away by now, without her here to tend for them. She’s not coming back, I don’t know what they’re hoping for.” There’s a trace of anger in Chanyeols’ voice, like he wishes her ghost would disappear, but he can’t bring himself to erase her.

“There’s always-“

“Don’t, Baekhyun. You’ve been holding on to that prophecy since she died. Still watching that mortal?”

 “You know, when they turn out to be right, like they always are, you and Jongdae are going to look really stupid.” Chanyeol scoffs and turns to face Baekhyun.

“Baek. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you honestly believe that you are supposed to be with some mortal and that we are supposed to stop the Titans from rising again, which by the way, there’s almost no possible way for them to escape their prison. Tell me that you believe Hera, who has put up with all of your adultery and lies for the last some odd millennia that we’ve been alive, isn’t who you’re meant to reside on Mount Olympus with for the rest of our days.” Baekhyun meets Chanyeols gaze, almost mesmerized by his brothers brownish orange eyes and sighs. “I thought so.”

“It’s not that I doubt them Chanyeol. It’s that I can’t afford not to. I cant think about how I’ve given everything I’ve known for it not to be true.”

Chanyeol nods like he understands but doesn’t say anything. This is how his relationship has always been with his brother. When the two were younger, they’d stay like this in the valley most days to hide from Cronus, their father. Jongdae was always the more serious of the three, following their mother Rhea around like a lost puppy at her heels.

“Can I be honest with you Baekhyun?” Chanyeols’ voice is soft as he looks over the amber glow from the souls of his realm and Baekhyun almost doesn’t hear him, the whine of the wind carrying it away. Chanyeol doesn’t wait for him to answer before he speaks again.

“I need them to be wrong, the Fates.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t think I can handle another loss like Persephone. It’s hard enough, still seeing the echoes of her everywhere. If what the Moirai say is true, then I have 70 years top before I’m right back here.” It’s the most open Baekhyun has ever heard his brother be. He knew the death of Persephone still tormented him, but he never imagined it would affect him like this. In the thousands of years that he’s been alive, he’s never seen Chanyeol be this; be afraid.

“Maybe you should come spend time with me and get out of this literal graveyard for a while.”

“And see Dae? I think I’ll pass.”

“So we won’t have another storm for a while. The mortals are already destroying their realm, a few weeks without rain won’t change anything. You need fresh air, without the constant reminder of Kore.”

Chanyeol cocks a half smile, brushing his blonde hair from his forehead as he contemplates. “And what exactly, will I do in Olympus?”

“Who said anything about Olympus?”

 You’re waken by the sun coming through your windows, and the warm breeze as your air heater kicks on. You could barely sleep last night, tossing and turning at the too quiet world in the absence of the rain.

It’s always like this for you.

Begrudgingly, you climb out of bed, making quick work of a shower and dressing before eating a breakfast your mother would have scolded you about and walking out the door. The weather is turning, a cool breeze blowing in from the East. It kisses your cheeks, sending a chill down your body that causes you to pull the lapels of your petticoat jacket tighter around you as you walk to work.

The tattoo parlor you work in as a receptionist has been like your second home since you moved out to Portland four years ago and your co-workers never fail you make you feel like family every time you walk through the door. “Hey Cloud Walker, how’s your morning?”

“Morning, Fanny. It’s been going pretty good. How about yours?” It’s warm in the shop and you’re quick to shed your jacket and scarf, hanging them on the coat rack before checking the appointment book at your counter. “You’re on walk-ins today, yeah?”

“Correct. And considering my 12 canceled, I need them.”

“Did Sunflower mention if she was coming in early today, or is she not coming in until her appointment comes in?”

“She didn’t say. Patch is coming in early.” You hum in response as you erase Fanny’s appointment for twelve oclock today, writing walk ins across the top of her name.  “Your newest addition is still looking good. Do you think it needs a touch up anywhere?” Her hands are warm against your wrist as she looks over the stratocumulus clouds you added to your sky sleeve last week. “No, I think it’s okay.”

Fanny grins and pats your wrist before letting it go, turning away from you as she heads back to her station, working on some of her latest tattoo ideas, leaving you up front to go through emails and appointment requests.

  You’re just finishing ringing out Patchs’ 2 o’clock appointment when the bell above your front door rings, pulling your attention to the two men that walk in.

Their height difference amuses you for some reason, yet at the same time you find yourself enthralled by their presence. The taller one has his hands shoved in his pockets, blonde hair pushed back framing his undercut. There’s an amused look on his face, corners of his lips twisted up into a smirk as he looks to the shorter one.

He looks nervous. His white hair is in small waves atop his head, peaking over his eyebrows slightly, which are slightly furrowed as he approaches the desk. “Hi, welcome to The Parthenon.  Did you have an appointment?”

The taller one laughs, running his fingers through his hair. “That’s a great name. No we didn’t have appointments, we were wondering if you took walk-ins?”

“Yeah, we do. Fanny is with a client right now, but I can see if Sunflower wants to take one, what are you looking to get?”

“I was wanting something else added here, another flower maybe.” The taller shrugs out of his hoodie to reveal a sleeve of flowers decorating his left arm. The detail is exquisite, and it all still looks new, lines dark and colors saturated, but something tells you that he’s had them forever. “My brother though, he’s not sure what he wants. Maybe you could give him an idea?”

“Yeah, let me go grab Sunflower and get the two of you set up, and I’ll be back with a few of our books and we can look through them together, how’s that sound?”

The white haired male nods, flashing you a smile as you move to grab an artist.

“What the fuck, Chanyeol?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this silent. I think this was a great idea.” Baekhyun goes to open his mouth, but stops when he sees you coming back, followed by a black haired girl. “This is Sunflower, if you want to follow her, she can do some free draws in that empty spot on your sleeve and discuss a price with you.” You look at the taller one who has a grin on his face and nods. “Lead the way.”

  Baekhyun wonders if Chanyeol can feel the way he tenses ever so slightly beside him as the older brother plasters a grin to his face and following the girl you brought back. “If you want to come sit on the side of the counter, we can go over a few ideas. Do you have an idea of what you want?”

“Uh, no, I’m not sure. I do like your clouds though. I take it you’re not a fan of the sunshine.”

You laugh and Baekhyun swears that not even the Muses could create a sound as beautiful. He’s almost entranced by the way your chestnut hair sways back and forth as you shake your head. “No, storms are my happy place.”

“Wow, same honestly. I love the lightning.”

“So do I! The heat lightning is my favorite, though we don’t get much of it here.”

“No, I would imagine not. It’s pretty cool here.” You nod, humming to yourself as you flip through the books, trying to find Baekhyun something that he could care less about. You bring a few to his attention, different types of ideas being brought to his attention, before he notices Sunflower say she’s ready to start with Chanyeol’s tattoo and he stands. “I think you’ve inspired me.”

“Oh? Well let me go get Fanny and you can tell her what it is you’d like.”

 The sun has barely moved in the sky by the time Baekhyun is done with his tattoo. You smile sweetly at him as he walks to the counter, curiosity painting your face. “So what’d you get?”

Baekhyun holds out his hand. Between his index finger and thumb, on the back of his hand sits a small, black lightning bolt. The grin that breaks out on your face reminds him that it was worth the trip from his oasis. “Cloud Walker, do 50.”

“Cloud Walker, huh? I take it that’s not your real name?”

“No, it’s Y/N. It’s a nickname I’ve had since I moved here.”

“I think it suits you.”

“And how about you? What’s your name?”

“My name’s Baekhyun.”

[serenzippity]

Hello can i request a greaser honey scenario please?

Warning: Smut and angst ahead. Very little dialogue but what do you expect out of me at this point hehe

The cigarette hung loosely between his lips as the smoke swirled its dark tendrils into the night air. There was a strong aura of anger, pain, and longing coming from him that deterred anyone who even dared to approach him. 

The sidewalk was riddled with bellhops and their client’s fluffy toy-dogs on late night strolls. An occasional old, rich couple passed by with their diamonds and furs gleaming under the pristine street lights. The dirty Harley didn’t match the sports cars and chauffeured SUVs nor did his leather jacket fit in with the Hermes. 

He looked so out of place among the bourgeoisie but his purpose kept him rooted to his spot.

Taking a final drag of his cigarette, he flicked the paper stick to the ground and smothered it with the toe of his cracked leather boot. One particularly rude-looking old woman gave him a nasty look, but the glare that he returned had her scurrying off quickly with her much younger boy-toy. 

“Prissy bitch,” he mumbled, leaning against his Harley and glancing up at the stately townhouse before him. All the lights were off saved for a single tiny glowing candle in one of the upper floor windows. This small candle was his beacon and he was a moth drawn to the flame. It was your secret code, something that you and he had thought of in between heavy, passionate trysts between his dark sheets. 

The small candle told him that tonight you were his and he’d wait all night if he had to. There was something decadent and sordid about your relationship with him. You craved the freedom you felt when you were with him while he craved the taste of your skin when he brought you to the highest of highs. Both of you were like some fucked up modern version of Romeo and Juliet awaiting the poison and dagger at the very end of your tale. 

Jooheon watched as the candle in the window was extinguished and he took this as a signal to hop on his Harley and rev the monstrous bike up. Within minutes his little treasure was sneaking out the front door of the townhouse, quietly trying to keep the gaudy iron door from squeaking too loudly. 

You were his complete opposite. You were a debutante who had the world on a silver platter and daddy’s credit card to ease any sort of discomfort that dared to confront you and your Prada heels. Soon to be Ivy League educated, you were all red lips and sundresses. He, on the other hand, grew up on the rough streets. He learned how to survive with iron and bruised knuckles that earned him a reputation in areas of the city that were less than kind. With a mechanic job and dealing as his source of income, Jooheon was all leather and blood. 

Hopping on his bike, you gave him a quick peck on his cheek before he zoomed off into the black night. Your thin white blouse fluttered with the wind in tandem with your heart. He was intoxicating and you felt the high coming just from being in his presence. 

He drove through the winding streets of the city like the dogs of hell were on his tail. Speed limits were forgotten and cops were dodged before he came upon a hill that overlooked the city. Riding up to the precipice, he stopped when he arrived at the spot that meant the most to you two. It was the place where you first kissed him, where you first gave yourself to him, and where you first told him that you were falling in love with him. 

“Don’t fall in love with me, Princess,” he purred against your neck when you moaned out those three little words only a few weeks prior. That night had meant so much to you, and he’d never admit it but it meant that same to him.

Parking his bike and traversing the silence hand-in-hand to a small outcrop Jooheon wasted no time once the rocks were in sight. Pushing you up against the hard stone, he captured your lips in his. The kiss was carnal, passionate, and wicked in the best of ways. He knew all your ticks which sent you into a spiraling inferno almost instantly. 

There was no foreplay, no need to prepare or get in the mood. You were ready for him the moment your thighs clenched around the leather seat of his bike. He was everything you couldn’t and shouldn’t have but wanted nonetheless. Your parents and friends would shun you from your world if they found out, but being a pariah sounded fine as long as you could do it with him. 

Pushing up your skirt and dropping your panties felt like a tedious task, but when he unbuckled his pants and slowly slid into you the world came crashing down. He fit you like a missing puzzle piece and you cried out at the wondrous pressure. He groaned into your neck when your inner walls fluttered around him. It felt like a beautiful vice grip that had his head spinning with thoughts that revolved only around you and your mutual satisfaction. 

He plunged deeper and deeper into you, eliciting exquisite screams from between your swollen lips. Your legs began to strain from your position against the rock wall, but the strain in your hips was forgotten when he began to circle your sensitive clit with a skilled finger. He was working on bringing you to an early release with the overall goal of overstimulating your pretty body. He loved the way you cried out for him, begging for more while simultaneously quivering against his body. When you finally came around him for the first time that night he swore he saw stars.

That was how he liked you, raw and deep in a way that would have your rich father falling over in shock. Here you were, this perfect little elite princess, giving yourself into someone from the darkest parts of the world. He loved to stain the pure parts of you, making you too damaged for anyone else except for him. There was something so invigorating about corrupting such an angelic person such as yourself.

And he’d never admit as to how much he loved it. 

[druid-for-hire]

HADESTOWN, BROADWAY, Apr 25th 2019

Reeve Carney as Orpheus; Eva Noblezada as Eurydice; Amber Gray as Persephone; Patrick Page as Hades; André de Shields as Hermes; Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzales-Nacer, Kay Trinidad as the Fates; Afra Hines, Timothy Hughes, John Krause, Kimberly Marable, Ahmad Simmons as Workers Chorus.

Liam Robinson as Conductor/on piano/accordion; Dana Lyn on violin; Marika Hughes on cello; Michael Chorney on guitar; Brian Drye on trombone/glockenspiel; Robinson Morse on double bass; Ben Perowsky on the drums/percussion.

Notes & lyrics:

(Note: these lyrics are directly transcribed out of the audio and i’m going off my memory, so there may be inaccuracies.)

[Orpheus sits at the edge of the hole, head down, face obscured by shadow and angle. He doesn’t move. Hermes slowly enters onstage from stage right (our left); he is properly lit.]

HERMES It’s an old song It’s an old tale from way back when It’s an old song

And that is how it ends.

That’s how it goes Don’t ask why, brother, don’t ask how  He could have come so close But this song was written long ago

And that is how it goes.

It’s a sad song It’s a sad tale… 

It’s a tragedy.

It’s a sad song

But we sing it anyway.

[Hermes begins to meander.]

‘Cause here’s the thing: to know how it ends, and still to begin to sing it again... as if it might turn out this time. I learned that from a friend of mine.

[The Chorus enters onstage. Orpheus, slowly, achingly, gets up and makes his way out of the stage right exit. They watch him go.]

See, Orpheus was a poor boy...

[Eurydice appears in the stage left doorway as Orpheus is leaving.]

EURYDICE Anybody got a match?

[The Fates and Chorus all turn to her. Hermes takes out a match and holds it out in his hand.]

HERMES But he had a gift to give.

[Eurydice comes down the stairs and snatches it from his hand, crouching down to the floor and setting up her candle to light it, right in the spot she did in the beginning (sans table).]

EURYDICE Give me that.

HERMES He could make you see how the world could be... In spite of the way that it is

Can you see it? Can you hear it? Can you feel it like a train? Is it coming? Is it coming this a-way?

[Eurydice blows out her candle and puts it away. The center turntable begins to rise up again: perched atop the stack of tables and chairs that comes up with the platform, is Persephone, with her bag full of springtime.]

On a sunny day there was a railroad car And a lady stepping off a train Everybody looked and everybody saw That spring had come again

With a love song

EURYDICE A love song

[She gets up off the stack, wandering downstage to face the audience along with Hermes and Eurydice, the Fates, and the Chorus, still upstage on the main stage. The Chorus begins to move.]

CHORUS¹ A love song

HERMES A tale of a love from long ago It’s a sad song

EURYDICE & CHORUS It’s a sad song

PERSEPHONE It’s a sad song

[Hades has appeared atop the balcony.]

HERMES But we keep singing even so It’s an old song

EURYDICE It’s an old song

PERSEPHONE & CHORUS It’s an old song

[The Chorus, in sync, begins to take the chairs and set up the bar. Persephone takes out bottles of wine.]

HERMES It’s an old tale from way back when And we’re gonna sing it again and again We’re gonna sing, we’re gonna sing

CHORUS It’s a love song

EURYDICE It’s a love song

HERMES It’s a love song

CHORUS It’s a love song It’s a tale of a love from long ago It’s a sad song

EURYDICE It’s a sad song

HERMES It’s a sad song

CHORUS We keep singing even so It’s an old song

EURYDICE It’s an old song

HERMES It’s an old, old, old, tale From way back when And we’re gonna sing it

ALL Again and again

[The Fates find a perch on the main stage; the Chorus all seat themselves, and Persephone atop a table. Hades stands at the base of the spiral staircase.]

[Orpheus in his apron appears on stage left on the first platform. He’s looking right at Eurydice, stunned and awed all over again.]

HERMES We’re gonna sing it again.²

¹ Includes the Fates and Persephone. ² They got a standing ovation.