𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐱 ─── cooking

𝖀ntil a god attempted to woo her...

"My Lady..." There was a call of her title, as Delia lazily opened one eye, waving her hand for the person to continue speaking. "He's back again, my Lady."

"Who?" Delia huffed. She had been lounging on a chaise in the open atrium of her home, basking in the afternoon heat, surrounded by the scent of freshly baked bread and sweet fruits that were just about to ripen.

"The Messenger god. He's on the Northern peninsula." Delia sighed, before pushing herself up from the chaise.

"I shall see him now." Yawning, the goddess managed to straighten her hair, pulling her sandals on and tying them at her own leisurely pace.

"You are not normally about at this hour." Leto stated, as Delia passed her at the door, still yawning. The pregnant titan was walking around, finding that it soothed her twins, though her hair was damp and her clothes were slung over her arm.

"Messenger Boy is back." Delia mumbled.

"Oh." That had the goddess pausing, twisting around to stare at Leto with wide eyes and a cocked head.

"What?"

"Nothing." Leto squeezed her shoulder gently. "Go on. Go see what Messenger Boy wants." 

Delia watched her go, confusion running through her, before spinning on her heel and heading towards the rocky, northern shores of her island. As she wandered through the fruit groves, Delia continued to turn Leto's words over in her head, trying to make sense of what the Titaness meant. What did 'oh' mean? Was that something bad? Or was it good?

Or did it mean something else entirely?

The path appeared in front of her, winding down the cliff side, as Delia followed it, before passing through the barrier and appearing on the rocky shore. Hermes caught sight of her, looking up from where he had been fiddling with his sandals. He was practically vibrating with excitement as he beamed at her, the wings on his sandals whirring to the point of a blur.

"Delia!" The guardian narrowed her eyes at the god once more, as he fluttered over and began to ramble, more to himself than anyone else but Delia didn't mind it. "I managed to find you the vanilla pods that you asked for, but I wasn't sure how many you needed so I brought you a plant of them instead so that you could grow them, you seem to like growing plants from what I can tell, and I got you brown sugar and multiple cocoa pods, as many as I could carry at least. Also, there are some oranges and apricots in there for you and Leto. I didn't think that you would have them on the island so I made sure to get you some, and there's enough for a couple of weeks, but some of them aren't ripe yet and..."

"Thank you, Messenger Boy." She had to cut him off, otherwise she feared that Hermes would keep talking and talking. He grinned, nodding as she placed the bag down by her feet. "I appreciate it."

"Oh, and I got you this," He pulled a flower from behind his back, handing it to Delia, who watched it warily. "It's a crocus flower."

"I know what type of flower it is," Delia smiled, as Hermes held it out for her with a large grin on his face. Reluctantly, Delia plucked it from his hands and looked it over. "Who grew it for you?"

"I did," Delia looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Crocus flowers are my flowers. They grow at my temple on Olympus, so I picked one that reminded me of you."

"This singular flower reminded you of me?" Delia asked, raising her eyebrow at the god in confusion. "Why?"

"I don't know. I just saw it, and it was...you?" He shrugged his shoulders, as the sky rumbled overhead. "Zeus asked me to tell you that he wants Leto to be safe and to do that, he has to check on her and that means coming on the island."

"No," Delia's mood dropped, as she picked the bag up from besides her feet, her glare darkening. "He must respect my rules as she is on my island, under my protection. He said that he would. She is perfectly content and I will not have him here."

"Do you want me to add some curses to that sentence when I tell him?" Hermes asked, a grin on his face, as Delia shrugged. "I'll take that as a yes."

"If you say so, Messenger Boy," His grin widened, if that was even possible, as Delia turned away once more. "Now get off of my island."

"Absolutely," She continued to walk, hearing the patter of his feet as he sprinted away. As soon as she was gone, Delia brought the crocus plant to her nose and breathed in the sweet smell, a smile forming on her face. 

After all, it was her favorite flower.

∘☽༓☾∘

"Something smells good," Leto appeared in the kitchen, as Delia placed the apple muffins onto the wooden table, making sure that the small treats were cooked all the way through. 

"Thank you." Leto narrowed her eyes, watching as the girl picked Hermes' bag up from one of the chairs, and started to place fresh produce from the island into it.

"What are you doing?" Delia looked up, before motioning to the fruit and the cakes. "I thought that we cooked all of the treats yesterday?"

"For us, maybe. These aren't for us," Delia murmured, wrapping the muffins up in a cloth, before placing them into the satchel.

"Who are they for then?"

"Hermes," Leto raised an eyebrow, before nodding as a smile formed on her face.

"Hermes?"

"What?" Delia looked at the pregnant woman with a cocked eyebrow.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Leto chewed on an apple as she watched the younger guardian. "You two seem close."

"He got us the vanilla, sugar and cocoa beans, I'm just being nice and returning the favour," Leto nodded slowly, pulling a face as Delia's eyebrows furrowed. "What? I am!"

"That favour involves cooking him food and providing him with fresh produce that I'm sure he could get elsewhere?" A light flush ran up Delia's cheek, as she placed the last bit of food into the bag and closed it.

"Should I have given him something else?" Delia looked back down at the bag, suddenly doubting herself as Leto nudged her shoulder. "Hm?"

"I think he'll love it." Leto winked. "You two are a very sweet couple."

"What?" Delia spun around. "No! Stop it!"

"Not a couple?"

"I can still kick you off of my island at any point," Delia growled, leaving the house with the satchel slung over her shoulder.

"Have fun with Messenger Boy!" Leto laughed, as Delia used a little of her powers to spray cold water on the woman, before running off towards the rocky shores. Sliding down the side, Delia made sure to keep the satchel straight, before hitting the ground. Hermes wasn't there, which was understandable as she could assume that he was a busy god, so Delia licked her lips and thought of what to do. 

How was she supposed to get in contact with him?

"Hermes?" She called experimentally, before kicking herself as she thought. Who was she kidding? Why would a god, so exceptionally busy as he was, show up at her call? How did she know that he could even...?

"You called for me," Spinning around, Delia's eyes landed on Hermes, who was grinning as he looked at her. She suddenly had doubts about doing this, but she sighed and mustered all of her courage up to hand the bag back to him.

The Messenger God's eyes lit up, as he opened the bag and smiled at the sight of the treats inside.

"They're from the island's fruit groves," Delia murmured, as Hermes started to vibrate with excitement. "And those are cakes that I made today with some of the vanilla..."

"Thank you!" Hermes grinned, and Delia watched as he began to eat one of the muffins, a large grin on his face. He finished it, before seeming to remember something. "I brought something for you too."

"What?" He nodded, before pulling a small bouquet of crocus flowers and daisies. "What are these for?"

"For you," Hermes smiled, slinging the satchel over his shoulder as he started to eat another muffin. "I thought of you when I saw them, so I decided to bring them for you."

"No one's done that for me before."

"Then I'm glad that I'm the first."

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

Sorry, this chapter was too cute not to post and I really love it. Basically, Delia' is way too sweet and Hermes' love language is bringing her flowers - I have a headcanon that he knows a lot about flower symbolism, so you are now able to analyse the bouquets he brings her to your hearts content. Also, Leto ships the two of them so much and I love Delia and her relationship almost as much as I love her and Hermes.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx