𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐧 ─── starry skies

𝕭ut only one would have her heart...

Hermes followed Delia around as she began to do her rounds for the evening. It had been nearly a week since Hermes had turned up on the beach around Delos, and he'd been staying with her ever since, not daring to go back to Olympus, fearing for his father's reaction. The bruises on his face and body had healed up nicely, due to the guardian's constant attention, and her home brewed remedies.

Leto and her were still not truly talking, but Hermes had said nothing on the topic, not wanting to get in between a pregnant, and distraught, Titan, and an angry guardian, though he would always side with Delia. 

Looking at his pinky finger, Hermes felt Delia grab onto his as they continued to walk. A smile started to form on his face, as he blushed beneath his tan.

"So, where are we now?" Hermes questioned, to get his mind off her hand in his. Delia hummed, twirling her staff around her hand with a smile. 

"Apple groves," Hermes licked his lips as he thought of the apple muffins that Delia had made him near to three weeks ago. "When I first got here, I planted all of these from seeds that Amphrite bought me, that had washed into the sea. At first they refused to grow, but with a little nurturing, they did."

"All I can think of are those muffins," He replied, as Delia chuckled and threaded the remainder of her fingers through his. "They were so tasty, and I ate them all by myself."

"I shall make you some more of them," Delia promised, looking over the side of the cliff as she spoke. "I will even let you lick the bowl."

Hermes began to vibrate with excitement, his wings fluttering as he hovered over the ground. Delia laughed, watching the god blush bright red as he set back down.

"Sorry."

"No, it is sweet." He blushed bright red at her words once more. "It is also adorable that your wings flutter with your mood."

"They do not do it for anyone else," Hermes admitted, as they continued to walk towards the Yew Grove. "Just for you."

"Really?" He nodded, smiling down at her, as he resisted the urge to wrap an arm around her waist. It was just something about seeing Delia in the starry light, her eyes glimmering like the galaxies above her, with the sea breeze around them. He just wanted to hold her close to him and never let her go. "Then I feel honoured."

"They like you," She chuckled, as they reached the Yew Grove. "So, the story behind this Yew Grove?"

"The oldest tree came from the temple, and slowly it grew into a grove of trees," Delia explained, coming to a stop in front of Hermes with a smile. "That is why this is my favorite place, because I brought a piece of home with me."

"I see," He hummed, before magicking a bouquet of crocus flowers, tulips and daisies from behind his back to hand to her. "For the lady."

Delia smiled, bringing it to her face so that she could smell the flowers, admiring them in the soft light around them.

"You know, Hermes," He glanced up at her words. "You are not that subtle when it comes to saying things."

"What?" Delia turned around as she walked through the grove, holding the flowers up with a grin, as Hermes flushed bright red once more, hurrying after her. "Oh."

"Red tulips are said to mean perfect love," Hermes continued to grow more and more red, trying to stutter out an explanation as Delia smiled to herself. "Daisies mean innocence and new beginnings, and Crocus flowers represent you, as well as joy and cheerfulness."

"Look...I am so..." He trailed off as she came to a stop in front of him, spinning around so that he was looking down at her face.

"You could have told me." Hermes licked his lips, gnawing on them as he looked down at her.

"I was going to," He murmured, gulping at how close Delia was to him, so close that he could see the faint glimmer of ethereal gold in her eyes. "After we came back from the temple, but I lost my nerve and Zeus summoned me. I was going to tell you after that, but then you told me about the unwanted advances that Zeus made and how he claimed to have grown to love you from afar and I did not wish to bring back bad memories, or upset you by saying..."

Delia shook her head, cutting him off.

"You are not Zeus." He looked down, as she placed her hand on his cheek and tilted his head upwards. "You are not that man. I know that you would never hurt me, you are too kind for that, and the issue with Zeus was a long time ago. I have had time to heal and process what happened. I just hold a grudge against him."

"For fair reasoning," Hermes muttered, his eyes darkening as he thought of the man and how he dared a lay a hand on Delia or send monsters after her.

"But I did drop a temple on his head in retaliations, so I am glad that I got a small slice of revenge," Delia replied, a smile forming on both of their faces. "What I am trying to say, Hermes, is that you have grown on me, a lot. The flowers helped."

"Can I...May I kiss you?" He asked, his eyes wide with hope at Delia's words.

"Sure thing, Messeng..." She was cut off before she could finish the sentence, as Hermes grabbed her face in his hands and swooped down to connect their lips. Her gasp was muffled by the feeling of his soft lips on hers, as she reached up to grab his shoulders to prevent her from falling over, dropping the bouquet in the process.

After a minute of kissing in the moonlight, Hermes pulled away, his breathing ragged as he stared down at the small girl beneath him, before cursing as he realized that he was hovering again.

"I need to make an off command for these things," He muttered, as he finally touched down once more and Delia giggled. Looking back at her, he smiled at the sight of the blush that covered her skin, reaching down to wrap their hands together once more. "Do not laugh at me."

"You are adorable," He chuckled, tugging her closer so that she was leaning against his body. "It is the truth."

"I think that I am supposed to be the one showering you in compliments, Delia," She shrugged, before tugging him back down for another kiss. He was more than happy to oblige her wishes, wrapping a strong arm around her waist to pull her even closer, if that was humanely possible.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling of kissing Delia, but if he was to pick a word close enough it would be exhilarating. She was like a galaxy of emotions and feelings and places, all wrapped up into one cosmic being, so kissing her felt like star dust and moon light coursing through his blood. 

Hermes knew one thing in that moment; he would worship the woman in front of him until the day he died.

Hiya,

I would like to say that Hermes and Delia look roughly the same age (18 ish) but Delia is older and Hermes is like 60 ish. Anyhow, have a really cute chapter of Delia and Hermes, who kissed, and this brought me joy in the dark times of essay writing and school work (I hope it did the same to you). The other thing to note is HERMES IS A SIMP. That's the entire book, he's a simp for Delia, from the flowers, to the over excitedness, to the literal worship of her and I love him.

My taste is partners is going to be too high after writing this book.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx