A little fluff for my loyal readers! This is the calm before the storm people!

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Hades

My knuckles brush her skin as I button up her shirt.

It is not accidental, and as I glance at her unusually calm expression, I'm pleased to find her eyes placed fixedly on me, her breaths coming out slightly irregular from our previous exercise. Her cheeks are flushed, her lips reddened and swollen, and the skin of her abdomen is still hot to the touch. The look is quite becoming on her, it seems our blundering impatience left behind a few lovely traces on her body.

I feel a small, tentative smile play on the corners of my mouth, and I lean down to place my lips on hers. She sighs, happily returning my kiss.

Images of her writhing and gasping beneath me flash by in my mind-- wandering hands, quick, hot breaths, her smooth throat exposed, and my mouth exploring any part of her I could find. The thoughts leave my fingers to fasten her robe with less precision, making them move of their own accord as they loiter the contours of her breasts for longer than necessary. She pries my hands away, making me chuckle.

She finishes the task I began, buttoning her garment closed and barring me any access to her bare figure. Not less than a minute ago, my lips had been praising the skin on her neck and chest, planting various sets of caresses all along her breasts.

Her hands move to my own attire, fingers flitting up and down my torso to lace up the strands of my tunic. We're silent as we clothe me, her aiding me with my upper garments --cloak included-- and me buckling on my trousers, sliding my belt on as I regard her with appreciative eyes.

Her robe reaches a place above her mid thigh. Its flimsy material does not leave much to the imagination, and it falls aimlessly atop her well-proportioned angles, beckoning my gaze to remain transfixed on the smallest of her movements.

She reaches up to kiss me again when she ties the tunic at my neck. Grazing her fingers lightly on my throat, she lays her head atop my chest, letting her breathing fall in time with the inhale and exhale of my own.

My arms instinctively encircle her waist, fingertips playing with the hem of her loose-fitting robes, teasing the warm skin of her upper thighs. She reaches to interlace our hands, closing her eyes and snuggling her face into the curve of my neck, a saccharine contrast to the needy frenzy of our earlier embraces.

I bring one of her hands to my lips, still in disbelief of our reunion. I'd thought her dead, working myself to exhaustion in hopes of being the one to judge her soul. But almost an entire year passed by, and no sign of my lover appeared-- not a clue, not a hair, not even a single remaining particle of carbon.

I thought perhaps seeing her shade would soothe my anguish-- to know she was not wandering the banks of the Acheron in eternal hysteria. But after six moons passed, I lost the minuscule ounce of optimism I had left.

I reasoned with myself not to neglect my duties as king to mourn her loss. She'd been born mortal, if she rejected my offer to live alongside me, I could forget about a future with her. She would not live long enough to someday marry me and rule the realm at my side.

Yet the Fates had joined us, and there was a hollow emptiness in my core upon her death. There still remained the irrationality and folly of a lover in my mind, hoping that against all odds she had somehow managed to survive.

I kiss her hand, moving my lips to her palm.

But the Fates have been kind to us, bestowing us with the gift they most seldom offer. A second chance. They have finally smiled on me, and I do not intend to let the opportunity go to waste. I bring my lips down to hers, pecking her to pick up her sweet taste. She smiles at my caress, prompting me to set another kiss on her rosy mouth, and she smiles again. The sight is lovely, making my own lips twitch upward as I plant kiss after kiss all over her face, pleased to see the warmth tinging her normally sharp gaze.

My love is blissfully happy, and I wish to continue seeing her this way.

"Stay," I voice lowly, fixing my gaze on my lover's face. She looks up beneath long lashes, resting a flushed cheek on my rapidly beating chest. She furrows her brows, pulling away in surprise, leaving me to instantly miss her embrace.

"What?"

I nod, reaching for both her hands and giving them firm kisses.

"Stay, my love. Why would you return to Earth? I would miss you, and the Underworld would feel your absence. If you stay with me, I will give you anything you wish for! All the wealth and precious stones which exist on earth and beneath its foundations will belong to you, and I will shower you with all kinds of lavish gifts if that is what you so wish! But please my love, do not leave me."

I kiss her hands again, this time pressing my lips to each of her fingers as I wait for her answer. She frowns after several seconds, retracting her hand from my hold. The small gesture pains me, knocking the air out from my lungs because I anticipate what her answer is.

"No, Hades," she says, looking down, "I could never stay. I don't love you."

I swallow back a dull agony at her response, feeling bitterness resurface as it has always done. I press my lips together in painful, aggrieving acceptance, stepping away from her. It is as if something in my breastbone is being twisted and suffocated, depriving me of coherence, reminding me that loneliness is --and always be-- my only companion.

I nod angrily, feeling foolish. Turning, I walk to the door of my study, leaving to save the last fraction of my dignity. But just then, Samantha extends a hand to my wrist, stopping me. She pulls me into her embrace abruptly, angling up her head to kiss me with a wide grin.

"I'm just kidding," she laughs, throwing her arms around my neck. I frown, feeling her lips press down on mine giddily, pecking my face all over.

"How amusing," I mutter flatly, making no moves to return her kisses. She smiles at my resistance, drifting her arms below my shoulders to envelop my torso, giddily placing caresses down my neck.

"You're so cute."

She props her chin on my chest, eyes boring longing holes into my face, making my fingers wander to the exposed skin of her upper thighs. She puckers her lips, going on her tiptoes to kiss me, but I tilt up my head to prevent her from doing so. This makes her frown.

"Hey! Give me a kiss," she protests, pouting when I evade a second attempt. She reaches for my jaw with an index, lowering my mouth to hers, but I step back as soon as she leans forward.

"Hades! Stop that! Gimme a kiss!"

"Jests are not quite as fun as when one delivers them."

Samantha frowns when I do not kiss her, deciding instead to walk past her to the chair behind my desk. She turns around, appalled, and juts out her lower lip sullenly.

"I'm not getting a kiss?"

"No."

I search the contents of my cases, observing her out the corner of my eye as she strides behind me, perching herself on the edge of my desk. She pokes my sides as I lean over the table to grab the packets, whispering "hey, gimme a kiss" over and over again until I pay her attention.

I pretend to ignore her, looking over randomly chosen documents to busy myself while I evade her antics. Upon receiving no response from me, she wiggles closer to my chair, settling down directly in front of my line of sight before starting again.

"Gimme a kiss. Gimme a kiss. Gimme a kiss. Hades! Gimme a kiss!"

I sigh, setting down my packets to look at her.

"If I kiss you, will you quit pestering me?" I ask, raising a brow. She frowns, and her lower lip begins to quiver as her eyes become glazed over with unshed tears, making me press my own lips tightly together. I think I just made her cry.

"I'm pestering you? I'm not back an entire day yet and already you're being an asshole?" she whines, glaring at me before turning away. Bringing a hand to her face, she wipes away at her cheek, refusing to look me in the eye. 

I bring a hand to my temple.

"What are you going to say after you spend five years with me? Are you going to wake up one day and just not love me anymore?"

She sniffles, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. I sigh, standing up and walking to her, enveloping her in an embrace while stroking and kissing her hair.

"No my love, of course not. I was merely jesting."

I tilt her chin up, pressing my lips to hers gingerly as she's been asking-- hoping it will be enough to assuage her imminent cries. A wide grin suddenly erupts beneath my kisses.

"And the Oscar goes to.... me!" she squeals, throwing her arms around my neck. She pecks my lips contentedly, planting kisses intermittently on my cheeks, jaws, and eyelids, stopping only to see the expressions of my face. It is only a matter of time until I too, begin to return her eager kisses, grinning because she seems to crave mine in copious amounts.

I bring my hands to her face, feeling the tip of my nose brushing her cheek as I bring her lips to mine, relishing the feel of their rosy plushness. She pulls me closer, caressing my jaws with her thumbs before moving them into my hair, tugging and twirling my strands in between her fingers.

"I'm not leaving you," she whispers, breaking our kiss to pin me with a loving gaze. I tuck some strands of her hair behind her ear, returning her affectionate regard with a tentative smile.

"You will stay with me, then?"

I stare at her intently, waiting for her to say "I'm just kidding" any second now. But instead of confirming she is toying with me, she reaches for one of my hands, kissing my palm and then each of my fingers-- just as I had done moments earlier.

"I don't know what I'd been thinking the day I died," she says, sighing, "But even then I knew I didn't want to leave you. It just felt scary to know I was leaving everything behind-- shitty or not."

"And now?"

Samantha smiles lightly and leans forward to kiss me, hand still clasping my own as she braids her other hand into my curls. She pulls away with a wistful gleam in her eyes.

"It's still scary, but being in Tartarus kind of put things in perspective. I still need to return to the surface to tie a few loose ends, but I wouldn't stay there permanently."

I frown. She was in Tartarus? Was she being tortured? I part my lips to ask her, but she is not finished speaking.

"I'd miss you too much to stay. The Fates united our threads, and I don't think I could live without you after that."

I lift up her chin with my index finger, searching her eyes for hesitance. I am curious about her stay in the fiery domain, but her latter words perturb me. Does she feel obligated to stay because it is our destiny? She will not be truly happy alongside me if she feels forced to be with me.

"You feel your choice has been taken?" I ask, waiting with bated breath for her answer. She knits her brows, shaking her head.

"No, I know I want to stay with you."

It is my turn to knit my brows, not quite satisfied with her response. I wish to hear the truth from her lips --regardless how painful it may be-- not simply what I desire to hear.

"Truly? You do not feel Fate has stolen your choice? It will pain me to see you leave, but if you wish to ascend, I can not keep you here."

Samantha frowns.

"You don't believe me?"

I press my lips together in despondence.

"You seemed quite confident in leaving me the last time."

She narrows her eyes, twisting her lips into a scowl.

"And you think it was easy? Hades, I had a life up there! People were probably looking for me! They might still be!"

I step away from her embrace, suddenly indignant.

"You resent me for your stay here, then?"

Samantha's lower lip begins to quiver at my distance.

"No, of course not! But I need you to understand that it was a hard choice to make on the spot. I would literally be giving up my life to be with you!"

I take another step back.

"You do resent me."

She shakes her head, reaching out to me.

"No, I don't. But it's scary! There's no guarantee everything will turn out fine. Sure, you're happy now-- but a few more years down the line how are you going to feel about me? What if you wake up one day and realize you just don't want to be with me anymore?"

She begins to sniffle, angling away her countenance to prevent me from witnessing her dejection. I am about to say something when she parts her lips to speak, bringing a slender hand to her cheek, seeking to dry her hidden tears.

"You must think I'm pathetic."

I shake my head, moving to breach the distance I created between us, reaching to envelop her hand in my own, contemplating the ugly consequences of a past neither of us can alter. The treatment we have received at the hands of those whom we once held in high regard continues to affect our present, just as well as our perception of the future we only just begin to plan.

It is evident in the dipping of her lips, and the downcast aspect of her lovely irises that she expects me to behave in the manners by which Luke conducted himself, however contrasting we both may be in character. And if my quick judgment to her hesitance in staying attests for itself, then it is quite evident that I too find myself beneath the influence of preconceived notions-- in particular those formed from centuries of abiding alongside my siblings.

"I do not."

Tentatively lifting her gaze to my own, she moves to brush away a tear which has not yet fallen, residing still within the edge of her gloom glazed eyes as her fingertips wish it from existence. For a brief instant, I am allowed a glimpse into the profound ache only her absent, negligent parents could have incited-- of a pain which is only formed by years and years of ill treatment from an ignorant companion, and of continuously seeking out for herself from a tender age.

In this sense, we are not dissimilar. I too understand the pain of lonesomeness and heartache, the struggles of maintaining oneself afloat in absence of others' aid, and the uncertainty of a future apace someone claiming to love you. Albeit in diverse age and circumstance, but we are equal by that measure nevertheless.

Neither was taught the ways of affection or companionship-- we simply learn as Fate and time dictate.

Placing a feathery kiss to her lips, I reach to graze my fingertips along her jawline, proceeding to caressing her temples before beginning to elicit a diffident response from her. I pull away slightly, just enough to peer into her glistening irises.

"Samantha, it is abundantly evident you and I are new to... this. Forgive me for being slow to trust, I was not raised with knowledge of companionship."

Samantha remains still and silent for a moment, making me agonize for her response before she nods imperceptibly, causing a deep exhale to escape me as she intertwines her slender fingers in my hair, and pulls me to her-- sighing softly as she brushes her lips on mine, murmuring against the insistent pressure of my caresses.

"I'm sorry too," she says, bringing a thumb to my cheekbone, "The future is scary."

"Indeed, but should you be willing, I am certain we may craft one without the weight of our misfortune. Would you not say so?"

She nods once more, shifting from her position to embrace me, resting her chin on my shoulder.

"Yes."