Flowers ❀ A Hadestown AU

❀ Chapter 7 ❀

Eurydice leans back on the shop's door, one foot up against it. She twirls the stem of the red carnation from the other night between her fingers. She decided earlier to just replace the one in the arrangement— something told her to keep this one. Maybe it was the fact that every time she looks at it, she thinks of Orpheus. God, could she be more smitten with him?

Today is a good day for her. She's had a couple new customers, a phone call here and there, and any worries she may have had about going out of business are fading. Now she waits outside, fidgeting with the carnation.

A few minutes pass before she sees somebody else across the street. It's Mr. Hermes, the man who owns the bar. She's met him briefly, but they haven't talked since she and Orpheus became a thing. Are they even a thing, she wonders? The other night seemed to suggest so.

Hermes notices her; he gives her a nod, and then a wave. She slips the flower into her pocket and walks to the edge of the curb.

"How's the business?" he asks when she gets close enough to hear him. He must not think it's going very well, or else she wouldn't be spending her time out on the street, would she?

But she's happy with it. "It's good," she responds with a smile. "I've had a pretty busy morning. Relatively, anyway."

"Ahh, then what are you doing out here?" Hermes wants to know. "Especially in this weather. You do know it's about to rain?"

Eurydice glances up at the sky, which has kept the same dark grey clouds for more than a week now. The rain isn't something she's worried about, though: it's quite the opposite. She waits for any cars to pass and makes her way along the crosswalk until she's face to face with Hermes. "I don't mind," she says finally, reaching into her pocket to feel the slightly wilting petals. "It's nice to get out for a while."

He shrugs and pulls his own jacket tighter around his shoulders. "Well, you be careful. The wind's only going to pick up from here."

"Winter is a good time for business," Eurydice replies coolly. She finds it hard to be anything but optimistic now. A noticeable change for her. She thinks she knows who's causing it, and his face is in the window right now.

Hermes turns to see what she's looking at just in time for Orpheus to come out of the bar. He stops in his tracks and closes the door behind himself. "Eurydice," he says. He sounds surprised— pleasantly, she hopes.

"Orpheus," she greets him.

"You two know each other?" Hermes asks, pointing back and forth between them both. He glances at Orpheus's face and raises his eyebrows. "Ohhh. So this is the girl you've been seeing?"

Eurydice smiles. "You told him about me?"

"Uh... vaguely." Orpheus clears his throat and steps away from the door. He remembers telling Hermes that he had been talking to a woman who worked in the neighbourhood, but nothing further than that.

Hermes nods, looking at them once more before turning to go back inside. Orpheus thinks he sees him wink again, but he isn't sure.

Eurydice reaches up, tracing the seam of his jacket with her finger. "I missed you," she says.

"I missed you too." It's only been, what, two days? He's been thinking a lot. About their relationship, or what might become of it. "We should probably talk," he says suddenly.

She pauses. "Talk about what?"

"What's going on with us. You know, we went out together— and it was great," he adds. "But I think we said something about going on another date, so I wanted to see where... you stood on that."

"Oh," she replies, the corners of her mouth turning upward. "Are you asking me out again?"

His cheeks turn warm, despite the sting from the cold air. "Kind of? I'm just making sure that you're, y'know, cool with how things are going. Why, you were going to ask me out first?"

She laughs and pulls him in gently by the collar of his jacket. "I was thinking about it," she admits. "But if you're cool, I'm cool. I really like you, Orpheus."

"I really like you, too." To say that is an understatement. But there are no words to describe the feeling he gets when he talks to her, so it's best to stick with this.

"So, let's keep this going, then?"

He nods, and she gives him a pleased look. She straightens his collar, but her hand stays at his shoulder. Orpheus catches a glimpse of the shop over her head. "Hey, how's work been? Are things going well over there?"

"Yeah." Her expression changes. "Oh, shit. I forgot about work."

"You... forgot?"

"I have to go back, Orpheus. I'm not supposed to leave for this long." It's hardly been a few minutes, but with business picking up she wants to be as attentive as she can. "I'm so sorry. Can we talk later?"

He nods, taking her card from his pocket and waving it. "I know who to call."

She heads back to her shop, and only once she steps in the door does she realize that she missed out on giving him a kiss goodbye. They were so close, too. Still, there will likely be more, and the thought makes her smile.

Hades wakes up later than Persephone does, and he has to remind himself that her pregnancy has a different schedule in mind than she usually follows. It's still hard for him to get used to the idea of her being pregnant, with his child— and so far along already.

It's not that he isn't happy. He really is. But he can't help thinking that he's just not ready. He knows it was hard for her to tell him earlier, and he didn't make it any easier, of course he knows that, but. If she had managed to tell him before he got back, he wouldn't have made so many arrangements that he would then have to go back on.

And what's a man his age doing having a baby, anyway? A man in his position? He was climbing the ladder at a big corporate job, and now that he's put New York on hold, what else does his career have going for it?

He doesn't bring any of this up to Persephone. She's nearly in her third trimester already, and is overcome with stress and exhaustion. Neither one of them should have to be a burden. He wants them to work together. To communicate.

They've been doing better. He's more involved in the pregnancy, and in turn, she promises that she won't let their growing family stand in the way of his job. Of course, he tells her that he doesn't care about the job. That all he's focused on right now is her. And he wants it to be the truth. He really does.

Even with the questions around his career, he knows he's staying no matter what. She needs him, and he doesn't want to let her down again.