Reversal [by TheSuperSass]

Chapter 13

Hades didn't know how much time had passed while she sat broken on the floor of her bedroom, trying to come to terms with unimaginable reality thrust upon her. It could have been minutes or hours, but she was lost in her own mind. She could hear Persephone fidgeting in the hallway outside, waiting for her to come out. She was torn between wanting him to come in -- after all, until today it was his bedroom too -- and not wanting him to see her like this.

She teetered on the same indecision about leaving the room. She hated that she was wasting her last chance to see him, that he was standing and waiting alone, but seeing him would not change Zeus' decision. Perhaps it was time to come to terms with this and move on instead of wallowing in it. For a while it was so quiet she thought he had gone until she heard a soft knock on the door.

"Hades?" Persephone tried again, softly. "Hermes is here now... to take me back..." The queen pulled herself to her feet in a panic. She was out of time for decisions.

"Don't you want to say goodbye to me?" he asked through the door. His voice was so expectant, she willed herself to take a deep breath and collect herself enough to say goodbye, for him.

He startled when the door finally opened. Hades stood tall, shoulders back, chin up, regal as always. Her face was completely solemn and calm, but her eyes were red. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. There was no way to put into one sentence what she felt, what he meant to her, what this separation would be like. Not knowing what to say either, he threw his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

Hades clung back to him. There were so many things she would miss about him, but high on the list was his embrace. She wasn't a physically affectionate woman, but his arms around her were warm, strong, and tight without losing its tenderness. It made her feel safe, comforted, and wanted. They were things she didn't think she would want or need from anyone and now they were being taken from her.

"I'll miss you," he mumbled into her hair, his check pressed into the side of her head. She opened up her mouth again and tried not to choke on the words.

"I'll miss you too, Sunflower," she whispered, afraid her voice would break if she was any louder.

He pulled away a little to look at her. "Do you think I'll get to see you again?" he asked, his voice shaky with hesitation.

"I doubt it," Hades admitted bitterly, looking down.

She had underestimated Demeter, they all had. She had tried to ignore it, but thinking back, hundreds if not thousands of mortals' lives had come into her realm with an early end because of her. She had bent the will of the rulers of the cosmos, and she seriously doubted Demeter would allow either of them to see each other again once she finally got him back. In a way, she fully understood; a plethora of much worse courses of action raced through Hades' head when she was told he must leave.

Hades looked back up at Persephone's blue eyes on her and regretted it; he looked genuinely devastated at her answer. If he had rejected her and left, she would have eventually come to terms with his choice. But now he seemed to want to be with her as much as she did, making this split even worse. Not only would she suffer knowing what could have been, but he would suffer too.

"I'm sorry," she offered weakly, knowing there was nothing words would salvage now. "I did everything I could."

"Is there anything I can do?" he offered.

She appreciated the sincerity, but she ruled a third of the cosmos and couldn't stop this. She had briefly considered war with her own sister to keep him and even had the means to fight. Even she knew that would fail. She was shaking her head, smoothing her hands down the side of his tunic when her fingers slowed and stopped. It was missing, what she had given him to remember her by.