Reversal [by TheSuperSass]

Chapter 14

Hermes prided herself on being one of the few gods who was unafraid of Hades. Making frequent visits to deliver souls, she had long gotten over the uneasiness most people had of the Underworld. She and Hades had a mostly silent understanding of each other; they crossed paths by necessity and then went on their ways. She had given up trying to explain it to others, but Hades was generally calm, direct, and kept to herself. People hardly believed her, too daunted by the stories of the Underworld queen, who ruled without mercy, whose wrath was legendary.

Despite her familiarity with Hades, Hermes felt like an intruding stranger returning to the Underworld on Zeus' order, nerves making her jittery. Before, she was doing her part in the life cycle of souls, something Hades respected and appreciated. Now she was tasked with taking her young husband from her against her will. Internally she cursed Zeus for not handling it herself.

To Hermes' surprise, Hades seemed relatively untroubled at her arrival, Persephone by her side. If Hades' demeanor was surprising, the behavior between the couple was downright shocking. Like everyone else, Hermes had heard about how Hades ripped Persephone away from the sunlit world. Looking at them now, she could have just as easily guessed that Persephone had convinced Hades to run away with him. Every move Hades made was small, but she hung on every word he said. She looked unhappy to see him go, but let him go nonetheless. Her embrace on him lingered, and to add further to Hermes' shock, Persephone looked genuinely sad to part with her. The messenger goddess hardly believed her own eyes when he took her face in his hands and kissed her.

Persephone was the kindest god she knew and had a tendency to be more sensitive than the overcompensating masculinity that ran rampant on Mt. Olympus. She'd had a crush on him for years, finding any excuse to deliver a message to him and navigate her way around Demeter's discouragement. Yet the same man she'd seen tear up over a dead bird not a month ago stepped up to the feared Queen of the Dead without pause and put his hands on her body like she was his.

Their journey back above was an awkward one. Hermes had a million questions she wanted to ask but didn't dare try. Persephone was unusually quiet, unsure how he felt or how he was about to feel. He didn't want to leave Hades, but after the Asphodel Meadow she seemed to have somehow come to terms with it. He wasn't sure if he was more upset to leave or happy to return. They had never discussed it, but one of his greatest fears in accepting the role of king was to be parted from his domain of flowers forever. He was excited to be back, but at what cost would it come?

As he finally made his return above, he squinted, blinded by the sun. He expected to feel its warmth on his skin, but instead he shivered with cold. When his eyes finally adjusted, he saw what his time in the Underworld had cost. Demeter cried out, a sound that was strangled between joy and relief, and before he could respond she had her arms so tightly around him he could hardly breathe. Weeks worth of guilt crashed over him at the sight of his haggard mother sobbing into his shoulder. He squeezed her back, saying nothing, feeling the Earth warm beneath them, the freeze of her despair thawing.

For days, Persephone hardly spoke. It was the longest the mother and son had ever been apart, and they were hardly willing to fill each other in on what had happened in each other's absence. Persephone was shocked to see how thoroughly his mother had neglected the Earth. Seeing a higher influx of the dead may have been something Hades understood the significance of, but the Earth's devastation was something Persephone felt in his core. It would take them months to recover what was lost.

Meanwhile, Demeter wondered if the son who had left would ever come back. Although he could be shy around others, Persephone normally chattered away around her. She found herself in the unusual situation of filling the silence instead, trying to keep themselves busy to avoid the weight of the last three weeks from bearing down on them. It frightened her to see him this way: pale, quiet, distant. It tore at her to think things had been done to him that she couldn't undo, but she pushed those thoughts away whenever they crawled into the back of her mind. He was back where he belonged, and that was all that mattered.