TWO
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Walking out of the cave was a strange experience, almost as if they were leaving the bubble they'd found themselves in and re-entering the real world. Neither of them spoke for a long time, just enjoying the other's company.
At some point during their walk, Hades' hand had found itself on the small of Mal's back. Initially, it had been placed there to direct her in a different direction when she'd almost taken the wrong tunnel, but he'd never removed it after this and Mal hadn't seemed to notice or care enough to mention it.
Occasionally, Mal would have to remind herself that this wasn't actually real. Yes, it was happening and yes, it was reality, but it wasn't real. Despite everything that had happened since Mal had once again stepped foot on the Isle, despite the concerned eyes and comforting arms she'd been welcomed with, it wasn't Hades; it wasn't her father. Not the one she knew- or rather didn't know.
Hades wasn't, and had never pretended to be, a good parent. He'd never done a thing for her which didn't benefit himself or have some other ulterior motive. He'd left Mal to make her strong- or to make himself less weak. He'd spent years keeping an eye on here, asking whoever he could how she was because he wanted to make sure she was okay- or because he didn't want her causing trouble leading back to him. He'd given her the ember to help his daughter- or to stop the world, his world, from ending. He'd comforted her in an attempt to make her feel better- or to stop her from blubbering so he could catch up on his beauty rest. He'd never deny that his motives to help were un-pure. It's not like he was trying to make up for all the years he'd lost. He wasn't trying to make things right with Mal. That's what he told himself anyway.
As they reached the gate that separated their private bubble from reality, Mal let out a soft sigh. After stepping through this gate, not only would she have the future of Auradon once again resting on her shoulders, but she'd lose this. Back to reality meant back to pretending Hades wasn't her father, pretending she hadn't been abandoned, maybe even pretending what everyone else believed to be true: that her father was dead. Anything to stop herself from thinking she just wasn't good enough, that she didn't deserve a loving father.
Honestly, the time she'd been able to spend with Hades had been more than she'd hoped she'd get. But a selfish part of her wanted more. She'd managed to live her life without a father up until now, but it seemed so much harder to step away when she'd caught a glimpse of what they could have- who Hades could be.
So, as she pushed open the gates, which groaned with lack of use, she took a deep breath, schooled her emotions, and stepped away from the warmth of the hand on her back. "I understand that reclusement is kind of your thing, so you might not be familiar with this," Mal said with a wry grin as she motioned around herself, the humoured light not quite reaching her eyes. "This is called fresh air."
Mal took a deep breath to exaggerate her point and let out a satisfied moan. "See, if you breathe deeply enough you almost can't make out of the scent of sewage and dirt."
Hades offered an incredulous smile, wondering how someone who was clearly in as much pain as Mal was, was able to put on a brave face and make a joke. Pride flooded through him, warming him from the inside out. He masked the smile within a second of it appearing on his face with a low groan and a "Don't be a smartass." The slight twinkle in Mal's eyes was the only sign that the smile had ever even happened.
"My father's Hades, what do you expect?" Smirking, she gracefully swung her leg over the bike she'd borrowed earlier, glad no one had been stupid enough to steal it this time. She didn't feel like swimming back to Auradon when she left the Isle.
She glanced over her shoulder, quirking her head towards the back of the bike, already expecting the reaction she was about to receive. "Hop on then," She grinned, knowing full-well Hades wasn't the type to ride on the back of a motorbike, that he'd likely take offence at the suggestion. But hey, she'd been raised a villain, teasing was in her blood.
Mal was far from disappointed when any trace of humour vanished from Hades' eyes- eyes which within seconds had turned icy and sunken below his furrowed brow. He let out a small scoffed "no", crossing his arms over his chest, and leaning back against the gate. Mal had to hold back a chuckle as the picture before her blurred with a child throwing a tantrum. The two almost indistinguishable. She raised an eyebrow expectantly.
"Go ahead, take as long as you need," Mal said with a sweet smile. "It's not like it's the end of the world." Her smile fell and she brought her eyes up to lock onto Hades' as she added, "oh wait, it is."
Hades glared as he pushed himself away from the metal and slowly walked towards Mal. Perhaps stalked was a more suitable word as the look in the man's eyes was nothing short of predatory. If looks could kill, Mal was sure she'd be six feet under. He moved around to the front of the bike, arms resting against the frame as he bent to be level with his daughter. Blue eyes met green as a low growl slipped past Hades' lips.
"Back of the bike," he said lowly, gaze unblinking. And so they stared, for what felt like an eternity or perhaps only a few moments, neither was sure. Mal was stubborn, but it was no secret that Hades was too. People had said she could outlive God trying to get her way. Of course, she'd never actually been trying to get her way with an actual god before.
Eventually, Mal's mouth fell open, argument poised on the tip of her tongue. But she didn't speak. She swallowed the words when she saw the slight twitch of her father's left eye knew she had to be the one of back down. They'd already spent too long staring one another down and time was already sparse. With every second Mal spent here, Audrey's power grew and Mal's chances of victory diminished.
So, with more grumbling than strictly necessary, and a pout that was borderline comical, Mal pushed herself backwards, making space for Hades to sit in front of her. Despite the rules she'd learned to follow in Auradon, doing something she was told to when she didn't want to do it, was still as irritating as before she'd left the Isle.
Hades didn't move for a second, waiting for Mal to snap her irritated eyes back up to his before he straightened up. It was nice to see that despite all these years, he could still be the annoying parent.
"Good girl," He winked, taking a step forward before throwing his leg over the bike, mimicking the grace Mal had demonstrated before.
A small shiver passed through Mal as the tips of her ears tinted pink. She was unused to praise from her father and she knew her reaction had been because of this. The twinge in her stomach that told her differently was pushed aside, bigger things to currently worry about. She let out another irritated sound, once again biting her tongue to hold back the smart remark she so desperately wanted to offer.
Hades' eyes flicked to the bike's mirror, glancing back at the clearly exasperated Mal behind him and couldn't help but poke her more. "Grab on then, I thought you had a kingdom to save," He said, relishing in the way the deep red flooded Mal's face before she finally grabbed his sides and he drove off.
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The ride to the edge of the barrier seemed both eternal and fleeting. In a sense, Mal knew that time was not on her side and the sooner she returned to Auradon, the more likely she would be able to stop Audrey's magic. In another, she was aware that the second she stepped off the Isle, everyone was relying on her.
The burden sat heavy on her shoulders, weighing her down mentally and physically, and she slumped forward slightly, head resting on the worn leather covering Hades' back. She managed to push aside the sinking feeling in her stomach, focussing on how she was going to stop Audrey, not on the fact that this was one of the last times she'd likely see her father; at least the last time they'd both act this way with one another.
As the bike pulled to a stop a few metres from the barrier, she took a deep breath. Had Mal not spent the best part of her life trying to break through the barrier, she could almost pretend it wasn't there. Other than the slight shimmer of gold, there was very little physical evidence that the barrier even existed- perhaps it was to give the illusion of freedom, the heroes who put it there not wanting to be too cruel. She almost let out a bitter laugh at the idea, recent events had proved just how similar so-called villains and heroes actually were.
Letting her arms fall from where she gripped Hades' sides and lifting her head up slowly, Mal let out a sigh.
"You know you can't come with me?" She spoke, the words sounding more like a question than the statement they were supposed to be. She hoped he could hear the apology concealed within her words, knowing she couldn't take him with her, and being happy about that were two different things.
Hades had been right the first time she'd visited, Mal may have his blood but the ember wouldn't work for her like it would for him. She could try, but there was a chance it wouldn't work, a chance that wouldn't be an issue if he was the one to use the ember. But, despite wanting to, Mal couldn't trust him, not with this, not with going to Auradon.
"Course not," Hades replied, fists which held onto the bike's handles tightening slightly. He'd had no desire to leave the Isle for years now, accepting that it was now his home. But he couldn't stop the wave of disappointment than ran through him. He'd managed to momentarily forget who he was: forget that he was the god of the underworld, forget that he was a villain, he'd even managed to forget that he was a lousy father. And it was because of Mal.
The irony wasn't lost on him. The reason why he'd left her in the first place, to avoid becoming soft or too attached, was the exact reason why he didn't want her to leave now. Mal had already started to melt his heart and as much as it terrified him, he didn't want her to stop. Despite this revelation, he couldn't let Mal know. The instinct to protect himself overriding his need to open himself up.
"Besides, what would I have in Auradon? I'm sure there aren't nearly enough shadows to slink around in," he said, grinning at Mal when he caught her eye in the mirror. Practised indifference keeping his desire to leave with her out of his eyes.
Mal forced a small laugh, managing to swallow the "you'd have me," that danced on the tip of her tongue. There was no point wishing for something that was so impossible, she knew that. Of course, that didn't mean the thought would disappear.
She reached into her pocket for the switch that would open the barrier, hesitating for only a moment as she glanced around to ensure they weren't being followed before she pressed it.
The invisible wall shimmered brightly as it opened, and Mal was momentarily taken back to the first time she'd left the Isle, excited yet quietly terrified of what was to come. Turns out she'd had a right to be scared: saving a sleeping Auradon half turned to stone wasn't exactly in the Auradon Prep brochure. A small jolt as the bike's engine kicking back in shook her out of her memory as Mal and Hades rode to the edge of the broken bridge, the barrier snapping closed behind them.
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Mal's eyes followed Hades for a short while, the man simply standing by the edge and looking out over the water into the dark. The bright lights that usually illuminated Auradon had gone out, no doubt courtesy of Audrey, but the faint shine of moon-bleached stones on the shore still managed to glow as the water's ripples lit up with bands of silver moonlight.
Had Mal been just another girl from Auradon, his reaction, his fascination, may have confused her. But Mal understood.
On the Isle, beauty was rare. Clouds hung heavy above it, blocking sun and moon alike. It had taken Mal more time than she cared admit to become used to moonlight streaming through her curtains as she fell asleep or to remember to use sun cream – her pale skin not taking well to sunlight. The point was that people who lived on the Isle, even those who'd not been there their entire lives, always seemed to hold the same wonder in their eyes when they passed the barrier.
And try as she might, Mal wasn't able to stop the sinking feeling from settling in her gut that she was going to be the one to put Hades back, to take it all away from him again. That was why she simply watched, allowing him a few moments to really see the world before returning to the shadows.
A short while passed like this, Hades watching the water and Mal watching him, knowing this was likely the last time she could for a while, before he turned towards her. His expression was carefully schooled, as his head tilted slightly to the side looking at Mal.
"I'm gonna need that ember now. Unless the whole 'help me relight the ember' thing was just a way to get me off the Isle," He grinned, mimicking Mal's voice, ensuring he sounded overly whiny as he did so.
"I do not sound like that," Mal snapped incredulously, though even she couldn't deny that the pitch of her voice didn't rise significantly with her response. Her cheeks to flared red as she narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her, more annoyed with the fact she'd just proven that his impression was fairly accurate than the impression itself.
"Course not sweet pea," Hades winked, palm outstretched as he expectantly waited for the ember.
"You're an ass," Mal huffed, shoving the ember into his hand before crossing her arms over her chest and pouting in a way that looked nothing short of an irritated child. Despite her mild annoyance, she couldn't completely ignore the butterflies that came from hearing the nickname again.
Hades' responding laughter only made Mal huff again, though she had to bite down on her lip to stop herself from smiling fondly up at him. She watched as he slowly ran his thumb across the blue stone, almost as if reacquainting himself with the ember, before he tossed it into the air.
Mal's eyes widened, fixed on the ember as it burst to light above them, before landing easily back in Hades' open palm. She blinked once, twice, before her gaze moved back up towards eyes that were brighter than they'd been seconds before, almost glowing.
"Hey, I guess I've still got it," Hades smirked, rolling his shoulders and letting out a sated groan as his hair came alight. Mal couldn't help but stare at the man, the god, before her. Despite when her father had attempted to escape the Isle, she'd never seen him like this, eyes burning blue, hair on fire. It was no surprise people found him intimidating, Mal was captivated.
"Yeah," She said through a breathy laugh, "I guess you do." Even as she spoke, Mal kept her eyes locked on Hades, transfixed. It was as if she was seeing him for the first time, and in a way, she was. Mal knew how magic felt, it was a part of her in a way she couldn't describe. The first time she'd returned to the Isle, she'd felt as if something was missing; it'd taken a while to realise what it was- magic. Since then she hadn't spent longer than a day there and whenever she returned to Auradon she'd feel her magic return and find herself complete again.
This was Hades becoming complete again.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Hades' words snapped her out of her thoughts as she physically startled, too distracted to think up a witty comeback, instead mumbling a quiet "sorry" as colour inched up her neck. He shook his head slightly with a smile, mentally noting he liked being the one to put the rosy colour on Mal's cheeks.
"First order of business," He said, gently taking hold of Mal's injured wrist, wrapping his hands around it. "Can't have the saviour of the world walking around with a broken wrist."
A warm feeling crept up her arm as the dull ache she'd managed to forget was there slowly dissipated. A similar warmth flooded her chest, one magic wasn't responsible for, as she saw the concern in Hades' eyes. She'd spent a lifetime thinking he hadn't cared for her, and the revelation that he did, even in the slightest, was more than welcome. "Thanks," she smiled.
"It's ironic isn't it," Hades laughed dryly, "the villains stopping the heroes from destroying the world- the world they locked us away from." For a second, Mal saw hurt flash through his eyes, rather than the anger she'd been expecting. It was the same look the kids on the Isle had before they'd announced VK day. It was the look she expected she'd see when the announcement was made that the programme was to be shut down. Mal swallowed thickly as she remembered the disappointment in Evie's eyes and betrayal in Uma's.
"That's not to say we didn't deserve it. I'm evil after all," Hades added with a wicked grin which didn't reach his eyes when he saw Mal's crestfallen look. Her eyes snapped up to meet his, frowning.
"No, you're not," Mal said, her tone leaving no room for argument. Hades was taken aback by the certainty she spoke with, surprised with how sure she seemed to be with her judgement of him. His argument was cut off as her eyes narrowed at him, almost daring him to contradict her. The fire behind her eyes reminded him more of himself than he'd care to admit.
"Perhaps not tonight," He finally replied with a smile, one that was meant to carefully conceal his true emotions. Mal could still see them though, she found it strangely easy to read his eyes: desire to be better, hope things could change, quiet delight that someone didn't look at him as a monster. But most of all, Mal saw the way he looked at her. Hades looked at Mal as she did he- longingly.
Practically strangers, realistically that was all they were. But they were undeniably similar, in a way that made Mal feel like she knew him, really knew him. The notion itself was terrifying, ridiculous and absurd, but it made her smile. A sad smile, a knowing smile, the smile of knowing something good was about to end.
"Here," Hades said, offering the ember to her with a smile which mirrored Mal's. As her fingers wrapped around it, brushing faintly against Hades', sparks burst, bright and blue. Magic. Mal glanced back up, eyes landing on Hades' hair as the blue flames died out.
"Maybe one day I'll teach you how," Hades said, reaching out to wrap a strand of purple hair around a finger, watching as it slipped through his grasp, before tucking it behind Mal's ear. The words and action seeming to surprise Hades almost as much as they did Mal, though he made no attempt to retract the offer as he slowly drew back his hand.
"I have to go," She spoke after a moment. The sad smile returned, painted across her face, eyes glassy, voice soft. After a clear moment of hesitation which flickered through electric eyes like lightning, she felt arms wrap tightly around her and a faint, "It'll be okay," whispered into her hair.
In Hades' arms was soon becoming one of her favourite places to be, body melting against worn leather. His arms made the night warmer somehow, seemingly making her chances of winning, saving the people she was to rule over, a little less impossible, the future less bleak.
Safe. Warm. Secure. In Hades' arms, Mal felt them all. Perhaps most startlingly, she felt an overwhelming sense of home.
And it was this, the lingering warmth of arms wrapped tightly around her and soft lips brushing the top of her head, that played through her mind as she rode back to Auradon, a silent tear slipping down her cheek.