Ambrosia (1x1)

« It was a cheap move that we didn’t agree on, but doesn’t matter now. We’re both on the dusty floor and you got your punishment for cheating. » he retorted, laying his head down on the cold stone and letting out a deep, long breath. His heart was now calming down but it was almost impossible to ignore the exhaustion and fatigue in his legs and the soreness radiating from his back and shoulders. Probably not his smartest to run so hard and tackle Persephone like some sort of dog hunting his prey. As long as he could get down the stairs, he’ll be fine.

« Don’t think I broke anything, but this body isn’t getting any younger. » He replied, sitting upright but groaning slightly as a pain shot through his shoulder. Well, that was a bit concerning. Hades elected to ignore it, however. « I’ll be ok, though. » He added. He then noticed the pure dishevelment of her hair, clothes and general appearance. He cracked into a wide grin; she looked like a evil witch, here to come and curse children for doing naughty deeds. Her hair was sticking up and flying in several different directions and had dust in some parts of her hair. The dusty cover certainly didn’t help, as it transferred dust onto her dress and skin.

« You’re not hurt, are you? I did my best to take the brunt of the fall, and I don’t think your mother will let me live if you even got a bruise. » He then asked, voice laced with concern as his smile faded away into a tight lipped look of worry. She looked fine, minus the obvious dishevelment, but he didn’t know for sure. His stomach twisted—did he really manage to hurt Persephone doing something so childish and immature? Especially when the both of them were far from squishier and healthier small little children. He’d hate to have hurt her in the name of good fun.
 
In the time that it took him to respond Persephone managed to sit up and wiggle her way out of the sheet and fix her dress so that it wasn't wrapped around her legs anymore. She ran her hands over the front of it in a futile attempt to dust herself off, the light fabric thankfully deceptive in how much it showed. That sheet must have been there for longer than she had thought to get as covered in dust as it had been.

Persephone's eyebrows furrowed further and she made a worried noise when Hades groaned, noting the way he shifted his weight to the other arm. Though he had said that he was alright she couldn't bring herself to believe him, it had been a hard fall and he'd taken the brunt of it to his back and shoulder. The smile that spread over his features when looked at her made her feel slightly better but not enough to fully let the barely hidden wince slide. It had only been meant to be a silly game, a reliving of the hours she'd spent as a child racing up and down the steps though as then as it was now accidents were always prone to happen.

"Lucky for you I don't bruise easily then." Persephone replied with a laugh as she picked a notably sized dust bunny from her hair, though the concerned expression on his face had her doing a once over of herself anyway to check for scrapes or bruises. "What my mother doesn't know can't hurt her, and this is hardly the worst tumble that I've taken. Besides, I'm fine. I'd say you almost did too good of a job taking that fall." She teased then reached out to gently lay a hand on his shoulder, moving it gently and looking for any sign or scrapes or bruises that would have produced the wince she'd caught earlier. "I'm more worried about you, is your shoulder alright? Your back? The floor is awfully hard."
 
Small puffs of dust flew off of Persephone as she patted away the dust and debris off of the top half of her dress. He felt bad for also getting her quite dirty and dusty, thanks to the sheet trick he executed in haste during the home stretch of their childish race. Though, dust was not as serious as injury; dust could be washed away, but cuts and scrapes and bruises were another thing.

Though Hades was well aware that Persephone heard his groan and the grimace of pain following the shift in position he had done earlier. He hadn’t expect it to feel so painful and sore and couldn’t stop his initial reaction before it was too late. And even if he could hide it, he was sure someone would’ve noticed a reliance on his left arm for practically everything suddenly instead a normal mix of using both. Though, for a brief moment he was glad she didn’t immediately or directly comment on the sound following his shift in position.

He was certainly not expecting her to touch his sore shoulder. He bit the inside of his cheek roughly, nearly drawing blood. He cleared his throat a bit obnoxiously to let out some sort of noise at the touch and disguise any pained noise that could’ve slipped. « Nothing time can’t fix, » He replied, surprised and glad he was able to keep his voice steady and even. « Don’t worry about me, Persephone. »
 
When Hades cleared his throat Persephone pulled her hand back from his shoulder, the noise was a good cover to hide any sort of pained groan but it did little to hide the physical reaction to her probing touch. "I have all rights to worry." She said, her attempts at looking serious ruined somewhat by the dishevelled and dusty state she was in. "This little game was my idea, and as you've said it was my cheap move that brought about your own."

With one last futile attempt to dust herself off Persephone stood, taking a moment to look around the airy tower room. Moth-eaten curtains swayed in the open windows, their colour faded by time and the sun. It wasn't beautiful per say but the time-worn stones and old furniture had a charm to it that you'd be hard pressed to find this well preserved anywhere else. She'd hoped to be able to spend the day here with Hades and continue their talk but if he had taken the fall worse than he was letting on it was more important to make sure he was all patched up. It wasn't like they couldn't come back another time, the tower and the memories it held weren't going anywhere. "Time can often worsen just as much as it fixes. We should get back to the castle and I'll take a look at it for you, even if it is only a bruise it's better to be safe than sorry." Persephone said, bending slightly and offering Hades a hand. "Do you think that you're able to stand?"
 
This kind of sucked. Hades felt bad for purposefully hiding the true extent of his probably-more-serious-than-he-thinks injury, especially because Persephone was legitametly worried about his physical well being. In any other circumstance, he could deal with it on his own and simply suck up to the pain and discomfort that would follow. But that was when he injured himself with no one else as witness, or those who did saw had no personal connection to him. He couldn't keep pretending it was fine like some sort of stubborn child, but he didn't want to inconvience Persephone with some dumb accident he got himself into.

His shoulder throbbed, sore and not really getting any better as time ticked away. It sucked that they had to cut time short here in the tower to go and get himself looked over, but there was always another day. "I think so," He replied, taking her hand with the arm that wasn't hurt in the fall; he took his time getting up to make sure he didn't break a hip like the old man he felt like he was. His legs were still fatigued from running, but it was nothing that simple rest couldn't fix and it wouldn't be a problem. "You're really not going to let me weasle out of treatment, huh?"
 
"Be careful, take your time." Persephone cautioned when Hades took her offered hand, clasping her other around it to help pull him back to his feet and doing her best to make the action smooth as possible. Once he was up and standing she took a step back to look him over for any other signs of scrapes or bruises that he might have been hiding. Finding nothing immediately alarming Persephone offered him her arm for support and started back toward the stairs, it was going to be a slow walk down compared to how quickly they had reached the top of the tower.

"Nope." She replied, the word sounding almost cheery though a concerned look still remained on her face. "Someone needs to make sure that your arm is alright and if you're not going to do it that responsibility falls to me. Zeus is planning another grand banquet and ball for the end of the week - or so I've heard - and it'd be a shame if you were unable to attend because you didn't get treatment for your arm." She wasn't a doctor by any means but she knew enough that if he was hurting this badly it was likely more serious than just a bruise and needed to be tended to sooner than later even if just with a cool compress to help with any swelling. "I know I'd certainly mourn your absence. I'd be left to trail behind my mother and make small talk all night."
 
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Hades held back the urge to comment about how much of an old man he felt; Persephone was walking with him, guiding him down stairs like you’d help an old man cross the street. He tossed those thoughts aside and focused on her words and taking each step slow. His fatigued legs needed the gentle pace.

« I most certainly wouldn’t be opposed to missing a banquet, however— » he paused looking at her. « Wouldn’t do you any good to leave you without good company. I’d feel terrible about leaving you alone, » he continued. He certainly would like to have Persephone by his side at more, if not all occasions, due to the natural chemistry that transpired between them. He’d revert back to a hermit without her.

« Are you dragging me to the infirmary? » He asked after a moment, curious. Not that it really mattered.

As the conversation continued on, and each step down was another step closer to the infirmary, the casual conversations that flowed freely let Hades focus less on the soreness of his leg and the dull pain radiating from his shoulder and more onto the conversation on hand.

It felt like no time when they reached the infirmary. Though, getting assessed and asked questions felt like an eternity. He had to disrobe his top, and be poked and prodded at, flinching and groaning all the while, while also being asked questions of « does it hurt here? » and « how, again, did this happen? » Hades knew the physician was doing her job, but one more poke felt like one more close call to him wanting to just walk out the room and fix his arm himself.

Though, soon enough a medical salve was spread cautiously over the sore and damaged area, and for some odd reason the physican left Persephone to wrap bandages around the area intead of doing it herself. She said some hurried excuse about other patients before she was gone, leaving Hades to get colder and Persephone with the roll of bandages, unraveled and still in her hands.

« Thank goodness it’s over, » He sighed, slouching. The salve was cooling, and almost numbed the pain radiating from the area to an even duller, almost unnoticable throb. It was certainly much better. « Though, suspicious she left in such a hury. »
 
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"I could always sneak away," Persephone suggested with a laugh, more than a little flattered that Hades would attend a banquet for her sake even knowing his opinions regarding them. "After the first hour most people are caught up in drinking or dancing that I wouldn't even be missed. We could go to the kitchens and grab some dessert early, then head out to the gardens maybe? Or we could sit in if your arm is still bothering you. Oh! Or we could go in disguise and walk the town, they string up coloured lanterns after sunset and there's music and carts with all sorts of food!" The longer she spoke the more excited Persephone got, mind leaping from idea to idea quicker than she could put them into words. When she caught up to her thoughts Persephone's smile turned embarrassed at how caught up in her thoughts she'd gotten and she glanced over to Hades. "Or we could not? I wouldn't want to cause you any pain if your shoulder is still bothering you then."

"Unfortunately my medical skills are quite lacking, so yes we're going to the infirmary." Persephone replied, carefully stepping around a crumbling part of the steps on her side of the stair. They were making slow progress down the tower stairs but slow progress was still progress at the end of the day.

Upon reaching the infirmary and being ushered into a room by one of the Physician's many assistants Persephone seated herself on a chair to wait while the woman herself instructed Hades to remove his shirt and began her poking and prodding. She had to stifle a smile when Hades explained an edited version of how he had fallen and injured his shoulder to the Physician. It was almost like being kids again, in on a secret that the adults couldn't know about. Funny, considering the childish game that had caused the injury in the first place.

"Come on, It wasn't that bad." Persephone replied teasingly after the woman had left the room. "She probably has other people to attend to that's all. In any case, I think I can handle wrapping that shoulder up for you on my own. Is it starting to feel any better?" She asked, glancing over the bruising that had begun to appear dark purple and red against his pale skin.
 
Hades glanced behind him to look at Persephone from the corner of his eye. "Watch, she will come back and tell me I'll die." He turned back around. "There's a reason I took so long down those stairs, and it was because I don't want to be 6 feet under the ground yet," He joked, clapsing a hand over his heart. "Oh, oh no.... My heart is giving up now... it's beginning...." He feigned a voice of weakness and of pain, almost laying down on the bed to fully commit to his charade but didn't to prevent spreading the salve all over the place.

"It does feel worlds better, though, that's for sure. If she tells me I have to come back here for more treatment, unless you force me, I won't go, though." He replied, playing with the hem of his black pants. He didn't doubt that the bruise looked like something worse transpired, but he had no way of seeing it now. Not like anyone else could see it when he was clothed, anyways.
 
Persephone broke out laughing a that, shaking her head when Hades clasped a hand over his heart and mimed fainting. The more time she spent with him the more she got to see who Hades was without the proper and kingly mask that he usually wore. She would never have never guessed that he could be so expressive from only hearing stories and all at once she was thankful that Zeus had called out to her that day in the gardens. "As long as it's not life threatening I'm not going to force you back here, don't worry. I am glad that you're feeling better though." She replied when he sat up again, having walked around so that she was in front of him in the interim.

"Now keep still and hold your arm away from your body for me." Persephone instructed, unravelling a section of the bandage and stepping closer, first wrapping it carefully around his upper arm then across his chest to anchor it in place and back around once more to cover his shoulder. Once she was done she pulled the pin from where she had affixed it in the sleeve of her dress for safekeeping and slipped it through the layers of the bandage to secure it, tucking in the tail of the bandage to make it neat. "There we go, all done." She announced, leaning back to look over her work and giving it a satisfactory nod. "It's not too tight or anything?"
 
Hearing Persephone’s laugh made his joke more worthwhile and made his heart feel lighter. He wasn’t always a stoic, quiet individual; it was more like he rarely ever had chances to break out of it and show what he was like when truly comfortable with people. It felt extremely nice to freely joke around with Persephone and it wasn’t weird or peculiar for him to do so. It reminded him of being back in his kingdom, playing with the young children everytime he came to the towns.

« Good. I don’t think I could last through another inspection session from the physician, » He replied, then holding still as per Persephone’s request, also holding his arm out for her. A gentle silence came between them as she wrapped his arm. He watched as her delicate fingers securely but not uncomfortably tight. She was deft and ginger with her movements, never letting a sliver of skin peek through between two adjacent strips of bandage. He briefly wondered if she’d ever consider doing work in infirmaries, as she had the gentle but quick nature that was perfect for it.

Once she finished, he looked at her and smiled. « Absolutely perfect. » He replied, letting his arm fall back to his side. He then retrieved his shirt and put it back on, buttoning it slowly and carefully , just to make sure he didn’t button it wrong. « Now that I’m patched up, anywhere you’d still like to go that won’t kill me? »
 
"Good." Persephone took a step back when Hades reached for his shirt to give him some space to put it back on. Trying not to be too obvious about it she watched him for any signs of the pain she had seen earlier as he donned the shirt and set about doing up the buttons. Hades' playing off the injury as something less severe than it was had her worried and wanting to stay by his side until he was fully healed, if not to watch over him than at least to make sure that he took care of himself.

"I'm afraid that most of my favourite places around the castle have dangerous childhood games tied to them." Persephone joked. "I'd suggest that we go into town but it's quite the walk and I'd worry about your arm and the crowds. Not to mention that it's almost noon and the sun will be hot. We can save that venture for another day." She continued. The heart of the city of Olympus was never a dull place during the month of the festival but it was ever more impressive by night then it was by day.

After a minute of thinking, Persephone brightened up and looked back to Hades. "I must admit to being curious if the rumours of secret passages or hidden rooms in the castle are true? If they are you must know of some having grown up here, though I'd settle for going to see your favourite place in the castle if you're unwilling to divulge those secrets."
 
After finishing buttoning up his shirt, he neatly tucked it into his pants and stood, stretching out his legs. He felt a million times better; not as well as he did before all of their shenanigans, but better than roughly five minutes ago before the salve and the bandages. Though, he kept in mind to not try and be extremely rough on himself and push himself beyond his limits.

« I wonder why we did such silly children’s games in the first place, though. Must’ve been someone determined to race up a tower, » He teased with a lopsided grin on his face. He was a bit disappointed that they couldn’t go to the town, as he had never been there before. Growing up meant having his parents prevent him from being reckless outside of the family castle. His parents needed all three of their children to not be accidentally harmed or purposefully kidnapped. Who else could rule the three kingdoms, afterall? Though he took her word for it, on it’s beauty during the night time. He hoped to see it one day.

He was surprised she asked about the secret passages, though it wasn’t like it was a rare question or thought. His own castle back home had its own secret passages and tunnels, in case of any emergency that required going into hiding. Of course the Olympus castle had it’s own as well, and roughly several of them. In his childhood he did recall him and his brothers finding a few before his parents debriefed them all on where they were for emergencies.

« There are secret passages, unsurprisingly. Though, I’m not suite sure if it is allowed for you to see them. They’re mostly only in use for any sort of emergency that calls for them. If you think they’re for spying, I doubt they’d be very much useful for that when they are simple stone tunnels with only one entrance, one exit. » He paused for a moment, and thought. It wouldn’t hurt to show her one of thel, right? « If you’re really curious, I’ll show you one of them. Just don’t tell Zeus about it, »
 
"If I'm recalling it correctly you were just as determined to race up after me and to prevent me from winning." Persephone replied, sporting a grin of her own. Though it hadn't ended in the best of ways it had been fun while it lasted, and it was good to have had a reason to go and see the old tower again.

Persephone raised her eyebrows at Hades' answer, she'd asked more out of jest than in seriousness and hadn't actually expected to get an answer from him especially not when said hidden passages were in actuality emergency escape routes and or safe rooms. "That's much less exciting than I was thinking, though I suppose it makes sense for them to be practical. I was expecting mysterious hidden rooms with skeletons, and bookshelves that shift when a book is added or removed, oh or stairs disguised as regular floor, or trapdoors. Though I suppose that's all rather childish." She said, slightly embarrassed by the assumptions she had made.

Though when Hades mentioned that he would be willing to show her one nonetheless any disappointment that the secret passages were not as exciting as she had first thought faded. They were still secret after all, and that in itself was plenty exciting. "You have my word. These lips are sealed." She replied, miming turning a lock in front of her mouth and tossing away the key.
 
« Point is, you started it. » He retorted simply, a childish grin on his face. Regardless of the less than healthy end to the race and their escapade in the tower, he couldn’t deny the fun of it all. Perhaps they could try it agaib, with new rules of no foul and dangerous play. He felt like a child again, still wanting to do stupid things even after getting hurt.

« It would be thousand times cooler if we accessed them through book cases and whatnot, but it wouldn’t be that useful. Safety over fun, » He replied. He didn’t blame her childlike assumption; he always thought of the passageways as ways to spy and sneak around the first he learned of them, but was disappointed to find plain, stone walls and no peepholes. Her excitement at being shown one of the hidden passageways was infectious; they weren’t anything really cool or interesting, but he felt that childish happiness bubbling inside him again, just like up at the tower.

He finished cleaning himself up, collecting his jacket and smoothing out his shirt before he began heading out, making sure Persephone was following close by. « I’ll try and show you the most interesting one, if any of them at all. » He began thinking through all the passages he remembered, trying to recall the one that went from one of the bedrooms out into the large expansive horse stables and landscape behind the castle. Which bedroom led into it, he was struggling to recall. « One of the grand bedrooms leads out of the castle, but just gotta remember which one... » He mumbled, mostly to himself as he walked along, through the hallways.
 
"And you finished it." She teased, aware of how silly it was to want to have the last word but still pressing for it.

His grin was infectious and Persephone found that she couldn't help but smile as well, though she did her best to hide it with the back of her hand even though Hades was no longer looking at her and instead gathering up his jacket to leave. "I imagine your castle is much the same then, with practical hidden passages rather than fun ones?" She asked - though it was more a joke than a full question - as they left the room, having to take a few quick steps to catch up with him once they were out of the infirmary so that they were walking side by side once more.

Persephone couldn't help the cheeky grin that crossed her face at that and she bumped her shoulder up against his to draw his attention, thankful that she'd chosen to walk on his good side rather than the one she'd bandaged earlier. "Now there's more something out of a story. A secret passage that leads into one of the grand bedrooms, perfect for a tale of forbidden love." She laughed at the thought, though there was a part of her that wondered if that ever had actually been the case. Sure it was a common tale across the cheap books that sold on street corners, one that kept many a young mind alight late into the night but it was never something that you actually heard spoken of. Scandals were common but still, not the same thing.
 
"Correct. There's no reason to be snooping around in my castle. The most scandalous thing you can see me do is forgetting to make my bed in the morning," He replied. His life wasn't filled with action since he spent most of his time in his own head than having conversations with others. When he made trips to the towns, however, he had lots of fun getting to know the villagers and catching up with them and playing with the local children. A scandal-free life.

The bump against his shoulder certainly drew his attention. He looked over at her. "Oh?" He replied, before letting out a soft chuckle. Her comment sounded like a cheesy love story or a broad rumor about the Olympus castle. Perhaps a rumor more specific to Zeus and his questionable antics. Even so, he doubted they were used in that manner, but it was amusing none the less. "I only hope rumors don't spread about us sneaking off into some bedroom. I'm not sure anyone even knows about the proposal I made to you other than Zeus, and maybe Poseidon. It doesn't carry much weight anyways when you haven't given your reply yet."
 
"How heinous! I'm sure your brother, our gracious High King, has never ever forgotten to make his bed in the morning." Persephone teased, though in truth she wasn't sure if Zeus had ever made his own bed in his life. Not to mention with the sheer number of servants and attendants that staffed the castle there really was no need to make beds or worry about cleaning up after yourself even if you were the type to be more conscious of that sort of thing.

Though it was an obvious chain of thought it hadn't occurred to Persephone how it might look with the two of them entering a bedroom together. More notorious rumors had been started by much less. A smart comment on her lips she shot a glance back over her shoulder as though checking if the hallway was clear but was quickly derailed as Hades continued to speak. "Oh. Yes, right. I- I'm still thinking..." Persephone started to say, then stopped. While it was true that she had been thinking about his proposition a whole lot in the past few days, saying it aloud made it seem like she were avoiding it or simply brushing it off rather than addressing it. "I'm waiting for the right time to give you my answer." She amended, happier with the way that sounded even if it did still come off as more than a bit evasive.
 
Hades rolled his eyes at her playful reply, letting out a soft chuckle. « Oh, do forgive me, how could I ever misspeak about our grand, esteemed High King? How could I be such a fool to believe he doesn’t make his own bed in the morning? » He replied right back, his tone mimicing hers. He would never miss a chance to poke fun at his brother—his ridiculous antics were fuel enough to a flame of teasings.

He grew a little worried he perhaps misspoke and made Persephone unweary of their adventures now, as she took a little longer to reply than normal. And when she did speak, she was softer, her words a little quieter and the playful, amused tone gone. Luckily she only spoke about the proposal, which he took as a good sign. His stomach twisted when she abruptly stopped. Was her thinking very much about it good—or bad? Was she thinking about all the friends she would be leaving, the life she’d leave behind just to marry a foolish, lonely king? Or was she thinking about how it might be worth it to leave it all behind for him? He hoped she would accept the offer, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty at such a weight the question brought on to her. When she continued, that made him feel a little better, his tenseness relaxing just a little. But now he was worried about when she’d give her answer. Would it be an unexpected moment, to surprise him? Or a planned, perfect moment? That was assuming she would say yes, however. She could be waiting for a private moment just to tell him she’d decline, one where the atmosphere had a more serious tone. Whatever it was, whenever she’d say it, it made him more anxious to know she probably knew her answer and was simply waiting for the right time to give it to him.

« However much time you need, I will gladly wait. Forcing you to give me an answer would give the opposite of a genuine answer, »He finally replied, hoping he didn’t sound... anxious and nervous.
 
"I appreciate that a great deal," Persephone replied, doing her best to keep her tone light. She spared a glance up at Hades and while his expression was difficult to read she couldn't help but feel the need to smooth things back a little. Though the reassurance was just as much if not more for herself than for him. While she had made up her mind to accept his proposal, doubts still picked at her from time to time. "I won't make you wait too long, I promise. It wouldn't do to have you leave Olympus before I got the chance to give you my answer. I'd have to wait an entire year to see you again and that would be no short of dreadful."

Persephone reached out and took his hand in her own, squeezing gently in a way that she hoped would be reassuring but only for a moment. Though Hades had spoken of rumours spreading from them being seen sneaking off to a bedroom together she didn't want to overstep if that was a fully realized concern of his rather than a joke, even with the knowledge that he had proposed marriage to her and as such likely had no qualms about being seen with her.

"As far as rumours are concerned I haven't got much of a reputation to uphold, nevermind that there is certainly a great number many worse people to be accused of fraternizing with than the King of the North himself." She teased. "On that note, don't we have a bedroom to be sneaking off to and a secret room to rediscover?"
 
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