Persephone was quite right that they should be heading back now. They were going to miss the serving of foods as well as a speech from Zeus, and if the king's brother was gone from this occassion and was last seen with Persephone, it wouldn't do much good to stay away from the main festivities. Rumors weren't going to be great if they did spread regarding Hades and Persephone's mysterious and long disappearance. There was no need for Hades to be a part of some sort of scandal or big rumor that almost always occurs at this event. He had a clean record, and would like to keep it that way.
They made their way back to the banquet, making it just in time as Zeus was getting ready for his grand and dramatic speech. Hades felt like they were weaving their way through the twisting and curving cobblestone path of the gardens for too long, but was able to rest easy when it seemed like they hadn't missed much at all. People were still mingling, but Zeus was no where to be seen.
The rest of the events went along smoothly. The food now provided was plentiful, abundant, and absolutely delicious. If Hades could say one thing that he liked about these banquets, it would have to be the food. Due to the lack of ability to farm and plant really anything, more often than not Hades would eat simple stews, soups and broths for his meals that had mostly just meat in it from hardy animals that lived in the environment. They weren't as flavorful as the food served here in Olympus, with a wide arrange of spices, herbs, plants, and meats to choose from, all served in more than just a watery soup.
Persephone and Hades conversed mostly with each other, though occasionally someone Persephone knew would stop by and chat with her for a little bit, leaving Hades awkwardly standing there before they finally left. Though, deeper into the night and a few hours later, Zeus came by, and requested to speak to Hades. While he wasn't surprised Zeus stopped by, but it wasn't often he requested to speak to his brother in private. The conversation must have been something important, as Zeus pulled Hades away from the thick of the crowd to the empty, more spacious outskirts of the banquet hall, far from curious ears that would strain and struggle to hear what they would be speaking about, and out onto one of the grand balconies.
Zeus strolled over to it's ornate railing and leaned over it casually, looking down and out at the wide, beautiful expanses of Olympus. Hades joined him at his side. Up until now, Zeus said really nothing, only having spoken when he was asking Hades to join him. When he finally spoke, he turned his head to his brother and had a gentle, serene and thoughtful look on his face. It was a look that was rare but nice on Zeus -- he was normally grinning wide and bright. The wrinkles that creased his face due to grinning so much were smoothed out; he looked younger and more vulnerable. Then he spoke, and Hades nearly choked on the small little snack he was just finishing up.
Zeus immediately suggested that Hades should marry Persephone. Not even letting Hades speak, he continued on to say how he noticed how close he and her were all through the night, the way his brother looked at Persephone, the way Persephone looked at him. The mutual interest in gardening and flowers, the fact that they were pretty much opposites and opposites attract, duh. Hades was struggling to keep his cool and not choke while he kept rambling on with reason upon reason, but managed to cough out a strained "stop!" and that got the tirade to end.
At first, Hades was unsure how to feel about it. He went silent after that to think on his words, crickets chirping in the distance. He and Persephone, married together? It sounded ridiculous. Someone as beautiful, talented, interesting and someone with a future didn't deserve a loner who spends most of his time cooped up in his room, staring at snowflakes as they sprinkle on the ground. Persephone deserved more than a white wasteland with no hope or chance for the beautiful greenery and plant life Olympus boasted and had an abundance of. She wouldn't last a single day in the biting cold, and if frostbite didn't kill her, boredom would. Since barely anyone inhabited his kingdom, he barely had any kingly duties to fulfill, and thus was left to do whatever mundane tasks and idle time wasting he could. She didn't need to rot away in his empty castle with him.
But her presence.... was warm, inviting, sweet and wonderful. She attracted people like no one else, was a good person to talk about anything and everything. She was beautiful in her clothes made for the dirty work of gardening and that flowing white gown she was wearing tonight. Her hair twisted in braids and pinned up in a pile that resembled flowers was as beautiful as her hair in little ringlets, puffy and all over the place in their natural state. She was gentle and elegant, seemed to float everywhere and do everything with ease. Her care and knowledge of plants was entrancing. He could get lost in her words of any plants they came across.
He was a mess.
He looked back at Zeus and told him maybe. If Persephone wished to marry him, to spend her life with him in a different world than the one she knows and loves, he will agree to marriage. If it's not what she wants, he wasn't going to force her hand for his own gain and benefit. He wanted what she wanted.
Zeus then smiled, not bright and with a grin that consumed his face but a small grin that barely showed his teeth, and told Hades that he deserved someone like Persephone. Someone who saw him not as a king but as another person in the crowd. He has been alone for too long. And after that, the two of them returned to the thick of the banquet, Zeus disappearing from Hades' sight as he made his way to Persephone.
He never brought it up to her then, the idea of them marrying. It felt too soon, a terrible time to say it. He felt like it would make him sound desperate, that after one night of someone paying attention to him, he immediately wished to marry them. He would need more time to think it through, too, before deciding on if he would bring it up to Persephone or not.
When the banquet ended, it was extremely late at night, though everyone went home tired, but fulfilled and happy with how well it went. It was another year of Zeus creating another great banquet and start to the festival. Hades was drained and dead tired, glad that things ended when he couldn't bear to stand any longer than 2 seconds. He bid Persephone a farewell, and hoped her travels home would be safe. Late at night was never a good time to be about the streets and towns, but she didn't live far from Zeus' castle and would make it home just fine.
The next day, Hades was left with nothing much to do. Zeus was sleeping the day away after having too much wine and having too much fun, much to his wife's dismay. Left with no royal duties to really worry about, he ended up just mindlessly strolling through the castle, and ended up in the same outside gardens as the ones he and Persephone were at not too long ago. The moonflowers were closed up, just like he was told. The garden out here looked vastly different, light shining and reflecting off the petals and leaves of the flower much differently. It was brighter, lighter, and just as beautiful as they were bathed in the light from the moon. His pace was leisurely and casual, and when he made a turn and nearly crashed into Persephone, he was quite surprised.
She nearly dropped a watering can from her grasp, almost wetting the both of them with water. He quickly stepped back to allow her some space and let out a soft apology, surprised they even crashed in the first place. He couldn't help the smile that was brought to his face when he saw Persephone, though. But it almost faded away just as fast, as he remembered the conversation he had with Zeus yesterday. He had been thinking about it a few hours ago, and he was still leaning towards the side that told him just to bring it up to Persephone, as it would never hurt.
"Nice to bump into you, Persephone," He greeted, managing to keep his smile from fading and keep himself from feeling nervous about what he was planning on bringing up later. He didn't know why he was so anxious; what was the worst Persephone could say about it? "I guess your only visits to the castle are for gardening duty, yes?"