Don't Mess with Gods

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades sighed softly as he watched her, slowly stooping down to lift her into his arms, the flowers wilting as he touched them. He carefully carried her over to his bed, pulling back the blankets and gently setting her down on the mattress before tucking the blankets around her, pressing another small kiss to her forehead before moving away. He checked the fire one last time before settling down on the couch, and while it wasn't nearly as comfortable as his bed would be, he was asleep within minutes.

---

Bernadette managed to calm down, pacing her room as she tried to decide what to do. While she didn't want to give in to Ares by apologizing, she had to admit that she felt safer around him. Later that night when she was sure no one was around she lightly knocked on his door, one of her blankets wrapped around her to keep herself warm.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone slept soundly on the bed throughout the night. In the morning, she rolled over, hiding herself in the blankets. Though after a few moments, Persephone slowly opened up her eyes and started to look around. It took her a few moments to realize that she was not in the guest bedroom but in Hades' room. She let out a small sigh, slightly disappointed in herself. Persephone had not meant to take over his room! She had wanted to apologize!

---

Ares was just getting prepared to leave when he heard a knock on his door. He walked over it, surprised to see that Bernadette was standing on the other side. For a moment he was quiet for moving to the side to let her into his room. "What do you want?" Ares asked her after he closed the door behind her. He was unsure of what to expect from her at this point.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades was still sound asleep on the couch, having been too tired to wake up at the early hours he normally did. The fire had died sometime during the night, and along with the fact that the Underworld was naturally a cold place, Hades was freezing. He kept his robes tugged around him tightly, not really comfortable, but too exhausted to not sleep.

---

Bernadette slowly stepped into the room, looking down at her hands as she fiddled with the blanket absentmindedly, too nervous to look at him. She sighed after a moment, biting her lip before speaking. "I'm sorry.." She murmured softly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she shuffled her feet anxiously, wondering what he might say or do.

@ Another.Chance
Persephone slowly slid out of the bed before walking over to the couch. She made a slight face she looked down at him. It did not seem like a good place for him to be sleeping. Oh she wished that Hades would have just left her on the couch or something. Persephone quickly headed over to the bed, putting a better pillow under his head and wrapping him with a blanket. She would have carried him, but since Persephone had just woken up, her muscles felt a little week.

---

Ares was slightly surprised when Bernadette apologized to him. Though he folded his arms a bit when he looked down at her. "What are you apologizing for exactly and what do you want to happen now that you have?" He asked her. Maybe he was being too straightforward, but Ares just needed some kinda of clue of what Bernadette wanted exactly.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades eyes opened slowly as she tucked the pillow under his head, groaning faintly as he started to sit up, squeezing his eyes shut again to try to get the sleep out of them. "Persephone.. I let the fire die, I'm sorry.." He mumbled around a yawn, lifting a hand to rub at his eyes.

---

Bernadette shrugged a little, shaking her head. "I don't know.. I just... I just don't want you to hate me too.." She murmured softly, staring down at the floor. She had had a hard childhood, as she had been the result of an affair that her mother had had with someone from the city who had been passing through one summer while her father was away training soldiers. While her father had forgiven her mother and accepted her as his daughter, she still looked nothing like her sisters, and it was obvious to the town what she was, and as a result she was the joke of the town, a disgrace to her family.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone immediately placed a hand on Hades' shoulder and pushed him back down in the pillow. "You either need to go to sleep or head into your own bed. And it is still early so you don't have to worry about waking up for a while. And don't think about the fire. You did not have to tend to it last night, and you really should not have let me take over your bed." Persephone spoke softly to him, but still her voice was filled with warmth.

---

Ares smiled lightly when Bernadette continued on. He walked over to her, patting her on the head gently. "I do not have you." He whispered to her. "Though you should learn how to thank people when they do something nice for you." Ares told her as he sat down at the edge of the bed. "Would you like me to stay here Bernadette?" He asked her softly, closely watching her face as he waited for a reaction.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades shook his head a bit, taking her hand in his as he stood, wrapping the blanket around her. "I have work to do.. You go back to sleep.." He mumbled softly, squeezing her hand as he guided her back over to his bed. He smiled a little as he looked down at her sleepily, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Go back to sleep.." He repeated, motioning to his bed.

---

Bernadette blinked a little in surprise at his question, looking up at him with a frown. "You're a god.. You have better things to be doing. And because there most likely won't be a war now, you have nothing to keep you here.."

@ Another.Chance

Persephone let out a small sigh as she looked up at Hades. It was so early in the morning and it was clear that he was still exhausted. She still was and Persephone knew she had slept longer than him. So she stayed where she was instead of getting in the bed. "Hades, you work too much. You are the one who needs to go back to sleep."

---

"Well, actually the council is thinking about retaliating against the soldiers, even though they had been unsuccessful. It is still likely that something will happen. So there is still things I can do here. Though it is unlikely that it will blow out into a full war." Ares looked down at her expectingly. "Though you should not worry about my affairs. And you did not answer my question. Do you want me to stay?"

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades chuckled a little, shaking his head. "There's too much to be done and not enough time in the world for me to get the rest I need. Persephone, go back to sleep, you're exhausted." He murmured, adjusting the blanket he had wrapped around her a bit, smiling at her. "Get some rest."

---

"You don't have anything to stay here for.. Wouldn't your time be better spent in the city, urging them to go to war?" Bernadette frowned as she watched him, shuffling her feet a bit nervously as she tugged her blankets around her tighter.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone made a slightly, displeased face before moving into Hades bed. "Fine. Though you really should be sleeping and doing other things with you day besides work. It is like you are trying to work yourself to death." She made a small huff before curling up in the blanket. There seemed to be no point to arguing with me about it at the moment.

---

"I rarely urge mortals to go to war. I simply watch until it happens and then participate when it does. You all create enough war without needing me to start more. And if I wanted to go to the city, I would be able to get there within moments." Ares let out a sigh, quickly getting irritated with the conversation. He did not mind explaining what he did, but she was obviously skirting over the question. "Please just answer the question, Bernadette."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades sighed a bit as she crawled into bed, walking over to the fire to start it up again. He he stood he groaned faintly, his back sore from sleeping on the couch. He frowned a bit, closing his eyes as he gave in to Persephone, slowly walking over to the bed and laying down as far away from her as he could without falling off, sighing contently as he closed his eyes and relaxed a bit.

---

Bernadette frowned, turning to look at the fire, so that her back was to him. "What's the point in staying if you can't stay forever? You'll have to leave soon enough.." She murmured softly, tugging her blanket around her shoulders as she closed her eyes.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone opened her eyes slightly when she felt the bed move. She saw Hades lay down and she couldn't help but smile a bit. When he was finally asleep, she pressed her hands together, growing vines from the side of the bed that pushed Hades in more and then moved a blanket over his body. With that done, Persephone curled up into the blanket more, glad that she had gotten him to rest. She then swiftly fell asleep.

---

Ares walked over to Bernadette, moving so that he was standing besides her. "I will have to leave at some point, yes. Though that will not be for a while now. But in the time that I will be here, I can make sure that you are and feel safe." Ares already knew that Bernadette wanted him to stay, and he knew why. It was just a matter of her asking him to now. "And maybe I can help so that you continue to be safe after I leave."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades slept soundly, glad for the extra bit of rest he was letting. After a few hours he had shifted so that he lay next to her, one arm wrapped around her loosely as he slept. He snored ever so faintly, but it wasn't loud enough to wake or disturb her.

---

Bernadette glanced up at him as he spoke, frowning a little. "What do you mean..?" She asked slowly, not wanting to sound too eager about him being willing to stay. "How would you do something like that?"

@ Another.Chance

After a bit, Persephone slowly started to wake. She felt her something wrapped around her and her head was pressed against something. Slowly she opened up her eyes, seeing that Hades had pulled her into him. For a moment she stayed still before lightly smiling. It was odd, but in another way it was also nice to be close to him. Though, Persephone definitely did not want to move and wake him up! So she stayed where she was, but slightly moved her head so her ear was pressed against his chest, to listen to his heartbeat.

---

Ares looked at her with a soft smile. "Well, I am the God of war. Which means that I am an experienced fighter, I know strategy and I am immortal. So, if someone were to try and hurt you, I would be able to protect you from any mortal with ease."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades remained sound asleep, breath warm against her skin as he tucked his face into her hair, tugging her a bit closer to him. He enjoyed the warmth that radiated from her, and wished he could hold her like this forever, even if he wasn't aware he was at the moment.

---

Bernadette frowned a little, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "But.. You can't do that if you're not here.." She sighed, slowly sitting in front of the fire to tend to it, making sure it wouldn't go out. "You should just go, you could get in trouble.."

@ Another.Chance

Persephone closed her eyes again and started to drift back to sleep as she felt Hades tug her closer. While she wasn't tired anymore, she knew that she could dream for a bit. Besides, he was sleeping and Persephone refused to move and wake him up. It would be best if Hades did get the sleep that he needed.

---

"And that would be the point in me staying, so I would be here when you need me." Ares shook his head. This girl was much too confusing and a bit troublesome. "And once again, you should not worry about my affairs. You pretend like you know what will and will not get me into trouble, or what would be difficult for me, but you do not know." Ares walked away from the fire, picking up his sword. He was a warrior, and would not spend the time of convincing a girl that she should take his help. "But since it seems that you do not want my help, I will go."

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades woke and few hours later, shifting to lay on his back as he reached a hand up to run his eyes. He looked at Persephone and his eyes widened, quickly moving away from her, doing his best to not disturb her before he hurried from the room. He should have just slept on the couch again, he scolded himself, glaring at the piles of paper on the table as he got to worknow, scolding himself. "She doesn't belong here... she'll never like you." He mumbled to himself.

---

Bernadette frowned as she looked back at him, watching him grab his things to leave. She turned back to the fire, hanging her head a bit as she nodded. "I don't want your help.. You should go.." She basically repeated his words, as if trying to convince herself. She was afraid of the impending war, but now also the wrath of the other gods. What if Ares staying here with her angered one of the other gods, like Aphrodite? Surely he wouldn't be able to protect her from another god, and why would he? She was just a mortal.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone opened her eyes as Hades quickly headed out of the room. She tilted her head to the side slightly before pushing herself out of bed. While she had no idea why he ran off, Persephone was pleased that he slept in. And now that she felt fully rested, Persephone went off to take a bath. When she was finished, she pulled on new robes. When dinner came, Persephone made her way into the throne room, smelling like the earth after a heavy rainfall. "Hades? Have you eaten dinner yet?"

---

Ares looked over at the girl once he had grabbed all of his things. He let out a small as he listened to her repetition. It was obvious that Bernadette wanted him to stay, but for whatever reason, she was refusing to tell him that. So he walked over to her, laying a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "If you need my help, or want to talk to him. Just call out for me, and then I will come." With that, Ares then simply disappeared into thin air.

@ Mother.Of.Dragons

Hades barely looked up when she came in, although he took a deep breath, trying to ignore how nice she smelled. "Hm? Oh, no, I haven't.. I won't eat for a while, though, you go without me." He turned to her and offered her a half hearted smile before turning back to the he table with a sigh.

---

Bernadette gasped faintly when he disappeared, her hand resting on her shoulder where his had been moments before. When her parents woke in the morning to find their youngest daughter's potential suitor gone, she made up some lie about him having to return to the city for some reason or another.

In the months that followed, her sisters both found suitors and were married, leaving Bernadette as the only child in the house. Her father and the other men busied themselves with preparing for war if it came to it, so her mother would often drag her to neighboring towns and cities, hoping that she could find someone to marry her last daughter, no matter who it was.

@ Another.Chance

Persephone tilted her head a bit before giving him a small nod. "Okay." She said softly before heading out of the throne room. While she would have liked to eat with Hades, it seemed that he was too busy to take a break. She whispered there was something she could do that would help to lighten the load, because it would be nice to actually spend time with him. Plus she was beginning to feel lonely.

---

Ares left Bernadette alone in the months that followed. Since he had never asked for his help or called for him, he continued on with his word and with the other things that he needed to care of. Though in just this week, some of his work had stopped in order to help find Persephone. Zeus and Demeter grew increasingly angrier with each day their daughter was gone. He was finding himself searching for the goddess more than preparing for the war. However, searching meant that he spent a lot of his time on earth and in this day, he found himself close to Bernadette's town.