The morning hadn’t started out with the panic and tension that filled the room now.
Everything had been quite serene when Hades first discovered he was in bed next to Melinda. His sore body and lack of memory the night before was caused by the alcohol still in his system. It was rare for him to drink. Even at the lavish parties he was forced to attend, The God of the Underworld didn’t have an interest in being in an inebriated state.. though last night proved maybe he just wasn’t with the right group for it. He and Melinda had been drinking, which lead to challenging each other to more drinking, which lead to exploring the town. The god might have gotten carried away because he’d never seen Melinda be this adventurous. Her hands were in his most of the night as he lead her on their journey and held onto her for support. They laughed and made fools of themselves up until crashing in the nicest room money could get them.
Based on his pants still being secured on his body by his belt (and both shoes still on) Hades assumed they didn’t sleep together— they were probably too drunk to get that far, but he remembered kissing her. He remembered saying romantic things to her all night. The god wished he hadn’t been so intoxicated so he could really remember and treasure the memories of the night before.. his hands on her waist pulling her closer, feeling her press into the kisses he gave—the way her fingers would tangle in his hair. It was coming back bit by bit and it left him with a sleepy smile on his face.
Thoughts of things being different between them after last night swirled around Hades half conscious mind as he shifted on the bed to be closer to her, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers. Despite her bed head and ruffled appearance, Melinda looked peaceful plopped down on the fluffy pillows of the bed in her clothes from last night.
He hadn’t noticed the lace veil clipped in her hair...
The god managed to drift off for a bit beside her, when the sound of his phone buzzing pulled him out again. Hades ignored it at first, shifting closer to Melinda and trying to sleep again, but the phone kept buzzing every few minutes. One text alert after another..
And another... and another.
The headache due to his hangover made it so he had little patience, and the god lashed out. He angrily reached for his phone with his left hand and grabbed it—hearing an unfamiliar sound come from the contact of him slamming his hand down on it. That’s when he first became aware of the metal band around his finger. Deciding to examine the source of the noise, Hades lifted his head up and brought the phone closer to him— wincing at the glare that bounced into his eyes from the back of his hand.
It was caused by the small shiny diamonds embedded in the ring on his finger.
Hades thought it was weird, but he didn’t connect the dots until he looked at the messages on his phone. His eyes shot open when he glanced them over. Unlocking the device, he saw that he had 72 unread messages and 35 missed calls. 20 were from his brother..
The answer was creeping up on him now.. a conversation he’d had with Zeus last night over the phone was coming back in bits and pieces..
But Hades wouldn’t be that stupid! He couldn’t have..
Nearly diving for Melinda, he wasn’t careful not to wake her when he grabbed her left hand and pulled it toward him— seeing her finger displaying a ring with three large diamonds around it on a silver band.. similar to his.
‘Fuck fuck fuck..’ Hades let Melinda’s hand drop and sat beside her in silence, completely shell shocked. It couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be legal.. at least not on the terms the gods had..
His eyes widened again remembering more of the phone call.
That’s exactly what Hades asked for when he called Zeus.. and Zeus agreed under the condition that he would if his brother brought his new bride to Olympus the next day.
All the calls on the phone and all the messages were both congratulations and about meeting his bride.. tonight.
Hades glanced back down at the ring on his finger. He wanted to try and take it off, but he knew what would happen.. so he could only stare at it—wondering if all of this was a prank or a joke or a dream.
After running from commitment all his life— Hades was a married God.
