Lovers in Gold | Perse & Hades
When she sets foot on Mount Phoenix soil, he knows. The very second her foot touches the island’s ground, he becomes aware of her the way a sharp flash of lightning draws the eye straight to it. For that moment there is nothing in the entire world but the two of them; his wife and him. They’ve spent a lot of time apart, more in one row than any time before it. It has been necessary for him to take this time to find peace with himself again, and he can only hope that Persephone has found some healing in it as well. Still, it’s not because he is ready to see her that she is ready to see him.
So, he takes the middle road, lets the ground open in a portal to allow Cerberus to say hello - it has been a while for the sweet youngling - and let her know at the same time that he is here on the island as well. It’s her choice then, to stay or go, to give him a chance to see her or not. Once the Hound is back down in the Underworld guarding the gate, he closes the portal again and leaves his wife be. She doesn’t straight up leave the island again, which fills him with happiness and relief, but that is as far as he allows himself to focus on her, not wanting to breach her privacy.
The next time he seeks out her whereabouts is several days later, having given her time to settle in and maybe meet a few friends here and there. He waits until she’s home at her apartment and then heads over to press her doorbell. He’s not been this stressed in a long time, but it’s the mostly good kind of stress where he’s looking forward to seeing her but is a little unsure of how she’ll react to this visit. He doesn’t have Cerberus by his side this time, as he does not want to bring her in a good mood so she would accept his presence more easily. He just wants them to be honest about wanting or not wanting to see each other.
So he waits until the door opens, and when she appears there before him it takes him a moment just to remember how to breathe when she is standing before him so beautiful, so regal, so wonderful; his wife.
“Persephone,” he greets her after that first moment of being stunned by how much he loves her and missed her. “I came to visit if you’ll have me.” He tilts one corner of his mouth up into a soft smile, a hint of self-deprecation in it because he’s been the one most at fault in everything that’s gone wrong between them, but mostly just warmth, because he’s accepted all of that and all he wants now is to have her be part of his life again. “I got you something.” He reaches out the big bouquet of flowers, each of them carefully selected to communicate his undying love for her, regret about the past, hope for the future, but also to be visually pleasing to his wife. Once the bouquet has been passed on, he holds up the fruit basket in his other arm. “Some fruits too,” he says, but he doesn’t reach this one out yet, thinks he’ll carry it for her until she indicates whether or not she wants it and is willing to take it. After all, there’s mostly her favourite fruits in there, but he put some pomegranates on top. Perhaps a little wink at their past, perhaps a suggestion of a new start. He can only hope she is not averse to the idea.