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Hades chuckled and fished out the remaining items he had packed—meats and cheeses, fruits and breads. Last, a bottle of wine and his flask. He wasn’t keen on another evening spent drinking fermented grapes.
He popped a cube of cheese in his mouth and took a drink from his flask as Persephone bit into a cookie. It crunched loudly, and Hades flinched. They were not at all like the cookies they had made together. Hers were soft, chewy, melt-in-your-mouth delicious. His were hard and kind of burnt.
“You don’t have to eat those,” Hades assured her as she continued to crunch.
“No, they are the best cookies I have ever had.”
Hades raised a brow.“You don’t have to lie.”
“I’m not.”
She wasn’t, but he didn’t understand. He knew those cookies were terrible.
“They’re the best because you made them.”
Hades snorted.
“I’m serious,” she said.“No one’s ever made anything for me before.”
Hades stared at her for a moment, and suddenly, he was the one who felt ridiculous for not taking her words for granted.
“I’m glad you like them,” he said, his voice quiet.
They sat in silence. Persephone continued to eat his cookies, and he continued to drink. After a moment, she rose to her knees.
“Do you want one?”
She came toward him and held out her hand, a cookie clasped between her fingers. Hades grasped her wrist and bit into the cookie. It was exactly what he expected, hard and bland, only slightly sugary. Still, he loved it if she loved it. As he chewed, her eyes dropped to his lips, and he raised a brow.
“Hungry, darling?”
He wasn’t sure how she would answer, given her earlier sadness, but when she lifted her eyes to his, he could see her longing.
“Yes,” she answered.
He leaned in to press his mouth to hers. For a while, they maintained their distance as they kissed. Hades enjoyed this, the feeling of desire building up inside him, resisting the urge to take her into his arms and touch her. He ran his tongue along her mouth, and just as he was about to pull her to him, he pushed her away as a ball flew between them, followed by Cerberus, Typhon, and Orthrus.
“Sorry!” Hecate’s voice came from the trees beyond.
Hades sighed, and Persephone giggled.
“Oh, a picnic!” Hecate said as she appeared in the clearing.
“Hades made cookies!” Persephone said.“Would you like one?”
Hecate did not hide her obvious surprise and looked him.“You…baked?”
He glowered, and Persephone, who was either oblivious to his obvious discomfort or did not care, said,“I taught him!”
Hecate laughed and took a cookie. Hades was a little relieved. Maybe she would leave, and he and Persephone could get back to kissing.
Except that Persephone had other ideas.“Sit with us!”
“Oh, I don’t want to intrude—”
No, you don’t, Hades thought.
“There is more food in the basket, and Hades brought wine!”
