Chapter Text
Royal blue flowers of sturdy glass attached carefully to a delicate gold chain. Laena studied the necklace as she looked in the mirror, feeling one of the flowers between her fingertips. The delicate and detailed piece of jewellery was a stark contrast to the thin black shirt she wore, the only thing that covered her body besides the plain black underwear that sat low on her hips. It was pointless now - what once was a meaningful gift that signified her and Aymeric’s commitment to each other was now a constant reminder of her infidelity. What she had done could not be undone and the result would surely mean the end for their relationship. Even if it didn’t, if by some miracle Aymeric found it in his heart to forgive her and move forward, Laena wasn’t sure she would want to.
The why of it was something she did not want to think too hard on, so she pushed it out of her mind. Reaching around to the back of her neck, she felt for the necklace's clasp before undoing it, gathering the small chain in the palm of her hand. She looked at it one last time before putting it in the drawer of her dresser - she was not sure if she should give it back or discard it, but it was a question for a later time. Now though, she considered the shoebill that had perched itself rather non-discreetly on her windowsill once again. She sighed, knowing her impulsivity would most likely get the better of her again tonight. Although, she did not hate the thought of him appearing in her room. She did not hate the thought of his presence.
She did not hate the thought of him.
It was a development that she could not blame on raging hormones. The night before, Hades had been quite hospitable towards her, leaving her to shower in peace, where she found her clothes neatly folded on the bathroom countertop once she was done. Then he returned her to her Pendants room and bid her a goodnight - and only half sarcastically - before she promptly fell asleep. The dream she had that night remained in the back of her mind: it had a quality to it that she could not pinpoint, but it felt more like a lost memory than a dream - two men she had never met before, yet they felt oddly familiar. Something else to think about later. For now, that bird was giving her an impatient look.
Laena knew he would not be the first one to make a move. Hades would not show up uninvited - to her room, at least, she cannot say the same for the Ocular meetings he regularly invited himself to. This was a game of chicken, she realised, and he would not suffer to lose. Nor would Laena have him lose. In fact, she did not want to play the game at all - having a much better idea of how to spend her time.
“Well? Are you going to come and get me or not? I don’t exactly know where your evil lair is.” Laena told the bird. There was a quiet moment before the familiar hum of aether reached her ears, and the intoxicating scent of smoke and ocean air reached her nose. Then, two hands on her hips. Bare hands, she noted. “That was a quick response - did I keep you waiting?” Laena teased as she turned around in his grip. He had not even bothered with his usual layers of robes and coats, meeting her in just the lace up shirt, slacks and boots. Facing him, he was much closer than she anticipated and her hands rested on his chest now. Laena looked up into golden eyes that were much too close for her - she prayed he couldn’t feel the way her pulse had quickened.
Kiss, the thought was brief in the back of her mind. Incomplete. Her eyes flickered his lips and he responded with a quizzical look.
Kiss him, the thought repeated itself, more determined this time.
Would it be over the line to do so? She asked herself. He had been sure to keep himself out of reach, even in close proximity - she hadn’t even seen him naked, despite the fact that they had had sex twice now. This moment was the closest their faces had ever been. Even considering all this, she could not stop herself: the fierce urge to know how he tasted nagged at her. Perhaps if she were quick enough, she could steal a kiss before he could stop her.
“Hero? Are you in there, her-“ the last syllable of Hades’s words were cut short as Laena got onto her tiptoes, wrapped her fingers around the collar of his shirt and pulled him towards her for his lips to meet hers.
There was shock, she could tell, his hands tensed on her hips as she softly moved her lips against his. Then there was hunger. No, it was desperation that he tried to hide under the guise of hunger as he returned her kiss, snaking a hand up her back to curl his fingers into her hair. He tugged at the fistful of hair, causing Laena to gasp, allowing him access to her mouth. There was a futile fight for dominance that she gladly surrendered, letting his tongue explore her mouth.
Hades had wanted to avoid this at all costs - avoid falling deeper into her touch, allowing himself to all too easily believe this was the woman that he loved all that time ago. The woman that he had lost before he even got a chance to hold her in this way. But the hero that he held so tensely now was so strikingly similar to her, that he could not help but wonder if this is what kissing her would’ve been like - it was everything he had dared to imagine. Although she did not remember him, he had scarcely let a day go by without thinking of her. A gentle tug on his hair and a far less gentle bite to his lower lip brought him back to reality. Hades stepped away from her long enough to open a portal behind her, hurriedly guiding her backwards through it where her legs hit the edge of his bed immediately. She fell backward onto soft fabric and he was on top of her in an instant, his hands feeling down her sides to her hips as his lips found her neck, biting and suck at the sensitive flesh - it was hard enough to leave a mark that would raise eyebrows, but Laena did not care to stop him. His hand gripped her hair again, pulling harder this time, yanking her head back to allow him better access to her neck as a surprised cry escaped her. He was glad that a thin T-shirt covered her breasts, less he gave into the urge for his lips to wonder below her collarbones. That, he decided, would be too close to worship - too close to giving into his desires completely. He could not give her the upper hand, he could not let her know the true power she held over him.
In place of his lips; rough hands. They snaked under her shirt, leaving searing touches to her skin as they made their way up her stomach, over her ribs to her chest. They kneaded at first, then with a particularly hard bite to the sensitive flesh of her neck, they squeezed harshly, which produced a high pitched cry accompanied by the rocking of her hips into his, feeling just how aroused he was. His hips grinded back against hers in a hard and sharp reply as he grunted lowly against her neck. His hands became impatient, moving down to feel the fabric of her underwear before he hooked his fingers around the edges of the garment and pulled harshly, ripping it from her hips.
Laena gasped as she heard the sound of fabric ripping, realising quickly what he had just done - she was grateful that she had not worn her expensive lace set. This, it dawned on her, was Hades when he had a modicum less of self control. His impatient, rushed and harsh touch made her shake with anticipation, her urgency matching his. His hands gripped the bottom of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head, leaving her completely naked underneath him. While she moved to do the same, her second risky move of the night would be denied as Hades grabbed her hands and pulled them away from his now untucked shirt. “You are feeling very brave tonight, aren’t you hero?” He growled. “Are you so determined to test my self control?” He snapped his fingers, a red coil of aether encircling her wrists, binding them together above her head. Laena pulled against the bindings - they did not budge. If he was using aether this way then his self control truly was slipping, she realised. This was a needless show of his power.
These bindings made her completely powerless beneath him, and where she knew there should be fear, she felt only excitement, her heart throbbing in her ears and heat pooling between her hips. His clothes were a battle for another day; now she rolled her hips into his again, uttering a weak ‘please’. He did not plan to make her beg for it, reaching for the button of his slacks, quickly undoing it and freeing himself. He was desperate for this too, although he would not admit it to himself. Hades's hand guided himself to her folds, where he gathered her wetness on the head of his cock, the action making her shudder and whine beneath him, pulling again at her restraints. He lined himself up at her entrance before pushing inside her in a series of shallow thrusts, revelling in the way she felt so tight around him, although his face would never show it. Below him, Laena let out a relieved moan, basking in the feeling of being stretched and filled so completely. He stole another kiss, pulling out almost completely and thrusting back in to pull another moan from her that would give him access to her mouth. As he set a hard and fast pace, he swallowed more of her moans, hands moving to grip her hair and hold her hips steady against the force of his. Every thrust sent lightening through her muscles, and with so little control she could do nothing but get lost in the way he felt: the way he pressed against her walls, the pressure of his body against hers and the way he tasted on her tongue made her delirious. She kissed him back feverishly, the bruising pressure of his kiss making her desperate for more of him, the need setting her body on fire in a way that she was sure the hand on her hip would leave burn marks and not bruises.
Her entire body buzzed as her muscles tightened and the coil in her abdomen wound tighter. She fought the restraints that bound her hands again, needing to dig her nails into something as she approached her release - like without a grip on something tangible she would not emerge from the other side of the building pleasure his hips promised to deliver. He pulled back from the kiss with a harsh tug at her swollen lips, giving her the chance to voice her need. "Hades please, I need- uh- I need to hold-" Laena's words were interrupted by moans, but the tilt of her head upwards and the tug of her arms on the restraints sent the message. Hades was too lost in his own pleasure to deny her request, lifting the hand on her hips just barely long enough to snap his fingers and dissipate the aether around her wrists. Then, his hand untangled itself from her hair, finding new purchase between her thighs where his thumb made hurried circles on her clit. Her hands flew instinctually to his body, finding their way under black fabric to his shoulder blades, gripping desperately onto them. Nails dug into his skin and raked down his back, leaving angry red lines across his flesh as she went taunt beneath him, his name leaving her lips and her back arching against him as she rode her high. Hades's body replied to her own, the way she clamped down so tightly around him sending him over the edge with her as he thrust in her and filled her, uttering a guttural groan that Laena would not soon forget. The sounds he made, although rare, sent shivers down her spine and reverberated in every muscle of her body.
Hades looked down at her panting form: her neck and collarbone littered in red marks, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath and her eyes half lidded and glossed over, enjoying the bliss they had both just experienced. He was panting too, although much more controlled, when he pulled himself out of her, the movement caused a small whine to escape her. Her nails relaxed on his lower back before pulling away, her hands dropping to rest either side of her head - the stinging sensation Hades felt on his back told him that she had managed to leave him with marks that would linger as well. Marks, he found himself hoping, that she would reinforce in the nights to come: the feeling of her nails down his back had set every nerve in his body on fire, even the ones that had grown numb over countless centuries. He found himself arriving again at a familiar dilemma: wanting to hold her. No, he wanted her to hold him, to touch him gently and lovingly the way he had craved for so, so long. But again, he would not allow himself the indulgence, quite sure that she would not feel the same. Instead, he settled next to her on the bed and looked at her soul as she lay with her eyes closed, calm and relaxed. That familiar hue mingled with the light she had absorbed - fought with it - it writhed within her, and he wondered what she must feel like now. Relaxed as she was, did she still notice its presence as it tried its hardest to change her from the inside? Did she notice how it calmed ever-so-slightly after being so close to him, being overpowered by his own soul that was shrouded in darkness? If she did, her next question did not show it.
"You never did answer my question." Laena started, "Where are we?" Hades sighed in reply, not knowing where to start such an explanation. Instead, he gestured toward the shuttered windows that were still closed - no doubt he had not opened them in a long while.
"See for yourself." Was all he said. Was he hoping that she would catch a glance of the view outside those windows and remember?
Yes.
A completely foolish hope, but still one that he held. Resurfacing memories were not unheard of amongst these mortals, although they were rare and hardly made much sense to them. Laena hesitated, now aware of her nudity, reaching for her shirt that had found its way to the floor and pulling it back over her head. She was still without underwear, and her shirt did little to compensate for that. Despite the lack of any noise outside, she was still weary of swinging open windows whilst in such a half-dressed state. Hades sensed her hesitation and offered her reassurance. "You have my word, hero, there is no one around to see you." The sincerity she found held in charcoal lidded gold gave her the courage she needed to get up slowly off the bed and wonder towards the window. Laena fiddled with the latch for a second, unfamiliar with the mechanism, before it unlatched, shutters angling away from her. With a push, the shutters opened and pale blue light bathed the room as Laena peered out the large windows.
She gasped, taken aback with the view - of all the things she had expected, this was not one of them. A giant city of white and gold nestled beneath the calm waves of the ocean. How?
How?
Is this what he's capable of? She wondered, and the man in question sauntered quietly to the window to join her, watching her expression carefully. They were in one of the top floors of one of the towering buildings, granting them a good vantage point over the street below, which was dim with only ornate street lights bathing the concrete in an orange glow every block or so.
"What is this place?" She asked, still in shock.
"This," He gestured out the window, "Is a recreation of my old home." His tone masked his disappointment, whatever small hope he had to jog her memory gone. "Amaurot."
"You made this?" Laena asked, completely fascinated. For a long moment, he was not her enemy and this testament to his power did not scare her.
"Yes." He confirmed flatly. There was excitement and wonder in her eyes, he could see it. The familiar sight made his heart threaten to ache; he almost allowed it.
A silent moment passed before she spoke again - a request which surprised him entirely.
"Can I see more?" Laena asked hopefully. Eager to explore new places as always, Hades thought. He noticed her cross her ankles, squeezing her thighs together and shifting uncomfortably. Her curiosity had made her forget that what went in needed to eventually come out, and now it threatened to ooze warmly down her thighs. He could not help the quiet chuckle that left him as she tried to maintain her composure.
"Perhaps a shower first?" He offered and she graciously accepted before starting an awkward waddle towards his bathroom.
He was still clinging onto hope that she would remember - did he even need her to? It's not as if they had had anything back then past friendship. And what was the plan if she did? No doubt she would have harsh words for him after what he had done to this reflection, the Calamities he had brought on, not to mention the absolute mess they had made of the Thirteen. He had told himself that it was his duty, but it had always been more than that. It had been a subtle motivation in the back of his head and the back of his mind: above all else he wanted her. Even after making this city and filling it with shades, it still felt empty to him, and now he knew why - the thought of her running down those dim streets was what really brought them to life.