[FIC]: Just a Game
Title: Just A Game
Characters: Zeus/Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Rhea
Content Warnings: It's about Zeus trying to get into someone's pants, you work it out. Also I hope you guys like anachronism stew. And if you don't, well...
Setting: Past
Word Count: 8819 WHAT
Notes: So I wrote this one scene a couple of weeks ago and I was like "I want to write the rest of the fic that goes around this scene" and so that's what I did. I didn't end up actually including the scene which um. Good job self. In my defence it was getting long and this is STILL the longest fic I've ever written.
I've been kinda wanting to write this fic for a while but like. Guys I just have had no idea how to write Zeus for the longest time. How do you write a character who is constantly hilarious but also a jerk with no feelings idgi. Hopefully I've managed to pull it off here. At the very least I really enjoyed writing it?
The last scene I actually posted a couple of weeks ago before I started writing this. The more and more I wrote of this the more I realised it would be the perfect last scene for this so surprise? Though alas, the sting will be lost for those who have read aforementioned scene already.
Eternal thanks to madri for basically holding my hand the entire way through and helping me work out all the things I still think she would have written this so much better than me OTL. Seriously she gave me so much help with this I can't thank her enough. Best First Mate ever. Thanks also to erethesunrises for providing the inspiration for the scene in the library, allie_criss for talking to me about head!canon on Poseidon so I could work out more things, and saturninepen for being a sounding board for a couple of ideas/scenes.
If you are shipping them by the end of this fic then I have done my job. If you think they are awful people and are completely baffled about how anyone could ship them by the end of this fic then I have done my job. Win/Win from where I'm sitting.
Comments are very very much appreciated. ENJOY ♥
It started one evening when Hera and Hestia were walking in the gardens after dinner.
The sun was gone, but it had been a hot day, so it was a warm evening. The air was heavy with the smell of roses and the chirping of crickets. The sisters were just walking down a short avenue flanked by slender marble columns when Zeus appeared from behind one of the columns.
"Hestia!" he said, an excited look on his face. "Thank us you're here! Hades has been looking all over for you!"
Hera narrowed her eyes at him and raised an eyebrow, but Hestia took the bait immediately.
"Really?" she asked, sounding concerned. "Where is he?"
"Uh... In the... Living room! Yes, in the living room. He might have gone 'cause he was going to look for you but you should go find him immediately!"
Hestia turned to Hera. "Do you mind?" she asked, slightly anxiously.
Hera should have told her she did mind, just to thwart whatever Zeus was planning, but she shook her head.
"Not at all. I'll see you back in our room."
"Alright!" Hestia smiled and bounded off, waving to them both as she turned at the end of the avenue and disappeared towards the palace. Hera waved to her before turning back to Zeus, pursing her lips.
"Now what could you possibly have to say to me that can't say in front of Hestia?"
Zeus gave her a look of hurt surprise she didn't buy for a second. "I'm offended you think I would lie to Hestia like that!"
"Uh-huh." Hera raised her eyebrow higher than Zeus had ever considered possible. "Never mind that you can't even give Hades the time of day without finding a way to ridicule him. And now you're suddenly helping him?"
"He's still my brother!"
"Since when has that mattered?"
Zeus smirked and shook his head. "Oh Hera. Don't pretend you're not excited to see me."
Hera gave a laugh before she realised Zeus was still smirking. "Wait, are you serious?"
"Come on," he scoffed. "You must have known this was coming." He paused momentarily to snicker slightly. "I know you've probably been lying awake at night thinking 'When is Zeus going to ask if he can get up on this?' So here I am, swooping in to be your hero once again." Hera stared in disbelief, unsure of whether she wanted to laugh in his face or slap him. Zeus nodded sagely. "Speechless I see. Don't worry, I get that a lot. Before and after, what up?"
That snapped Hera out of her state of shock. "No," she said firmly, and pushed past him to continue down the avenue. Zeus followed after her, unperturbed.
"It's okay," he said, "you can admit it. I mean, we're the two hottest people around here. It's only natural, really!"
"I can't believe you are actually serious."
"Hey now, don't sell yourself short!" He was keeping pace with her easily. "I know I'm pretty hard to compete with-in several ways, I might add-but you are by no means unattractive! I mean, just look at those hips! Not to mention your ass and your absolutely killer legs!" He paused. "Well what I've seen of them, anyway."
"Do girls really sleep with you when you talk to them like this?" Hera asked, slightly incredulous.
"Well to be honest, normally I don't have to. Normally all I have to do is rock right up and their robes mysteriously drop to the ground. I had a feeling you might be a hard sell, though, which is why I really put some effort into deciding what I should say."
"How charming," Hera replied, rolling her eyes. "My answer is no."
"Riiight, I get it." He nodded knowingly. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone! No-one has to know you're not a maiden if you ever get married."
Hera laughed cynically. "Oh don't worry, that's not what I'm concerned about at all."
"Great! Then why don't we slip off some place secret and let nature take its course?"
Hera stopped walking and turned to him, looking him straight in the eye. "Didn't you hear me? My answer is no. Ah ah ah!" She held up her hand as he opened his mouth to speak. "Not 'No unless', not 'No but', just 'No'." Zeus stared at her blankly for a moment.
"Just... Just 'no'?"
"Just no."
"But that's impossible!" Zeus scoffed.
"I assure you it isn't."
"But I-"
"I don't care." She turned around and started walking back to the palace. He stared at her for a moment, stunned, before he chased after her.
"Hera, Hera, wait. You can't just leave me hanging like that. What do I have to do to convince you I am exactly what you have been missing in your life up to this point?"
"You are unbelievable."
Zeus gave a falsely modest smile. "I know, I've been told many times."
"No no, you are actually unbelievable. You strut around like you're the king of everything you see before you-"
"I might as well be, let's be honest."
"-and think that just because you give the command I'm going to throw myself gasping and begging at your feet? No. Not happening. Not like whatever little fantasy you have cooked up in that ridiculously sex-addled brain of yours."
"So... you're saying I have a chance?"
"Don't hold your breath." And she strode off up the garden path, her robes rippling tantalisingly behind her.
"I'll put you down as a 'maybe' then!" Zeus called after her.
* * *
He decided to give her a couple of days to think over his offer before he approached her again.
"'Sup Honeynipples," he said, sliding into the chair next to her. Hera looked up from her scroll in dismay.
"'Honeynipples'? Really?"
"It's a compliment!" he replied. "I mean, honey is delicious, so can you just imagine how awesome it would be if there were breasts that-"
"Why are you here?"
"I was wondering if you had taken time to consider my offer at all."
Hera raised her eyebrows and looked back at the scroll. "Nope."
Zeus rested his chin on his hand and leaned closer to her. "Do I need to explain to you again how this works? You see, when two hot people exist in the world and happen to fall in love-"
"You're not in love with me."
Zeus paused. "Okay, when two hot people exist in the world and happen to want to fuck-"
"I've had enough of this," Hera said, standing up and gathering up the scroll and her writing tablet.
"I-What-You totally want this!" Zeus spluttered. "You were giving me The Look over dinner last night!"
"Was I?" Hera asked calmly. "You must have been mistaken, as I was doing no such thing." She turned away from him so he couldn't see her smirk. "Now if you excuse me, I actually want to get the work done before our next lesson."
Zeus was in a state of shock. She was walking away again. How was she walking away again?! He was so sure she had been giving him bedroom eyes over the dinner table. No, he was positive. He had seen that look a thousand times before, and in much worse lighting than the dozens of torches burning in the dining room. He scrambled out of his seat and hurried after her.
But when he got to the door she was gone. He looked up and down the hallway, but there was no sign of her, not even the tail end of a robe flitting around a corner. He couldn't believe it. She had walked away twice, and the second time he hadn't even been able to catch up to her. This was such bullshit.
* * *
That was not the worst of the bullshit, however. The worst of the bullshit came the next day just after lessons.
Their tutor, unimpressed with Zeus and Poseidon's less than enthusiastic attitude towards their studies, had assigned both of them extra work. Their complaints to Rhea had been met with the opposite reaction to what they had been hoping, and so it came that both of them were now confined to the library until they had finished what equated to three lessons worth of homework. Hades sat smugly on a chair nearby, under equally strict instructions from their mother not to let either of his brothers leave the library until they had finished.
Normally this would not have been an issue for Zeus or Poseidon-they were uninclined to listen to Hades on the best of days-but there was the rather small issue of the three headed Rottweiler sitting obediently at Hades' feet. Anytime either of them so much as shifted in their seat, Cerberus lifted one of his heads and growled quietly, punctuated by Hades' snickering.
"Good dog," he said, getting out of his chair to find the next scroll of his text.
This on its own might have been barely tolerable (mostly thanks to all the vicious pranks Zeus was now plotting to exact his revenge) if Demeter hadn't skipped into the library with a look on her face that suggested someone had gifted her a one hundred acre orchard.
"You'll never guess what Hera just told me~"
"Get out, Demeter," Hades scowled. "They're supposed to be working."
"You can't tell me what to do, Hades, I'm not the one you're supposed to be baby-sitting." She turned to Poseidon. "Have a guess," she said. Zeus didn't like the way her gaze flicked over to him as she said it.
"She decided she likes riding horseback after all?" Poseidon asked with a smirk.
Demeter giggled. "Nooo, quite the opposite it seems actually! It seems she's had a secret admirer making some unwelcome advances~"
"Oh?" Poseidon's tone was bored, but Zeus' head snapped up so fast it should have given him whiplash.
"Mmm!" Demeter was still facing Poseidon, but she was watching Zeus slyly from the corner of her eye. "It seems our top scorer has broken his winning streak~"
"What?" Poseidon and Hades said at the same time. But where Poseidon looked mildly bemused, Hades' eyes were wide with excitement.
"Yeeeeees!" Demeter said. Zeus' eye twitched slightly. She was clearly enjoying this, the sadist. "Do tell us, brother, how it feels to be so decisively rejected."
Poseidon stared at Zeus, astounded. "You hit on Hera?" Before Zeus could answer Hades burst out laughing.
Doing his best to keep a nonchalant expression, Zeus replied, "She may have requested the use of my not inconsiderable services. Unfortunately, I had to turn her down."
"Oh really?" Demeter asked, her tone lofty. "That's not how she tells it. I heard she turned you down flat. Like she let you down hard. Like a boulder dropped from the palace roof."
Hades was doubled up with laughter, clutching the arm of the chair for support; Cerberus was watching him with all three heads and wagging his tail excitedly. Poseidon was chuckling now too, but the worst part was Demeter's sly expression, daring him to contradict her. She knew she was right.
Zeus scoffed. "Of course she'd say that, she's way too proud to admit anyone could ever reject her."
"Really? Cause I heard she turned you down twice."
"Pffft, that's a lie."
"I mean, who seriously uses the name 'honeynipples'? You must be really desperate."
This was too much for Hades. Breathless from laughter he lowered himself to the ground, half-laughing and half-coughing. Cerberus jumped to his feet, still wagging his tail, and after a moment's consideration began licking all over Hades' face.
Zeus glared hard at Demeter before he slammed his writing tablet shut and stormed out of the room in a huff. Cerberus barked after him but he ignored it. He would face whatever punishment Rhea dished out. Right now he needed to find a tree to punch or fuck or just something. Anything to get him away from the mockery.
* * *
The retribution for abandoning his work was swift and harsh. For one, he hadn't even really known where the kitchens were. He had a vague idea of their general placement in the palace, but he had never had any reason to visit before. Luckily, Hestia went all over the place regardless of whether she needed to or not, and she was perfectly happy to show him the way.
She could not, however, help him with his punishment; Zeus knew she would refuse even if he asked her to. Cleaning was bad enough without the added humiliation of the servants being under instruction, direct from Rhea, to treat him as they would a scullery maid. A scullery maid! The indignity of it! Sure, he liked scullery maids-they were great fun once they got past the shock of him actually talking to them-but he was supposed to be the Golden Boy of Olympus! The reigning hero who had saved all of his siblings from an undoubtedly acerbic future! That he had to spend a whole day doing menial servant's work in the kitchens until everything ached was almost too much to bear.
It was when the cook made him redo the polishing on a pile of cutlery for the third time that his thoughts turned to Hera. She was, after all, in a round-about way, the reason why he way now sitting on a stone floor, polishing and cleaning so much he thought he would wear his fingers down to the bone. He was deeply confused by her. She was giving off all the right signals yet she blocked him at every turn. Maybe she had been doing it just to make a fool out of him. Well that had worked anyway. But then, she couldn't have known Demeter would go blabbing about everything to everyone anyway. No, he decided, she must want him. It was the only logical explanation. The question now was how he was supposed to get her to admit it.
* * *
It took longer than he thought it would to get a chance to put his plan into action. Where Hera had once been someone who was quite happy with her own company, suddenly she was surrounded by people all the time. Perhaps it was because Zeus was now actually trying to find a chance to get her alone he was noticing how popular she was. On the other hand, there was a paranoid part of his brain that was convinced she was doing it just to cockblock him.
His opportunity finally arose one morning just after breakfast. One of the servants he had been paying off to keep him informed told him that Hera was preparing to take a walk in the gardens alone, while Hestia and Demeter were working on their weaving. He raced downstairs as quick as he could, taking the steps two at a time and flying down the hallway at speeds that startled more than one of the maids.
He slid to a halt at the top of the last flight of stairs and peered around the corner to the back door. Sure enough, there was Hera, sitting on a low bench and doing up her sandals. Zeus straightened his clothes and tidied his hair before going down the stairs.
"Hey!" he said cheerfully. "Where're you off to?"
Hera looked up and considered him a moment before answering. "I'm just going out for a walk to feed the birds. Why?"
"Do you mind if I come?"
"I do, in fact, if all you are going to do is try to get me on my back," she said drily.
Dammit. Plan B then. "I was just going to offer my company is all!"
"Mmm, of course you were." She leant down to do up her second sandal. "I was rather hoping I could have some time to myself."
Zeus dropped down on the bench beside her. "Okay how about we make a deal. I can go with you if I promise not to make a pass at you."
Hera studied him closely. She was no fool, and was all too aware of what Zeus was like. However, she also knew what she wanted, and the only way she could get it was through Zeus. The trick was making him think it was his idea. Besides, she had already paid off the servant to inform Zeus of her movements on her terms.
"Alright," she said finally, and held out her hand to shake. He shook it eagerly and jumped to his feet.
"Great! Let's go!" He held out his arm for her to take but she politely ignored it and went ahead of him out of the door and into the sunlight.
They walked down the path in silence for several minutes. Now that he actually had her alone, Zeus had no idea what to say to her. He'd never had to talk to someone about something other than sex to get them to have sex with him. It seemed counter-intuitive, really. Not that he was much of a talker anyway. In fact, if he got his expression right and had just the right lighting he usually found he didn't have to say anything at all.
"So... Is this basically what you girls do all day?" he asked finally.
Hera looked at him, a bemused smile on her face. "Pardon?"
"You know," he made a broad gesture with his hands, "this! Walking aimlessly around the gardens in the sun and feeding birds while Mom makes us do athletics."
Hera made a noise that was either a laugh or a scoff. "No, this is not all we girls do all day. In fact, Mother's only letting me take a walk now because I finished my weaving."
"So you walk and you weave? That sounds so boring."
"Well running races all the time sounds boring to me," she said, a wry smile on her face. "I've seen the three of you sometimes from the window. All you do is sprint back and forth down the same stretch of grass over and over."
"Yes but then I'm winning all the time! What's not exciting about winning?"
She shrugged. "It isn't really a competition if you know you're going to win every time."
"But... you're still winning? You still get to win pretty much constantly. I mean I could understand if I was losing all the time-I don't know why Hades even bothers coming anymore, frankly-but winning is awesome!"
"But then where is the challenge? What's the point, exactly?"
"Well, what's the point of weaving? You can't win at weaving."
"Maybe not, but it is challenging, and so, rewarding."
"So you just sit inside and weave all day except for when you go for walks? Riveting stuff."
"It isn't just weaving," she replied. "We do a lot of the chores as well, like bringing water from the spring and mending clothes and such."
"I thought the maids did all that."
"Mother likes us to help them. We have to fill in our days somehow, after all," she said, smiling wryly.
"I can think of plenty of other things to do to fill in the day," he said, before he remembered he was trying to avoid talking about sex. Hera had raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean... Such as... Eating cake. All of the time. Mom's cake is delicious, so you know. That would be awesome."
Hera laughed before nodding solemnly. "This is true, very true. Although I don't think it would be particularly practical for us; we have to look our best so we might marry well, of course." Her tone was wry, but Zeus missed it.
"Well, you know. No-one wants to marry someone who isn't hot."
"No, of course not," Hera said, rolling her eyes and trying to remember why she was subjecting herself to this. "A vapid mind and a shallow personality would mean nothing if the person was truly attractive."
"Right? See, you get it."
"Of course." She bowed her head to hide her smile. "But don't you think it would be far better to find someone who is actually interesting?"
"Well Mom's always saying we should marry people we can actually live with and you know. As long as someone's hot I'm pretty sure I could live with them forever."
"Oh, naturally."
By this time, they had reached one of the fountains. There were a few birds around: mostly sparrows, but also a couple of doves. Hera sat down on the edge and scattered a handful of seed from the basket to the ground. Zeus sat down beside her and watched as more and more birds began to gather.
"Do you do this all the time?"
"Mmm, no." Hera shook her head. "Just when I can. I like birds though so I don't mind."
"Really? Why? What do they even do?"
"It isn't about what they do, really. I just think they're sweet."
They talked a little more before they went back inside for lessons. All in all it wasn't as painful as Zeus had expected. It was still pretty hard, though. Really hard. He had never realised how much effort listening to someone else actually was. He was starting to think that Hera was going to be a much tougher nut to crack than he was used to. Still, he felt like he had done good work. He rewarded himself with extra cake at lunch and the company of a nymph after dinner.
* * *
The weeks slipped into months, and still, Zeus stood by his "Get Into Hera's Robes By Pretending to Care About What She Says" Plan. He had to adapt it as he went, of course, which resulted in him doing some of the most ridiculous things he had ever done. One afternoon, when she was mending a robe, he asked her to teach him how to sew so he could help and she would be finished quicker. It sounded like a really good idea at the time, but sewing turned out to be harder than he expected and he lost interest rather quickly.
Not long after that he joined her one morning while she gathered water from the spring, and insisted on carrying the hydria back for her. It took some convincing but eventually she relented, telling him to be careful he didn't drop it. The words were barely out of her mouth when it slipped from his grasp and smashed on the ground. It wouldn't have been so bad if Hera hadn't laughed at him so hard she was nearly crying.
Poseidon was completely baffled by the whole endeavour. Talking to someone to get them into bed he could understand, but the fact that it was Hera was beyond him.
"But... It's Hera. She's so stuck up. So stuck up. Did you see her face when she got that question right in lessons the other day? She was all 'smugly smug smug'. So she's not just stuck-up, she's a stuck-up swot as well. She's not even that hot, seriously! So it's not like you even get a nice view while you're talking. What do even talk about?"
"Well, you and Demeter are always hanging out. What do you talk about?"
Poseidon smirked. "To be fair we don't get a lot of talking done."
In truth Zeus wasn't exactly sure what he and Hera talked about. Nothing really important. Sometimes they gossiped about their siblings, sometimes she helped him with homework, sometimes they invented tricks they could play on unsuspecting servants for amusement. Most of their talk was mindless banter. It was fun, though-Hera was a swot, but that meant she was observant, and Zeus discovered she had no qualms over cutting down his ego with her surprisingly quick wit. Strangely he was never actually hurt or put out by any of her jibes; if anything, they made him want to impress her more.
One evening the family was sitting in the drawing room after dinner. Zeus had spent almost a quarter of an hour trying to annoy Hades without actually saying anything, much to Demeter's amusement. But however much he was smirking at Demeter's giggling, Zeus couldn't resist glancing over at Hera to see if she was watching. Every time he looked at her, though, she was in almost precisely the same position: sitting at a table by the window, her head bowed, making notes off a scroll on her wax tablet.
Right when Hades looked like he was about to snap and throw his scroll at both Zeus and Demeter, Rhea looked up from her needlework.
"Zeus," she said, her voice gentle but authoritative, "why don't you play Hera in a game of cards."
"She's studying," Zeus replied.
Rhea turned to Hera. "Dear, do you mind playing your brother at cards?"
Hera looked up for the first time at the sound of her mother's voice. "Um, no, not at all. Now?"
"If you please, thank you dear."
Hera began to pack away her things while Zeus found a deck of cards and sat down across the table from her.
"What d'you wanna play?" he asked.
"I don't mind," she replied. She watched silently as he shuffled and cut the deck and began dealing the cards between them. He was almost finished dealing when she said quietly, "Do you ever feel as if someone is hovering over you with a knife, waiting to drive it into your back at the right moment?"
Zeus looked up at her, slightly startled. "What?" Her head was down, apparently focused on the cards in front of her, but out of the corner of her eye she was watching Demeter. Zeus frowned slightly. "I don't-"
"It doesn't matter." She picked up her cards and gave him a smile even Zeus could tell was false. "Do you want to start, or shall I?"
Later that night, while she lying in bed, Hera wondered if perhaps she shouldn't have said anything. She hadn't thought that feelings would actually become a factor. It had occurred to her, certainly, but she had never seriously considered it. Suddenly the stakes were higher. She was at risk of actually being hurt, which was exactly what she had wanted to avoid. She swallowed hard and rolled over on her side. Well then. She was just going to have to make sure she won in the end.
* * *
Zeus of course, was oblivious to this. For a while he continued working under the blissful assumption that he wanted nothing more than to see Hera on her back and crying out his name. To be fair, that goal was a constant. But one afternoon things suddenly got Complicated.
It was an afternoon like any other. It was hot and the perpetual whine of cicadas droned in the background. Zeus and his brothers were walking back up to the palace to wash up after their athletics lessons, discussing their scores for the day.
"Seriously Hades, why do you even bother racing any more?" Zeus asked. "You'd think with those freakishly long legs of yours you'd be faster."
"I don't know Zeus, why do you bother with javelin when I always beat you?" Hades sneered.
"Javelin is stupid anyway."
"I don't hear you saying boxing is stupid. I kicked your ass pretty hard in that."
"That was a lucky shot."
Poseidon laughed. "More like four lucky shots."
"Fuck off, I didn't see you doing much better."
"I lasted longer than you."
"Only because all that extra flab makes you harder to hit."
Hades gave a bark of laughter. "It's true, you know. My punches just bounce right off."
"Well your attempts at discus were pretty pathetic."
Zeus rolled his eyes. "You're full of shit. My throws were way further than yours."
"Sorry bro, not from where I was standing."
"Well the girls were walking by at that point, weren't they. We'll ask them. I bet Hera-"
"Oh my gods shut up about Hera," Poseidon cut in suddenly. Zeus stared at him.
"...What?"
"Stop talking about Hera. It's like all you ever talk about any more."
Zeus scoffed. "No it isn't."
"Yeah, it kind of is," Hades said, raising an eyebrow.
"Piss off, no-one asked your opinion."
Hades shrugged. "It's true."
"Fucking Hera," Poseidon scowled. "Except you aren't even fucking her yet, so it's just all empty bullshit. If I didn't know any better I'd say you've caught feelings."
Zeus laughed out loud. "Oh fuck off."
Hades and Poseidon exchanged a glance. "Dude, seriously," Poseidon said.
"Seriously, dude," Zeus replied, mimicking Poseidon's tone. "Who do I look like, Hades?"
"Hey!"
"You know it's true!" Zeus said, turning to Hades. "Still clinging to your maidenhead, bro?"
Hades scowled. "Fuck you."
"Sounds like you're in denial," Poseidon said, clapping his hand on Zeus' shoulder. "Better get checked out, bro. Don't want you writing idiotic poetry and mooning over her eyes or singing at windows or any of that bull."
"Pfffft, it's like you don't even know me."
The damage was done, however; the seeds had been sown. He talked big in front of his brothers, but it wasn't long before Zeus' natural inclination to paranoia set in. He began to check himself whenever he felt the need to bring Hera into the conversation, and he was shocked to find just how often that was. Hades and Poseidon probably could have told him his daily average-they had been keeping a tally for a number of weeks-but Zeus didn't need to know the numbers to feel uncomfortable about it.
Even more bizarre, he noticed when he was hanging out with Hera, he was no longer trying to decide what she'd be like in bed. Okay, if he was honest, that aspect never really went away completely. But more and more he found himself actually focusing on what she was saying, and enjoying her company because she was smart and funny and not just because she was hot. In fact, was it just him, or was she getting hotter? Always a plus. Still, he was no longer diligently keeping track of his progress, and some days he even forgot to make any kind of move on her at all.
It was thoroughly disturbing.
* * *
One evening, not long before lights out, Rhea found him on one of the roofs of the palace, seeing how far he could throw small stones into the distance with his sling. When he saw her he started guiltily.
"Hey, Mom," he said, lowering his sling and trying to look innocuous. "What's up?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you, dear, but I was wondering if you might do me a favour?" she said sweetly.
"What is it?" Zeus asked, frowning.
"Your sisters had a little argument and Hera stormed off. Would you be able to find her in the gardens and get her back to the palace before bedtime, please?"
"Sure, I guess," he shrugged, setting down the sling. "Why can't you do it?"
"I think it's best if I have a talk with Demeter. It won't take you long, I'm sure."
"Alright."
Rhea smiled. "Thank you, dear."
It took a while, but eventually Zeus found Hera on the bridge at the bottom of the garden. There was a look on her face of quiet melancholy as she gazed distantly at the water swirling in the brook below. Zeus paused. He felt like he was intruding on a deeply private moment. He hesitated, wondering if he should leave her alone until Rhea had the time to find her, when Hera happened to look up and see him. The look on her face changed immediately; the curtain was drawn back across.
"Good evening," she said.
"Hey." He stepped over to stand beside her on the bridge. "What's up?"
She shrugged and looked back down at the water. "Nothing in particular. Just thought I'd try to find some quiet before bed."
"Yeah, Mom sent me to find you." He glanced at her. "She said you and Dem had a fight."
Hera pursed her lips slightly. "Did she."
"Yeah. What'd you fight about?"
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Nothing important. Just petty bullshit. You know what Demeter is like."
"Sure," Zeus replied, wondering if he did know. "Well, I know you fight a lot at least."
"Mmm, I can't deny that. Some days I wonder why we even bother to speak at all."
"You'd have to give up talking to me too, then. Since you know. We fight all the time."
"I beg your pardon?" Hera looked at him sharply. "We do not fight 'all the time'!"
"What? Yes we do! All you do is insult me!"
"I do not! Don't be ridiculous. Besides, even if I do, you're just as bad!"
"So then why is it any different to when you argue with Dem?"
Hera gave a wry smile and looked away from him. She hesitated for a long moment before she said, "Because when she calls me a 'heartless bitch' she actually means it." She said it lightly, but there was a trace of bitterness in her tone.
Zeus gave her a sly look from the corner of his eye. "Who says I don't mean it?"
Hera laughed. "You don't mean it." She did a double take when he rose an eyebrow. "You can't mean it." He couldn't hold his solemn expression for long before a smirk spread across his face. Hera laughed again and shoved him gently. "Don't be cruel!" Zeus laughed and Hera smiled, glad that he wasn't perceptive enough to notice her light blush.
"Aaaaanyway," Zeus said, stretching, "it's getting late."
"Indeed it is," Hera sighed. "I suppose I shall have to face Demeter sooner or later."
"Pffft." It was Zeus' turn to give Hera a gentle shove. "She should be the one worried about facing you. Look at those claws!" He grabbed her hand and pointed to her impeccable nails. "You could have her eyes out!"
"Stop it!" she said, pulling her hand away and smiling. "We should get back, though. I don't want to give her any dirt on me."
"I'd rather stay out here."
"Well I'm going back in, with or without you," she said, and set off. Zeus followed her reluctantly.
It took them much longer to walk back to the palace than it should have. They dawdled up the path, doing their best to ignore the knowledge that Rhea would be unimpressed if they got back late. By the time they reached the palace it was dark. The torches were burning low and they had to slip quietly across the stone floors, peering around corners and trying not to talk too loud.
When they did reach the right corridor they both lingered for a moment. Hera fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist, debating her next move.
"Maybe if we're lucky, Mom won't have done the rounds yet," Zeus said quietly.
"Mm, fingers crossed," Hera replied. "We should go quickly."
"Yeah."
Neither of them moved.
Finally, Hera said, "Well, goodnight then."
"Yeah, see you in the morning."
"Yes." She nodded slowly. He looked at her a moment but she wouldn't meet his eye. When he turned to go she grabbed his wrist lightly. He glanced back at her. She gave a tentative smile before she leaned forwards and kissed him gently.
Zeus was so taken aback he didn't respond. She pulled away slowly, her expression uncertain, and sighed.
"I..." Before she could say another word, he grabbed her and kissed her deeply. She gave a slight moan and wrapped her arms around him tightly as she kissed him back desperately. He ran his hands over her hips and broke away to kiss down her neck. She sighed and rested her forehead on his shoulder, shivering every time his lips grazed her skin. He was just tracing his tongue along her collar bone when she froze and pulled away.
"Did you hear that?" Her voice was barely audible.
"What?"
"Footsteps."
Zeus was about to scoff when he heard them too. He turned back to her; the expression in her eyes was confusing and unreadable. They hesitated, trying to cling to the moment as it slipped from their grasp. At the last possible second they kissed one another hurriedly, one last time, before turning away and running in opposite directions down the corridor to their rooms.
* * *
Rhea had not been in to turn the lights out, but she arrived so soon after Hera got back to the girls' room that Hera didn't have time to change into her nightgown. Rhea didn't scold her, though she raised an eyebrow, and Demeter didn't say a word, though she shot Hera a look.
The game had changed, but it was not over. For a long time Zeus forgot they were even playing a game, or if so, that they were on opposing sides. Now they were working together, an unspoken agreement, to find as many excuses as they could to slip away together. It was difficult during the day, usually, unless they were sent on an errand together-even then, they couldn't be gone longer than strictly necessary to avoid arousing suspicion. The evenings, however, were free for them to do with what they willed-and so they did.
Soon, though, Zeus realised the game had not quite ended, and certainly not in his favour. He ran his hands around her hips, up over her stomach, and traced and tugged at her girdle. But no, she stayed his hands and gave him a wry look, raising her eyebrow.
He was so close. So close. He was being pulled up at the final hurdle. He was unbelievably frustrated, so much so it drove him to distraction. Rather than occupy his time with others and accept that convincing Hera to sleep with him might require patience and delicacy, he focused all of his attentions on her.
Which, of course, was exactly what Hera wanted.
* * *
Time passed, and though it was impossible to keep their brothers and sisters from finding them out, they managed to maintain enough of a façade to keep from having to answer many awkward questions Rhea would undoubtedly ask if she knew.
Rhea did know, however. Of course she knew. She was a mother, and a queen besides. There was very little that went on under her roof that she did not know about. Besides, Zeus and Hera were young, and however clever they thought they were, they could hardly match the shrewdness of someone more than twice their age. As it was, Rhea was quite willing to turn a blind eye-they got along well together, and seemed to make each other happy, and that was the least she wanted her children to achieve.
They would make a good match, she thought. Zeus was almost certain to succeed his father, and while he was certainly more than capable of being an excellent leader, Rhea knew he was impulsive, and desperately needed someone to temper him and rein him in-someone who could advise him, and balance him. On the other hand, Hera needed someone to help her relax, to give her perspective on smaller problems, and to draw her away from work and remind her to live. Her needs, though personal, were just as great; her heart, though hidden, was just as passionate.
As each day passed, Rhea became more and more aware that the time for her to move on was coming. The world was shifting from the Golden Age of the Titans and into a new era-one, she hoped, that would be borne by her children. They knew nothing of this, of course; Rhea hid her thoughts from them with much more ease than they could hide theirs from her.
When she did leave, Zeus and Hera were the ones that watched her go. Suddenly they were on the edge of a great void, and the future was filled with dark uncertainty. They didn't even have time to contemplate her parting words to them before they exchanged glances and realised that they had been handed the burden of telling their siblings that their mother had left them.
It was one of the hardest things they had ever had to do. Tears began streaming down Hestia's face as soon as they made the pronouncement. Hades kept it together for Hestia's sake, but the pain in his eyes was obvious. Poseidon could only stare at them in shock, and as Demeter met her sister's eye an understanding passed between them, a shared realisation that they were now tasked with a responsibility so great none of them could bear it alone.
While everyone talked, Hera slipped out of the drawing room, unnoticed by everyone except Zeus. He didn't even think to hesitate before he slipped out behind her.
She was leaning against the wall in the hallway, her arms folded protectively over her chest. When Zeus approached her she flinched, but then relaxed.
"Oh, it's just you." She wiped her eyes anyway. Zeus felt his stomach churn. Girls getting teary made him uncomfortable at the best of times, but it was more than that. It bothered him that Hera was upset, though she had every reason to be. He just didn't want her to be sad.
He was momentarily distracted by this realisation-why did it matter to him, exactly, when it was absurd to hope someone could go through life without ever being upset?-when she asked, "Are you alright?"
He shrugged. "Guess so." He leant against the wall beside her. "It's just a bit weird."
Hera nodded. "It is. I don't really believe it."
"Neither," he said, his voice oddly hoarse. He felt as though he had suddenly forgotten how to speak. There was too much going on in his head. He thumbed her bare shoulder softly and she looked up to meet his eye. Her gaze was as calculating as always, but there was a little more to it this time: there was a depth and a rawness there he hadn't seen before.
He kissed her on impulse, and she returned it. She shivered as he ran his hands up her arms and he broke the kiss to brush his lips down her neck. He rested his forehead on her shoulder, and said with a sigh, "I want you."
"I know," she whispered, her breath teasing against his skin.
"Now," he replied.
"What? Right now?"
"Yes." He raised his head to look at her. "Right now."
The corner of her mouth twitched. "Do you ever stop?"
No, he thought. He was drawn to her in a way he couldn't explain and didn't understand. All he knew for certain any more was that he wanted her.
He didn't say anything, though. He shrugged and smirked lightly, before he leaned in to kiss her again. This time though, Hera placed a hand on his chest to stop him.
"What?"
She shook her head tentatively. "No," she said quietly. "Not now."
He frowned. "Why not?"
"I just... No." She said it more firmly this time. "I can't."
"Of course you can," Zeus said, almost scoffing, and he leant in once again to kiss her.
This time she put both her hands on his shoulders. "Zeus."
"Hera."
"I don't want this right now."
"Of course you do." He did scoff this time, which was a mistake. Hera's brow immediately knitted into a frown. She stepped away from him.
"No, I don't. I know I don't."
"But-"
"Why does it always have to be about sex with you?" she interjected suddenly. Zeus looked at her in surprise. "You just..." She shook her head in dismay. "You can't be genuine or sincere about anything without thinking about how it can get you laid!"
Zeus bristled. "What's wrong with that?!"
"It makes you look like a fraud! Like you're playing some frivolous game to waste away your time, like you don't care about anything else!"
"At least I do care about something," he shot back.
She looked at him in stark shock. "I beg your pardon?"
"You!" he said emphatically. "You've always got that look in your eyes like you're trying to work out six different ways you can beat the person sitting across from you! Talk about treating things like a game? You're always on the defensive, like you're trying to work out your next move to win the betting pool or some bullshit!"
She stared at him, her expression a mixture of annoyance and confusion and possibly hurt. She blinked hard and drew herself up. "I thought you knew me better than that," she spat coldly. And with that, she turned on her heel and walked off sharply.
Zeus punched the wall in frustration so hard a crack appeared in the stone. Fucking Hera, he thought bitterly. How does she work?
* * *
With Rhea gone, Hera took the reins almost immediately. No-one questioned her ability to do so: they were moving through the days in a dull state of shock, trying to process what had happened to no avail. Whether she had put aside her own grief or was staying busy as a way of working through it Zeus couldn't tell. He felt like he had jumped all the way back to square one with her. She was polite but distant: she spoke to him in a clipped tone, declined his invitations to take any walks, and ignored his glances at dinner. He didn't know what to do.
Several days later, he found her in Rhea's old office, going through piles and piles of scrolls and papers. Under the scowl of concentration she had been wearing for days there was a glassiness in her eyes that belied how weary she was. He watched her a few moments before he said anything.
"Hey."
She looked up, and when she saw who it was she went back to the scroll in hand. "Hello," she replied shortly.
Zeus shifted uncomfortably. "What're you doing?"
"Going through Mo-all these papers and deciding what we should keep."
"Do you want any help?"
"No, I'm fine, thank you." When he lingered in the doorway, she looked up, frowning. "Was there anything else?"
Zeus wanted to say no and leave her to it, so he was slightly surprised to hear himself say, "Yeah, kind of."
She rolled up the scroll she was holding and set it aside before picking up another. "Be quick then, I have a lot to get through."
He closed the door behind him and stepped over to her. "I just... Want things to be okay between us."
"They are okay," she said without looking at him.
"No they're not. You've barely said anything to me in days! Not anything like we're used to."
"Mmm and what is it you're used to?" she asked, discarding the scroll she was holding and picking up a sheaf of papers.
"I don't know just... not this?" He made a noise of frustration. Why was she being so difficult? "You're usually pretty cool and we have so much fun together normally."
"Yes, I'm sure you think so," she sneered.
He scowled. "Even when we're not fooling around. You're smart and secretly funny and yeah, you're pretty hot, but that's not the only reason I hang out with you." He paused. "Well not any more, anyway. I just. I don't know, I like you, okay? And I like spending time with you. And I don't know, I guess I just... don't want that to stop."
She was suddenly very still. He watched her with bated breath. Just when he was about to give up and leave her alone, she sighed deeply and lowered the papers in her hands.
"I like spending time with you, too," she admitted quietly. She stood and smoothed the front of her robes. "More than with Demeter and Hestia, even. You just..." She sighed and dropped her shoulders. "Tone it down a little."
"If you tone down the permanent serious face," Zeus said after a moment.
She gave a weak smile. "Deal." She stepped over and kissed him sweetly.
Neither of them stuck to the deal, of course. But then, neither of them particularly minded, either.
* * *
After that, Hera relented and allowed Zeus to help her. He figured it would all be pretty dull, but it wasn't as bad as homework, and Hera was good company.
During those few days he thought a lot about what Rhea had said before they had parted. You are king now, she had told him; then turning to Hera, and you will be his queen.
The words echoed in his mind. The hundreds of other things his mother had said to him about finding a wife and a queen cluttered his consciousness. You cannot afford the luxury of marrying whomever you choose; nor can you make a choice frivolously or superficially. They must be worthy: both of being a ruler and of being your wife.
How he was supposed to gauge worthiness she had never cared to mention. Well, not specifically, anyway. He needed a check list, though there was one thing that kept coming back to him that made him think a check list would be useless.
You must marry someone you can live with-for thousands of years, if it comes to that.
The choice, then, was obvious.
* * *
Hera stood in the doorway of her mother's room, surveying it in the light of the early evening. The room had remained untouched since Rhea had left, almost a week ago now, and the light streaming in through the windows revealed the fine layer of dust that was already gathering. Hera drew in a deep breath and leant her head against the door frame; the room was still full of the smell of Rhea's perfume, and it was comforting to her.
She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Zeus. She smiled at him-her first real smile of the day-and said "Good evening, 'my lord'."
He smirked and stood beside her, leaning on the door frame as well. "It's not going to be hard to get used to that."
Hera scoffed gently. "I hope you won't get used to it from me," she said. "I should hate you to get a big head."
"Well you know," he said in a flippant tone. "I can always count on you to take care of my big head."
Hera arched her eyebrow at him, but she smiled all the same. "Council was interesting today. I don't suppose that they'll always be quite so sombre."
"Nah, we'll be back to yelling ourselves hoarse in no time. Just like a real family!"
Hera snickered. "Just like our family, you mean." They stood in comfortable silence several moments, gazing over the room before them.
"Mother was right, you know," Zeus said finally.
Hera sighed. "Mother was right about a lot of things. Now that she's gone I'm beginning to think she knew far more than we ever gave her credit for."
"Hmm?"
Hera shrugged and shook her head slightly. "The more I think about it the more I think she knew far more about everything that goes on around here than we let ourselves believe."
"Probably," Zeus said with a shrug, not caring to mention he had come to that same conclusion. "She was right about me being king after all."
Hera scoffed. "Oh please," she said with a slight smirk, "everyone knew it would be you."
"I can't help it if I'm the one who is the most naturally awesome! Besides, she was right about you being queen, too."
Hera nodded slightly before doing a double take. She looked at him with a slight crease in her brow. "What?"
"Yeah?"
She looked away, an odd expression forming on her face. When she looked back at him again she pursed her lips to suppress a smile. "You are serious?"
Zeus shrugged, a cheeky grin on his face. "I'm the king now, you have to do what I say."
Hera laughed at that. "Well then," she said, affecting an aloof expression, "I suppose it wouldn't do well to ignore the first official demand you ever made of me."
"Of course not, or I'd have to punish you."
"Oh yes? How so?"
"I don't know; chain you to the sky?" he suggested nonchalantly.
"And that would be terrible of course; we can't have that."
"No, then I might have to marry Demeter," he said, pulling a face. Hera laughed again.
"Well it seems I have very little choice then, doesn't it?"
"No choice at all, really."
"Oh I see. As long as we're clear on that point, then."
"Of course."
"Excellent."
"Good." He smiled at her, and for once it was a genuine smile, without a quirked eyebrow or the shadow of a smirk. He leant over and kissed her temple, and when he took her hand, she automatically entwined her fingers around his.
Characters: Zeus/Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Rhea
Content Warnings: It's about Zeus trying to get into someone's pants, you work it out. Also I hope you guys like anachronism stew. And if you don't, well...
Setting: Past
Word Count: 8819 WHAT
Notes: So I wrote this one scene a couple of weeks ago and I was like "I want to write the rest of the fic that goes around this scene" and so that's what I did. I didn't end up actually including the scene which um. Good job self. In my defence it was getting long and this is STILL the longest fic I've ever written.
I've been kinda wanting to write this fic for a while but like. Guys I just have had no idea how to write Zeus for the longest time. How do you write a character who is constantly hilarious but also a jerk with no feelings idgi. Hopefully I've managed to pull it off here. At the very least I really enjoyed writing it?
The last scene I actually posted a couple of weeks ago before I started writing this. The more and more I wrote of this the more I realised it would be the perfect last scene for this so surprise? Though alas, the sting will be lost for those who have read aforementioned scene already.
Eternal thanks to madri for basically holding my hand the entire way through and helping me work out all the things I still think she would have written this so much better than me OTL. Seriously she gave me so much help with this I can't thank her enough. Best First Mate ever. Thanks also to erethesunrises for providing the inspiration for the scene in the library, allie_criss for talking to me about head!canon on Poseidon so I could work out more things, and saturninepen for being a sounding board for a couple of ideas/scenes.
If you are shipping them by the end of this fic then I have done my job. If you think they are awful people and are completely baffled about how anyone could ship them by the end of this fic then I have done my job. Win/Win from where I'm sitting.
Comments are very very much appreciated. ENJOY ♥
It started one evening when Hera and Hestia were walking in the gardens after dinner.
The sun was gone, but it had been a hot day, so it was a warm evening. The air was heavy with the smell of roses and the chirping of crickets. The sisters were just walking down a short avenue flanked by slender marble columns when Zeus appeared from behind one of the columns.
"Hestia!" he said, an excited look on his face. "Thank us you're here! Hades has been looking all over for you!"
Hera narrowed her eyes at him and raised an eyebrow, but Hestia took the bait immediately.
"Really?" she asked, sounding concerned. "Where is he?"
"Uh... In the... Living room! Yes, in the living room. He might have gone 'cause he was going to look for you but you should go find him immediately!"
Hestia turned to Hera. "Do you mind?" she asked, slightly anxiously.
Hera should have told her she did mind, just to thwart whatever Zeus was planning, but she shook her head.
"Not at all. I'll see you back in our room."
"Alright!" Hestia smiled and bounded off, waving to them both as she turned at the end of the avenue and disappeared towards the palace. Hera waved to her before turning back to Zeus, pursing her lips.
"Now what could you possibly have to say to me that can't say in front of Hestia?"
Zeus gave her a look of hurt surprise she didn't buy for a second. "I'm offended you think I would lie to Hestia like that!"
"Uh-huh." Hera raised her eyebrow higher than Zeus had ever considered possible. "Never mind that you can't even give Hades the time of day without finding a way to ridicule him. And now you're suddenly helping him?"
"He's still my brother!"
"Since when has that mattered?"
Zeus smirked and shook his head. "Oh Hera. Don't pretend you're not excited to see me."
Hera gave a laugh before she realised Zeus was still smirking. "Wait, are you serious?"
"Come on," he scoffed. "You must have known this was coming." He paused momentarily to snicker slightly. "I know you've probably been lying awake at night thinking 'When is Zeus going to ask if he can get up on this?' So here I am, swooping in to be your hero once again." Hera stared in disbelief, unsure of whether she wanted to laugh in his face or slap him. Zeus nodded sagely. "Speechless I see. Don't worry, I get that a lot. Before and after, what up?"
That snapped Hera out of her state of shock. "No," she said firmly, and pushed past him to continue down the avenue. Zeus followed after her, unperturbed.
"It's okay," he said, "you can admit it. I mean, we're the two hottest people around here. It's only natural, really!"
"I can't believe you are actually serious."
"Hey now, don't sell yourself short!" He was keeping pace with her easily. "I know I'm pretty hard to compete with-in several ways, I might add-but you are by no means unattractive! I mean, just look at those hips! Not to mention your ass and your absolutely killer legs!" He paused. "Well what I've seen of them, anyway."
"Do girls really sleep with you when you talk to them like this?" Hera asked, slightly incredulous.
"Well to be honest, normally I don't have to. Normally all I have to do is rock right up and their robes mysteriously drop to the ground. I had a feeling you might be a hard sell, though, which is why I really put some effort into deciding what I should say."
"How charming," Hera replied, rolling her eyes. "My answer is no."
"Riiight, I get it." He nodded knowingly. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone! No-one has to know you're not a maiden if you ever get married."
Hera laughed cynically. "Oh don't worry, that's not what I'm concerned about at all."
"Great! Then why don't we slip off some place secret and let nature take its course?"
Hera stopped walking and turned to him, looking him straight in the eye. "Didn't you hear me? My answer is no. Ah ah ah!" She held up her hand as he opened his mouth to speak. "Not 'No unless', not 'No but', just 'No'." Zeus stared at her blankly for a moment.
"Just... Just 'no'?"
"Just no."
"But that's impossible!" Zeus scoffed.
"I assure you it isn't."
"But I-"
"I don't care." She turned around and started walking back to the palace. He stared at her for a moment, stunned, before he chased after her.
"Hera, Hera, wait. You can't just leave me hanging like that. What do I have to do to convince you I am exactly what you have been missing in your life up to this point?"
"You are unbelievable."
Zeus gave a falsely modest smile. "I know, I've been told many times."
"No no, you are actually unbelievable. You strut around like you're the king of everything you see before you-"
"I might as well be, let's be honest."
"-and think that just because you give the command I'm going to throw myself gasping and begging at your feet? No. Not happening. Not like whatever little fantasy you have cooked up in that ridiculously sex-addled brain of yours."
"So... you're saying I have a chance?"
"Don't hold your breath." And she strode off up the garden path, her robes rippling tantalisingly behind her.
"I'll put you down as a 'maybe' then!" Zeus called after her.
* * *
He decided to give her a couple of days to think over his offer before he approached her again.
"'Sup Honeynipples," he said, sliding into the chair next to her. Hera looked up from her scroll in dismay.
"'Honeynipples'? Really?"
"It's a compliment!" he replied. "I mean, honey is delicious, so can you just imagine how awesome it would be if there were breasts that-"
"Why are you here?"
"I was wondering if you had taken time to consider my offer at all."
Hera raised her eyebrows and looked back at the scroll. "Nope."
Zeus rested his chin on his hand and leaned closer to her. "Do I need to explain to you again how this works? You see, when two hot people exist in the world and happen to fall in love-"
"You're not in love with me."
Zeus paused. "Okay, when two hot people exist in the world and happen to want to fuck-"
"I've had enough of this," Hera said, standing up and gathering up the scroll and her writing tablet.
"I-What-You totally want this!" Zeus spluttered. "You were giving me The Look over dinner last night!"
"Was I?" Hera asked calmly. "You must have been mistaken, as I was doing no such thing." She turned away from him so he couldn't see her smirk. "Now if you excuse me, I actually want to get the work done before our next lesson."
Zeus was in a state of shock. She was walking away again. How was she walking away again?! He was so sure she had been giving him bedroom eyes over the dinner table. No, he was positive. He had seen that look a thousand times before, and in much worse lighting than the dozens of torches burning in the dining room. He scrambled out of his seat and hurried after her.
But when he got to the door she was gone. He looked up and down the hallway, but there was no sign of her, not even the tail end of a robe flitting around a corner. He couldn't believe it. She had walked away twice, and the second time he hadn't even been able to catch up to her. This was such bullshit.
* * *
That was not the worst of the bullshit, however. The worst of the bullshit came the next day just after lessons.
Their tutor, unimpressed with Zeus and Poseidon's less than enthusiastic attitude towards their studies, had assigned both of them extra work. Their complaints to Rhea had been met with the opposite reaction to what they had been hoping, and so it came that both of them were now confined to the library until they had finished what equated to three lessons worth of homework. Hades sat smugly on a chair nearby, under equally strict instructions from their mother not to let either of his brothers leave the library until they had finished.
Normally this would not have been an issue for Zeus or Poseidon-they were uninclined to listen to Hades on the best of days-but there was the rather small issue of the three headed Rottweiler sitting obediently at Hades' feet. Anytime either of them so much as shifted in their seat, Cerberus lifted one of his heads and growled quietly, punctuated by Hades' snickering.
"Good dog," he said, getting out of his chair to find the next scroll of his text.
This on its own might have been barely tolerable (mostly thanks to all the vicious pranks Zeus was now plotting to exact his revenge) if Demeter hadn't skipped into the library with a look on her face that suggested someone had gifted her a one hundred acre orchard.
"You'll never guess what Hera just told me~"
"Get out, Demeter," Hades scowled. "They're supposed to be working."
"You can't tell me what to do, Hades, I'm not the one you're supposed to be baby-sitting." She turned to Poseidon. "Have a guess," she said. Zeus didn't like the way her gaze flicked over to him as she said it.
"She decided she likes riding horseback after all?" Poseidon asked with a smirk.
Demeter giggled. "Nooo, quite the opposite it seems actually! It seems she's had a secret admirer making some unwelcome advances~"
"Oh?" Poseidon's tone was bored, but Zeus' head snapped up so fast it should have given him whiplash.
"Mmm!" Demeter was still facing Poseidon, but she was watching Zeus slyly from the corner of her eye. "It seems our top scorer has broken his winning streak~"
"What?" Poseidon and Hades said at the same time. But where Poseidon looked mildly bemused, Hades' eyes were wide with excitement.
"Yeeeeees!" Demeter said. Zeus' eye twitched slightly. She was clearly enjoying this, the sadist. "Do tell us, brother, how it feels to be so decisively rejected."
Poseidon stared at Zeus, astounded. "You hit on Hera?" Before Zeus could answer Hades burst out laughing.
Doing his best to keep a nonchalant expression, Zeus replied, "She may have requested the use of my not inconsiderable services. Unfortunately, I had to turn her down."
"Oh really?" Demeter asked, her tone lofty. "That's not how she tells it. I heard she turned you down flat. Like she let you down hard. Like a boulder dropped from the palace roof."
Hades was doubled up with laughter, clutching the arm of the chair for support; Cerberus was watching him with all three heads and wagging his tail excitedly. Poseidon was chuckling now too, but the worst part was Demeter's sly expression, daring him to contradict her. She knew she was right.
Zeus scoffed. "Of course she'd say that, she's way too proud to admit anyone could ever reject her."
"Really? Cause I heard she turned you down twice."
"Pffft, that's a lie."
"I mean, who seriously uses the name 'honeynipples'? You must be really desperate."
This was too much for Hades. Breathless from laughter he lowered himself to the ground, half-laughing and half-coughing. Cerberus jumped to his feet, still wagging his tail, and after a moment's consideration began licking all over Hades' face.
Zeus glared hard at Demeter before he slammed his writing tablet shut and stormed out of the room in a huff. Cerberus barked after him but he ignored it. He would face whatever punishment Rhea dished out. Right now he needed to find a tree to punch or fuck or just something. Anything to get him away from the mockery.
* * *
The retribution for abandoning his work was swift and harsh. For one, he hadn't even really known where the kitchens were. He had a vague idea of their general placement in the palace, but he had never had any reason to visit before. Luckily, Hestia went all over the place regardless of whether she needed to or not, and she was perfectly happy to show him the way.
She could not, however, help him with his punishment; Zeus knew she would refuse even if he asked her to. Cleaning was bad enough without the added humiliation of the servants being under instruction, direct from Rhea, to treat him as they would a scullery maid. A scullery maid! The indignity of it! Sure, he liked scullery maids-they were great fun once they got past the shock of him actually talking to them-but he was supposed to be the Golden Boy of Olympus! The reigning hero who had saved all of his siblings from an undoubtedly acerbic future! That he had to spend a whole day doing menial servant's work in the kitchens until everything ached was almost too much to bear.
It was when the cook made him redo the polishing on a pile of cutlery for the third time that his thoughts turned to Hera. She was, after all, in a round-about way, the reason why he way now sitting on a stone floor, polishing and cleaning so much he thought he would wear his fingers down to the bone. He was deeply confused by her. She was giving off all the right signals yet she blocked him at every turn. Maybe she had been doing it just to make a fool out of him. Well that had worked anyway. But then, she couldn't have known Demeter would go blabbing about everything to everyone anyway. No, he decided, she must want him. It was the only logical explanation. The question now was how he was supposed to get her to admit it.
* * *
It took longer than he thought it would to get a chance to put his plan into action. Where Hera had once been someone who was quite happy with her own company, suddenly she was surrounded by people all the time. Perhaps it was because Zeus was now actually trying to find a chance to get her alone he was noticing how popular she was. On the other hand, there was a paranoid part of his brain that was convinced she was doing it just to cockblock him.
His opportunity finally arose one morning just after breakfast. One of the servants he had been paying off to keep him informed told him that Hera was preparing to take a walk in the gardens alone, while Hestia and Demeter were working on their weaving. He raced downstairs as quick as he could, taking the steps two at a time and flying down the hallway at speeds that startled more than one of the maids.
He slid to a halt at the top of the last flight of stairs and peered around the corner to the back door. Sure enough, there was Hera, sitting on a low bench and doing up her sandals. Zeus straightened his clothes and tidied his hair before going down the stairs.
"Hey!" he said cheerfully. "Where're you off to?"
Hera looked up and considered him a moment before answering. "I'm just going out for a walk to feed the birds. Why?"
"Do you mind if I come?"
"I do, in fact, if all you are going to do is try to get me on my back," she said drily.
Dammit. Plan B then. "I was just going to offer my company is all!"
"Mmm, of course you were." She leant down to do up her second sandal. "I was rather hoping I could have some time to myself."
Zeus dropped down on the bench beside her. "Okay how about we make a deal. I can go with you if I promise not to make a pass at you."
Hera studied him closely. She was no fool, and was all too aware of what Zeus was like. However, she also knew what she wanted, and the only way she could get it was through Zeus. The trick was making him think it was his idea. Besides, she had already paid off the servant to inform Zeus of her movements on her terms.
"Alright," she said finally, and held out her hand to shake. He shook it eagerly and jumped to his feet.
"Great! Let's go!" He held out his arm for her to take but she politely ignored it and went ahead of him out of the door and into the sunlight.
They walked down the path in silence for several minutes. Now that he actually had her alone, Zeus had no idea what to say to her. He'd never had to talk to someone about something other than sex to get them to have sex with him. It seemed counter-intuitive, really. Not that he was much of a talker anyway. In fact, if he got his expression right and had just the right lighting he usually found he didn't have to say anything at all.
"So... Is this basically what you girls do all day?" he asked finally.
Hera looked at him, a bemused smile on her face. "Pardon?"
"You know," he made a broad gesture with his hands, "this! Walking aimlessly around the gardens in the sun and feeding birds while Mom makes us do athletics."
Hera made a noise that was either a laugh or a scoff. "No, this is not all we girls do all day. In fact, Mother's only letting me take a walk now because I finished my weaving."
"So you walk and you weave? That sounds so boring."
"Well running races all the time sounds boring to me," she said, a wry smile on her face. "I've seen the three of you sometimes from the window. All you do is sprint back and forth down the same stretch of grass over and over."
"Yes but then I'm winning all the time! What's not exciting about winning?"
She shrugged. "It isn't really a competition if you know you're going to win every time."
"But... you're still winning? You still get to win pretty much constantly. I mean I could understand if I was losing all the time-I don't know why Hades even bothers coming anymore, frankly-but winning is awesome!"
"But then where is the challenge? What's the point, exactly?"
"Well, what's the point of weaving? You can't win at weaving."
"Maybe not, but it is challenging, and so, rewarding."
"So you just sit inside and weave all day except for when you go for walks? Riveting stuff."
"It isn't just weaving," she replied. "We do a lot of the chores as well, like bringing water from the spring and mending clothes and such."
"I thought the maids did all that."
"Mother likes us to help them. We have to fill in our days somehow, after all," she said, smiling wryly.
"I can think of plenty of other things to do to fill in the day," he said, before he remembered he was trying to avoid talking about sex. Hera had raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean... Such as... Eating cake. All of the time. Mom's cake is delicious, so you know. That would be awesome."
Hera laughed before nodding solemnly. "This is true, very true. Although I don't think it would be particularly practical for us; we have to look our best so we might marry well, of course." Her tone was wry, but Zeus missed it.
"Well, you know. No-one wants to marry someone who isn't hot."
"No, of course not," Hera said, rolling her eyes and trying to remember why she was subjecting herself to this. "A vapid mind and a shallow personality would mean nothing if the person was truly attractive."
"Right? See, you get it."
"Of course." She bowed her head to hide her smile. "But don't you think it would be far better to find someone who is actually interesting?"
"Well Mom's always saying we should marry people we can actually live with and you know. As long as someone's hot I'm pretty sure I could live with them forever."
"Oh, naturally."
By this time, they had reached one of the fountains. There were a few birds around: mostly sparrows, but also a couple of doves. Hera sat down on the edge and scattered a handful of seed from the basket to the ground. Zeus sat down beside her and watched as more and more birds began to gather.
"Do you do this all the time?"
"Mmm, no." Hera shook her head. "Just when I can. I like birds though so I don't mind."
"Really? Why? What do they even do?"
"It isn't about what they do, really. I just think they're sweet."
They talked a little more before they went back inside for lessons. All in all it wasn't as painful as Zeus had expected. It was still pretty hard, though. Really hard. He had never realised how much effort listening to someone else actually was. He was starting to think that Hera was going to be a much tougher nut to crack than he was used to. Still, he felt like he had done good work. He rewarded himself with extra cake at lunch and the company of a nymph after dinner.
* * *
The weeks slipped into months, and still, Zeus stood by his "Get Into Hera's Robes By Pretending to Care About What She Says" Plan. He had to adapt it as he went, of course, which resulted in him doing some of the most ridiculous things he had ever done. One afternoon, when she was mending a robe, he asked her to teach him how to sew so he could help and she would be finished quicker. It sounded like a really good idea at the time, but sewing turned out to be harder than he expected and he lost interest rather quickly.
Not long after that he joined her one morning while she gathered water from the spring, and insisted on carrying the hydria back for her. It took some convincing but eventually she relented, telling him to be careful he didn't drop it. The words were barely out of her mouth when it slipped from his grasp and smashed on the ground. It wouldn't have been so bad if Hera hadn't laughed at him so hard she was nearly crying.
Poseidon was completely baffled by the whole endeavour. Talking to someone to get them into bed he could understand, but the fact that it was Hera was beyond him.
"But... It's Hera. She's so stuck up. So stuck up. Did you see her face when she got that question right in lessons the other day? She was all 'smugly smug smug'. So she's not just stuck-up, she's a stuck-up swot as well. She's not even that hot, seriously! So it's not like you even get a nice view while you're talking. What do even talk about?"
"Well, you and Demeter are always hanging out. What do you talk about?"
Poseidon smirked. "To be fair we don't get a lot of talking done."
In truth Zeus wasn't exactly sure what he and Hera talked about. Nothing really important. Sometimes they gossiped about their siblings, sometimes she helped him with homework, sometimes they invented tricks they could play on unsuspecting servants for amusement. Most of their talk was mindless banter. It was fun, though-Hera was a swot, but that meant she was observant, and Zeus discovered she had no qualms over cutting down his ego with her surprisingly quick wit. Strangely he was never actually hurt or put out by any of her jibes; if anything, they made him want to impress her more.
One evening the family was sitting in the drawing room after dinner. Zeus had spent almost a quarter of an hour trying to annoy Hades without actually saying anything, much to Demeter's amusement. But however much he was smirking at Demeter's giggling, Zeus couldn't resist glancing over at Hera to see if she was watching. Every time he looked at her, though, she was in almost precisely the same position: sitting at a table by the window, her head bowed, making notes off a scroll on her wax tablet.
Right when Hades looked like he was about to snap and throw his scroll at both Zeus and Demeter, Rhea looked up from her needlework.
"Zeus," she said, her voice gentle but authoritative, "why don't you play Hera in a game of cards."
"She's studying," Zeus replied.
Rhea turned to Hera. "Dear, do you mind playing your brother at cards?"
Hera looked up for the first time at the sound of her mother's voice. "Um, no, not at all. Now?"
"If you please, thank you dear."
Hera began to pack away her things while Zeus found a deck of cards and sat down across the table from her.
"What d'you wanna play?" he asked.
"I don't mind," she replied. She watched silently as he shuffled and cut the deck and began dealing the cards between them. He was almost finished dealing when she said quietly, "Do you ever feel as if someone is hovering over you with a knife, waiting to drive it into your back at the right moment?"
Zeus looked up at her, slightly startled. "What?" Her head was down, apparently focused on the cards in front of her, but out of the corner of her eye she was watching Demeter. Zeus frowned slightly. "I don't-"
"It doesn't matter." She picked up her cards and gave him a smile even Zeus could tell was false. "Do you want to start, or shall I?"
Later that night, while she lying in bed, Hera wondered if perhaps she shouldn't have said anything. She hadn't thought that feelings would actually become a factor. It had occurred to her, certainly, but she had never seriously considered it. Suddenly the stakes were higher. She was at risk of actually being hurt, which was exactly what she had wanted to avoid. She swallowed hard and rolled over on her side. Well then. She was just going to have to make sure she won in the end.
* * *
Zeus of course, was oblivious to this. For a while he continued working under the blissful assumption that he wanted nothing more than to see Hera on her back and crying out his name. To be fair, that goal was a constant. But one afternoon things suddenly got Complicated.
It was an afternoon like any other. It was hot and the perpetual whine of cicadas droned in the background. Zeus and his brothers were walking back up to the palace to wash up after their athletics lessons, discussing their scores for the day.
"Seriously Hades, why do you even bother racing any more?" Zeus asked. "You'd think with those freakishly long legs of yours you'd be faster."
"I don't know Zeus, why do you bother with javelin when I always beat you?" Hades sneered.
"Javelin is stupid anyway."
"I don't hear you saying boxing is stupid. I kicked your ass pretty hard in that."
"That was a lucky shot."
Poseidon laughed. "More like four lucky shots."
"Fuck off, I didn't see you doing much better."
"I lasted longer than you."
"Only because all that extra flab makes you harder to hit."
Hades gave a bark of laughter. "It's true, you know. My punches just bounce right off."
"Well your attempts at discus were pretty pathetic."
Zeus rolled his eyes. "You're full of shit. My throws were way further than yours."
"Sorry bro, not from where I was standing."
"Well the girls were walking by at that point, weren't they. We'll ask them. I bet Hera-"
"Oh my gods shut up about Hera," Poseidon cut in suddenly. Zeus stared at him.
"...What?"
"Stop talking about Hera. It's like all you ever talk about any more."
Zeus scoffed. "No it isn't."
"Yeah, it kind of is," Hades said, raising an eyebrow.
"Piss off, no-one asked your opinion."
Hades shrugged. "It's true."
"Fucking Hera," Poseidon scowled. "Except you aren't even fucking her yet, so it's just all empty bullshit. If I didn't know any better I'd say you've caught feelings."
Zeus laughed out loud. "Oh fuck off."
Hades and Poseidon exchanged a glance. "Dude, seriously," Poseidon said.
"Seriously, dude," Zeus replied, mimicking Poseidon's tone. "Who do I look like, Hades?"
"Hey!"
"You know it's true!" Zeus said, turning to Hades. "Still clinging to your maidenhead, bro?"
Hades scowled. "Fuck you."
"Sounds like you're in denial," Poseidon said, clapping his hand on Zeus' shoulder. "Better get checked out, bro. Don't want you writing idiotic poetry and mooning over her eyes or singing at windows or any of that bull."
"Pfffft, it's like you don't even know me."
The damage was done, however; the seeds had been sown. He talked big in front of his brothers, but it wasn't long before Zeus' natural inclination to paranoia set in. He began to check himself whenever he felt the need to bring Hera into the conversation, and he was shocked to find just how often that was. Hades and Poseidon probably could have told him his daily average-they had been keeping a tally for a number of weeks-but Zeus didn't need to know the numbers to feel uncomfortable about it.
Even more bizarre, he noticed when he was hanging out with Hera, he was no longer trying to decide what she'd be like in bed. Okay, if he was honest, that aspect never really went away completely. But more and more he found himself actually focusing on what she was saying, and enjoying her company because she was smart and funny and not just because she was hot. In fact, was it just him, or was she getting hotter? Always a plus. Still, he was no longer diligently keeping track of his progress, and some days he even forgot to make any kind of move on her at all.
It was thoroughly disturbing.
* * *
One evening, not long before lights out, Rhea found him on one of the roofs of the palace, seeing how far he could throw small stones into the distance with his sling. When he saw her he started guiltily.
"Hey, Mom," he said, lowering his sling and trying to look innocuous. "What's up?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you, dear, but I was wondering if you might do me a favour?" she said sweetly.
"What is it?" Zeus asked, frowning.
"Your sisters had a little argument and Hera stormed off. Would you be able to find her in the gardens and get her back to the palace before bedtime, please?"
"Sure, I guess," he shrugged, setting down the sling. "Why can't you do it?"
"I think it's best if I have a talk with Demeter. It won't take you long, I'm sure."
"Alright."
Rhea smiled. "Thank you, dear."
It took a while, but eventually Zeus found Hera on the bridge at the bottom of the garden. There was a look on her face of quiet melancholy as she gazed distantly at the water swirling in the brook below. Zeus paused. He felt like he was intruding on a deeply private moment. He hesitated, wondering if he should leave her alone until Rhea had the time to find her, when Hera happened to look up and see him. The look on her face changed immediately; the curtain was drawn back across.
"Good evening," she said.
"Hey." He stepped over to stand beside her on the bridge. "What's up?"
She shrugged and looked back down at the water. "Nothing in particular. Just thought I'd try to find some quiet before bed."
"Yeah, Mom sent me to find you." He glanced at her. "She said you and Dem had a fight."
Hera pursed her lips slightly. "Did she."
"Yeah. What'd you fight about?"
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Nothing important. Just petty bullshit. You know what Demeter is like."
"Sure," Zeus replied, wondering if he did know. "Well, I know you fight a lot at least."
"Mmm, I can't deny that. Some days I wonder why we even bother to speak at all."
"You'd have to give up talking to me too, then. Since you know. We fight all the time."
"I beg your pardon?" Hera looked at him sharply. "We do not fight 'all the time'!"
"What? Yes we do! All you do is insult me!"
"I do not! Don't be ridiculous. Besides, even if I do, you're just as bad!"
"So then why is it any different to when you argue with Dem?"
Hera gave a wry smile and looked away from him. She hesitated for a long moment before she said, "Because when she calls me a 'heartless bitch' she actually means it." She said it lightly, but there was a trace of bitterness in her tone.
Zeus gave her a sly look from the corner of his eye. "Who says I don't mean it?"
Hera laughed. "You don't mean it." She did a double take when he rose an eyebrow. "You can't mean it." He couldn't hold his solemn expression for long before a smirk spread across his face. Hera laughed again and shoved him gently. "Don't be cruel!" Zeus laughed and Hera smiled, glad that he wasn't perceptive enough to notice her light blush.
"Aaaaanyway," Zeus said, stretching, "it's getting late."
"Indeed it is," Hera sighed. "I suppose I shall have to face Demeter sooner or later."
"Pffft." It was Zeus' turn to give Hera a gentle shove. "She should be the one worried about facing you. Look at those claws!" He grabbed her hand and pointed to her impeccable nails. "You could have her eyes out!"
"Stop it!" she said, pulling her hand away and smiling. "We should get back, though. I don't want to give her any dirt on me."
"I'd rather stay out here."
"Well I'm going back in, with or without you," she said, and set off. Zeus followed her reluctantly.
It took them much longer to walk back to the palace than it should have. They dawdled up the path, doing their best to ignore the knowledge that Rhea would be unimpressed if they got back late. By the time they reached the palace it was dark. The torches were burning low and they had to slip quietly across the stone floors, peering around corners and trying not to talk too loud.
When they did reach the right corridor they both lingered for a moment. Hera fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist, debating her next move.
"Maybe if we're lucky, Mom won't have done the rounds yet," Zeus said quietly.
"Mm, fingers crossed," Hera replied. "We should go quickly."
"Yeah."
Neither of them moved.
Finally, Hera said, "Well, goodnight then."
"Yeah, see you in the morning."
"Yes." She nodded slowly. He looked at her a moment but she wouldn't meet his eye. When he turned to go she grabbed his wrist lightly. He glanced back at her. She gave a tentative smile before she leaned forwards and kissed him gently.
Zeus was so taken aback he didn't respond. She pulled away slowly, her expression uncertain, and sighed.
"I..." Before she could say another word, he grabbed her and kissed her deeply. She gave a slight moan and wrapped her arms around him tightly as she kissed him back desperately. He ran his hands over her hips and broke away to kiss down her neck. She sighed and rested her forehead on his shoulder, shivering every time his lips grazed her skin. He was just tracing his tongue along her collar bone when she froze and pulled away.
"Did you hear that?" Her voice was barely audible.
"What?"
"Footsteps."
Zeus was about to scoff when he heard them too. He turned back to her; the expression in her eyes was confusing and unreadable. They hesitated, trying to cling to the moment as it slipped from their grasp. At the last possible second they kissed one another hurriedly, one last time, before turning away and running in opposite directions down the corridor to their rooms.
* * *
Rhea had not been in to turn the lights out, but she arrived so soon after Hera got back to the girls' room that Hera didn't have time to change into her nightgown. Rhea didn't scold her, though she raised an eyebrow, and Demeter didn't say a word, though she shot Hera a look.
The game had changed, but it was not over. For a long time Zeus forgot they were even playing a game, or if so, that they were on opposing sides. Now they were working together, an unspoken agreement, to find as many excuses as they could to slip away together. It was difficult during the day, usually, unless they were sent on an errand together-even then, they couldn't be gone longer than strictly necessary to avoid arousing suspicion. The evenings, however, were free for them to do with what they willed-and so they did.
Soon, though, Zeus realised the game had not quite ended, and certainly not in his favour. He ran his hands around her hips, up over her stomach, and traced and tugged at her girdle. But no, she stayed his hands and gave him a wry look, raising her eyebrow.
He was so close. So close. He was being pulled up at the final hurdle. He was unbelievably frustrated, so much so it drove him to distraction. Rather than occupy his time with others and accept that convincing Hera to sleep with him might require patience and delicacy, he focused all of his attentions on her.
Which, of course, was exactly what Hera wanted.
* * *
Time passed, and though it was impossible to keep their brothers and sisters from finding them out, they managed to maintain enough of a façade to keep from having to answer many awkward questions Rhea would undoubtedly ask if she knew.
Rhea did know, however. Of course she knew. She was a mother, and a queen besides. There was very little that went on under her roof that she did not know about. Besides, Zeus and Hera were young, and however clever they thought they were, they could hardly match the shrewdness of someone more than twice their age. As it was, Rhea was quite willing to turn a blind eye-they got along well together, and seemed to make each other happy, and that was the least she wanted her children to achieve.
They would make a good match, she thought. Zeus was almost certain to succeed his father, and while he was certainly more than capable of being an excellent leader, Rhea knew he was impulsive, and desperately needed someone to temper him and rein him in-someone who could advise him, and balance him. On the other hand, Hera needed someone to help her relax, to give her perspective on smaller problems, and to draw her away from work and remind her to live. Her needs, though personal, were just as great; her heart, though hidden, was just as passionate.
As each day passed, Rhea became more and more aware that the time for her to move on was coming. The world was shifting from the Golden Age of the Titans and into a new era-one, she hoped, that would be borne by her children. They knew nothing of this, of course; Rhea hid her thoughts from them with much more ease than they could hide theirs from her.
When she did leave, Zeus and Hera were the ones that watched her go. Suddenly they were on the edge of a great void, and the future was filled with dark uncertainty. They didn't even have time to contemplate her parting words to them before they exchanged glances and realised that they had been handed the burden of telling their siblings that their mother had left them.
It was one of the hardest things they had ever had to do. Tears began streaming down Hestia's face as soon as they made the pronouncement. Hades kept it together for Hestia's sake, but the pain in his eyes was obvious. Poseidon could only stare at them in shock, and as Demeter met her sister's eye an understanding passed between them, a shared realisation that they were now tasked with a responsibility so great none of them could bear it alone.
While everyone talked, Hera slipped out of the drawing room, unnoticed by everyone except Zeus. He didn't even think to hesitate before he slipped out behind her.
She was leaning against the wall in the hallway, her arms folded protectively over her chest. When Zeus approached her she flinched, but then relaxed.
"Oh, it's just you." She wiped her eyes anyway. Zeus felt his stomach churn. Girls getting teary made him uncomfortable at the best of times, but it was more than that. It bothered him that Hera was upset, though she had every reason to be. He just didn't want her to be sad.
He was momentarily distracted by this realisation-why did it matter to him, exactly, when it was absurd to hope someone could go through life without ever being upset?-when she asked, "Are you alright?"
He shrugged. "Guess so." He leant against the wall beside her. "It's just a bit weird."
Hera nodded. "It is. I don't really believe it."
"Neither," he said, his voice oddly hoarse. He felt as though he had suddenly forgotten how to speak. There was too much going on in his head. He thumbed her bare shoulder softly and she looked up to meet his eye. Her gaze was as calculating as always, but there was a little more to it this time: there was a depth and a rawness there he hadn't seen before.
He kissed her on impulse, and she returned it. She shivered as he ran his hands up her arms and he broke the kiss to brush his lips down her neck. He rested his forehead on her shoulder, and said with a sigh, "I want you."
"I know," she whispered, her breath teasing against his skin.
"Now," he replied.
"What? Right now?"
"Yes." He raised his head to look at her. "Right now."
The corner of her mouth twitched. "Do you ever stop?"
No, he thought. He was drawn to her in a way he couldn't explain and didn't understand. All he knew for certain any more was that he wanted her.
He didn't say anything, though. He shrugged and smirked lightly, before he leaned in to kiss her again. This time though, Hera placed a hand on his chest to stop him.
"What?"
She shook her head tentatively. "No," she said quietly. "Not now."
He frowned. "Why not?"
"I just... No." She said it more firmly this time. "I can't."
"Of course you can," Zeus said, almost scoffing, and he leant in once again to kiss her.
This time she put both her hands on his shoulders. "Zeus."
"Hera."
"I don't want this right now."
"Of course you do." He did scoff this time, which was a mistake. Hera's brow immediately knitted into a frown. She stepped away from him.
"No, I don't. I know I don't."
"But-"
"Why does it always have to be about sex with you?" she interjected suddenly. Zeus looked at her in surprise. "You just..." She shook her head in dismay. "You can't be genuine or sincere about anything without thinking about how it can get you laid!"
Zeus bristled. "What's wrong with that?!"
"It makes you look like a fraud! Like you're playing some frivolous game to waste away your time, like you don't care about anything else!"
"At least I do care about something," he shot back.
She looked at him in stark shock. "I beg your pardon?"
"You!" he said emphatically. "You've always got that look in your eyes like you're trying to work out six different ways you can beat the person sitting across from you! Talk about treating things like a game? You're always on the defensive, like you're trying to work out your next move to win the betting pool or some bullshit!"
She stared at him, her expression a mixture of annoyance and confusion and possibly hurt. She blinked hard and drew herself up. "I thought you knew me better than that," she spat coldly. And with that, she turned on her heel and walked off sharply.
Zeus punched the wall in frustration so hard a crack appeared in the stone. Fucking Hera, he thought bitterly. How does she work?
* * *
With Rhea gone, Hera took the reins almost immediately. No-one questioned her ability to do so: they were moving through the days in a dull state of shock, trying to process what had happened to no avail. Whether she had put aside her own grief or was staying busy as a way of working through it Zeus couldn't tell. He felt like he had jumped all the way back to square one with her. She was polite but distant: she spoke to him in a clipped tone, declined his invitations to take any walks, and ignored his glances at dinner. He didn't know what to do.
Several days later, he found her in Rhea's old office, going through piles and piles of scrolls and papers. Under the scowl of concentration she had been wearing for days there was a glassiness in her eyes that belied how weary she was. He watched her a few moments before he said anything.
"Hey."
She looked up, and when she saw who it was she went back to the scroll in hand. "Hello," she replied shortly.
Zeus shifted uncomfortably. "What're you doing?"
"Going through Mo-all these papers and deciding what we should keep."
"Do you want any help?"
"No, I'm fine, thank you." When he lingered in the doorway, she looked up, frowning. "Was there anything else?"
Zeus wanted to say no and leave her to it, so he was slightly surprised to hear himself say, "Yeah, kind of."
She rolled up the scroll she was holding and set it aside before picking up another. "Be quick then, I have a lot to get through."
He closed the door behind him and stepped over to her. "I just... Want things to be okay between us."
"They are okay," she said without looking at him.
"No they're not. You've barely said anything to me in days! Not anything like we're used to."
"Mmm and what is it you're used to?" she asked, discarding the scroll she was holding and picking up a sheaf of papers.
"I don't know just... not this?" He made a noise of frustration. Why was she being so difficult? "You're usually pretty cool and we have so much fun together normally."
"Yes, I'm sure you think so," she sneered.
He scowled. "Even when we're not fooling around. You're smart and secretly funny and yeah, you're pretty hot, but that's not the only reason I hang out with you." He paused. "Well not any more, anyway. I just. I don't know, I like you, okay? And I like spending time with you. And I don't know, I guess I just... don't want that to stop."
She was suddenly very still. He watched her with bated breath. Just when he was about to give up and leave her alone, she sighed deeply and lowered the papers in her hands.
"I like spending time with you, too," she admitted quietly. She stood and smoothed the front of her robes. "More than with Demeter and Hestia, even. You just..." She sighed and dropped her shoulders. "Tone it down a little."
"If you tone down the permanent serious face," Zeus said after a moment.
She gave a weak smile. "Deal." She stepped over and kissed him sweetly.
Neither of them stuck to the deal, of course. But then, neither of them particularly minded, either.
* * *
After that, Hera relented and allowed Zeus to help her. He figured it would all be pretty dull, but it wasn't as bad as homework, and Hera was good company.
During those few days he thought a lot about what Rhea had said before they had parted. You are king now, she had told him; then turning to Hera, and you will be his queen.
The words echoed in his mind. The hundreds of other things his mother had said to him about finding a wife and a queen cluttered his consciousness. You cannot afford the luxury of marrying whomever you choose; nor can you make a choice frivolously or superficially. They must be worthy: both of being a ruler and of being your wife.
How he was supposed to gauge worthiness she had never cared to mention. Well, not specifically, anyway. He needed a check list, though there was one thing that kept coming back to him that made him think a check list would be useless.
You must marry someone you can live with-for thousands of years, if it comes to that.
The choice, then, was obvious.
* * *
Hera stood in the doorway of her mother's room, surveying it in the light of the early evening. The room had remained untouched since Rhea had left, almost a week ago now, and the light streaming in through the windows revealed the fine layer of dust that was already gathering. Hera drew in a deep breath and leant her head against the door frame; the room was still full of the smell of Rhea's perfume, and it was comforting to her.
She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Zeus. She smiled at him-her first real smile of the day-and said "Good evening, 'my lord'."
He smirked and stood beside her, leaning on the door frame as well. "It's not going to be hard to get used to that."
Hera scoffed gently. "I hope you won't get used to it from me," she said. "I should hate you to get a big head."
"Well you know," he said in a flippant tone. "I can always count on you to take care of my big head."
Hera arched her eyebrow at him, but she smiled all the same. "Council was interesting today. I don't suppose that they'll always be quite so sombre."
"Nah, we'll be back to yelling ourselves hoarse in no time. Just like a real family!"
Hera snickered. "Just like our family, you mean." They stood in comfortable silence several moments, gazing over the room before them.
"Mother was right, you know," Zeus said finally.
Hera sighed. "Mother was right about a lot of things. Now that she's gone I'm beginning to think she knew far more than we ever gave her credit for."
"Hmm?"
Hera shrugged and shook her head slightly. "The more I think about it the more I think she knew far more about everything that goes on around here than we let ourselves believe."
"Probably," Zeus said with a shrug, not caring to mention he had come to that same conclusion. "She was right about me being king after all."
Hera scoffed. "Oh please," she said with a slight smirk, "everyone knew it would be you."
"I can't help it if I'm the one who is the most naturally awesome! Besides, she was right about you being queen, too."
Hera nodded slightly before doing a double take. She looked at him with a slight crease in her brow. "What?"
"Yeah?"
She looked away, an odd expression forming on her face. When she looked back at him again she pursed her lips to suppress a smile. "You are serious?"
Zeus shrugged, a cheeky grin on his face. "I'm the king now, you have to do what I say."
Hera laughed at that. "Well then," she said, affecting an aloof expression, "I suppose it wouldn't do well to ignore the first official demand you ever made of me."
"Of course not, or I'd have to punish you."
"Oh yes? How so?"
"I don't know; chain you to the sky?" he suggested nonchalantly.
"And that would be terrible of course; we can't have that."
"No, then I might have to marry Demeter," he said, pulling a face. Hera laughed again.
"Well it seems I have very little choice then, doesn't it?"
"No choice at all, really."
"Oh I see. As long as we're clear on that point, then."
"Of course."
"Excellent."
"Good." He smiled at her, and for once it was a genuine smile, without a quirked eyebrow or the shadow of a smirk. He leant over and kissed her temple, and when he took her hand, she automatically entwined her fingers around his.