Vacation of the Seasons (Completed)

[The Myst]

This is a private One x One 

this space is reserved for the Soul Twins; Racoonus & Mystique

Do not post unless you are one of them.

However we understand how awesome we are so go ahead and stalk us.

[Racoonus]

It was just another night in Manhattan. A homeless man was snuggled up with a torn blanket sleeping among the trash in an alley when gradually an ominous indigo smoke began to cover the cement. Suddenly, in a burst of blue fire, the god of the underworld appeared. Upon materializing, Hades sighed deeply letting his breath run hot from his throat and pour from his lips releasing more of the ghastly smoke until the alley was one huge cloud. He whipped his cape upward before swiftly casting it aside and instantly dissipating the smolder. The tall figure looked from side to side examining his surroundings until his black, soulless eyes met the gaze of the no longer sleeping homeless man. The man screamed in terror for a good two minutes as Hades stared apathetically in wait, before finally finding the strength in his legs to run into the streets.

“Mortals…” Hades moaned while shaking his head, “I hate mortals.”

The god took a few steps out of the alley and tilted his head upward in admiration of the brightly lit towers. Seems things had changed since he had last set foot outside of his land of souls. Earth seemed to have evolved somewhat. It made no difference to him since as long as man continued to die he would continue to be needed, but it was rather fascinating all the same.

A taxi drove by and once in close proximity to the lord of the underworld began to speed in an attempt to escape him. Hades shook his head. Perhaps he would do well to disguise himself. The only thing that didn’t seem to change was man’s fear of him. It would seem that some notions really did stand the test of time. With a loud snap of his fingers his pitch black eyes turned a humanistic crystal blue, his grey skin turned tan, and his black robes turned to a black shirt and slacks. His hair which was a greasy shade of black and trailed down past his shoulders was the only thing he left the same. Lifting his bangs away from his face, the god looked down at his new attire and glared. There was something very uncomfortable about pants. He was much happier in his airy robes, but blending in was essential to finding his bride.

He fumed as he reminded himself why he was here. His queen of the underworld and “loyal” wife, Persephone, had tricked him and run off after their fight. He had hoped she would return again for fall and winter, but she hadn’t. Now he had come to collect her. He had recently believed they were past all this nonsense and that she was finally happy, or at least content, with being his wife. However, it seemed after their last spat that was not true. She was just as difficult as ever. Hades waved his hand and a small arrow of glowing blue light formed in his palm working like a compass and leading him to Persephone. He strolled down the sidewalk casually with his other hand in his pocket. “When I capture her this time,” He whispered menacingly as the sun began to rise, “I’m not letting her go.”

[The Myst]

Well this was not what she expected. Then again she really hadn't expected much since she had literally been in Hell for what felt like eternity – times were bound to change but she hadn't thought they would change this much. It was easy to lose track of time below, in the Underworld when you were only allowed out to visit with your mother for 6 months out of each year. The worst part was that both her mother and her husband were equally over protective and possessive and her mother only allowed Persephone to wander around Olympus with her so she saw nothing of the mortal world in her 'free' time. She needed to get out, for real, and see what she was missing, have time for herself for once. It wasn't that she didn't love her husband, or her mother, but she did resent them both and before that resentment turned to hatred she had to do something, take a vacation as it were.

That need is what had led her to the surface, after playing a little trick on her husband to get him to allow her to leave, and now she was confronted by how very much she didn't know about mortals of these times. Beasts of varying sizes and sounds made of some sort of material like that of which silverware was made of but the odd part was that there were people inside of the beasts and seemed to be controlling the things. That and there were masses, and she meant masses, of people walking along paved pathways surrounded by huge buildings she couldn't even see the top of when she tilted her head back and there was very little flora and fauna around. It was the last of those two things that made her feel slightly cold, like the lack of life was directly effecting her own life. It was hard not to force some life to grow through the hard ground she walked on but trying to dodge all the people coming at her was providing an efficient distraction.

She was so distracted by someone who was talking into a tiny little...something held close to their ear that she didn't get out of the way of someone on another type of beast, one with two wheels powered by it's rider pushing on things attached to the wheels, coming towards her. With so many people around neither she nor the beasts operator could move at all quickly and once Persephone noticed it coming at her she back pedaled so quickly she stumbled off the edge of the raised path, twisted her ankle, and fell further into the area where the huge metal beasts were roaring past.

A strange, awkward, sounds of anger blasted from one of the beasts coming at her and her blue eyes widened as she stared right at it up until the moment it connected with her body and sent her over it's head. That was the last thing Persephone remembered for quite some time.


~*~ ~*~

It had been eight months since she had woken up in the hospital with no memory of her name, where she was from or...well anything about her life. One of the nice nurses who had tended to her while she healed (she had been told it was a miracle that nothing had been broken or internally damaged and that she had escaped with only a few scraped, bruises, and one minor head trauma) had helped get her set up with what she called Welfare until she could get on her feet. That nurse also helped her form a new identity since he had no idea who she was.

Now her name was Quinn Rhodes, height: five feet four inches, weight: 125 pounds, blond and sea-blue eyed, and her birthday was an estimated guess that put her around 24 years old. She now lived in a little studio apartment in a city called Manhattan, worked at an upscale restaurant in the evenings, a flower shop during the day and lived a rather boring life. Well, as boring as an ethereally good looking woman could have. Men constantly tried to woo her away from her 'sad little life' to live with them and she had gotten many offers to become a model. She turned them all down. There was just something about her life that she found complete and utter satisfaction in. She even had a small dog now that she had found on the streets and taken in.

Staring at herself in the mirror she added the last touched to her make up, checked to make sure her uniform was in perfect shape then grabbed her purse and keys to head off to work.

“I'll be back by two, Puddles, be good!” she called to the black terrier sleeping on her couch. The perfect thin about her apartment was that it was within walking distance to both of her jobs – heck she lived right above the flower shop and the restaurant was only nine blocks away and she loved to walk the streets. Of course by the time she left for work it was a little more dangerous to walk which was why her friend and fellow waiter, Bobbie, always walked her home. Bobbie was a good looking man and once he realized he had no chance with her he had gotten over trying to woo her and they had become good friends. He had also taught her a lot about the world she could remember nothing about so that was enough of a bond for her.

Once she got to work and clocked in it was just another night like all other nights. Gods she loved her life.

[Racoonus]

Ten blocks later, Hades’ magical blue compass led him to a brightly painted flower store. Freshly cut, fragrant flowers lined the storefront in beautiful displays showing off just about every flower imaginable. Violets, daffodils, roses, carnations, daisies, and more were all sprawled out under the shade of a white and red stripped canopy. “How quaint,” the god of the dead muttered as he picked up a sunflower and twirled it in his fingers lazily. It was no wonder his wife would choose a place such as this to run away from him. He never allowed her the pleasure of growing flowers in his underworld except in designated areas. Even then, he was rather strict on which ones. It was obvious that here she could grow whatever vegetation she wished.

He tossed the flower to the ground and rubbed his temples. He was quite certain he could feel the slight wrinkles in his face grow deeper and more defined. His wife made him feel like an old grumpy man at times; something that was literally impossible, because he was an immortal god and did not age. Of course, she also rejuvenated him in a way. He remembered the day when he first saw her. It was love at first sight. Maybe if he hadn’t tricked, or rather forced, her into marriage they wouldn’t be in this current situation. No. He wasn’t going to blame himself. This was her fault. She knew how much he hated to be tricked. She brought this on herself.

Feeling his rage return, Hades looked through the store window, but he didn’t see anyone. Then again, He couldn’t see much past the plethora of flowers. He pushed open the door and was greeted with a delightful little bell jingle. “Ugh,” he huffed with annoyance. He was almost certain he would vomit if this place got anymore adorable. He walked to the counter and looked down to see a little bell with a note that read: Please ring bell for service! The note even included a small smiley face. Repressing a gag, he rang the little bell.

The god of the underworld turned around and wandered about the shop. Within moments, he picked up one of the flower arrangements and turned it around slowly in his hand. He glared at it for a moment before carrying it with him towards the counter. There was no mistaking who had arranged it. It was made with all his wife’s favorite flowers and tied with a bow of her favorite color. She was definitely here. “You can’t hide back there forever,” he called loudly towards the back figuring she had seen him and was biding her time. Running was useless; he knew she wouldn’t run. Growing impatient with her games, he took a few steps closer to the counter while still holding the vase full of flowers.

[The Myst]

If there was one thing strange about her that she had noticed, and didn't tell anyone about, was that she needed very little sleep to function through a day. She would get home from the restaurant around two in the morning, checked on Puddles, shower, watch a little late night television (The stories on the box were amazing!) and then maybe go to sleep around 6 or 7 in the morning, sleep until nine or ten and then get ready for work in the flower shop after a quick walk with Puddles and breakfast for them both. Working in the shop below her apartment was, of course, her favorite job and she actually got paid more there simply because of how good at it she was. She had no explanation for it but for some reason the flowers always seemed to bloom brighter, fuller, more lively in her store than the other flower shops around. It was because of that reason that her shop was one of the more busier ones during peak times and holidays.

By the time she got to the shop her boss, Rosemary, was flitting around the back in her usual panic about making sure all the orders got filled quickly and correctly all while trying to run the front of the store as well. When Quinn came down the back stairs and let herself into the actually flower part of the show Rosemary's relief at seeing her was obvious.

“Quinn, darling, I am so glad to see you! I swear every husband in Manhattan must be in the dog house with how many orders we have today,” the older lady spoke with a soft southern drawl that Quinn found relaxing.

She smiled as she pulled on her apron with her name embroidered on it, pulled her long hair back into a messy bun and grabbed a stack of orders to begin working on. “That saying still confuses me, Rosemary. Why would any woman put her husband in a dog house? They just look so small!” both women had a nice laugh at that as they remembered the first time Rosemary had said that and the horrified look Quinn had on her face had led to one heck of a conversation.

“Oh you,” Rosemary said with a chuckle as she began loading up a cart with orders, “so I've got to get theses deliveries out. You'll be alright by yourself for a while?” Even as she asked Rosemary started pushing the cart towards the loading door where their van was parked just outside.

“Yes, I can manage just fine, Rose, you know you don't have to worry.”

“Alright, darlin', if you need me I'll have my cell on.” and with that she was gone.

The next hour or so was quiet with only one of two customers to disturb her work on preorders. She was actually in one of the refrigerated rooms with a bunch of flowers collecting her next bunch for an order when the bell on the door of the shop went off so she hadn't heard that one and she managed to time closing the door just as the other bell, the service bell, rang and she missed that too. Of course her not hearing the bells had nothing to do with the fact that she was humming some song that had been stuck in her head for the past two days.

It was the voice calling back, though she couldn't quite understand what was said, that caught her attention. Quickly setting the flowers in a near by bucket of water she dusted her hands off, completely missing the fact that there were a few leaves sticking out of her hair, and wandered out to the front of the shop. She was smiling the entire way and even whens he saw the dark looking fellow – well what she could see behind all the flowers he was holding - the smile stayed in place.

“Good morning sir!” She called cheerfully as she closed the distance between herself and the counter, “you've made a wonderful selection there, shall I ring it up for you? I'm sure your wife, or girlfriend, will love those. That's one of our more popular arrangements.” And it was. She had many customers tell her that particular bouquet had gotten them out of hot water – another euphemism she didn't quite understand. If the water was hot why did they need flowers to get out of it? Did their legs suddenly stop working and the only way to get them working was the smell of flowers? She still didn't understand fully though she pretended to just to get Rosemary to stop struggling to find a way of explaining it.

"Would you like a card to go with it? We can deliver it to her place of work or home if you would like. We have pre written cards as well as blank ones"  As she spoke she pulled out a binder full of samples for him to choose from should he decided to do so. Rosemary would kill her if she didn't at least suggest the up-sale of both card and delivery.

[Racoonus]

When Persephone finally came out from the back, Hades hardly recognized her. The women before him seemed so… perky. She walked with a pep in her step and a twinkle in her eye. The god hadn’t expected such a warm welcome after their fight and several long months of letting it stew. She knew she had done wrong and he was upset, right? And here she was prancing around with a smile plastered across her face. Honestly, He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her smile so bright. It almost felt like he was meeting her again for the first time. She just looked so vibrant, lively, and, well, happy like when he had first laid eyes on her in the flower patch and decided to make her his for all eternity. The sight was a bit unsettling to say the least. If she had meant to throw him off guard by acting like nothing was wrong, it was working.

“Good morning sir!”

The god of the underworld raised an eyebrow. Her honeyed words certainly did not fall on deaf ears. Since when did she call him Sir? He didn’t mind the sound of it, but it was still all very strange. It seemed more like something she would try to pull on him in the bedroom to get him to stop being mad at her rather than right away after such a long absence. He was quickly tiring of all these little games. He was about to interrupt her when she spoke again.

“you've made a wonderful selection there, shall I ring it up for you? I'm sure your wife, or girlfriend, will love those. That's one of our more popular arrangements.”

By the gods, she didn’t recognize him. Hades. Her own husband. Even with his ridiculous disguise on; it couldn’t have been hard for a god to see past such trivial little tricks and recognize their own spouse! His brow wrinkled in confusion and anger, but she continued to speak with him as if he were a stranger. He had completely stopped listening by the time she shoved some binder full of cards in his face. No, something was wrong here. This wasn’t one of her games. His anger quickly shifted to concern.

“Sapling?” He whispered tentatively, calling her by her pet name. It was not uncommon for him to refer to her as his little sapling from time to time. He gently placed the vase of flowers on the counter and took another step closer to her. With befuddled eyes searching for the truth, he tenderly reached his hand up to untangle a leaf from her hair. He let it drop to the floor and he continued to stare at her with concern. Had something happened? Did her mother have something to do with this? Perhaps one of his brothers was pulling tricks on him. Whatever was going on, it was not amusing. For a long moment he simply looked into her bright eyes unsure of what to say.

“What…” He began not really sure what he wanted to ask first, “What are you doing here?” Hades had originally guessed that she had tricked him and run off to earth to elude him and her mother, but now he was uncertain. If she didn’t start making sense fast, well, he wasn’t sure what he would do. The god lifted his hand and pulled another leaf from her hair that was close to her forehead. When he brushed away the foliage, he felt a very small (and hardly noticeable to anyone except someone who knew her body so well,) bump on her head. Had she… no. Had she gotten hit in the head somehow and lost her memory? Was that even possible? It must have been something huge and powerful to even manage to lay a scratch on her. It couldn’t possibly be that.

[The Myst]

After her accident the doctors had told her there was a chance her memory would come back but there was also a greater chance that it wouldn't. The head injury she had sustained, while not enough to put her in a coma, had done enough damage that some scar tissue had built up and could possibly be pressing on something that was keeping her from accessing her long term memory. Honestly she had turned them out when she realized she didn't understand more than half of the words they were using and all the things around her beeping and dripping were freaking her out. All she knew was that she had an ever present bump on her head that wasn't easily visible but she could feel if she ran her fingers over it – something she did whenever she was deep in thought and never even noticed it. Some people pinned the tip of their tongue between their teeth but Quinn rubbed that bump as if the more she rubbed it the smaller it would get and eventually her memory would come back.

The more she talked the more she noticed the man was giving her an odd look. She was used to men looking at her, their eyes undressing her as if she were some sort of mystery candy and they couldn't wait to see what was under the wrapper but the way this guy was looking at her was different.

“If you need help selecting a card or...something I would be more than happy to help you. Or if you don't think that bouquet is the right one we can custom make you one,” her smile faltered a little as he continued to give her that strange look. She knew how to handle the more lecherous looks she got but this one was starting to freak her out a little bit.

She mistook his use of a nick-name she couldn't remember for a request and she arched a brow. “Sapling? Well...we do have some bonsai trees in the back if that's more what you are looking for and some potted ferns but that's about as large as we have here,” she closed the binder of cards since they weren't exactly something one would send with a tree. Setting the card binder back beneath the register she pulled out the 'exotics' book, the one with the more rare flowers and, in this case, saplings for the man to look through. By the time she brought the book back up and returned her eyes to her customer he was so much closer she almost jumped back. Instead her smile froze on her face and when he reached toward her she leaned back just a little until he pulled his hand back with a leaf in his hand; she just barely felt the brush of his fingers through her hair and for some reason it sent chills down her spine, not bad ones but goosebumps rose on her skin none the less. Oh dear, had that been there the whole time? Cheeks turning pink with embarrassment she cleared her throat and opened the binder, peeling her eyes from his in an effort to regain her composure. It didn't work.

She couldn't stop herself from repeatedly glancing from the binder to his eyes all while rambling about the different selections he could choose from that might fit his sapling category. His voice interrupted her and her rant died on a stutter and her wide eyes once again locked to his. Confused her brows furrowed and she licked her lips as she tried to think of how to answer his question.

“Um...I work here, sir,” she said with an awkward laugh that ended breathily as he lifted his hand towards her again and pulled a second leaf from her hair. She was really going to have to start using the mirror in the back before she came out front. This wasn't the first time she had leaves in her hair when helping customers and most of the time it hadn't bothered her but for some reason appearing as anything but well put together before this man just seemed wrong. She was blushing again now and she forced herself to look away from him back to the binder of laminated pages – pages her fingers were bending at the corners as she couldn't seem to stop fidgeting all of a sudden.

“Um...so...did you see anything you liked in this book?” She asked, her voice suddenly sounding more like a boy enduring puberty – cracky voice and all.

[Racoonus]

Persephone… worked there? Hades’ queen, the goddess of harvest, worked at a flower shop for mortals? She really had lost her memory. How could this have happened? What would her mother say? Demeter would surely blame him for this. No. Her mother wouldn’t have to know. He’d simply take her back home and jog her memory until it came back. Surely, it would come back. A goddess couldn’t lose their memory permanently. Could they? Regardless he had to get her back home, this was simply degrading! Once she was back in the underworld she would remember everything: being a goddess, her mother, him, their marriage, their fight, her misery…

It was then that it hit him. This was his second chance. Maybe this time if he didn’t trick her into a forced marriage so hastily, she would actually enjoy being his wife. Sure she seemed happy from time to time, but this little stunt of fleeing him had reminded him just how unhappy she still was. Now she had gone and gotten herself hurt. Worse, she’d gotten herself knocked back to the Stone Age since she didn’t even seem to recognize him. The god of the underworld knew how to be crafty and this was just the thing to nail down Persephone forever. With any luck, maybe she would never remember and he could rewrite her history. Maybe he could even convince her that Demeter was not her mother. Oh, how sweet that would be. Then she would spend all her time with him down in the land of souls instead of just six months on and off. He liked the sound of that.

Hades was unable to hide his all-knowing smirk as his wife’s face burnt bright red. Her fiery cheeks reignited his love for her and renewed it into something that it had never been before. She turned away bashfully and his grin only grew larger. It would be all too simple to have her fall for him. He knew everything about her and everything she loved, so surely there would be nothing simpler than deceiving his wife into loving him. Especially, if Persephone thought she was a mortal and not a high and mighty goddess. This would be a piece of cake.

“Um...so...did you see anything you liked in this book?”

“No, but I think I see something I like right here,” He replied confidently looking straight at her. She was so innocent now that she had forgotten who she was. It was outright adorable. He chuckled allowing the low, deep rumble fill the silence of the room for a moment before speaking again. “Whatever you were planning to do tonight: cancel it,” he demanded with a devilish stare, “We’ll do something fun together instead, a walk among the trees perhaps?” If he knew his little sapling, which he did, there was nothing she loved more than a being surrounded by life. Surely she would never pass up the opportunity to spend some time in nature. All this cement was bound to have her pent up, even if she was surrounded by flowers.

[The Myst]

A slightly awkward silence fell between them after she informed the man she worked in the store as it didn't seem like the answer he was expecting. Clearly she was wearing an apron with the logo of the store on the front right across her middle and her name across the top left corner of it. Seeing as how she had no idea what the man had been hoping to hear she tried her best to maintain eye contact but the way he was looking at her, like she had grown a second head, was making it hard. She was a people person and she had been described as friendly by every person she met but there was only so much awkward she could take. She had only been in the world eight months, or at least that was how it felt since everything before waking up in the hospital was a sucking black hole, and she was still learning how to deal with certain feelings and what behaviors were required in certain situations.

Ah, and then it happened. His manner changed and the type of man she had grown used to dealing with appeared – awkward moment over. The smile on her face grew tense and her eyes flashed as her teeth ground against the urge to say something snappy to the man. At least now she knew how to deal with him. Putting on the most perfect, and fake, smile she could muster (a smile reserved for customers that lay it on thick from the moment they saw her) she snapped the binder closed and slipped it back into its spot. It wasn't what he said that irritated her, she was used to things like that coming from the mouths of men, it was how he said it. He didn't ask her out in that slimy, charming, way most men did oh no, he demanded her time. Out right ordered her to clear her schedule and that he would be taking her out - even his suggestion about walking through the trees sounded more like an order than a request.

Clearing her throat she took a couple steps back from the counter and man as she slipped her hands into the front pocket of her apron still smiling. “I’m sorry sir,” she said sweetly, “was there anything I could get for you today? If not I really need to get back to work.” While everything in her urged her to tell the man exactly what he could do with his demand she was on the clock and he was a potential customer and until he either bought something or walked out she had to be kind and courteous. Or unless he tried something and then he would see just what she had in her apron pocket. It wouldn't be the first time that a man had laid hands on her and just like the first time (when she had smashed her tray over the man’s head the moment she realized his hand was working its way up her skirt) she was prepared to protect herself again. No way would Rosemary fire her for protecting herself just like her boss at the restaurant hadn't fired her.

A door opened and closed in the back, only heard because Rosemary had a habit of slamming doors like a petulant child, and then the call that brought relief flooding through Quinn.

“Quinn, darlin’! I’m back! Woo, you ought to see some of those places I just took deliveries too,” a laugh grew in volume as the older woman walked towards the front, “think you can take the next round on –oh,” Rosemary stopped as she reached the front of the store and saw the man standing at the counter. For some reason she seemed a little taken aback, like she had seen some boogey man from the closet but she quickly recovered. “Have I interrupted a sale?” Rosemary asked as she seemed to shake whatever it was that had riled her and stepped closer to Quinn. “Quinn here is our best employee, if she can’t find you the perfect flower or bouquet then there is no such thing,” Rosemary laughed cheerfully, slipped her arm around Quinn and gave her employee a one armed hug.

Quinn flashed a grateful smile at Rosemary and very slowly removed her hands from her apron pocket. There would be no need to use the sheers stored there with her boss back now. Most men left her alone once she had back up. “We were just discussing what this gentleman was going to buy and I think he settled on this bouquet right here,” she motioned to the vase of flowers he had set down on the counter and flashed him a pretty smile. "Would that be all sir or did you want to add a card after all?" She half wondered if the man would play along and buy the flowers or if he would just turn around and leave. Either way as long as he left she would be happy but making a sale would be nice - especially since the vase he picked was one of the more pricey ones. 

[Racoonus]

Hades knew she wasn’t going to go for a walk with him the second he finished speaking. Her tell-tale sign was clear as day: her face tensed and she began to clench her jaw. Anytime she did that he knew he could expect a snappy response fallowing. His sapling surprised him though by simply saying sorry. And again that word! Every time she called him “Sir” he wanted to grab hold of her and carry her off to his bedroom. She was just as infuriating and difficult as ever. He simply couldn’t believe it. She had refused him. His queen knew better than to refuse him; he always had his way. His nostrils flared and he was about to bark at her, but suddenly he was reminded that she really didn’t know better. As far as Persephone was concerned they had never met before, let alone spent half of eternity together. He bit it tongue, but scowled at her all the same. Apparently, even when not knowing she was a goddess she still carried herself with the same arrogance. He was half tempted to just pick her up and take her back home when suddenly-

“Quinn, darlin’! I’m back! Woo, you ought to see some of those places I just took deliveries too,”

The god’s anger slowly melted away and he simply sighed, his typical sigh. Great, his moment alone with her was apparently over. No. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice; he would thoroughly woo her before carrying her off this time. Sure he had an underworld to manage and he had to resolve this mess before Demeter found out what was going on, but he wasn’t going to rush this. The promise of having her less miserable and potentially be able to spend all twelve months out of the year with her was too great.

“think you can take the next round on –oh,”

Hades watched the old mortal shake at the sight of him. Damn. If only his presence had startled her enough to give her a heart attack. Then, he would have one more soul when he got back home. The woman’s cheeriness bothered him to no end. So this is where his wife’s sunny disposition was coming from. Tricking his queen to fall back in love with him wouldn’t be as easy as he had hoped.

“Quinn here is our best employee, if she can’t find you the perfect flower or bouquet then there is no such thing,”

Hades watched the old crone wrap her arm around his sapling and he had to force himself to keep his hands at his sides. The woman’s possessiveness reminded him much, too much, of Persephone’s dreaded mother.

This time he heard it: Quinn, the name that was embroidered on his wife’s apron. So that is what she was calling herself now. It probably had managed to slip his mind until now because it was just so ridiculous. “Quinn” was not the name of the goddess of harvest.

“I have no doubt of that,” he replied dully to the obvious statement. She was the reason that the earth even had its precious flowers. He’d been amazed if she wasn’t the “flower employee of the millennia.”

“We were just discussing what this gentleman was going to buy and I think he settled on this bouquet right here,”

That little minx-

"Would that be all sir or did you want to add a card after all?"

With another soul crushing sigh, Hades rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. He pulled a plastic card out of his pant pocket and handed it to his wife. True, he wasn’t all that up to date with modern life, but he knew enough to get by. Surely posing as a mortal for a few days wouldn’t be impossible and it couldn’t possibly take more than a few days to convince his love to marry him again. He prayed to Eros that it wouldn’t. As he waited for her to ring him up, his eyes trailed up and down the shop owner. It shouldn’t as long as no one got in his way. Hopefully Demeter wouldn’t come looking for her daughter. With any luck his deceitful wife had successfully tricked both of them and he wouldn’t have to deal with her mother for four more months.

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” he promised. His gaze returned to Persephone. “I’m a connoisseur of flowers,” he lied, “and I like a fresh vase on my table every morning. I’ll expect an arrangement containing freshly cut saffron crocus waiting for me first thing tomorrow morning and I want it as gaudy as a funeral wreath. I’ll pay for it now, so go ahead and charge it.”

Saffron crocus was one of the few flowers that he often allowed his wife to grow in certain areas of the underworld. They weren’t all that appalling to him compared to other flowers. And something gave him a feeling that they wouldn’t be the easiest for her to come by without growing them herself. It wasn’t a plant that grew in the wild and probably wasn’t cheap to come by. This meant she would have to spend her whole day on the arrangement and give her time to think about him. He would have control over what she did today one way or another and she would learn that things were much simpler if she just obeyed him.

Smirking contently and not worrying about the cost, since he could magically counterfeit all the pointless mortal currency that he wished, he waited for the return of his card with a raised eyebrow. “Well, I’ll be going now,” he announced knowing that his wife wanted nothing more than him to walk out the door, “You ladies have a nice day. See you tomorrow.” Once the transaction was completed, he headed out the door. While his queen was off playing flower shop employee, he had souls to take care of.

[The Myst]

She hadn't noticed it before but this guy was...something else. Okay so she had noticed it but the way he sighed, like every demon in the world was riding his back, sent and overwhelming wave of sadness crashing over her but it didn't last long enough for her to actually think too much about the feeling. She just brushed it off as the guy being part of the emo scene what with his all black clothing, dark hair (which looked like it could use a wash really) and pale skin. All that was missing was the dark make up and the freak contacts she saw some emo kids wearing. You know, the ones that made there iris white so it looked like their pupil was just one tiny pin prink in all that white. The vast differences in how people dressed and what 'scenes' they were into was another thing she was learning about and the Internet was one of her recent addictions the past eight months. It has so much knowledge on it but surely...some of it had to be made up, just had to be.

Anyway, now that she was getting the man out the door she was back to being her happy self, her smile was real again and there just may be a hint of cheekiness in it once her ploy of a sale worked. She hadn't known what to expect when she made it sound like he was actually doing to make a purchase he had one of two options: buy the stupid vase of flowers or just walk out. Even his sigh, the most depressing sigh she had ever heard, wasn't enough to dull the feel of success she had bubbling inside of her. Not only had she gotten rid of the man but she had made a decent sale. Or at least she though she had, gotten rid of him that was.

The moment she went to hand him his card back and thank him for his business he struck. He said he would be back tomorrow. Great, juuuussst great. Inhaling sharply through her nose to cut off the urge to grunt in frustration she forced that pretty, perfect, smile back on her face and her teeth clenched again. A connoisseur of flowers? Ha, she highly doubted...that...thoughts which she quickly rescinded when he demanded he receive a vase of flowers every morning but that wasn't what made her change her mind. It was that he asked for saffron crocus. Maybe he did know his flowers after all – there was no way he could know it happened to be one of her favorite flowers but for some reason looking at them made her sad so she rarely used them if ever. One pale brow arched at him but instead of making the cheeky comeback she so wanted to make she rang up the second purchase on the register but she didn't hand him his card back right away.

“Where exactly are we sending these flowers to, sir?” she asked so sweetly it was quite possible a cavity may have formed. The tone of voice said one thing and she was sure it would be clear to him: Challenge accepted. As soon as she got the address from him she finally handed him his card, along with both receipts which he took and she continued to smile that cavity smile at him.

“You have a great day as well, sir,” she said in response to him taking his leave and wishing both she and her employer a good day. The moment he was gone and the bell from the door fell quiet her smile fell and she glared at the door where he had vanished.

“The nerve,” she hissed softly which was closely followed by Rosemary's laugh.

“Well, he was certainly an interesting fellow wasn't he? What luck that I just ordered some of those flowers he asked for!” Rosemary said as she started to flit about the store rearranging pots and buckets of flowers to her liking.

Quinn blinked at her. “You did? Why? No one ever asked for them before.”

Rosemary shrugged. “I don't know, I just thought a different, more exotic flower would be nice to spice up our usual arrangements. Besides, I know how well you can work your magic with the normal blooms and I wanted to see what you could do with something more...out there.” Rosemary smiled at her and then glanced at the clock. “Oh! You're shift is almost up, dear. You better get started on planning that...what did he call it? 'Gaudy as a funeral wreath' arrangement he asked for.” If Quinn didn't know any better she would think that Rosemary found the whole situation funny.

Sticking her tongue out at her boss she mumbled under her breath and turned to head into the back room. The man wanted gaudy well she would give him gaudy and it would be beyond beautiful – she would win this challenge for sure.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

The arrangement had been simple to make once she had seen the flowers. She simply went with her gut and it was like her hands moved without any direction from her brain but once it was finished and she stood back looking at it she couldn't find anything wrong with it. It was everything he asked for, gaudy and fit for a funeral, but it was also...elegant. After that she had put it in the cooler to keep it fresh over night and then gone up to her apartment for a couple hours of free time before she went to work at the restaurant which was thankfully a short five hour shift so she was home before midnight. The night went fast and once she stopped looking at the arrangement she forgot all about it and the man that ordered it. Then the night ended, she slept, morning came and it was her shift at the flower shop again and she was forced to remember.

A gusty sigh slipped past her lips as she went though the list of orders that needed to be delivered that morning and his was at the top of the pile. Rosemary had finished all the other arrangements on the list after Quinn had left so all that she had to do was load them up and make the drops. Soon she found herself at the wheel of the van heading to the address the man had given her (thank god for the GPS thingy Rosemary had bought or Quinn never would have known where to go) and when she pulled up to the fancy hotel she laughed.

“Well, that explains the flowers,” she muttered to herself as she drove around to the service entrance, parked the van, pulled out the stupid arrangement and then headed inside. As she passed the check in counter she stopped, looking at it to the elevators she would need to take then back again. In a rare streak of childishness she turned away from the elevators and marched over to the check in counter, that pretty smile back on her face.

“Good morning!” She chimed and it was returned by the pretty lady behind the desk, “I have a delivery for suite 1525,” she said after glancing down at the paper with the order information on it, “could you see that this is sent up to the resident, please? I have a million other deliveries and would hate to be late.” Thankfully the woman behind the counter was more than harpy to see the arrangement got delivered and within moments a bell boy had been summoned and given the vase containing the beautiful flowers.

“Thank you so much,” Quinn said with a wave as she headed back the way she came just as the bell boy vanished behind the closing elevator doors. She found herself laughing quietly all the way back to the van and for the remainder of her deliveries she was in a much better mood. It only took about two hours before she finished with the first round and was back at the store where she traded duties with Rosemary and ran the back of the store while two of the other weekend employees took care of the front. This was the part of her day she loved most, just being alone with the plethora of plants and creating works of art out of them – strange men in black ordering her on dates be damned.

[Racoonus]

After Hades left the flower shop, he rented the room he had lied about staying in; what luck the room was actually vacant and he didn’t have to send anyone to the afterlife prematurely to obtain it. After taking care of that business, he walked outside, turned a corner, and landed in an alley way. He raised his hands above his head and was immediately engulfed in blue flames which transported him to his underworld. It was good to be back.

The god kicked off the smoke that pooled around his feet as he entered his domain. Sure it was bleak, but it was home. He looked around the never ending cavern harboring the souls those who had passed on and poorly lit by blue flame. In a lot of ways, Hades felt his brothers had gotten the better of parts of the cosmos with the sky and sea, but he had come to accept it. It was a thankless job, looking over all the souls, not to mention a lonely one, but he was content.

The place was always much “less” lonely when his little sapling was around. He much preferred a day arguing with her over a day without her, but perhaps he didn’t tell her that quiet as often as he could. He undressed himself from his silly disguise and sat down on his thrown. Ah, freedom from pants. How mortal’s managed to wear the things all the time was a mystery to him. The wails of souls echoed through the underworld and caused him to release another deep sign. He couldn’t just sit around all day. He tried, but he just couldn’t. Deep down he was worried about Persephone. He dragged his feet over to one of her flower patches and looked down at the dead saffron crocus. Without his queen around, even something as natural as death seemed depressing.

. . . . .

Donned in his disguise, Hades returned to earth the next day. He visited the hotel room he had “rented,” for week and examined the arrangement. His sapling had certainly tried her hardest and done a fantastic job. The sight of the saffron crocus made his lips curl up in a smile. Never in all his life had he been so excited to see flowers, especially since his underworld was normally filled with the unwanted pests. He snapped his fingers and transported the flowers back to his home. They would keep him company later, since it seemed he’d be another day without his wife. Well, it was time to go visit his busy bee Persephone and try to woo her again.

Hades walked to the flower shop and opened the door. He was promptly greeted by the irritating little jingle, but he hardly let it slow him down this time. What stopped him in his tracts was the two people standing behind the counter who weren’t his wife.

“Hello! Welcome to Rosemary’s Floral Sh-“

“I’m here to see Quinn,” he interrupted. He just couldn’t take another second of their singsong greeting. He never remembered mortals to be this perky before. Maybe he just spent too much time with his souls, but it just felt unnatural. They seemed disturbed by his presence, but continued to flash him fake smiles despite their fear. He hadn’t exactly spoken to them kindly. Besides the fact that they annoyed him, the name “Quinn” didn’t quite roll off his tongue and the whole sentence came off harsh. Gods he despised that name with every, single fiber in his body.

Tweedle dee and tweedle dum seemed to both look at him like he was speaking some sort of alien language and he grew impatient. “I have an order I want her to fulfill that requires specific instruction that I will only discuss further with her.” he told them.

“Well, she’s in the back, but we’d be happy to fill out any order th-“

“Fetch her for me,” He commanded.

The Grady twins stared at him for a long moment before one of them finally walked towards the back of the store. When Persephone finally emerged, Hades stared at her with his best poker face before finally speaking.

“The saffron crocus arrived on time and are absolutely beautiful. I’m impressed,” he told her and frankly he was. It was some of her best work.

“Now about tomorrows flowers,” Hades began with a stern expression, “I’d like a nice big bunch of narcissus and please don’t give me something as small as the arrangement that arrived today. I desire something much grander than that from you. While it was elegant, it was rather… what’s the word? Lacking? Surely you have some baskets or pots that can fit more flowers in them, don’t you?”

[The Myst]

The peacefulness of her day was abruptly cut shot when one of the front helpers piratically burst through the doors into the back with a panicked look on her face.

“Quinn!” the girl squeaked out which had the blond arching a brow. “You have to come out front...now!”

Setting the ribbon she had been curling down Quinn, now a little worried, walked over to the girl. “Why, what's wrong?”

“There's this guy and -”

“Oh. He's back.” Quinn's face fell. Well, the man had said he wanted a new arrangement every single morning hadn't he? Straightening her spine she threw her shoulders back, made sure there were no leaves in her hair this time, and after smoothing her hands down her apron she marched out to the front of the store.

She didn't even get in a polite hello before he launched into both his compliments, which also sounded a little like a scolding, about the first arrangement. And still she didn't get to say anything, not even a thank you, and he was already ordering the flowers he wanted for the next morning. Folding her arms over her chest she stared at him, no smile plastered on her face this time but she was clearly paying close attention to everything he was saying. So, her arrangement that morning had beautiful, impressive yet lacking. The muscle behind her eye tensed and she fought it. There was no way she was letting this man see her irritation with him so instead she gave him a half smile – that 'challenge accepted' smile. And nodded once.

“You order, and receipt  will be delivered at the same time tomorrow, Mandy here till take your credit card information.” She said curtly then turned her back on him and walked right back to where she had been before he had come in demanding her presence. The moment the door separating the two parts of the store closed behind her she started muttering.

“Jerk,” she hissed quietly then adjusted her posture to mimic his, though to a more exaggerated degree. “'what's the word? Lacking,'” she said in his dull, bossy, monotone voice. “I'll show him 'lacking.' He'll get the biggest damn pot we have,” she grunted as she walked into the storage room to indeed pick out one of the larger pots. She got it down and stared at it for a moment then realized what she was doing. A soft laugh rolled from her lips as she shook her head at herself and put the giant, tree sized, pot back on the shelf she had pulled it from. She would not let this man get to her, she would continue to give him her best work and not let his words dig at her. She knew her arrangement had been perfect, had been exactly what he had ordered and she was sure he had just used that word to goad her. The sad thing was it had worked. Well, now this was just war.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Two weeks flew by faster than any she had yet to experience. Because the order was required early in the morning for every day of this mans (she had never bothered to get his name) stay in city – a stay she was fearing may just be far longer than she had been hoping – she had shortened her available hours at the restaurant. It wasn't because she would be tired, sleep was not something she needed an abundance of, it was that every day his orders got more and more complicated, more challenging, and that required far more planning than any of her other normal orders – which she had to do along with his. The flower shop quickly became the center of her world and she often found herself thinking about what he might order next and planning what his current order was.

“You know...I think you're coming to actually like getting this order,” Rosemary had said by the middle of the second week to which Quinn looked aghast even though her cheeks turned bright red.

“Wh-what?! No way would I ever be happy to see that man!” she huffed and was needlessly rough with a bunch of roses she had brought out of the refrigerator.

Smiling slyly Rosemary arched a brow at Quinn. “Who said anything about being happy to see the gentlemen? I was simply remarking on how you seem to be thriving on the challenges he's placing before you.”

Blush darkening Quinn spun away from Rosemary and went over to her work table. “I-I have to finish this order,” she muttered and sunk herself into her work. She would never, ever, admit this out loud but seeing the guy had become the highlight of her day and she was sure it was because of the very reason Rosemary said. He presented a challenge, he tested her skills, and she was indeed thriving on it. She still refused to deliver the finished product directly to his room and the hotel staff were so used to seeing her now they were waiting for her before she even got there. They too seemed to be excited to see what both she and him would come up with next as each order seemed to get more and more 'out there.' She also liked to think that each time he came in to place his new order that he was having a harder time finding something wrong with the last one – at least she hoped so.

Now it was the last day of the second week and she had been back from her morning deliveries for about an hour and a half and she kept looking up at the clock waiting for him to show up. The latest order was a master piece if she had any say in it and the other employees and even the hotel staff seemed to agree with her. All she needed now was to hear tall dark, and (okay maybe just a little) handsome to tell her his verdict. She hadn't even noticed that their encounters had become the favorite part of the day of staff and customers alike and if it seemed more busy in the mornings she assumed it was because word of mouth was spreading and had nothing to do with watching the two parties duel with little more than looks and curt words.

“Um, Quinn, darlin' I think that poor rose has been cut enough,” Rosemary's voice cut into Quinn's mind as she jumped and peeled her eyes away from the clock, again.

“What?” Looking down at the rose she held in one hand and the sheers in the other she realized the long stemmed rose she had been freeing it from its thorns and cutting down to size was now only fit to be placed on a man's boutonniere or a corsage. “Oh dear,” she said softly and set both flower and sheers aside.

Rosemary's chuckle brought a new blush to Quinn's cheeks. “Lucky for you darlin',” Rosemary chimed, “there is an order for a wedding that poor flower would fit in with.” Both women laughed as Quinn stood up and soon found herself pacing.

“What time is it?” She asked even as she looked at the clock.

Rolling her eyes Rosemary stood up, walked over to Quinn, and pushed the girl back into her work chair. “Child, you serisouly need to relax. Your dream man will be here shortly I'm sure.”

“He is not my dream man,” Quinn muttered, “I only dreamt about him once.” she breathed, mostly to herself.

[Racoonus]

Hades was almost enjoying this little game they had begun. Perhaps it would be difficult to win Persephone’s heart, but it certainly was no challenge to get under her skin. That was a skill that every decent husband excelled in and he had centuries of practice beneath his belt. It was all too easy really. Every morning he would congratulate her arrangement, but add in a minor complaint and then order something twice as complicated and extravagant as the day before. It was all part of his plan and even if wooing her amounted to nothing, she was still his wife. He could drag her back down to the underworld whenever he felt like it. He was completely in control of the situation and thus the game was rigged in his favor. He couldn’t possibly loose.

By the end of the first week, his throne was surrounded with flora. So much so, that he had to disintegrate the older arrangements. There was only so much life he could tolerate in his underworld before it started to clash with the atmosphere. Besides, he could care less about the flowers; all he cared about was Persephone. He rented his empty hotel room for two more weeks for extra measure.

However, after almost two weeks he grew sick of the antics and was ready to get down to business. Her most recent piece featured calla lilies and was remarkable to say the very least. Perhaps he would have been more impressed if she had grown the flowers herself, but for while she was still pretending to be mortal he found it hard to ask for more.

Jingle Jingle! The god of the underworld stepped through the doorway of the flower shop around his usual time. He walked towards the counter and was promptly greeted by his wife.

“I got the lilies. I must say, they are rather stunning,” he said and paused for a moment to let her fret about what criticism he would give her before continuing, “You will accompany me to dinner tonight.”

[The Myst]

Unable to wait in the back any longer Quinn headed out to the front to try and distract herself out there. Well, she didn't actually decide it was more like Rosemary ordered her to go up front so she wouldn't butcher any more flowers. It didn't work. Quinn kept glancing up at the clock and pointlessly rearranging already perfect displays. Finally the stupid bell on the stupid door jingled and she immediately moved from behind one of the large shelf displays to sand by the counter just as the man walked in the door. Well, it was about damn time he got there! Leaning one hip against the counter she folded her arms over her chest and just stared a him, waiting. She had leaned over the past two weeks that she would never be the first to say anything and she would never get to defend herself against his criticisms – pointless, stupid, ones she was positive he was making up just to annoy her. So she stood there, quiet, and he didn't disappoint her. Well, not fully.

There was the compliment but the criticism was not as quick on its heels as it it been and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Was he trying to mess with her? Make her wait for it and wonder what he could possibly see wrong with the latest arrangement. She swore if he used the word lacking ever again shew as going to punch him; customer or not. She had never hated words before but after meeting him and with how many times he had used that word she hated 'lacking' as much as most people seemed to hate the word 'moist.'

She was staring at him so hard she knew when he was about to speak before a sound ever uttered from those sinfully pouty lips of his. It was completely unfair that a guy as irritating as him had such a lovely mouth when all it spewed was word venom and in that sad tone of voice of his. Didn't the guy have any other emotion besides disdain and boredom? She wondered what his laugh would sound like but that thought was quickly replaced by the thought that he probably didn't even know how to laugh. Anyway, the moment those lips parted she braced herself and reigned her temper back so she wouldn't snap at him. She had been good theses past two weeks taking his words and not going off on him and she didn't plan on giving into the urge now. She was positive he wanted a reaction from her and he was so not going to get one.

He got one. It wasn't what she had been expecting to roll of his tongue, not even close, his demand (second one actually) that she go out with him. Once she realized what he had said and that it wasn't his saying something was wrong with the new arrangement she lost control of that temper of hers. Her jaw snapped closed, teeth audibly grinding against themselves, her eyes narrowed to slits as she glared up at him and her arms unfolded so she could rest both of her hands on her hips, her body leaning slightly towards him as...was...was that a growl that slid up her throat and past those tightly clenched teeth? Why yes, yes it was and it was closely followed by one hand lifting from her hip to point directly at him.

“How...how dare you,” she hissed, “why can't you just ask me on a date like any normal guy? Why do you have to demand I do this, or that, I am not your slave, I am a person and didn't your mother ever tell you being rude never got you anywhere?” At some point she had closed the distance between them and her finger had started jabbing him in the chest (a rather firm chest at that) with every other growled word that came from her mouth.

“Did it ever occur to you,” she continued finally not giving him a chance to speak for once, “that maybe if you were nice, polite even, and were a gentleman and nicely asked me to go to dinner with you – maybe with a flower or something – that maybe, just maybe, I might say yes?” Head tilted back enough to make eye contact with him she finally dropped her hand, refolded her arms over her chest and glared at him.

“So, did you want to try that again or can I supply you with the number and address of a different floral shop that would be more than happy to fill your orders from now on?”