Current Days

A new life! It was what Hades needed, he was no longer the God of the Underworld and the world was no longer the same, therefore he had a lot to catch up. So, while waiting for the right time to meet his Persephone, the immortal Hades mingled among mortals and became Holden, a biochemical scholar, who taught at a prestigious college. Under his new identity, he gathered money, made investments and accumulated a fortune to be able to give a comfortable life to his beloved in their last life together. 

During this waiting period, he couldn't keep as far away from Persephone as he would have liked, he feared Loki wouldn't keep his end of the bargain, so he became her online friend, just so he could make sure she was okay. They met on a social network and neither of them used photos, only avatars, but Hades knew it was Persephone typing with him on the other side of the screen, because of a spell he created and refined to find her.

Chat

I'm just a flower: Hello, King of the Underworld lol.

Hades: You get to laugh at my nickname, but at least it doesn't take me a whole year to write it down. 

I'm just a flower: I do not take a whole year... six months tops! 

Hades: Why such a long name? 

I'm just a flower: It describes what I am perfectly. And you are a fan of Greek mythology, isn't it?

Hades: We can say that lol.

I'm just a flower: If I were really a flower, what flower would I be? 

Hades: A Narcissus.

I'm just a flower: How did you...?

Hades: It is a beautiful flower, it suits you. 

I'm just a flower: How can you claim that I am a beautiful person if you have never seen me before?

Hades: I just know.

Narcissus: You have already discovered my real identity, I am no longer just any flower, I am Narcissus, so who are you? 

Hades could not say his name was really Hades, it was not a common name, so he used Holden which meant deep valley, something that reminded him of the underworld. 

Hades: Holden. 

Narcissus: What a beautiful name, does it suit the owner? 

Holden: You can bet on that. 

Narcissus: Confident, I like that. 

Their conversations were always light and funny, as Persephone saw in Hades a great friend, always letting off steam and telling him about her life plans and dreams. They talked to each other on a daily basis, whenever they had time, and even without ever seeing each other in person, they formed a strong bond. 

Holden found himself in love again with that woman, he couldn't wait to see her up close and be able to court her properly, but he had to wait a little longer, just a little longer, she was still very young, had some grow up to do, but he was happy with what little he had with her, he was happy to be able to talk to her everyday and know that her life was going well and happy. 

And then, finally, the big day arrived, Persephone's 18th birthday, and to Hades' great surprise, she insisted that he go to her birthday party, as she wanted to tell him something in person and his presence would be considered as a gift, after all, they had already known each other for so many years, yet they had never met. A little insecure to deal with young people of that new age, Hades accepted and went to meet his beloved. 

Disguised as an 18-year-old, the former King of the Underworld picked human traits that were similar to his own, but younger: a square face with a strong jawline, sharp eyes, thick brows, black hair in a short cut, alongside his tall stature and husky voice. He put on perfume, dressed in dark jeans and a white shirt with a V-neck and long sleeves, that he tucked in to his elbows, put on a pair of simple white sneakers and even wore a fake piercing in the corner of his mouth, because when Persephone said he thought it was beautiful, he had made the mistake of saying that he had the exact one. 

Trying to contain his anxiety, Hades, now like Holden, went to the party. His hands were sweating and his heart was pounding like it hadn't been for many years; decades have passed since he met with Persephone in person. He spent several years looking for a solution and when he did, he spent years building an estate and waiting for the right time to present himself. 

The party was in a local nightclub, famous among young ones, where there were always themed parties and the theme of the night was Latina. It was not the kind of place he would normally attend, but if it was important to Persephone, he would make an effort. 

He sent a message as soon as he get there, letting her know he had arrived, describing how he was dressed and that he would wait for her at the door. That's when he heard a voice behind him. 

"Holden?!" 

Full of expectations for this moment, his heart missed a beat, although they were married for millenniums, Persephone had no memory of their past when she was a goddess or previous lives, all those events, all those feelings, everything they lived together, simply never existed for her, only he knew all that and the whirlwind of emotions that reunion brought to him, was immense and indescribable.

Holden blinked repeatedly before focusing on the person in front of him. A tall and slim figure, with short black hair that matched its androgynous traits. The eyes were piercing green and the features resembled Persephone except for one small detail... 

"A guy?!" - he thought. 

"It's me! Narcissus!" added the young man when he realized that there was no answer. 

That's when he realized that all the signs were there: Narcissus was his name, not a nickname, as Holden had assumed, and whenever they chatted, Persephone always sounded like a guy, indicating which gender he belonged to and identified as, but he ignored all of it.  His desire to be near his beloved was stronger than these details, that he thought were so insignificant, but what was he going to do now?

"Oh, Hi," Holden replied embarrassed, trying to keep his composure. "Nice to meet you." He reached out to greet him with a handshake, however, instead of shaking it, Narcissus went straight for a hug.

"It seems like a dream to finally meet you," said Narcissus with a wide smile. "This is the best birthday present ever."

"Then, happy birthday," Holden said, forcing a smile. The truth is that he was still in shock, he had never imagined that Persephone could not be reborn as a woman, he was not ready for it, he had never thought about it, would he be able to love a man? Would a man be able to love him?

That young man was so different from all her previous lives, Persephone was always sweet, lovely and shy, but Narcissus was outgoing, spoke loudly and did not seem fragile at all, despite having a more delicate appearance than most men, so Holden's head was spinning.

"Are you okay?" asked Narcissus, pulling him by the arm. "You look kind of pale."

"I'm fine," lied Holden while feeling as if the ground had opened under his feet and he was in an endless free fall.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone," said Narcissus cheerfully.

A group of young people was gathered not far from there, Narcissus introduced Holden to his friends and said the name of each of them, but he could not pay attention to a single word, as panic took over his body and he used all his strength trying not to let it show. He, who had been madly in love with a woman all this time, who waited for her, could now be rejected by a simple matter, his gender.

Narcissus's sexuality was not very clear to him, after all, he knew little about the present-days mortals. They communicated online for years, but never talked about relationships, and the fault of that was totally his. Whenever the topic was brought up, Holden changed the subject. He knew it was not the time to talk about these things and preferred to avoid, deciding that until the person he loved reached adulthood, he would not make any mention of dating. 

This was the first time after Persephone began to be reborn as a mortal that this had happened and he was not ready to take the next step.

They entered the nightclub and Narcissus headed to the dance floor right away, while Holden preferred to sit on one of the bar stools and watch all the movement from afar. It was only checking from afar that Holden realized that Persephone could have a male body, but she still had a lot of charm, her movements were beautiful and graceful, her smile lit up the whole place, her beauty was stunning as in all her previous lives. 

With just a few minutes before midnight, Holden felt even more anxious, his stomach was churning, his hands were cold and he looked like someone who was about to vomit. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Narcissus.

"I think all this noise made me a little dizzy," Hades could no longer lie and disguise his discomfort and anxiety, he was in internal conflict with the whole situation added to the fear that another tragedy would happen before his eyes. 

"You better go and rest then, do you want me to call a car to take you?" said Narcissus worried. 

"No, no, your birthday hasn't even started yet, how could I leave just like that?" Holden insisted he would not leave Narcissus's vicinity until he was sure that Loki's word would be fulfilled. 

"It's okay, we can meet more often from now on since we've met in person," Narcissus offered a big smile that shook Hades' heart. How could she have revived so many times and still possess that same charming smile? 

"Are you sure you won't be upset?" asked Holden trying to buy time, he knew that it was close to midnight. 

"I'm sure," Narcissus was confident and really seemed quite mature for the situation, he was worried about his friend and cared more about his well-being than about his own whims. 

"Okay, then I'll go..." he took a look at the clock, there were only a few seconds left. "Once again, Happy Birthday," then completed with a hug, long enough, for the next day to come. 

Unsure of his decision, Holden left the nightclub with a heavy heart.