Tanym/Hades and Anne/Persephone Who: Tanym/Hades and Anne/Persephone When: The morning after What: Stuff and things Where: Tanym's place Rating: PG-13ish Status: complete
Closing the journal, Tanym placed it back on the table and lifted the dog off his lap. "Ok..." He said softly. "Time to clean up and make breakfast." Kirby followed his master into the dining room where he started to clear the plates and remove the candles- which he'd had enough sense to blow out before retiring to the bedroom.
Once he'd cleared the dishes and set them to dry he filled up Kirby's empty dog bowl and went to gathering things to prepare some breakfast with. He had no idea how long Anne would stay asleep, but he hoped he'd have time to at least get the water heated for some coffee.
What a lovely evening it had been. Anne rolled over slightly, feeling around for him, a small frown finding its way to her lips as she discerned that she was alone in the bed. Mumbling something indistinct, and rather reluctantly, she opened her eyes slightly, looking around, the less-than-familiar surroundings providing pleasant confirmation of the previous evening's events. Sitting up, she did not see her clothes in any immediate vicinity, and settled on wrapping the sheets around herself, until she located her things.
A few minutes and some freshening up later, she headed out of the room, looking for Tanym -- for Hades -- following sounds from the kitchen. She paused, on first seeing him, smiling broadly, clearly smitten. "Good morning," she said, cheerily, though clearly still a bit dazed from the previous evening's epic events.
Tanym turned his head at the greeting and smiled. "You're up..." He said as a pleasant suprised as he turned back to grab a cup from the cupboard and fill it up with the fresh brewed amaretto coffee. "Here you go." He said as he turned back and walked the heated liquid to her. "How'd you sleep?" He asked, kissing her forehead and brushing some hair away from her face.
"Mhm," Anne nodded, even the scent of the coffee starting to wake her a bit more. "Thank you," she said, a hand going up to his face as she kissed his cheek softly. "I slept wonderfully," she said. And it was true; she could not recall the last time she had slept so well. Her dreams had been vivid, but all so pleasant, too. "And you?" she asked.
He nodded, turning back to the counter which was full of things. "I slept very well." Tanym went back to chopping the green onions. "Different dreams, better dreams." He told her. It was if having her there with him in his bed had allowed his mind to open up to more than just the woman in the tunnel and he saw more. "I hope you like your eggs scrambled." He said as he slid the onions aside and leaned over to pull out a pan from the lower cabinet.
"Yes, much better dreams," she concurred. She thought back to them, much cheerier than the darkness she had become accustomed to, and some that just thinking about made her flush. She grinned as he asked about the eggs. "Scrambled is very good," she said, sipping her coffee. "And so is the coffee, by the way," she said. Yes, the amaretto was quite delicious.
"Sit.." He gestured to the counter that held stools on the non-kitchen side and looked down upon the stove and countertop that Tanym was working at. He cracked a couple eggs into the bowl, adding a little bit of milk and blended it before lifting the tongs and turning over the pieces of bacon in the skillet before him. "You know, I'm really still not sure what to make of it all." He said as he tested the temperature of the empty pan by holding his hand over it. "But if it means having you in my life." He looked up at her and smiled. "I don't I'll have to worry."
Scrambled eggs and bacon? Oh, goody, goody, goody! "Thank you," she said, taking a seat, and sipping the coffee further. Feeling more awake now, and able to actually think, she considered the situation more broadly. "Understandably. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle that need to be put together, yet, and a lot of others involved," she said. She could have melted at his smile. "There's always been something missing in my life, until I met you. Now I feel... complete." And it was so much more than that, really.
"Me too." He said, leaning over the counter to steal a little kiss before pouring the eggs into the pan. "So, have you met any others?" Tanym asked, easily conversing as he added some salt and pepper to the batch and a little bit of diced mushrooms. A spatula was used to push the eggs around to keep them and the different items he added to them from burning which included, the diced green onions, goat cheese and tomatoes. As he turned down the stove to let it simmer a moment he popped in two pieces of toast and pulled one of the plates over to get it ready.
She watched him cook, rather captivated, actually, the right corner of her mouth lifting in a cross between a grin and a smirk at his question. "Yes, actually. Just one, the... other day," she recounted. "He--Her name is Felicity. I think you may have met her, actually. I was with Orpheus, eating, and he went right up to her. She said she has three dogs, so it was to be expected, and we started talking; I happened to have my journal with me, on the table." She realized she was probably giving a long-winded account of the events, so she stopped. "And you?" she asked. Well, other than Hecate, she meant, obviously.
Tanym nodded at the name. "Little waif of a girl with long brown hair?" He asked to confirm. "I met her three dogs actually." He lifted the pan and moved it over to the plate, sliding the eggs onto it. "Other than her..." He said putting the pan down and looking up to her. "And you." Next came the bacon onto the plate. "I've not met anyone, no. Although with the way work has been." Which was mostly his own fault. "I'm suprised I've had the time to meet either of you." With a quick butter of the toast that popped up shortly after he finished placing the bacon he cut it in half and added it to the meal as well. "Here you are." Tanym announced as he placed the plate before her. There was something missing... "Oh." He grabbed a fork from the drawer and a napkin from it's caddy and handed them to her as well. "-There-."
Anne nodded. "The way she made it sound, they could eat Orpheus for breakfast," she said, with a giggle, recalling the experience. She turned a bit more serious as she looked at him, thoughtfully. "Well, I'm very glad to have met you," she said. More glad than he could imagine, or she herself could fathom consciously, at least. She smiled as he handed her the fork. "Thank you so much; this looks delicious!" she said.
Now it was time to make himself something. "I hope it tastes as good as it looks." He laughed, starting to prepare himself the same thing. "They were quite large dogs. Kirby thought he could take them on regardless of size though." Upon hearing his name Kirby poped his head up from the couch where he'd been laying atop the journal Tanym had left and looked at the two of them. He turned over the bacon and looked up to her again. She was so perfect, and he felt so natural taking care of her- even if it was just breakfast. He felt like he had known her all her life. "So, how is it?" He asked, after a moment's silence. It was funny, the more he looked at her, the less she looked like a student of languages and more like a queen.
She watched him, grinning, taking her fork and trying it, an "mmm," escaping her lips as she did so. It was quite good -- and that was an understatement if there ever was one -- the taste, texture, all of it coming together so nicely. The eggs, the bacon, the diced mushrooms, goat cheese, tomatoes, green onions -- it all equated to one delicious meal. "This is wonderful," she said, once she'd tried the first bit. "I must say, your cooking skills are impressive." She smiled at him, feeling more contented in his presence than she had ever felt in her mortal years, a feeling of completeness encompassing her each time she was with him. He was her king, doubtlessly, so regal in his appearance, spatula easily tradeable for that sceptre she could recall, and she could picture his two-pronged fork, and helm of darkness, all adding to that kingly sense about him. Her smile broadened at the thought.
"You can thank my father for that." He said as he finished and dished himself up his plate. Tanym turned off all the heated surfaces before snagging a fork and taking a bite from his own plate. "He taught me everything I know... my grandmother taught me a bit too." At least half the dishes served at his grandfathers resturant- before his dad showed up- were hers. "My only real special talent." He chuckled as he walked around the counter to join her.
Anne was enjoying the meal, listening to him intently, and indeed appreciative of said talent. At his last words, however, she could not suppress a smirk. "Oh, really?" she inquired, quirking a brow suggestively as she smirked. "I think your special talents extend to a fair few things," she said. She instantly flushed, unsure of where that comment had come from, what had possessed her to be so... forward? And what had it been, really? She was not sure, but regardless of how red her face had gotten, she tried to maintain her suggestive smirk.
He grinned and placed a hand on her back as he leaned in close to her ear. "I seem to recall someone else being quite skilled in that area." He said in a hushed voice. There really was something about her that just brought out this... person inside. "Any you know..." Tanym placed his plate down so his other hand could come up and brush her hair away from her neck. "You stayed in my head all night." This wasn't like him. Sure, he was a romantic. Candlelight dinners, walks on the beach, moonlit strolls, but this? It was so much more... intense.
That made her redden even more, and as he spoke to her softly, leaning close to her ear, she could feel goosebumps at his proximity. His touch made her skin tingle, as he brushed her hair aside, and she brought her hand to his, tracing her fingertips over his skin for a moment, before giving it a squeeze. "And you stayed in my head," she said, truthfully, "made my dreams sweeter than any I've ever had." All these emotions were very unlike her, the sorts of things she had never felt before, but around him, it felt so natural, so right.
He shared in her feelings. "For the first time I saw more than the tunnel and the light." Tanym said, his lips grazing the skin on her neck. She made him feel... like someone else. "It seemed like all these doors started to open just because you were laying in my arms." He pressed his lips to her neck and slid his arm tighter around her just to hold her close for a moment. "You have a power over me."
She leaned into him, letting her hands travel over his arms, enjoying the closeness they were sharing, sighing softly. She listened to his recount of his dream, and nodded. "I know what you mean," she mumbled. "Things seem so perfect when I'm with you; all these things are coming together now, like I've never known before. Being around you does these things to me, like I just want to stay with you in a secluded space for the rest of my life." It was the type of thing Anne had never felt before, ever, but he made things so different. "I don't fear the darkness anymore, as I once did. You've changed things, changed me, brought something out in me I never knew was there."
Slowly he stepped back and turned her so he could see her. He was looking upon her like she was the only woman in the world. "You..." He said with a smile as his hand reached up and brushed through her hair and over her cheek. "You are my queen." As the words came out Tanym knew that were strange. His head tilted to the side as his brow furrowed slightly, trying to figure out exactly where they came from. She sat there, on throne beside him, looking regal in her beauty and poise. His dream. "You were my queen." Tanym corrected after a brief moment.
One of her hands reached up to his shoulder, her fingertips tracing up to the back of his neck, settling there. "And you, my king," she said. The words sounded strange, yes, but familiar, too -- so much so that she felt it in her heart, could recall them as though there were memories associated. And there were, so many images, so vivid, that seemed to come to mind more and more frequently when she was with him, or thinking of him, and especially when he held her. "...still are and will always be," she added, after a moment.
He let out a breath he must have been holding. "Umm... So..." He smiled and half laughed, sliding his hands back to his own body. What was getting into him? "What are your plans? For today?" Tanym asked as he returned to his stool and breakfast.
"Oh, I'm going to..." What was she doing again? After a small moment's pause at the temporary disorientation she seemed to feel around him at times, she recovered. "I actually really need to grade some papers. I'm taking a break on the research for a couple of days. There's a gardening contest I'm submitting an entry for, so I want to make sure that I'm ready for that. Mind you, I need to go back home and get a change of clothes before all of that, and check to make sure Orpheus hasn't wreaked havoc, but that was a given," she said. Her eyes lit up as she mentioned the gardening, a thing for which she had always had a natural affinity, and with good reason, if all of this was any indication. She grinned at him. "And you?" she asked.
"I think I'm going to go out and enjoy my day off." He replied. "Take Kirby-" Who shuffled again at his name. "-out, at least until this evening... then I should get to sleep for my shift at midnight." Tanym broke off a peice of bacon and tossed it to Kirby who caught it and gobbled happily. "But part of me wants to say, 'screw it all' and just pull you back to bed." And there was that man who wasn't Tanym again.
She watched him, cheerily, again smirking as he said his last words. "Oh, part of me wants to take part of you up on that offer, believe me," she said, finishing her eggs and sipping the remainder of her coffee. "More than that, in fact," she added, after a few seconds of thought. She reddened slightly, again, though a bit less so than the previous time. He was bringing all of this out in her, these things so unfamiliar to her that seemed so right.
He leaned his elbow on the table and lay his head on his hand. "How is it that you make me feel so alive? Like I've been dead all these years." Tanym watched her cheeks redden with a smile. "I've been dancing around it all morning. Last night, before..." Before I lost myself. "You called me Hades... like my journal reads." His eyes looked over her. "Our dreams, our passion, you believe so strongly don't you?" He couldn't say it, he didn't have to- but he still couldn't say the words. You are my queen, my Persephone and I am your willing slave your Hades.
"I don't know, but you make me feel the same," she said, reaching over and placing her hand on his gently. "It feels right, seems second nature, even." He was her Hades, after all, and she his Persephone, who adored him more than he could imagine. "I've searched my feelings, and I know it to be true," she said, a thing curious in and of itself; her feelings governed her when she was with him, a departure from her usual demeanour.
He turned his hand over to hold hers. Everything seemed so right with her, so why did he still feel resistant. Maybe if he met more writers from the journal, that might solidify the certainty of it all. In truth, he felt he would be better off not knowing them, that he'd rather be alone. Was he always so lonely? Shaking the thought out of his head he pulled himself back by her eyes. "So I guess this means we will see each other again." He teased her.
She giggled, stopping in her coffee-sipping for a moment. "I suppose so," she teased back, giving him a nudge with her foot before going back to the dark, delightfully hot drink. She wanted to be with him a lot, moreso than she had ever felt with anyone -- indeed, he made her want to be a clingy sort of person, and Anne had never been that way, typically far more detached than she was feeling now, around him. "I'm cooking for you next time," she said, "whenever you would like."
"You cook?" He asked, acting astonished. "This I have to see." Tanym chuckled a little before turning back to his breakfast. They had so much to learn about each other, which was strange due to how much he felt he already knew about her. He couldn't wait.
Anne put her coffee down, grinning again, playfully. "No, actually. I don't. I'm a progressive, empowered woman, and I refuse to step into a kitchen, unless it's to microwave something or pull something out of a can," she said, shaking her head and attempting to keep a straight face as she said it, but failing and giggling furiously. "No, really, I cook. I use fresh herbs from my garden and everything," she said, nodding. "I'll admit, though, I like baking best. Desserts are my forte. What's your favourite dessert?" she asked. Yes, getting to know him was a wonderful thing, she felt.
"I've always had a thing for truffles. Anything with truffles." He admitted. There was something about such a delicious food coming from such an unexpected place. "But I'm actually pretty easy to please when it comes to food. You can develop a pretty wide palette when you grow up around a restaurant. How about you? What's your favorite desert?" He thought on the desert he -had- planned for the previous night and inwardly chuckled.
Anne listened, nodding. "Yes, truffles are quite good, definitely in my top five list," she said, liking them herself. The description of his food likes was noted carefully, for future reference. She considered the question, rounding out her top five in her head, though she was just able to narrow that down to two, after a moment's thought. "Well, you know I like anything with pomegranates, but for this, I'm between bread pudding and cheesecake," she said.
"You know, I'm sure we could figure out some sort of pomegranate cheesecake." Tanym offered. "There is so much I don't know about you… which is so strange because I feel like I know you so well." He chuckled. "Like I know your favorite flower is the narcissus, and you love to dance- but not anything modern or formed like the waltz. You prefer to let the music move you and carry you however it will." He could picture her dancing in a field to the songs of the birds.
Anne considered it. "Mm, that would work," she said, finding the prospects tasty. She made a mental note to experiment with that -- after she had made him some truffles, mind you -- and grinned at him as he spoke. "I know what you mean, precisely," she said. "It's like a puzzle, where are some pieces in place, but others yet to put into place, or to find," she said. She closed her eyes as she sipped her coffee. "Mmm, I'd like to dance with you," she said.
"I don't think I could ever dance as free as you. I can waltz, but with all other forms I have two left feet." He told her as he tossed another piece of bacon to Kirby. "So, you've been… enlightened… a bit longer than I it seems, do you have any guesses as to why?"
"It's refreshing; you should try it," she said, finishing her coffee off and gathering the plate, mug, and utensils and going to the sink with them. "Just a few days longer," she answered, turning on the water and starting to wash, "and it wasn't my doing. I just happened to be with Hecate when she figured it out first. I don't know, it just... clicked, made sense. The visions, the daydreams, they were particularly vivid that day, which probably helped. If not for that, I'd still be just poking around at the names trying to find some sort of pattern."
"Well I guess I need to thank her then. Otherwise you may not have opened my eyes." He said as he walked around the counter behind her and placed his hands on her hips. "You don't need to do that." Tanym whispered, his lips at her ear.
She could feel goosebumps again, his warm breath tickling her ear. She felt at home with his hands on her hips, so safe and cared for; it felt so right. "Oh, please! I insist. You cooked, and such a wonderful meal, at that; I'll wash. It's only fair, you know," she said. And it was, after all. Balance was one of those things she considered key, an orderly sort of thing.
"If you insist." He kissed her neck gently before stepping back. Not wanting her to clean up alone he started to gather the items off the counter to return to the fridge. This felt nice, they weren't doing anything special, just being with each other. He didn't -need- to be doing anything. "I'll be off next Thursday." He told her, glancing over. "I'll get to see you, won't I?"
Run. for. the. door. That's what Anne would normally have done, gathered her things and bolted at any sign of trying to be pinned down. But then, she'd never felt this before, not before him. Instead, she felt her heart melt. She had gathered what remained of dirty plates and cutlery from the counter. "You'll get to see me whenever you like, if I'm not at work," she said, finishing up with the washing, and drying her hands
Once everything was cleaned up he stepped over to her and pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "I-I'll let you go get cleaned up. You probably want to get grading." Tanym took in a deep breath fighting the urge to close her up and never let her leave him.
All this kissing and pulling into his arms was making her melt, warming her heart to its core. She kissed him back, mumbling up against his lips. "Have to," she corrected. "Much as I would love to spend more time with you now." She kissed him again, feeling a pang inside of her at this, this pseudo-farewell, however temporary. "But we'll see each other again, soon," she assured.