bakerstreet | Nursed back to health ( shipping )

( the sound of her bare feet hitting the cold tile echoes through the halls once she hears his voice. she comes sliding to a stop in the doorway, leaning against it as she tries to catch her breath and attempt to look suave in the process. )

Hades!

( her cheeks redden slightly as she nervously wrings her fingers together, her stomach twisting and falling into a void when he asks why she's here. she did let herself in after all... )

I was in the neighborhood and thought I would stop by... the door was open and I... was worried so I let myself in.

Cordon Bleu was about to wreak havoc outside —

( she trails off as she finally gets the courage to look up at him and her features falter for a moment. )

Y-your face!

( nervously she pushes herself away from the doorframe to cross the distance between them, reaching out to carefully touch his cheek. persephone's eyebrows knit together. )

What happened?

[ The sight of her immediately makes his insides twist and flop around, heart leaping for a moment. He can't do anything other than smile, though, a small thing as he looks at her. It only falters when she looks back to him, meeting his gaze.

Oh. His eyes widen and he lifts a hand up to his own cheek, brushing it off with a shrug. ]

It's nothing. Just a misunderstanding.

[ Still, he can't quite bring himself to brush her hand away. He always likes it when she touches him, and she does it with so little reservation, unlike most everyone else. ]

Don't worry about me, little goddess. I'll be fine.

( the pad of her thumb gently brushes along his cheekbone, just under the bruising. her hand trembles slightly as her fingers curl along the side of his face. )

It looks like a pretty bad misunderstanding to me.

( stretching up onto her tiptoes she tries to get a better look at the bruising but she ends up stumbling. almost falling into him but she manages to catch herself. )

We should get something on that. Do you have an ice pack or frozen peas?

[ It does look like she's about to lose her balance for a moment-- and he's ready to catch her, just as she manages to find her footing. He tries to smooth it over and play it out as fixing his jacket. Ahem, anyway. ]

Ah, I-- yes, there's ice. On the freezer.

[ A hand cupping his neck, he gestures down the hallway, towards the kitchen. She knows well enough where it is by now, but still. ]

What brought you here? [ A moment, then he adds, albeit with just a hint of teasing: ] To the neighborhood.

[ Really, Perse, no one believes that excuse. Himself included. ]

( reluctantly she removes her hand from his cheek, her fingers lingering before pulling away completely before heading down the hallway the came from.

she pauses momentarily since she's caught in her lie but keeps walking after a moment.

be gentle, she's still young and learning. )

I ... brought cookies?!

( an yes, the greatest distraction. cookies. )

[ He perks up a little at the mention of cookies. No, how dare you distract him with such a sneaky move. ]

You should have led with that.

[ He flashes a grin at her, eyes darting around the kitchen in search of said cookies. It's not hard, in a house of dark and/or cold tones, the bright little container she's brought with her stands out like a sore thumb.

He beelines to it, ignoring the swollen eye and the bruising on his side for the time being, and helping himself to a cookie. ]

Mm. These are good.

They were supposed to be a surprise, but I'm glad you like them.

( poomf, a small flower crown appears on her head, littering the floor with small petals at his compliment.

of course they are good, they were made with happiness and rainbows!

thankfully she hasn't forgotten about his eye as she makes her way to the freezer, picking out a few pieces of ice and puts them in a cloth.

crawling onto the nearest counter nearest to him, she reaches out with the ice-filled cloth. a bit hesitant to press it against his eye. )

It might be a little cold.

[ He hides a smile behind a cookie when that flower crown comes into being, watching her fetch the ice and prepare a makeshift pad for his eye. Munching on the cookie, he swallows it down and and shifts closer, both eyes closing as he leans into her without thought, very well-behaved in the way he just waits for her to press the pad against his injured eye. ]

You know I can deal with the cold.

[ This whole place is a little cold. She may just be the warmest presence in his house right now, or ever. He certainly doesn't mind it. ]

You could have told me you were coming by, you know. [ He murmurs, eyes still closed. ] I'd have ditched my brothers for you.

[ Even if Zeus would probably have thrown one of his ridiculous fits. ]

( persephone scoots a little closer to him, the side of her leg brushing against his side as she presses the cold compress a bit firmer against his eye. her pinky and ring finger curling around the side of his face once more to stabilize her hand.

she laughs softly at his comment, happy his eyes are closed so he can't see her starting to blush. )

I think they'll get jealous if you start giving me all of your attention.

( while she is teasing him, the idea of it is rather flattering, but she tries to not dwell on it too much. )

...Did one of them hit you?

They're too used to having everyone's attention, anyway. As it is, they already have too much of mine.

[ Look, they're his brothers and he loves them, but also they are exhausting. ]

No, [ He says, the thought of it making him chuckle. ] They just, uh, got into some trouble. And I was there.

[ So by 'they' he kind of means 'we', but anyway. ]

( she worries her bottom lip between her teeth as she looks over his features.

it makes her uneasy knowing that someone hurt him and maybe, somewhere, deep down inside where she doesn't like to look, she's livid. )

What kind of trouble that results in you getting hit?

I mean—if you want to talk about it.

My brother's tendency to take far too many mortal lovers. What else would it be?

[ Although let's be honest, with everything they get up to, it could be a number of things. But anyway.

He lets out a sigh, opening his eyes to find her own a little red. His lips curl slightly and he lifts a hand to cup her cheek too, thumb poking her nose lightly. ]

I told you, it's alright. They're just some bruises. Nothing that an ice pack and a shower won't solve.

( she scoffs. of course, it was something like that.

against her better judgment, she leans into his touch and pouts. )

I'm supposed to be the one comforting you this time. Not the other way around.

Well, you are still taking care of me. But you do seem to be more upset over this than I am.

[ Which is-- well, not necessary, but he can't deny that it makes him feel a nice, pleasant warmth in his chest. He never quite knows what to do with that; he's so used to dealing with the cold, but he always struggles with the way she makes him feel.

Not that he would trade it for anything.

He tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, some of the petals falling from her head, then he closes his eyes and lets her tend to the bruise on his own face, while his hand smooths down her back. ]

How long are you staying?

( her mouth opens and closes several times as she tries to form an excuse as to why she's not upset before eventually settling on the truth.

she's a terrible liar anyway. )

It's just hard seeing someone I care about hurt.

( slowly she removes the icepack from his eye as she leans forward, her eyes fluttering shut as she places a soft kiss right under the bruising. she lingers for a moment before starting to pull back. )

As long as you'll have me, but if you're busy I can go.

[ He likes it much better when she's honest, anyway. Her answer gets an immediate smile from him, albeit small and a tiny bit apologetic. ]

I didn't mean to make you worry. I'm sorry.

[ The kiss is soft but it lingers and it makes him want to chase after it when she pulls away again, almost feeling that darker hue of blue spread across his cheeks. He splays his hand on her back, curving forward so he's just brushing his jaw against her temple. ]

I'm not busy. Stay. [ A pause. ] As long as you want to.

Just be a little more careful, for me, please?

( not that she can really ask that of him when she is a walking disaster magnet.

his touch causes a shiver to run through her body, followed by another random blooming of foliage to sprout from her as she rests her forehead against his shoulder. a happy elongated sigh escapes her lips. )

Better watch how you say things, I may never leave now.

I'll try. I promise.

[ He can't really promise that it will work every time, though, particularly considering who his brothers are, and even who he is. But he wouldn't want her worrying herself sick for him.

It's both wonderful and terrible to have her so close like this. Wonderful because he likes her right where she is, terrible because he doesn't ever want to let go. Even when he knows he must.

Well, eventually. It doesn't have to be now, right? ]

What, and miss all your classes? [ He huffs out a chuckle. ] Your roommate would want my head for that.

[ Or, you know, key his car. Please, no. ]

( she groans and buries her face against his chest when he brings up school and artemis.

as much as she cares for the caste goddess, persephone hates being there. especially with apollo around every second he can spare. the mere thought of him has her skin crawling and shaking slightly as she tries to get him out of her head.

he isn't going to ruin this moment for her. )

Would you believe me if I said I would probably to better if I wasn't there? Not doing too well in my classes aright now.

Artemis will eventually notice me gone but I don't want to be there right now.

[ Hades raises an eyebrow at that reaction, a little surprise. He glances down at her, tilting his head. ]

Really? Don't tell me your job getting in the way of your studies.

[ He hopes not, for entirely selfish reasons. He likes having her around. His fingers brush through the ends of her hair, smiling. ]

Alright. Then stay here.

What? No, of course not.

( we're going to ignore the fact that she had to ask mithe, of all people, to help her with learning how to use the stupid program. )

It's long, complicated, and ... I'm not ready to talk about it.

Pluuus, ( she finally pulls back away from him, her hand still holding onto his jacket as she looks up at him. ) I'm taking care of you right now.

How's your eye feeling?

[ It's something of a relief to hear her say it. He wouldn't like it if she had to quit her job for the sake of her studies-- and he wouldn't like having even less opportunities to get to see her.

Even if it's, well, maybe not the best of ideas. They do seem to have difficulty staying away from each other. ]

It's better. Just a little swollen, but it will be alright.

[ He's thankful that his jacket is buttoned up as tightly as it is, meaning he doesn't upset the bruises on his side much whenever he moves. He'll have to find some strong bandages for that. ]

Are you hungry? I can cook us something to eat.

( realizing that she's tugging on his coat, she releases it from her grasp, doing her best to smooth out the wrinkles she's caused. )

Were my cookies not enough for you? ( she mock pouts before smiling up at him. )

Actual food sounds amazing right now.

We can save them for dessert?

[ He shrugs and purses his lips at her. Cookies don't make for a full, healthy meal! He doesn't have a lot of food around, granted, but there's enough to make something decent. ]

I just need to take a shower, first. But feel free to make yourself comfortable and I'll be back soon, okay?

( somehow she manages to become an even deeper shade of pink at the idea of him taking a shower and nods. trying not to get too lost in her thoughts, but the evolving flower crown on her head gives it away. )

Y-yeah! I'll find something to distract myself with... I mean something to do!

( she quickly hops off the counter, likely going to find some dog to bother. )

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omg i just unlocked the two chapters on the app and skfjlsjda

omg what GOTTA RUN

IT WAS WORTH THE $1 TO UNLOCK THEM