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bigprincess-energy · 4 years

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Prompt mayhaps for the holidays? Where Persephone makes everyone wear the matching pajamas maybe?

So this is a Holiday prompt for literal literary queen @acequeenking. She is a master wordcraft and also just a super lovely human!! We were joking in a chat that Orpheus still believes in Santa, and while this started as a joke it turned into a very tender piece? However Hades also dresses up as Santa, so like, there are moments of comedy.

Winter nights at Hermes bar were often desolate. Traditionally barstools stood quietly during the winter months, their only occupants the families of dust bunnies made their home on the surface. However tonight there was an unusual rush, a swarm of people, old faces and new faces had flocked to the bar to avoid the oncoming winter storm. Returning home from her shift, Eurydice slumped her backpack and coat off of her shoulders, the items falling to the floor with an unceremonious thud before she collapsed into one of the well worn reading chairs tucked into the corner of the young couple’s home. In her state of exhaustion the young girl had failed to notice the dinky tree branch propped up against the rightmost side of the fireplace with care.

“Orpheus?” Eurydice called out, suddenly far more alert as she sat up in the chair, eyes locked on the plant. Had Persephone sent them yet another plant? Eurydice wasn’t sure what to call it, it wasn’t tall enough to be a tree, not full enough to be a bush. If she was asked to describe it Eurydice would have categorized it as sad. Eurydice also couldn’t piece together where it had come from because it lacked the normal trademark elements of a Persephone plant. There was no decorative pot, no note, and most of all the poor thing looked like it was on the brink of death, if not dead already.

Orpheus peaked his head out from the thin wall that separates the kitchen from the main room of the house. The first thing Eurydice noticed about her husband is that he was grinning like a child. She made a mental note to ask him what good thing had happened today, maybe he had finished a song, but first, there was the pitiful plant to deal with.

“What’s this and why is it in our house?” The girl questioned, gesturing at the branch. Orpheus made his way across the room, his long, slender legs taking him to his wife in just a few steps. In his arms, he held firewood, which he knelt to the ground and set in a tidy pile opposite to the mystery plant.

“It’s our Christmas tree!” Orpheus explained, his expression beaming with pride as he looked up at Eurydice. His answer only caused more questions to flood her mind, trying to make sense of the scene before her.

“Okay first off, that is not a tree. On its best day it’s a branch, and today isn’t its best day. Secondly, trees go outside loverboy, not inside. Third, you didn’t answer the why part of my question.” Eurydice reached out to gently ruffle Orpheus’ hair before running her fingers down to his jawline and coaxing him up to her lips for a kiss. She hoped this act of tenderness would soften the blow of her response, which she realized might have been a little harsh.

Orpheus’ excitement didn’t waiver at her commentary however, instead, his face seemed to glow even brighter. “It is our Christmas branch then! It is a little skimpy, huh…” the boy paused for a moment, blushing while he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “But see you decorate the tree - er, branch, and then at midnight Santa comes and brings gifts! It is a tradition Mister Hermes taught me about, we would decorate a tree and I would try to stay up, to see Santa and say thank you, but somehow I always fall asleep before he comes. I thought this year we could decorate our own!”

“We bring a tree inside and then a stranger comes into our home and gives us free things?” Eurydice probed again, cocking an eyebrow. The more her poet tried to explain the situation the more confused she found herself. Rather than dig herself deeper into this hole, she opted to give herself over to Orpheus and his fun. His excitement was addictive. Not to mention he looked adorable sitting on the floor, wide eyes twinkling with hope. “Oh never mind all that. What do we have to decorate with?”

***

“Hades, you have to put on the suit,” Persephone huffed, taking a seat on the edge of their bed. In her hands, she held a stunning pair of trousers and thick outer coat crafted out of crimson velvet and white mink’s fur. The springtime goddess was frustrated with her husband, it was a rare occasion when she requested anything from him. Today she wanted one small favour, a gift really for the poor boy who had saved their marriage and brought the world back into tune, and he was refusing. “Don’t do it for me, you owe me nothing. Do it for Orpheus, the person you owe everything.”

“He’s too old to believe in this, why should we indulge him?” Hades shot back, his arms crossed against his chest, eyes flickering between the costume in his wife’s lap and her cold glare.

“Hades, you know why he believes,” Persephone said softly, her long elegant fingers caressing the velvet of the suit. “Hermes was going to tell him, and then his mother…” She trailed off, ending her sentence with a faint sigh. “Hermes never told him because it gave him something to believe in, something to hold onto during the darkest time of year. Orpheus is the person he is today because he believes in magic, and whimsy, and love. It is that belief that helped him find the courage to journey down to Hadestown. He believed, and that belief not only saved that girl, but it also saved us Hades.”

“That girl, she is too logical to play into this fantasy of his. I suppose the fantasy is your’s and Hermes’ as well at this point,” the king rolled his eyes, pressing his index and middle finger to the bridge of his nose as if to stop a migraine caused by this conversation. Hades walked over to his wife, sitting with defeat next to her. He placed his hand atop hers, fingertips gently grazing the fabric. “I’ll do it, this year. But please, someone has to tell that young man the truth, one day.”

“Yes, one day someone will, but today is not that day,” Persephone smiled, shifting the clothing from her lap to Hades. “Thank you, husband. From me, from Hermes, and from those children,” She reached up and caressed his cheek, coaxing a smile out of the hardened god. “Now, I set their gifts inside my springtime tote. Come along now, you need to get dressed and we need to step onto the train. Midnight is nearing.”

***

Despite her earlier exhaustion, Eurydice had thoroughly enjoyed decorating the Christmas branch with Orpheus. Never before had she taken a moment in time to make something intentionally pretty with the only purpose of the task to enjoy the beauty of it. Her life was always practical, straight to the point, pretty had to serve a purpose, to aid her in survival. Once or twice she had prettied herself, to manipulate a meal or find a warm bed to fall into on a winter’s eve much like tonight, but the act of decorating tonight was unfamiliar.

What had started as a barren tree branch now had life breathed into it. Photos tied up with string of the couple’s loved ones; Hermes with his all-knowing smile behind the bar, Persephone with a bouquet of flowers larger than her head, and of course the young couple themselves too enamored with each other to even notice the camera flash. Each photograph told stories of laughter and springtime sunshine as they hung from the branches.

While they didn’t have much in the realm of sparkling things, no gold or silver, looking at their tree, it was obvious that they had each other and an abundance of love. Eurydice smiled to herself as she looked over the photographs, reminded that it was Orpheus’ love for her that made the existence of each of the photographs possible. His faith in their love had saved her and saved the world. What greater gift could she ask for than that?

Once the decorating was complete and Orpheus topped the branch with a homemade star crafted out of old strings from his lyre, the couple settled into each other. Cuddled up in front of the hearth Orpheus laid with his head in Eurydice’s lap the two of them sharing favorite memories from the previous spring. Her fingers gently raked through his chestnut brown hair, occasionally stopping to twist a lock around her finger. The conversation slowed and the young girl could tell by the slowing of her lover’s breathing he was starting to fall asleep. It was traditionally at this point where they would stir, collect themselves and migrate to their bed for the evening. However tonight, the dim glow of the fire and sweet scent of pine enchanted Eurydice. There was some magic about their Christmas branch that made her want to look at it forever.

Behind her, a floorboard creaked. Now Eurydice was used to the sounds their old home made in the night, but this was not the bellyaching of the ancient flooring. Whipping her head around the young girl was met with a sight that caused her to nearly burst out into laughter, but she quickly covered her mouth with her hands to stifle the sound and prevent waking Orpheus. There was Hades, the terrifying king of the dead and the underworld, standing in her living room in the most ridiculous costume Eurydice had ever seen. He was dressed from head to toe in red and white, with even a matching hat. Once the man had instilled great fear in the young girl, his powerful presence terrifying enough to send a chill down her spine. Now he looked almost jolly, ignoring the cold, dark glare in his eyes. Behind him stood Persephone, her giant smile bright enough to put the sun to shame.

The goddess placed a finger to her lips, telling Eurydice to remain quiet as to not wake the sleeping poet. The older couple crept over, stepping with great care to avoid making any additional noise. “Not much of a tree,” Hades whispered as he gestured for Persephone to open her bag.

“That’s what I said,” Eurydice half whispered half giggled in response, still not over the fact that the god was truly pretending to be Santa for Orpheus’ sake.

“Well I think it is lovely sunflower, you two did a beautiful job decorating her, though do put her in some water, she’ll perk up,” Persephone murmured, reaching out to touch the plant. Even at just the briefest of contact with the goddess, the branch appeared to stand a little taller and the colouring a little more vibrant.

As Hades placed the last gift under the branch, Persephone reached out and took Eurydice’s hand. “Do not let him stop believing, his faith saved us all. Merry Christmas Eurydice, until springtime,” she whispered her goodbyes, pressing a kiss onto the younger girl’s knuckles. Eurydice nodded in understanding of what the goddess had said to her, the three of them owed everything to her poet and his belief in seeing the world the way it could be. A world full of blooming flowers, of magic, of love.

Just as the couple was closing the door behind themselves, Orpheus began to stir in Eurydice’s lap. She looked down at the boy, hair fluffed out in all directions. “Santa?” He yawned, voice thick with sleep.

“You just missed him, lover,” Eurydice mused quietly, stroking Orpheus’ cheek with her index finger. Even in the limited lighting, she could see the disappointed pout forming on her husband’s features. She held back a small laugh as he shifted slightly in her lap so he could look up at his wife with those beautiful hazel eyes. Eurydice leaned down, smiling as she pressed her lips to his. “There’s always next year. We can keep each other awake and wait together. It will be our new tradition,” the young girl suggested, watching as Orpheus’ pout turned into an excited grin.

As the couple began to gather themselves for their migration from the floor to their bed for the evening Eurydice took Orpheus’ hand, stopping him so they could look at their tree once more before going to bed. She leaned back into him, his arm wrapping protectively over her chest. “Orpheus?” She asked, looking up at him with adoration in her eyes. Her poet replied with a soft hmm, muffled from his lips pressed against the crown of her head.

“Thank you for sharing these traditions with me,” she whispered into the night. “I am so thankful for you, for tonight, and for all of the future Christmases to come.”

#oli.writes #hadestown #FOR SUZI and everyone else I was telling about this lol #i dont think they actually celebrate christmas in canon theyre part of the yule/solstice gang #Anonymous

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