“All I care about is that you want me enough to ask,” she said.
He shook his head, his laugh low and soft.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He was just thinking about how all of this might have been easier if he’d just listened to Naia and Hades, though he wasn’t about to admit that aloud. “You are just so fucking brilliant. I feel lucky to call you mine.”
He rolled so that she was beneath him and nudged her legs apart, sinking deep inside her.
She felt good. She felt the same and different. She felt like his fiancée.
Monastiraki Square was packed with gods and mortals. Dionysus’s gaze swept the crowd, then he checked his watch. It was nearing eight o’clock sharp when the tree lighting ceremony was scheduled to begin, and he was missing two members of his choir, Medusa and Janet.
He had yet to spot them, but his gaze snagged on Ariadne and Acamus who stood at the very front of the crowd. He was glad to see they had made it on time. She’d sent him a message earlier informing him they might be late due to an increase in robbery complaints.
Hopefully Hephaestus’s newly installed traps would prevent more theft and destruction.
Dionysus crossed the short distance and gave Ariadne a lingering kiss, then mussed Acamus’s hair.
“Hey, little dove,” he said. “Did you have a good day?”
“No,” he said.
Ariadne sighed. “I think he’s regressed. It’s the only answer he’s given all day.”
“We’ll see how long it lasts when he says no to pancakes and doesn’t get them.”
“Pancakes!” he repeated.
“Yes?” Dionysus said.
“No!” he said.
“Well.” Dionysus shrugged.
“You tried,” said Ariadne.
Dionysus looked around again.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just worried about Medusa,” he said. “She hasn’t arrived yet and we have”—he paused to check his watch again— “five minutes until the show.”
Ariadne frowned. “I can try calling her.”
“You can, but you know she never has her phone,” he said.
Just then the crowd gasped and began to clap. Dionysus knew they were reacting to Hades and Persephone’s arrival. He turned to look at where they had manifested, near the tree which they would light during the final choir performance.
The Goddess of Spring wore a burgundy dress, a dark green ribbon was tied around her waist, the bow resting atop her round belly. Hades wore a matching suit which surprised Dionysus, who had rarely seen the god in color, save for blood sprayed across his face.
A second later, Hecate also appeared and then Hermes who was dressed in a green tunic, red and green striped shorts, and red shoes that curled at the end.
“Merry Christmas!” he called, wings spread wide. “Jaw bones for everyone!”
He reached into a giant bag and tossed them into the crowd. Their cheers turned into expressions of disgust as they realized what he was throwing at them. Hermes straightened, hands on his hips. “The least you could do is appreciate my effort. I dug these up!”
“For fuck’s sake,” Dionysus muttered. This really was complete chaos.
