What was taking him so long? She was desperate for him to return so she could tell him the good news. She had thought she would be used to it by now. After all, he was the lord of an entire realm and the kingdom of the Underworld was much larger than that of Olympus or even Poseidon's domain. She understood that he had responsibilities and much to see to but sometimes she wished he would share more of his burdens with her. Yes, he allowed her to help him make decisions and care to the Elysian Fields but he still kept a part of himself from her. If she questioned him, he would simply mumble something about it not being very interesting, or tell her that he didn't want to trouble her with things that should not bother her. If she pushed him further he would do as he always did when he wished to change the subject and lean down, feeding her one drugging kiss after another until she had completely forgotten what she had wanted him to tell her.
When would he realize that she was not fragile? Her diminutive stature did not render her incapable of taking care of herself or handling everything that he could. She was a goddess for Hera's sake. They had been married for more than two years, and had spent 9 months together. Hadn't enough time passed for him to realize that he could trust her both with his secrets and to have the strength to cope with them, whatever they might be?
His reticence made her nervous. What if he didn't care for her as much as she cared for him? The initial circumstances of their "courtship" had long been put behind them. She now loved him with all of her heart and trusted him completely. He had become her best friend, her closest confidante, as well as being her lover and her husband. Yet despite the tender way he dealt with her, unconsciously holding her hand occasionally, and stroking it absentmindedly as they sat side by side on their thrones, or gently kissing the top of her head and stroking her hair when they were alone for no reason at all, she still had her doubts about his feelings for her.
The only time he had ever mentioned his love for her was in the bedroom. Caught in the depths of their passionate coupling he would murmur fervent words of love. He would praise her beauty, her mind, all of the qualities he admired her for. He would shower these compliments upon her as he took her to heights of pleasure that she had never imagined possible before she had met him. And yet, once their passion had cooled, and the fires had been reduced to glowing embers, for their need for each other never truly died, no words of love ever fell from his lips.
Once they were no longer alone, once he could no longer be certain that no one was around, he became the Lord of the Underworld once more. He kept himself carefully guarded and those unconscious moments of tenderness were all she had to assure herself that she had not been dreaming and that he felt something for her. Sitting beside him while he oversaw the dealings of his kingdom her mind would sometimes drift back to those ardent professions of love made in the heat of passion. She clung to them to keep herself sane. Sometimes she wondered if she were not keeping the marriage alive in her mind as he did not seem willing to put any effort doing so as long as anyone was around to see him doing so.
But things would change now. She was anxious for his return as she had finally made her decision. She would have a talk with him. If he did not do as she hoped he would, if he could not be the man she wanted and needed him to be, she could not put herself through her torment any longer. She had to do what was best for her and for their marriage. She had to preserve her dignity. She had to keep her heart from breaking from unrequited love.