And we've come to the last of the fic rewards~ This one is for Maj, who wanted BakuDeku through the Hades/Persephone Myth (with Deku as Persephone).

I took some liberties with the theme. As you'll probably figure out pretty quick. I have no idea if this is what they had in mind when they made the request, but it's what the muse wanted. And you have to listen to the muse when playing around with Greek Myths. ;D

Thanks for reading!

Pomegranate Promises

Izuku had expected to be ravished properly at some point.

He pouted, his chin in his hand as he watched over the souls in the underworld, tortured for their worldly sins or wandering listlessly across the barren wasteland. He waved his fingers over the rock next to him, absently growing small flowers in the stone.

Considering all the trouble "Kacchan" (as Izuku often heard his mother call him) had gone through to marry Izuku—bartering with his brother for permission to steal Izuku away while his mother wasn't looking, opening the earth itself to swallow him, and of course the trick with the damn pomegranate seeds to make sure he stayed put so many months of the year—one would think that he would have done something to consummate that marriage by now.

Kacchan had made Izuku Royalty of his Underworld and gone…right back to petting his stupid three-headed dog and organizing paperwork to keep the souls and his employees sorted.

The God of Death and ruler of the underworld—the man his mother mocked with a cute nickname to remind herself he'd been cute once as a child before growing up into the master of the Dead—had kidnapped Izuku to be his groom.

Izuku had heard stories of his power and the horror that waited anyone who had been evil and entered the god of death's realm after their life had ceased.

When the ground had split and Izuku had fallen through, his fear had known no limits. He'd looked up to red eyes spitting with the fire of hell and blond hair that shown like the sun in the dark and he'd felt—excitement.

No more boring days out in the fields while his mother protected him.

No more growing life without any concerns.

Izuku had been abducted by the most handsome person he'd ever seen and been declared a husband by that strong, terrifying monster of a man.

Who went to bed early every night.

Kacchan barely talked, did all of his work without fail (with a dedication that no god should ever put into their job), took care of his dog, and made sure the underworld ran like clockwork because he was always working.

He was absolutely nothing like the daydreams Izuku had indulged in when he'd first been kidnapped.

The vision of Kacchan bursting into the bedroom, all fire and fury, to throw him across the bed and take him had overtaken Izuku's every thought as he waited for his future husband to return after he'd been shown where he'd sleep at night.

The variations of his fantasies had been endless from rough hands and bites and possessive declarations of "You're mine" to gentle love making with soft apologies of "Oh, I had to have you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry—please be mine."

Izuku smashed his own bed of flowers and threw his hand aside, wiping them away. He'd been granted a slice of power over death and he used it at will. Izuku felt glad to have some form of destructive power now because he felt anger now.

He'd gone to bed alone every night since he'd been taken down here.

Every year, every month, every visit was always the same: Kacchan picked him up, they ate together, they split apart and he worked while Izuku wandered around bored.

It was his tenth visit to the Underworld and his time was already ticking away before he had to go home and fix the weather his mother refused to take care of in her "Grief" missing her baby boy.

But the current weather above matched his mood—the earth was covered in snow that matched the chill of his own, lonely body.

(Metaphorically, anyway. Kacchan's skin was always cold when Izuku touched him but that had nothing to do with the matter at hand.)

What was the point of being dragged down here if Kacchan wasn't going to ravish him!?

Izuku stood on his rock and stomped down the barren hill. He dragged his fingers along the wall, growing vines of thorns behind him and covering it in a wall of dangerous green.

Their chaste marriage ended tonight!

"Is that a pomegranate?" Katsuki asked, staring at his husband. Deku—the useless idiot that tripped over his own feet and only seemed to have a talent for growing things and being cute—sat in the middle of Katsuki's bed with the large fruit between his hands. "What are you doing with that?"

"I was thinking," Deku said. He dug his fingers into the top of the fruit and split it open with his fingers alone, ripping apart the fruit with a jerk that sent a shiver down Katsuki's spine. His eyes shown with the intensity of the greenest plant he'd ever seen and they were locked on Katsuki's face. "That four months really isn't enough time for us to get to know each other."

Katsuki slowly set his stack of reports on the side table. He'd wanted to get a few more of the dead sorted and logged before he went to sleep, but apparently his husband had other plans.

"You seem upset."

Deku split the pomegranate half into a quarter and put it to the edge of his lip. "What makes you say that?"

"Put down the pomegranate," Katsuki said, holding his hand up. "If you eat any more of those seeds, you'll be obligated to stay here longer. It's one month per seed, remember? That was the deal."

His husband narrowed his eyes, looking even angrier. "I remember."

Katsuki needed to save this. The whole point of kidnapping his husband was to have at least one thing in the underworld that shone like the light and right now the source of that shining light was glaring like he'd taken lessons from his mother.

"As much as I'd love to see you here more often," Katsuki said, putting a hand over his heart. "Your mother will kill me."

"You're the god of death," Deku said. He smirked, the juice dripping on his lip. "You'll be fine, Kacchan."

Deku bit into the pomegranate chunk, dragging his teeth along the rind to get every single seed.

Katsuki's heart stopped as Deku chewed, swallowing the lot of it. He tossed the rind and reached up to wipe the dripping juice off his lips, but it covered his fingers and hands instead.

Izuku looked up and smirked at Kacchan's wide eyes. He rubbed his sticky fingers together and plucked another seed from the next quarter of the local fruit. Kacchan's eyes followed the seed and he popped it in his mouth.

The sweet treat burst on his tongue, almost as delicious as watching the god of the underworld's pupils grow.

He sure too his time noticing what he'd brought home, but Izuku enjoyed Kacchan's lustful gaze too much to keep his grudge.

Izuku licked the juice off his fingers one at a time, continuing to eat this quarter much slower. He savored every seed, leaning back on the bed and pulling up his knees so that his tunic slipped down his thigh. A bed of greenery grew behind him on the wall, snaking around the room to lighten the atmosphere with gentle, baby buds. Izuku finished the quarter, with his husband's complete attention on him.

The other god hadn't crossed the room yet, though, which needed to be fixed as soon as possible.

"Kacchan."

"Yeah," he choked in reply.

Izuku held up the untouched, remaining half of the pomegranate. "Why don't you show me how long you want me to stay?"

Kacchan watched him and swallowed before his eyes trailed down his body and up his arm to the fruit at the end.

He crossed the room with steady, confident steps and Izuku's heart raced as the man sat next to him on the bed. Izuku used his free hand to pull on the cloth of his outfit, staining the white with red. He made sure to pull it down to expose a little collar and make his intentions as clear as possible.

His husband reached over and took the fruit from his hand and took a bite out of the side, the juice dripping down his lip. He didn't chew but leaned closer. Izuku licked his own in response and held his breath.

Kacchan kissed him with an open mouth, feeding him every last seed.

Every growing flower surrounding them on the walls and floor burst open, showering the room in petals.

The last of the pomegranate fell on the side of the bed, but neither Katsuki nor his husband cared.

The point had been made.

"Kacchan," Deku groaned into each kiss. His pink stained lips sought out Katsuki's after every breath. "Do you love me?"

"More than I should," Katsuki answered. He kissed Deku again, his hand roaming up the tan and warm thigh. The body shivered under him, reacting to Katsuki's own chilled skin. He remembered why he hadn't done this before. Death clung to him and had no place touching someone so full of life. He leaned back. "Sorry."

"I like it," Deku said, grabbing Katsuki. He kissed Katsuki again, wrapping his arms around Katsuki's shoulder to keep him from getting away. Deku's touch felt like heated coals along his skin like the sun that grew his flora. "I'm always too warm."

Katsuki settled back down, covering Deku on his mattress.

"Keep touching me," Deku whispered. He placed his hand on the side of Katsuki's cheek and dragged his fingers across it, the light touch sticking as he dragged them across from the juice still lingering behind from the fruit that bound them together. Deku whispered, "I've thought about this every day since the ground opened up."

"Have you?"

"Yes," Deku said, his voice firmer. He leaned up and whispered in Katsuki's ear. "I can tell you the details if you want? Maybe it'll give you some ideas."

Katsuki bit his lip and reached over to pick up a loose seed in the corner of his eye. Deku opened his mouth and Katsuki put it on his tongue. "Sure. We've got plenty of time to try them out now, don't we?"

Deku swallowed the seed and let Katsuki taste it with another kiss.

"I'm sorry, Kacchan."

Izuku and Kacchan stood on the hill that overlooked his underworld. They'd left Kacchan's bedroom that morning warm, sated, and happy—until they stepped out the front door to return to work.

Every inch of cold stone and dead, lifeless gloom had been covered in green (and Izuku had a sneaking suspicion he knew the exact moment that had happened).

Flowers, fruit, trees, wheats, vines, and every type of vegetation that had ever graced the surface of the earth covered everything in sight. The lost souls stared in awe at the bright, glowing life that blanketed the underworld.

Izuku covered his face, blushing so hard he was as red as Kacchan's eyes. "I didn't know that would happen."

"It's…it's fine," Kacchan said, staring with an open mouth. He stuck his hand in his hair and whistled. "Wow."

"That's what I thought last night," Izuku said before he could stop himself.

Kacchan snorted—a sound so beautiful it made Izuku's heart sing and another flower burst from the ground. He grabbed Izuku's hand, squeezing it tight with a cool grip. Kacchan rested their heads together and whispered. "It's beautiful. I don't think there's ever been so much life down here."

"I'm glad," Izuku said.

"But get rid of it tomorrow and bring back the rocks." Kacchan let go of his hand and stomped down the stairs toward his office and the waiting paperwork. He turned over his shoulder and pointed at Izuku's face, "I have an image to maintain!"

Izuku burst into giggles, falling back into a soft bush that grew to catch him.

Cerberus ran by with a happy bark, rolling in the grass before running to Katsuki's side as he went back to work.

His mother was going to be furious, but that was for another day.

In the meantime, Izuku still had a few ideas he wanted to try (and green was a good look on the underworld—they'd just have to get used to it!).