Page 33 of Perfectly Matching Again

“My name is Erato. And I am the Muse of Smut.” The boos quieted and the silence that reigned had a curious feel to it. Erato powered on. “Erotica. Sex. You name it. If it’s done naked and panting, that’s my domain. And you know? I am proud of it. I can write like no other here. And I sure as hell—no offence, Hades—can fuck like no other amongst you all.”

Mouths collectively dropped open. Poseidon was asking nobody in particular if that was a proven fact. Behind Erato, a choir of bears sang out, “You better fucking believe it, Mermaid Boy!” Erato smiled. Maybe Hera wasn’t all bad since the backup singers were certainly her doing.

“So, yeah, I am Erato, and I am proud of what I am and what I do. Because while you all engage in sex, or try to, since I am fairly certain some of y’all’s appendages fell of centuries ago from lack of use?—”

“We are looking at you, Mermaid Boy!” The bears sang in perfect unison, while Poseidon, still in his curtain cocoon, tried in vain to crawl away.

Erato didn’t take her eyes off Demeter.

“You all do it. And yet, since the beginning of time, you’ve shamed me. For sex, for enjoying it. For loving it. And you’ve made me lesser. You’ve made me dirty. You don’t say my name in polite company, as if what I do is sin itself. Well, no more. I love sex. And I am sex. Deal with it.”

Erato stood a bit taller, just as murmurs started to take over the crowd. Aphrodite joined Sabine on the sidelines and both of them looked at her with, dare she say, pride.

“You can no longer make me ashamed and I refuse to be belittled by you all. And I refuse to hide myself or my feelings.”

The bears sang a perfect “Oooooh yeeeeeaaaah” behind her.

“Demeter, Goddess of Harvest, the most important deity on Earth, will you forgive me for allowing my wobble in self-confidence to not see how much you mean to me? Will you forgive me for being less than you deserved? Will you overlook that I should’ve told you every single moment of every day since Vegas that you are everything to me? And will you take me, the Muse of Erotic Poetry and so many other things, to be your wife?”

Zeus—in the process of lifting Poseidon to his feet—dropped him again and bellowed.

“What? Nonsense. She is damn indispensable, and she deserves so much better. You’re of no consequence.”

Erato just smiled.

“She does deserve better. Better than any of you.” Erato swallowed around the lump in her throat, her protectiveness getting the better of her. “You say she is indispensable, yet you treat her like she is your employee. You make her job so difficult, the obstacles you throw at her insurmountable. And still you demand she do more, fix more of your fuck ups.”

Demeter’s eyes were unreadable and Erato felt like the one chance was slipping from her grip.

“No, nobody is worthy of her. Nobody. And yet here I am, begging.” Erato met the amber gaze head on for the first time since climbing the stage. “When they clamor for your attention and your skill, for what you can do for them… I am here to tell you that my life is for you. I’ll give you my every day. I’ll spend all of them worshiping you. Cherishing you.” Erato got on one knee. The bears behind her intoned a solemn note. Artemis and Apollo were wiping away tears. Hermes was writing down every word. The whole scene would no doubt be all over the gossip pages in a Greek minute. Zeus looked like he was about to summon thunder. Poseidon was turning green, though he always had that tinge to him.

“I was wallowing too deep in my own insecurity to see your perfection. Because you are that. Perfect. I’d know.” Sabine and Aphrodite laughed, and most of the muses and nymphs joined in on the inside joke. Poseidon was decidedly verdant now. Erato gave no fucks, because the corners of Demeter’s mouth twitched and she bit her lip. Erato pressed on.

“Return to me. And I will work every day to earn your forgiveness.”

“Every night too!” The bear chorus sang loudly. Poseidon fainted. Zeus had that iridescent quality to him now. A quality he only mustered before unleashing a hurricane on some unsuspecting mortals. Erato braced herself.

And then the scent of petrichor overtook everyone, and the skies opened up, wide ribbons of rain falling freely. The air took on a magical feel that could only mean one thing. Demeter stepped forward and laid a hand on Zeus. The sparks around him immediately drowned under her touch.

Erato’s knee was numb. Her white shirt clung to her skin. None of that was important. All she could do was look at the woman in front of her and drink her in. And then she realized that no matter what happened next, she had to say one more thing and then she’d let the Fates decide.

“I love you. And I am yours. Only yours.”

Well, two more things. But math didn’t matter because Demeter lost her battle with the smile, which bloomed freely on her lips, and the rain turned warm, falling gently now.

Behind her, cheers and shouts of “It’s a Beltane miracle! Spring! Spring!” rang loudly and Erato scooped her wet hair out of her eyes to see the trees and the bushes around Calton Hill fully covered in blossoms.

Somewhere nearby, a voice that sounded remarkably like Hera proclaimed “fucking finally!” before the Goddess of Matrimony suddenly started clapping. Once, twice, and then theentire crowd was shouting and applauding and lifting Demeter up on their shoulders. It was Erato’s turn to smile, to laugh. Demeter deserved everything, all this love and adulation. More of it, in fact. If she was allowed, Erato would spend the next several eternities, showing her exactly how much.

“That is quite a commitment, Muse.” She hadn’t realized the crowd had deposited Demeter on the stage, and now the Goddess—her Goddess—was looking at her as if Erato might bolt at any moment. No, she’d made that mistake once.

“I’ll give you everything and more. For as long as you’ll have me.”

Demeter laughed and stepped closer, her dress drenched and her hair clinging to her forehead. She’d never looked more beautiful. Erato realized that she needed to say that. She needed to say so many more things.

“You are everything that is gorgeous and pure. You are?—”

She was interrupted by a kiss. The rain pelted down, warm and steady, and Erato felt complete.

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