☃️| Hades |☃️

The road gets narrower as the car moves forward.
The forest closes in around the road as if silently observing, covered by a thin layer of snow that reflects the headlights.
Inside the vehicle, the atmosphere is… different.
Rhea sits in the front seat, relaxed, scanning the road with a faint smile; Poseidon checks his phone; Zeus chats animatedly; and Adamas is asleep. Rhea hasn't visited her friend in years, and the idea of ​​spending Christmas away from the city feels strangely comforting.
"It's cold," she remarks . "It will be a quiet Christmas."
Cronos does not respond.
Just drive.
In the back seat, Hades watches the scenery through the window. The trees pass by slowly, tall, endless. The reflection in the glass shows his pale face, his eyes half-closed, thoughtful .
He doesn't like change.
He doesn't like long visits.
And he doesn't like not knowing what to expect.
He knows the basics:
her mother's friend, her family, an isolated mansion in the middle of the forest.
And a daughter.
Of his age.
He doesn't know her name.
He doesn't know what it's like.
But something about the way Rhea spoke about her... stuck with him.
"Hades," Rhea says from the front . "Be polite, okay? It's important to me."
He doesn't take his eyes off the window.
—I always am — he replies in a low voice.
The car turns one last time and then he sees her.
The mansion appears among the trees: large, modern, with lights on that contrast with the darkness of the forest. Smoke rises from the chimney, slow and inviting.
Christmas.
New Year.
A place where they shouldn't spend too much time.
The car stops.
Hades opens the door and the cold air hits his face. He adjusts his coat and looks up at the house.
Somewhere in there… is you.
And without knowing why, for the first time in a long time, Hades feels that this visit will not be as simple as it seemed.