Hera was angry.
It wasn't an uncommon occurrence to her friends, of course. There was a lot for Hera to be angry about; leading the heavens was no easy task, and neither Aphrodite nor Persephone envied her.
There was also the matter of her husband.
No amount of conversation, swears on the River Styx, or marriage counseling would make him loyal. Zeus took what he wanted, when he wanted, regardless of how Hera felt. Hera had to put up with it to keep her crown, and though Hera hated disrespect, she loved power even more.
So anger boiled within Hera, like tea that had been sitting in the hot kettle for too long.
Persephone suggested gardening as a way of therapy for her, as Hera had the tendency to cause drastic storms or go after his illegitimate children in fits of anger. Hera didn't mind gardening—it put the Garden of Hesperides to good use—but no amount of dirt under her nails could replace the sludge in her heart.
"What did he do?" Persephone asked, kneeling beside Hera. With a few flicks of her wrist, she made the flowers she was planting blossom in gold.
Hera noticed them, but didn't say anything. "What
didn't
he do," she huffed, planting more seeds behind the already-blossoming flowers. There was no real point to planting with Persephone around. Persephone could grow anything she wanted, but she was stuck on autopilot.
"Io," Aphrodite said. She was lounging sideways on one of the benches, watching her two friends.
Hera groaned. "How did you know?"
"I'm the goddess of love, sweetheart," Aphrodite said, inspecting her nails. "I know all that happens in my sphere." She looked up and smirked at Persephone. "Zeus had an affair with a woman named Io and turned her into a cow to hide her from Hera. Of course, he forgot cows are Hera's sacred animal..." She rolled her eyes.
"She's gone now," Hera said, voice stiff. "But the fact that he deceived me like that, that he thought I was so stupid!" She punched the earth and emitted a frustrated, anguished cry.
"You don't need to focus on him," Aphrodite said. She stood, see-through chiton practically falling off her shoulders. Hera was mostly amazed that she was seeing Aphrodite wearing something that could possibly resemble clothing if she squinted, but she couldn't help the flush to her cheeks and pulse between her legs as she moved forward. "We're here for you, however you want us to be."
Hera swallowed. "Do you mean that?"
"I always mean what I say."
Hera gave her a look.
Aphrodite shrugged. "To you, okay? I mean what I say to you." As if it proved her point, Aphrodite untied the straps to her gauzy dress and let it tumble to the ground.
"You're...offering to seduce me?" Hera managed. It was so hard not to stare at Aphrodite. Her brown skin practically glowed in the garden light. Her breasts and hips were large, giving a perfect ledge to hang onto as Aphrodite straddled her.
"I'm not offering," she said with a grin. "I
am
seducing you."
Aphrodite tugged Hera's hair, pulling her head back and kissing her lips. Hera melted into the kiss, as though Aphrodite was absorbing all her pain. As she closed her eyes, she felt another pair of hands on her shoulders, slowly making their way down her chest.
Hera pulled back from the kiss enough to talk. "Persephone?" she asked.
Persephone leaned to Hera's ear, her hair tickling her cheek. "Let us take care of you," she whispered.
Arousal throbbed through Hera's core. Normally, she kept anger and arousal quite divided, but the current state of her passion was difficult to decipher.
A thought occurred to Hera. "Aphrodite, you're not...using your powers, are you?"
Aphrodite's hand wandered down Hera's thigh. "No. I only use my powers when I want something, with people easy to manipulate." She gave her thigh a squeeze. "You're too smart for that, and I respect you." The hand wandered upward, tracing up and down her slit. "What you're feeling is your attraction to us."
Hera bit back a gasp as Aphrodite traced her slit lazily, just ghosts of touches. Persephone unfastened Hera's chiton and helped her out of it, leaving the queen completely exposed in the Garden. After Hera was forced to sit again, Aphrodite forced her legs apart, kneeling before her queen. Hera heard a rustling of fabric behind her and felt Persephone's bare breasts on her back.
Aphrodite gripped onto Hera's hips, pulling her forward, and gave her slit an upward lick. All the while, Persephone's hands wandered down Hera's breasts, massaging them in her hands. Hera lifted a hand to cover her gasp, but Persephone forced them back down.
"Let us hear you," she said with a laugh.
