Flash

Damn! Lemme tell ya, gold sparklies or no gold sparklies, I still didn't like transportin. An' doin it so soon aftah gettin smacked inta the wall didn't help any. Add all tha stress I was feelin and I came damn close ta tossin my cookies when we showed up in Cupid's place. I pushed at him, sayin, "Lemme go unless ya wanna be decorated!" He took a look at my face an' obliged.

I staggered back till my legs hit somethin, an' I sat down. Luckily I landed on somethin soft, an' not too far down. I put my head between my knees real quick, an' just sat there, lettin my tummy settle an' my head quit spinnin. When they did, I didn't really wanna sit back up. I was kind of ashamed, lettin Cupe see me like that. Finally I figured that tha only excuse I coulda had for stayin that way any longah would be ta blow myself (not possible, no matter what anyone thinks, an' I'm wunna tha most flexible guys in creation, an' no, I ain't tellin ya how I know that), so I sat back up.

Cupid was standin in fronta me, just watchin me. Without sayin a word, he materialized a cup of wine an' handed it to me. I drank it off, grateful, an' it helped settle my stomach even more. While I was finishin it he sat down next ta me. A folded cloth appeared in his hand, an' he pressed it ovah my forehead. It was cool an' damp, an' it felt terrific. I sighed and kinda slumped.

We just sat there for a coupla minutes, then Cupid said, "You have a bruise on your cheek from where you ran into the wall. Go ahead and heal it."

"Oh." I was so used ta bein knocked around that I'd hardly noticed it. "Thanks." I got rid of it with a thought.

I was finally feelin good enough ta look around. I hadn't been in Cupid's place for several years, not since he'd married Psychobitch. Excuse me, Psyche. After tha divorce I kept puttin off visitin, tellin myself that he'd be busy takin care of Bliss an' shootin people in tha ass in tha name of Love. "Ya redecorated."

Psyche's taste had been... Mm, I dunno how ta put it. Sappy-ass rustic? Lotsa geese an' cows on everythin from curtains ta incense bowls. Tha place was lookin a lot bettah. Light colahed walls an' ceiling, an' all tha furniture, drapes, rugs an' whatnots in different shades of blue. It was soothin without bein suffocatin, like his Mom's decoratin schemes can be. "Looks nice, Cupe."

I nevah knew exactly what ta do with my own space. Unc's basic black an' silver was nice, but a touch grim aftah awhile. I tended toward sort of a dark grey theme

He shrugged. "Have to have the proper atmosphere. Are you all right now?"

"Ya keep askin me that. Look, I ain't upchucked on ya, so I'm doin okay." I blinked. "Maybe a little blinded by tha light, but okay."

"Sorry." He waved his hand, an' tha bright light that had filled tha room was replaced by tha mellow, golden flickerin of many candles. They filled every flat surface: white, silver, an' blue. They musta been scented, cause a subtle, spicy smell filled tha air.

*If this was 'Dite's place, I'd be chokin on tha scent of roses right now. But this is... nice. I took a deep, apreciative breath. *Fuck nice. It's sexy. But then, duh. He's tha God of Love, right? He probably can't do anythin that ISN'T sexy.*

"Is this better?"

"Huh?" Whoa, I thought. I'd bettah watch it. I was almost spacin out there for a minute. "I mean, yeah."

"How hungry are you?"

"Not very. They didn't have any use for tha weddin feast, so I grabbed what I wanted before I left."

"Will fruit do?"

'Sure."

"Fine." A large bowl of all kinds of perfect fruit materialized onna table before us. "Get comfortable."

That's when I noticed that we were sittin on his bed. I looked around. It was tha only piece of furniture in the room. I thought myself up a nice couch, but before I could get up an' go to it, Cupe frowned, an' it vanished again. "Hey."

"You're not going to be cluttering up my place while you're here, Strife. I have it as I like it."

I blew out a breath, makin a kinda rude buzz. "Fine. Suit yerself. No skin offa my nose if ya wanna get sticky stuff all ovah yer sheets."

He was starin at me again, an' he said, "There's another statement that's open to interpretation."

*Whoa. He did not just make a come-on ta me. Did he? Nah. That would be ridiculous, unbelievable, unthinkable... too damn much ta hope for.*

I didn't answer that remark cause for once my smart-ass gene failed me. Mischief speechless is not a common thing, people, an' tha fact that I couldn't think of anythin ta say just got me more confused.

I made a big deal outta choosin exactly tha right piece of fruit, settlin onna apple that was flawless. I wanted ta polish it a little, but leathah ain't good for that, so I hadda rub it on tha sheets.

He was watchin me again. "What? Ya had yer eye on this one?"

"No, that's not what I have my eye on."

"Uh. Good." I took a big, crunchy bite outta it. It was good: tart an' sweet at the same time, an' juicy? Boy. It ran down my chin. One thing ya gotta say for Cupe, he sets a good table.

*sigh* Does it bothah you when someone watches ya eat? It didn't exactly bothah me. More like... disturbed. Made me feel antsy. Well, I'm antsy mosta tha time, but more than usual, ya know?

I hadda keep up tha nonchalant, don't-give-a-damn image, so I lounged back on my elbow while I munched. I could feel my heart speedin up when he lounged down nexta me an' kept watchin. It started doin double time when he reached out an touched me on tha chest.

"You're making a mess. Dripping all over your clothes." Alluva sudden tha top part of my outfit was gone. Cupid's eyes narrowed. "Hm. I didn't notice the nipple rings when I hauled you out of the bath. Must've been the bubbles. When did you have those done?"

"I dunno. Awhile ago."

"Did it hurt?"

I grinned. "Yah."

"How about now?"

"Nah. Not unless somebody gets too rough with 'em. Othahwise they're kinda..." He reached out and tugged one gently, an' I almost choked. "...nice. Geez, Cupe, whatta you doin?"

"Just checking. That didn't hurt?"

"Nah. It's just kinda..." He tugged the othah one, an' I lost my breath for a minute. "intense."

"So I see. It makes it easy to get them hard, doesn't it?" He touched one nipple lightly, an' I quickly took another bite of apple cause othahwise I would've moaned.

More juice down tha chin. I licked my lips, tryin ta catch some of it before it could spill down, but I didn't have too much success. He was still starin, an' those eyes weren't just blue now, they were dark blue. Oh, shit, what was goin on here?

Desperate for conversation, I held out tha apple. "Want some?"

"Yes." I was relieved when he took tha apple. But then he tossed it ovah his shoulder an' leaned ovah me. I sorta fell back an' there he was, braced ovah my upper body, just kinda fillin up my vision. Tha view was nice, but I expect my eyes musta been about tha size of gongs by then.

"Cupe?"

"You're going to be all sticky if we don't get that apple juice off you. There's a drop, right there." He bent down an' licked my chest.

My voice was shaky, but I was tryin ta stay cool. "I can just zap myself clean, Cupe."

"No need." He found another drop a few inches from tha first one. "There isn't all that much to take care of."

"Yah don't hafta bother."

"Believe me, it's no bother."

His tongue passed ovah my right nipple, an' I couldn't help it: I arched up like Damara's cat, Fluffy, wantin ta be petted. I think I kinda made a sound like he did, too. Ya know: purrrr.

But, bein myself, I couldn't let that just go, so I said, "Ya mean ta tell me I dripped all tha way down there?" Oo. I nevah knew it could feel so good ta have someone laugh while they had yer nipple in their mouth.

I heard a rustlin sound. Cupe's wings were vibratin gently. I've found out since then that sometimes they do that when he's excited for one reason or anothah. He lifted his head an' started lickin my chin. Weird, but sexy as Tartarus. Alluv a sudden my pants felt too damn tight. An' I thought leathah wasn't s'posed ta shrink.

This was movin way fast, an' it was way nice. I mean, I had tha God of Love about ta put his tongue in my mouth. Every woman on earth an' a heckuva lotta tha guys dream about that.

Then somethin happened that... Yeah, I woulda been proud ta claim it, but I didn't have anthin ta do with it.

I hear a squeal. "Daddy!" Cupe's head jerked up at tha same moment we heard tha pitty-patter of little feet, then he landed on toppa me because a squirmin bundle of Bliss had just landed on him.

He looked down at me, sighed, and rolled offa me, twistin an' grabbin his son. "Hey, kiddo, what are you doing here? Where's Demeter?"

"Her sleepin." A cherubic face peeked at me ovah Cupe's shouldah. "Hiya Stwife."

"Hey Bliss. You been bein a good boy?"

"No."

"My man!" We slapped palms.

"Whatcha doin here in Daddy's bed, Stwife?"

"Uh..."

"Strife is having a sleepover, Bliss. He's going to stay here with us for a while. How would you like that?"

"Cool!"

Cupid blinked at his son, then looked at me questioningly. I shrugged. "We get along good when he comes ta visit Ares."

'Granpa!" Bliss crowed. I smirked. Unc was proud of tha kid, but I loved tha wince when anyone 'cept Bliss called him that. "Go see Granpa?"

"Soon, but you should be in bed. All good little godlings should be asleep." He stood up, picked up Bliss, and carried him toward the door. "You've got to stop sneaking out when Demeter is watching you, Bliss. I guess I'm going to have to take away the door to keep you in the room." His voice was fadin as he went inta tha hall. "Olympus knows what I'm going to do when you learn how to transport."

Okay, I hadda minute or two ta think. Once I got enough oxygen ta operate my brain again, that is. What, precisely, tha fuck was goin on?

Oh, well, aside from a seduction. I got that. Duh. I'm not that stupid. But tha sheer... I dunno... inappropriateness of it was tossin me for a loop. Tha God of Love, an' Mischief? Light, an' Dark. Day, an' night. Demeter, an' tha Whore of Babylon. Ya get my drift. I couldn't see it. Not that I didnt wanna see it, but it's in everyone's best interests if yer at least a little realistice now an again.

On one hand ya got Cupid: yer classic Greek god, tha one that pro'lly got tha mortals usin that expression. Blonde, buff, golden, gorgeous. Then ya got me.

Okay, I'm kinda cool, in my own way. I gotta flair, I got fashion sense, I got good hair. But I'm as thin as skim milk an' just about tha same color. I usually manage ta avoid tha blue undertones, if I get a little sun.

Lovers: Cupid's had... Sheesh. It would pro'bly be easier ta say who he hasn't had.

Me?

*cough* No, I wasn't a virgin! At least not accordin ta some interpretations. I didn't hafta worry about attractin unicorns. Good thing, too. Tha critters shit mountains, an their breath may be like honeysuckle, but their shit stinks like anyone's.

So I did tha math, an' it didn't take Pythagoras ta see that what I was comin up with didn't make any sense. Even if we did get along real good when we were younger, I couldn't remembah anythin that woulda indicated ta me that he was warm for my form.

I was led ta tha inevitable conclusion that he was feelin sorry for me, what with my bein stuck between Zeus an' Hera, othawise know as Tha Rock an' Tha Hardass.

Up until then all I'd had was summa my mortal followers, men an' women who'd gotten desperate enough or were fucked in tha head enough ta worship wunna tha main purveyors of Chaos. That, an'...

Huh. Well, didn't it just figure? Someone like him, an' it had ta be a mercy fuck. Well, it had ta be. Tha only othah explination was too outlandish.

Now, ordinarily a mercy fuck would be fine with me. Sex is sex, right? Yer talkin ta tha guy who once pretended ta drown ta get a water nymph ta save his butt. Here's a tip: dependin on their mood, they'll eithah drown yer ass or screw yer brains out aftah savin ya. Ya take yer chances.

But somehow tha thought of Cupid touchin me with pity made me burn, but not in a good way. Then it made me feel cold.

Ya know, I really must be crazy, like Xena an' Herc an' tha two blondes are always sayin. I had ta be, 'cause I was about ta turn down a chance ta screw tha God of Love. But I didn't wanna hurt his feelins, so...

Waitaminute. Did those words just come outta my mouth? Damn. Somethin odd was really goin on.

I heard his footsteps comin back down tha hall, an took desperate measures. I thought away my pants an' boots an' dived undah tha covahs, layin on my side. Mmmm... silk. Then I slapped my head down on tha pillow, closed my eyes, an' did my best imitation of sleep. I'm good, too. Hey, deception is wunna my stocks in trade.

I heard him come inta tha room. "I found a grey feather the other day. I didn't have them before..." His voice trailed off, an' he came closaj. He said softly, "Strife?"

I felt him kneel on tha bed behind me. I managed not ta jump when I felt his hand on my back. His voice was a whisper. "Strife?"

I kept my breathin slow an' steady. It wasn't easy when his hand slipped down an' palmed tha curve of my ass, but I did it. We just stayed that way for a minute. Just about tha time I was ready ta push myself back at him he sighed and moved his hand. "All right."

Tha sheet was lifted an' he slid in behind me. Then I felt his arm go ovah my waist, and he moved up behind me. All of a sudden he was against my back. Well, against alla me. I could feel his breath on tha back of my neck, an' his toes brushing tha back of my ankles, an' a whole lotta Cupid inbetween, includin somethin very interestin nestled against tha crack of my ass.

"If this is how it has to be." I felt his teeth scrape lightly ovah tha nape of my neck, then a kiss. "Goodnight, cousin."

I guess it's a good thing we went ta bed early, cause I took a long, long time ta fall asleep.