When we flashed inta Cupid's place he held onta me till I was steady again, then said, "Look I need to ask you a favor."

"Yeah?" *Here it comes. Time ta play 'Use tha Loser'.*

"I really need to go have a talk with Pops, but Mom is due to bring Bliss back any minute now. Could you watch him for a couple of hours?"

My mouth dropped open like I was tryin ta catch flies. "Ya mean you'd trust me ta watch yer kid?"

He frowned. "Of course I would. Strife, you may act a little flaky sometimes, but you're a very responsible person. You never neglect your duties. Besides, Bliss really, really likes you."

I couldn't help grinnin. "He does, huh?"

"One more time, of course. And you like him, too."

"Yeah, well, don't talk it around. I got a rep ta maintain, ya know? Sure, I'll watch tha brat."

"Thank you." He gave my arm a squeeze. "I won't be too long, I hope." He disappeared in a shower of gold sparks.

I hardly had time ta sit down when Aphrodite appeared in her own shower of gold sparklies, plus rose petals, Bliss in her arms. 'Dite's wunna tha good ones. I nevah get tha feelin she's looking for an excuse ta get away from me as soon as she sees me, like I do with some of 'em.

She smiled at me. "Well, hello Mischief! Where's that son of mine?"

"He's havin a confab with Unca Ares. I'm gonna watch tha kiddo till he gets back."

Bless her, she nevah even batted an eyelash, just set Bliss down on tha floor, sayin, "That's nice of you, dear. It's hard to get good babysitters these days."

Bliss flew ta me as straight as wunna Cupe's arrows, an hit me almost as hard, scramblin up on my lap. "Oof! Hiya, kid. Da... uh, darn yer gettin big."

"Sowwy." He started climbin up me, manueverin ta sit on my shoulders.

"Ow! Bliss, who made those sandals for ya--Hephastus? Yow."

"Sowwy." He'd got situated, little legs danglin on eithah side of my neck, an' kicked. "Giddap."

"Yer Granma took ya ta visit Apollo's stables again, didn't she? 'Dite, how many honey cakes did ya feed him?"

'Dite smiled at me sweetly. "I have to be going now. Tell Cupid we need to have a chat very soon. In fact, tonight or tomorrow would be best."

"Check."

She flashed out just as Bliss buried his hands in my hair, tugged, an' said. "Hiyo, Stwifie! Away!"

*sigh*

Well, what was I s'posed ta do? He's my second-cousin, aftah all. Or is that first cousin, once removed? Nevah could get that family tree shit straight, an' when yer a god it really doesn't make all that much difference. Anyways, I got up an' played horsie. I galloped around, neighin an' snortin. He had a real giggle fit when I bucked. I really shoulda thought about tha fact that he was just barely potty trained before I did that, though. That instant clean-up can come in real handy.

It was movin on toward evenin, then, so I waved us up some food, makin sure he had plenty of warm milk. Cupe still hadn't shown up, so I bathed him. If I hadn't been wearin my leathers I'da got a shower myself. Kid was like a hyper-active otter on a massive sugar high.

When he was clean I plucked 'im outta tha tub, an' he flapped his little wings so fast ya would've mistaken him for a hummin bird. Anothah shower. I wrapped 'im up in a big towel, took 'im to his bedroom an' dried 'im off. By that time he'd finally started ta calm down.

I thought up a clean shift for him ta sleep in, an' I noticed that he was turnin in a circle. For a second I just watched him spin, wonderin if this was some new sorta game, then I realized what was goin on. He was tryin ta reach his wings. Durin tha bath tha feathahs had gotten all disarranged. They were layin every which way. Judgin from tha frown on his face an' tha determined way he was spinnin around, reachin back, it musta been pretty uncomfortable.

"Hey, Bliss. C'mere buddy." He stopped an' came ta me. "Wassa matter? Yer feathahs ruffled?"

He frowned an' nodded, flapping them again, hard. "It don't feel good. Daddy us'lly fixes 'em for me, but Daddy's not here now." His bottom lip stuck out, an' his eyes got wet. "Where's my daddy, Stwife? I not seen 'im all day."

"He had business, kiddo. He'll be back soon, an' I bet tha first thing he does is come in here ta make sure yer all right an' give ya a good-night kiss."

He looked only a little comforted. "You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, ya big silly! Yer Dad loves ya like nobody's business. Now, why dontcha let me try an' help ya with those feathahs, huh? We'll get ya comfortable so ya can go ta sleep."

"Kay."

I picked him up an' set him on my knees, an' began ta smooth his wings out. I worked carefully, straightenin an' preenin each feathah till it lay flat an' smooth. They were so pretty. Tha feathahs were so white they were almost silver, an they were tha smallest, softest, smoothest things I evah touched, even more so than Cupid's feathahs. I guess it's kinda like baby hair: it's always softah an' finah than adult hair.

I finished an' said, "Ready ta go ta bed now?"

He turned sideways on my lap, leanin against me, an' yawned. "Not yet. Tell me a stowie."

Oh, man! Mosta tha stories I knew were definitely not meant for little ears. "Uh... What kinda story?"

"A twue stowie."

*Oh, heck.* I just started talkin. "Once upon a time there was a little godling named Bliss..."

He giggled. "Stowie's 'bout me?"

"Some of it. Now be quiet an' close yer eyes." He did, settlin his cheek against my chest. "Okay, this was wunna tha baddest godlings around..."

He opened one eye, frownin at me. "Ise not bad."

"Bad means good."

"Oh." I love that. Just accepted it, didn't need a long explanation.

"So, Bliss was also wunna tha happiest godlings on Olympus, cause he had a big, beautiful daddy ta look aftah him, an' a crazy somethingorothah cousin ta keep him amused, so he wasn't bored very much. Tha only problem was that tha crazy guy wasn't around all that much. Then one day somethin too complicated ta explain happened, an' poof! Crazy Guy was livin in tha very same house with Bliss an' his ultra cool daddy." His eyes were closed, an' he had managed that cat trick of disolvin his bones. I picked him up carefully an' stood, then slipped him inta tha bed, whisperin, "An' they all lived happily evah aftah, which is a long time when yer a god." I bent down an' dropped a kiss on his soft little cheek.

"That was a nice story."

I bit back a noise, so I wouldn't wake up tha kid, when Cupid came up behind me. He bent down an' kissed his son. Bliss didn't quite wake up, but he smiled an murmured somethin that sounded like, "Daddy."

Cupid tucked tha covers a little tighter, an' we both tip-toed out. Out in tha main room I said, "Didya eat? I can wave somethin up real fast."

Cupid shrugged. "Nah, I grabbed a bite over there, after we had our talk. He wasn't in the mood to eat when I got through with him, but Joxer and I had a nice dinner together."

"How is tha Mighty One?"

Cupid grinned, and made a motion in front of his belly. "Out to here. He's taking it pretty well, considering. I mean, pregnancies for us aren't all that big a deal, but it's a pretty hard concept for a mortal man to wrap his mind around."

"He's a nice guy. I like 'im." I smiled. "That clumsiness has helped me out in my work on more than one occasion. Before he fell in with Unc tha boy was a natural mischief magnet." I cleared my throat. I was about ta do somethin that I wasn't sure I had any right ta do, or any sense for it, eithah. "Cupe, I think ya need ta spend a little time with Bliss. He was missin ya pretty bad tanight."

He sighed, sitting down. "I know. It's just been kind of hectic lately. You know--spring. My business really picks up when the weather gets warmer." He held out his hand to me. I just looked at him, and he crooked his fingers at me. "Come on."

I walked ovah to him slowly. "What ya want?"

"Not much." He took hold of my hand an' pulled me down on his lap, puttin his arms around me. "Bliss isn't the only one who likes to cuddle." He laid his cheek on my chest, almost like Bliss had.

I thought for a minute, then put my arms around his neck. It was nice, just sittin there. Cupe is so... so... there, ya know? Real an' solid.

I noticed that some of his feathahs were stickin out at odd angles. Hm. He musta been kinda agitated at Unc's. I reached back an' started ta smooth them out. Cupe sighed again. "That's nice. I watched you doing it for Bliss, and I kind of hoped... But I didn't think I should ask."

"Why not? An' exactly how long were ya watchin?"

"Well, grooming is a kind of a personal thing. And I watched long enough. You're very good with him, Strife."

"He's a cool little kid. Lotta potential there."

"Ah, yes, but potential for what?"

I knew he meant that if I thought he had potential... I snorted. "For all tha good stuff. All kids got some mischief in 'em, Cupe. Not all of 'em are destined ta serve me." I giggled. "Though tha world might be a more interestin place..."

"I didn't mean you, Strife. Just look at his background. There's plenty to worry about there with his ancestors without bringing you into the mix."

Somehow he'd worked a hand up undah my shirt in back (don't ask me how, I wear those suckers tight), an' was rubbin a circle at tha small of my back. He lifted his head ta look at me, an' said, "Strife, I'm sorry if I pushed you into anything you weren't ready for this morning."

I tried ta sound casual. "Oh, hey, cuz, nothin ta apologize for. No harm, no foul, huh? Ain't like I was raped or anythin."

"It doesn't have to be physically violent for it to be wrong. It's just..." He bit his lip. "How can I make you understand this?"

I shrugged. "Wanna draw pictures?"

"Okay, part of it is what I am. What am I, Strife?"

"Well, duh. Yer tha God of Love."

"Wrong. Common misconception. I'm the God of Falling in Love. I usually use the shortened version, saves breath and ink, but there is a difference. I plant the attraction, or bring it to people's attention. What happens after that is up to Mom. So..." He sighed. "I don't want to use this as an excuse, but the process of nurturing love and building it is out of my line. That may have something to do with why things didn't work out between me and Psyche."

"Nah. Tha woman is almost incapable of a genuine emotion beyond selfishness. How she popped out a sweetie like Bliss I'll nevah know. Cupe, what's all this about? It's isn't like you ta get all self-analytical an' philosophical."

"That's part of the problem. I've been taking things too much at surface value. I've started looking deeper lately, though. Take you for instance."

I blinked. "Me?"

"Yes. There's a lot more to you than most people recognize."

I laughed. "Cupe, there are saucers deeper than I am."

I was a little startled when he took my chin in his hands, made me look at him, an' said firmly, "I want you to stop talking about yourself like that. You don't deserve it, Strife. Promise me that you'll stop cutting yourself down."

I studied him. "Why, Cupe? I'm just beatin everyone else ta tha punch line."

"That needs to change, too."

I leaned my forehead against his. "That's a nice sentiment, cuz. Not too damn likely ta happen, but nice."

He was lookin inta my eyes from just an inch or two away. "You might be surprised." His arms tightened around me. "Strife, you can go ahead and make yourself a separate bed if you want to," I felt a sinkin feelin inside till he said, "but I hope you won't."

"I don't, like, kick, or snore, or grind my teeth, or anythin, do I?"

"No." He seemed amused. "Haven't your other bed partners told you?"

"Well, ya see, I nevah really sleep with anyone." He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, smart ass, I do that, but I don't sleep with 'em. One or tha othah of us gets up an' goes." I looked away. "Nobody really seems interested in spendin that much time with me, so I don't force it on 'em." I cut my eyes back at him. "But it was kinda nice, even if I ain't used ta bein used as a blanket."

"I should have asked." Tha hand moved down, cuppin my ass. "It's just that you're so good at keeping me warm."

"So, what?" I looked him straight in the eye. "You askin now?"

His voice was very quiet. "Yes, I'm asking."

"Why, thank you, kind sir. I accept yer lovely invitation." I kissed him, then whispahed, "Ask a civil question, get a civil answer."