Happy Valentine, to you all!
Title: Not Your Average Girl Next Door
Author: Kris Andersson
Shanna_se@yahoo.se
Archive: Lis archives. Anyone else, let me know, so I
can feel proud. :)
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: C/S
Feedback: Feedback feeds the muses. :)
Summary: The true story about Cupid and Psyche.
Answer to the Strife is Psyche challenge at AJCS'
homepage. I have no idea who came up with it, but I'm
in debt. ;)
Hugs to my betas, Super Speller Christine, and Carrie,
Queen of Commas. They truly did my readers a big
favor...
Also many thanks to the AJCS list sibs in general, and
Selene la Luna, in particular for help in remembering
details about the HtLJ episode 'The Green Eyed
Monster' and suggesting the title.
Some of the dialogue in this fic comes from the
transcript of 'The Green Eyed Monster', found at
Whoosh! at
http://whoosh.org/epguide/trans/h307tran.html .
Not Your Average Girl Next Door
It's strange how things turn out sometimes. You think
you have a clue about your life, have it all planned
out, know exactly what you want, and have a fairly
good idea how to at least try to get it. So, there I
was, minding my own business (or actually, Unc's
business) when the Fate's decided to whack me in the
head and trip me at the same time. Those busybody
bitches apparently didn't think my life was
complicated enough.
It all started in Unc's temple on Olympus. He was
bitching about Jercules again, and how hard it was to
get a good spy near him. I kind of had to agree with
him there. Jercules, while not the smartest man in the
world, had become more experienced since his Academy
days, the stunt I pulled as Nicus Guyus wouldn't work
today as it had then. But for some reason Unc blamed
*me* for Hercules' gift to spot anything fishy.
So, naturally, I had to show off. Started to brag
about how I'd found the spell The Big Z used when he
transformed into someone, or something, eww, while
banging mortals. The one that made it impossible for
even a god to notice anything special about his shape
unless he knew you very well. You wouldn’t believe the
amount of sneaking and bullshitting I had to do to get
a hold of that one. But it was worth it, because for
me, that spell is practically fool proof. The only one
who knows me at all is Unc.
Anyway, Unc became as impressed as I thought he would
be. OK, he didn't say, "Strife, you're the greatest!
I'm so proud to be your uncle. Let me bow down for
your geniusness." But he did slap me on the back and
said I might be of some use yet. Hey, I take what I
can get.
But then he came up with this plan, and my trouble
started. He told me to find some friend of the heroic
moron, replace him/her/it and slowly establish myself
as that person before 'accidentally' bumping into
Hercules and start messing with his mind. You know,
doing the whole sidekick thing while feeding Unc with
information about what Herc was up to, and do my best
to mess up now and then. Being what Unc calls a double
agent. Kinda like Joxer is right now. And wouldn't
Xena and Blondie shit bricks if they knew about *that
one*!
But I'm getting off the subject here, where was I? Oh,
yeah. So, I started to check out friends of Hercules.
I figured it had to be easier to be someone he hadn't
seen for quite a while than try to replace Iolaus, or
one of the other mortals that bumps into Herc
regularly. Someone he didn't know so well, just so in
case something I said or did wasn't what the real
person would do; he would simply think that it was
because he didn't really knew me, eh, the person, any
more.
After a week of checking, (Tartarus, Herc has a *lot*
of friends!) I finally found a perfect target. Some
chick Herc had known when she was a little girl. The
bimbo had run off with a soldier two days earlier and
was now well on her way to become one of the wenches
following the army to war, if you catch my drift...
Anyway, she'd told her father she was going to an
aunt's house, so he hadn't noticed she was gone yet.
It was perfect. And the little town was on the way to
Corinth, so it was very likely Jercules would end up
there eventually.
So, I took the chick's place. And let me tell ya, it
was no picnic at first. I could hardly walk right. My
balance was way off. I mean, I don't mind having a
nice rack, (and boy, I could stop traffic with those
puppies,) but they're heavy! It's a miracle more
chicks don't have back problems. And while I'd gained
something on my upper body, I'd lost something on my
lower body. I never knew how much I'd miss junior
until he was gone…
It took me a couple of hours to get somewhat
comfortable in my new body. I mean, I had to check out
the new equipment. But I was finally on my way to the
girl’s village. I could've just willed myself there,
but why take the chance of someone catching me in the
act? Besides, it gave me time to practice walking. By
the time I reached the village, I had a nice swaying
thing going on.
I can't say that the first month went by problem free.
It was hard to act like a woman all the time. Mortal
women are expected to act a certain way, they must
take classes or something. There are so many rules to
follow. Who to talk to, who not to talk to.
What to wear, and what not to wear in public. By the
way, I've grown a new respect for 'Dite. Walking in
such high heels can't be easy. And it was hard to
remember to always cross, or at least put together, my
legs every time I sat down so I didn't give some loser
a free show.
And let's not even begin to mention the horror all
women apparently go through every month. Scared the
shit out of me the first time. Pure torture. No wonder
Hera is so pissed off all the time. This *curse* must
lay under her duties since mortal women have to have
it to get preggers. And the girl’s father naturally
expected me to do a lot of chores. Including the
cooking. Mortal cooking is hard! I don't understand
how they manage not to starve to death. I mean it took
me over a month to get the hang of it, and I'm a
*god*! I had to mess a bit with her dad's mind quite a
lot in the beginning…
But as I said, I'm a god. So, after that first month,
I'd learned to act like the perfect daughter.
Unfortunately, perfect tends to be boring.
I just couldn't leave things alone and just *act*
perfect. I just had to do a little remodeling on the
body too. No big changes, nothing you would notice
from one day to the next. Just straightening out the
nose one day and making the mouth a little more
pouty the next.
Well, I had to do something! I had to get a hobby.
Have you any idea how boring it is to play a perfect
daughter? It sucks!
After a while, people began to notice. They started to
say stuff like, "Hey, Psyche has cleaned up real
good," or "Who would've thought Psyche was such a
babe?" I should've stopped then, but it felt good, you
know? I'm the first to admit that I won't win any
beauty pageants in my true form. So, it felt so good
to have people noticing me because of my beauty,
instead of my… freakiness.
I guess I went too far. At first, it was a hoot. I had
suitors coming from all over Greece. You have no idea
how much mischief, mayhem and mishaps that came to the
little town of Malidon because of the beautiful
Psyche. Guys were fighting on the streets just to get
the privilege to help me clean out the outhouse.
Idiots! I was on a power high, night and day. All the
attention, the wanting, was nice too.
But then it went out of hand. People started to say I
was more beautiful than Aphrodite. Now, true as that
may be, mortals should know better than to piss off a
goddess like that. Especially the Goddess of Love.
Even Unc tries to be elsewhere when 'Dite is on a
rampage. Someone even went so far as to replace all
the statues of 'Dite with statues of me in Malidon and
the nearest villages. I swear, sometimes I think
mortals have a built in death wish.
By the time I noticed Cupid snooping around, I was
having second thoughts about the whole gig. The men
were getting worse, I couldn't even leave the house
without getting hassled, and some guys even tried to
buy me. I'm so not into slavery. Good thing Holidus is
a good guy. Most fathers would've sold off their
daughter to the highest bidder and than congratulate
himself for making such a good match. But Holidus
really loved me, his daughter. Whatever! But even he
was getting more and more tempted. It wouldn't take
many months before he'd convince himself that selling
me would be for my own good. And that would be bad.
And now Cupid too. Cupid is one of the few on Olympus
outside the house of War that I like. He's just
*nice*, ya know? He never looked at me like I was
something the cat had dragged in. A lot of people do
that, but not Cupes. No, sometimes me an' Cupid even
hang out. But I can't say I really knew him. Mostly he
was just quiet, sitting there looking at me with a
little smile on his lips an' let me do the talking.
And really *listen* to me. Now, that's kinda rare for
me so I usually took advantage of the opportunity and
blabbed my mouth off. An' while that was great, it
didn't help me figure Cupid out. Would he figure out
that something was fishy? Rumors put him in the same
bimbo category as his mother, but he was the son of
war, so he couldn't be completely lacking in the brain
department. But then again, look at Deimos… Who knew?
I finally decided to take the risk and stay. I didn't
want to disappoint Unc. Besides, Unc had promised me
dire consequences if one of the other gods figured out
who I was, and if Psyche suddenly disappeared, Cupid
would definitely know something was up. And he was
probably just here on 'Dite's order to check out the
competition, anyway. I figured that if Flyboy were to
hit me with an arrow, it would be on mortal setting,
and that would be easy to fight off.
Strangely, he didn't. He just stood there, looking
stupid, looking at me. Sometimes for hours. I didn't
mind. He thought he was invisible, so I was able to
stare right back at him for once without having to
worry about my rep. I won’t deny it; it was a nice
view. I've always had a thing for his wings. Kind of a
crush actually…
Are you kidding! Do something about it?! I didn't want
the whole of Olympus laughing their asses off at me,
thank you very much. I know my limits.
Besides, I'd always thought that that love crap was
for losers, anyway.
I just couldn't figure out what his problem was. I
mean he was the God of *LOVE* and, in my humble
opinion, the best looking guy on Olympus. Surely he
couldn't be affected by Psyche's beauty? Unlike these
mortals, he's used to incredible attractiveness. Just
look at his parents!
By the way, isn't it strange that he inherited the
best of both 'Dite and Unc, making him gorgeous, when
their other sons, Phobos and Deimos, looks, well, like
me? Had me wondering about my parentage, let me tell
ya! But at the time of my creation, Unc was trapped in
a jar. Don't ask, you can get hurt. Very painfully.
But I'm losing the thread here, I couldn't figure out
why Cupid spent so much time there, not really doing
anything other than staring at me, and making really
strange matches. I started to be afraid he'd realized
something wasn't right about me when first 'Dite, and
then Herc showed up.
So, I played the girl next door, all suddenly grown up
for Hercules. Flirting wildly and practically
worshipping him, asking him about his adventures and
talking about how I wanted people to realize I was
more than just a pretty face and other crap like
that. Made him quite uncomfortable during lunch... It
was hilarious! I practically threw myself at him. Some
people might think that's a bit slutty, but it's
Hercules we're talking about here. The man's middle
name should be dense. I had to lay it thick or he'd
never get the hint!
An' he *still* didn't get it. I mean what normal
unmarried man would turn down a woman who's compared
with Aphrodite? Here I was, offering him both the milk
*and* the cow for free, and he said no! Said some
nonsense about me having to live my own life, not his.
What a cliché! Sometimes I wonder if the Jerkster ever
had an original idea in his life.
After lunch, Herc was his normal, heroic, perfect
self. Polite and kind, trying to let me down gently.
He almost made me hurl. One of Apollo's oracles once
let it slip that she predicted that Herc would one day
will become a full god and live on Olympus. Married to
a goddess. She couldn't say which one, just that it
was a daughter of Zeus, and that really narrows it
down. NOT! I don't look forward to that day. Say what
you want about us Olympians, we might be petty and
cruel, but we sure ain't boring. I bet Herc's a real
party pooper.
Anyway, that merchant dude, what's his name? Salmon
something… knocked on the door and lured us outside.
And then we were almost run over by suitors. And in
the big crowd, I noticed Cupid and 'Dite. They seemed
to be arguing about something, then 'Dite grabbed
Cupid's bow and WHAM! Herc was acting like a drooling
lovesick fool. As a difference from his ordinary
drooling moron routine.
I couldn't believe my luck. The plans I started to
have when I realized he was really hit.... I should've
known it was too good to last.
Herc made a complete ass of himself during the fight,
staring and mooning after me, but still managed to
win. Some people just can't get anything wrong.
Disgusting!
So, after the fight, Jercules confessed his love for
me, and while this was great for my plans, I wasn't
ready to start playing tonsil hockey with my worst
enemy (Not counting Mommy dearest) just yet. So when
Herc started to get a bit too close for comfort, I
retreated, pulling some line about wanting to make
myself beautiful for him.
I had an hour for myself. I spent it plotting
different ways for me to make Jercules a complete ass
of himself and pepping me up. That the plan was worth
having to do the big nasty with Hercules, and how fun
it would be when I finally would reveal myself to
him. Ah, the heart ache! But that was long in the
future. There was no way Unc would let me out of this
without milking it to the fullest. I decided that
laying down, closing my eyes and thinking of Greece
was the way to go. I would survive. So, I started
packing.
When Hercules came back, I was ready to face the
torture.
He stood there, looking at me, blushing like a
schoolboy. I swear he was even scraping his feet! And
gave me a poem. A freaking poem! And not even a good
one. If that is what Love does to a man, count me out!
By the way, the poem Herc wrote me will be given to
Hermes for appropriate distribution. Coming soon on a
scroll near you.
And then we went to my 'father'. Who, naturally,
welcomed Mr. Perfect to the family. But I must admit
it was fun hearing Hercules, son of Zeus, calling
Holidus, the innkeeper, Dad. If Zeus had seen him
then! Definitely a Hall of Time moment.
Everything was going great, but I didn't want to take
any chances. Cupid and Aphrodite were a little too
close for comfort. So I tried to move the conversation
towards when we would leave this dump. You know, and
start doing some heroing I could ruin.
Turns out Herc the jerk is a whatyoucallit…
chauvinist. Wanted the little woman tied up at home
with a couple of kids. What a pig! But the cutting
down on his hours would please Unc. And no one can
make a man's life more miserable than a housewife
can. But it would be so *boring*!
And then all Tartarus broke loose. One second, I was
staring at an overly proud and stuck up Jercules, and
the next, I was flying. I must admit it was a new one
for me. I've never been kidnapped by a green-eyed
monster before.
**************************
The monster took me to Heph's old cathedral, of all
places. And then turned into Cupid. You could've
knocked me over with a feather. But I didn't want to
ruin the plan, and since Cupid thought I was Psyche, I
played little frightened mortal girl. I was quite good
if I say so myself.
And then, we went through the whole introduction
thing. You know,
He said, "I'm Cupid."
And I said, "No, you're not. You're a monster!"
And he said, "Am not!"
And since I *am* the god of mischief, I couldn't help
myself. I just had to say, "Are too!"
We kept doing that for a while. I knew he was Cupid of
course, but knowing the other party was right has
never stopped me from trying to win an argument
before.
Unfortunately, Cupid had a secret weapon. He pouted,
and I suddenly realized why 'Dite always sends Cupid
when she really needs something from Ares.
That pout is irresistible! So, when he took a step
closer towards me, I knew I had to do something to
stop him from getting closer, or I would jump the guy.
So, I acted scared and pleaded, “Don’t come any
closer, please. Just... ”
Cupid moved back and assured me he didn't bite. I had
to repress a sigh, how I wished that he *would* bite
me!
But I had more important things to deal with, than
moaning over someone who'd never want me, as myself.
Like, why in Tartarus Cupid was flying around
kidnapping mortal girls. And what was the whole
monster thing about?
“If you’re so nice, then... why don’t you let me go?”
I asked.
“Cause you’d just run back to Hercules.” Cupid
growled.
Now, this was interesting. Why would Cupid care about
the Jerc's love life? This was worth an investigation.
“You’re right. I would. He wants to marry me.” I
said, baiting him.
Cupid both bit his lip and raised his chin, “Yeah,
well... I’m not surprised. It was my arrow that made
him fall in love with you.”
Poor Feather-head. He seemed so confused, and
hurting. I almost felt bad for him. Almost. He'd
messed up my plans with Herc, after all.
So, I said, “It was? Well. It’s too bad for you,
because... I’ll bet he’s on his way here right now to
rescue me.” It wasn't like he really cared about me,
either as a male god or female mortal. This must all
be part of some scheme between Cupid and Aphrodite.
And I was not going to fall for it.
But when Cupid looked at me, with those green eyes,
like I was the only one that mattered in the world and
said he'd never do anything to hurt me. For a while, I
wanted to believe it was true.
Then the moron ruined it by saying he had to leave,
and just left me there! And to make matters worse, he
locked me in! Oh, he would have to pay... Not that I
couldn't leave anytime I wanted, but it was the
principle of the thing.
Part two
Cupid leaving gave me some time to think about stuff I
really didn't want to think about. Like, exactly how
much I really liked Cupid, and that it felt kinda bad
to trick him like this. Then again, he was an almost
friend, Unc is my boss. There shouldn't be a question
of where my loyalties lie, should there?
Before I had time to ponder the question further, a
couple of moronic satyrs came in, and started to
hassle me. Honestly, I've never understood what Cupid
sees in those idiots.
They dragged me into another room. Probably where Heph
used to keep his pet hydras 'cause a set of bars
stretched across the room, making one half of the room
into a cell. Naturally, that's where the morons put
me. And not only did they have to put me behind bars,
they tied me up on a chair too! At least I messed with
their minds a bit so they didn't decide to do anything
else...
The satyrs started to party on the other side of the
bars while laughing and shouting out annoying stuff
like, "Party down with us, Sister!” and “You’ll live
here till ya die!” I was starting to lose my temper,
and was almost ready to blast them when Cupid
returned, and saved me. He saved me. He looked
adorable trying to be the manly man, saving the weak
little girl! But I was on a job for Unc', and really
couldn't afford to screw this one up so instead of
flirting with him, I yelled at him.
I expected Cupid to yell back or at least zap me. But
instead he looked really sad, removed the vines that
tied me around the chair and asked if they'd hurt me.
“What do you care *what* they did to me?” I snapped.
And really, he should've known better than to leave a
mortal girl anywhere where a satyr could get to her.
If I had really been mortal and not tweaked their
minds a bit, I probably wouldn't have been in any
condition to talk, let alone yell. That I was all
right should've tipped Cupid off that something was
up, but Feathers always did try to see the best in
everybody. He probably assumed that the satyrs had
controlled themselves for his sake.
I was half expecting Cupes to get all defensive like
his father usually gets when questioned. But he just
blushed and said, “Well, I care a lot. I mean, I know
what it’s like to feel trapped. When I was a kid I
used to come out here a lot, because... It was the
only place I knew of that I could get away from my
mother.”
I blinked. Cupid wanted to get away from his mother?
But 'Dite was *nice*. A bit ditzy, but nice. To gods
at least. I'd always thought that she and Cupid had
this great mother/son relationship. To be honest, I've
been quite jealous about that. But maybe Cupid and I
had more in common than I thought. Although I doubted
'Dite ever tried to kill him...
But even if we had something in common, I still needed
to find out what he and Aphrodite were up to. And why
he was so interested in Psyche. I asked him to let me
go again.
He answered that he couldn't and when I demanded to
know why, he said, “I’m sorry... I just can’t. I
don’t wanna lose you.”
He sounded so sincere, I believed him.
Cupid left the cell and locked the door again. I was
really fed up with all this locked in crap the
universe seemed determined to put me through. Cupid
didn't have a chance to leave the room though, before
'Dite turned up.
“If you’ve come for Psyche, you’re wasting your time,”
Cupid practically growled.
Isn't it strange how some gods completely ignore
mortals in their presence? They can have long
conversations with other gods right in front of a
whole group of mortals, and then be surprised when
parts of said conversation ends up in the bardic epic
of the month. A lot of myths and legends started out
that way. I only blab in front of mortals on purpose.
Spreading misinformation and such. 'Cause you never
knew when another god would plant a mortal spy. We in
the House of War do it all the time.
Apparently, Unc' had never advised 'Dite not to talk
freely in front of mortals, cause she completely
ignored me and answered, “I *told* you there’d be
problems. You should have listened to me.” Not a good
answer. Even Ares would've seen that Cupid wasn't in
the mood for an 'I told you so'.
I wasn't surprised when Cupid snapped out, “No, you
listen to me, Mom!" The rest however almost made me
fall over. "I love her, and I am *not* letting her
go.”
Cupid said he loved me! And in front of his mother!
Then this wasn't some plot from his and 'Dite's side.
He really loved me! Or he really loved the gorgeous
girl named Psyche... Before I had time to ponder that
problem, 'Dite told Cupid that that whole monster
thing was a curse from Hera. And that if it happened
two more times, it was goodbye Cupid, and hello
monster. Permanently!
“I don’t get it. Why can’t I just be like everybody
else?" Cupid whined. Incredible, he must be the only
one who can whine in a cute way. "All I wanna do is
cherish Psyche, forever.” Aww.... That was so sweet.
It suddenly felt very hot in my cell.
Aphrodite suggested he'd take his bow and just shoot
me.
But Cupid said, “No! I want Psyche to love me because
she wants to, not because she’s forced to.”
“Oh, that is so sweet," Aphrodite said. And I had to
agree with her. It was sweet, and how I wished Cupid
felt like that for me. The Strife me, I mean. Then
'Dite asked Cupid to let her get me out of there,
before Herc the Jerk showed up. Although, she didn't
call him that.
But Cupid got all protective like and growled again,
“No! You stay away from her, you hear me? Or I swear,
I’ll make Hera look like your best friend.” At that
moment, he almost looked like Unc' Ares. Which was
probably why 'Dite backed down. For a while, at least.
Cupid loved me. Or at least he loved the shell I wore
as Psyche. He loved a beauty, not freaky Strife, God
of Mischief. And Psyche was a hoax. No matter how much
I enjoyed the attention I got as her, she wasn't me.
But did it really matter? Strife, God of Mischief, was
loved by no one. Well, Unc' at least liked me, sorta.
But not in that way. As Psyche, I had the most
beautiful, kindest god on Olympus, loving me. So what
if Psyche wasn't real? I'd probably never have a shot
at true love anyway. Would it be so bad of me to take
what I could get for a while?
When Cupid returned with some food, I'd made up my
mind to go for it.
“You know... I never knew that gods got lonely, too.”
I started.
But before I had a chance to get the conversation
heading in the right direction, a satyr announcing
that Hercules was there interrupted us.
Cupid frowned, “He’s even faster than I thought he
was." He left the cell and turned back to me. "Stay
here, Psyche. You’ll be safe.”
Like I had any choice, he'd locked the frigging door!
And isn't it typical that Herc the Jerk had to arrive
just in time to ruin everything? I swear if he ever
does get to live on Olympus, Zeus should make him the
God of Bad Timing.
Cupid did a pose that would've made his father proud.
“You shouldn’t have come, Hercules,” he said.
Then Herc said that Cupe's arrow didn't work on him.
Cupid found that just as funny as I did. Like a demi
god could resist one of Cupe's arrows! Even a full god
would have to *will* away the effect. And that takes
concentration skills Herc the Jerk simply doesn't
have! So naturally, Cupid told him he was lying.
“You know me better than that, Cupid. I just wanna
make sure she’s *safe*.” Herc said in that patronizing
tone all members of the House of War have come to know
and hate.
Cupid didn't like it either and asked, “From what?
The green-eyed monster?”
Then Herc had the nerve to tell Cupe he'd come to
protect me from Aphrodite! Sure, 'Dite is not a
goddess for a mortal to cross, and if she wants to,
she can be just as cruel as Hera can, she just usually
chose to be nice. But you'd have to be stupid to just
go around trashing a god’s mother like that. At least
not in front of said god.
I wasn't surprised when Cupid ordered his satyrs to
attack.
Apparently, Herc was, because, he said, “I thought I
was your favorite uncle.”
It's clear Hercules got Zeus' arrogance. I mean,
everyone knows Cupid's favorite uncle is Heph!
Besides, Cupid is much older than Herc. I doubt he
even sees Hercules as an uncle. I've heard some rumors
that Herc has tried to act like an older confidant
towards Cupid and that Cupid let him since he's too
nice and polite to brush him off. But the truth is
that Cupid is the oldest of us in the new generation.
He's Zeus' oldest grand child and actually older than
Hermes! But since he spent several centuries as a
baby, some people don’t realize that.
I was so focused on the fight that I didn't notice
that Aphrodite appeared until she spoke. She wanted to
take me away, but I refused and demanded to know why
she was doing this. Cupid might love me, but 'Dite was
known to hold a grudge and I doubted she'd forgiven me
for the whole 'more beautiful than Aphrodite' thing.
'Dite took offence, “Hello?! I’m trying’ to help
you, here!”
I simply stated that I had some doubts about that.
Apparently, Aphrodite took offence to that too. “I
get it. You’re copping this ’tude, because everyone’s
been saying you’re more beautiful than I am." She
looked at me like I was the most pathetic thing she'd
ever seen, and chuckled. "But now that I see you,
it’s obvious they’re clueless.”
I hate when people look at me like that. And decided
on the spot that I would add a couple of extra
ingredients in 'Dite's make up when this mess was
over. But right now, I had to stay in character. “Do
you actually think that I like being compared to you?"
I snapped. "Not being able to go anywhere... or do
anything?" Well, actually, that had been kinda cool...
"And people treating me like I’m some kind of freak?”
Now, why had I said that? It was a little too close
to the truth for comfort.
Aphrodite gave me another look, “Don’t sugar-coat it,
honey. I’m just here to save Cupid.”
“But I never thought that you would... ” I started to
object.
But when 'Dite interrupted, “It’s a mom thing. Come
on.” I realized I would never win an argument with
'Dite as a mortal. She would never consider me as
anything else than an amusement or annoyance. She
might pretend to listen to me for a while, but in the
end she'd do what ever she felt like, whether I agreed
or not. And to stop her, I'd have to ruin my cover. So
I agreed. And we left the cell.
We appeared on the other side of the room. Hercules
was just finishing beating up the last of the satyrs.
Aphrodite held up a small bottle. “Here, drink up,”
she ordered me.
Anyone living on Olympus knows that taking a potion
from 'Dite is usually a really bad idea. “How is
*that* going to help Cupid?” I asked suspiciously.
“I’m his mother." Aphrodite said. "Would you trust
me?”
Not even if Hades puts in an ice skating rink in
Tartarus! But if I refused, she'd probably just force
it down my throat. And since she thought I was mortal,
I would be able to fight off whatever she wanted the
potion to do.
I took the bottle and snarled, “Fine.”
Aphrodite crocked her head, “Hmm. You know, I *like*
you. It’s a shame you’re so... cute.”
Yeah, right! Cute as a pet, maybe...
Cupid seemed to agree with me because he flew down to
us and said, “She’s not cute. She’s beautiful." He
took a step closer to me, reaching for my hand. "Come
on, Psyche. I’m taking you away from all of this.”
“Don’t do it, Cupid." 'Dite pleaded. "You know what’ll
happen.” She looked really worried.
I wasn't too keen to see Cupid as a monster again
either. But I had to play ignorant mortal. “OK, will
someone *please* just tell me what’s going on?” I
demanded.
That's when Hercules decided to get involved. “Maybe
I can,” he said striking a pose that made him look
even more vapid than usual.
Now here's something I don't understand. When Cupe
asked Herc if he was there to rescue me from the
green-eyed monster, Herc said no. So, he must know
about Hera's curse. And since seeing Hercules with me
was what set Cupid off the last time, was rushing in,
trying to take charge of the situation, trying to take
charge of me, really the smartest thing to do?
It didn't surprise me when Cupid growled, “Not a
chance,” turned into the monster and attacked
Hercules.
Hercules really should've seen this coming.
They fought and fought, but I wasn't paying attention.
Something strange was going on. I felt really weird.
Like the shell that was Psyche was decaying. Growing
older. I heard 'Dite begging Hercules not to hurt
Cupid, somewhere in the background but I was too busy
to even notice. My godhood was fighting the potion,
and that made it hurt. I gasped and tried to relax.
Letting the potion run its course. I could always get
rid of the effect later, when I ditched the Psyche
glamour.
Hercules noticed it first, and then Cupid changed back
into himself. I guess I wasn't worth fighting for
looking old. "What have you *done*, Mother?!” He
growled.
Aphrodite shrugged, “If it’s any consolation, she’s
not as old as she looks.”
Cupid looked like he was about to have a coronary.
“For once in your life, would you give me a straight
answer?! What have you done?!”
“I did what any mother would do. I tried to protect
you.” Aphrodite answered and I had to wonder what
Olympus she'd been living on, 'cause motherly
affection isn't exactly a high priority up there.
“Mom! You have got to learn to let me live my own
life!" Cupid ranted, and then he turned to me. "Oh,
Psyche. Oh, Psyche, I am so sorry." Ok, here it comes.
The whole 'lets be friends' speak. The sad thing is
that it would be an advancement from the way my few
tries to hook up with someone had ended. Usually they
just stared at me, like I had slime in my face.
"I love you,” Cupid continued.
WHAT?! Now that was unexpected. But so sweet. I really
don't deserve him. “You don’t have to say that,” I
said.
Somewhere, far away, I heard Aphrodite say something,
but all my focus was on Cupid. The love shone from his
eyes. And it was all directed at me. It was then I
decided that it would be worth it. I would play Psyche
and bask in his love, and love him back for as long as
I could. One day I would have to come clean, and then
I'd probably lose him. But it would be worth it, for
just having him for a while.
“I don’t care what you look like." Cupid said and
caressed my old looking face. " I know what a
wonderful person you are. And I wanna spend the rest
of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
I think I made some sort of sound because Cupid asked,
"Can I take that as a ‘Yes’?" But I'm not sure. I just
stared at him. Completely stunned. I'd thought Cupid
wanted me as a lover. I was supposed to be mortal
after all. But by proposing to me like this, he asked
me to be his consort. If I had been a true mortal,
Cupid would've been bound to me here at the mortal
realm for as long as I lived, and then, after my
death, a two centuries long mourning period.
Of course I couldn't marry him. Not as Psyche. I
couldn't do that to him. But I couldn't give up the
time before the ceremony either. Hopefully I could
stall that so I had a couple of months with him at
least. Then I would have to spill the beans, and he
would hate me. But to just be with him once, would be
worth it.
Aphrodite interrupted our staring. "Hey, kids. This
is the deal, courtesy of Hercules. I’ll restore
Psyche’s looks..." She cleared her throat, "On one
condition.” She held up another little bottle.
“Oh, I’m... I’m not so sure.” I said. Sure, spending
those few months with Cupid as a young beautiful girl
instead of as an old hag was appealing, but having to
deal with Aphrodite wasn't.
“Chill, will you?" 'Dite said. "This is ambrosia. One
sip and it’s off to Olympus.”
“You mean... you’re gonna make me immortal?” Well, a
goddess actually. But I was supposed to be a mortal so
I pretended to be ignorant. I still can't believe
'Dite did that. I don't think Hercules realized what
he asked of her. It is forbidden to give mortals
ambrosia without Zeus' permission. And even though
Aphrodite is one of Zeus' favorites, he must owe her a
huge favor for her daring to do this. And she did it
for Cupid. I guess she was a pretty nice mom after
all.
Aphrodite nodded, “You got it, Sweet Pea.”
I took the ambrosia and with that little extra power
boost, it was easy to fight off 'Dite's potion, and I
became young again.
Cupid thanked his mom, and I tried to apologize to
Hercules. I was supposed to be sweet little Psyche,
after all. And that seemed like something Psyche
should do. No need to raise suspicions unnecessarily.
But I was still Strife underneath, so I choked on it
and only got out, “Um... Hercules, I just... ” before
I choked on it.
Luckily no one noticed, Hercules least of all. “You
don’t have to say anything," he beamed. "As long as
you’re happy, that’s all that matters.” I doubt he
would feel that way if he knew I really was Strife...
“Thank you, both of you.” I said sweetly.
Cupid apologized to Hercules too, and then put his
hand around my waist. "Come on, Psyche." He grinned.
"I’m gonna show you Olympus. You’re gonna flip.” And I
relaxed and allowed him to will me away. Before we
were completely gone, I let my voice travel and said,
“Bye, Mom.” I had to get even for that 'Sweet Pea'
thing 'Dite had going.
*************
We appeared in Cupid's temple on Olympus. He looked at
me, and I looked at him. And suddenly our lips met. We
kissed and kissed, I reveled in the way Cupid tasted,
the way he smelled, the way he felt so close to me. If
I had been mortal, I would've passed out from lack of
air.
Finally Cupid pulled back and looked into my eyes for
a few moments. My breath was coming quickly from the
excitement. He smiled gently and took my hand in his
and we walked hand and hand into his bedroom. We stood
at the side of the big, golden and red bed and kissed
deeply. Any other time, I would've shuddered at the
sight of the room's gaudiness, but now, I had other
things on my mind.
Cupe tilted my head to one side and brushed my hair
away from my neck where he planted soft kisses. His
hands ran up and down my spine and circled round to my
hips. My hands rested on his shoulder blades and
pressed him against me. His wings fluttered when I ran
my hands over his muscular chest.
Before, I would've envied him, that chest, now I only
wanted to touch it. I circled my arms around his waist
and pressed hard against him. I kissed his neck and
shoulder while he reached around and loosened the
fastenings of my dress. I stepped back and the dress
fell to the floor. My nipples were flushed and rising.
Cupid's hands slid across from my arms, to lift my
breasts up to his kisses. He kissed my left nipple
softly and spread his lips over it. Gently he suckled
it. I threw my head back and moaned.
He drew his attention to the now aching right breast
where he flicked his tongue over the erect nipple and
then sucked on it. I almost had trouble breathing.
Cupid released my breasts and his fingers traced a
path down my stomach. His kisses followed the path of
his fingers, stopping only to flick his tongue into my
navel.
"Why don't you lie down?" He murmured, and helped me
up on the bed. A good thing that he did, 'cause by
now, my knees were so wobbly I doubt I would've been
able to stand up much longer.
I laid on my back and now, his fingers were on my
thighs, gently carressing my skin until the tips of
his fingers were touching at the edge of the hairs
surrounding my pussy. I could feel his hot breath
against my skin. I then felt a warm, wet touch against
my clit and then a sharp tingle up my spine. I howled
and bucked my hips up for more.
"Mmm, oh, yes...that's it..." he encouraged, and
extended his tongue further as he licked one long,
soft stroke over my clit.
I moaned and started to sit up, pulled him over me for
a kiss. He tasted of me. I ran my arms down his body
reaching for his cock, but he stopped me. "No, this
first one is for you," he said and kissed me again.
"There's time for me later." He moved back down my
body and I laid back down and he reached underneath my
thighs and gripped his hands onto my ass, cradling
each cheek into his palms as he pulled himself closer.
He pressed his lips against my pussy and then dropped
his tongue deep inside me for another taste. My whole
body shook as he held on tight and began to lick long,
slow strokes with his tongue.
My body shivered with excitement with each stroke of
his tongue, my flesh covered with goose bumps. It was
an indescribable feeling. It was like nothing I had
ever done before, nothing I had ever felt before.
It didn't take long for him to quicken the pace,
either. Soon his tongue was fluttering all over, up
and down, circling and furiously licking all over my
pussy and it was steaming by that point. He devoured
my cunt, licking so quickly, feverishly tasting.
My heart was thundering and my legs were shaking and I
knew what was coming, what was inevitably coming. The
mattress began to creak and Cupid had to struggle to
hold on, as I was bucking and thrashing.
I moaned continuously now and though it had seemed as
though we had been doing this for hours, I knew that
it had only been a few minutes since his tongue first
touched my clit. I could not sense any sign of him
tiring and he moaned softly as well as he licked and
licked, faster and faster. It sounded like he got
pleasure from giving me pleasure. By that time, it was
all that I had needed.
I thrust my mid-section forward and punctuated each
thrust by howling loudly. This female multiple orgasm
thing totally rocks. It almost makes up for the PMS
thing. Almost. How many orgasms I experienced that
first time, I could not tell. I came in waves and it
felt as though the orgasms would never end.
My body did come to a rest and I collapsed, exhausted,
and slowly regained awareness and realized, to my
horror, that I had changed back to my own body.
I closed my eyes, hard. And waited for the assault,
physical or verbal. But it never came. Hesitantly I
opened my eyes. Cupid was still laying between my
legs. And staring at me with a strange look on his
face.
I assumed he was in shock and that he any moment now
would start shouting, throw a couple of fire balls at
me, maybe beat me into a pulp, and then say he never
wanted to see me again.
What I didn't expect was for him to move up, smile at
me and gently caress my cheek saying, "There you are.
I wondered how long you could keep the glamour up."
He could've knocked me over with one of his feathers
if I wasn't already laying down. All I could stutter
out was a surprised, "What?.."
He ginned and kissed my nose. "I knew it was you the
first time I saw Psyche. Why do you think I didn't
shoot you?"
I just stared at him. "You *knew*?" I choked out.
"Uh huh," he nodded. "Of course, I recognized you,
Strife! I would recognize you anywhere."
"Recognized me..."
He nodded and put a tender kiss on my lips. "I've been
watching you for quite a long time, I think I know you
pretty well." He must have seen something in my face
because he continued, "And no, my proposal was not a
joke. I was dead serious, and you said yes, and I
intend to hold you to that." He ran his fingers
through my hair. "And now that that's settled..."
He kissed me again. I kissed back. He pulled away and
looked at me playfully, "Now, I liked Psyche, she was
very attractive. And the way you fooled both Mom and
Herc was brilliant. Maybe we could try to trick the
rest of Olympus too?"
I grinned and nodded. That could be fun. We could
probably fool anyone but Unc. At least for a while.
"But I prefer Strife," Cupid continued and smiled down
at me. "So, do you think we can make love with you in
your own body?"
I laughed and pulled him down for another kiss.
*****************
And now I lay here on Cupid's bed with him sleeping on
top of me. His wings flutter a little in his sleep and
he's buried his face in my neck. He's pretty heavy and
drooling a bit. And I wouldn't want this any other
way. This love business isn't so bad after all.
Now all I have to do is figure out a safe way to tell
Unc his nephew has become his daughter in-law.
THE END