Fandom: Xena / Hercules
rating:P NC17 - eventually
pairings: A/J and C/S - eventually
Summary: AU - set sometime after Cupid's divorce from Psyche - the other senior gods are worried about Ares being too wrapped up in war and Aphrodite offers to help - but has she got her own agenda???
Disclaimer: Own nothing - just having fun - don't make any money so don't sue.
feedback: yes please - I'll beg if I have to - this is my first story in this fandom so please be gentle.
Never Bet Against Love
Cupid was sitting on the floor of his temple on Olympus playing ball with his son Bliss.
Well not exactly playing ball the way a human father would with his son, but actually throwing the ball into the air and making Bliss fly short distances to catch it.
A flash of pink heralded the arrival of Cupid’s mother Aphrodite.
“Hey mom” called Cupid
”Gwandma” yelled Bliss, forgetting that he was several feet up in the air and briefly loosing control of his wings and falling to earth.
Thankfully Cupid had been expecting his son to make some small mistakes and had been waiting for him to fall, so was ready to grab him before he hit the marble.
Cupid stood up, with Bliss in his arms and walked towards his mother.
“Isn’t he getting good? I only started to teach him to use his wings last week and he is flying short distances by himself, with only one or two slip ups.” Cupid was beaming, clearly very proud of the progress his son was making.
Aphrodite smiled and ruffled Bliss’ hair. “He certainly is, but he needs to be careful.” She then turned her attention to Bliss “Just promise me darling that you’ll not try to fly when your daddy isn’t around.”
“I pwomise” Bliss stuck his thumb into his mouth and looked up at his father. “Can we show Stwife later?”
Cupid laughed lightly and hugged his son tight. “Yes we’ll go and invite him for supper and you can show him before we eat.” He carefully put his son on the floor. “Now since you’ve shown me how good you can be, how about going and getting ready for your nap yourself?”
Bliss hugged his father’s leg and ran off in the direction of his bedroom.
Aphrodite smiled as she watched Bliss scamper away. If it hadn’t been for Bliss she was sure that Cupid would have been totally insane by now. His disastrous marriage to Psyche and their bitter divorce had all but destroyed him.
It was only for Bliss that he had even managed to keep going.
“Now” said Aphrodite turning to look directly at her son. “I need your help.”
At Cupid’s quizzical look she elaborated.
“With your father. You now how the other senior gods are getting worried about how wrapped up he is in his work. I know we all get a little wrapped in our godheads, but Ares doesn’t seem to have anything else at all. He eats, drinks and sleeps war and frankly it’s not good for him.”
Cupid nodded “I agree, he has seemed rather reclusive lately. I mean you have Hephestas. I have Bliss. He needs someone or something, but I’m not sure he’d thank us for interfering.”
“I know, but it is for his own good. Now who do you think would be best for him.”
“I think you should slow down mother.” Cupid raised his eyebrows. “He definitely wouldn’t thank you for interfering in his love life. After all to stop him concentrating 100% on war all he actually needs is a hobby.”
Aphrodite snorted. “Love life, you now as well as I that Ares doesn’t have a ‘love life’ sex life maybe, but I hardly think him bedding one of the battlefield whores or even one of his warriers every so often counts as love.”
“Just don’t do anything that would get him pissed at you.”
“Don’t worry dear he wouldn’t hurt me.” Aphrodite laid a hand on her son’s arm.
“I know that, but that doesn’t stop him going and taking it out on Strife does it. I mean the last time Ares and Eris argued, Ares beat Strife quite badly, threw fire balls at him and everything. It took him hours to heal even with Ace’s help and it was over a week before he was back to his old self again.”
Aphrodite looked at her son carefully. “You seem to now more about it than anyone else.” She said quietly.
Cupid nodded “It was me who found him in the halls of war, he had tried to clean up but he was too badly hurt. I made him go to Ace and he stayed with me for a while, before he went back to his own place.
Aphrodite nodded, it had been soon after Cupid’s split from Psyche and in a way she had been glad Strife had agreed to stay, even if it had only been for a few days, Cupid had needed the moral support.
Just then Strife flashed into the main hall.
“Oops sorry Cuz. Didn’t know you ‘ad company.” Strife’s face fell slightly and he turned to flash away again, but Aphrodite stopped him.
“Actually Strife you may just be able to help me with something.”
Strife turned back a confused look on his face. No one ever needed his help, after all mischief was something most people went out of the way to avoid. And the idea of the Goddess of love wanting mischief causing……………………… well Strife didn’t want to think about that.
Aphrodite smiled as she saw the worried look. “Don’t worry sweetheart, it’s nothing much. We were just saying your uncle could do with something other than war in his life. And as you are his second in command I thought you may have an idea what he is most likely to take to.”
Strife looked at Cupid and Dite in disbelief. They were asking his opinion about what Ares would like to make his slightly less focused on war, at least some of the time. They, the goddess of love and the god of falling in love and passion, were asking him Strife, Ares second in command, to give them ideas on how to get Ares, the god who lived and breathed war, to spend less time concentrating on war……………… Oh count the ways this could go wrong.
Strife shook his head. “You’ll nevah get Unc to think o’ war less. Even when there isn’t a war on, he spends ‘is time trainin’ and such.”
“Training…………… mmmmmmmmmm” mused Aphrodite. “Now that’s an idea. We could find the most clumsy, distracting, annoying person and ask Ares to train them as a warrior.”
“Soz Dite. ‘m already trained” giggled Strife, thinking he fit that description perfectly.
“Not you, it would need to be someone he doesn’t really know, who doesn’t have the blood of war already flowing through their veins.” Suddenly her eye’s sparkled. “Ooh got it.” She smiled a dazzling smile and said “Don’t go any where you two. Cupid Sweetheart, didn’t you say something to Bliss about inviting Strife for supper. I’ll be back in a bit.”
With a flash of pink hearts she was gone.
“So Bliss whanted me to stay for suppah.” Strife did his best to sound as though he hadn’t taken that comment to mean that Cupid didn’t.
Cupid’s looked up at the slight undertone in his cousin’s voice and quickly realised the reason.
“Yes Bliss and I want you to stay for supper, so I promised both him and I that I would ask you.” Cupid made sure to stress the I’s, smiling at Strife’s insecurity, but understanding where it came from. “I’d love some adult company for a while and Bliss is desperate to show you how his flying’s getting on.”
“OK then” Strife agreed “So what you want to do until suppah time?”
Cupid’s eyebrows shot up “You really shouldn’t ask that question of a man who’s recently divorced, with a toddler, and so hasn’t been laid in forever you know.”
Strife looked shocked until he saw the mischievous twinkle in his cousin’s eye – it was teasing and not anything else he was sure. He was kidding with him - Of course Cupid had not gone without sex since before the divorce. He was the God of love and passion and no one really would ever turn him down. It was stupid to think that he could possibly be flirting with him.
Strife sniggered to ease his embarrassment. Fancy thinking what he had been thinking. No way was tanned, buff and gorgeous Cupid ever going to hit on skinny, pale, plain looking Strife, no matter how desperate he got.
“We could play cards or something?” Strife suggested.
“Pardon” Cupid looked at Strife, he knew that Strife was not always the quickest on the uptake, but he knew his cousin liked a quick, no strings attached tumble as well as anyone. Hell it was well known on Olympus that he had even fucked Ares a few times when they had been stuck on some battlefield and neither of them had anyone they considered better to screw - and that had just about as big a hint as Cupid felt he was capable of making – but Strife had not risen to the bait.
“You know cards” Strife was grinning manically “A game I got from the halls of time. Bits of toughened parchment with different symbols on them and numbers you try to match cards or suits or numbers depending on the game.”
“Er………… Ok we could I suppose, but you’d have to teach me some games with them.”
Strife nodded and snapped his fingers producing a pack of cards.
They spent the next couple of hours with Strife teaching Cupid to play snap and other simple cards games. He had tried teaching him poker, but had Cupid had pleaded to be allowed to start with something easier.
Cupid for his part was not really concentrating on the rules of the games, partly as he was convinced some of them Strife was making up on the spot, partly because he was spending too much time concentrating on the way Strife’s long elegant fingers glided over the cards, and partly because he was upset over what he now perceived as Strife’s rebuffal of his advances. Friendly and sweet rebuffal, but still a rebuffal none the less, Strife couldn’t have just misunderstood could he, it was obvious Cupid had been asking Strife to be the one that ended Cupid’s long spell without sex.
Cupid hung his head and tried to concentrate on what Strife was showing him. It was obvious that Strife had overheard some of the horrible things Psyche had been saying about him and had believed them.
The first time he had caught Psyche cheating on him she had screamed at him that it had all been his fault. If he had been better in the sack she would not have had to go elsewhere for satisfaction.
For any man to have had that thrown in his face, least of all in front of his wife’s lover, it would have been hard enough but for the god of love and passion to be accused of being bad in bed………………. Well it was little wonder that he hadn’t felt like having sex with anyone since. And now, the first time since then he had begun to tentatively make advances towards someone they had suggested they would rather play cards.
Yes it was obvious, Strife had heard the rumours of what a lousy lay he was and had decided to pass on the experience.
Tears came unbidden to Cupid’s eyes and he blinked them away.
At least he and Strife could be friends if nothing else, and more than a lover Cupid needed a friend right about now. Yes he would just forget imagining exactly how good Strife’s long lean fingers would feel caressing him, he could think of other things except the dirty phrases Strife’s long wicked tongue could say in a husky whisper.
Yes he could forget all that and just learn to play snap.