Fic: Stupid Cupid 31/42 (Xena, Cupid/Strife, NC17)
Title: Stupid Cupid
Fandom: Xena
Pairing: Cupid/Strife
Rating: NC17
Summary: An AU that sprang from a challenge posted on the AJCS list, in which Strife is the lead singer in a punk band and a teenage Cupid falls in love.
“I can’t believe he actually went for that.”
Psyche was perched cross-legged in the center of her bed, grinning at Cupid’s expression. The shock still hadn’t worn off, and he’d spent the entire day at school wandering around in an elated daze. Once they’d finally gotten out of him that his father had agreed to let him move into the loft they’d understood why he was practically giddy, but it wasn’t until he’d mentioned that Strife was moving in with him that they really understood what Cupid was grinning about.
“I know,” Cupid said, turning his head just enough to flash another grin at Psyche. He was lying flat on his back across the end of her bed, arms folded behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. She had a feeling he wasn’t actually looking at the ceiling; in fact, she was pretty sure he didn’t even know where the hell he was. “I guess he figures at least this way he’ll know where I am.”
“Still, that’s kind of fucked up, don’t you think? I mean shacking up with your boyfriend in the same place where your dad…”
“Auto.” Psyche’s voice was dangerously low as she interrupted the other boy, looking away from Cupid long enough to cast a warning glare at Auto. She couldn’t believe he’d bring up the way Cupid’s parents split up, especially not when Cupid was obviously happier than he’d ever been. They hadn’t been friends with him for most of high school, but they’d heard the stories and they knew enough about the amount of crap he’d taken about his father to know better. At least she’d always assumed Auto knew better, but he was staring back at her with an expression that clearly said he didn’t know what her problem was.
“It’s okay,” Cupid said, but his boyish grin was gone and Psyche could have kicked Auto for tossing a figurative bucket of water on Cupid’s good mood. Okay, so he was a little too caught up in his own romantic notions, but that was nothing new. He’d figure out soon enough that living with Strife was going to be hard work, he didn’t need Auto raining on his parade before it even got started.
“What?” Auto asked, slumping a little further into the chair in the corner of Psyche’s bedroom. “Come on, Psyche, not even your folks would go for that.”
“They never say anything when they see you dragging your ass out of here in the morning,” Psyche shot back, raising her eyebrows when he opened his mouth to argue with her.
“No, he’s got a point.” Cupid pushed himself up on his elbows and glanced over his shoulder at Auto. “I don’t know how my mom’s gonna take it. She’s always hated that loft, she even hated sending me to stay there with Dad after they split up.”
“Yeah, but it’s not your dad’s place anymore,” Psyche offered helpfully, hoping to bring back some of Cupid’s good mood. “It’s your place now. Well, yours and Strife’s, anyway. It’s gonna be great, Cupe. I’m really happy for you.”
She was rewarded with a slightly less brilliant version of Cupid’s grin, and she smiled back at him before she looked over at Auto to make sure he wasn’t going to open his big mouth again. She wasn’t sure what his problem was, but she suspected it had something to do with the fact that Cupid was planning to move in with Strife. He hadn’t said anything, but he’d been quiet since Cupid announced his plans, and she knew Auto well enough to know that he still hadn’t let go of his hang-up about Cupid.
Auto had been in a pretty good mood that morning at school, and Psyche had been hoping it had something to do with the fact that Iolaus had agreed to come to her party. As soon as he heard about Cupid’s plans to move in with Strife his whole attitude changed, though, and she had to face the fact that he wasn’t nearly as over his crush on Cupid as she’d hoped he was. That was the only explanation that made sense, anyway, but she couldn’t just come right out and ask him about it while Cupid was in the room.
“So when are you gonna tell your mom?” Auto asked, ignoring the look Psyche shot him and focusing on Cupid.
Cupid sat up and glanced at the clock next to Psyche’s bed, frowning when he realized how late it was. “She should be home from work, I guess I better get it over with.”
“You don’t have to go already,” Psyche said, standing up to follow Cupid to the door. “It’s still early.”
“Yeah, but if I don’t go now I’ll just chicken out." Cupid grinned and leaned down to plant a kiss on her cheek, straightening up and glancing over her shoulder long enough to wave at Auto. “See you guys later.”
She waved absently and watched until he was all the way down the hall before she shut the door and turned back to Auto. “What the hell did you do that for?”
“What?”
Psyche rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the door, crossing back to her bed and sitting on the edge of the mattress. “What’d you bring up Cupid’s dad for? That was totally a cheap shot.”
“It’s true, isn’t it?” Auto asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I mean it’s not like it’s a big secret.”
“Yeah, but you know how hard all that was for Cupid. I know you don’t like Strife much, but Cupe’s supposed to be your friend.”
“I’m trying to be his friend,” Auto shot back. “Come on, Psyche, you’re not gonna sit there and tell me you think they should move in together. He barely even knows the guy.”
“They’re in love,” Psyche reminded him, shaking her head when he opened his mouth to argue with her. “No, Auto, I mean it. I know you’re jealous, but you’ve gotta back off or Cupe’s not gonna stick around for long.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“Give me a break. I know you better than anybody, and I’ve seen the way you look at him when he’s with Strife. You can’t tell me that’s not jealousy.” She knew he was going to deny it, but she was tired of pretending she didn’t know what was going on. And even if he had a point about Cupid and Strife moving too fast that was no reason to bring up something he knew Cupid was embarrassed about.
“I’m not…fine,” he relented when he looked up and saw her determined expression. He let out a heavy sigh and ran his hands over his face, closing his eyes for a long moment before he looked up again. “Maybe in the beginning I was. He was always around, you know? And as soon as he met this guy it was like he didn’t even know us anymore. But it’s not just that. I mean he’s moving to New York to live with Strife, then you’ll be moving to New York for school, and I’m gonna be stuck here.”
She closed her mouth as soon as his words sank in, her response dying on her lips as she realized he was serious. They’d always talked about her moving to New York and staying in the dorms to get away from her parents, but he’d never wanted to go to college. She knew he probably couldn’t afford it anyway, but he’d always hated school. It had never occurred to her that he felt like he was getting left behind. “Come on, Auto,” she finally said, “it’s not like we’re moving to Mars or something. It’s just a train ride away.”
“Yeah, I know.” Suddenly he sounded tired, like there was a lot more he wanted to say but he couldn’t work up the energy to say it. “Look, Psyche, forget it, okay? I’m sorry I brought up Cupid’s dad. I’ll tell him sorry next time I see him.”
And now she felt bad for the way she’d been trying to break up with him for the past few weeks, for the fact that she hadn’t even stopped to think about how he felt, and for conspiring with Cupid to set him up with a guy he didn’t even know. “Listen, if you want we can just forget the whole thing with Iolaus and the party. It can just be you and me, if you want. Like it used to be.”
He looked up when she said it, and for a second she thought he might actually take her up on it. It meant giving up what she was hoping would be the perfect time to get to know Xena better, but Auto was her friend and if he wanted things to be the way they used to be for one last night she wasn’t going to turn him down. A second later he shook his head, though, and if she didn’t know better she would have sworn his grin was a little self-conscious. “Nah, I mean…if you like him, I don’t mind.”
“He’s pretty cute,” she answered noncommittally, leaning back on her hands in an attempt to look nonchalant.
“Yeah. He’s a little shy too, you know? I was talking to him at the club this weekend and he’s got this whole innocent thing going for him. I mean a guy like that has to have seen some action, don’t you think? There's always a ton of kids screaming at their shows.”
Psyche shrugged, barely managing to swallow a smirk. “Cupe says Strife’s pretty sure he’s never done it with a guy.”
That got her exactly the reaction she'd been hoping for; slack jaw, wide brown eyes, and she wasn't positive, but she might even have seen the beginnings of a grin before he opened his mouth and ruined the affect. “Never?”
"Well it's not like it's abnormal or anything. Most guys don't, you know."
"Yeah, I know, but…" He trailed off, blinked a couple times, and looked down at the floor. "I guess that explains the shy routine."
"Maybe. Or maybe he's just shy." She did grin that time, but it didn't matter because he wasn't looking at her anyway. For a few minutes she'd been worried that Auto really was having a hard time with the thought of them breaking up, but now she was almost sure he was just upset about being left behind. That wasn't going to happen, but she knew telling him wasn't going to make him feel any better. He'd just have to see for himself that just because he wasn't moving to the city didn't mean they'd stop being his friends, and maybe he'd get sick of hanging out in Neptune eventually and move to the city with them. "So are you ready to be somebody's first?"
He looked up sharply at that, frowning as he slumped down in his chair again. "I don't know. You think he really wants to go through with it? I mean he looked pretty freaked out when I was talking to him at the bar. At first I thought it was kinda cute, but if he's not sure…"
"Trust me, Auto, that guy's the poster boy for repressed homosexuality. You'd be doing him a favor." She was careful to omit herself from the equation without making it obvious; Auto was never big on details, so chances were he wouldn't pick up on it until it was too late. She didn't want to outright lie to him, though, so if he asked her she was going to have to tell him about the set-up.
"Yeah, maybe," he said, and she stifled a relieved sigh when his eyes took on a far-away cast. She could tell he was already anticipating the evening even though it was still a couple weeks away, and she couldn't help smiling as she watched him. So maybe Cupid wasn't so crazy after all and this would actually work. It would be nice if Auto had somebody, at least that way she wouldn't have to feel so guilty about moving on.
~
Cupid managed to hold himself together until he got outside, but as soon as Psyche's front door closed behind him he felt his hands start to shake. He didn't want to let on to his friends how nervous he was about talking to his mother, but Auto's comment had made things a hundred times worse. Until that point he'd managed to forget exactly why his mother hated the loft so much, but now that he'd been forced to remember he wasn't sure if he could go through with this.
He wanted to move in with Strife; he wanted that more than anything, and he really didn't want to move in with his father and Joxer. He wasn't sure he could walk into his mother's house and announce that he was leaving her, though, not when he was planning to move into the one place she couldn't even stand to think about. She tried to act like it didn't bother her anymore, but he saw the way she reacted every time Ares called for him or showed up at the house. Now that Cupid could get himself to the city it was better; they didn't have to deal with each other much anymore, but he had a feeling that seeing Ares would always bother her a little.
By the time he found himself on his own doorstep he was so nervous that he thought about turning around again, but before he got his feet to work with him the door swung open and he found himself face to face with his mother. "Cupid, what are you doing standing around out there?"
"Nothing, I was just…"
"I thought you were somebody else," Dite interrupted, standing on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder. "Come on in, I need to talk to you."
She herded him inside and closed the door again, forcing him to crane his neck to try to get a look at her as she shoved him less than gently in the direction of the kitchen. "Mom? What's going on? Did somebody die or something?"
"What? No, of course not. We're having a dinner guest, that's all. I thought you'd be home earlier. Where were you, anyway?"
"I went over to Psyche's after school to talk about the party," Cupid answered, letting his mother push him into a chair at the kitchen table. He sniffed the air, the unmistakable aroma of his mother's roast wafting through the air. "Is Grandma coming over?"
"Grandma? What makes you think that?" Dite asked, pausing long enough to look up from the salad she was tossing.
"The only time you make roast is when Grandma comes to dinner," Cupid answered, frowning at his mother's slightly flushed expression. "Mom, are you feeling okay? You look a little sick."
Instantly Psyche dropped the salad tongs, all the color draining from her cheeks as her hands flew to her face. "Oh no. Do I look terrible?"
"No, Mom, it's not…" he began, but before he could get the rest of his sentence out she was already out of the kitchen and on her way upstairs to her makeup mirror. "…that bad," he finished, sighing in the sudden silence. This was not the way this conversation was supposed to go, and now they were having company and he'd never get a chance to tell her he was planning to move out.
The doorbell rang and he pushed his chair back, shaking his head and pushing the kitchen door open. "Mom?" he called from the bottom of the stairs, waiting a beat before he decided she was probably too engrossed in making herself look perfect to even hear the doorbell. He had no idea who it could be; the last time he'd seen his mother act like this was the time his Aunt Artemis brought her much younger boyfriend Adonis around. Cupid still hadn't told her that Adonis made a pass at him while everyone else was upstairs looking at some family junk; he was pretty sure his mother would freak if she heard that, especially since he had a feeling she'd been into the guy herself.
Finally he gave up waiting for her and crossed to the front door, pulling the door open and coming face to face with his Shop teacher. Cupid frowned and glanced over his shoulder, but his mother was still missing in action. "Hello, Cupid," the older man said, grinning nervously and thrusting a bottle of something Cupid probably wasn't old enough to drink into his hands, "is your…uh…is your mother home?"
Cupid nodded mutely, his eyes still wide as he took a step backwards and let the high school Shop teacher into his house. And now he was really confused, because he'd passed Shop when he was a sophomore, and as far as he knew his mother had never met his teacher. "Uh, Mr…"
"Please, Cupid, when we're not in school you can call me Heph."
For a long moment Cupid stared blankly at the other man, but as soon as he snapped out of it he turned on his heel and ran up the stairs two at a time. "Mom!"
"Geez, Cupe, you don't have to yell," Dite said, appearing at the end of the hall just as Cupid reached the top of the stairs. "I guess you've met our dinner guest."
"Mom, what's the Shop teacher doing in our house?" Cupid demanded, finally remembering the bottle still gripped in his hand. "And why'd he give me a bottle of wine?"
Dite smiled and took the bottle out of his hand, resting her other hand on his forearm. "I imagine the wine was meant to go with dinner. I wanted to wait until after graduation to introduce you two, but Heph didn't see any reason to wait. He's not your teacher anymore, so there's no conflict of interest."
"Have you been dating my Shop teacher since…God, since I was a sophomore?"
"No," she answered, frowning at Cupid's horrified expression. "Honestly, Cupid, you're not a little boy anymore. You know I've been dating."
"Yeah, but…the Shop teacher?"
Dite rolled her eyes and let go of his arm, pushing him gently out of her way. "He's not just a teacher, you know. They all have lives when they leave the school, believe it or not. Now go get washed up, dinner's almost ready. And I expect you to be polite."
For a long time after she left him alone in the hallway he just stood there, staring at the space in front of him where his mother had been standing a few moments ago. He knew she dated, sure, but she'd always told him who she spent her time with was none of his business. He'd never met any of her boyfriends, but he'd never suspected that it might be because he already knew the boyfriend in question. His mind was swimming suddenly with a hundred different questions; like how serious they were, how long they'd been dating and what exactly this dinner meant.
Then there was the little matter of him moving out to deal with, but suddenly it didn't seem nearly as daunting to bring up. His mother couldn't kill him in front of her boyfriend, and if things between her and Mr…Heph - and that was going to take forever to get used to - were serious…
His lips curved into a wide grin, and he bounced on his heels as he made his way to the bathroom to wash up for dinner. This unexpected dinner party could work to his advantage, especially if his mother was so distracted by her boyfriend that she didn't really pay much attention to what Cupid said to her. He could probably get her to agree to anything tonight if he was the type of person to take advantage of the situation. All he really wanted was for her to be okay with him moving to New York, and if he could get her to agree to that while she was preoccupied with Mr…Heph, then it would be worth sitting through a boring dinner with his mom's boyfriend.
Fandom: Xena
Pairing: Cupid/Strife
Rating: NC17
Summary: An AU that sprang from a challenge posted on the AJCS list, in which Strife is the lead singer in a punk band and a teenage Cupid falls in love.
“I can’t believe he actually went for that.”
Psyche was perched cross-legged in the center of her bed, grinning at Cupid’s expression. The shock still hadn’t worn off, and he’d spent the entire day at school wandering around in an elated daze. Once they’d finally gotten out of him that his father had agreed to let him move into the loft they’d understood why he was practically giddy, but it wasn’t until he’d mentioned that Strife was moving in with him that they really understood what Cupid was grinning about.
“I know,” Cupid said, turning his head just enough to flash another grin at Psyche. He was lying flat on his back across the end of her bed, arms folded behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. She had a feeling he wasn’t actually looking at the ceiling; in fact, she was pretty sure he didn’t even know where the hell he was. “I guess he figures at least this way he’ll know where I am.”
“Still, that’s kind of fucked up, don’t you think? I mean shacking up with your boyfriend in the same place where your dad…”
“Auto.” Psyche’s voice was dangerously low as she interrupted the other boy, looking away from Cupid long enough to cast a warning glare at Auto. She couldn’t believe he’d bring up the way Cupid’s parents split up, especially not when Cupid was obviously happier than he’d ever been. They hadn’t been friends with him for most of high school, but they’d heard the stories and they knew enough about the amount of crap he’d taken about his father to know better. At least she’d always assumed Auto knew better, but he was staring back at her with an expression that clearly said he didn’t know what her problem was.
“It’s okay,” Cupid said, but his boyish grin was gone and Psyche could have kicked Auto for tossing a figurative bucket of water on Cupid’s good mood. Okay, so he was a little too caught up in his own romantic notions, but that was nothing new. He’d figure out soon enough that living with Strife was going to be hard work, he didn’t need Auto raining on his parade before it even got started.
“What?” Auto asked, slumping a little further into the chair in the corner of Psyche’s bedroom. “Come on, Psyche, not even your folks would go for that.”
“They never say anything when they see you dragging your ass out of here in the morning,” Psyche shot back, raising her eyebrows when he opened his mouth to argue with her.
“No, he’s got a point.” Cupid pushed himself up on his elbows and glanced over his shoulder at Auto. “I don’t know how my mom’s gonna take it. She’s always hated that loft, she even hated sending me to stay there with Dad after they split up.”
“Yeah, but it’s not your dad’s place anymore,” Psyche offered helpfully, hoping to bring back some of Cupid’s good mood. “It’s your place now. Well, yours and Strife’s, anyway. It’s gonna be great, Cupe. I’m really happy for you.”
She was rewarded with a slightly less brilliant version of Cupid’s grin, and she smiled back at him before she looked over at Auto to make sure he wasn’t going to open his big mouth again. She wasn’t sure what his problem was, but she suspected it had something to do with the fact that Cupid was planning to move in with Strife. He hadn’t said anything, but he’d been quiet since Cupid announced his plans, and she knew Auto well enough to know that he still hadn’t let go of his hang-up about Cupid.
Auto had been in a pretty good mood that morning at school, and Psyche had been hoping it had something to do with the fact that Iolaus had agreed to come to her party. As soon as he heard about Cupid’s plans to move in with Strife his whole attitude changed, though, and she had to face the fact that he wasn’t nearly as over his crush on Cupid as she’d hoped he was. That was the only explanation that made sense, anyway, but she couldn’t just come right out and ask him about it while Cupid was in the room.
“So when are you gonna tell your mom?” Auto asked, ignoring the look Psyche shot him and focusing on Cupid.
Cupid sat up and glanced at the clock next to Psyche’s bed, frowning when he realized how late it was. “She should be home from work, I guess I better get it over with.”
“You don’t have to go already,” Psyche said, standing up to follow Cupid to the door. “It’s still early.”
“Yeah, but if I don’t go now I’ll just chicken out." Cupid grinned and leaned down to plant a kiss on her cheek, straightening up and glancing over her shoulder long enough to wave at Auto. “See you guys later.”
She waved absently and watched until he was all the way down the hall before she shut the door and turned back to Auto. “What the hell did you do that for?”
“What?”
Psyche rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the door, crossing back to her bed and sitting on the edge of the mattress. “What’d you bring up Cupid’s dad for? That was totally a cheap shot.”
“It’s true, isn’t it?” Auto asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I mean it’s not like it’s a big secret.”
“Yeah, but you know how hard all that was for Cupid. I know you don’t like Strife much, but Cupe’s supposed to be your friend.”
“I’m trying to be his friend,” Auto shot back. “Come on, Psyche, you’re not gonna sit there and tell me you think they should move in together. He barely even knows the guy.”
“They’re in love,” Psyche reminded him, shaking her head when he opened his mouth to argue with her. “No, Auto, I mean it. I know you’re jealous, but you’ve gotta back off or Cupe’s not gonna stick around for long.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“Give me a break. I know you better than anybody, and I’ve seen the way you look at him when he’s with Strife. You can’t tell me that’s not jealousy.” She knew he was going to deny it, but she was tired of pretending she didn’t know what was going on. And even if he had a point about Cupid and Strife moving too fast that was no reason to bring up something he knew Cupid was embarrassed about.
“I’m not…fine,” he relented when he looked up and saw her determined expression. He let out a heavy sigh and ran his hands over his face, closing his eyes for a long moment before he looked up again. “Maybe in the beginning I was. He was always around, you know? And as soon as he met this guy it was like he didn’t even know us anymore. But it’s not just that. I mean he’s moving to New York to live with Strife, then you’ll be moving to New York for school, and I’m gonna be stuck here.”
She closed her mouth as soon as his words sank in, her response dying on her lips as she realized he was serious. They’d always talked about her moving to New York and staying in the dorms to get away from her parents, but he’d never wanted to go to college. She knew he probably couldn’t afford it anyway, but he’d always hated school. It had never occurred to her that he felt like he was getting left behind. “Come on, Auto,” she finally said, “it’s not like we’re moving to Mars or something. It’s just a train ride away.”
“Yeah, I know.” Suddenly he sounded tired, like there was a lot more he wanted to say but he couldn’t work up the energy to say it. “Look, Psyche, forget it, okay? I’m sorry I brought up Cupid’s dad. I’ll tell him sorry next time I see him.”
And now she felt bad for the way she’d been trying to break up with him for the past few weeks, for the fact that she hadn’t even stopped to think about how he felt, and for conspiring with Cupid to set him up with a guy he didn’t even know. “Listen, if you want we can just forget the whole thing with Iolaus and the party. It can just be you and me, if you want. Like it used to be.”
He looked up when she said it, and for a second she thought he might actually take her up on it. It meant giving up what she was hoping would be the perfect time to get to know Xena better, but Auto was her friend and if he wanted things to be the way they used to be for one last night she wasn’t going to turn him down. A second later he shook his head, though, and if she didn’t know better she would have sworn his grin was a little self-conscious. “Nah, I mean…if you like him, I don’t mind.”
“He’s pretty cute,” she answered noncommittally, leaning back on her hands in an attempt to look nonchalant.
“Yeah. He’s a little shy too, you know? I was talking to him at the club this weekend and he’s got this whole innocent thing going for him. I mean a guy like that has to have seen some action, don’t you think? There's always a ton of kids screaming at their shows.”
Psyche shrugged, barely managing to swallow a smirk. “Cupe says Strife’s pretty sure he’s never done it with a guy.”
That got her exactly the reaction she'd been hoping for; slack jaw, wide brown eyes, and she wasn't positive, but she might even have seen the beginnings of a grin before he opened his mouth and ruined the affect. “Never?”
"Well it's not like it's abnormal or anything. Most guys don't, you know."
"Yeah, I know, but…" He trailed off, blinked a couple times, and looked down at the floor. "I guess that explains the shy routine."
"Maybe. Or maybe he's just shy." She did grin that time, but it didn't matter because he wasn't looking at her anyway. For a few minutes she'd been worried that Auto really was having a hard time with the thought of them breaking up, but now she was almost sure he was just upset about being left behind. That wasn't going to happen, but she knew telling him wasn't going to make him feel any better. He'd just have to see for himself that just because he wasn't moving to the city didn't mean they'd stop being his friends, and maybe he'd get sick of hanging out in Neptune eventually and move to the city with them. "So are you ready to be somebody's first?"
He looked up sharply at that, frowning as he slumped down in his chair again. "I don't know. You think he really wants to go through with it? I mean he looked pretty freaked out when I was talking to him at the bar. At first I thought it was kinda cute, but if he's not sure…"
"Trust me, Auto, that guy's the poster boy for repressed homosexuality. You'd be doing him a favor." She was careful to omit herself from the equation without making it obvious; Auto was never big on details, so chances were he wouldn't pick up on it until it was too late. She didn't want to outright lie to him, though, so if he asked her she was going to have to tell him about the set-up.
"Yeah, maybe," he said, and she stifled a relieved sigh when his eyes took on a far-away cast. She could tell he was already anticipating the evening even though it was still a couple weeks away, and she couldn't help smiling as she watched him. So maybe Cupid wasn't so crazy after all and this would actually work. It would be nice if Auto had somebody, at least that way she wouldn't have to feel so guilty about moving on.
~
Cupid managed to hold himself together until he got outside, but as soon as Psyche's front door closed behind him he felt his hands start to shake. He didn't want to let on to his friends how nervous he was about talking to his mother, but Auto's comment had made things a hundred times worse. Until that point he'd managed to forget exactly why his mother hated the loft so much, but now that he'd been forced to remember he wasn't sure if he could go through with this.
He wanted to move in with Strife; he wanted that more than anything, and he really didn't want to move in with his father and Joxer. He wasn't sure he could walk into his mother's house and announce that he was leaving her, though, not when he was planning to move into the one place she couldn't even stand to think about. She tried to act like it didn't bother her anymore, but he saw the way she reacted every time Ares called for him or showed up at the house. Now that Cupid could get himself to the city it was better; they didn't have to deal with each other much anymore, but he had a feeling that seeing Ares would always bother her a little.
By the time he found himself on his own doorstep he was so nervous that he thought about turning around again, but before he got his feet to work with him the door swung open and he found himself face to face with his mother. "Cupid, what are you doing standing around out there?"
"Nothing, I was just…"
"I thought you were somebody else," Dite interrupted, standing on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder. "Come on in, I need to talk to you."
She herded him inside and closed the door again, forcing him to crane his neck to try to get a look at her as she shoved him less than gently in the direction of the kitchen. "Mom? What's going on? Did somebody die or something?"
"What? No, of course not. We're having a dinner guest, that's all. I thought you'd be home earlier. Where were you, anyway?"
"I went over to Psyche's after school to talk about the party," Cupid answered, letting his mother push him into a chair at the kitchen table. He sniffed the air, the unmistakable aroma of his mother's roast wafting through the air. "Is Grandma coming over?"
"Grandma? What makes you think that?" Dite asked, pausing long enough to look up from the salad she was tossing.
"The only time you make roast is when Grandma comes to dinner," Cupid answered, frowning at his mother's slightly flushed expression. "Mom, are you feeling okay? You look a little sick."
Instantly Psyche dropped the salad tongs, all the color draining from her cheeks as her hands flew to her face. "Oh no. Do I look terrible?"
"No, Mom, it's not…" he began, but before he could get the rest of his sentence out she was already out of the kitchen and on her way upstairs to her makeup mirror. "…that bad," he finished, sighing in the sudden silence. This was not the way this conversation was supposed to go, and now they were having company and he'd never get a chance to tell her he was planning to move out.
The doorbell rang and he pushed his chair back, shaking his head and pushing the kitchen door open. "Mom?" he called from the bottom of the stairs, waiting a beat before he decided she was probably too engrossed in making herself look perfect to even hear the doorbell. He had no idea who it could be; the last time he'd seen his mother act like this was the time his Aunt Artemis brought her much younger boyfriend Adonis around. Cupid still hadn't told her that Adonis made a pass at him while everyone else was upstairs looking at some family junk; he was pretty sure his mother would freak if she heard that, especially since he had a feeling she'd been into the guy herself.
Finally he gave up waiting for her and crossed to the front door, pulling the door open and coming face to face with his Shop teacher. Cupid frowned and glanced over his shoulder, but his mother was still missing in action. "Hello, Cupid," the older man said, grinning nervously and thrusting a bottle of something Cupid probably wasn't old enough to drink into his hands, "is your…uh…is your mother home?"
Cupid nodded mutely, his eyes still wide as he took a step backwards and let the high school Shop teacher into his house. And now he was really confused, because he'd passed Shop when he was a sophomore, and as far as he knew his mother had never met his teacher. "Uh, Mr…"
"Please, Cupid, when we're not in school you can call me Heph."
For a long moment Cupid stared blankly at the other man, but as soon as he snapped out of it he turned on his heel and ran up the stairs two at a time. "Mom!"
"Geez, Cupe, you don't have to yell," Dite said, appearing at the end of the hall just as Cupid reached the top of the stairs. "I guess you've met our dinner guest."
"Mom, what's the Shop teacher doing in our house?" Cupid demanded, finally remembering the bottle still gripped in his hand. "And why'd he give me a bottle of wine?"
Dite smiled and took the bottle out of his hand, resting her other hand on his forearm. "I imagine the wine was meant to go with dinner. I wanted to wait until after graduation to introduce you two, but Heph didn't see any reason to wait. He's not your teacher anymore, so there's no conflict of interest."
"Have you been dating my Shop teacher since…God, since I was a sophomore?"
"No," she answered, frowning at Cupid's horrified expression. "Honestly, Cupid, you're not a little boy anymore. You know I've been dating."
"Yeah, but…the Shop teacher?"
Dite rolled her eyes and let go of his arm, pushing him gently out of her way. "He's not just a teacher, you know. They all have lives when they leave the school, believe it or not. Now go get washed up, dinner's almost ready. And I expect you to be polite."
For a long time after she left him alone in the hallway he just stood there, staring at the space in front of him where his mother had been standing a few moments ago. He knew she dated, sure, but she'd always told him who she spent her time with was none of his business. He'd never met any of her boyfriends, but he'd never suspected that it might be because he already knew the boyfriend in question. His mind was swimming suddenly with a hundred different questions; like how serious they were, how long they'd been dating and what exactly this dinner meant.
Then there was the little matter of him moving out to deal with, but suddenly it didn't seem nearly as daunting to bring up. His mother couldn't kill him in front of her boyfriend, and if things between her and Mr…Heph - and that was going to take forever to get used to - were serious…
His lips curved into a wide grin, and he bounced on his heels as he made his way to the bathroom to wash up for dinner. This unexpected dinner party could work to his advantage, especially if his mother was so distracted by her boyfriend that she didn't really pay much attention to what Cupid said to her. He could probably get her to agree to anything tonight if he was the type of person to take advantage of the situation. All he really wanted was for her to be okay with him moving to New York, and if he could get her to agree to that while she was preoccupied with Mr…Heph, then it would be worth sitting through a boring dinner with his mom's boyfriend.