Take a chance

by twistedusia

Kind of a Shmoopy short romance. C/S with implied A/J.

Title: Take a chance
Author: Usia
Fandom: Xena/Hercules
Pairing: C/S and J/A
Rating: NC-17
Archive: Yes, after the solstice time… let me know where though
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I have no money, I am truly sad and pathetic.

Warnings: Um… incidental penguin?

Zeus wasn't much of a father. Most of his time was spent indulging his whims and avoiding his wife. He had about as much inclination to care for the children of his whims as he had to be faithful. The fates knew this, and therefore as many children of Zeus as possible that could were given the gift of rapid ageing to the point where they could care for themselves. In Strife's opinion, Zeus mostly had children so that he could foist duties he didn't want off on them. Zeus really and truly was a lazy schmuck.

{On the other hand}Strife mused, swirling the glass of Bacchus' finest that he had snagged {He hosts truly great parties. And having kids means that he does it more often. At least he remembers them that much… though then again I wouldn't put it past him to be remembering the sex that made them instead!}

The party was boisterous and filled with gods, demi-gods, and important mortals as everyone was gathered to enjoy the festivities in honor of Ares and Eris. The twins had always been an odd mix of the same and different and their followers reflected that beautifully. Ares' followers, normally the wildest and roughest people in a place and used to a certain amount of respect, seemed a little uncomfortable at rubbing elbows with Eris' rather fervent followers. But then again, very few people were terribly comfortable rubbing elbows with the fervent followers of Discord. The presence of these followers meant that there was certainly a higher amount of weapons and fights than was usual for an Olympian party. Even when there were feuds amongst the gods, they didn't tend to quite so much hardware.

Strife was also amused to see Hephaestus being swarmed by appreciative priests and favored mortals. Most people forgot how important Hephaestus was to the areas of war and discord, but when you considered that their mission or even their lives depended on the strength and quality of the weapon in their hands, it was not unexpected. Hephaestus was bright pink and glowing from all the appreciation and his head was swinging from side to side as he was listening to debates and commentaries on what worked from the people who used the totals intimately. To be quite honest, it looked like Hephaestus was having more fun today than he had had at his own celebration.

However, aside from the masses of people swarming the twins and Hephaestus, the party was a little too calm for Strife's tastes.

{That's fixable} Strife thought as he gulped the last of his wine. Besides, his mother would take any action from him as a gift. Now, if only he could remember where he put that paintbrush…

Cupid surveyed the party scene with a cautious eye. Bliss cooed and Cupid grinned as he bounced his one-year old son on his hip. He had been loathe to bring Bliss to the party as Olympian parties had more than a tradition of getting out of hand, but there was no way that he was going to miss his father's birthday and the thought of the look on Ares' face if he left Bliss with a sitter was enough to make Cupid forget his misgivings. All the same, he had to be careful where he walked as he didn't want to bring Bliss to close to certain members of his family, much less some of the more eccentric followers. Cupid was scanning the crowd, looking for a safe path to his father, when he noticed Strife moving stealthily through the crowd. His heart clenched as it always had around Strife (except when under the effects of his own stupidity…bloody arrow) and for a few moments he was oblivious to anything that was not Strife. It was only when Bliss patted his arm with a tiny hand that Cupid managed to shake himself out of his daze.

{Whoa… I need to quit doing that. It's not like he can stand to be near me after what I did to him while that arrow was in effect and if I keep staring at him, someone is going to notice. Dad… need to get to Dad…}

Luck was with Cupid and a path opened up to Ares that was free of clingy relations and those that he wanted to avoid. Cupid made quickly for the sanctuary of space that was around his father with Bliss carefully shielded in his arms. It was only after he reached his father that he wondered exactly what Strife was doing with a lamp and candle wax... and was that sugar?

Strife had to resist the temptation to hum with pleasure. Everyone was paying a lot of attention to where they stepped due to the sheer number of weapons propped against walls or held loosely in hand and therefore he was able to get a lot closer to people before being noticed. Ares and Eris had been very strict with their followers as to what would happen if any members of the family were involved in any fights against their will. But they had said nothing about defending themselves or accidents. All it had taken was "accidentally" tripping and tipping his glass of sweet wine down one warriors back and a trail of ants climbing into his armor had instantly been more of a concern for that warrior than the people standing around him.

It was like that concept from the future… what was it… a chain reaction. Even though the man's weapon wouldn't truly harm the gods, they were instinctively ducking and dodging, which in turn put those behind them in danger and so on. Plates of food, glasses of drink, and various personal belongings went flying. Strife was very happy to note that he had melted the wax in the perfect place as Demeter, though she was in no immediate danger, fled and slipped. One of Demeter's shoes went and landed in one of the wine fountains, the other slammed into Poseidon's head. The king of water was already tipsy and he had made a very funny noise as he passed out. And true to every other time the god had passed out, the entire party was suddenly standing in at least three inches of water.

Demeter's under-things proved to be even more effective. Strife had had his suspicions for years, but had never quite managed the correct angle to confirm them. But now, no one in twenty feet could deny that Demeter, uptight correct and prim that she was, was wearing what looked like a leather harness under her clothing. Strife was prepared, due to his investigations, but others near Demeter were not and Apollo turned the most lovely shade of green before turning and loosing his lunch into the lap of fortune. Aunt Fortuna was normally not a particularly sympathetic or caring person, and having her lap decorated in such a matter was way too much. Apollo barely had a moment to recover before he realized whom he had decorated and paled. Then Apollo was running with some of the worst luck happening to him. Strife winced as he saw two different feet, a glass of wine, a club… or was that a fish… impact simultaneously on Apollo. And those who were near Apollo (since Aunt Fortuna was drunk and having problems aiming) weren't faring much better.

Strife was laughing himself silly in the small alcove where he had skidded into after "tripping". He was safe from most of the action and he could see everything that was giving him such a tremendous energy boost. Best of all, most of this was happening totally independently of him. There was nothing that could be traced back to him and he stood a great chance of getting away with this one scot free. He was just starting to relax and truly enjoy his spectacle when a large, strong hand grabbed his shirt and hauled him out of his hiding place. Strife recognized the hand and his heart plummeted. He dangled from the grasp helplessly until he was dumped on the floor unceremoniously. Strife immediately curled into a protective ball, hoping to deflect his Uncle's anger. When pain was not immediately forthcoming, he dared to uncurl enough to raise his head.

"Um… Unc?"

"Relax Strife. I'm not going to punish you."

"Really? Great! Thanks! But… why?"

"Joxer thinks it' funny."

Strife looked over at his Uncle's consort and mouthed a thank you. Joxer was too busy laughing his head off as he watched the fight to acknowledge and Strife uncurled the rest of the way and bounced over to his Uncle.

"So what was with the snatch and grab then Unc?"

Ares pointed and the when the crowd parted, Strife could see that his former safe alcove was anything but. In fact, his cousins seemed to be intent on destroying the corner in their efforts to escape from the tangle they were in.

"Thanks again Unc."

Ares waved at him, continuing to watch the fight from behind the shield he had put up. Ares didn't drink at birthday parties ever since meeting and marrying Joxer, and he didn't allow drunks to be near them during the party either. This meant that Ares corner of the party was always a safe place to retreat to, and Strife, looking about between fits of giggles, could see that others ha taken refuge here as well. In fact, one of those people was what finally dragged Strife's attention away from the mess he had created.

Cupid was standing in the corner, with Bliss in his arms, talking to Persephone. Strife knew that Persephone was married and that Cupid was only friends with her, but he immediately felt jealousy bubble up in him and he immediately moved to claim some Cupid time. It didn't matter who it was that Cupid was focused on, Strife always felt slightly betrayed. He had always loved his cousin and it always frustrated him when Cupid treated him like one of his friends.

Persephone, as goddess of spring, often worked with Cupid in dealing with first romances, crushes and the like as humans were inspired by her return. Over the many years that she had worked with Cupid she had learned to recognize the signs of it, so when she saw Strife approaching, she smoothly injected into the discussion of King Iphicles' rather lackluster love life a plea to be allowed to hold Bliss. The transition was so smooth and the plea so heartfelt that Cupid immediately complied. So when Strife came and stood beside them, Persephone's attention was fully on Bliss' waving arms and kicking legs and Cupid was free to concentrate on Strife.

"Hey Strife."

"Hey Cupid…."

They stood there for a moment and Persephone almost rolled her eyes at the childishness of it all. They were hundreds of years old… they should be well past these teenager with a crush flirtations, but they seemed uniquely blind to each others feelings.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Oh, 'seph was just trying to help me with a problem I'm having with Iphicles. Dad doesn't want to deal with another succession mess there for a while, so Iphicles needs to have an heir, but no matter how many women I nudge in his direction, I can't get him to take one. And since he's related to Herc' I can't just force him. It's really frustrating."

Strife nodded. He was intimately familiar with the hassle of trying to get normal, everyday work done with anyone in the vicinity of Herc the Jerk, much less a relation of his. It was to the point where he was seeking special assistance from his mother and that was a process so scary that Strife shivered at the thought of it.

"He hasn't shown any interest in any of them?"

"No. I realize that he is mourning for his first wife… but it's been some time and he's a practical man. I've tried everything… I even managed to finagle a chin beauty into the selection and still nothing."

"Whoa. Sounds like you've tried everything."

"Oh yeah. I can't figure out what I've done wrong."

Strife hated it when Cupid sounded depressed. It sounded way too much like Cupid had during his torture by that bitch, Psyche. Because of the arrow Cupid had been compelled to please her, but because of her nature and his godhood, Cupid couldn't. It had been heartbreaking to watch and Strife still seethed that he hadn't been allowed to help punish her. He sought desperately for a reason why Cupid hadn't failed.

"You know, he might not be interested."

"I know he's not interested in marrying, but that's beside the point."

"No, I mean he may be more interested in the other side now."

"You mean…"

"After his first died, maybe he's scared to love someone who isn't stronger than he is. I bet that if you paraded guys in front of him, you'd get a reaction."

Cupid's eyes narrowed. Iphicles did seem to be a bit too friendly with his guards. What Strife was saying was probably true. But it didn't solve his problem's with the succession and he pointed that out to Strife.

"Yeah, but who says that the kid has to be related to them. It doesn't matter who is doing the loving and teaching as long as they care and are stable."

Strife held his breath, waiting to see Cupid's response to this and practically went limp with relief when Cupid nodded. That was at least one hurdle to Cupid loving him down if Cupid could accept two guys raising a kid. Then Strife took a deep breath and made his move.

"You know, Iphicles did seem a bit too interested in Joxer's brother. You know, the one that wears skirts."

Cupid started at that comment and looked incredulous. "You're kidding me!"

"No." Strife took a deep breath and took a chance. "They seemed as close as you and me."

Cupid burst out laughing. He was laughing so hard that his eyes teared up and didn't notice the heart broken look on Strife's face. Strife turned and started walking back through the still unsettled party. When Cupid paused for breath he looked around but Strife was already a considerable way across the room.

"Strife? Wha? 'seph, why is Strife leaving?"

"Because you insulted him and broke his heart."

"What? I would never do that. I love him. How did I break his heart."

"He told you he loved you and you laughed at him."

"What? I thought he was pulling my leg. I can't imagine Iphicles sleeping with Jace."

"They've been sleeping together for two months now."

"I thought…"

Persephone cut in. "A piece of advice. You think too much, Cupid. Especially for your own love you should listen to your heart and let it guide you. Strife loves you. That's what he was telling you."

Cupid gawked at Persephone. Was she telling him that Strife loved him? Cupid's world seriously didn't make sense. He felt lightheaded and dizzy and was glad that he had succumbed to Persephone's pressuring and allowed her to hold Bliss for a while because he surely would have dropped him.

"Ah… 'seph… I… ah…"

"Don't just stand there like a lump! Go after him!"

Cupid blinked again… then the words hit him and he was off like a rocket, running after Strife's quickly disappearing form in the crowd. He dashed through the crowd, tripping over a boot at one point and picking himself up again to run. He was headless of the damage he was causing as he saw that Strife was almost to the edge of the crowd and preparing to leave the party. Cupid shouted.

"Strife! Wait!"

Strife stiffened, and if anything moved even faster. Cupid cursed under his breath and ran even faster, just managing to grab Strife from behind before he tried to flash away. Strife struggled briefly, but Cupid managed to hold on.

"Strife, please wait a moment. I need to say something."

Strife growled under his breath, but he stopped trying to get away and Cupid took this as his signal to speak.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said earlier. I thought it was a joke. I know I hurt you and I'm sorry."

Strife stiffened even more, if that was possible. "You think my loving you is a joke?"

Cupid mentally cursed his choice of words. "No! That's exactly it. I don't think your loving me is a joke, I didn't know about Iphicles and Jace were together, and I thought you were teasing me."

Strife relaxed slightly and turned to face Cupid. "I wasn't."

"That's what Persephone said. But I didn't know, cause of the Herc restrictions. And you never said that you love me and I have been so bad about reading gods that I never knew if you loved me or hated me."

"I could never hate you."

Now it was Cupid's turn to relax and he shivered all over with those words. Strife spoke again into this pause.

"Does this mean that we're still friends?"

"Of course, but I'm still hoping we can be more than that. I love you so much Strife."

Cupid abruptly found himself crushed against Strife's leather shirt. It was nice to be the one held instead of the one doing the holding and he snuggled even closer. The black leather of Strife's shirt was a startling contrast to the whiteness of Strife's skin and Cupid couldn't help but bend his head to taste the skin of Strife's neck that was so temptingly close to Cupid's mouth. Strife gave a little groan at this and Cupid was about to taste further when a female throat was cleared behind them.

Cupid and Strife jumped apart, though Cupid was pleased to note that their hands remained joined even in their surprise. However, it was still a bit embarrassing to see his mother standing before them and Cupid knew that he was blushing terribly. Aphrodite just laughed.

"I see that you're busy. Good. I thought you two would never figure it out. However, you probably want more privacy if you're going to take this any further. Don't worry, I'll rescue Bliss. You can pick him up from me tomorrow."

Cupid nodded his thanks to his mother and they flashed away without another word. He was glad that she approved, even though he would have done this without her approval. But even with his embarrassment still covering his cheeks, Cupid leaned over to taste Strife again, flashing away Strife's clothes to get more access. Strife gave a small chuckle and returned the favor. But after a moment he paused and asked.

"What do I taste like?"

Cupid only paused a second. "Whipped cream."

Persephone swayed gently, rocking the tiny sleeping creature in her arms. In truth she felt like dancing at the sight before her more, but she wouldn't give up the chance to hold Bliss for anything in the world. She was one of the few that Cupid trusted with his son and she was honored by that fact, but due to her home for half of the year, she got the chance to hold the little godling far less than she wanted to.

But it wasn't like the other half of the year was without its rewards. Persephone's grin turned a little evil as she thought about a certain soul that was awaiting its next torture back in the Underworld. It truly was ironic for Zeus to give the brat that godhood because she truly was the least thinking creature that Persephone had ever found. There were sheep that remembered danger better than Psyche had. Did Psyche truly believe that Cupid's curse would cease to apply to her just because they were married? It had manifested itself at the first moment Psyche had grown tired of a prince among the gods and put her plans for seducing a king into action. The monster had appeared and only by sheer power was Zeus able to contain it and return Cupid to normal. The only good from that situation was that Cupid had recovered from his encounter with his arrow. Persephone was truly grateful that as the other wronged parties she and Hades had managed to convince the council that they were best suited for punishing the fool. It had truly been amusing for them to come up with new punishments for the fool during her time of imprisonment. Persephone smiled as she remembered some of the torments that she and her husband had come up with. In fact, it was almost time for a new torment and Persephone giggled as she remembered what came next. Psyche was going to think herself insane, because not even in her short time as a god had she seen anything as weird as a penguin. Yes revenge was truly sweet.

Persephone gazed down at the sleeping bundle in her arms. This sensation was the only thing sweeter than revenge. Perhaps when their time as jailors was done, she and Hades could try to make one of their own.