Title: Petitions (1/3)
Author: Artemis Luna Diana
Email: artemislunadiana@yahoo.com
Rating: PG-13 (references to sex)
Fandom: Xena/Herc.
Pairing: Cupid/Strife Cupid/Psyche
Disclaimer: I own not a thing.
Warning: reference to character death
Summary: Strife is allowed to return to Olympus.
Status: Complete
Archive: AJCS, all others please ask.
Website: and
Notes: Thanks to BlackUmbridge for the excellent beta.
// - designates flashback
* - designates communication through thoughts
***
He sat in an isolated section of Tartarus throwing small stones in random directions. He didn't know whether or not he could be considered hiding. He preferred to think of it as just a little 'quiet time' before his true hell would begin. A scream ripped through the air. Perhaps, 'quiet time' was the wrong way to phrase it….
Strife, dead God of Mischief, wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his chin on his knees. His mother's petition would be granted today. He was finally going to return to Olympus. He wondered what his mother would say if she knew he'd rather not come back. If only that stupid idiot hadn't nicked himself with that stupid arrow…. Strife closed his eyes and remembered that horrible day.
//He had drifted awake to soft kisses and teasing touches. When he opened his eyes, he found his lover smiling down at him. A gentle flap of soft, white wings was all the warning he got before Cupid captured his lips in a bruising kiss. The lazy arousal he had felt upon waking shifted instantly to unbearable need.//
Strife rubbed his hands briskly across his face. "Don't go there," he told himself.
//When they finally managed to get themselves out of bed, they had to skip breakfast, or risk annoying their respective bosses.
"Don't stay out all night," Cupid said between kisses. "I've got a surprise for you."
Strife laughed. "You say that, and just watch, I'll be the one waiting for you."
With one last hard kiss, the couple separated and left: Strife to Ares, and Cupid to Aphrodite.//
'So careful,' Strife thought miserably. 'No one ever knew.'
//"I don't want the actions and opinions of the pantheon to influence the outcome of our relationship," Cupid said earnestly. "I don't want them scaring you off."
"Okay," Strife said after a moment. His lips quirked in an amused smile. "After all, if you find out the truth about me, it might scare 'you' off."//
Strife leaned back, resting his head up against the wall. He would always wonder what he did to piss off the Fates.
//His mother flashed in, snickering, trying so hard not to collapse into hysterical laughter. It was kind of a scary sight.
"What?" Ares finally snapped.
"Only the House of Love!" she laughed.
They listened to her laughing a few moments more, before Strife prompted, "Only the House of Love…."
"Cupid scratched himself with one of his love arrows and is chasing some mortal woman around!"
Strife didn't notice Ares reaction, he was much too disappointed. 'So much for tonight's surprise,' he thought. He snickered though as he realized how embarrassed Cupid would be when the arrow wore off.//
"If only it had been so simple," he whispered.
//Cupid had come back to Olympus with Psyche on his arm, and before you could blink, Psyche was a Goddess and the two were married. He had been a little anxious for Cupid to hurry up and recover when that happened. The whole thing was beginning to get out of control. Cupid kept giving him odd looks, and Strife had known that he was beginning to break free from the arrow's spell. A few days before the spell would have disappeared, Cupid and Psyche had announced they were expecting. Strife had been incredibly hurt.
They were always careful to make sure that neither would get pregnant. Since Cupid and Psyche were married, they certainly hadn't been taking precautions, and it wasn't something that Strife had entertained even happening. The situation was growing more and more complex, and Cupid had yet to shake the rest of the spell off.
The next day, Cupid had stopped looking at him. The spell should have been almost gone, Cupid should have been seeking him out, even if he didn't quite know why.
His gaze drifted towards Psyche, and he realized what had happened. The new Goddess of the Mind had done something to her husband to make him forget all about his former lover. Slamming shields into place, he allowed his heart to break.//
Strife stood up. Hades was calling him. It was time for the petition. He walked towards his great uncle, his thoughts still lost in memory.
When Bliss had been born, all he could think was that the boy should have been his. Depressed and distracted, he got himself killed. So stupid. Of course, Cupid had not come to visit. Why should he? To his reckoning, Strife was just a cousin stupid enough to land himself in the Underworld permanently. He tried not to think about them, tried not to let it hurt, but it was a useless effort. He loved the featherbrained idiot. Was still in love.
Hell would begin all over, sweet in its simplicity. He would watch as his heart was shattered time and again. His love's smile was no longer directed at him.
***
TBC…
