Prologue

Never had the Love God been given so many resources to play around with! His mysterious benefactor had given him a 5 Star Hotel floating in space! It came fully furnished with the staff present and ready, though it was strange to work with monsters stuffed into tuxedos. They all spoke with horrible French accents, too.

But none of that mattered! He was going to get the chance to serve dozens of lovely couples and help their romance bloom! Some of the challenges had been given to him directly by his benefactor while with others he had been given complete freedom to form his own strategies. It was going to be a great Valentine's night to serve and stir that bubbling pot of love.

I don't even have to get dressed up, the cherub thought with immense self-satisfaction. The Love God completely missed the fact just how out of place he was. And the kitchen is cranking out all this fantastically fatty food! Oh boy, I'm in galactic heaven!

His tiny wings strained to haul his grotesque girth up the stairs and towards one of the grand balconies overseeing the hotel's dining floor. The floors were made of immaculate, polished marble. The veins and blots in the rock unnaturally bent and flowed to form flowing images of a dancing goddess and dragon spanning across the main floor. The pillars holding up the high, vaulted ceiling were made of white stone and glimmering crystal. Three grand balconies took the north, east, and west, overlooking the main floor and lower platforms that were suspended on living trees. Magic had carved the bark to form smooth stairways that led to each golden disc.

A waterfall flowed to the south, spilling down the entire height of the hall. Instead of roaring like a waterfall normally would, it fell to create gorgeous music. A complete symphony spilled with the glassy, clean water. Floating, glowing orbs set a pleasant mood and clearly illuminated the painted ceiling above, featuring Stitch flying off with Jasmine in a sputtering spaceship. The mural was surrounded by adoring cherubs who didn't know the joys of a Philly Cheesesteak.

What could be more romantic?

Love God took a moment to take in the whole scene and its pleasant atmosphere. Sure, it was far more gaudy than it needed to be, but the large hall and secluded tables meant there was plenty of opportunities for privacy. If a couple felt that the mood was right, they could take a key provided by the staff and escape through a nearby door.

Oh yeah, the walls were painted and decorated to resemble a lush, mountain forest. It was so lifelike, and with the gigantic trees holding up some of the platforms, it made the dining hall feel like it was a crystal glade in the middle of a very real forest.

Honestly though, who puts this much effort into making romance bloom? It's far easier to use potions like these. He jingled his rope belt, making the vials clack and klingel. I wonder what he's got cooking to go to these lengths?

"Think of the devil, and he shall appear."

"GAH!" Love God clutched his weak heart, and he hopped around. He came face-to-face with his mysterious benefactor and took an involuntary step back. "You shouldn't try giving me a heart attack right before the guests start arriving!"

"My apologies," the other man chuckled.

His strange benefactor was a man who wore tattered black robes with a hood pulled low. Red eyes shone brightly underneath the dark material, lighting a crazy smile. He wore a t-shirt emblazoned with a T-Rex welcoming an asteroid His shirt was complemented with faded jeans and knee-high, fantasy boots. His robes were full of pockets that Love God had see him pull all kinds of stuff out of. Aside from his weird smile and creepy eyes, his clothes were always rustling as if wind was ruffling them. His four shadows completed the bizarre image.

Hanging on the man's arm was someone new. She was a drop-dead gorgeous woman dressed in a revealing, flowing, crimson dress that seemed to be made from slightly translucent scales. It was like snake's skin. Her hair was long, curling, and a fiery orange-ish red. Her eyes were clear emeralds filled with mischief and magic.

Love God couldn't look at her too long. There was very little left to the imagination underneath that dress.

"I will be bringing the couples here shortly," his benefactor informed him. "You still have their names and notes?"

"Y-Yeah, I got them right here. Hold on a second," Love God said, fumbling with a grubby pocket to retrieve some stained and crumpled note cards. A little ruffled and embarrassed, he read them off, "Alright, so we have Ichigo and Rukia. They're just coming back from a daring rescue mission. Looks like the guy rescued the girl who means the sun to him. Feelings are high, potential is there, and you want me to see if we can cultivate that into a full romance."

"Exactamundo! A bizarre young love between a fifteen-year-old and centuries old spirit warrior who is also basically a fifteen-year-old."

"Whatever floats your boat. I've got ya covered," Love God said, jiggling one potion. "But I am confused about this other table. "Here we have Ichigo with again Rukia, but also add to that coupling some other women? Hallibel? Nel? Is this even the same couple from before?"

"Yes and no. The first table is me giving one relationship a chance while the second is me giving the guy some slack after using him to breed weapons."

"You're sick…" Love God muttered.

The woman rolled her eyes and said, "He likes to play around with couples, lost on a crusade that he thinks will result in the best endings."

"Like it's some kind of game?"

"Like they are characters in stories," the benefactor said softly, his eyes sweeping the grand room.

If it wasn't for the sweet gig and kickback, I'd ditch this job so fast! Perhaps he should have rethought this arrangement or given real thought to what he'd been hired to do! Love God cleared his throat and continued, "Okay, I'll give the polygamous table something to help them have a fun night. Next, we have Allura and Shiro."

"Space Mommy and Daddy. I want to see what would happen if there was a chance for romance. Their Creators, or should I say Rebooters, continued to play around with their story, murking things up. They changed a lot about the characters halfway through, so I wonder what would happen if we turned back the clock and gave them a chance never afforded to them."

"Creators?"

"Of course. You have your own. A delightfully twisted man to Collect from," the hooded man said with his own twisted smile.

"Ignoring the metaphysical crisis and moving on. I have next Esdeath and Tatsumi. Apparently a very twisted romance where a psychopath general is in love with an angsty freedom fighter. And what am I supposed to do with this toxic relationship?"

"He just wants a psychotic, ice dragon born from those two," the woman teased, breaking away and checking out the décor.

"I'm beginning to wonder if you even care about love," Love God grumbled.

"And I'm beginning to suspect you just crammed those notes into your pocket with the same sticky fingers you were using to eat chili cheese fries," the hooded man laughed, leaning over the balcony's sparkling railing.

Love God didn't let the truth of the man's accusations daunt him. He pressed, "Well, what is it?"

"I'm curious… Can love actually save a villain? Or is it just a dream?" He then added in a much softer voice, "Can the irredeemable truly be redeemed?"

"Love can heal a lot, but it comes down to each person's decisions, their own mentality, maturity, shared interests, complementing strengths and weaknesses, and so much more," Love God explained, finding himself falling right back into business despite his momentary misgivings. "I just facilitate the opportunities and open people's eyes to those chances. What they do with them after that is on them. But I pride myself on seeing the romance just beneath the surface, even if no one else can."

"Which is exactly why I hired you."

Love God sifted through the other note cards. "Alright, so I have three young teen couples to put through relationship strengthening exercises. Mostly for cute squees and giggles. You're dropping in a dragon girl and a strange kid for a bit. What's up with you and dragons?"

"I wonder," the woman laughed, brushing her fingers against the painted walls. The trees stirred with a breeze. A cold, pine fragrant wind swept over Love God, chilling him.

What did she just do?'

"How many wolf girls did you include in tonight's lineup?" she asked his benefactor.

He strode over to her laughing and spun her into a hug. "Only one."

"Looks like you two don't need any help," Love God commented.

The woman kissed her man on the lips and said, "Trust me, Mr. Cupid, we need a lot of help."

"Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. Well, there are a few more couples here, but this is an interesting one: Mat and Aludra, a crazed gambler warrior with all his previous lives tumbling around in his head a fireworks maker turned weapons manufacturer. You want to see if you can break the binds of fate and get Mat to fall in love with someone he's not destined to be with?"

"Yes. This is one story that has so much power and has vexed me greatly. Thanks to Amazon's doom fate to screw up the series, it's broken all kinds of gaps into the fabric of fate and allowed me slide past the Guardians at long last and not have to play some crazy games of misdirection," the man replied, frowning. He hugged his woman close to him as if she would vanish on the winds she'd conjured.

"There was real chemistry between the two once upon a time, but the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills and Mat needed to fall in love with a queen. But Collected and broken away from the Wheel, is it possible to Corrupt his fate beyond his own whacky brain and the demands of the plot?"

"You are playing some weird games, my dude," Love God muttered.

"All part of the greatest game ever played. Just make sure that you see to those tables and couples. And one odd family. If this goes well, I might just do this again." Without another word of direction or insight, Love God's peculiar benefactor left through a door in the wall, arm-in-arm with his mysterious woman.

Love God found himself feeling slightly off balance. This is going to be one crazy night…