Page 8 of Cupid’s Flight

“Hey!” Leo cut in, incensed that Shen Shi would so easily put down cupids like that, but Elder Parnus held up a hand to stop him from continuing.

“Today is Samhain, a time of transition. As such, I recommend a test,” Parnus said. “Tennyo Hei, if you can complete a successful love match between two humans with the same rate of success as a cupid, we will happily accept you as one of us, at which point, Tennyo Shen Shi, you will return home without Hei. Is that acceptable?”

Shen Shi glared at them all for a moment as he thought, before he jerked his chin down in a nod. “I do not believe it is possible for a tennin to do the work of a cupid, but should the impossible occur, I will relent and return to the celestial realm alone. But, when he fails… Hei, you will be returning with me. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Hei replied, his voice firm with certainty.

“Excellent,” Elder Parnus continued. “Now that it’s settled, I believe I have the perfect case for you to tackle. I was going to give it to Sable and Wynn, but I see no reason why you two can’t take it instead.” He waved a hand to one of his aides, who hurried from the room. He returned a moment later with a file folder in his hands. He passed the folder to Elder Parnus, who held it out for Hei to take. “Everything you need to know about the mission is contained in there. Leo, I would like you to act as his guide and ensure Hei learns the proper way cupids pair people together, but please do not interfere with this test. We will be watching.” They were going to stream it, the same as the elders had done a few years back when Sable and Wynn had undertaken a difficult pairing together to prove that love and loss cupids could work together.

“I can do that. Hei, does that work for you too?” Leo asked.

Hei nodded, clutching the folder to his chest. “Yes. I will pass this test and prove myself. If you’ll excuse me. I know we promised to stay for lunch, but I would like to get started.”

“Of course,” Elder Parnus replied. “Go on. Feel free to stop by if you have any questions Leo can’t answer.”

Hei turned on one heel and left the room. Leo nodded politely to Elder Parnus before hurrying after him. Once they were back outside and the door to Elder Parnus’s house closed firmly behind them, Leo finally asked the question that had been burning on his tongue since he first saw how Shen Shi was treating Hei.

“What bug crawled up that bastard’s butt and died?” he asked, catching up to walk with Hei as he headed across the cloud.

Hei looked up from where he had been studying the cloud passing by under his feet, his eyes wide and startled. A moment later he started laughing. “A pretty big bug, I’d say.” He forced out through giggles. “And it bit him before it died. But honestly? Jealousy,” he added as his laughter tapered off.

“Jealousy? Aren’t you tennin supposed to be above things like that?”

Hei shook his head. “If we were, we’d be buddhas rather than tennin. His problem with me is he had about a century where he was the most beautiful and accomplished tennyo of the celestial realm. Buddhas requested his company constantly and other tennin revered him.”

“And then you were reborn and that all stopped,” Leo guessed.

Hei nodded. “Exactly. He realized he was a mere placeholder while the Buddhas waited for me to return, and when I did, he was cast aside.”

“I’d think your leaving again would make him happy. He’ll return to being the center of attention with you gone,” Leo said. “Why’s he fighting so hard to bring you back?”

“Because he can’t win if I’m gone. If a Buddha is offered a choice between us, one day Shen Shi thinks the Buddha would choose him over me. Without me there, he might be chosen more often, but that’s not a victory when he’ll still feel like he’s only the available choice rather than the first choice.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Leo shook his head. If Shen Shi had such a petty reason for tormenting Hei like this, then it was very likely he would try to sabotage Hei’s test. Leo would have to be on the lookout for any interference. “Why don’t we go back to my house. I can make us something to eat, and then we can go through the mission you’ve been assigned.”

“Right. Thanks.” Hei smiled at Leo, and for the first time Leo thought it might be a real smile. This wasn’t his crazy-fun grin, or his sex-induced smirk. No, the simple tilt of his lips and happy shine to his eyes was equal parts ordinary and exquisite. Last night—and this morning—had firmly cemented in Leo’s mind that he wanted to pull Hei close and take his lips in a kiss that was filthy and delicious at the same time. This smile, however, made Leo want to simply pull Hei close into an embrace of comfort and love. The embrace might lead to kisses and other fun, or it could lead to cuddling and just being together. There was a pull inside Leo demanding he reach out and find out which, a sensation he hadn’t felt for another person in centuries. He wanted Hei in the most carnal sense and also wanted him in a forever sense.

There was only one solution then. Hei said he wanted to become a cupid. All he had to do was pass the test and he would be allowed to stay, after which Leo would have plenty of time to woo him properly. Which meant that while Leo couldn’t actively interfere, he needed to help ensure Hei passed.

Chapter three

Subject one was a pharmacist working in a local drug store. Per the brief, she was the type of person to give her heart away to any man who asked, and all those men subsequently tore it to shreds. As a result, she had buried herself in work as a shield to keep everyone else away. Leo picked up a box holding a humidifier and held it up as if he was reading the smaller print on the back, which conveniently gave him an angle to get a good look at her. She was tall and rail thin, her brown hair pulled back in a no-nonsense braid. He let his magic search her next, but she didn’t have any attachments holding her back that he could break with a loss arrow to help her find love. She was still hopeful she would find the right man one day, even with her shield up, which meant all they needed to do was open her eyes to the possibilities and she would fall in love on her own.

The difficulty was subject two, a technician in the same pharmacy. He was five years older than her and three inches shorter, with a bit of softness around his middle, but was reportedly very sweet and smart. The problem was, as much as he admired subject one, his inferiority complex prevented him from talking to her about anything not work-related. They filled prescriptions side by side every day, and she didn’t even know he existed.

Leo put the humidifier back on the shelf and walked over to where Hei was studying a row of antacids. “What do you think?” he asked Hei.

Hei had somehow managed to turn his yukata into a T-shirt and jeans. Leo had no idea how, only that it was amazing magic Leo really wished he had the ability to learn. Hei’s hagoromo scarf still draped over his elbows and hovered over his head. Per Hei, the only people who could actually see it were the magically gifted, so regular humans wouldn’t notice, but to Leo, whose wings were tucked away again as a tattoo on his back, the scarf hovering in the air seemed a little conspicuous.

“If I were a regular cupid with a bow and arrow, how would I handle this?” Hei asked.

“It’s pretty simple for a love cupid, actually. They would make two arrows, one for the woman that would whisper to her to look to her right where a man quietly did everything he could to make her life a little easier. Her scoop is always next to her pill counter, her printer always has ink, things like that. The second arrow for him would be a boost for his backbone. A sense that if he spoke up even once, he wouldn’t be rejected like he feared. To take a chance and dive in.”

“So I need to replicate that result without the ability to form arrows. Hmm.” Hei rubbed the tip of his nose as he thought. “Let me try...this.” He jabbed a finger toward subject one, whose back was turned as she typed on her computer. Her pill counter, which was full of the pills she had just poured into it, slid a couple inches closer to the edge of the desk. When she finished on her computer and turned back to her workstation, her elbow hit it.

Pills went flying everywhere as she swore, and for a moment, her shield cracked as her eyes filled, although she quickly contained herself by swearing again instead.

“Hey, it happens. It’s okay,” subject two said, his voice gentle and soothing. He lifted his hand, paused as if he wasn’t certain it was a good idea, and then gently patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll find the broom, and we can get this cleaned up in no time.” He walked out of view, and when he returned he was carrying a broom and dustpan. “Here, I’ll sweep if you’ll hold this. Once this is cleaned up, I’ll help you fill out the incident report, and then it’ll be like nothing happened.”