Cupiō

Iget her a coffee every single day and she still doesn't seem to be interested in me in the same way that I am her.

Ladybird is different from most of the other cupids.

Not just her demeanor, but she's one of the few people in this realm who actually cares about me beyond my role as Head Cupid. She never asks for anything, and is always helping me in some form or another. While everyone else makes my life harder, Ladybird is the one person who actively aims to make my life easier.

I'd hoped my acts of service and little nudges would indicate my feelings, but I've never outwardly expressed my interest.

She works for me, and there's no one else in this realm who would be a better assistant than Ladybird. I simply can't afford to lose her.

I've lost so much already.

My son has not only been a disappointment with his actions toward other cupids, but now, he's abandoned the realm all together and is living with a ghost he has supposedly fallen in love with.

I rub my eyebrows and wonder where I went wrong? What could I have done to ensure he would have turned out a better person? The fact of the matter is Eros is older than the majority of cupids in this realm. My child rearing ended so long ago, there's only so much nurturing that factors into how a person turns out.

Dwelling on what my son has done to Love and Juliet, two cupids who weren't interested in his advances, makes me sick. The only thing I can do now is work to make Cupidale a better place. To ensure that cupids are safe, that quotas are met, and love continues to conquer all.

It's why I agreed to this meeting with Love in the first place. Besides the fact that she's the first cupid to have an inter-veil relationship, she's also one of my top producing cupids, so it only seems right to hear her out.

After I'm finished answering a few emails, the bubbly cupid comes strolling into my office.

"Love, take a seat," I tell her, holding out my hand across from my desk.

"Thank you, sir, but I actually brought a friend to join us. Ladybird"—she says her name with more confusion than resentment—"said that he was not on the agenda and until you gave the okay, he can't come into your office."

I smirk to myself. No one has ever been so protective of me in my existence, and as much as I'd love to return the sentiment and take care of her for a change, she won't let me. Or maybe I just need to make my advances more clear. Could I continue just being friends and suffering unrequited feelings for the rest of my life? Probably.

"Who is your friend? Not your boyfriend?" I ask, not wanting to deal with the over-protective reaper who has already given me enough shit.

"No sir, his name is Gloom."

I take a sigh of relief and hope the reaper she brought with her doesn't induce heartburn the same way her lover, Death, does.

"Very well, tell Ladybird he can come in," I tell her as I take my seat and wait for them to come back into the room. The pair are hissing at each other under their breath as they both take a seat, Love forcing a beaming smile on her face and the reaper looking back at the door.

I observe the reaper, noting he is far more casually dressed and easygoing than the other reapers I've met—attractive, too.

Interesting.

I remove my gaze from the reaper and smile at Love.

"Alright, Love. I'm ready to hear your pitch."

She smiles and takes a deep breath before speaking.

"I'd like to host an inter-veil mixer here in Cupidale. I think it would be a great opportunity for people to mingle and get to know one another. There are so many lonely individuals in the veil and maybe this could be the love matchmaking event of the century." She's excited about the event and I take a moment to really comb through her words. She's so eager and enthusiastic about making matches. I wish I still felt the same way.

Fuck, when did I become this pathetic morose of a man?

"You know there are far more beings in the veil than just cupids and reapers," I reply.

"Obviously angels are out, they're fucking prudes, and, well, ghosts can't make it either."

"What about lady luck, the sandman, Krampus, nymphs, the tooth fairy," I reply.

"The tooth fairy is real?" Love asks.

"Yeah, a real fucking crazy bitch too," her friend Gloom suggests, and I smirk. His posture is relaxed. He's far more comfortable in my realm than I'd expect of a newcomer.

I wonder why exactly Love brought him along. I glance over at him and back at Love before speaking.

"There are multiple tooth fairies, not just one. If there was only one, she would be overworked and in serious debt."

Both the reaper and cupid across from me smile.

"Well, the safety of cupids is paramount, so I would suggest we only invite beings you don't see as a threat?" Love suggests.

"Everyone minus the tooth fairy and the sandman, too much could go wrong. It's important that this event is optional and that cupids understand that. There might be a bit of a culture shock with so many new beings entering the realm."

My mind is already working around how many things might go wrong at an event like this. But I know Love is right, there are a lot of cupids and reapers alike looking for love and friendship who aren't currently finding it. Breaking the barriers between our realms could change so many lives.

My job is to ensure that this realm runs properly, and creating more love matches will only benefit me. What do I have to lose?

"I suppose we can give this a shot. When did you plan on hosting the event?"

"June sixteenth," she says.

Father's day. I grumble in the back of my head. It's honestly perfect. It won't give me time to dwell on how I'm feeling about my estranged son.

"You'll need to work closely with Ladybird on this project," I supply. Love's eyes go wide, while a smile takes over Gloom's face. I suddenly watch him more closely. He's handsome with his short hair and dark eyes. But more than anything there's a different air to him. He seems eager in a way I haven't seen from most reapers.

"Perfect," Gloom replies, standing up and looking too happy to be working with my assistant, who is never kind to strangers.

I don't like it.

I stand up too and adjust my dress shirt.

"I'll… uh. I'll be a big part of planning as well," I say, feeling like an idiot.

But I'm not about to let this cocky, tight-bodied reaper roll up and steal the girl I've been secretly pining over for years.

The reaper tilts his head and looks me up and down.

"Have I told you how much I love Cupidale?" he says, more so talking to Love.

She lets out an exasperated breath and grabs her friend by the wrist and drags him out of the office.

"Thank you so much for your time. I look forward to planning this project," she says.

Gloom resists her tugging motion as he looks me up and down, and I might stare at his tight ass when he finally leaves my office.

What the hell just happened? And why am I not upset about giving myself more work that I don't have time for?

It's the end of the day, and I groan, still not caught up on the never ending emails from different cupids. They want to be reassigned; they want to know how they can be nominated for an award at the next Love New Year.

They want and want and want.

What about me? What do I want?

I rub my eyes and head out to reception, regretting that I haven't had a moment to speak to Ladybird this evening.

As I approach the door, I hear her voice.

"Seriously, it's five. What inconsiderate asshole demands a meeting at the end of the day?" she says and I smile to myself.

"I can't work at the candy store anymore, I just can't do it," the other voice replies.

"Then pull up your bright, shiny, pink pants and find another fucking job. The Head Cupid doesn't have time for your petty bullshit."

I rest my forehead against the door, my cock getting hard as I squeeze it from the outside of my pants, willing for it to go down.

Her efficiency and willingness to fight for me just does it for me. I don't really care what anyone else thinks about Ladybird; I know under that hard, take-no-shit surface there's a sweet girl who deserves to be taken care of.

If only she'd let me.

I'm not na?ve in the fact that if anything happened between Ladybird and me, it would take some major navigating. We both like being in charge, but if there's anyone worth making it work for, it's her.

I take a few deep breaths, waiting for the elevator to ding, before I open the door. She gives me a soft smile. Her smiles have only been reserved for me lately, and it's gone to my head.

But Ladybird is beautiful.

She's tall, and the pantsuit she wears, along with her heels, accentuate her height as she stands. She unlocks her purse from her desk and tosses it gracefully over her shoulder. Her light-pink hair is in a high ponytail, but I like it best when she lets her naturally wavy hair spill over her shoulders.

I've always had this vision of wrapping my fist in her hair and gently tilting her chin to finally give her a kiss.

If it were anyone else, I would have made a move by now, but I just can't risk our working relationship. I need her to make the first move.

She smiles at me again, nodding toward the elevator. I'm always in awe of how beautiful her face is, especially when I get one of her rare smiles. Pink rimmed glasses always frame her bright pink sanpaku eyes. She changes the frames every day, but they rest on a perfectly straight nose. Her high cheekbones are dusted in freckles and her lips are always a deep shade of pink.

She's as stunning as she is terrifying to the cupid community at large.

"How was your day?" I ask her and she shrugs her shoulders.

"Better than most," she replies, and I tilt my head at her.

"Oh, is that so?" I ask as we both walk over to the elevator.

"Love and Gloom seemed happy when they left your office. I'm assuming you agreed to their proposal?" she says, avoiding my question.

I automatically tense. She remembered the reaper's name? Ladybird would usually say something like that reaper, a death dealer, or something else contrite. But no, she remembered his name.

Fuck.

"I think it would be good for the cupid community to have an event inviting other beings of the veil. What do you think?" I ask her and she glances up at me.

Gods, she's beautiful.

"I think people don't realize how much you care about Cupidale, and I hope that this shows them just how great you are," she says softly in the safety of the elevator. She clears her throat after saying it. "I'll make a reservation for four at LT for tomorrow night so we can begin planning."

My heart sinks when she automatically goes back to work mode after such a heavy compliment.

As we step out into the pink glittery streets of Cupidale we take one last look at each other before parting ways for the evening.

I've gotta figure out how to make sure this reaper doesn't steal my girl while assuring that this event goes off without a hitch.