"I can't remember the last time we've been to Earth."

"Mmm...270 AD?"

Venus winced.

"No. That was when we were officiating secret marriages and Saint Valentine got—"

"Oh!" Calypso said suddenly, sitting up. "Remember when we visited Big Island that one year for Valentine's Day? 1779, I think."

"Yes, for a holiday. And then, we watched that adventurer get stabbed to death on the beachfront by natives from that mountain cabana. We had impeccable timing." Athena's tone was sarcastic, but she remained in her relaxed position as Calypso settled back under the shade of her umbrella.

In the time it took for Kat to rush back to the house with instructions for Scarlett and Sebastian to explain everything to the rest of the group in detail, the Cupid Judge and her Aides had taken up the lawn chairs in their spacious backyard. They wore swimsuits and glasses matching the color of their folded wings and Dawson stood next to them holding a silver platter containing glasses of lemonade with an expression just as sour.

Kat, who was standing at the foot of their lawn chairs, tried and failed to hide how annoyed she was at their nonchalance, breaking the silence with an irritated sigh.

Calypso pushed up her sunglasses with a bright smile on her face.

"Kitty Kat," she said excitedly, "it's been awhile!"

"Hello, Calypso. What brings the Court here?"

"Well,  Agent Red could've delivered the court summoning herself, but we managed to convince Athena to handle the case in person."

"We all know what she's being sentenced to. This trip was completely pointless and only served both of your needs to get out your duties back home." Athena said flatly. "Although, I won't be the one to complain. It's good to get a change of scenery once in awhile."

"I did what I had to." Kat interrupted, slightly lifting her chin in subtle defiance as Athena sat up and pulled her sunglasses off to reveal the exasperation on her face.

"What you did was break the law. And considering your record, you're very lucky Calypso has vouched for you in the past. Unfortunately, I can't let this one go."

The Cupid Judge slid off of her lawn chair and as she stood to slightly tower over Kat, her swimsuit shifted into a mauve toga and golden gladiator sandals covered her bare feet.

"You're going to have to come back, Kat."

"No," was the Cupid Agent's abrupt response.

Athena raised a brow in disbelief, but Kat didn't give her the chance to speak.

"They're my kids. You told them they could figure it out any way they know how, did you not? And seeing as that's a generally grey area, you can't sentence me because of the lack of proper specifications for their sentence."

"You revealed yourself to human teenagers, Kat!" Athena snapped. "Tell me how in the world you thought you were going to get away with it?"

"I was thinking about Scarlett and Sebastian." She said firmly.

"Loopholes aren't going to save you."

"Well," Calypso stood up and tugged at the waist of her pearl gray toga, "I mean, technically—"

"Please tell me you're not doing this, Calypso. Not now, of all the cupiddamn times." Athena sighed.

"Can I get a transcript scroll?"

Venus, who had been busy finishing the rest of her lemonade, took a noisy sip before placing her glass on Dawson's tray with a flirtatious wink and getting up to bounce over to them. She smoothed down the silk pink fabric, gave her hair a little fluff and snapped her fingers to produce a thick, cream colored scroll.

"Transcript for Case 848, Beaumont vs. The Elysian Court. Trial Peppermint."

"Peppermint?" Calypso wrinkled her nose. "I thought we agreed on Trial Jawbreaker."

"I thought you were kidding. Anyways, proceeding with the transcript."

She cleared her throat as Dawson moved closer to hear her.

"You will both resume your duties as Cupid's-in-training and pair up the matches correctly your way. Keep in mind that Scarlett has been thrown into the mix against her will and this action has to be rectified as well, but I'll trust you'll find a way around that." Blah, blah, blah....oh! Here you mention their role. "Your Superior Cupid Agents are still assigned to your case and they'll be assisting you in whatever you need to fix the situation."

"And I did whatever I needed to do to help them fix their situation." Kat said sharply. "It's your own words against you."

"You're treading a very dangerous line, Tasha."

"Don't...call me that."

"Okay, ladies," Dawson interjected, moving to stand beside a glowering Kat, "clearly we can all agree on one point: she did it for the kids. There is no way Kat would have done it for any other reason besides Sebastian and Scarlett."

"Did they ask you to do it for them?" Venus chimed in.

The deadly glare Kat sent her was enough to answer her question and the Cupid's wings tucked away nervously as she looked away.

"Well," Calypso clapped her hands together, "I guess that's that. The generally "grey" area of how your trainees fulfill their duties  and the extent to which you play your roles as their guardians could have been better specified, I agree. But, Athena's right. You're walking dangerously close to a line I wish you wouldn't cross. Consider this a warning."

"Is this your decision?" Athena asked.

"Yes."

"Venus?"

"As much as I want to disagree, I just can't help myself when it comes to watching heartbreaking disasters play out." Venus said gleefully.

Athena rolled her eyes.

"Your decision, Venus."

"I agree with Calypso."

She sighed and turned back to Kat and Dawson with a blank expression.

"There have been two separate incidents in which you and your novices broke the laws of Midfólkvangr. One more strike, Cupids, and it's game over."

Athena and Venus nodded before walking off to the shore, the latter waving her hand and summoning a large doorway right at the water's edge. Calypso had stopped in front of her old friend and they looked at each other, silently communicating before the Cupid Aide's eyes crinkled and she swooped in to hug Kat tight.

"I can't protect you forever, ya know." She whispered.

Kat squeezed her once before releasing her with a grateful smile.

"And you know I'm always sorry for causing trouble."

"Sure you are. I didn't know you two were assigned to this case, by the way." She added.

"Yeah, and you were going to sentence one of our kids to Limbo." Dawson growled.

"You gotta admit, it's quite a shitstorm they caused. Besides, even if Athena had banged that stupid gavel, I would have found her a way out." Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "I'm completely biased that way."

She patted the young woman's shoulder and followed after the others, the Cupid Agents watching with their hearts beating in synchronized relief as they disappeared in a bright glow of light.

"I can't believe you did that." Dawson said, neither one of them turning to look at the other.

"You would have done the same thing."

"With your record, I probably should've been the one to do it."

"Dawson—"

"Kat." The Cupid moved to grasp her hands determinedly in his and brought her round to finally make eye contact. "I'm your partner. And much as I love those kids, you can't make stupid decisions without me. We're in this together, remember? And I can't let you be taken away from me again."

She nodded and tried to pull away, but Dawson held on tight.

"I'm serious." His tone was urgent as he tried to emphasize his words to make her understand. "You're all I have left."

"I know. I'm sorry." She said softly.

Kat slumped into one of the beach chairs with a heavy sigh and ran a hand through her hair as Dawson lowered himself down next to her. They sat in silence for a bit, listening to the rhythmic sound of the waves breaking against the sand and hissing back into the ocean.

"So," he said suddenly, "Tasha, huh?"

She glanced up at her partner and they exchanged humorous grins.

"It's been a long, long time."

♡♡♡

Fifteen minutes and counting since any of them had uttered a word and Logan was starting to worry that the Cupid Agent had stunned them into total paralysis when Melanie groaned, rubbing her temples slowly.

"Someone please...I think I need to be put in a psych ward."

"I...," Abel trailed off, completely forgetting what he was about to say and staring at the exact spot in which they'd seen Kat reveal her wings as if he was a statue.

"You guys believe us now?" Samuel said, a little irked that they hadn't done that in the first place.

"So, those two aren't students, then? They're Cupids?" Stella asked.

"Yes, Stella."

"And they were trying to pair two of us together before the disaster happened?"

"Yes, Stella."

"But, we don't know which two?"

"Yes, Stella."

"And they're dead?"

"Does anyone besides Stella have a question?"

Asher raised his hand.

"So they're asking us to help them...get us...fixed up with each other?"

"Yes and no," Logan piped up. "What we would have to do is try and make a connection with the right person. We can try and feel it out while they do their work behind the scenes. All we're really going to be doing is spending major amounts of time with each other. That's as hard as it gets."

"Hard enough for me." Miriam muttered.

"I still think this is weird." Anastasia said. "What if I'm fine with not having any kind of relationship at all?"

"Well, that's up to you, doll face."

Samuel winked at the girl, but her blank expression made his head drop as he screamed...on the inside, of course. On the outside, he looked back up and tried to ignore the smirk Abel was giving him.

"If you don't want to help us, that's fine." Scarlett said. "Being in a relationship isn't the important thing here. What we're trying to fix is the natural emotional connection you have with whatever person you previously had it with. I'm not saying you have to take the chance at being in a relationship, but sometimes one missed chance is one too many. Whatever person you were paired up with wasn't because of love—not outrightly. It may have started as a simple liking, a small attraction. Just enjoying being around or talking to that person. Our job is to merely bring that to attention for the right pair and if both persons are willing to further that which could or could not be, then our job was well done."

"So, you mean even if we were paired up correctly, we might not even stay together?" Kaia asked hesitantly.

"Honestly, no. But, that's on you. It takes two to make a relationship work and everyone in this room," Sebastian gestured to the teenagers, "can do exactly that. I've seen the way some of you look at each other...it might not last in the long run, but it'll be one hell of a marathon."

"This is giving me a headache." Liam groaned.

"Look, all you guys have to do is cooperate. Feel it out, spend time with each other, find a connection. We're gonna be pulling a few strings as time goes on, so we just need you to go with it." Scarlett said patiently.

"We can do that, right? Guys?" Samuel looked at the teenagers who were exchanging glances with each other. "Guys?"

"I'm game." Stella chirped, raising her hand. "I find this whole thing exciting."

"At least someone does. I don't think I'm gonna participate in any of this. Thanks for asking, though." Miriam picked up her bag and got to her feet before looking around.

"I won't say anything, but I hope you guys find what you're looking for."

They all watched as she walked out, Sebastian shaking his head.

"She's a tough one." He murmured to Scarlett and raised his voice to the others. "Anyone else that is unwilling can follow Miriam, it won't be held against you. We'd be sorry to see you go, but it's your choice and we'll respect that."

For a moment, nobody moved.

Then, Samuel's heart sank when Anastasia stood up.

She looked unsure of herself as she twiddled her fingers nervously and picked up her book bag.

"Sorry, guys." Her voice petered out to barely above a whisper as she scurried out of the gym and Scarlett peeked at a downcast Samuel from out of the corner of her eye before going to address the others.

"Okay!" She clapped her hands together. "We can make do with who we have. I guess we can meet up to sort things out in a more organized manner tomorrow—"

"Tomorrow's Saturday." Abel interrupted her. "Can't we do it on Monday?"

"Love knows no holidays."

"Motherf—"

"We'll have Samuel text you guys the meet-up spot." Sebastian said, looking down at his phone as it began to ring. "Don't be late!"

Sebastian grabbed Scarlett by the arm and the teenagers watched in surprise as he dragged her out of the gym. They sat for a few minutes, not exactly knowing what to do with themselves, when Stella jumped to her feet.

"Well...see ya tomorrow, peaches!" She said brightly.

Her small frame bouncing off of the bleachers broke the ice and they all got up, milling about and grabbing their belongings before shuffling towards the door. They were stiff and polite towards each other, making it all the more awkward before scattering off in different directions with breaths of relief and shoulders that relaxed from all the nervous tension.

And although each of them were different from looks to personalities to characteristics, they all had the same thought in their minds as they walked off:

What the hell just happened?

——————

and to answer that, i have not a clue.
but, i do have something i thought
would be fun for you guys!

since samuel has to send out a massive
text, comment below what you'd like
your contact name in the gc to be!!
if you don't want to, that's totally
fine! it'll just be your oc's name (:

→ contact names here ←

thank you always and from the bottom
of my heart for your endless support!
love you guys so so much!

x, celine