Cupid and Psyche (Greek Mythology) - DabiHawks

Insomnia

"You should sleep," came a random, raspy voice. Touya leaned forward, confused, as he wiped the tears from his eyes. In the darkness, he could make out the figure of a man with dark scraggly hair and a winged crown weaved from dark feathers and thorns.

Touya was automatically reverted to the defensive, cynical part of his brain, spitting out his words like venom. "Who are you?" he snapped. "Have you come to torture me as well?"

"You're doing an amazing job all by yourself," the man grumbled. "No, I'm not interested in drama like the other Gods. I simply heard the cry of insomnia and came to help. I am Hypnos, God of Sleep, though many refer to me simply as Shouta. So, do you mind telling me what has you up this late at night?"

"Why do you care?" Touya seethed. "It's none of your goddamn concern."

"It is, actually," Shouta huffed, wrapping the cloud he floated on around him like a blanket. He furrowed his eyebrows as he spoke, eyes rolling lazily around the dark scenery. "I can't sleep peacefully if a mortal nearby is awake or sleeping restlessly. Allow me to help, will you? And hurry before that imbecile Helios comes along screaming."

At that, Touya snickered. "It's nothing, really. My house just burned down and my husband fled, both of which were caused by me."

"Usually homewreckers aren't within the relationship," Shouta teased, though anyone else would've simply taken it as an insult; the God of Sleep wasn't the best at portraying his emotions.

Touya, though, caught on. He shrugged lightly, an annoyed smile on his face. "It was an accident," he explained. "I just wanted to see his stupid face."

Shouta nodded solemnly, his eyes scanned the black sea. "And I'm assuming you learned why he fled?"

"He follows his mother's every word," Touya scoffed. "He's a gullible weakling with no backbone of his own."

"Aphrodite has been a friend of mine since the dawn of time," Shouta sighed, leaning forward. He wore a lopsided grin, his white teeth standing out against the dark palette. "She, Helios, and I have been a very peculiar unit for millenia. She was infused with the craving for beauty since she was born, like an innate impulse she couldn't get rid of. Gods are selfish. Gods are rude. Gods are controlling. When Aphrodite had her son, Cupid, she first saw him simply as an extension of her own beauty, and so that's how he was raised."

Touya sighed, pulling his knees up to his chest. "Put me to sleep, please," he whispered. "I'd like to never wake up."

"Cupid loves you more than he's ever loved anyone, more than he loves himself. He threw away his mother's word to protect you, and a mess as simple as this will not stop him from wanting to be with you. This is a mess you can clean, Touya."

"Hypnos, please." Touya choked out. He was delirious, lightheaded, and felt vomit boiling in the back of his throat. He was seconds away from hurling himself off the cliff before him. "Please, I... I don't want to be here anymore."

"He wants to see you," Hypnos said softly. "And he wants you to be alive when he does. I'm going to take you to my cave and let you rest for a few days while Aphrodite calms down. Afterwards, I'll take you to your husband."

For the second time in his life, Touya was whisked into the air by a God he just met. And again, he didn't have the strength to oppose.

-

"Keigo!" Nemuri cried as her son hurled through the highest window in the tower. His wings, now scattered and burnt, dropped pathetically to the floor, along with Keigo himself. Nemuri fell to her knees, screaming at the top of her lungs, as she held her son's head in her lap. "Breathe, Love. You'll be just fine. Who did this to you?"

"It was that damn mortal!" screamed Rumi, the Goddess of Battle Strategy, as she marched into the tower. "I told him to leave that damn brat alone, but oh no, don't listen to the Goddess of Wisdom and Strategy!"

"Mocking me on my deathbed?" Keigo said weakly, though he tried to push forth a playful tone. "How rude of you. I can only imagine what shenanigans you'll pull at my funeral."

"You're not going to die, you moron!" Rumi announced, physically waving away the thought. "I'm going to get Asclepius and you're going to be just fine."

"Please hurry, Athena," Nemuri whimpered. "My son must live to tell me what kind of awful thing he did to get attacked by a fucking mortal!"

"I wasn't attacked!" Keigo cried. "It was a misunderstanding–"

"Oh, I swear to Zeus, if I ever see the mortal that hurt you, I'll snap their neck!"

"Mother! Listen to me!"

Nemuri's eyes were filled with rage as she whipped her eyes in Keigo's direction. She was fuming, trembling with a fire so intense that Keigo thought he'd get burned for a second time. Instead, Nemuri took a deep breath and grounded herself, brushing her hair out of her face. "Yes, Love?"

"It was an accident," Keigo explained, talking slowly and quietly to keep Nemuri's attention. "It started when you sent me to match Touya Todoroki with a winged serpent man. I accidently scratched myself with my arrow upon releasing it, and I fell in love with him. I... I took him to an old house of Hephaestus' where we stayed. We fell in love, mother. I never felt a feeling so strong and rich and pure. He fell in love with me without ever seeing my face or knowing my real name."

"And let me guess," Nemuri sighed, gently resting her palm on her son's forehead. "The mortal got curious. He took advantage of your vulnerability. He wanted to see more of you. Keigo, I told you. These mortals will take, and take, and take until there is nothing left if you give them the chance."

"He is my lover, through and through," Keigo said. "I would rather be struck by Zeus a million times than live another day without that man."

"And if I kill him?" Nemuri asked. "What will you do then?"

Keigo swallowed the lump in his throat, narrowing his eyes. "Then you will have lost your only son, for I cannot have a mother who tears away my joy."

Aphrodite sighed, brushing back Cupid's misplaced locks of golden hair. "Fine. Then it's settled. You and Touya Todoroki shall be wed–"

"Thank you, mother!"

"--Under one condition. He must complete a set of tasks in order to earn your hand in marriage."

"Mother!" Keigo cried. "No mortal has ever completed the tasks you give them! They're outrageous!"

"I'm not changing my answer, Cupid. He must be worthy to marry a God."

Then in came Asclepius and Athena, bustling around and picking up feathers. Asclepius got to healing while Keigo drifted off into a deep sleep, imagining Touya's arms wrapped around him as he went.