Cuqid's BakuIida Week 2022 ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

we should just kiss (like real people do)

(Title inspired by "Like Real People Do" by Hozier)

Day 1: Magic Monday

Summary: Psyche revived by Cupid's kiss.

2.3k words | Alt Universe: Greek Gods | Genderswapped Iida.

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She's not sure what she really expected from the underworld, so she's not sure why it shocks her that it's so dark and unearthly. So dead.

The grass, if you can even call it that anymore, crunches beneath her feet like it's been dead but untouched for years. The dirt it's 'growing' from feels just as harsh and like the mark of a grave.

A river runs alongside the grassy path. The water is dark and murky - impossibly rough for such a narrow stream. The sound of it's rushing sounds like drowning, though Tenya can see no one there. She doesn't suppose she could even if someone was in there.

She holds the box tighter in her hands, uneasy about all of this. She pushes down her discomfort, sucking in a quick breath.

"For Katsuki," she whispers to herself, "this is for Katsuki."

It comes as a viable comfort, as her shoulders relax and she presses on along the river bank.

She glows a pale pink toward the end of the stream - the Goddess herself. Rei dips a bright hand into the darkened water, giggling as if something had brushed against it under there. Tenya steps forward.

"Can I help you, young princess?" Rei asks, shaking her hand off as she pulls it from the water. "You seem nervous."

"P-pardon me," Tenya sighs, "I must ask a favour of you, I apologise. My— I've caused some great harm to the one I love, and I've been given a task to bring him back to me."

"Ah, a task for love, is it?" She smiles, patting the grass beside her. It springs to a much more lively green under her touch, and Tenya takes the opportunity to finally be seated after so long on her feet. "What do you need of me?"

"Goddess Mitsuki has asked for your beauty," Tenya tells her, and her face tightens, "in this box. I only need a little, and my Katsuki will be returned."

Rei hums, looking down at the box in her lap. "In there? And it's only for Mitsuki?"

"Yes, madam," Tenya agrees. She holds the box out to her, offering.

Rei doesn't say anything more, taking the box from her hands. She looks it over for a moment with an unreadable expression, before running a hand over the top of it. There's a subtle, deep purple glow that shines through the gap under the lid, and she hastily hands it back to Tenya.

"I wish you luck with your love," Rei says, gesturing for her to stand and go, "I'm sure you will be prosperous."

Tenya smiles, then. She can fix this. She can hand the beauty to Mitsuki, and hopefully, by the Gods, have Katsuki in return.

The walk back to the mortal world is long, and Tenya desperately wishes she wasn't returning to Katsuki in this state. Her hair is matted and bunched into knots, her dress torn, and her once smooth skin now rough, dirty, and cut in places from the hard tasks Mitsuki had set for her.

She peers down at the box in her hands. The faint purple glow from inside is still prominent, and she wonders...

It's filled with beauty. The beauty of the Goddess Rei. Her appearance rivals that of Mitsuki - it's why she had asked for it in the first place. Perhaps if she opens it only a crack, it will fix her up, just a bit. Surely she could still give what is left to Mitsuki.