This is just a silly little scene that I couldn't get out of my head and had to write down. I don't know why it's in a different style than the rest of the book... It just... is /facepalm
It takes place far into the future after Penelope and Eros have both gone to the Afterlife and are working as Cupids.
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"What was your plan here?" Eros watched Penelope as she ran a hand through her hair. She was now a fledgling Cupid, and on one of her new cases. New Cupids were given easier ones usually, and in small batches of half a dozen at a time. Since he wasn't new—but returning—he'd gone right back to his usual case load, and was also in charge of helping Penelope settle in. There had been a few... road bumps.
She smiled sheepishly. "Well. I thought I'd get them trapped in the elevator and get that whole forced proximity thing going. Like with bunnies."
Nodding, he cleared his throat. "So... Did you read the case file before you went ahead with this match?"
"Yes, of course."
"All of it? As in... Looking at all the details?"
"...Yes?" Her face didn't look nearly as certain anymore.
"Did you read through the part about their issues? Like... How they both have severe claustrophobia?"
"Well, I sort of thought that'd help them bond quicker. You know. Common ground."
"And how did that work out for you?"
They both turned back to stare at the monitor where the surveillance tape was playing out before them, showing a man and a woman stuck in an elevator together. He hit the button to speed the video up, and Penelope winced as they watched the woman start hitting the Alarm button. Once. Twice. Five hundred times in rapid succession. Then started banging on the door and shouting in a loud, shrill voice.
The man sat down in the back of the elevator, eyes wide and hands fidgeting. The more distraught the woman was getting, the more he rocked back and forth.
Eros raised an eyebrow. "Does this look like a match about to happen to you?"
Her face fell. "No. It looks like the beginning of a horror movie." She made a wry face. "A very bad horror movie."
With a sigh, she touched the monitor, the corners of her mouth dipping. "I'll never salvage this."
Taking her hand, Eros brought it to his lips. "Never say never. I salvaged my most difficult case ever."
She looked up at him and giggled. "Only by failing miserably."
He pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, passionate kiss. "It still turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me."
"You're such a flirt," she complained, but the happy sigh belied her tone. "What are we going to do about these two?"
He looked towards the screen. "Don't worry. We'll solve that mess, too. Together, we can do anything."
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