Work Text:
A-Ling was a proud Cupid, he'd been number one back at the academy, graduated with honors, and was accepted into Cupid Corps without any trials, and he had the highest success rate of any Cupid Corp recruit in the organization's history!
An almost 100% success rate, beating the last record holder by 15 points.
Of course, there's no way for a 100% success rate to be an almost success rate, and A-Ling was proud to say he did have a 100% Cupid success rate!
Staring at the arrow lodged into the trunk of a nearby tree, and its matching arrow quickly fusing with the human being staring this way, A-Ling could help but start to feel slightly nervous.
It's just that that had been true before today.
A-Ling glanced between the human he'd shot and the one walking away, a look of horror on his face as the seriousness of the situation settled in.
A Cupid's arrows always came in pairs, even though most people thought the magic worked on a first-to-see basis; in truth, that only happened when a Cupid missed their shot. Each pair of arrows was hand-carved by the Cupid who wielded them, each one was unique and could only form a pair with the other arrow crafted from the same branch, meaning no matter what, A-Ling couldn't fix this!
Stumbling back, A-Ling's hand went slack, allowing his bow, his pride as a Cupid, to slip from his fingers, clattering to the ground. A-Ling's trembling hands came up and tugged at his hair, beginning to pace back and forth as he tried to think of a solution.
This had to be solvable! People had messed up shots before, so obviously, there was a way to fix this! A-Ling just needed to think!
Maybe he could consult someone? But then his perfect record would be ruined, and in the grand scheme of things, maybe his record wasn't important, but what if the Corp decided he wasn't useful anymore?
A-Ling's one dream had been to join the Cupid Corp. If this mistake forced him to quit, then he might as well just die!
A-Ling came to a stop, crouching down, his arms wrapping around his knees as he took a deep, calming breath.
All he needed to do was go back to base and search for records on how to fix this, then no one would ever need to know!
It was the perfect plan!
"Perfect plan for what again?"
"To fix that, humans love life and save my record of course!" Lin Ling whipped his head up in a panic, panicked eyes meeting a curious gaze as A-Ling realized what was happening.
This human was speaking to him.
This human was speaking to him.
A-Ling watched a smile spread across the human's face. It was soft and kind and made Lin Ling's face feel like it was boiling, so before the human could get another word out and make a bad situation worse, A-Ling screamed, hands fumbling for his return beacon.
Before the human could register what was happening, A-Ling had vanished in a spark of pink light, leaving a string of rose petals in his wake.
A-Ling grunted as he dropped another pile of books onto the table. Gaze wavering at the sight of the piles upon piles of books towering over him.
It reminded him of his days back in the academy, suffering every day over exams and surprise pop quizzes….
Shaking his head, A-Ling brought his hand up to slap himself on both cheeks, a look of determination overtaking his face.
This was for the human he'd failed! This was for his future with the Cupid Corp! A-Ling could do this, his entire future was at stake!
Pulling the first book closer, A-Ling flipped it over and started to read. No matter how long it took, A-Ling would fix this!
"A-Ling?"
"Yes!" A-Ling blinked, his determination fizzling out as he realized that voice wasn't from his imagination. Turning around, A-Ling came face to face with Wreck.
Wreck was A-Ling's closest friend within the Cupid Corps and the academy. The older boy had defended A-Ling on his first day of school, since then, the two had been inseparable.
Until they were assigned to different factions within the corp.
A-Ling smiled at Wreck, carefully keeping the book he was reading out of view before standing up to greet his friend properly.
"Wreck! How have you been?" A-Ling stepped up to his friend, arms spread wide as he hugged Wreck tightly.
"Haha, I'm doing good, A-Ling," Wreck pulled back with a smile, a more nervous look taking over his face.
"Are you ok?" A-Ling's eyebrows furrowed together as he looked his friend over. "Did something happen-"
"No! N-Nope! Nothing happened! Ahaha!" Wreck stumbled back, that nervous look from before now far more noticeable, before he jolted. "Oh, right! The section chief wanted you!"
"The section chief?" A-Ling mumbled, a fond look on his face. "Wreck, come on. You don't have to worry about me every time someone calls for me, this isn't the academy anymore!"
"Aha, right, you're right," Wreck cleared his throat, fiddling with his chiton nervously, "why should I worry about Mr. Perfect Record?"
A-Ling barely held back from flinching at the nickname, laughing along with his friend before saying his goodbyes and quickly flying towards the Cupid Corps main building.
A towering building appeared before him, even hundreds of feet above the clouds. A-Ling still didn't reach even half of its height. Lofty pillars extended at each corner, holding the structure afloat. This building was the Cupid Corps' main base of operations. It would take A-Ling thousands of years to even begin to decipher the stories carved into each stone and slab that made up the building.
Without a doubt, there was one slab showing off his record, a slab they would have to destroy if A-Ling didn't fix this soon.
Taking a deep breath, A-Ling tucked his wings in and dove for a few death-defying seconds, until the ground was right there before snapping his wings out to cushion his fall. Feet landing on the cloud, A-Ling took a second to look up at the enormous building before him.
Today would either mark the end of his career or a second chance.
Squaring his shoulders, A-Ling braced himself for whatever was to come, no matter what, he would see it through with dignity.
It wasn't hard to find the Section Chief's office, all A-Ling needed to do was follow the terrified Cupids heading towards the center. A few glanced curiously at him, but thankfully, they kept their distance. A-Ling would usually love to meet new people, but today had been a bit too stressful for that.
Coming to a stop before the door, A-Ling took a deep breath before reaching out to knock.
"Come in." Came the muffled reply from just beyond the door.
Twisting the handle, A-Ling quickly stepped into the office, head bowed politely as he shut the door behind him.
"You wanted to see me, Section Chief."
"That I did," the woman's voice was clipped, risking a glance up, A-Ling held back a wince at the furious look on her face. "Tell me, A-Ling, where is your bow?"
That was it? A-Ling barely held back from making a face that the section chief would surely disapprove of.
"My bow is exactly where it always is, right here-"
A-Ling went stiff, where his bow usually sat, his hand only met air.
Because A-Ling had dropped his bow in the human realm after failing to complete his mission.
"'Right here,'" The section Chief mocked back, scoffing as she motioned for A-Ling to lift his head. "You're half right, your bow is here, with him."
Finally looking up, A-Ling came face to face with a very familiar face. A very human face.
"Y-You!"
"Me," the human smiled contentedly at the sight of A-Ling's speechlessness, turning back to the Section Chief, he spoke. "As I said before, it really was an accident, so there's no reason to punish him too heavily, right, Miss J?"
The Section Chief scoffed, waving a hand between the two. "Since the bow was returned properly and its loss-" A-Ling ducked his head in embarrassment at the pointed glare sent his way. "-didn't affect A-Ling's performance, then we consider this matter settled, but failure to register your mating with a human is an entirely different matter!"
Sorry, his with to a human?
The human laughed again, a clear and melodious sound that had A-Ling's heart skipping a beat. "I'm a little embarrassed about that, actually. A-Ling was just following my wishes for privacy."
"The fault here doesn't lie with you, Lin Ling. A-Ling is more than aware of how seriously we take record-keeping and the kind of penalties that come with lying on official records." The Section Chief took a deep breath. "But since this is a first offense and given A-Ling's track record, I will let you both off with a lighter sentence of three weeks' unpaid probation. A-Ling, you are not to set foot on Cupid Corp property until your probation is over, that includes the dorms.
What?
"Oh? That'll give us some time to talk things out, thank you for your thoughtfulness, Miss J."
"Don't thank me, I am just following the standard procedures."
Before A-Ling knew what was going on, he and the human, Lin Ling, were standing outside the Section Chief's office.
"Well, that went better than expected." Lin Ling turned to look at him, a deceptively sweet smile stretching across his lips. "Ah, right, I should introduce myself. I'm Lin Ling, and from now on I will be your husband."
Staring into Lin Ling's eyes, the only response A-Ling's racing mind could come up with was an elegant. "Huh?"