Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Luke was in deep shit. 

Look, he had been in on the matchmaking game for a while, maybe not as long as someone like Wanda, or Harrison as she would rather be formally known, but he could hold his own down below, on Earth where the humans were. 

He was lucky, as far as cupids went. Out of all the many divisions, the different ways to go about helping people fall in love with their Perfect Match, Luke had been assigned to the Ambiance Unit, aiding in building the atmosphere, guiding persons to their Match through subtle tugs of the senses- 

Such as coaxing smells of the bakery’s freshest offerings to float down the street, providing the small breeze that would make the branches shudder and release petals onto the sidewalk, and, what was admittedly Luke’s favorite part- 

Supplying the sounds- particularly, the music- that got people turning their heads, maybe locking eyes with a beautiful stranger in the process. 

Luke had been gifted with great musical talents. Who knew where cupids really come from and how it happened, but he swore he had appeared with a guitar in his hand, ready to play music for the masses and bring people together. 

Music always had that power- to connect. 

And Luke thrived on it. He and his fellow musician cupids, Reginald (Reggie) and Alexander (Alex) would often go on their missions together, figuring it was best to work as a group and supply the romantic ambiance through their music. 

The thing about being cupids, as mentioned before, was subtlety. 

It had been jarring the first time Luke had gone on assignment on Earth and finding out firsthand that they were invisible to humans, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be noticed. 

Their music could still be heard.

No one would have been able to wipe the smile off Luke’s face when he started strumming his guitar, singing echoes of Sinatra or whatever was considered romantic staples, the smile growing even bigger when his assigned persons take notice of each other in the midst of the notes, offering a hand to dance or singing along, albeit offkey. 

But it was the intention that not only checked off another two names off his list but fueled his belief in all things love and music- two things often synonymous in Luke’s head. Could not have one without the other. 

Many often attributed these phantom tunes to faint playings of some radio nearby or the busker down the street, no matter- it always did the job. 

At least it was supposed to. 

If going by Luke instead of Lucas wasn’t enough of an indication, he was not the one to follow the same old, tired ways of matchmaking. Like thank Aphrodite the whole ‘bow and arrow’ thing was too archaic to continue (and talk about really messed up and really painful- ouch). 

Yeah, the music he was playing was nice and all, but what he wouldn’t give to up the tempo a bit, to nod at Alex, begging him to switch out his cajon for a full kit, and for Reggie to do the same with his cello and bring out the bass they all knew he could rock. 

Luke had already received judgmental looks for passing over the lyre and using the guitar instead, but like come on- the guitar was practically tied to his soul! It felt right. 

And when not up in HQ, he was down on the ground, gaining a sense of the sound landscape that was a far cry from the angelic instrumentals they had back home. He had picked up a few things over the years, things he wanted to try, especially from his brief stint in ‘90s L.A on an extensive assignment. 

So what he started to sprinkle in some Nirvana into his setlist? 

Or some Rush ? And, he would argue this to the ends of the universe, but Green Day could totally be romantic!

Why was it so wrong for him to thrash around on his acoustic? Belting out the lyrics to the point of scratching his voice? Getting those lonely hearts’ blood pounding? 

Oh, right. 

Subtlety … 

Luke had made the bonehead mistake of picking up an electric guitar one day… 

(Look, the busker really shouldn’t have left it alone for more than a minute. But he had been dying to hear what it would sound like.)

And maybe, just maybe , he had thought it would have been great to bust it out for his next assignment- 

Let’s just say orthodontist Angus Rosenbaum, aged 62, and widowed librarian Maya Bernal, aged 58, were not feeling the love in this Chili’s tonight so to speak. 

(Note to self: Do not play Mötley Crüe at a book club...)

Luke had never fucked up an assignment so badly. He honestly thought it would help, maybe jog their memories of being hot-blooded teens, too boosted by hormones to play it safe, maybe cut the bullshit and just ask each other out already!

Instead it ended in screaming, broken glass, and a group of middle-aged adults booking it out of the house in a hurry to call an exorcist. 

So yeah, that explained why he was on Harrison’s shit list right about now. 

Since then, he had been downgraded to a desk job- filing the paperwork for other cupids on call. Not like that would help get him back into Harrison’s good graces though. He was utterly terrible at it, with his penmanship deemed incomprehensible and how often he mixed up names and places or completely omitted key information, 

It was mind blowing how Harrison hadn’t already given up and sent him back out on the field just to be rid of him. 

And it was boring as hell. 

He missed playing his guitar. 

He missed Alex and Reggie, although those two often stopped by his desk to visit and fill him in on all the cool stuff the humans were doing on Earth.

He missed being around people, not cupids. They had always been much more interesting to observe. Way more fun too. But he couldn’t leave. Not without flagging the higher ups, and he would be sure to face an even harsher punishment on the way back, like maybe taking away his guitar for all eternity… 

Luke had been desperate to find other ways to leave, always badgering other cupids to help them out with their cases. He didn’t care if he had to get his hands dirty with Interference or, dare he say it, help with the Department of Grief and Mourning (so…much… crying- he couldn’t stand it). 

That was when the perfect opportunity fell on his lap. 

Luke had been stationed at his desk when he saw one of their best, Valeria, storm into Harrison’s office, face streaked in frustrated tears, fists curled at her sides. 

“I have had it!” he could hear her yell at their boss, even behind a shut door. 

“Clearly you don’t mean that-” 

“Utterly impossible! I have tried everything, Harrison. Everything! ” 

“Why don’t you take a seat?” Harrison said in an attempt to quell her, the conversation now conducted at a more acceptable volume. 

By then a small group of them were huddled near the office, pretending not to eavesdrop but the work was as dry as it came, they were looking for any excuse not to do it. 

“Uh oh. Case #9102020 strikes again,” Kai, from his left, muttered. 

Luke frowned, “Case#9102020?” 

“Haven’t you heard?” 

He shook his head. He hated hearing work gossip, most of it was pretty mundane stuff anyway. But this time he was curious. Like what could have happened to have driven a pro like Valeria to the brink of a breakdown? 

The other cupid magically procured a file and handed it off to him, “Word on the street is that there’s a human down there who’s just not having it in the love department.” 

Luke was flipping through the folder, “You sure it wasn’t a mixup?” 

It was not that uncommon of a mistake for an aromantic to wind up in their database, but that would get resolved pretty quickly. He and the other cupids in his department knew better than to mess with them. 

Leanne from the desk behind him peered over his shoulder, pointing at a page, “Look at the numbers.” 

“The numbers?” And when he checked, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. 

This- this couldn’t be right. They were all joshin’ him, right? The whole office. Because this was impossible. 

“12 failed attempts? 8 Cupids called it quits?” 

“Make that 9,” 

The door clicked open and everyone poofed back into their seats just as a still pissed Valeria walked out and a weary Harrison followed. 

Luke made sure to keep the file hidden under his jacket until the two had disappeared from view. 

He pored over it, reading up about the human who managed to go through cupids like crazy. Yeah, they were times where cupids weren’t successful and it required a couple of go arounds, but this? 

The comments had started off pretty tame: 

‘Resistant to routine charming methods…’ 

‘Difficult to work with. Uncooperative…’ 

But then it had gone downright nasty towards the end, one such cupid deeming this girl as an ‘abomination’ of sorts. 

Luke flipped back to the front, where the picture of the subject, Julie Molina, was attached. 

Huh. All he saw was a young woman with thick curly hair, glasses, and a toothy grin. Just a regular old human, and he couldn’t find it in himself to connect this face with the comments he read. 

Something compelled him to keep looking through the folder, studying up on this Julie Molina , to see what was wrong here. 

It seemed like they were trying to get Julie to shack up with her Match, a coworker by the name of Nick. The results of their compatibility came back pretty high, harboring most of the same interests, similar group of friends, a shared history dating back since elementary school. 

It should have been a done deal. 

Yet, calls for coffee went unanswered, invites to the bar with their friends were declined. And all of Luke’s colleagues had done their best to curb her in the right direction, but always running into problems. Problems that, oddly enough, were never specified… 

There was already enough content in this folder to intrigue the shaggy-haired cupid, but it had been the note that someone, probably Harrison, had left behind next to her status that stirred him. 

A red X. 

Fuck. 

Luke had only heard of rumors of a red X, but he had never seen one with his own eyes. 

This file was bound for the discard pile- no man’s land, where all the people casted off as ‘unlovable’ go, never to be matched, never to fall in love. 

Sentenced to a life of loneliness? Luke couldn’t even imagine. No one should ever have to be alone. Like, literally the thought burned through his whole being, refusing to believe in such a reality. Everyone deserved their chance at love, even this Julie Molina. 

Alright, that settled it. 

He was gonna take this case. 

Had reading the file made the task all the more daunting? Yeah. 

But thankfully Luke was both desperate and stubborn- oh and eager for a challenge. Because if he managed to pull this off, to do what no higher-caliber cupid was able to do and get this girl to fall in love, then bye-bye paperwork. 

It was gonna be great. It had to be. 

Of course Harrison would never go for it, would never formally assign him this case even if he asked. He was still technically serving out his punishment. 

He may have to take matters into his own hands. 

Luke popped down to Earth. 

Just for a bit. 

Purely for recon, he told himself. 

He technically wasn’t leaving his post to go on an unsanctioned mission. Just… taking a stroll… outside of the HQ…

And outside of Julie Molina’s place of work. 

It was this big building in the middle of the city, he couldn’t find a sign and he had left behind the file so he didn’t remember what exactly she did for a living. Something serious he surmised as he caught her leaving, wearing a blazer and trousers. 

Alright. It was go time. 

He trailed behind her unabashedly, just observing her as she walked onto the street. There seemed to be no sign of Nick anywhere, but he kept his eyes peeled. 

And just in case, Luke summoned his guitar. If Nick were to show up all of the sudden to join Julie on her journey, then it was up to him to set the mood. 

He didn’t plan on using his methods so fast, not when there was a high chance it might not work (like what was going to set his powers apart from the other cupids who had tried before?). 

Luke needed to gauge what kind of girl Julie was in order to help her. 

The file could only give him so much information- date of birth, family, affiliates, dating history. But there could be something about her that the others didn’t pick up. Luke liked to think of himself as a human expert, having been one to enjoy being on Earth and absorbing as much as he could about their way of life. 

She seemed to walk with a purpose, taking long confident strides, although the upper part of her body was closed in on itself, arms crossed, back hunched over slightly, her voluminous curls swaying as she moved- 

No, more like she was shaking her head, side to side, as if she was listening to some music. But there were no earbuds or anything like that on her person, but she was humming a little tune. 

Luke’s ears perked up at the melody, instantly vibing with it. It was only a soft spoken tune but the girl was into it too, it didn’t take too long for the hums to transition into mumbles, and for the mumbles to turn into words- 

And before he knew it- 

Wow. 

Julie was… singing. 

Her voice nearly made him stop dead in his tracks. Even above the din of passerbys and traffic, he could tell it was a sweet sound, nothing he had ever heard before in all his years of existence, and it was just… drawing him closer to her. 

Luke began strumming something, in tune with her voice, wanting to give her something in return, already feeling he had already been gifted something precious. 

Abomination or not, this girl had pipes, and he was only a musician, he had to play. 

He hadn’t been too far away from her, but Julie turned around once the sound of the guitar reached her ears. Yeah, that was to be expected. But what threw Luke off kilter, again for the second time that night, was the lack of the absent stare he would usually get when he played amongst the humans. 

In fact, her eyes didn’t wander around the area, over the other pedestrians on the sidewalk, trying to pinpoint the source of the music. 

No, they were trained on exactly where he was standing. 

Luke froze, unsure if this was a trick or not. Because it totally was. There was no way- 

“Not another one!” she groaned, her face shifting into a kind of grimace at the sight of him. 

Holy shit. 

Now Luke knew what exactly had been conveniently left out of her file- 

Turned out Julie was able to see cupids… 

Chapter Text

There wasn’t enough time for Luke to stop and think ‘What the hell?! How could she see me?’ because Julie, the human, was already well on her way down the street. 

Fuck. He couldn’t lose her. 

He caught up with her, his guitar bumping against his chest,  “Wait, wait, hold on. Hold on! ”

Now Luke felt he was going crazy because Julie didn’t acknowledge him, her stare fixed straight ahead. 

“Human, helloooo?” he waved a hand in front of her face, just to make sure. 

She scowled and swatted him away, like Luke could feel her hand push against his- another interesting development. 

“You could touch me too?!” 

Again, she ignored him, turning the corner and nearly getting absorbed by the crosswalk crowd.

And if any theories Luke had about humans now being able to see cupids (hey he hadn’t been down here in a while!) had been quickly trashed when pedestrians phased through his form seamlessly as he struggled to keep up with Julie. 

Yeah, walking had never been his thing. It had always been ‘poof here’ or ‘poof there’. Or this girl Julie was no stranger to cardio… 

Soon they reached a less busy part of town and the girl slowed considerably. 

“A-Alright,” he panted, now at her side, “Julie Molina. That you, right?” 

Silence.

“I will take that as a ‘yes’” 

Wow, this girl was a prickly one. But then again, he had never ever spoken to one before, a human one, so he could be doing approaching this wrong. 

“So I guess you know… I’m a Cupid. Your own personal matchmaker…” 

Right, this was weird. He had never given a spiel about his line of work. It was kind of a given what he did. 

“I’m here to rescue you from a life of loneliness?” he tried again. 

Yeah no. That was… that was awful. 

Again, nothing.  

Then he watched her pull out her phone and hold it to her ear. 

“Hey, I’m trying to talk to you! You know it’s kinda rude-” he felt a swift kick to his leg tripping him up. 

“You know what’s rude? Harassing someone when they’re just trying to go about their day!” she spoke into the phone, which was odd because it didn’t seem to be on- ohhhh. 

Of course, he was still invisible to much of the population. She wouldn’t want to seem like she was yelling at air. A little trick she must have picked up from all the cupids that had come her way. 

“Look, I’m just trying to help you,” 

“That’s what they all said…” And in the privacy of a near empty street, Julie gave him a pointed stare before entering a building, “Before I kindly told them to fuck off to whatever cloud you guys are spying on us from.” 

Luke was only a step behind her, “Clouds... why you humans always think we chill on clouds? Wait, you know what, that’s not what I’m here for.” 

“Right, you’re here to fix what’s wrong with my love life-” 

“More like a lack of one,” 

The glare he got in response told him he did not say the right thing. But he had seen her file! And her dating history had been, quite honestly, easy to memorize. 

With it being a short list and all… (No shame in that).

“Alright, so what’s it gonna take for you to leave?” Julie was speeding up a flight of stairs (ugh, more walking?) “Normally I would get creative, but I’m too tired today.” 

“Creative, huh?” He was curious, following her up a couple floors, “What did you even do to Valeria anyway? Never seen her that mad.” 

“Made her watch Riverdale with me,” she said, laughing at the memory, “Kept asking her to Match me with every hot person on screen. And cried when she said no. May have been drunk when I did.” 

He couldn’t fight the slight upward tick on the edge of his mouth, on the verge of a smile, “Clever.” 

“You think?” 

He should disapprove, but the troublemaker in Luke found the whole thing hilarious. He firmly stood by his earlier thought- humans were way more fun than his stuffy coworkers (apart from Reggie and Alex). 

Julie pocketed her phone, openly staring at him in a ‘you’re different’ kind of way. He couldn’t tell if she appreciated it, which was concerning. Usually cupids were able to get a feel for feelings, being empaths and all, but he couldn’t get a clear reading from her. 

Geez, what kind of human was she? He was sure to have remembered the kind of human who was immune to love magic from HR (Human Resources… the resource about all things humans). 

They rounded a corner and they ended up where, presumably, her apartment was. 

“I give props to where props are due. But also kinda relieved I wasn’t subjected to such torture.” he continued, not bothering to bring up more of her oddities. She must have heard it all before. 

Julie smirked, “Just wait. I’ll cue up Netflix.” 

“Inviting me in? What will the neighbors think?” he joked. 

“They’ll think ‘there goes Julie, walking into her apartment alone as always’,”

“Right,”

Wow, 10 minutes with this girl, and Luke had already forgotten that he was meant to be invisible. 

He tried to read into what she had just said. There didn’t seem to be any bitterness in her tone when she said ‘alone as always’, in fact she seemed quite content with that fact, then again his whole ‘feelings detector’ was out of whack. 

Julie turned the key and opened the door to the apartment, not even bothering to slam the door in his face and he cautiously stepped inside. 

Her place was cozy though bare.

There was this warmth to the loft apartment, with pictures of friends and family lining the mantle of the industrial fireplace, a blue couch that had a bit of bounce to the cushions and with an abundance of pillows, stacks of books littered all over the floor for there was no more space on her shelves. 

It looked lived in but by her and only her. A door left ajar gave Luke a peek into a bedroom, only one. No roommates it seemed. 

This was the first time he had been invited into a human’s home. Usually it was a pop in/ pop out situation whenever he was on Earth. Like what were manners to being like him? But now he felt strangely about being here, like he was imposing. 

He closed the door while Julie shed her blazer and draped it over the couch. Luke lingered near the seating area and the girl paid him no mind while she was going about her night routine. 

She went to her kitchen, fishing through her freezer, “I’ll humor you for like a couple minutes, but once my dinner heats up, you better be gone.” 

“How could you see us?” the question leaving him before he could think twice, the uncanny settling in his bones, holding onto his guitar as he approached the counter where Julie was tearing into a frozen pizza box.

“Are you magic or what?”

“Or what. If I knew then I would stop. Don’t like waking up to some new stranger dressed in white watching over me and judge me for my choices. I have been to therapy before.” 

Wow, the other cupids had no chill. And yet, she let him into her place? It could be she just knew not to expect any privacy, not since she started receiving unwelcome visitors… 

He bristled at that, “Yeah, I’m sorry. I get how crazy that it must be. But we’re just trying to do our job. Just trying to help.” 

“Don’t need or want your help. I’m fine with how things are,”

Julie read the instructions on the box and preheat the oven. Coming back around, she took stock of the strange guy in her apartment.

“And what’s with the guitar? You serenade people into submission or something?” 

“To ‘soften the barriers of the heart’ to be more specific, yeah,” he sarcastically quoted the handbook. Apparently that was what musical cupids did, but it was a rather dainty way of putting it, at least in Luke’s opinion. 

Julie appeared to agree, making a sour face at the wording before warming up to it, “You should write that down.” 

“What? For like a song?” 

“Yeah. Might be fun,” she shrugged, now off to fill a watering can while the oven was being prepared. That was when Luke noticed a whole forest of plants by her tall window.

Bringing up the guitar and a song reminded Luke of the singing he heard back on the street and almost asked about it when Julie, now across the room, back facing him, called out to him impatiently. 

“Well? Aren’t you gonna give your speech about how Nick and I are supposed to be together blah blah blah, the Universe wills it blah blah blah, you’re being a little bitch and messing it all up blah blah blah.” 

Oh yeah. Luke was here on business. 

“But, like, why aren’t you giving him a chance? Really. The guy’s your Perfect Match,” 

“Why?” she needled, tending to her plants, and for second Luke caught a glimpse of serenity that washed over her face, hint of a real smile on her face when she cared for her hanging spider plant.

Huh, not tough all over, was she?

“I just know,” Luke insisted, ready to get into the reasons. He had been known to have a way with words (at least with other cupids, humans were unchartered territory).

“I studied up on your file before coming here-”

The watering can landed on a table with a thud. 

Julie spun around on her heel, serenity gone. 

“File? What file?”

Shit. 

Luke had just gotten used to talking to a human, and since she knew about Matches he figured she would have known how things worked back up in HQ.

But of course, the 9 other cupids were sticklers for the rules, none of them would have brought up the actual case file in the presence of a human. 

But you know what? Fuck it. 

This girl clearly needed some concrete proof. And following the rules hadn’t worked so far. 

Luke set his guitar down and snapped his fingers, the folder materializing in his hand, which captivated Julie. 

“Shouldn’t be doing this, but you’ll keep a secret, won’t you?” he winked, enjoying the awestruck expression on the girl’s face. 

Oh and he did her one better. Another snap of his fingers and the frozen pizza was in her oven, baking away. 

Julie’s focus shifted between the oven and Luke, processing what she had just seen,

“None of- none of the others told me about this.” 

“I think you know well by now I’m not like the others,”

He actually took offense to that. Imagine him being compared to the likes of Valeria or Joshua. Ugh. He had personality. 

He cracked upon the file, “Yeah. Okay look, it says here, you and Nick have known each other since elementary school. Las Almas, right? Miss Treiger’s class, 1st grade-” 

“Dude!” Julie gaped at him, scrambling to snatch the folder out of his hands.

Luke edged away from her, leaping onto the counter and sitting there, legs swinging mockingly at her.

“Company property. No touchy,” he chastised, wiggling his finger. 

The crease on her forehead was starting to become a permanent feature with the way she was drilling in a death stare.

“Well, it’s about me, right? I can’t look?!” 

She ran at him, but this time he poofed to the couch. 

He felt somewhat bad, acting like one of the other cupids who had disrespected her privacy, but it wasn’t like he was going to go on and share this with anyone else. It was just the two of them. 

And frankly, it was kind of fun ribbing on the human. Even when Julie was mad, the little scrunch she made with her nose was too adorable to take seriously. 

“I’m telling you now. So you and Nick Danforth-Evans..."

He made a show of licking his finger and flipping the page, “He scraped his knee on the playground, you gave him a butterfly band aid. Aww, how sweet. What a meet cute!” 

“Yeah, it was-” She marched over and tried again, but-

POOF

Luke was perched on the overhead storage structure above the kitchen, completely untouchable from the tiny human below. 

He continued to read the history, uninterrupted, “Been friends over the years but never got too close. Says here that may have something to do with a...‘Carrie Wilson’?” 

By this time, Julie was directly below him, and the mention of this other girl seemed to cool her down, trading her fury for a stonier expression, maybe somewhat sad.

“Yeah...” 

“His old girlfriend?” he insinuated. 

She exhaled, pointing to herself, “Former best friend.” 

Luke connected the dots. 

“Ouch” 

“Yeah, rather not relive any of that right now, so could you not?”

Luke quickly moved on, skimming through the rest until a juicy tidbit caught his eye.

“And oooh boy,” he whistled, “Each other’s first kiss?” 

“It was a dare!” 

“No sparks?” 

“We were 13,” 

“... there should be sparks,”

He often heard stories about what happened when people who were meant to be with each other kiss for the first time. There should have been sparks, fireworks- explosions! It was supposed to be thrilling! 

Julie’s lips curled, “Hm. A mistake?” 

“We don’t make mistakes,” At least cupids as a whole didn’t. Him however…

“Moving on- high school, look you guys had crushes on each other at the same time-”

Now that piqued Julie’s interest, “Wait. what?” 

Guess it was news to her, and Luke was convinced he had found her Achilles’ heel. Could these feelings resurface again?

“I imagine that was when he was still with Carrie Wilson,” Luke inferred from the timeline typed out on the sheet. He clicked his tongue, “Nicky, you naughty boy…” 

“Ew, don’t ever call him that,” 

“Ha!” he pointed at the timeline, “So there was something there, wasn’t there?” 

She shrugged, “Like half the year back in junior year. Doesn’t mean it’s love,” 

“I mean, you were obviously smitten with him at one point, right. it says here that you even had a dream about him, where you-”

Luke’s eyes thankfully read ahead before he could relay it outloud. His already rosy cheeks turned a deep scarlet and so did his ears. 

Julie seemed to have caught on, letting out a squeak and promptly burying her face into her hands. 

He cleared his throat awkwardly, snapping the folder closed, “I didn’t-” cough, “I didn’t realize we were… thorough with our records.” 

Maybe naughty wasn’t the right word to describe Nick …

“Oh my god,” Julie cried, mortified, voice muffled by her hands,“You people never heard of a thing called ‘boundaries’?!”

“I’m sorry!” 

Luke threw the file away and it disappeared into thin air, then he poofed in front of Julie. Her embarrassment was subsiding, but she was back to glaring at Luke. 

“You… by far… are the most annoying one they sent” 

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Another snap and this time it was a sheet from Julie’s file (he didn’t want to risk looking at other… fantasies she might have had. For both their sakes) 

“The Compatibility Test came back at 85%” he said, showing her the pie chart that the powers-that-be drafted up prior. Cupids swore by this test. 

Julie scoffed, shoving the paper into his chest, barely looking at it, “85% That’s not a ‘perfect match’.” 

“It’s the closest thing. And that’s perfect. And you should be lucky it’s that high,”

“So what you’re saying is that I should settle… for my true love?” 

Luke’s shoulder slumped, giving an unamused look. Maybe he should get Alex or Reggie to come down here. To explain that this was how it all worked. Because she was just… not getting it. 

And when in doubt, he referred to the chart...

“Shared history, have the same taste in shows and both work at the same record label. You prefer the actual cereal bits to Lucky Charms- judging you by the way-  while he’d rather eat just the marshmallows? Now come on!”

He grabbed on her shoulders, shaking them, “if that’s not love then I don’t know what is!” 

“That doesn’t mean shit,” 

“Why are you fighting this? This is fate! On paper!” 

“Look, I just…” Julie sighed, prying his hands off her and backing away, “I just don’t believe in it,” 

“In what?” 

“Love,” 

Luke choked on his own spit. 

Hold the fuck up. 

Was this girl for real? 

“What?”  

Julie nodded, not seeing the big deal, “I just don’t. Ok?,” 

BEEP BEEP

The pizza was ready, faster than either of them expected or maybe they were talking for that long. Julie took it as her excuse to distance herself from Luke even further. Meanwhile the Cupid was rooted to the spot, reeling from the girl’s admission. 

She brought it out of the oven and set it down on the counter to cool.

“Look, you seemed to have my life in that little manila folder, don’t know why you guys keep pushing for this if you already knew-” she broke off, stopping herself. 

Luke looked up, “Already know what?”

He summoned the file again and looked through her information. He hadn’t been aware something happened, something that had completely shattered Julie’s perception of love, if that was what the girl was hinting at. 

Luke went back to the beginning: 

Born June 25, Los Angeles General Hospital, born to Rose and Ray Molina and- 

Oh. 

He reached the blurb about her parents- her mom in particular. The red stamp spelling out ‘DECEASED’  told him everything he needed to know. 

Folder gone. Luke took tentative steps towards her, his face open and… sympathetic. 

Death was still a foreign concept to beings like him, but he had seen what it had done to humans, what it had done to the couples they had Matched. When one would day before the other, leaving them behind…

There was a reason why no one wanted to work in the Department of Grief in Mourning. Although it was good work, to help soothe the grieving after the loss of loved ones, it was harrowing to witness the pain that completely devoured a person. 

It would be hard to believe in anything like love after something like that. 

“I’m so, so sorry,” was the only thing he could offer up. 

Julie shrugged, “It’s fine,” 

“No, it’s not,” He was in the kitchen now and she held her hands up, halting him, 

“Listen...” she started. 

“Luke,” 

She sighed, “...Luke, whatever you got planned for me. Just forget it. I like my life the way it is and I just prefer to be alone.” 

“No one wants to be alone,” he uttered softly.

“Well I do. So…” her head gestured at the pizza- her dinner, “if you mind?”

Right. 

Time to go. 

“Okay,”

Luke nodded solemnly, picking his guitar up from the counter and pulling the strap on. 

Shouldering his instrument he walked-  yes, walked- to the door, to be courteous after all the… invasion of privacy and dredging up this poor girl’s past. He thought he would be the one to help, to get her Matched and be on his way back to serenading would-be couples. 

But he messed this one up like how he did with the assignment before. 

Each step he took, he ran through her words in his mind, hard to get her voice out of his head in the first place, her singing had done a good job making an impression on him. 

But something she had said earlier stilled his trek to the exit. 

Hand not even on the doorknob, he was already whirling around "But if you could just-"

"I thought I told you to leave," Julie said exasperated, setting down the slice she was about to dig into. 

"Just gonna ask you one last question," he raised his hands placatingly, "Just one." 

Julie shook her head, hip cocked, arms crossed, "What could you possibly ask me that you don't already know from 'my file'?" 

He sighed, and just threw the words out brazenly- 

"Do you even know what 'love' is?"

The question threw the girl off guard. Good. Points for Luke. 

For a second Julie just gaped at him, mind processing the words, "Like... that's just a-" she faltered, "That's a loaded question-" 

"Simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’"

"It's not a simple 'yes' or 'no'! Like what do you mean?" 

"The idea of love. You know it or you don’t,” 

The brows on her face furrowed and cinched at the inner corners "Like on a basic level- yes? I know about having love for family. For friends-" 

"So yes, you know," Luke took it a step further, "And it's real. The love you have for them, yeah? Even with your mom and your past friends, people you don’t even speak to anymore?"

She didn't dignify that with an answer. 

"Exactly. So don't go around saying you don't believe in love when the love you really don't believe in is strictly on the 'romantic side,'" 

Julie was ready to argue, "Now wait a minute-" 

"I have you there, you can't say I'm wrong," 

That got him a rolling of the eyes, "Fine. I guess, it's really the romance I just.... I just don't understand." 

Now hold on… 

Luke's eyes lit up. the opportunity literally having just presented itself. There may just be a way to salvage this whole night. 

He surged forward to the kitchen, to the counter, facing opposite Julie, a budding excitement that he hadn’t felt since the last time he played his guitar, when he heard her sing. 

"Then let me help you understand,” 

Julie frowned, "What?" 

"I'm a Cupid, practically born from Aphrodite, straight up goddess of Love. I can help you," 

"Help me what? Understand love?" 

“Romantic Love, yes!” 

The girl laughed from the sheer absurdity of what he was offering, “Uh… this is all too weird. I’d rather live the rest of my life cupid-free thank you very much.” 

“Come on, don’t you wanna try? I’m harmless. I swear,” 

That earned a raised eyebrow. But they both knew that he was a nuisance at worst . 

“What would you do then? Sprinkle some magic and get me to somehow believe in love?” 

He shook his head, “Well, as you probably can already tell, cupid magic doesn’t seem to even work on you. So, no. And it doesn’t work that way.”

He slammed his fists against the countertop, his eagerness getting the better of him, “I’m just saying, I can provide you experiences, show you my success stories, show you how great love can be!” 

For a minute, Julie stared at him. Then she leaned forward and Luke noticed it was more of a calculating gaze directed his way. 

“What are you getting out of this?” 

“What?” 

“You’re so invested in this. What stake do you have in my love life?”  

Luke cleared his throat, opting out of telling her this would all be a means to get back into his boss’s good graces. Which yeah, that was what it started off as, but no, he was more interested in solving the mystery that was Julie Molina. 

And of course, the larger issue at hand-

Unfortunately, he had to bring out her folder again. He opened it and turned it around so it was facing her. The sight of her own photo smiling back at her rattled her initially, but then he directed her attention to the red X. 

“This, right here, that means you’re at risk to spend the rest of your life alone. I don’t want that for you. Not when you could be with someone who could make you happy,” 

Julie studied the page, frowning. And even though she had said earlier that she would rather be single for the rest of her life, it must have been something else to see proof of it on paper. 

“And you think… that person’s Nick?”

He nodded. “Absolutely,” 

She gingerly closed the folder, not bothering to look at any of the other pages. She handed it back to him. 

“What if you’re wrong? What if this doesn’t work?” 

“Then we tried. And you’ll at least know a bit more about love. Isn’t that worth trying?” 

Luke waited, drumming his fingers against the counter as Julie mentally worked through the options. But mostly her eyes drifted to the pizza. 

“If I say yes, would you let me eat?” she said finally. 

A smile broke out on his face, “Wait, you’ll do it?” 

“Yeah, I guess,” she sighed, relenting. 

Luke pumped his fist in the air, being mindful of his guitar and the pizza, “Awesome!” 

“If you tell the rest of your friends to back off!” she negotiated, “And after your little ‘lessons in love’, there’s no pressure for me to choose Nick or anyone else for that matter. Understand?” 

“I promise I won’t let any of them bother you,” He shot finger guns at her, “You’ll be my assignment alone.”

Again with the eye rolls, but it was better than death stares. 

“Can’t believe I’m even entertaining this right now. I’ll probably regret it in the morning. Can I please eat now?” 

“Right. I should go anyway,” With one last slap on the counter, he skipped to the door, “Be seein’ you tomorrow!” 

Julie raised her hand, “Wait, I never agreed to-” 

“Peace!” And with that, Luke finally remembered he was a cupid. He shot a peace sign at her, grinning widely, and in a small flash of light he made his exit. 

And so it begins… 

Chapter Text

Oh my god, he was, like, so stoked to be doing this. 

First of all, it wasn’t everyday Luke got to talk to a human. Well- he had never spoken to one period. It wasn’t meant to happen, but now that he had, Luke was all the more curious to interact with Julie and spend some more time on Earth. 

(He almost didn’t want to leave, there wasn’t this kind of energy down there that HQ couldn’t even begin to tap into.)

Second of all, Julie was… well, out of all the humans he had observed and paired, she was different. An interesting different. A fun, mysterious, refreshing different-

But he could do without the whole ‘I don’t believe in romance’ thing. 

Then again, that was what intrigued him most about the girl. Not her heartstopping voice or her immunity to cupid powers. (Although he didn’t mind hearing more of that voice in the near future…) 

It was startling to read up about her mom, and it did explain much of why Julie felt the way she felt. This preference to solitude was clearly a line of defense to protect herself from being left behind. It explained why her social circle was so small and consisted of mostly people she had known for most of her life, like her family and Nick. 

And that should be all the more reason to pursue something with the guy! 

Okay, Luke, reel it back, he told himself. He did promise that he wouldn’t push her towards Nick. This was purely an educational experience and whatever Julie decided to do with what she learned, that was her business. 

But he was so determined to get this girl believing in love, like not even joking.  

Maybe it was because he was a hardcore romantic, but Luke just… loved love. 

And he just wanted that for everybody. 

Watching all the couples fall for each other was the absolute highlight of his work. 

Like, two people, the best and the worst of themselves just complimenting each other, vibing - this connection between them unlike anything ever before? It was always so deep and so powerful. And the euphoria he could feel radiating off of them when it happened? Warm and infectious and would send him smiling for the rest of the day. 

That hyper-empathy sure was a godsend because the closest Luke ever came to feeling that way himself, was when he was playing music… 

Immediately after returning to HQ, miraculously undetected, Luke made a beeline to the Archives and borrowed every single resource on modern day romance he could get his hands on. 

Yeah he was a Cupid. He should be this all knowing being of love and romance, but Luke wanted to cover all of his bases when it came to teaching Julie.

He really was going in blind, grabbing YA novels and chick flicks left and right before deciding to just… take everything from the last 20 years. Ignoring the judgmental stares for the mountain of shit he was collecting (and how loudly he was collecting them), Luke booked it for a breakroom he knew would be empty. 

They didn’t have houses here in Love HQ, or beds really. The breakroom was the next best thing for any semblance of privacy and quiet time. There was an unspoken rule amongst the Cupids to not use them though, being the workaholics they were. It was actually kind of frowned upon to be doing anything but work, but Luke didn’t care.  

And besides, it wasn’t like sneaking in a jam session with the guys, something he had been scolded at many times before (and had actually banned him from all break rooms for a period of time). If someone were to walk in, he could pretend to be working. 

Although that may be suspicious to most. 

Headphones in, listening to Huey Lewis’s ‘Power of Love’, Luke was fully immersed in a copy of a Nicholas Sparks novel (which one, he didn’t fuckin’ know. They were all the same in hindsight), when Reggie found him, clearly seeking refuge from work. 

His fellow Cupid grinned at him, struggling to take a seat next to him, amidst the towering piles of books, DVDs, and soundtracks. 

“The Library of Love open for business?” he quipped, laughing at how stupid concentrated Luke must look right now, “Seriously, what’s all of this?” 

Luke slipped the headphones off, having them rest on his neck. He tapped his page with the end of his pencil, “Research.” 

“Uh huh,” Reggie watched him jot a couple notes down in his journal, his journal meant to be reserved solely for songwriting. But not like any of the songs would see the light of day anyway. 

This added to his friend’s suspicion. 

“Harrison’s really got you doing a lot of grunt work,” 

“Not Harrison,” 

“Can’t be, not when you’re practically buzzing. It’s like you want to be knee deep in books-” 

“And movies,” Luke waved around a copy of Titanic , ”Got them too.”

Reggie crossed his arms, “Mind telling me what’s going on?” 

“This is for an assignment,” Luke admitted, closing his book ( Walk to Remember it turned out) and already moving on to Jenny Han’s works, ”Well, an unofficial one.” 

“No such thing, buddy,” Reggie poked him in the stomach, “That’s usually code for ‘doing something I’m clearly not supposed to’.” 

Luke shot him a look, “Yeah, you’d know that, wouldn’t you?” 

He was referring to the smartphone burning a whole in the other Cupid’s pocket, the one he wasn’t supposed to have. In fact, no Cupid was allowed to have tech from down below unless for educational purposes. And from what Reggie told him, he was using this phone for anything but that. 

Instinct took over and Reggie hurriedly swept the room for any potential eavesdropping, panic blossoming in a blush rising from his neck and into his cheeks. 

“Hey,” his hand was on his friend’s wrist, steadying him, “Relax. We’re the only ones in here.”

Reggie breathed a sigh of relief, “Sorry just… just a force of habit.” 

“No worries. Not like I’d leave you to the wolves. And I know you’d do the same for me…” 

It must have been his use of a cryptic tone that Reggie finally caught on, his brows shooting up. 

“You were on Earth, weren’t you?” he whispered-yelled at him, gesturing to the tableful of stuff. 

“He was where ?!” 

The boys were on their feet at the sound of a new voice, only to be relieved that it was Alex, who had happened to walk through the door. 

Luke flinched, knowing he was in for it now. 

Alex crossed the room in seconds, the drummer’s hands gripping tightly on his shirt collar while Reggie leapt to close the door, keeping watch for any other cupids who could potentially walk in. 

“Hey Alex, I-” 

“Dude, you’re gonna get put down in Archives for the rest of eternity if you keep doing shit like that!”

“I know, I know-”   

“Imagine if Harrison caught you,” The blonde’s voice lowered in volume but raised in pitch, pointing heavenward, “Or worse.” 

Luke wrenched away from his friend’s grip. Sensing the start of a spiral, he helped Alex to a chair, but the cupid refused and began to pace the length of the room. 

“And there goes the band!” he muttered, “Did you know they assigned Bobby to our section after you left?” 

Luke groaned, “ Bobby? The guy who’s always playing Michael Bolton?” 

“It’s. Been. Torture!” Reggie complained, punctuating each pause with a head bang against the door. 

“Seriously, you need to do whatever you can to be forgiven and come back to us. If I hear one more rendition of ‘If A Man Loves A Woman’, my gay heart won’t take it. I will die.” 

“We’re Cupids, boys. We don’t die,” Luke reminded him. 

“You clearly haven’t had a set with Bobby. You’d want to die by the end of it,” 

Ugh. Luke didn’t need that image of Bobby on his lyre, leading the boys in creating a romantic atmosphere with Michael Bolton… So outdated...

“No, don’t you worry about it. I got a plan to get back out there on the ground, jamming with you guys in no time,” 

It took some time but Luke and Reggie managed to get Alex to a chair. And once he was seated, Luke finally took notice of the disheveled state the cupid was in. His normally pristine white hoodie and jeans were scuffed up with streaks of gold- the cupid blood, and the cap he wore on his head was crooked, the bill dented. 

“The hell happened to you?!” 

Alex glared into space, “A Trickster happened,” 

“The same one?” 

“Yeah,” 

Luke and Reggie shared a look. Not again. 

There needed to be some balance in the universe, Luke understood that. And since there were Cupids, the embodiment of love and togetherness- basically sunshine and rainbows, then there must be those who offset that- the literal embodiments of chaos- Tricksters. 

It wasn’t like they were out there promoting hate or whatever, but more like they lived to cause trouble and make the humans’ lives harder than they needed to be. Luke had a few run-ins with some of them (none of which were good), and from then on he would steer clear whenever he saw one. 

Alex was the same way too, yet no matter what he did, he would keep encountering a Trickster whenever he was out on solo assignments. And it seemed like this Trickster’s own assignment was to wreck Alex’s- going out of their way to keep a Match from happening. 

The last he heard about Alex and this Trickster was an incident at the museum. Alex had been busy orchestrating the mood for a couple meeting at gallery opening, and this Trickster had thought it would be funny to start screeching inside the museum, freaking everybody out and killing the mood. 

Luke would have found it funny if it hadn’t caused Alex so much distress. 

They prompted Alex to fill them in on what happened today, which was another foiled attempt to Match, but this time Alex made the mistake of trying to chase after the guy to confront him. 

Apparently he couldn’t keep up and got battered in the process. 

“Look, he’s always targeting you when you’re alone. Bring some backup. At least Reggie. Bobby too since he’s in,” Luke instructed, but inside he was ready to go down to wherever the hell those Tricksters meet and make the guy pay. 

Alex shook his head, “No, I can handle a stupid little Trickster,” He hissed, much of his superficial wounds beginning to heal, “God I hate that they’re always just so… so…” 

“Annoying?” Reggie tried. 

“Destructive?” Luke followed up. 

“...so smug. His stupid little, smug smile after he ruined everything. The guy had the audacity to wink at me before rolling away!” 

Reggie cocked his head, “Roll?” 

“He’s on one of those skateboards that humans ride. Like come on, you’re like us. Just poof everywhere,” And Alex was on his feet once more, “But don’t think we could just change the subject. What’s this about Earth?” 

For a minute, neither Luke or Reggie said anything. 

Alex pinched the bridge of his nose, pointing to Luke, “Why is it always you” then to Reggie, “And you too, who drag me into your shit?” 

“Because you’re like 90% of our impulse control,” Luke said. 

“Yeah, see what happens when you leave us alone?” Reggie made a sweeping motion over the table, “Luke’s reading!” 

“That’s- that’s not a bad thing, Reg,” Then the rest of Reggie’s words caught up to Alex, “But hold on, why are you reading?” he asked Luke- 

-who decided to bust out a sheepish smile, “Can you keep a secret?” 

“Luke-” 

“Just, listen...” 

And it was Luke’s turn to do some explaining to his friends, about where he was tonight as well as the reason he was voluntarily reading . By the time he finished, he was met with a pair of slack jawed expressions. 

“ #9102020?! Really, Luke?” 

Oh. Apparently, Julie had racked up quite the reputation, given how shocked Reggie was. And how stressed Alex was. 

“Her name is Julie, and she needs help,” 

“Yeah, serious institutional help because… she can’t- she couldn’t possibly see you and hear you!” 

“She can. And she’s Immune to whatever cupid magic that makes us invisible- and did I tell you that I can’t get a reading from her?” 

Reggie leaned forward, pure wonder in his eyes, “What is she?” 

“A human. And a lonely one. And shouldn’t it be up to us to get her to her True Love?” 

“But you’re supposed to be up here, at your desk. Not on the field,” Alex reminded him.  

Luke knew that, and he knew that going to see Julie was going to require some sort of sneaking around. But he was sure he got it handled, planning to space out his visits so it wasn’t obvious, not lingering on Earth for a noticeable amount of time. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured. 

“Luke,” Alex warned. 

“I’ll be careful,” 

Luke didn’t want to have this conversation right now, and he was already migrating to the table before Alex could try to talk him out of this. He patted the stack of DVDs, switching the subject.  

“Now, how many of these Rom-Coms can I knock out before tomorrow?” 

“Tomorrow, already?” whistled the blonde. 

“Yeah. Best to start early,” 

“Um, Luke. Aren’t you forgetting? There’s only so many hours on a regular Earth day? You’ve got, like, enough movies here to last a whole human lifetime.” Reggie pointed out, pulling out his phone and marking the time. 

“But she needs to see these. These,” he swiped the case for Dirty Dancing , holding it up “are the building blocks of manifesting the kind of kick-ass romance you’d always dream of!”

And since Luke couldn’t read Julie, seeing how she would react to some of these would give him a better idea of what he was working with. Movie taste could say a lot about a person. 

If he could pinpoint her favorites among these, then he would know what kind of romantic fantasies she could be secretly harboring. And maybe help make her believe that such fantasies were in the cards for her. 

“Need to vet them before I leave some of them with her”

The other two grimaced, “What? Like homework?” 

“I don’t wanna overwhelm her, guys,” 

Giving her movie recommendations would allow for Julie to go about them at her own pace, and he couldn’t be there to watch a bunch of these with her- the time frame too small.

But then again, it would be an excuse for her to put them off. Luke was trying really hard to ignore the other cupid’s comments on her file, the words ‘uncooperative’ occupying his mind, but he wouldn’t put it past Julie to say she watched them when she really didn’t.

He should be more firm about this, now that he thought about it. 

 “Oh, Luke, Luke, Luke-y, Luke.... ” Reggie tutted, an idea sparking, Luke recognized, “I think there’s a much better way to go about this...” 

Reggie was a genius. 

A total genius. If Luke could name a Cupid more romantic than him it would be Reggie. Even Alex, who normally had a sarcastic remark ready every time Reggie opened his mouth, applauded the idea. 

The boys helped him figure out the specifics of the plan, helped him scour the database for the perfect place for it. And, since time flew by differently in HQ,  before he knew it, Reggie was telling him it was already time for him to go. 

Luke poofed into Julie’s apartment, catching the girl off guard and she would have fallen off her barstool if Luke hadn’t been nearby to catch her. 

“Hey!” he chirped, setting her upright. 

Hair tied into a messy bun and sporting a baggy mustard-colored sweater, Julie was clutching at the spot on her chest where her heart would be, “Jesus, you scared me!” 

“Sorry,”

Julie took some deep breaths, probably reigning in her frustration. She adjusted the glasses resting on her face, having been knocked crooked upon Luke’s sudden arrival. 

“Normal people don’t do that. And you… Cupids definitely shouldn’t do it either. What are you doing here?” 

Luke flopped onto her couch, sending her pillows tumbling to the floor, making himself comfortable, “It’s tomorrow o’clock isn’t it?” 

“Oh my bad, you’re punctual. I’m just rude and forgot,” 

Wow, her sarcasm could rival Alex’s. But it really was his fault that he didn’t specify the time, Julie had probably been spending the day super vigilant, anticipating him popping up from around the corner. Whoops. 

He took her in now, dressed in her pajamas (wait, were those… dinosaur slippers?)- she seemed ready to go to bed. 

Yeah, not on his watch. 

“Get dressed,” he all but instructed. 

And of course it was met with resistance,“Why?” 

“Time for your first lesson,” 

“Where are we going?” 

Finger raised to his lips, he smiled, “It’s a surprise,” 

“Cuz that’s something every girl wants to hear from people who break into their apartments…” she muttered but shuffled off to her bedroom anyway. 

She emerged 10 minutes later in jeans and a different sweater- oh, which reminded Luke. 

“Do you have a shirt I can borrow?” 

“Looking for something with,” she eyed his all white outfit, “sleeves?” 

He shrugged, “Anything really. It’s just where we’re going, we’re most likely to run into my coworkers. Can’t have them recognizing me.” 

“Ah,” she was back in her room, her voice still carrying from the opened door, “I take it that you’re not supposed to be doing this. Helping me.” 

“Yeah no,” He left the couch and leaned against the wall adjacent to the hallway leading to her room, “This is off the record.” 

“Then what’s stopping them from sending another one of you?” 

“Trust me. No one’s lining up to be your Cupid right now,” 

Julie appeared, a pleased smile firmly set on her lips and wielding a large black T-shirt, “Nice.”

“Lucky for you,” he accepted the offered article, “I don’t scare easily.” 

“Wow. Lucky-” 

Luke stripped off his white shirt, exposing his bare chest. 

“-me.” she finished lamely. 

Julie gulped, looking like a deer in headlights. Quirking an eyebrow at her sudden tongue-tied blunder, Luke slipped her shirt on his body… slowly, at which Julie averted her eyes and excused herself to grab her shoes. 

Again, he was having fun teasing the human. 

Once dressed (he was thrilled to see it was a Nirvana tee) Luke tasked Julie to drive the two of them out of the city, giving her the instructions he got from HQ, dodging Julie’s questions until they arrived at their destination 20 minutes later. 

“A drive in?” Julie remarked, pulling into the lot and passing the fluorescent neon signs that said so. 

“A movie marathon!” 

He pointed to the showings and indeed there were three movies lined up for the night- all ‘90s Rom-Coms. 

“I did mention Netflix yesterday, right? You know I have that. At home,” 

“No, you need the whole experience,” Luke insisted, squirming in his seat, absolutely jazzed to be here, “If I’m gonna be teaching you about romance then I gotta take you back to the start,” 

There was already a parade of cars entering the spacious lot in front of the screen. Julie had to fight tooth and nail to snag a spot. And it was a good one too, right smack dab in the middle. 

“Ah yes, a car park,” she switched off the engine, “The birthplace of romance. And my friend Flynn. Or so she tells me.” 

Um. Ok?

Luke… wasn’t sure how... to respond to that, so he was fiddling with her radio for the set station, “Look, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that movie dates are, like, always the perfect first dates-” 

Julie faced him, a slight edge in her voice, “Is that what this is? A date?” 

His fingers slipped on the knob, static blasting out the speakers, wreaking havoc on his ears. 

“Oh,” he shook his head vigorously, hands up in surrender, “No, no, no-”

“Wow, you could say ‘no’ a couple more times-” 

Luke winced. He didn’t- he didn’t think- 

Oh Aphrodite. 

That was certainly what it looked like, didn’t it? 

With the two of them in a car park full of couples preparing to watch (or not watch, Luke knew what couples would get up to in their cars) these rom-coms… and oh fuck, with him flashing his abs at her back at her place (he was just messing with her! He would do that kind of stuff with Alex and Reggie!)- 

Julie was, yes, very pretty and really cool, but he wouldn’t. Although she wasn’t his assignment in an official capacity, Luke was supposed to be professional. He was meant to ease her into the idea of romance, to get her to trust him enough before he could give her more out-there pointers.  

And one way to not do that was make her think he was pulling the moves on her. 

“I’m not trying to hit on you, I swear,” he explained so as to not scare her away, “I’m just your love teacher. That’s all.”

It worked somewhat, she relaxed slightly, most likely due to his piss-poor phrasing. 

“Please tell me you’re a better singer than speaker,” 

He sighed, feeling safe enough to smile again, “I am. I’m just trying to say that it’s great when starting out. Easing you into this whole romance thing. Like, no pressure when on a movie date, right?”  

Yeah, movie dates would get a bad rep for being awkward. Not a lot of opportunity for conversation, too dark to see the other person clearly if not for the projector, the anxiety of whether or not to make a move, the slightest brushing of hands or nudging of thighs- 

But that was the beauty of it. The absolute rite of passage one must take before embarking on more elaborate and emotionally taxing dates. 

Now, he had read up on Julie’s file and she had been on quite a few dates, but it wouldn’t hurt to bring it back to the basics, to have her surrounded by that kind of nervous energy, the kind mixed with sweaty hands and soda-stained lips, the unbridled excitement a teenager would feel while on the cusp of their first venture into love. 

He hoped to recapture that magic here tonight. 

Julie seemed to agree with his reasoning, and relaxed more now that it was clear that Luke was doing this purely for educational purposes. She took it upon herself to adjust the radio so they could hear the previews playing on the screen. 

“What movies are we seeing again, Lover Boy?” 

“ 10 Things, Pretty Woman, and Clueless, ”

Clapping her hands together, she let out an enthusiastic, “Yes!” 

“Y-You like them?”

She seemed offended by his incredulous tone, “Of course. I’m not a downright cynic. I have taste.” 

Oh thank gods. They could have had a real problem if she didn’t like any of these classics. He and the boys were raised on this shit. They practically screened these films to Cupids fresh from conception. 

Humans had Barney and Dora, Luke had Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant (but they were not showing Knotting Hill tonight- Dammit!)

“Alright, don’t enjoy them too much, you could learn a thing or two from the movies,” he kicked back in his seat as the first of the movies began to play on the big screen. 

“Can I learn with popcorn?” she asked, “I’m starving…” 

After Luke poofed to the snack bar and copped two bags of popcorn, they began her lesson. 

Luke couldn’t remember the last time he sat down and watched a movie, much less it happening in a drive in. He had been to a couple in the past, even to this particular location, but it was always for work and he could never stay for too long. 

The first movie went on swimmingly, and by the time Julia Roberts was strutting down the street in her fancy new digs on screen, Luke could safely say that none of his colleagues were showing up tonight to do their job, allowing himself to unwind. 

Not fully though, because he kept sneaking looks over to Julie, gauging her reaction to the movie every now and then. It was great to see that she was actually enjoying herself, too enraptured by what was happening on the screen to notice his creepy staring. 

She sighed wistfully at all the right parts, laughed during the jokes, and joined in the audience cheering during the final kiss on the terrace- which was fan ‘freakin’ tastic. 

And it only puzzled Luke even more. 

How could a person root for romance but didn’t want that for themselves? 

During the intermission between Pretty Woman and Clueless , they chilled in the car and talked about the movie, and Luke was finally hitting his stride when talking to her now, especially when it was the most normal conversation the two of them had ever shared. It was nice.

There were the occasional hoots and hollers from the many teenage couples, but nothing too obscene. Luke was hopeful that this night would turn out well, that Julie was slowly warming up to him, and that she wouldn’t have regret letting him bring her here. 

Pretty soon the next movie started, and although less on the ‘Rom’ side in this rom-com, Clueless was one of Luke’s favorites. Mostly because he was able to quote the entire movie off the top of his head. 

He caught himself reciting Paul Rudd’s lines verbatim, and this time Julie was the one to look over at him, but before he could apologize- 

“What’s the point? Everywhere you go there’s valet,” she followed up with Cher’s line, not missing a beat. 

And then so it went, the rest of Clueless they were running the lines back and forth, almost challenging, to see who would slip and miss a word or two, and Luke was stunned to think that he may have just met his match. 

They got to the one scene where Cher was about to realize her feelings for Josh, Julie was in mid-monologue when loud bickering from the car next to them interrupted her. 

She did a quick once over and sank into her seat, trying not to mind the noise and focus on what was happening on screen, but Luke full on turned and saw an older couple arguing intensely with wild hand gestures and everything. 

Luke frowned, and before he could stop himself he was snapping his fingers, switching the radio station in the other car. Gradually, the bitter words ceased to be, replaced with music softly playing in the car (it may or may not have been their song). His ears picked up on apologies, some sweet sentiments shared, and oh-

Yep, they were now making out.

Safe to say they were no longer fighting. You’re welcome everyone. 

“Couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Julie said, witnessing what just happened. 

“They shouldn’t be talking during the movie,” Or yelling...

Now it was the second time tonight that Julie regarded him somewhat frostily, “Hey if they wanna fight then that’s their business.” 

“And interrupt Cher’s big moment at the fountain?” he waved off her concern, trying to direct her attention back to the screen, “Shh, you need to see this, this is very important-” 

But Julie wasn’t done, “You know life isn’t at all like the movies?” 

“It could be,” 

“Nah. Life’s not as predictable,” her eyes flickered to the now made-up couple, “And it never goes the way we want it.” 

Woah. Ok. 

Julie wasn’t a fan of his powers. She didn’t like how he used them just now, and Luke didn’t get it. He did a good thing, right? He stopped the fighting, and the last time he checked, fighting was bad. He saved the evening for them. 

Did she have a problem with him meddling? But that was what he did. It was basically ingrained in his being, in all of the Cupids really- 

Like the ones who had paid her a visit before. Who had tried to force her into doing something she clearly did not want, to get her to follow the plan. 

Fuck.

It must have been so jarring for her to see him influence humans with just a snap of his fingers, how effortlessly he could do it, and if Julie hadn’t been the only exception, she would have easily been like that couple, susceptible to his meddling. 

Before he had prided himself that he was nothing like his soulless coworkers, but tonight just proved that he wasn’t at all that different. 

Luke had no response, the worst time to be terrible with coming up with words, and so Julie took it as ignorant silence and stuck to her side of the car. 

She was quiet for the rest of the movie. 

Luke honestly expected Julie to call it a night after the second movie, but instead, she left the car to go and stretch her legs. And not one to want to leave things unsaid, he wasted no time in following her. 

She wound up at the snack bar. He was straggling behind but he could hear her order a milkshake. 

Awkwardly, he rested against the side of the wooden structure that had seen better days while she waited at the counter. 

“I didn’t mean to, you know,” he cleared his throat, “Be like them.” 

Julie pulled her phone out, tucking it between her ear and shoulder as she fished out her wallet, “You’re all used to getting your way, aren’t you?” she pretended to speak into the device.

“Some of us, yeah,” he revealed, “But it’s not like I was controlling their minds. I just give a little push.” 

For some reason, that hint of disappointment in her gaze gutted him. He had only known this girl for a little over 24 hours and already he couldn’t stand to make her so upset. 

“Have you tried letting things happen naturally? Or is that not your style?”  

“Weird to say naturally when, technically, we Cupids are forces of nature,” 

“Look, it’s just-” she stopped to pay for the milkshake, now taking the frozen treat in her hand, “It’s just strange. I know that’s what you guys do, but it’s wrong. At least, it feels like it for me,”

“Even though we’re trying to make people happy? I want to make people happy. And I could. That’s wrong to you?”

It sounded like he was dismissing her feelings. But no, he just… wanted to hear exactly what she thought about it. No minced words, just spell it out for his dumb Cupid ass to understand. 

There was a lot he had yet to understand about how humans operate. He thought he knew… but everything with Julie made him question all that he had ever learned. 

“Let me put it like this,” her patience wearing a bit thin, “Do you want people having a say with who you could be with?” 

“No,” 

“Exactly,” she took a sip of her milkshake, “I want to be happy. But on my own terms.” 

Luke processed what she said, and it was… admirable. What she was striving for. It made sense to him now. Made sense why she fought back against the Cupids that had come before him. 

She wanted a say in how she wanted to spend the rest of her life. 

Whether that would be Nick, someone else, or no one entirely. 

For all the time Luke had known Julie, it was only now that he saw her resistance to Cupid powers as some sort of blessing. She had control. She exercised that control. Cupids got mad, and they shouldn’t be. 

Having any sort of freedom was something that Luke craved, to be free to go wherever, to play the music he wanted to play. 

He might just be jealous of Julie at the moment. The girl who did not believe in romance was living more of a fulfilled life than any of them could ever imagine. 

They began the slow walk back to the car, Luke maintaining a respectable distance behind her, “You could go home if you want-” 

“Oh no. I’m staying for 10 Things I Hate About You . It’s my all-time favorite. Might as well see it since I’m here,”

Luke nodded but didn’t enter her car along with her, he wasn’t sure if she would appreciate his company right now. 

He made rounds on the lot while the last movie played, thinking more about what Julie said. And the more he thought about it, the more he wondered why he didn’t just cut his losses and poof back to HQ. It would for sure save him and Julie a lot of trouble. 

Leaving Julie behind didn’t seem like an option though. Not one he would have liked to choose anyway. He was already hooked, this girl had totally changed the game, and Luke wanted to still play. 

But it was up for Julie to decide if they should continue. 

No matter where he was on the grounds, he kept his eye on Julie while she watched the movie. He saw her bobbing her head to Letters to Cleo, mouthing the dialogue like she had done earlier, and, of course, leaning forward in her seat every time Heath Ledger was on screen.

Now, Luke could only put together what kind of guy this Nick Danforth-Evans was, but it wouldn’t be inaccurate to assume that he was nothing like Patrick Verona, the guy that Julie was obviously oggling. This devil-may-care attitude, roguishly handsome tough guy with a dose of softness was more up her alley, it seemed. 

And she deserved to choose someone that aligned with her tastes. And she could choose. Lucky. 

Damn, it was like the concept of choice and free will was foreign to him until now. Or at least set in a different light. 

It was so intriguing. 

Just like Julie. 

He stayed away from her until the credits rolled and cars began to head out. She rolled her drivers window down as he approached. 

“Can I see that you get home safe? Then I’ll get off your back,” 

If this was some slick way to try and spend more time with her, Julie didn’t comment. Or refused. 

Expressionless, she nodded and unlocked the door so he could pile in. 

It was quiet on the way back , only the sound of the radio playing in the background but it set so low that Luke strained to hear it. Oh well, it made it better to conjure up another round of apologies before he had to go back to HQ. 

Though it wasn’t until Julie was nearing her place that she threw him a curveball- 

“I had a good time tonight,” 

Luke’s neck could have snapped at how fast he turned his head at her. 

“W-What? Really?” he asked incredulously. 

Did-did they not experience the same night?

Her grip on her steering wheel slid along the curve. She blew out a weary sigh, the crease on her forehead coming in and out of view until it disappeared. 

“Things have been...shit at work, and it’s been a while since I was able to go out and do something else for a change. For what it’s worth, I kinda needed this,” she confessed, “So thanks.” 

“Oh,” was his dumb reply, “Glad that it helped. In some way.” 

The silence resumed until they arrived at her place. 

Turning into the garage and killing the engine, Julie unclipped her seatbelt and moved so she fully faced Luke, folding her legs underneath her on the seat. 

“You said ‘happy’ earlier,” she recalled, her brown eyes boring into his hazel,  “Not just tonight. But yesterday too.” 

“Yeah,” 

“You know...when the others were trying to set me up with Nick, I’d ask them why, like I did with you yesterday. Why were they so invested in the success of my love life? They gave me all these reasons, most of them saying it was meant to be, that they wanted me to follow the plan...” 

She paused. 

“...Not once did any of them say it’s ‘to make me happy’.”

Those bastards. 

They never… they never factored in Julie’s happiness? How could they not have thought about that? 

Soulless. He was right to say that about his coworkers. It was all about the work to them. Matching people and facilitating love was a job, something to clock in and clock out for. Love to them was recorded for paperwork, not for poems or songs. It had always irked him that it was treated that way. 

Good to know that there was something setting him apart from the rest after all. 

“That’s why I do this,” Luke went on, “I like seeing how my gifts, like my music, make people feel. If I could make a difference in their day, in their lives, if I could just put a smile on their face,” he shrugged, “that’s when I feel like I’ve done my job.”

He was nearly out of breath as he concluded his little speech. And he meant every word of it. He needed to know that he cared not because he was supposed to. But he actually did care whatever happened to her. 

Their staredown went on for a couple minutes more before Julie asked, “When’s the next lesson?” 

The surprise never ceased, “You still wanna do this?” 

“Yeah,” 

“Uh,” Luke recovered, racking his brain to answer her question he had not been prepared for, “Not sure. I already took a gamble leaving two days in a row. It would have to be a while before I could visit you again,” 

“Noted,” She leaned forward, to whisper: “Hey, a little tip for next time?” 

“Yeah?” 

“You’ve ever heard of this thing called ‘knocking’?” 

That got a chuckle out of Luke, “Vaguely.” 

“It’s a human custom,” she enunciated slowly, with a flourish of her hands. 

“For gods sake, I’m aware, Julie,”

"Good," She punched him in the shoulder, “If I can get one of you Cupids to learn boundaries, then that’s when I feel like I’ve done my job.”

Now it wouldn’t be so crazy to think that it might just be Julie’s job. That she could be sent by some higher power to keep Cupids like him in line. She had already done it with the 9 before him, definitely knocked them down a peg or two. 

“I’ll, uh, see ya around?” 

The right corner of her mouth twitched and she waved, “Bye, Lover Boy.”

He took it as his cue to poof out of her car, off Earth, and into HQ. 

Appearing in the breakroom, where his boys were waiting for him, Luke couldn’t shake the feeling that during a lesson meant for Julie, he had walked away learning something. 

They all asked the questions- how did it go? Did any Cupids catch you? Did it work? 

But it was one question that made him freeze. 

Reggie’s eyes drifted from his face and onto his chest. 

“What are you wearing?”

In all the confusion, Luke had totally forgot- 

He was still wearing Julie’s shirt.

Chapter Text

Julie had the greatest job in the whole world. 

That was the conclusion Luke arrived at when he visited her at work a month later. 

Time worked differently in HQ than on Earth, this Luke already knew. It didn’t seem like it had been a month since he last paid Julie a visit, only felt like a couple days for him- 

A couple days of working diligently (well not too diligently- he did have his own reputation to keep). 

Ever since the drive-in, Luke had returned with a new shirt and a new perspective.

(He had been quick to relieve himself of the Nirvana tee however, in case a coworker, who was not as chill as Alex or Reggie, would walk in and zero in on the one piece of darkness in the otherwise immaculate, white space.) 

But what Julie said, about doing things on her own terms, stuck with him. 

It stuck with him when was at his stupid desk job, performing mind-numbing acts of stamping and paperclipping shit together, filing paperwork for the Cupids who took people with wants and full-fledged lives and reduced them to to-do lists and case numbers, all while he would rather be jamming out on his guitar and connecting with the people. 

But he had found himself thinking about Case #90102020, a.k.a Julie, a lot. 

He had been racking his brain for what he could teach Julie for their next lesson, but after how well the last one turned out, Luke was more apprehensive this time around. Alex and Reggie had thrown their ideas into the ring, but nothing was clicking for him. 

It was all this research and thinking process that was throwing him off his game. He would never do either. He was the ‘do first, face the consequences’ later kind of guy. That was just how he operated and it went fine- 

-until he got punished for it of course. 

So it was one day when Luke just… just about had it thumbing through papers to only the sounds of dozens of others doing the same thing. And when the opportunity to sneak away and see Julie presented itself, he jumped at the chance. Nothing prepared. Except for the bundle that was her shirt. 

He couldn’t find her at her apartment. After knocking (as part of human custom), there was no answer and Luke realized from the time of day that she must still be at her work. 

A minute later, he poofed over to Destiny Records. 

Woah. He knew that Julie worked at a record label, but it was just now hitting him how awesome that was. 

It was like stepping into a monument to music. His eyes grew with each framed gold record he passed, utterly speechless when he kept hearing legends’ names being so casually tossed around in conversation

(“We’ll workshop that with Paul McCartney next week” was a phrase he would never associate with some corporate guy sitting idly in his office chair, playing Among Us. But hey- that must be normal here? He was not one to judge. Look at where he worked for crying out loud.)

After snooping through the receptionist's computer and following the right people, Luke ended up in some sort of studio space. 

Peering from the glass door, he saw Julie at a grand piano, talking to a group of very important looking people. She kept pointing to something on her stand- a notebook. A lady in a pantsuit motioned for Julie, the universal sign of ‘Let’s run it back again’. 

Luke pushed the door open just a tad, in time to hear Julie play something on piano. 

The wonders of Julie Molina never ceased. 

Her fingers were flying on the keys, producing tight trills and thundering bass, all while she sang. Silently slipping into the room, ducking behind a tall speaker, he listened to that angelic voice once more, the impact hitting him more when he picked up on the words- the beautiful, well-crafted lyrics describing love and loss, and love again. 

Before Luke could get carried away with the flow of the song, the girl standing next to pantsuit lady cut her off. Now the next part, he wasn’t able to make out from his position, but there was a lot of head shaking, disappointed sighs, which… did not add up? 

Did they not like it? How could they not? Did they not hear the same fuckin’ thing?

What made it worse was how Julie reacted throughout all of this. She was nodding along with what they were saying, but that fire in her eyes while she was performing was snuffed out. That smile on her face was just courtesy. 

He didn’t need to use hyper-empathy to figure out her soul was leaving her body. 

A few minutes of back and forths later, the important-looking people, all led by the girl, made their exit, leaving Julie all alone at the piano, gathering up the sheet music and the notebook. 

“You can come out now,” she sighed, sparing a glance in his direction. 

Yikes. He must not have been as discrete as he thought. 

Luke, on any other occasion, would have had the decency to act sorta sheepish about getting caught, but instead he popped out from his hiding place and bounded over to the piano. 

“You’re a songwriter?!” he asked, excitedly sneaking peeks at the music. 

Of course she was! With her talent, how could she not? And how could she not work in a place like this?

Julie let out a soft chuckle, “It’s a sweet gig. Pays well,” she stuck her thumb in the direction of the doors, “Meeting mega-famous artists is always a plus.” 

Luke had no idea who it had been that was in here just now, and, frankly, he didn’t want to know. Not if they were so quick to dismiss Julie’s talent. 

The month apart far behind him, Luke joined her on the bench, “No dude, that’s, like, the sweetest gig! Getting paid to do music?” 

“Never thought Cupids cared for money as much,” 

“Oh screw money. Just saying that your passion is your profession. Not everyone has that,” 

He wished he could spend the whole day working on music. Matching people was great and all, but getting to put out songs? Now that was the dream.    

There might have been something wistful about the way he said it that Julie quickly backtracking on her earlier bitterness. 

“You’re right. You are absolutely right. I’m pretty lucky. It’s just...” 

“Bad days?” he figured and she nodded, “Last time you said that. Was it-?” he pointed to the door. 

“Not the same artist,” she cupped her mouth for a stage-whisper. “Believe it or not, the LA music scene is filled with a lot of assholes.”

Luke fake-gasped, “No. Really?” 

A genuine smile played along her lips, and Luke considered that a good sign.  

“Well,” he continued, pinching the sheet music pile, reading it over once more… 

“I have no idea what the hell they’re talking about. I think what you have is really good. And that’s coming from someone who’s been around the block and has heard a lot of music.” 

“How old are you even?” she asked, resting her elbow on the piano, propping up her face. 

“Not sure. Don’t really experience time like you humans do. But I’m pretty young. Compared to other Cupids,” 

“Been around the block, huh? But you have yet to exploit your powers to sneak a peek in a music studio?” 

“Is my fanboy showing?” 

(That could totally go for him fawning over her voice and writing skills too… ) 

Julie dismounted the bench and pulled out a pair of wireless earbuds from her pocket, “Come on.” 

“What?” 

“I’ll give you a tour,” she smiled, putting the earbuds on. 

Luke couldn’t leave the bench and follow her any faster. Holding open the door, Julie’s line of sight dropped, “You know Nirvana recorded here, right?” 

Oh yeah, he had swapped out shirts before showing up on Earth, again for stealth reasons, “I’ll give it back after we’re done, if you want?” 

“Nah. Keep it,” she poked his chest, “Definitely suits you.”

“For real?” She nodded and Luke couldn’t believe this girl’s generosity, a stark contrast to the frosty welcome he received the first time. He really shouldn’t accept the shirt, it was hers and it would be hard to hide in HQ. 

But he always wanted to own something that was so, like what Julie said, his vibe. The guitar and journal were his only treasured possessions. 

“Thanks,” 

“No problem,” 

She was down the hall when her words from earlier finally registered and he was sprinting behind her, “Wait. Recorded here here?!”   

Safe from being perceived as crazy, Julie, with earbuds on, was free to converse with Luke and show him around the studios. 

Luke felt like a kid on a school field trip (he assumed, since he never was a kid or have gone to school), but that childlike wonder was present when he ogled at every piece of rock memorabilia displayed in the corridors.

She gave him the rundown on the different rooms, pausing to greet a coworker, and telling by the warm smiles sent her way, Julie must be a delight to work with. Luke’s coworkers wouldn’t even so much look at him when he walked past, even go out of their way to avoid him at HQ…

At one point during the tour, Julie got them into an actual recording studio. 

They weren’t able to stay for long because it was booked for a slot coming up soon, but Luke internalized that awestruck sensation he felt when he saw the mic in the booth. For a moment, he imagined himself in there, laying down vocals for an album he and the boys would have slaved over. 

They concluded the tour at the front, near the reception desk- 

Right when a guy, who had just entered from the opposite wing of the building, waved down Julie from across the room, “Hey, Molina!” 

She returned the wave and met him in the middle, “Nick, hi!” 

Nick!

“Well, well, well” Luke clapped and rubbed his hands together, buzzing between Julie and Nick, but mostly staring at Nick, “So we finally meet!” 

“Shut up,” Julie warned. 

Nick regarded her, confused, “Huh?” 

She gasped, pointing at her earbuds, “Sorry, I was talking to, er, my... dad?” 

“Oh?” Then the blonde raised his voice towards her, “Hey Mr. Molina!”

“Hey Nickypoo,” Luke couldn’t resist replying, poking at him curiously. 

“Ah!” Julie practically ripped the earbuds out, “He went through a tunnel!“

Smooth , Luke mouthed at her. Seriously? Where was that snarky, collected girl he had spent the last month thinking about? 

She wanted to glare at him, he could see that, but she focused on Nick, trying to ignore the Cupid’s presence, “So, what have you been up to today?” 

“About to lend Flynn a hand with that new Templeton song,” 

“That’s exciting,” 

“Yeah. Working with her is always a good time,” he hummed, “At least after she’s had her coffee...” 

Julie couldn’t suppress a scoff, “More like 7 coffees. That girl sure likes caffeine.” 

“I can never. I’ll just be wired all the time and won’t sleep,” 

“Well, we can’t have that,” 

“No we cannot. Andi would be on my ass if I wasn’t keeping up with the best of the best,” he casually bumped her with his elbow. 

“Right,” she drew out, sticking her hands in her pockets- the classic ‘I don’t know what else to say’ pose. 

Huh. 

Luke took the lull in the conversation as an opportunity to look at this ‘Nick’ a little more closely. 

Good smile. Hair nicely trimmed. Kind eyes.

Yeah no. Definitely not Heath Ledger. But even in his mid twenties, Nick had this sort of boy next door thing going on, which could be read as adorable and non-threatening. A lot of people were into that nowadays. 

(Look at Timothee Chalamet for crying out loud). 

From a quick scan with his hyper-empathy, this guy was so smitten with Julie that it overwhelmed Luke's senses.  

There was a fondness he had for her, probably ever since when they were kids. Luke had read the file and saw the results, there were loads they had in common and had plenty of fun memories between the two of them- it was a recipe for off the charts attraction. 

And yet…

There was nothing of the sort happening between Julie and Nick.  

It didn’t make sense. 85%. There should be a vibe… 

But Luke wasn’t getting it, not from Nick. 

He had always thought whoever the universe had picked out for Julie would be able to be on that same energy as her. Like, when they were together they would be a flow, like a dance that they could seamlessly fall into, trading witty comments, making each other laugh, just ‘oozing’ sweetness, as Reggie would put it.  

But the first thing the guy did when he saw the girl was talk about work. 

Work! Seriously?

When someone talks to the love of their life, work should be the last thing on their mind! 

Even his compliment fell flat. Like Julie wasn’t blushing or smiling from it. Like he had said it so many times that it didn’t ring true for her anymore. 

Luke was experiencing a serious case of secondhand embarrassment watching these two talk. 

Oh Aphrodite, how more painful can this get?  

And it did.

Nick summoned a wrapped treat from his pocket, “Uh...Fig Newton?” he offered- a last ditch effort to keep this conversation rolling. 

“Fig Newton?”  The choice of snack said it all and Luke was just… not having it, “Might wanna ask him how old he is, Julie.” 

She was equally repulsed by the food but reduced her queasy expression into a tense smile, “Uh, no thanks. I’m actually just about head out to lunch so-” 

Nick side-stepped, stalling her, “Oh, where to?”

“Uh, well…” she bit her lip, her foot making little frustrated stomps as she tried to think of something, but really just started repeating, “Where? Where… exactly-?” 

Alright, Luke decided, Julie could not lie to save her life. 

He had to do something. This was pure agony. 

Mentally running through Julie’s file again, Luke swooped in for a rescue.

Recalling an incident from her past, he suggested: “Calico Cat Cafe” 

“Calico Cat Cafe!” she echoed. 

Nick’s face fell, his desire to join her for lunch now gone. Thankfully, Luke’s memory worked in their favor- 

Turned out ol’ Nicky was allergic to cats… 

“Wow,” was all the guy could say, and Luke almost felt bad, if it weren’t for the look of relief on Julie’s face. 

“Yeah. Meeting a friend there actually, so…” 

“I won’t keep you. See ya later? For that new project?” 

“Sure,” 

Then Julie made her hasty exit, leaving the building before wearing her earbuds again. She and Luke were hustling it down the steps, as if Nick was gonna all of the sudden develop dander immunity and follow her. 

“Thank you!” 

“No problem. Looked like you needed the out,” Luke kept checking behind him, “Do you really break for lunch?” 

“Yeah. But I am not going to a cat cafe,” 

The coast was clear, and amidst all the adrenaline for having pulled one over on Nick, Luke took hold of Julie’s hand, not caring how it might have looked to people, and tugged her down the street.

“I know a place. Come on.” 

Luke had taken her to the finest food establishment ever to have come out of a dingy Los Angeles alley.

This Sam ‘N Ella’s street food cart had been in the same spot ever since Luke first started his assignments in the ‘90s. Swiping one of these hot dogs had been a favorite past time between him and the boys.

“Did you have anything planned for me?” Julie asked between bites of her street dog, “Another lesson?” 

Luke handed her a napkin to wipe the dribble of mustard on the corner of her lips while they walked down Sunset Boulevard, “Not really. Maybe pick your brain for your thoughts on the movies.” 

She took it before anyone could see the literal floating napkin, “Right. I was supposed to have learned something.” 

“Now, I know you got lost in Heath Ledger’s eyes and sexy accent-” And there was that eye roll he was waiting for, “- but what did you get from it?” 

“Apart from the soundtracks, which totally slaps?” She thought about it, finishing off the last of her hot dog, “Love comes from the unlikely of places, I guess.”

“Exactly!”

The movies were all different, but that was the one running theme throughout Pretty Woman , Clueless , and 10 Things I Hate About You .

None of the leads thought they would end up with whoever they ended up with, but that was what made the whole romance thing fun.

Like maybe keep your heart open and you wouldn’t know who would be waiting for you to…   

“Sometimes it happens when you least expect it,” he recapped, “So I have a good feeling that it’s bound to happen soon. Just might be around the corner.” 

And after meeting Nick, Luke, now more than ever, was rooting for Julie to choose.

Like literally anybody else. 

“Don’t hold your breath,” Julie went to toss hers and Luke’s trash away in a nearby trashcan when she froze in the middle of the sidewalk. 

Luke didn’t have time to reach out and ask what was up because all of the sudden, his shirt was balled up in Julie’s fists and he was whisked off to the alleyway next to them. 

His back hit the brick and Julie pressed herself onto him, their heaving torsos bumping into each others’. 

Wow, she was so close, close enough that he caught a whiff of her peach shampoo…

And the mustard on her breath.  

He gulped at their sudden close proximity, “What are you-?” 

“Shh!” Her hand clamped over his mouth. Her eyes darted off to the side, and she tried to look out from beyond the alley.

Tired of the games, Luke licked her palm and she withdrew instantly. 

“Ew. Gross!” she wiped her hand against her pants. 

“Your street dog hands were on my mouth!” 

She shushed him again. 

“Oh would you just tell me what’s going on?” he whispered.   

By now, Julie had moved away from him, taking the warmth of her body with her. She peered over at something across the street. 

“Now, it’s LA, and everything’s a gimmick, but unless those guys are an NSYNC cover band, then I’m pretty sure they’re Cupids," she reported back.

Luke was, at first, panicked because he was not only away from his desk but he was out of uniform and fraternizing with a human. Harrison and higher ups would have his head for sure.

But he was also touched that Julie wanted to help him evade his coworkers. It was comforting to know that she must care about him somewhat that she wasn’t going to let anything happen to him.  

It was truly by some divine intervention that Julie’s quick thinking showed up now when they needed it the most. 

Because she sure didn’t have it earlier while talking to Nick. 

Luke dared to look out the alleyway, just to check, expecting the likes of Valeria or someone of high enough caliber to snitch on his ass. 

The music reached him before he saw them. 

Recognizing it, Luke grinned widely, grabbing Julie’s hand once more and pulling her away from the alley, “Come on.” 

“But-” 

“They’re cool. Don’t worry,” 

It was Alex, Reggie, and Bobby out on assignment. What were the odds? 

He and Julie remained on their side of the street, just waiting for either of his boys to take notice of him. It was Alex who spotted him first, thank goodness, and not Bobby.

He stopped playing and nudged Reggie, and the two of them whispered something to Bobby, who then poofed out. 

Now that he was out of the way, they crossed and Luke was reunited with his band. 

“Boys!” he tackled them in a hug. 

They clapped him on the back, laughing, “Luke!” 

It hadn’t been long since he had last seen them, but he never liked being away from them for even a second. Probably the worst thing about paperwork duty- the less chances for them to all hang.

The two Cupids stepped back and finally noticed an extra pair of eyes trained on them. 

Their drummer gawked, “Wait, is this-?” 

“Alex, Reggie-  meet Julie!”

Reggie, the ever lovable goofball, didn’t waste time waving at her, “Greetings, human!”

Meanwhile, Alex, the more cautious one, was slow to come near her. He timidly swatted at her shoulder and yelped when his hand didn’t pass through. 

She turned to Luke, eyebrow raised, “Your friends?” 

“Try ‘best friends’!” Reggie slung his arm over the other two Cupids.

Alex rolled his eyes, “Try ‘the most tolerable coworkers’.” 

“You guys on assignment?” Luke asked.  

Alex nodded, “Yeah, the lovebirds in question are due to show up in, like, 5 minutes,”

“How did you get rid of Bobby?” 

“Told him to get something for us. Made sure Reggie gave the instructions,” 

“I am never clear or easy to understand,” The Cupid proclaimed proudly to Julie, whose charms were already doing a number on the human. . 

She laughed openly, “Noted.” 

“Hey man, since you’re here, as fate would have it, come jam with us,” At that cue, they re-summoned their instruments. 

Luke shot Julie a look, hesitating, “Uh, I don’t know.” 

He knew she didn’t appreciate his Cupid magic back at the drive-in, and he didn’t want to rock the boat again. 

But to his surprise, Julie insisted, “I want to hear you sing.” 

“Really?” He wanted to be sure. 

“Yeah,” her smile morphed into a goading smirk, “Let’s see what you got, Lover Boy.” 

Well, he couldn’t say no to that… 

Taking up the challenge, Luke spun around and his guitar appeared in his hands, the strap already over shoulder upon completing his cycle. 

“Show off,” muttered Julie. 

“Oh the real show has yet to start,” Luke then addressed his friends, “What are we working with, fellas?” 

Reggie snapped and the case file was floating in front of him. Another snap and it was gone, “It’s a routine ‘second glance’ scenario.” 

“‘Second glance’?” Julie inquired.  

Alex explained: “Oh, so like when someone has known another person for a while, but are just now seeing them in a different way.” 

“Huh. Figured this was all ‘love at first sight’ kind of shit,” 

“We do meet cutes, but sometimes we really set it up for a shift in relationship status. Like childhood friends to going steady,” 

“Or friends with benefits to dating” Luke cut in. 

“Dating to… well,” The tall blonde blew out a breath, “Damn, it’s been a while since we got a proposal. Miss those.” 

“Glad that we’re at an age where we have completely outgrown the ‘Flash Mob’”

The three of them shuddered.  

Julie could only surmise, “Those must steal your thunder.” 

“The year we stayed far away from shopping centers and parks…” Alex recalled, a faraway look in his eyes, reliving the horrors. 

Reggie pointed to two women, maybe in their 20’s, on a stroll, having just left a cafe, “Hey. Incoming.” 

Now, Luke would always have a song ready to go, but as a courtesy (and for his own curiosity and amusement), he asked Julie. 

“What do you think?” 

“Taking requests?”

“Here and now. I will not be asking again,” 

“He never asks to begin with,” Alex mumbled to Reggie. 

Julie was on some quick thinking streak. She thought up a song in seconds. 

“Morning Benders. ‘Excuses’. You know it?” 

Again, the boys silently communicated with each other. 

They did, in fact, know it. 

But that song was 5 minutes long and was mostly instrumental and tight harmonies. Luke had always been about the power of the lyrics, he really poured a lot of the feelings into them.

But if they didn’t play this out right, playing this song that none of them had ever practiced as a unit yet, then the couple would pass by, disinterested, without hearing the words. 

Julie sensed their wariness, but she was resolute, “Trust me on this.”

It was a strange thing, Luke mused, that he had come to trust Julie’s judgement, not even knowing her for that long (a month was basically nothing in Cupid time). 

Yet, the girl knew music, and despite the back of his mind telling him to play a safer option, he rounded the boys up. 

“You heard the lady. ‘Excuses’ it is” 

Reggie swapped out his cello for the violin and Alex got out a busker’s drum kit, and they jumped into it, working that first instrumental segment just as the women were now within listening distance.  

He could see them walking next to each other, but not close enough to warrant a confident dating status.

There was some sort of tension building between them. Luke recognized it as things unsaid, things that needed to be said but they were afraid. 

It was like a minute and a half long in the first part and Luke was worried about losing them within the first ten seconds because, not to brag, often times his voice got the ball rolling. 

But no, they stopped. One of them held out a hand to keep the other from walking any further, and they both were trying to locate the source of the music. 

And then it was time for all of them to come in with their harmonies, and although Luke should be eyeing their targets, his focus was on Julie. More like Julie’s reaction.

He couldn’t help but be nervous. This was the first time he was singing in front of her, and he wanted her to think he was up to par with her, or at least not deemed horrible. 

Again, he wasn’t entirely sure why he favored Julie’s opinion, but all he knew was that he wanted to blow her away. 

When it was him next time, his voice and his alone, a shiver ran through his being at the sight of Julie bobbing her head, like she had the day he had first met her, swaying to the sounds, and smiling. 

It egged him on, he crooned the chorus with such fervor that it almost dominated over the equally as powerful harmonies Alex and Reggie were providing. 

“I made an excuse… You found another way to tell the truth…”

Ripping his focus away from Julie for a moment, he looked at the women across the way, who had gotten considerably closer to one another, and it seemed the power of the music making them sway like Julie was. 

“ I put no one else above us… We'll still be best friends when all turns to dust…” 

The taller of the two ladies, with some newfound courage, pulled the other into an impromptu dance, and Luke’s heart stuttered at the sight- because how freakin’ amazing was that? Slow dancing on Sunset Boulevard? 

It was meant to be a joke, them laughing and basking in the silliness. But as the song progressed, it happened. What Alex had explained to Julie- the shift. 

It was visible from over here. Their bodies stilled, the moment of realization of where they were, who they were, and who they were with. The realization of ‘yes, there was only one person I’d be willing to dance on Sunset Boulevard with’.

Their eyes met, and they leaned in, and kissed, not minding it was the middle of the day and they were in the presence of strangers going about on the street. This sealed the deal, there was not going back now. 

Luke and the boys didn’t stop playing until the women, hopefully now a couple, were out of sight. They were holding hands for the rest of their walk. 

“That worked. It worked!” Alex stood up, dropping his sticks, “That was incredible!” 

Luke clapped his boys on the shoulders, applauding them for their killer performance, “Did you hear us? The harmonies weren’t slack, guys. That was awesome!” 

Reggie high-fived Julie, “Never doubting you again.” 

“The song is basically what you guys talked about. The shift,” she explained her reasoning “From something purely sexual to maybe something that goes beyond.” 

The post-performance high halted for a second. 

Alex was puzzled, “We… but we never said-” 

“Come on. Can’t you tell? They’ve been totally casual up until now,”Julie said as if it were obvious. As if there had been a neon sign above the women’s heads that spelled out ‘friends with benefits’. 

Luke couldn’t ponder on it anymore because Julie straightened up, bringing out her phone, inspiration striking.

"We were casual up until now’. That’s a good line,” she whispered to herself typing it onto her notes before she forgot. 

“Woah. Just like Luke.” Reggie commented, “Always jotting down song ideas.” 

Julie stared at him, “You write?” 

“Sometimes,” 

“All the time,” chorused Alex and Reggie. 

Luke shrugged. He had to shrug, he didn’t want to deem himself a songwriter yet, not in the presence of an actual songwriter.

“Maybe I can show them to you?” he tried to say as casually as possible. 

“Not sure if I’m up to the task of poring through all your mushy love songs,” Julie ribbed sarcastically. 

Alex snorted, causing everyone’s heads to turn to him. . 

He cleared his throat,  “Sorry, it’s just- Luke? Writing love songs?” 

“Why? Shouldn’t that come easy to you? Being creatures of love or whatever?”

“Yeah, but it’s kinda funny though,” Reggie piggybacked off Alex’s dismissal, “Like, I mean, think you gotta be in love first before you can write a love song, amiright?” he elbowed her side. 

Luke’s eyes widened. 

Fuck. 

Julie now faced him. “Wait, what?”

“Dude!” Alex chastised, smacking their cellist upside the head, not disguising the concerned glances at both him and Julie. 

“Ow! What? Did I say someth- ohhh” Reggie’s hands covered his mouth once it hit him what he just did.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 

The horror of what had just been revealed made Luke sick to his stomach. It was like his whole world fell apart, the bubble burst- everything. 

Julie was- fuck. She was never meant to know that he had never been in love.

Because imagine how that fuckin’ looked? Him trying to teach her about love when he himself hadn’t… hadn’t even so much had a girlfriend. 

The Cupid world, in all its irony, didn’t leave them much opportunities to experience love themselves. It just… wasn’t in the cards for them. 

He had never been as embarrassed as he was now. Because it was nothing for other Cupids to know because they didn’t care.

But in front of a human? In front of Julie? It just made him a fuckin’ hypocrite with no experiences under his own belt to qualify him as a ‘love teacher’. 

Luke didn’t remember taking off his guitar or making it disappear. The next thing he knew, he was empty handed and his white Vans were skidding backwards on the sidewalk. 

“I-I should go. Um, before Bobby gets back,” he stumbled through his words like he did on his feet, refusing to look at Julie. 

“Luke-” she tried to speak to him, but he was already off, booking it down the street. 

He had been too frazzled to even poof away…

Chapter Text

Gods, he hated running. 

He really did. 

His legs were already giving out and his otherwise pristine sneakers were getting smudged and it was not a good look for him. But curse his nerves otherwise he would have poofed out in a flash.

To where? Back to HQ where he would be immediately hounded with stacks of paper waiting to be stamped? 

It shouldn’t have sounded as much of a sweet release as it did, but he could not face anyone right now. Not the guys and especially not Julie.

What the hell even happened to him? He used to barely stutter or get this shaken up. He would be the one to roll up his sleeves (if he ever wore them) and charge headfirst into anything. No fear. No regrets. 

But it seemed like ever since he met Julie, she found a way to pick him apart and bring to the surface all his insecurities. 

Again, she must possess some power to humble Cupids. If only she could redirect that power to just about any Cupid other than him at the moment, when his face was aflame and the street dog threatened to make a return trip… 

Racing down Sunset Boulevard didn’t pose a challenge, for he just barrelled through all the humans, like cutting through mist. 

This whole traveling on foot thing was all too foreign for him. When poofing there was a set destination in mind, going from Point A to Point B. 

For Luke, he didn’t know where Point B was. He was going in blind. He didn’t know where to go. Not like there were many inviting places around. A lot of it was riddled with crowds and roarous sounds and overwhelming sights. 

So when the first sign of, well, a sign- one faded, the readerboard letters misspelling the word ‘vacancy’, Luke just went ‘fuck it’ and took shelter in what would be a motel pool that had for sure had seen better days. The absence of any life was a testament to that. 

Climbing over the fence, he made it to a chair that squeaked and was a pound or two from snapping and giving way when he sat on it.  

Why, oh why did Reggie have to go out and say that? Luke mulled over. 

Yeah, his buddy sure lacked tact when it came to- er, everything. So did he, but he had the decency to keep secrets (ahem- the phone thing?).

The thing was he couldn’t blame him either. It didn’t seem much like a secret but more of a fact of life for Cupids- they just didn’t fall in love. Or at least, Luke had never heard of a case of that happening.

Kind of ironic that these creatures of love were incapable of experiencing such things.  

It never made sense to him. If what they were doing was that good of a service, that love was this important, necessary thing that the humans engage in- then why don’t they do too?

For the longest time, Luke would toss that question around, ‘why don’t we love?’ only to be met with responses that equate to ‘we just don’t’. And no one seemed particularly upset about that, already scurrying off to the next job to entertain him any further. 

That didn’t stop him from trying his hand in romance though.

There had been a Cupid he would see around his section a lot. Very pretty, they had worked together on some pairings before he was assigned to Ambiance and she with Interference. She didn’t berate him for asking questions and she had spoken more than 10 words in his direction-

So, girlfriend material. Naturally. 

Luke would do all the things he had seen the humans do. 

He tried to strike up a conversation to figure out her interests (“I don’t know. Getting this assignment done before noon?”), gifted her flowers (“Those are supposed to be for the subjects, Lucas!”), and, when all else failed, he resorted to showing off ‘the gunshow’ (“Why are you always out of dress code? Ugh. Indecent”). 

All attempts of flirting resulted in him feeling stupid afterwards and a reputation for being ‘unfocused’ on assignments to boot. 

And like, Luke knew that there were people who didn’t harbor any romantic inclinations for another. And it seemed as though every single one of his coworkers, apart from Alex and Reggie, felt that way. That was fine. Nothing wrong with that. 

But his coworkers lacked any kind of fondness for each other. Not even in a friendly way like he and his boys would get on. No sense of comradry or anything. 

It seemed there was no room for love of any kind in Love HQ. 

It must have been one of the few things early on that clued him in that he was not like other Cupids. That and his affinity for humans and all things Earth. Because he actually cared whether or not people cared for each other, or if anyone cared for him. 

It had been something he had been pretty insecure about because it had been treated like there was something wrong with him. 

Yeah. He may have acted out, toed the line, and had this Hades-May-Care attitude, but it was easy to play up the role of the rebel, the outcast, if it had been so readily given to you. 

Gritting out a frustrated cry, Luke’s face dug into his awaiting hands. He never meant to be so introspective. But Reggie’s outburst really just opened that can of worms. 

And just his luck, the one person he was trying to avoid eventually caught up to him (And he thought he had the leg up too!). 

A tornado of curly hair rocking a purple blazer swept through, her face slotting in the space between the metal bars of the fence. She was out of breath, a little flushed in her cheeks. 

Luke blew out a sigh. Chasing someone was too much. He was not worth the effort.

“Hey!” She hollered at him, “Have you seen a guy that just ran past? He’s got shaggy hair, a ratty old T-Shirt. May or may not reek of hot dogs?”

“Nope,” he grumbled, muffled by his hands.  

Julie stepped back to faux-wipe sweat off her brow. 

“Oh good,” she exhaled, relieved, “Cuz, I’m supposed to be the only one crazy enough to see him.” 

On any other occasion, Luke would have at least cracked a smile. But he wasn’t born yesterday, he recognized the tactic.

At first, Luke thought he was able to keep her at bay. She was a head shorter than him and wouldn’t be able to get over the fence just as easily as he had.

But Julie, the smart cookie that she was, merely walked around until she entered the building, said a few words to the front desk person, and now had access to the pool area. 

As she was making her way towards him, Julie stuck out like a sore thumb. Everything so dreary, the sun bleached table umbrellas pale in comparison to this girl and her vibrant appearance, maybe even essence if Luke wanted to go that far. 

Ugh. He was already too into his feels.

The chair next to him scooted and Julie now occupied it.  

“Are you gonna ask if this seat is taken?” he remarked, dryly. 

She scrunched her nose. “Nah. I’m just gonna skip all propriety. Figured it’d be too patronizing,”

“Gee, thanks,” 

Julie didn’t try to needle anything out of him. It didn’t feel like she was pressuring him to either, even if it must be killing her to not talk about it.

She kept herself busy, switching between picking the dirt out from her fingernails and scrolling through her phone, as if she was here in this dingy poolside to conduct business.

But the silence, despite having craved for it earlier while looking for a place to hide, Luke could no longer stand it. He was a musician and he just had to fill the static airwaves between them. 

“You can tell me to fuck off to the clouds now,”

Julie’s eyes never left her phone, “Why?”

“Why? It’s because I’m a fraud? I’ve got nothing worthwhile to teach you because it means absolutely jack shit coming from me?” Luke had to remind her. 

Again, there was no reason to have him as a teacher. He had thought just his existence and his experience matching people made him more equipped.

But one lesson in and he was already stumped. He really didn’t know where to go from the movies. Everything he had learned about love he had observed. 

What could he do? Show Julie a ton of movies until she understood? She had already said things would never be like how they were on screen. It would get old pretty fast…

Again, he needed to give Julie that out. It wouldn’t be the first time people stopped believing in him, stopped expecting anything from him.

She didn’t seem cross with him though. Only curious. 

“I never thought what it would be like for you guys. It never crossed my mind that you guys would even have love lives at all,” 

He shook his head, “Well, we don’t,” 

“But, like,” Phone away, Julie leaned forward in interest, elbows laid over the armrests, “How does it work up there? Do you guys not date? Get married? Do you even...” her gaze flitted to his lower body, “...well..?” 

“Yes. We have sex up there,” he rolled his eyes, instinctively crossing his legs, “But it’s treated more like a recreational activity than anything else.” 

Luke had his fair share of ‘encounters’ with co-workers but they never went anywhere. It was conducted almost very professionally and they were, oddly, very economical with their time to do it.

Luke never had no much more than a quick romp in a break room before both he and his partner were, again, off to the next assignment that day. 

He didn’t really care for that and eventually he just stopped engaging altogether, not really in the mood to watch his coworker callously walk off afterwards while he was still fumbling with his zipper, secretly hoping for something else. Something more. 

Julie didn’t seem to judge. She blew out a breath, “Stress relief. Well, that’s one way to do it.” 

“But dating? Falling in love?” he laughed at the oncoming irony, “It’s not something Cupids do. Love is in the job. Not with each other.”

“You… You don’t have families then?” 

Now, Luke could give her the briefest explanation on how it worked.

About how they were all basically created by Aphrodite, some directly and indirectly, but all referred to as her ‘children’. About how they never considered her to be mom. About how most of them had never even met her.

About how no one raised them and they appeared fully grown and ready to be put to work… 

“Those boneheads you met are probably the only family I got,” he opted to say instead, “The only ones I ever really need.”

And that was true. Meeting Alex and Reggie, outcasts themselves, had been a blessing. Like finally! People who understood! Who shared the same interests- having interests!- and liked to jam. 

They got each other through some rough times and his ties were more so towards them than any sort of link he had with Aphrodite, or the higher ups, or Harrison.  

The family subject was… touchy, Luke realized, remembering the case with Julie’s own family. 

He understood why she shifted gears. 

“So you’ve been curious,” she said, “You’ve wondered what it’s like? Romantic love?”

Luke threaded his fingers into his hair. Was he gonna get into it? 

“It just seems so rad,” he breathed, drawing up memories of the millions of people he had a hand in helping-

“I get caught in the afterglow of it. We Cupids have our empathy powers, so I could… I could feel whenever they fall for each other. And it’s overwhelming and warm and-”

He didn’t realize he had moved forward in his seat and was gesticulating and grinning until he saw Julie blink at him, studying him intently. 

“-great,” he cleared his throat, laughing nervously, “See, not really poetic in describing it. But if I could, I’d write it down. Turn it into a song.”

“He’s wrong you know?” Julie said, “You don’t have to be in love to write a love song.”

“Wouldn’t it sound, I don’t know, hollow?” 

She hummed. Then she held up a finger, as she rummaged through her pockets for her earbuds. She handed one to him and she scrolled through her phone, “Here. Listen to this.” 

Luke wasn’t sure what this was about. He dutifully put the earbud in and listened. 

It was a song he had heard countless times recently, as it just started playing in HQ. A new favorite of his and quite unexpectedly too.

It was slow but it was committed and raw. The piano had been the mainstay and he couldn’t imagine it played anyway else.

And Luke had memorized the lyrics by heart. Because it seemed to be written from the heart, of this love so true.  

Julie watched him lip sync to it, a smile on her face. 

The song then ended and he returned the earbud, “That was amazing.” 

“You know it?” 

“Yeah. It’s all the buzz up where I work,” 

“Oh,” she tucked her hair behind her ear, “I wrote that.” 

Luke’s brain broke, “Really?” 

She giggled, finding his reaction amusing, “Yeah. Me. A girl who’s never been in a relationship lasting longer than a couple months wrote the wedding song of the summer.” 

There was some time of Luke spluttering, losing his train of thought or any sense of sentence structure. It took him a minute to… wow. 

“Have I told you how talented you are?” he managed to choke out. 

Julie quirked a brow, “Not in the last five minutes.” 

They both chuckled. Yeah, he may be the president of the Julie fan club lately Maybe rivaling even Nick. But hey, at least Julie took the compliment in stride. 

“You could tap into other things to get that kind of powerful feeling,” she dove in, giving him advice-

“Maybe that’s why for the longest time I didn’t feel like I was deprived of something. Not being ‘in love’. It doesn’t seem required when I write this stuff.”  

“Not even sure what I could tap into. My whole existence is love and music,” 

He wasn’t like Julie. His life wasn’t composed of moments and relationships besides work.

He could tell that her family, her friends might be her inspiration. His boys were his, and he had already written songs about their dynamic, how helping each other and being there for each other. 

But his existence was tied to work. And even when the work was about love and connection- Luke couldn’t bring himself to write about it. It felt like he was trying to bake something after tasting it once. 

“Hmm…”Julie shrugged, “You just need experiences, I guess.”

And it was that, his lack of experience that brought his good mood crashing down again. 

“I don’t think I can help you, Julie. Like I promised.” 

“Hey, I wouldn’t say that. You know what they say. Those who can’t do…” she trailed off, trying to coax out that laugh that was not coming. 

He heard her sigh and collapse into her worn out pool chair. 

“I guess I’m curious too,” she said, kicking around a dying palm frond until it landed in the murky pool,  “I’m not deprived. Just… wondering what’s got everyone so far gone stupidly happy,” 

“Is that what we’re looking for?” Luke asked, “ Happy? ” 

It seemed to always go back to that. Happiness. Equating love to happiness.

It wasn’t true. But Luke could see people smile a little wider when in love, skip a little higher. Who could blame either him or Julie to wonder what it was they were missing? 

Julie snorted, “That sounds depressing as fuck,” 

Luke twirled his finger around, “We’re at a motel pool. Not exactly the venue for people who have it together.” 

“Man, if I didn’t have work, we’d so be clinking our beers together,” 

Luke primed his fingers to snap- 

“No,” 

“I wasn’t gonna,” His hand rested on his lap, “I know you’re not into it,” 

“I don’t mind when you use it to grab popcorn or beer...” 

“So it’s just the using it on people,” she nodded, “You don’t have a problem with me singing to them though,” 

“It’s not the same,” 

“A song is a song, Julie. Doesn’t matter if it’s me or someone else singing it,” Either way, he was using music to influence people… 

“I don’t know why it’s different,” she crossed her arms, “It just is.” 

Luke frowned, “So to be clear. Cupid powers are only okay when I’m your own personal Postmates and when I sing? No meddling?”

Julie gave another nod, “At least around me. I don’t really… want to see that,” 

“But they had been a bit too loud,” he referred to the couple at the drive-in “ In their fighting? I really couldn’t hear the movie.” 

“What is it with you and movies?” 

“They’re the building blocks?” was his lame response, “Learned a lot from them.” 

“Always watching. Never partaking,” 

“Yup,” 

“I wouldn’t pin you as a voyeur. You’re more like a ‘hands-on’ kinda guy” She winced and Luke made a move to comment. She held her hand up, “Ignore that. You know what I mean.” 

“Like you said, get experience? I wouldn’t know where to start,” 

Julie fully reclined in her seat, her head tilted back. Her fingers drummed against her temple. 

Then suddenly, she arched forward.

“I think I know just the thing.” 

On her feet, she offered her hand to Luke and helped him out of the decrepit piece of furniture, “I have to get back to work, but I’ll be off in a couple hours. Wait until then, Lover Boy?” 

She began walking off and he followed her helplessly, “For what?” 

“My turn to take you somewhere,” 

He and Julie made their plans before she hustled back to work, leaving Luke to his own devices until they were to meet back at her place. 

He couldn’t go back to HQ, not wanting to risk missing the plans by a good week or two with their fucked up time differences. So after talking to Julie about life and experiences, Luke found himself poofing to random places around the city for the hell of it. 

He had gone to a high school, watched a soccer game, cheered for either team just cuz. It looked fun. Maybe he could play it one day. 

Then he had gone to a thrift store and looked at the vintage game consoles. He had always wanted an Atari, but there was no way he was able to sneak that back to HQ.

And the last stop before Julie’s place was the beach, where he just sat on the sand, playing his guitar until the time came.  

Luke poofed outside of Julie’s building with a new sense of calm. He never really had the chance to be leisurely with his time, but he enjoyed it.

There were points throughout where he felt a pang of jealousy. Because Julie was right, he was voyeur. Always watching, never partaking. 

But she was going to help him fix that. 

Leaning against the brick, waiting, suddenly a flash broke out to his right and Alex and Reggie appeared. 

“Guys,” he greeted, confused, “What’s up? What are you doin’ here?” 

Reggie immediately brought him in for a hug, “I’m sorry, Luke. I totally spaced and- I just forgot, you know?” 

Luke clapped his friend on the back. Leaving his embrace, he smiled at him, “It’s okay, Reg. Really.” 

“It’s just, I don’t know, Julie’s just so cool. Slipped my mind she was human,” 

“Well, I, for one, have not forgotten that tidbit,” Alex came forward, giving him a quick hug, before he turned solemn, “She’s nice, Luke. But it’s concerning.” 

“What is?”

“Being involved,” He stuffed his hands into his white hoodie pocket, sighing, “Sorry to be the one to burst your bubble-” 

“Yet you’ll still burst it,” muttered Luke. 

“-but don’t you think it’s kinda fishy that there’s been, what? Like, 12 Cupids who had been assigned to her? And all of them had just casually left out the part that she can see and speak to our kind?” 

“We would have definitely heard about it,” Reggie inserted, also confused. 

Luke shrugged. He had wondered that himself but he wasn’t gonna go up and ask Valeria why she kept her mouth shut. She would only turn it around on him and ask him why he wanted to know.

He didn’t need that kind of heat on him right now. Not when he was seeing Julie when he wasn’t supposed to. 

“Maybe Harrison wants to keep it under wraps? Wouldn’t want to scare off the next Cupid in line,” 

“Her file was gonna get thrown out anyway. No next Cupid,” Alex reminded him. And Luke was aware it was the blonde’s job of the group to be the rational one but it was rubbing him the wrong way right now. 

“Look, who really knows?” he said, annoyed, “The fact is- she can. We just gotta roll with it” 

“Just be careful,” cautioned Alex, which was his catchphrase at this point. 

Reggie raised his hand, as if they were in a classroom, “What are you waiting outside her place for? Can’t you just-” he clicked his tongue, pointing to the upper level, “-up there?” 

“Aw, Luke are you too in your head right now to poof again?”

“No, boys,” Luke pinched his shirt collar and let it drop, smirking, “I’m following this human custom called boundaries.” 

Reggie processed that, intrigued, “Oooh. Interesting,”

“Revolutionary,” Alex quipped sarcastically, “But kudos to you for actually respecting her privacy.”  

“Also, she told me to meet here,”

“For what?” 

And great timing on Julie’s part because she was strolling up to them, having just left work. 

“Hey again,” she greeted the other two Cupids

“Human-” The drummer started but was elbowed by Reggie, “Julie,” he grunted, correcting himself.  

Reggie waved, “Hi, Julie!” 

She smiled before acknowledging Luke, “Just gonna get changed real quick and we can go.” 

Then Luke couldn’t hold it in anymore, “We’re gonna go to the fair,” he announced to the guys, super enthused. 

“The fair?” Reggie’s voice got soft, “Like with rides and the games and the cotton candy-?” 

Julie interrupted, “You haven’t been either?”

“We have,” Alex amended. 

“But only on assignment. Never for very long,”

“And never for fun,” 

“Oh, that sucks,” Julie sympathized, “Wanna come with?” 

“Us?” Alex and Reggie chorused and it made Luke laugh. 

“It’ll be great,” 

Reggie was all for it, hopping around, but Alex was mulling it over. 

Luke stuck out his lower lip, hands clasped and shaking in his direction, “Please, Alex?” It would do his friend some good to break the rules a little bit. 

“Come on, man,” Reggie joined in, “Fair food!” 

Alex looked between the two and then at Julie, probably weighing the pros and cons.  

“Okay,” He sighed, relenting, “Only until we get called in.” 

“Yes!” They celebrated and Julie shook her head at their rambunctious nature. 

She was slipping through the door and tossing the keys to her car which Luke caught. “Be right back,” she called back to them. 

“Got it, boss,” 

Once she was gone, Luke pivoted on his heel, stalking off to the garage, not missing the way Alex and Reggie were staring at him as he did…  

Luke lost the boys the minute they stepped foot at the fair. 

Reggie took one look at the carousel and was already dragging Alex to the line. How they were gonna get on the ride as invisible beings was beyond Luke. But he relished in how overjoyed his friends looked. 

“He always wanted to ride a horse,” he filled Julie in as she led him around the grounds. 

Everything was calling out to him and his senses were in overdrive.

He got wind of nacho cheese and he was this close to being a cartoon character, floating as he followed the scent to where the plate of delicious food was. 

And- wow. All the bells and whistles of the different games and booths that he knew were rigged cash grabs, but it was so tempting to try and nab some prizes. 

And the rides! Luke was a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so the sight of the twisting and turning track and the passengers’ hair whipping around in the wind got him so amped up. 

“You never really told me the reason why you brought me here,” he whispered to Julie, who had one ear bud in. 

“I went on my very first date here,” she said, “I think, personally, that the best dates are things you can actively do. Movies are nice and all, but it doesn’t beat the sure rush of ring toss,” she motioned over to said game, the clatter of the rings hitting and missing the rims backing her up. 

“It’s a good way to let loose and maybe score some prizes. Fairs are great because it could be romantic but also just a place to have fun,” They stopped in the center, “What do you wanna do first?” 

Oh boy. 

Luke didn’t really want to, at least not in front of Julie. But his sight was rooted on the biggest stuffed animal he had ever seen, hanging over the balloon darts. 

She picked up on it and she groaned, “You’re gonna do it, aren’t you?”

“Julie, look around, how could I not?” Luke cried, “I’m a Cupid. Cliche is my middle name.” He knew Julie was so gonna rag on him for wanting to do every fair cliche in the book, but the girl served him with this perfect opportunity. 

“I’d like to maintain my views on real life not being anything like the movies, but fine. Go for it.”

Together they went up to the booth, Julie paying for 5 darts. In her hands, she subtly handed them to Luke under the counter, one by one. She kept one and threw it, and, shock to no one, the dulled out point bounced off the balloon. 

“Ugh,” Then she whispered to him, “Good luck.” 

Luke waited until the guy manning the booth directed his attention elsewhere before launching his projectiles. 

One zoomed through and punctured the board. Two bounced off balloons. And one almost hit the stuffed animal Luke was trying to win. 

“Dammit!” Luke swore he had almost had it. And it didn’t help that the guy in charge had this perma-smirk that Luke so badly wanted to slap off each time he looked and saw ‘Julie’ come close to hitting one. By gods he was frustrated. 

Instinctively, he raised his hand, fingers poised-

“No cheating!” Julie reprimanded. 

“Fine," Luke put his hand away. No snapping, "then let me try again!” 

The girl fished out a couple more bills and handed it to the employee, “You’re gonna empty out my wallet aren’t you?” 

“No, I won’t,”

“Yeah. We’ll see,”

Okay, he had not only had to prove himself to Carnie McCreepy in the booth, but to Julie too. Not sure if she was waiting to see if he would come to his senses and face the harsh reality that was… reality. Nothing at all like the movies, right? 

Well, he was gonna win that goddamn plushie and prove her wrong. 

Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself, while Julie did the same, miming the throwing for appearance’s sake. Concentrating, he aimed carefully, getting that parabolic arch or whatever. 

The dart sailed. 

The balloon popped. 

“Yes!” Luke pumped his fist.  

“Hey, hey,” Julie said, puckering her lips as not to smile, “Don’t celebrate too early. You gotta hit 4 more.” 

“Plan to,” 

So Luke did, following the same technique and- 

All 4 darts hit 4 balloons. 

Julie’s jaw dropped, wholly impressed, “Oh my god.” 

“Woohoo!” Meanwhile, Luke was bouncing around, getting into the booth man’s face as he surrendered the green stuffed animal over to Julie, “Ha, fork it over, dude! That’s right!” 

“Can you not?” she hissed at him, a tight smile on her face as she accepted the plushie from the man.  

“I did it!” 

They walked away, Julie cuddling the thing and laughing at Luke jumping wildly around her as he chanted, “Did you see that? I did it. I did it!” 

“Yes you did,” she said, shoving his prize into his arms, only for it to be pushed back into hers, “Oh no no no.” She tossed it and he caught it as she tried to put distance. 

“Floating kangarooooo” Luke was all he had to say, making the show of shaking it and making it dance, seemingly, by itself, before Julie came running back and gathering it in her arms before anyone saw. 

“Fine,” she resigned, keeping tight hold on the green animal, “And I’m pretty sure this is a wallaby...” 

“Does it matter?” He nudged her playfully much like she had in the car a month ago, “I won the girl a stuffed animal.” 

“You goon,” she rolled her eyes, recognizing the common trope, “One cliche down. What’s next?”

“Everything?” 

“We got all night,” 

“Perfect,” 

It definitely wasn’t Luke’s (or Julie’s for that matter) intention to try and nail every fair cliche, but both of them made it their goal for the night. 

Starting off as a challenge against each other, it was now a mission to see how many they could rack up before the night was over, much to both of their delight. Luke wasn't sure if Julie was doing this ironically, but he didn't care. As long as she was having fun. 

They met up with Alex and Reggie at bumper cars where Julie squeezed into a car with Reggie and while Alex and Luke hijacked an occupied car.

(Poor 12 year old kid, probably didn’t know why Julie was targeting him specifically…)

They hit up all the food spots, and they split the cotton candy. Julie even went as far as popping a fluff into his mouth, like how couples would do in the movie.

(Reggie tried to do the same with Alex, but he slapped his hand away.) 

At one point in the night, Reggie split off to ride the more extreme rides, while Alex escaped to watch the variety shows.

(“Pig races. Huh,”)

Just as they were finishing up the last of the cotton candy, Luke directed their attention to a photo booth, “Now this we have to do!”

They piled into the tiny booth and in all the excitement of making funny faces and trying to shove the other person out, that Luke forgot for a moment he was a Cupid. 

The pictures came out and he was bummed to see only Julie (and Thomas the Wallaby) having shown up on the strips. 

“Shit,” Julie apparently forgot too. She divied up the strips and handed half of them to Luke, “I’ll fix it later.” 

Luke wasn’t sure how she was gonna do that but by then, the large circular structure looming over the tents filled his vision. 

Holy shit. 

No fair cliche was complete without the Ferris Wheel lookout. 

“Onward!” he bellowed, the lightest and most carefree he had ever been. 

Julie raised Thomas above her head as they skipped over, “Yes!”

Man, it didn’t get old seeing Julie enjoy herself, Luke mused.

If this trip to the fair was meant to get him out of his own head and loosen him up, it was doing that and more for her too. He could tell she had been really slaving over her work at the label, and having to partner up with soul-sucking Nick too?

She deserved all the funnel cake in the world. 

After waiting in the rather long line for what was the most popular attraction of the entire park, they arrived at the front. Julie sassed the lady operating the ride into letting her have the spacious cart to herself.

(“I said 2,” she insisted, puppeteering Thomas into waving at the worker and Luke had to grab his stomach from how hard he laughed at that). 

Space freed up, Luke piled in with her in their little egg of a cart, the plushie in between them. As they were rising off the ground, they spotted Reggie below and shouted at him. 

The sunshine of a Cupid waved back and took out his phone and snapped a pic of them (of Julie, really). 

“You guys have phones?” 

“No. Only Reggie,” 

“How did he swing that?” 

“Mystery to me,” Luke shrugged, “And don’t ask how he has service. Dunno either.” 

Even as they were getting higher and higher, Reggie was still in view, although small. He appeared to be laughing at something he was looking at on his screen, typing away.  

“He seems pretty into that thing,” commented Julie. 

“Yeah,” Luke debated on telling her what the deal was with that but figured that would be the other Cupid’s secret to tell. 

“I thought it was just you. That’s different. But you three...” she peered out, scoping out for Alex but by then there were reaching the top, everyone was like indistinguishable ants to them,  “You don’t seem to fit in with the others,”

“Oh yeah,” 

“Must not have been easy,”

“But we have each other. That helps,” 

“I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have Flynn in my life,” Julie understood, “Met her in 2nd grade and have been inseparable ever since.”  

"We don’t have kindergartens or 2nd grade’s but the boys and I ganged up pretty early on. Like you said, we were different and we just clicked,” 

“Must be meant to be,” That was rich coming from the girl who was fighting against fate, but Luke didn’t comment on it. 

“I don’t like to remember what it was like before I met them,” he started petting Thomas, tracing his fingers along his fuzzy green ears, “I kinda thought there was something wrong with me. For wanting the same things as-” 

“Humans?” she finished for him, carefully. 

He nodded, “I didn’t even know I was even capable of love. For the longest time I didn’t know I had it in me. Not until..."

“Until…” 

The ride shuddered to a stop, their cart rocked back and forth. 

Luke gestured to the sight of the fair and the city laid out before him. 

“Until I saw this…” 

It had been a night to remember, the first time Luke stepped onto Earth.

It felt like everything made sense.

Just watching all the people, complicated and beautiful, the city lights dazzling in colors that didn’t exist where he was from, and the sounds- the music . Nothing like he had ever heard. It was like the music itself was decked out in different colors, shapes and sizes. 

A place where everyone and everything was different. Different like him. 

It was love at first sight. That he was for certain, with the swelling of his heart and the thrilling chill the breeze brought through as he was looking at it now. 

“You fell in love with the city,” Julie gathered, hands curled around the edge. She turned to him, “You know that’s different than falling for a person,” 

“I mean, isn’t falling in love, being fond of something, despite all its flaws?” And L.A did have many flaws. He wasn't blind to that.

“Yeah, but. L.A will never change. People do,” 

Luke peeled his eyes away from far out and below, now on Julie. 

“I don’t think I’ve known a person long enough to see that. Like an actual person person,” 

No one in HQ changed. It prided itself in uniformity. They had been running things the same for years. Luke didn’t think Harrison was capable of change. He and the boys have been the same as they always were too. 

A darkness washed over Julie for a moment, and she averted her gaze as well, “Trust me on that.”

The name ‘Carrie Wilson’ was on the tip of his tongue but he had enough sense not to damper the mood even further. Not when they were having a good time before.  

Instead, he looked back at the killer view. 

After a while, Luke noticed something off. Their vantage point hadn’t shifted for a solid 5 minutes. 

“Shouldn’t we be moving?” Julie voiced his thoughts. 

They had been stuck at the top for a lot longer than usual. Curious, they, and the other passengers, stuck their head out, to see what was up. 

It wasn’t perfect, their view from the top, but Luke could just barely make out the ride operator throwing some sort of fit over the controls. 

They could hear arguing from not too far away, but even from their height, the figure in all white stuck out. 

“Alex,” Luke was able to pick out the gestures and the stance. It was his drummer alright. 

Julie squinted. “He’s talking to someone down there. Another Cupid?” 

That was boggling Luke right now. There should be two white silhouettes, not one all white and the other- 

Completely decked out in black. 

Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach. 

“No. That’s not a Cupid,"

"Then who is that?"

Luke's grip on the ledge tightened. 

"That's... a Trickster,”

Chapter Text

This was not good. 

This was so not good. 

What was a Trickster doing here? 

A strong sense of premonition boiled and curdled his gold blood. 

Historically, wherever a Trickster was, trouble was close behind. Instinctively, he swung his arm out, barring Julie from looking any more, potentially exposing herself to the likes of the conniving being. 

Julie frowned, still trying to crane her head to take a look, “ A Trickster? ” she repeated after him, “What’s a-?”  

“Bad news,” was the only description he could give, because right now, he was heavily monitoring the confrontation between the creature of Chaos and Alex. 

This was the first time Luke got a good look at the bastard that had been torturing Alex for the past however many months. As good of a look as he could get 20 feet above the ground, that is. 

The guy had shoulder length hair that had never made contact with a brush, his whole attire loose-fitting and dark, whose contours nearly blended in with the shadows casted by the Ferris Wheel. 

His whole demeanor was slouched, hands stuffed in pockets. Could have been understated if it weren’t for how fuckin’ jazzed he was for sparking Alex’s fury. 

Alex was not vibing. 

Reading the body language from his good friend, the drummer’s limbs were widely moving, whipping between pointing to the Ferris Wheel and him, more specifically his heart- which Luke could assume was beating a mile a minute while he gave the Trickster a good talking to. 

Julie, ignoring Luke’s gentle blocks, spectated the exchange. 

“He’s like you,” she said, the only conclusion she could come to. Since she could see him and if this Trickster could see and interact with Alex. 

“No. Not like us,” Luke was almost offended by the comparison. Yeah, he was known to raise some hell. But he had limits. Tricksters didn’t share the same self-control. 

They could hear some shouting on Alex’s part, some laughing and- teasing? - from the Trickster’s part. 

That only seemed to push Alex’s buttons more. 

Though before any sort of resolution could be hashed out, the Trickster summoned a skateboard out of thin air, threw a shaka sign at the Cupid before skating away. 

“Alright, pop off Tony Hawk,” murmured Julie before settling back into the seat.  

Seconds later, jolting the both of them, Alex poofed into their cart, on the opposite bench. 

“Fucking Trickster!” he punched the bench and stomped, “He busted the controls!” 

“What?!” He and Julie screamed, earning some irritated yells from the other passengers. 

The controls? Of the ride they were currently on? 

Luke cursed. He knew it. He fuckin’ knew that Trickster had done something. Julie grasped at her hair, taking deep breaths, but she was not thrilled about this new development. 

“Hang tight,” Alex tried to calm them down, but wasn’t doing a good job staying calm himself, “We-we’re gonna figure it out! Okay? Okay,” 

“Why would he do that?” It was a dumb question. Tricksters really didn’t need a reason to do anything problematic, but when it came to Alex’s Trickster, there had to be some vendetta or something he had against the blonde Cupid.  

Alex blew a gust of hot air out of his lips. “He thought I was on assignment! Because he just loves to wreck all my assignments! Can’t believe it!” 

Stripping off his cap, he began to fan his face, “Him with his dumb hair. Dumb piercings. And his voice- ‘Catch ya later, Hot Dog!’ ” He ranted, his breathing quickening, “Hot Dog. Hot Dog! He must have been spying on us. He knows we go to Sam N’ Ellas. How could he have- ?” 

“Hey,” Julie braved the swinging cart to try and coax Alex from his spiral. She shakily offered up Thomas and Alex, without hesitating, grabbed the plushie and hugged him. She patted him on the head, “I’m sorry. He sounds like a jerk.” 

“Assignment?” Luke was hung up on that chunk of the rant, “Why would he think you were on assignment?” 

The drummer, in his comfort session with Thomas, froze. 

“Alex?” He tried again. 

“Uh... “ he was fidgeting with Thomas’ tail, stalling, “I mean, I don’t think we should get into it-”

“C’mon,” Julie rubbed his arm soothingly, “It’s okay. You can tell us.”

“I’m not sure I should say,”   

Luke was not having it, “Dude, Just spit it out,” 

“Okay! Fine!” Alex nearly exploded, reeling from the argument with the bane of his existence, “He thought you guys were my assignment!” 

Oh.  

Julie and Luke locked eyes. 

Before quickly looking away. 

‘Awkward’ didn’t cut it. Someone, some Trickster, had thought he… that he and Julie were… 

“I mean, I could sorta see where he was coming from. You’re not dressed like a Cupid at the moment and I’ve been following you guys around for most of the night, so…” 

“Uh, yeah,” Luke waved off, a slight burning on his cheeks, “Never mind about that. How about you find Reggie and, I don’t know, help try and fix the ride?” 

“Yeah. Yeah. I’ll do that. Find Reggie. Fix the ride,” Alex stood up in his hurry, and nearly toppled over the side, “AH! Geez-” 

“Alex!” Julie screamed, hands reaching out to steady him, “Hey, hey, hey. Look at me?”  

The Cupid obeyed, “Y-Yeah?” 

“You can take Thomas with you if you want,” she offered, a small encouraging smile on her face.  

“I’d like that,” He snuggled further into the plushie, “Thanks.” 

“No problem. Now you should…” 

“Yeah. Right!” 

And with that he, and Thomas the Wallaby, blinked out. 

“So…” Luke said, unsure what to say after Alex practically told them they looked like a couple. 

Oh yeah and the fact they were essentially on this ride for the foreseeable future. 

That was… uh, way more pressing. 

But the ‘mistaking them for two lovebirds’ concept was the hard-to-swallow pill. 

It was impossible to imagine. Yeah, he didn’t really look like a Cupid tonight, but the idea of him, of anyone his kind, even appearing to be with a human? Literally inconceivable. 

Besides, he and Julie were just messing around. They were only knocking out all the couple-y cliches just for fun. 

But only they knew that. The Trickster only had his eyes to clue him in to what was going on. 

Julie, now without something to hold and distract herself with, was going through her purse, her body shifted away from him. 

Seconds later, she produced a paper tray with a napkin covering, “Funnel cake?” she offered, words rushed, not really looking at him, “If we’re gonna be here for a bit?” 

“Did you- Did you just pull that out of your bag?” 

“I have my priorities,” 

Obvious defense mechanism aside, Luke took her up on it. Only because it was better to look at the food than at her, which was probably what Julie was going for too, eyes not having left the tray.  Undoing the makeshift cover, they both dug into the slightly smushed treat. 

“I think I cracked it,” Luke said, his lips dusted with the sugar, his embarrassment disappearing with each bite, “Food is your one true love.” He swore this girl was always eating something every time he would meet up with her. 

She didn’t deny it, “It never disappoints.”

“Of course,” 

All too soon, they were finished, their buffer gone, and Luke wished for a drink. But not everything can be in Julie’s purse.

The last time they checked, Alex and Reggie had been bent over the control panel, unbeknownst to the ride operator and the park’s repairman, discussing heatedly with each other on solutions. 

Luke found this funny because those two had little to no knowledge of amusement park ride mechanics, but bless them for at least finding the repairman and, through subtle uses of Cupid magic, luring him to the Ferris Wheel. 

He said none of this to Julie by the way. He figured if she didn’t appreciate his use of magic beyond food and music, then the same would go fo Alex and Reggie. 

A good 15 minutes passed, and besides mild conversation, there were some lingering weirdness from Alex’s bombshell, but they were utterly bored up here. And somewhat scared?

They were on the very top and it would sometimes get a little daunting sticking their heads out to monitor the repair progress. Any rocking of the cart made it feel like they could fall over any second. 

Cupids may have been depicted with wings, but Luke wasn’t one to deal with heights very well. Killer views were great and all, but only for an appropriate amount of hang time. 

So he stretched himself along the bench, forcing himself not to look out and do what he did best- get in his own head, extending his arm along the length of the seat in a relaxed position. The motion made Julie jump beside him. She stared at his arm and he retracted it instantly. 

“What?” 

A hand to her heart, she raised her eyebrows, “Oh my god I swear for a second you were gonna do it.” 

Luke, having a better grasp on Julie and the way she thinks, gave her a pointed look. 

“That move? The move?” She nodded, a wry sigh leaving her, but this time it was Luke to be the mocking one, “How cliche do you want this night to be?”

“It's textbook date etiquette, isn’t it?” 

Yeah. Too textbook. Luke had witnessed thousands of people pull that ‘yawn and drape their arm around their date’ trick for years. It did get old after a while.

“It's sweet,” he said, “but unoriginal,” 

“Nah, I see you, Mr. Cupid. Cliche is your middle name and cheese is in your genes. You want to don't you?” she poked his chest, taunting him. 

“Psh. No,”

“We’ve been doing cliches all night, so why not try it? You can't resist,” 

“Fine,” Luke scooted closer to her, “you want me to do it?”

She shook her head, hands up and backing away, “No. I’m saying you want to do it-

“Hey, I think what you're getting at is that you secretly want me to do it. For your own interest-”

“It's not a secret. I want you to do it. To prove a point,”

“So I shouldn't do it? Out of spite?”

That stumped Julie, “Wait. What?”

“What?” he repeated, just as lost.  

“I'm so confused!”

“Me too!” 

“What were we even-?” 

“My arm. Am I supposed to put my arm around you or not?!” 

“I don’t know! If you want!” 

“Alright, fine!” Luke just went for it. He faked a yawn and put his arm around her, just to… win the argument? Or was he playing right into her taunts? He didn’t know he just did it. For the cliche. That was what this night was for, right? 

It wasn’t until after he did that it hit him what was happening. 

He thought her cornering him in the alley was close, but this was something else. The girl was plastered against his side and though the kind of contact was not unusual for him, he would be in similar positions with Alex or Reggie. He was a touchy person.  

But it was another thing for it to be with Julie.

Luke had been teasing earlier, that Julie would be just as curious to how this would play out, knowing her dating history and aversion to intimacy, but it was clear, with how awkward this was, that neither of them were used to this.

He almost dropped his arm. He didn’t remember what even was the reason for doing this. A joke? It didn’t seem that funny anymore. He was overthinking this. Maybe it was because with this gesture, in the context of tonight, there was all of this… nuance to it. The stuff associated with it, all of which wasn’t what him and Julie were. 

Knowing this, he kept curled around her. And she didn’t move away. 

If Julie’s job for today was to get him to experience the first semblance of a teen romance, way too green and awkward and never knowing what to do with his hands. Then congrats. He got it. And he wanted to die. 

“So…” his voice cracked- wow, he really did feel like a 13 year old, didn’t he?, “What’s, uh, the verdict?”  

He could hear Julie swallow, clearing her throat, “It’s...nice.”

“I’m not… fucking it up?” 

“No. You’re good,” 

“Ok,” 

They both faced straight ahead, their early bravado from the bantering gone, the rocking of the cart mimicking the motion of a moving cradle. It helped them into a false sense of serenity. If Luke could sleep, he was sure he would be drifting off, Julie might be close too.

It was taking far too long for this thing to get fixed. 

“You’re...not cold,” she mumbled, “I figured you’d be cold.” 

“Like a ghost?” 

“Exactly. Do those exist?” 

Luke personally didn’t know. The only realm he traveled to is Earth, “I wouldn’t put it past the universe.” he said. 

“Hmm…” 

Her hair, wild and free in the wind, tickled his forearms. Her form, frigid at the initial contact, aligned against his, relaxing into him, slowly. 

It was the second time tonight, Julie didn’t argue with the ways of the universe. 

Luke had lost track of time, unsure how long they were in the same spot, on a swaying metal bucket, hanging 20 feet off the ground, but he and Julie had been filling up their time just talking. Random stuff, really. (The kangaroo versus wallaby discourse had come up again). 

But there was something that Luke had been meaning to bring up for hours now. 

“Never got to ask,” he started, and Julie twisted slightly in his hold, getting comfortable for another 20 minutes that was sure to pass without progress. 

Luke had given in to his new job as her cushioned headrest, mostly because he harbored the guilt of keeping her from her nice, warm bed after a long day of work and chasing him down Sunset. 

As time had passed, he didn’t mind the weight on his arm that had long since been numb. 

Her voice soft, she uttered, “What, Luke?” 

“What did you think of it?” he voiced, his nerves making a comeback, “Of our performance earlier?” 

Julie made a face, pensive, “You want me to be completely honest?” 

He didn’t like the sound of that but he forced himself to nod anyway. Not like he would be crushed if Julie wasn’t a fan of his music or anything, but he held her to a high regard. And whatever she had to say about his abilities, it was gonna affect him in some way. 

“You guys are…” she paused, “...kinda good.” 

“Kinda good,” he repeated, “ Kinda good? ”  He had a half a mind to get up and let her head thunk against the metal bench, “Yo, to be fair, I haven’t played with the boys in a hot sec.” 

“Excuses excuses,” 

“Hey!” 

“Dude. Relax,” she appeased, laughing, and that was when Luke realized she had been messing with him. 

Luke pouted, “Don’t joke about that...” 

The pout only served to entertain Julie, her fits of amusement continuing. She gave his hand a good pat, “No seriously, you have a nice voice. ” 

There was a tug against his lips, “You’re not- You’re not joshin’ me, are you?” 

She shook her head, “I’m not. I like it. I really do. And what you and your boys did? That was incredible.” 

“Really?” Alright, he was outright smiling now. She liked it. Julie liked his voice! He shouldn’t have been digging for her approval, but now that he got it- there was some prestige to it. 

“Yup. Kind of a shame to hear it only in the background.”

Okay, he wasn’t gonna get a bighead about it, but...

“Now that’s a compliment. You’re actually complimenting me,” 

He didn’t have to see her face to know that she was fighting back a smile, “Maybe.”

Hearing such words from someone as talented as Julie herself made him sit up a bit straighter. It… meant a lot. For anyone to take notice in his voice for once. 

HQ didn’t care how he sang the songs, just as long they were right for the mood. If his voice warbled or fell flat at any given part, that was for him to agonize over. Every time he would go on assignment, he was committed to give a performance. Even when he received no recognition for it.

But Julie could hear him. She had heard him. 

And she liked it. Her telling him so was something he wouldn’t take for granted. 

His insides were doing backflips at the praise, but it turned out his body was reacting to the sudden lurching forward of the cart. 

The Ferris Wheel was fixed. 

Applause and whoops of relief broke out from their fellow passengers/prisoners, and Julie and Luke couldn’t resist joining them. Yes, fucking finally!

But it wasn’t over for them yet. It took quite a while until they touched the ground since they were all the way at the top. But once disembarking (after getting side-eyed by the ride operator for the blatant lack of plushie), he and Julie stumbled out. 

It was the moment his arm was freed, having let Julie drop to the ground, on her knees, where she loudly proclaimed she would never part from the earth ever again. 

Dramatic. But honestly? Mood. 

They were reunited with Reggie and Alex (and Thomas) and no one argued with Julie that it was time to go, even though they had yet to go on more rides. 

Much like Luke did last time, Reggie and Alex tagged along on the car ride to Julie’s, ensuring she got home safely. 

They parked in the garage a half hour later, and after a long conversation convincing Alex to leave Thomas with Julie (“Man, we can’t hide him at work” “Can I just hold him for a while longer?”) the boys, sans Luke, bid their new human friend a farewell. 

Luke lagged behind, leaning against the exterior of the car just as Julie was locking it up, the overgrown plushie tucked under her arm. 

“Did you have a good time?” she asked him. 

His grin was weary but genuine, “Yeah. I did. We all did. Did you?” 

“Definitely beats my first date there. That’s for sure,” 

“Oh, I think I read that in the-” he broke off, seeing the look on Julie’s face. Maybe not bring up her file and the fact he had intimate knowledge of her dating history, “Er, yeah. The really gross dude?” 

She grimaced, “Mustard all over his shirt? Kept whining about losing to me in games? Tried to do funny business with me on that very Ferris Wheel?”

“Ugh,” Just because he already knew, didn’t mean it was any less painful to hear about it again, “No wonder you humans often say ‘romance is dead’.” 

“Is it?” she challenged. 

He stuck his tongue out at her, not taking the bait, “I guess that’s what we’re trying to find out.” 

We . 

It was kind of cathartic to finally have admitted his lack of personal experience, it really made him connect with Julie on another level tonight. Recognizing their similar ineptitudes and just, trying to explore all the romantic tropes as they could. To see if they were all that they were cracked up to be. 

Some of them were executed perfectly, others- not so much. But it was fun. That was Luke’s main takeaway from tonight. It was fun. It was cheesy and it was a nice change of pace. 

“You know you said, ‘Those who can’t do, teach’?” Luke echoed her words from the motel pool, “I think you have just as much to teach me as I with you.” 

Julie agreed, “We both have a lot to learn and experience so…” She held up Thomas as proof. She had told him on the Ferris Wheel that no one had ever won her anything from a game booth before. 

“Might as well do it together?” he suggested. 

The teacher-student dynamic  hadn’t been working.

Who was he kidding trying to be this knowledgeable figure, acting like he was the expert? It would be better if they approached this more casually. Acknowledging that they were both fucked up and needed to explore this new terrain together? No judgement. 

“Like an independent study sorta system?” 

“Yeah,” Luke went with it. He never went to school so he nodded along, “Equals?” 

Julie considered it, “I think I’ll learn better that way.”

“Me too,”

“Will I see you soon?” 

Luke wanted to say yes, but that was up to how much paperwork he could get through and whenever Harrison went out. But he would figure it out. 

“We’ll see,”

“Okay,” Julie ambled over to the door, leading into her building. 

“Til whenever, Lover Boy!” her voice reverberated through the garage. 

“Goodnight, Julie,” 

She made Thomas wave at him before she left, and Luke enthusiastically returned it. 

Seeing Julie being so far gone on her kangaroo/ wallaby/ whatever, Luke had never been happier for his big win at balloon darts… 

Luke returned to the break room, now considered ‘their’ room with all the times they frequent it, just in time to catch the tail end of Alex regaling the Trickster encounter again, getting worked up about how this guy was clearly keeping tabs on him and had no qualms stranding a bunch of innocent people on a ride for an hour.  

“Don’t sweat it,” Reggie comforted him just as Luke sat down on the couch with them, “At least you helped out and got the repairman. So thank you, Alex.” 

Then, their cellist noticed Luke’s arrival, and he pat the guitarist on the back, “You did good today too, Luke.” 

“Me?” 

“Always the sweetheart. For staying up there with Julie and keeping her company.” 

Luke kicked his feet up on the coffee table, “Yeah we were stuck, you know.” 

“No,” Alex was giving him a strange look, “ She was stuck. You could have poofed. Maybe helped us out down there?” 

His sneakers slipped off and he nearly faceplanted onto the floor. 

Wait. 

He was right. 

He totally could have poofed. He didn't have to stay on the Ferris Wheel. 

“Oh,” was all he could say in response. 

“Were you trying to?” Reggie asked, “Or was it out of whack again? Were you too in your head?” 

“No,” But that happened a lot though. Whenever he was with Julie. Forgetting he was a Cupid with powers. He really didn’t have a proper explanation for it, “Must have slipped my mind...” 

Luckily for him, the subject changed to more pleasant memories of tonight- 

Reggie had been able to hit half of the attractions, and he was still smoothing his hair down from the major windswept action from all the twists and turns. And for Alex, the pig he had been rooting for, had won the race and while no one was looking, he got to pet them. (“Strawberry was her name. Too darn cute,”). 

“Tonight was fun,” Reggie sighed wistfully, “So much fun.” 

Alex agreed “It was. Trickster aside,” He and Reggie  rose from the couch, dusting themselves off, heading for the door, “For a second, it was like we were-” 

“Human?” Luke dared to finish Alex’s train of thought. 

“Yeah.” he said, his smile dimming, “Sorta.” 

“Well. Nice while it lasted,” Reggie patted himself down, giving himself a once over in the mirror. Then he shoved his phone into his sock for safekeeping, “Off to work.” 

“Yo, Luke. Make sure to…” Alex gestured to his getup. 

Luke snapped his fingers, switching back to his white shirt, “Got it. Thanks.”

The door swung open, and they checked the hallway before making their exit, “See ya after, buddy,”  

“Bye, guys,” 

The two left, presumably to find Bobby and return to their cases. Almost like one of the greatest nights of their lives hadn’t just happened. 

Now Luke was up in front of the mirror, checking his reflection and ensuring any remnants of Earth were not on his person. He patted himself down like Reggie did and felt a lump in his back pocket. 

Curious, he took it out. It was the photo strips from the booth, the ones of Julie and only her. 

Seeing the expressions she was making, most of them in response to his own silly ones (though the camera could never capture), made him smile. Even though he wanted to be in the pictures, having only Julie on there was just as good. 

He summoned his guitar, and, for his own safekeeping measures, he dropped the strips into the soundhole, then made the instrument disappear. 

After adjusting his collar in the mirror, Luke, for the first time in history, waltzed into the office, not in a completely bad mood…

Chapter Text

“Julie, Julie, Julie, Julie” Luke rapped his fist against the door in rapid succession one afternoon, “Come on, open up! I have to show you something!” 

Silence on the other end. 

Ugh. Why isn’t she here when she's supposed to be? Luke had spent enough time with the human to get a grasp on her, frankly fickle, work schedule. And time he sure had spent with Julie. 

Still calculated and timed for optimum hanging out, but not so much that his co-workers got suspicious- he and Julie were, if he could say this, best buds. (Or getting there. The girl did side-eye him every time he hauled her into a half-hug, calling her ‘dude’. But she was warming up to him, he could so tell.) 

Scrapping the role of the teacher had been the best decision ever. It was totally killin' the vibe before, brought on this false sense of knowledge and authority and it was so not fooling anybody. 

School of Love became the school of life , with him and Julie meeting so they could do some normal human things that he never got the chance to do. Trying new foods, getting to play games, and going to places that were never part of his assignments. 

Just last week, he had accompanied Julie to the DMV. And they waited in line . For a while. And when he thought it was over, they got to wait in chairs . For even longer! 

It had been something.

(But no, he had fun photobombing people’s license pics without them knowing, which entertained Julie during the hellish wait.)

Though the past month hadn’t been totally  love/romance free. 

Luke was able to resume his original plan of throwing a whole bunch of Rom-Coms at Julie, but instead of using them to pair her with Nick, it was simply just cuz they wanted to watch. And it resulted in fun movie nights holed up in her apartment with oven-baked nachos and Martinelli’s. 

Sometimes, if schedules allowed it (and if they could ditch Bobby), Alex and Reggie would join them, but it was mostly a Julie and Luke kinda thing- with Julie’s thing being the eating of the snacks and Luke’s thing being the gushing over the romantic gestures- making Julie take notes of the good stuff. 

And if he could sprinkle in some hopefully useful love tips then that was fine by Julie- just as long as she could give him some advice when it came to modern matchmaking.

“This,” she had thrusted her phone his way once while at the park, “is Tinder .”

He had pored over the app in fascination, “Ohhhh. I’ve heard about this.”

“Really?” Julie had asked, genuinely surprised.

“Damn,” Luke whistled, scrolling down reading every last bit of someone’s bio, “You humans have come a long way since the days of eHarmony and Match.com .” 

She had groaned, seeing how slowly he had been in swiping and checking out the L.A dating pool. 

“God, you’re old,”

He remembered his response had been purposely swiping right on a guy whose anthem had been a Pitbull song. 

“And petty. Geez,” 

Luke had returned her phone, kicking back against the tree they were chilling under, enjoying the afternoon breeze, “You know, some of these dating sites and apps are run by Cupids.”

“No way. Nuh-uh,”

“Yes way.”

“You’re lying,” 

“I’m not a liar,”

“Well shit,” Julie’s face had pulled on a tight and awed expression, like her mind had just been blown. 

Then she had leaned in, “Which ones?”

That had sent him laughing, pinching at the corner of his lips to metaphorically seal them, “Not telling.” 

Shuffling up next to him, she had pursed her lips, plotting. 

“Would you tell for another band tee?”

And that was how he ended up with the T.Rex tee he was wearing right this second. 

(And how Julie ended up with a renewed distaste for Hinge ). 

He knew he was early for their set movie night plans tonight, but Luke was just plain antsy while trying to get the attention of his favorite human, knocking and hollering with no care to volume since she would be the only one to hear.

Still no answer. 

Then he waited, sensibly, for a total of 30 seconds before trying again, “Julie, Julie, Julie…” 

Is she holed up at work? , he asked himself. It wouldn’t be the first time. The label had been working her like a dog for all the time he had known her. Like yeah, her talent must be utilized, but not be milked dry until there’s no creativity left. 

As much as Luke would love to hear another Julie-penned banger, he’d rather that girl take some time for herself. 

Luckily he was saved from a long wait when he registered Julie’s voice echoing up the staircase. He was about to dart over and announce his arrival when he picked up another voice conversing with her. 

“The short red one-”

He could hear Julie scoff, “Nuh-uh. No way,” 

“Then that flared-out sparkly jumpsuit. Lord knows you need a lil’ sparkle,” 

“Flynn. I wasn’t planning on going out tonight,” 

“Come on, Jules. I barely see you anymore,” 

“Just been…” there was a pause, “...a little busy nowadays,”

Luke tip-toed towards the bannister, watching a somewhat exhausted Julie, whose back was turned to him, chatting it up with a girl in braids, sporting a neon pink beanie. 

“Really?” the girl, Flynn, cocked a brow, hip, and was giving Julie a stonewall of a gaze, “Don’t lie to me. We do work together.”

Julie wilted, “I may or may not already have plans.”  

“Right. Because you’re hanging out with Love Hunk tonight, aren’t you?”

Say what?  

Did he- Did he hear that right? 

“Oh my god, Flynn!” Julie scolded, hand resting on her face, embarrassed, “Don’t call him that.” 

“Hey if he’s anything like how you describe him, then I think ‘hunk’ is the appropriate word,” 

Luke could only imagine the tints of pink on Julie’s cheeks right now- 

Not having much time to dwell on that part, Flynn was on a roll- 

“And as much as I’m proud that you have a man over at your apartment, I prefer that man to be visible…” she tilted her head, “and human . Head out with me tonight and we’ll find one who’s both,” 

He had to intervene, “You know what? She may have a point,”

“GAH!”   Julie spun on her heel, hand to her heart, shook , “What. The. Hell?”

Flynn’s hand gripped her shoulder, “Julie?” 

“Luke!” she yelled at him. 

“Luke?” Flynn’s eyes twinkled, tracing Julie’s line of vision to, presumably, nothing. 

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Julie glared at him, “What are you doing here?” 

“New development at work. Had to tell you all about it. But first-” he draped his arms over the railing, grinning, “‘Hunk’?”

Ah. There it was. 

The softest hints of warmth on her cheeks as she huffed indignantly. 

“Cupid dude? He’s here now?” 

Julie redirected her attention back to Flynn,“Yes, but-” 

“How did you describe me?-” Luke goaded. 

“Like ‘up-the-stairs’ here?-”

“-Because now I’m very curious,”

“-oh my god did he hear everything?” 

“Too many people talking!” Julie trudged up the stairs, arm raised towards her door, “Inside, now,” 

“Yes, m’am”, Luke and Flynn uttered in unison, following Julie into her apartment. 

Flynn passed through, eagerly taking a seat on the couch but Julie held Luke up at the doorway. 

“Just so you know. I never actually said the word ‘hunk’” 

“Right,” he whispered, winking.  

“I didn’t,” 

“Sure,” 

Julie shut the door once Luke crossed the threshold. Unsure where to go since his usual spot was occupied by someone else, he slunk over next to the fireplace. 

“I guess introductions are in order. Flynn, this space made of air is Luke. Luke, Flynn,” she gestured in the appropriate directions and the new girl was finally looking at him. Sorta. 

It must have been like the tenth time that name had been thrown around in the conversation but it was just dawning on Luke that this was Julie’s best friend he had been hearing so much about. 

“Car Park Flynn!” 

Julie relayed the realization to the other human, to which she shrugged, “Ambulances are expensive. Not like my mom could hold it in.” 

“So, you told her about me?” He finally got around to the most important thing that needed to be addressed. (Or second most).

“What part of ‘best friend since 1st grade’ don’t you understand?” Julie played good host and poured out some lemonade for her guests in the kitchen, “And if you’re gonna tell a girl anything worthwhile, her bestie would get the screenshots like, a minute afterwards. Everyone knows that.” 

“You know that’s right,” said Flynn.  

“Did she believe you when you told her?”

“She thought I might have been sleep deprived. Or was on something. But she knows I’d never lie to her,” 

“Damn straight. We’re thick as thieves, Cupid dude,” she raised her fist, “Cuz we are Double-”

Julie hurried with the glasses and set them down proceeding to meet her fists with Flynn’s “-Trouble.”

This wasn’t… expected. But it should have been, Luke saw that now. He wouldn't have been able to keep any secret from his boys for too long either. But this was one more human who knew of his existence and that might make it easier for HQ to catch him in the act. 

Though, if listening to Julie’s stories about Flynn taught him one thing about the girl, then it would be safe to assume that she’d do anything to help Julie (very ride-or-die). 

If she trusted her best friend to keep the secret then that was enough for Luke. 

 “So apparently you’re supposed to help my girl find love,” she took a long sip from her glass, “Good luck with doing what I’ve been trying to accomplish for years,” 

“You guys hiring up there? No one can meddle more than her,” Julie said.

He shook his head, “And keep her away from her real job? Not a chance.” 

Julie had brought him some of the songs she and Flynn had been working on for some new up-and-coming artist and the girl had skills. Sure knew her way around pro tools and the like. 

He wouldn’t let HQ ruin her with the rules, the conformity, the white uniforms, even though a part of him would like to see them try. Given, if the stories held any bit of truth. 

But it seemed like Julie had been talking about him to her best friend just as much, the girl very much interested in corroborating. 

“I have like so many questions. First of all. Do you really look like a shorter, messier Jacob Elordi?” 

“ Kissing Booth guy? Really, Julie?” Luke gaped. 

“Not like I can show her a picture,” was her defense. 

“What?” 

Now that wasn’t true. 

He marched over to the small table where she kept her keys and mail, filtering through the pile until he found the photo strips from the fair and waved it in front of Flynn’s face- and if that wasn’t enough proof that he existed then he wasn’t sure what else could be more convincing than a floating picture. 

“Here,” 

Flynn grabbed it and laughed, “This is a doodle.” 

Her rainbow-manicured nail pointed to the drawings Julie put in to represent Luke. Sharpie shapes and squiggly lines to capture his rambunctious energy and silliness. He had appreciated the gesture when she showed these to him, never wanting to leave him out just ‘cuz he couldn’t be seen in photos. 

Julie’s head hovered over Flynn’s shoulder, examining at her handiwork, “You think I did your face justice?” 

“Better for her to think I'm an egg with big ears than… Kissing Booth ”   

“Does he have wings? I feel like I asked you that before. Oh!” The sound engineer cupped her hands and dropped her voice, “Is he wearing… a diaper?” 

Luke crossed his arms, spluttering, "No! I don't- I don't wear a diaper!” he defended to no avail, “Tell her I don't wear a diaper!"

Julie’s lips curled into a smile that was far from friendly or innocent. 

“Oh yeah," she lied, "He so is.” 

“Damn okay. Pop off, Gerber,” Then the two girls giggled at his expense. 

Rubbing at his face, he smothered a groan. Alright, for laying it thick with the ‘hunk’ jokes, he sure deserved that. 

“Also-” Julie snorted, her laughs fading away, “Also, you can talk to him. Just because you don’t see him doesn’t mean he can’t hear you.” 

“Okay, fine,” She stood up, “Cupid dude-?”

Julie shifted her bestie to face her in Luke’s direction, “Other way, sweetie,”

“Okay. Straight up. Cupid dude,” she pressed her hands together, “do you mind if I take Julie out for the night?” 

“Oh, uh,” Luke coughed, to hide his disappointment, but was stunned to find that he wasn’t- disappointed, that is. To his knowledge, Julie had been either in the studio or at her apartment, most of the time with him. When she wasn’t writing songs or teaching him human stuff, then… wait. That was all she did. 

And sensing Flynn’s sadness over not being able to spend as much time with Julie, Luke honestly believed that a night out would do Julie some good. 

But Julie seemed to disagree. 

The girl was heavily miming behind Flynn, X-ing out her arms, shaking her head, mouthing 'No, no, no, no. Please don't!'

“Well…” his pitch rose, grimacing. 

“Come on! Thought we were game for Princess Diaries tonight” she walked to Flynn, “Watching the best one. Then the first,” she clarified. 

“Okay, you don’t know what you’re talking about. First one’s a gem- but besides the point…” Luke sighed, putting his hands on her shoulders, “Go live a little tonight, Julie. Be honest, you have been at home way too much for someone in their prime. And who knows maybe you can meet someone there?” He raised his hands placatingly, "Just sayin'."

“I don’t know…” 

"Julie, it's been forever since we had a girls' night," added Flynn

"I've been..." Julie gestured over at him, which would only be just air to Flynn, "busy?"

That wasn’t a good enough answer for Flynn. "Uh-huh. Yeah You're in need for a good dance at the club-" 

Her bestie was already dragging her towards her room to get ready. 

"Flynn-" 

"Cupid Boy can come with too, whatever, just please. Please go to The Vault with me tonight?" Flynn called to him, “You ever gone clubbing, Lover Boy?” 

“Like in the ‘90s” Luke had popped in the Vault for a hot sec, just to see what it was like. He had a blast until he had to duck out on another assignment. Shame that he and his boys never got to play at the clubs. Their musical gifts would have been drowned out by whatever dance song playing. No use in going. “Is it any different?”

“Probably,” Then Julie stopped struggling against Flynn and shot him a pleading look, “I’m in, if you are?” 

Well, Luke had been planning to unload some major news in between the Princess Diaries double feature. But it would have to wait. Julie, his friend, was in need. 

It didn’t take too much convincing, always geared to do a little partying. 

“What the hell?” he settled, “Let’s do it!” 

The smile on Julie’s face might as well have been a green light for Flynn hauling her into her room, “Great! Now let’s get you ready! It’s kinda cold outside. Tell Cupid to put some pants on or something.” 

“Oh my god. Can you please tell her I don’t wear diapers?”

“Nope,”

He frowned. “Why not?” 

“‘cause it’s funny!” she hollered back at him, followed by her disappearance and a slam of her door. 

An hour and two glasses of lemonade later, all three of them were at The Vault , the old bank building turned nightclub. 

Well, back in the ‘90s it had been more where the punk underground got to thrash and play, taking advantage of the vacated, abandoned structure to shoehorn an unauthorized music venue you had to be at in the first hour before the cops got called. 

Ah. Good times. 

But this, with the LED walls, sleek black tile that he could see people’s reflections in, the dubstep bumping through the speakers was good too. 

A far cry from what he was used to but he was here for Julie, who, in her sparkly jumpsuit glory, was still second guessing her decision to come out tonight. It took her a while to loosen up but that was all Flynn coaxing her bestie to the dancefloor for a little fun.

Like a chaperone, he waved her off, pushing her and yelling, “Have fun!” before staying near the bar, where he took it all in. 

People did find love in the clubs, but never by Luke or his friend’s doing. Maybe there was another team out there in ambiance, who specialized in this sort of music, who knew what kind of bass drops and heavy soundboard would bring on that ‘aha’ moment. 

So it was both his interest in the people’s interactions, as well as keeping an eye out of his co-workers (oh and the girls of course) that had him playing vigilant guard. Also, he had no idea what the fuck he could be doing in a place like this, so standing off to the side, by the bar was his go-to move at the moment. 

Not long after arriving and getting down on the dancefloor, Julie and Flynn retreated to the bar, got a round of shots, howled like wolves, and got back to dancing. 

Now this was a side of Julie he rarely saw, or was just beginning to see from all the weeks he had spent breaking her walls down. After some cycles of dance, drink, howl repeat, Julie was smiling a little easier, her movements looser, and it greatly entertained him, watching her leave it all out on the floor with Flynn by her side. 

She deserved this. 

One of these times, when Julie was, well, he could phrase it as, gyrating, she caught his stare when she threw her head back and her face lit up. She quickly maneuvered through the crowd until she reached him. 

In some tequila-induced delirium, she rested against him, smiling, “Hey!”

“Hi,” he replied, bearing a smile of his own. 

For a second there though a girl standing right behind Luke had thought the greeting was addressed to her. She nodded at her in acknowledgement and Julie was left chuckling at the misunderstanding. 

“If you wanna know which guys, or girls, are definitely looking to buy you a drink, then lemme save you time by saying who doesn’t,” 

His hyper-empathy had been on overdrive tonight, and all the levels of attraction directed towards Julie, split down the middle in regards to being hooked by her physical appearance or her dance skills, was making his head spin. 

That had sobered her up just a tad, “I’m just here with Flynn, alright? It’s Girls Night,” she punched him on the shoulder, “Girls and Luke Night.”

Yeah, but that didn’t stop the staring. Luke wished he was able to physically intervene, surely his presence, being seen talking to her would have been enough of a ‘piss off’ to guys trying to flag her attention when she was not interested. Like, he looked intimidating, right? 

Suddenly protective, Luke edged closer to her, as if that would do anything, but it was meant to put him at ease. 

Julie took stock of his stance and scoffed, “Could you be any more frozen?” 

“The Vault definitely changed since the last time I was here,” he covered up, not wanting to ruin her night, “Cleaner. The bar’s new. Remember more moshing than grinding,”

“Okay now you have to come and dance,” she insisted, grabbing his hand and ripping him away from the bar, not caring how insane she must appear. 

“What no, Julie-” 

“Come on!” 

But she was planning ahead because Luke was being hauled past the dancefloor until he was standing behind the stage. Julie had left him there so she could retrieve Flynn, and the three of them briskly climbed up onto the platform so they were completely hidden by the rest of the club, but the music still playing as clear as day. 

The two best friends started vibing with it, bodies moving seamlessly to the music in a way Luke hadn’t learned how to do yet. At least not like this. 

“Just do whatever!” was Flynn’s coaching after Julie told her that he was standing there like an idiot. 

And so Luke did the only thing he knew how. 

He started hopping around like an idiot. 

Wading the waters, getting used to the beat before just going mental. Shaking his head out, he began headbanging and jumping- all the stuff he would have done at The Vault 20-something years ago. 

“There ya go!” Juile whooped, copying his moves and whipping her hair back and forth. And soon, Flynn joined in on the fun, and they all got to look like idiots together. 

At one point, in the midst of a song change, Luke couldn’t help himself, he took Julie by the hand started spinning her around- club dancing be damned, they were gonna swing.

“That’s trippy!” Flynn marveled, seeing Julie twirl with her invisible partner. 

If only Luke could make contact with Flynn, cuz then he would have definitely given her a twirl too, but Julie did the job for him- the energy conducted from him, through Julie, and reaching Flynn and vice versa, so it didn’t feel like any one was getting left out. 

A lull in playlist and dry throats forced them to stop, and Luke couldn’t remember the last time he had sweat this much. They couldn’t stay back here forever, so they snuck out and they migrated back to the bar. 

Luke touched base first but only Julie joined up with him for a lil’ breather. 

“Now that ,” she breathed, “was so much fun.” 

Luke laughed, carding a hand through the wet mop that was his hair, just completely drenched in sweat. He was a mess but not Julie, the girl glistened under the neon bar fixtures, looking as radiant as ever. 

A mass warmth overtook him that very second and it was when he made that assessment that the guys around them were thinking the same thing. And the urge to put himself in between them and Julie was as palpable and as overwhelming as these shocks of desire he was picking up. All for Julie...

But Julie, ever oblivious, ordered another drink for herself, beating any potential suitors to do the honors. She kicked back the shot and sighed. Luke forced himself to focus on that sound, to focus on her, ironically the only beacon of quiet in the otherwise clatter of feelings. 

“Ok, Flynn’s at the bathroom. It will buy us some time,” she leaned in closer, so he could hear her through the music, “What was it that you wanted to show me earlier?” 

“Really?” he panted, “Now? ”

Julie shrugged and Luke didn’t argue, having learned a while ago that Julie was just Julie . And in her own Julie logic, it was best to have important conversations, buzzed, and in the company of sweaty clubbers. 

He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, “I found this. In the Archives.”

Earlier that day, Luke had been fucking around in the Archives, trying to check out the Princess Diaries movies when stumbled upon this note, old and folded up many times that the paper was fraying and coming undone. Tucked far back into the shelf that he was sure it wasn’t meant to be found so easily. 

‘Are you in love?’  The paper had read… ‘ Do you feel it in your stomach?... Does it twist and turn...and scream and burn...And start to make you cry, but you like it…?’ 

Don't want to let it slip away

Does it stretch into your throat

Until you don't know what to say?

Does it hold you under its pillow in the night?

It kills you with its passion

And its endless beam of light

When you see yourself

In the future, frail and gray

Who do you want beside you

When you wake to start your day?

Yeah, it's extreme

I know what you're gonna say

I'm being too dramatic

But this feeling feels this way

Are you in love?

Do you feel it in your spine?

Shaking, waking, tearing, breaking

Taking its sweet time

But you want it

Yeah, you need it just to breathe

You're never sure of what trick

It's pulling from its sleeve

If you said yes

To all the things above

Then yes, my friend, I'm sorry

It appears you are in love...

Carefully unfolding it, he spread out the crinkles as best he could so she could read it. 

Julie had to bust out her phone flashlight to make anything from it, earning her weird looks. 

“Wow,” she said, folding it back up once she finished, to keep it safe, “Sounds like someone’s got it bad.” 

“I scoured the database. It’s not from any song, poem, or passage from anything we have. And we’re not allowed to take anything back from Earth. And, well, smell it...” 

Not questioning the odd request, Julie brought the paper to her nose, inhaling it. “Chocolates. And flowers. Maybe roses?”

Luke waited for it to sink in. 

“Wait!” Without warning, she brought his wrist to her face and smelled him- the same scent. She connected the dots, “That means-”

“It means a Cupid wrote this,” he pocketed the paper, “A Cupid in love ,” No way a Cupid would ever write something so personal, so visceral of sensations if they hadn’t experienced it for themselves. 

“Whoa. That’s huge!”  

“I know! It’s a girl. That I can get from the writing. But got no leads on who could it be. Thousands of Cupids come by everyday to pull stuff from the Archives,” 

Julie paused in their mutual excitement to bring up a good point: 

“Luke, what are you hoping to look for when you do find her?” 

He shrugged, still hung up on the proof that he and the boys weren’t the only ones. That there was another Cupid out there that believed in love for themselves. He had yet to break this to Alex and Reggie, poofing straight to Julie’s right after he found out. 

“Dunno. I have a bunch of questions that maybe she could answer. Like, how could a Cupid write something like this? Who did she fall for? Another Cupid? Did it work?” 

“Are you kinda banking on it not working out?” she carefully asked,  “Look, it’s not like you have a bunch of Cupid ladies ready to swoon over you once you get a lid on this whole romance thing,” 

“I don’t wanna wish a doomed romance on anybody,” he quickly cleared up, “I just wanna meet her. That’s all.” 

Julie snorted, “Let’s hope she prefers the first Princess Diaries...” 

Luke picked up on his friend’s tone, “I’m not gonna try and date mystery girl, Julie.” 

“Oooh ‘mystery girl’. The intrigue of the elusive,” Julie speculated, “Kinda sexy in a way, don’t you think?” 

“Alright, no more tequila for you,” Luke slid the incoming glass out of the way before Julie could drink, and even going as far as gulping it down himself to keep it away from her.

Shit. It had been a minute since he had alcohol. The last time had been a brief stint right here at the Vault and one drink had been enough. 

He must have made a face because Julie was looking at him all concerned, “You good?” 

“Yeah,” he assured, though his voice came out all wrong. 

Wait. What did Alex warn him about Cupid biology and alcohol years ago? He honestly couldn’t remember now, kinda enjoying how his senses were somewhat dull. Only a little bit, but it was enough for him to notice that he wasn’t feeding off people's emotions as strongly as before. 

Huh. Interesting. 

So he asked Julie to order him a couple more drinks…which he started kicking back speedily to drown everything out. And he was pleased to find it working the more he was taking. 

“Woah there take it easy okay. Have yet to witness a PWI. ‘Poofing While Intoxicated’” 

He slammed a glass down, and he instantly regretted his decision. 

Shit. He was supposed to be making sure Julie and Flynn were good and now they were all in different stages of fucked up. 

Julie came to that conclusion the same time as he did, and she was suddenly helping him off the counter, “Okay, okay, okay,” she mumbled, a little out of it herself, “I think we should- I think we should go-” 

In her haste to go through the crowd to find Flynn, they bumped into someone. 

“Shit, sorry-”  

“Julie?” 

The recognition made them look up. And it was the girl, the one from the studio when Luke first visited Julie Destiny Records. 

She was absolutely engulfed in pink fur, a smile stretched so wide on her face that Luke could call it fake. 

“Oh my god. Hi!” and she spoke, her chipper tone, if possible, even faker.  

Julie’s grip on his waist slackened, “Carrie...”

What?!

Luke straightened up, examining the girl but came up with a blurry blob to really commit the features, (he only had a few drinks, what the hell?) but the news came quite a shock anyway. 

“ That’s Carrie Wilson?” he asked, unaware that the ex-best friend had been that artist who made Julie want to pull her hair out writing for. 

Julie, for the first time tonight, ignored him, “What are you doing here?” 

“Could say the same thing,” Flynn found them, not bothering to hide disdain for Carrie as she passed, linking her arms with Julie in solidarity. Good on her. 

“Girls’ Night,” Carrie tittered, holding up her glass in the direction of the VIP area, where another girl waved at them, “You both remember Kayla. Actually, the rest of the Dirty Candi ’s in town. A little mini-reunion over there.”

“That’s… great,” commented Julie, and Luke noted how the girl wasn’t standing as tall as she could in those monstrous heels and flattering jumpsuit. The sudden arrival of Carrie Wilson seemed to dismantle her confidence. His chest plummeted and he felt for her. And she was just having a good time too…  

By now, the other girl, Kayla, came running through and greeted Julie and Flynn with genuine joy, “It’s been so long, guys! Come on, have some drinks with us. Let’s catch up!”

“I mean, we were just leaving, actually-” 

“Aw, are you sure?” Carrie pouted, though eyebrow arched in a somewhat challenge, “Not for just one drink?” 

Julie and Flynn shared a silent conversation and all of Luke’s insides, which sounded suspiciously like Reggie, screamed ‘It’s a TRAP!’. 

But it must have been Kayla’s friendly touch to the girls’ arms and the need to appear unrattled by Carrie’s appearance that sent Julie and Flynn to the direction of the velvet-roped area. 

Tipsy, he bumbled after them. He whispered into Julie’s ear, “You okay?” 

She sat down with Flynn in between two other girls they were already familiar with, opposite of Kayla, Carrie and another girl. 

“Peachy. Just peachy,” she muttered under her breath, loud enough for him to hear. 

Luke, on his protective streak, made a move to stand behind the couch, “Do you want me to-?”

“No,” she hissed. 

Carrie hummed, “What’s that, Julie?” 

The girl laughed nervously, “I mean, I was just saying that ‘No… way?’ That you guys are all still so close. Since high school, right?” 

While Kayla babbled on about what the group had been up to all these years, Julie angled her head to quietly shoo Luke away with a look that said ‘Please. I can handle this’. 

The tight grip on Flynn’s hand said otherwise. 

He didn’t want to leave her, but Julie must not want him to see her like this, so disarmed and having regressed to her shyer high school self. 

But he did what she said and backed off. 

That didn’t mean he wasn’t gonna leave it alone though. 

Much like how he gave her space at the drive-in, he went around the club, bouncing on his heels to the beat, sneaking drinks from right under people’s noses, keeping the peace and intervening wherever he saw sleazy behavior. 

(“Whoops” he had remarked, tipping a glass laced with something on the perpetrator’s lap, “My bad”). 

But mainly, keeping his attention on the girls, specifically on Julie, who seemed to be fake smiling and sipping her drink through the whole thing. 

There were moments where she did look like she was having a good time. And that was whenever Kayla or one of the other Dirty Candi girls (he assumed they were in some girl group in high school) was talking to her. Or when Flynn made a comment in response to Carrie’s that had Julie snorting into her drink.  

At least Flynn was there. To make it all okay. 

Luke wondered if he could, in his own Cupid way, cause a diversion. Snap his fingers and the sprinklers would go off, anything to get Julie out of this situation, but he couldn’t know for sure unless he knew what they were talking about. 

He slyly lingered by the column bordering the VIP section from the rest of the club, listening to Kayla go on and on about her boyfriend she had met through a dating app. 

“He’s really sweet,” the girl remarked, hugging her phone close to her chest. 

Carrie nodded, rolling her eyes, “Yeah, I guess,” Then she stage whispered: “Catfish”

Kayla’s lovestruck expression could not be crushed, slapping her friend on the arm in a teasing manner, “Carrie’s just mad because she can’t screen him like she would do with all my dates.”

“All I’m saying is, if you haven’t seen his face then-” 

“He’s shy!”

“Sounds sketchy to me,” Flynn piped up. 

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with…” Carrie cringed, “Flynn.”

Flynn eyed her up and down, “Me neither. Can you say it again? Just one more time?”

The two engaged in a longer than necessary stare-off. 

“Er, well,” Julie had to cut in to temper the tension, “I mean, as long as you’re being safe, Kayla. Just be careful.” 

“Yeah Kayla. Listen to Julie,” Carrie traced the rim of her glass, “She definitely knows what she’s talking about,” 

Sensing the beginning of something, Luke stepped out just as Flynn warned the girl with a ‘Watch it, Carrie’. 

Even Kayla was giving the girl an exasperated look, but Carrie was not deterred, feigning innocence. 

“I mean no offense. It’s just Julie’s had a colorful dating history. Makes for some good stories...or so I’ve heard,” 

Julie swallowed hard, jaw fixed as she tried to keep her voice level, “And… how have you heard, anyway?” 

All Carrie did was bat her eyelashes at her and said: 

“How is Nick nowadays?” 

Alright, that’s it!

In two short, furious , strides, Luke was at the table and tipped Carrie’s drink, spilling its entire contents all over her dress. The girl shrieked and abruptly stood to her feet. 

“Oh my god!”

The Dirty Candi girls rose immediately, attending to her, asking what happened.

“I don’t know! My cup just slipped and-”

“Some shaky hands you got there, Carrie,” Flynn drawled, drinking from her own cup, “I think you’ve had enough for tonight.” 

With a growl and hissy fit of a stomp, the girl made a swift exit out of the VIP area, “Help me clean this up!” she ordered her friends and they followed her to the bathroom. 

“Whoops,” he laughed, taking in satisfaction at his handiwork. 

But rejoicing was cut short when he turned around and found Julie missing. 

Flynn had just noticed too and was wildly looking around the club for her, “Jules?” 

‘I’ll find her’ was what he wanted to voice but it was futile. Instead, he searched the floor for Julie, hoping to catch her quick and not worry Flynn (or him) any more. 

The search took him everywhere, the bathrooms, behind the stage, the bar, before he thought out of the box and went outside. 

The backdoor of the club led straight into a dimly lit alleyway where Julie stood huddled against the brick, murmuring angrily to herself. 

“That bitch, geez why- why would she- fuck! ” her foot geared to kick the dumpster next to her but she thought against it, laying her head against the wall and letting out a deep sigh.  

“Hey…” he approached cautiously and she didn’t flinch, probably expecting to be interrupted. 

“Sorry, it’s just… Carrie,” she bemoaned, massaging her temple, “She just knows how to drill into my head and strike turmoil” Letting out a cruel laugh, she faced him, “Disadvantage of being friends at one point. She does it so well...” 

Luke had nothing to say, never having been in Julie’s shoes before. Never having been in a disastrous fallout withs someone he once cared about or who cared about him. He might have that luxury, as a Cupid- feelings kept out of the workplace, no room for romance or fondness but also… no room for betrayal. 

Julie just seemed so distraught and Luke never wanted anything more than to make her not feel like that anymore, but he was still learning about Julie and what would put her off and what she would be comfortable with. 

Instead, in a rare Luke moment, he stayed silent and listened. 

“I don’t know. Every time she looks at me, I could never feel any more of a joke,” she sniffled, “Her team said she passed my song because there were too many tracks on the EP. ‘No room to switch things around’. Bullshit! ” This time she did kick the dumpster, startling Luke, “She knows my love song is bullshit because she knows I’ve never been in love.”

“She’s single,” Luke had to say, “Why the hell is she so smug though?” 

Julie shrugged, “Maybe it’s because she made it as an artist and I didn’t? That she had Nick and I didn’t. Like I don’t care. Now,” she had to remind him, “But her just flaunting it all in my face still irks me, like… argh, she’ll never let it go. And it just-” 

She dropped her head back, thunking it against the wall. 

“Just reminds me… where her priorities are.” 

And why they weren’t friends anymore, Luke could only surmise. 

But he was more hung up on that one tidbit she mentioned...

“You… you wanted to be a singer?” 

“Yup…” she drew out, “But it just didn’t work out, I guess. And now, I don’t want Carrie going around and saying that I can’t write shit or else I’d lose out on this job too.” 

As much as Luke wanted to psychoanalyze Carrie, to write off the girl’s catty behavior towards Julie as symptoms of jealousy (like it was obvious, wasn’t it?), and as much as he wanted to ask more about her wanting to make it as a singer (because he still thought about her voice, like wow ), but none of those talking points were gonna make Julie feel any better… 

“The dates you’ve been on… they weren’t... that bad, were they?” he treaded those waters first, just to gauge her reaction. 

“You read about them, didn’t you? Wouldn’t you know? And also, the last time I tell Nick anything about my love life if it somehow got back to Carrie like-”

“I know what happened,” Luke broke in, before she could spiral, “but not how it affected you.” 

And in a moment of vulnerability that Luke wasn’t used to coming from Julie, at least in terms of her love life, she answered timidly. 

“Makes me feel like I’m cursed somehow. They never end well and I’m always left looking like the fool. Like I can’t think about dating anyone because the thought of dating reminds me of all...that.” 

Yeah... that was some heavy stuff. 

Luke had a feeling that Julie wasn't totally okay with being on her own, but to hear her admit it, was a whole other thing. 

Luke huffed, recalling her file and these ‘dates’ that she had been on that ended not so good, and he got angry that those things coupled with Carrie Wilson just made her feel so damn insecure about herself. 

“It’s so stupid too cuz I’ve seen how they go about it!” Alright, if he wasn’t going to bash Carrie, then he was gonna bash these guys that made for all these ‘bad date stories’. 

“Those dates could have been totally romantic!” he ranted, “Like that one guy, that took you to Fiori’s- ” 

“The one who made a fuss over the meal,” Julie groaned, remembering, “Caused this whole scene with the staff I just- I just was embarrassed. I never wanted to show my face there ever again...” 

“But it was a beautiful restaurant. A great restaurant! With the right price and the right person to ask, you get the garden treatment. You get the Onion Cream Fettuccine with the Chicken. Goes well with the Sauvignon Blanc and it’s just magic-” 

By this point he was erratically expressing with his hands, losing himself in the ‘date’ he concocted on the spot. 

“And especially, oh boy, especially , on a nice summer night, you get the best view of the moon, and its beams cover everything. And with the candles, the lanterns, the- the whole place would literally be glowing and-” he stopped, feeling Julie’s stare on him. 

He coughed, “Best winin’ and dinin’ in SoHo” he finished off lamely. Yep, he could contribute to this to the alcohol. Normally he would have some restraint but... 

For a second they were looking at each other. Julie wasn’t shaking her head or calling him ‘cheesy’, instead she nodded. 

“That sounds really nice actually…” she admitted, softening at the vivid picture he painted. 

He smiled, “If any of those guys knew how to put on a good date, then maybe dates wouldn’t be ruined for you.”

Now wait a minute. 

He snapped his fingers and Julie glanced around, expecting some Cupid magic to happen but he was merely having an epiphany. 

“Oh my god. That’s it!” he yelled, grabbing her shoulders and shaking them.  

“What?” 

“Do-Over Dates,” he declared, “I take you to those places, re-do that night, kinda like what we did at the fair. Make it better. Give you better memories, and you’ll finally know what a nice evening out is supposed to be. And would know that you don’t deserve any less,”

Julie gently took Luke’s hands off of her, “I think I already know I deserve way better than those shitty dates,” 

“It’s not about having an adequate or a so-so time. You, ” he wiggled a finger at her, “need to be swept off your feet.”

“You’re willing to pay for all this?” 

“Money Schmoney,” he pointed to himself, “Cupid. Hello?”

Julie opened her mouth to protest- 

“Hey, I’m using magic to get you food. That’s not breaking any of your rules,” 

Ha. He had her there. Just dangle the promise of food and Julie was an easy sell. 

She laughed, after considering the proposition, “What the hell? Okay. Let’s do it!” 

“Yes!” he took their already conjoined hands and waved them around in victory, “This is gonna be awesome. But first…” he jerked his head towards the club, “You up for more drinking?”

“Oh, you’re looking to get fucked up tonight, Lover Boy?” she teased

“Maybe?” Luke said, rubbing his head, “My empathy powers were just going berserk tonight.” 

“How come?”

The Cupid lips quirked into a small grin, “Well, let’s just say… while I won’t have a line of Cupid ladies waiting for me. You certainly won’t have a problem finding someone who’d be insanely interested in you.” 

“Get outta here,” she budged into him, snickering, “I mean, I know I’m a snacc and all, but come on. It wasn’t that bad in there, was it?”

“Julie, everybody in the club wanted you-”

“Luke, shut up” 

“-Like salivating. One guy was, I swear to the gods-”

“You’re joking!”

“‘Clean up on Aisle: Vault!’” he hooted out into the empty alley. 

Julie squealed, going to hush him, “You’re a crackhead!”

“And you’re, what humans would call, a ‘total catch’. You just gotta own it,” he complimented, and it was true. Julie Molina was this total package of beauty, vocals, and wit. 

He had been annoyed at the attention before, but honestly, he couldn’t blame anyone for how they felt in Julie’s presence… she sure was something. 

Julie buried her face into his shoulder, blushing, not knowing how to take the compliment. But hey, at least she wasn’t angrily kicking dumpsters anymore, right? 

“Let’s go find Flynn, okay? But I’m not feeling up to going back there,”

“So what now?” 

“Well…” she propped herself up on tip-toes, “Maybe… we should see if Princess Diaries somehow gets better with booze?” 

“Doubt it. Already a masterpiece. The both of them,” Luke decided, the two of them now skipping down the alley and onto the street to look for Flynn. 

“But the second one though-” 

“Julie, I’m not having this conversation with you again-”

“ Royal Engagement is the superior movie-”

“You’re just saying that because of Chris Pine” 

“And the story and the location!”

“But Mia’s character development in the first one-”

“Could do without the makeover cliche,”

“You know what? Whatever,” Luke dropped it, “Girls’ and Luke Night, baby!” 

“Girls’ and Luke Night!” she crowed, confusing most of the people on the street. 

Eventually, they met back up with Flynn, who had quickly bounced seeing that Julie was nowhere in the club and they all made their way back to Julie’s to continue the night’s festivities. 

Luke couldn’t remember too much at this part of the night, just a lot more drinking, and that he and Julie continued to debate over the movies, this time dragging Flynn into it who, shocker , took Julie’s side- (“The outfits in the second one? No brainer!”), and maybe some crying. 

He couldn’t stay for much longer after the movies ended, but he made sure to cover Julie and Flynn’s sleeping forms with a blanket before wobbly poofing away- 

To which he found out, the hard way, when he ended up in Sydney, Australia of all places, that there was indeed such a thing as ‘Poofing While Intoxicated’... 

Whoops.   

Chapter Text

Luke hoped he wasn’t acting ‘sus’, as Julie would put it, but he was definitely emoting mad ‘sus’ behavior at work. 

He was nearly bursting from this untapped energy, normally letting it out with a drumming of some pencils and an incessant tapping of his foot, both of which would drive his coworkers absolutely crazy and the threat of tattling to Harrison always hanging over his head. 

But no. He had to keep it all in check, not risking any of his usual obnoxious behavior getting in the way between him and his plans for tonight. 

He spun around in his chair, “Hey, Kai!” 

“Gods!” His desk neighbor yelped and knocked over a stapler, “Luke. What do you want?” the other Cupid’s voice already sounded so tired. 

“Was wondering if you want me to run those files down to the tubes for you? You just looked so swamped, buddy,” 

Kai’s mouth parted slightly,  absolutely flummoxed, “You… want to help… with paperwork?” 

So much for not flagging attention... 

“Yeah!” he clapped him on the back. Hard. He grinned, “For sure, man. I got you!”

Ignoring the other guy’s strangled, incoherent murmurings, Luke scooped up the canisters situated on the desk and sauntered out of the office and into the elevator. 

Stepping off at the right floor, he arrived at the mailroom. 

Mailroom was sort of an understatement. Picture it as a chamber of the airplane hangar kind of enormity, with millions upon millions of pneumatic tubes snaking and coiling around the space, like nerve endings, shuttling off information to all parts of HQ. 

Real old school. But it was how everyone communicated here and it made everything run smoothly. 

Luke haphazardly disposed of all but one of Kai’s files in their appropriate tubes but his eyes were set on the clock- the one counting all of Earth time. He paid keen attention on PST, noting how fast the numbers were going, literal hours passing compared to their celestial seconds. 

He didn’t have much time. 

Alright. Not a lot of people in here at the moment, so he saw the opportunity to jog around the floor until he found the right set of tubes he was looking for. 

Biting off the lid of the canister, he slid out the rolled paper- something meant to go to Interference. 

“Oooh. Watcha doin’?” 

Luke whirled around on the person, a cover story ready on the tip of his tongue, but relaxed when he saw that it was Reggie. 

“Dude!” he scolded, “I thought I told you to meet me in the break room.” 

“You were running late, man! And I can’t be caught with this for much longer,” Reggie held up a garment bag on a hanger. 

“Sorry man. Got held up. And,” he surveyed the room, no other Cupids in sight, “That,” he jerked his head at the bag, “is completely useless if I don’t do this first.” 

“Are you seriously just now trying to score Fiori’s ? Cutting it kinda close don’t you think?” 

Luke tore up the correspondence and pocketed the pieces, “That’s the only way I know how.” 

But also. Not his fault. He had been planning everything else about Julie’s Do-Over date and it was all set. 

Except for the actual reservation. 

Now, Julie had made it clear that using his Cupid powers was off the table when trying to snag the one. No snap of his fingers to charm the maitres d or anything like that. 

So he had to get a little creative. She never said anything about using other Cupid means though. Bam. Loophole! 

“How’s this?” Luke presented his handiwork, a forged request to Interference to change the venue of a big date for some fancy pants couple yet to be Matched. From Fiori’s to-

“Dave and Busters?” Reggie guffawed.

“They’ll have one helluva time there,”

“But wait, you need to have the case worker sign off on it,” 

Smirking, Luke shimmied out the stamp he had swiped off of Kai during that hearty slap to the back. 

“Your talents are wasted, my good friend. But no seriously hurry up!” 

At Reggie’s urging, Luke rolled up his letter and popped it in the canister before he let it get vacuumed up the tube. 

The two friends shared a look. 

Then they booked it for the other end of the mailroom, hopping over carts and maneuvering around other Cupids but they made it in time for the return correspondence to land in a KERTHUNK at the appropriate tube. 

“Hey Janet! How ya doin’?” Reggie distracted one of the mail room operators while Luke snagged the tube and stuffed it- oh Aphrodite- down his pants.

“That’s great. That’s real great. Hope your morning goes on swimmingly!” He could hear Reggie finish and they were both back in the elevator seconds later, panting. 

“That was some Mission Impossible shit we just pulled,” Reggie whooped, high-fiving Luke. 

Luke laughs, breathily, “Pretty fun, right?” 

Ironically, they had just intercepted the request to another branch of Interference, confirming the change of venue. But with no one else seeming to know anything about it, they had an open slot for 8 o’ clock tonight under some rich fancy pants lady’s name. 

And with only about half an hour, Earth time, to spare. 

“Damn, Julie better know all the trouble you’re going through just for her,” 

He wiped the sweat off his brow, “She’s worth it, man.” 

An indecipherable smile molded onto Reggie’s face, “Of course. Totally. But I need to know what you got planned for her. I’m dying to find out!” 

“The whole nine yards, Reg,” was all he could tell him. Otherwise they would be there for a while and they only had a couple hundred floors to whizz by. 

Luke was giddy thinking about it. And while he had appreciated all these ‘human’ lessons from Julie, and their fun movie nights, he wanted to show Julie that he did know some stuff when it came to romance. 

Also, he had always wanted to plan out a date, so this was indulging in his fantasies just a tad.

Cool it, Luke! He thought to himself. He couldn’t lose focus. This night was about Julie. Making up for all the shitty dates she had been on and showing her just how fun dating could be.

Though some enthusiasm wouldn’t certainly diminish the experience however… 

They were coming up on Luke’s floor and the weight of a mail canister wedged between his thigh and the ol’ family jewels was a painful reminder of the unsanctioned task that had just pulled off. 

“Dude. Suit,” 

Reggie handed off the hanger. 

“And you gotta help me get rid of the evidence!” 

“On it,” 

Still in the haze of the adrenaline pumping through their veins, and pressed for time, Luke was busy fumbling with the hanger and Kai’s stamp. And Reggie, being Reggie, had no problem trying to shimmy the tube from Luke’s pants, all in the name of ‘helping’-

A strangled cry ripped from his throat, the tube digging further into the ‘no-zone’, “Get it out!” 

“I’m trying! Your pants are tight!” 

It was at that exact moment, the tell tale ding of the elevator rang out and the doors slid open. 

“What are you two doing?” Valeria cried scandalized, standing at the doorway, about to step inside but was stopped by the… compromising display. 

Luke gaped at her. He and Reggie, for some fucking reason, frozen, with Reggie, kneeling down, his friend’s literal hand down his pants.

“Uh…”  

Reggie’s cheeks burned, deferring to Luke, “Well…?”

“Stress relief!” The words came out and he winced. 

His friend withdrew his hand in a flash, eyes bugging, “What?”  

The codeword for illicit activities triggered an immediate judgmental stare, especially attempting to do it in a shared public space. But Valeria wasn’t convinced. She eyed the odd bulge in Luke’s pants. 

Pointing to it, she asked “What… is that?”

“What are you talking about?” Luke moved to conceal it with his hands. 

“Yeah,” Reggie coughed out, “His junk’s always been that huge.” 

Luke grimaced. Thank you, Reginald…

The redhead wasn’t moved. Really, out of all their coworkers to have caught them, it had to be HQ’s biggest stickler for the rules.

And one of their smartest too.

She was scrutinizing them with such intensity that Luke thought she might have somehow figured everything out. 

“You’re up to something…” the Cupid narrowed her eyes at them, having yet to come to a definite conclusion, “You’re always up to something.” 

“Nah, just a couple of buds… hanging out,” Luke lay his arm around Reggie’s shoulders, discreetly dropping Kai’s stamp in the other Cupid’s pocket. 

“Doin’ a little more than ‘hanging out’ it seems…” Reggie mutters to himself, strained. 

“It seems like you’ve got places to be, Val,” He nudged his friend towards the exit, him doing the same, circling around the woman and coaxing her into the elevator, “And we do too. So I’ll let you get back to work, which is oh so very important. And we’ll see you when we see you, yeah? Bye!” 

Valeria called out his name but by then the doors had closed on her and Reggie and Luke were already down the hallway. 

Once in the safety of their breakroom, they were able to extract the mail tube from his pants, to which Reggie handled carefully. 

A moment of awkwardness laid out in front of them, neither one of them wanting to make eye contact. 

“We don’t ever speak about this,” Luke said. 

Reggie nodded, “Yup.”

The things he did for Julie indeed… 

He had been fretting over this night for a solid 2 weeks, dedicating himself to working every angle, watching Kai’s cases like a hawk, finding the perfect people to do a switcheroo with, he even factored in the weather . 

But what Luke hadn’t prepared for was the onslaught of nerves that came out of nowhere when he was standing in front of Julie’s door, fist posed to knock. 

What- what was he nervous for? This was gonna be great. And despite all the planning he had been doing to make it a romantic evening, this was pretty low-stakes. This wasn't like an actual date or something. 

Maybe it was because it was Julie. 

Julie with who had grown pretty close. Who had thrived despite all the shit she had been through. So talented and funny and just wonderful. And she just- deserved the freakin’ world. 

He didn’t want her to be… scared of finding someone. Because it was gonna be a case of trial and error, feelings would get hurt, hearts would get broken, but according to humans, it would be worth it. Especially if you know what could be gained by it. 

Now, Julie, jaded from these awful experiences, could not begin to picture the end goal, the visions of a blissful, romantic happily ever after.

She might now know what that would look like, so he was here to give her a little taste of that. Give her something to look forward to, to strive for when going out and dating these guys. 

Luke thought to go classy this time. He had Reggie swipe him the upper management uniform from facilities-an all white suit combo- but he had switched out the white pocket square with a red one, for that pop of color. 

Julie was the only one who could see him but that didn’t matter. He was gonna dress to the nines because that was what a date should do, especially the kind of restaurant they were going to. 

This was key to building the fantasy.

And so were flowers. 

(He may have cheated just a tiny bit when he snapped his fingers and a bouquet of dahlias materialized in his hand).

He knocked on the door several times and Flynn opened the door. 

She acknowledged the floating bouquet. 

“Julie! Your Cupid Date is here!” she yelled into the apartment, “She’ll be out in a minute. I’ve been getting her ready all day…”

“Thanks, Flynn,” he said though she wouldn’t hear. So instead, he waved the bouquet around, hoping to come off as a friendly greeting. 

“Still super weird. But come on in,”  

Stepping inside, the nerves doubled, palms starting to sweat and he kept transferring the flowers from one hand to another, scuffing his white dress shoes against the carpet…

This was in no way the first he had been over, but it somehow felt different and it unsettled him. 

And Flynn wasn’t making things easier for him either. She, unwittingly, played the part of overprotective parent, reclining onto one of the armchairs, with a beer no less, leering at him (as if they had never met and drank together many times before). 

“You’re gonna take care of my girl tonight, Cupid Dude?” 

The bouquet bobbed up and down. 

“Hmm…” That wasn’t enough of a satisfying reply for Flynn, “I’m just saying you better deliver. Julie- she will probably kill me if I said this but- has been actually looking forward to this. And you and I both know that she needs a good time. Right?”

He gulped. 

Screw low stakes! This was very much high stakes!

Hearing that Julie was excited for tonight only added to the pressure to make this the best date ever. 

And didn’t he hear that Flynn had been helping Julie get ready for hours? Julie had joked about buying a new dress for the occasion but he didn’t think she would be serious.

Oh no, she spent money for this. Probably worked her writing schedule and meetings around tonight.

Why was this hitting him now? Shit, he felt like escaping to the bathroom, to splash some cool water on his face, maybe throw up- 

But he was never given the chance. 

“Flynn?” Julie called, entering the living room, fastening on a hoop earring, “Please tell me you have my clutch. ‘Cuz I’m so not in the mood to dig through that giant pile for it.” 

The moment she came into view, Luke’s breaths stopped dead in its tracks. 

Purple was Julie’s color, that he knew already. But this, this, was a whole other level. 

The dark satin number shone in all angles against the light as she sashayed towards them. The fit and cut of the fabric flattered her figure to the point that Luke had to tear his eyes up for manner’s sake, though his eyeline was then met with a neckline plunging just enough to leave her Mary charm unobstructed, completing her signature trio of necklaces. 

The browns of her eyes shifted to lighter shades when she saw him, and Luke was pretty sure she said his name but his brain was still playing catchup. 

“Julie…” he uttered, finding his voice again, “You’re a knockout.” 

The compliment would have made any other person blush, fully disarming them. But no, not Julie. Instead, she popped that eyebrow arch, a teasing smile poised for a quip. 

She took in his new appearance. 

“You clean up pretty nice too, Lover Boy” she remarked sincerely.  

“No. Like, fuck me. You-” He broke off and nearly lost his breath again. He motioned at her, jittery, “You’re beautiful. ” 

She laughed, brushing her hair behind her ear, though keeping her half-up do intact, “Thanks.” 

Luke snapped out of it and rushed forward with the flowers, practically thrusting the arrangement into her awaiting arms, “Uh, these are for you! Dahlias are your favorite, right?” 

“They are. Good on you to remember that,” 

“I’ll put these in water for ya!”

The bouquet didn’t last a minute in Julie’s hands when Flynn, already up out of her seat, swiped them off her and began to bang around in the kitchen searching for a vase. 

Julie, bunching up her evening gown so she could traverse her apartment, made her way towards him, “I’m gonna be driving tonight?” 

“No need. You got a car waiting for you downstairs,” 

She was shocked, “Wow. How did you swing that?” 

“That’s on me,” Flynn yelled, plopping the bouquet into a vase, zhuzhing it up, “You’re welcome!” 

“Tell her I owe her big time,” Luke asked Julie. 

“I think she already knows that. And if I were you… I’d honor that,” 

Luke winked and saluted, “Message received. Now,” he offered her arm as a gentleman would, “Are you ready for a night of wining and dining?” 

Julie hummed out a noncommittal noise, "Well..."

His posture drooped, “Wait. What is it? Something wrong? Did I forget something? Shit, tell me what is is and I’ll-”

“Luke!” She shook his shoulders, turning his trademark gesture back on him, “I was messing with you!” 

“Aphrodite, Jules!” he clutched at his heart, “What the hell?”

“I was trying to loosen you up. You’re so tense right now. Come on,” Then one of her hands traveled down his arm until wrapping them around his, “It’s just me. Okay? Just be your weirdo self, like always, and we’ll be fine.” 

Luke nodded rapidly, calming down at the softness of her touch, “Right. You’re right. Totally right. Tonight’s gonna be good. Gonna be great! Knock your socks off kinda great.” 

“Well… great!” Julie said, enthusiasm rising to meet his. 

Seconds later, Flynn had retrieved Julie’s clutch and gave it to her, kissing her bestie on the cheek and whispering something in her ear that made Julie’s eyes widen. She slapped Flynn on the shoulder. 

“Have her home at a reasonable time, young man,” Flynn lectured before he could ask what that was about. 

“Will do,” 

Julie repeated what he said to which Flynn nodded, giving him her ‘blessing’. 

“Okay, we should probably go now-” 

“Luke!”  

The Cupid spun around to find himself face to face with a furious Alex poofing in front of the door. 

“Jesus!” Julie cried, stunned by his appearance, “Alex, the door policy! Remember?” 

Alex’s fury leveled off, noticing Julie, “Dammit. Sorry, Julie- you look amazing by the way- but Luke! It happened again!” 

“The Trickster?” 

The drummer growled, clutching his cap, “I’m losing my mind!” 

“Uh, what’s happening?” Flynn wondered, unable to see the two Cupids. 

“Alex’s here,” Julie explained. 

“Oh, the tall one,” she waved at thin air, “Hi!” 

Alex weakly waved back, “Hi, uh, new human. Anyways,” he was talking directly to Luke now, “I haven’t been able to make a Match in months. HQ’s wondering what’s taking so long. This has got to stop!” 

Shooting an apologetic look at Julie, Luke attended to a spiraling Alex, the date farthest from his mind at the moment. 

“Alex, this guy just seems to get off by messing with you. And you- you just let him get under your skin. That’s what he wants!”

Still, none of them had any idea why this Trickster was out to get Alex in particular but his adverse reactions certainly made him a favorite target. 

“Well what should I do? Just not… react? Just let him ruin my day and just be okay with that?” A pained demeanor squeezed his features, “Sorry man, but I’m… gonna have to call this in.” 

“No bro. You’re gonna get mad side-eye by admin-” 

“But what else am I supposed to do?” 

“Why don’t you ruin his day then?” 

The Cupids’ heads turned to the unexpected source. 

“Just sayin’,” Flynn said, having had the whole situation detailed to her by Julie this entire time, “He’s always butting into your cases and stuff. Why not do some good ol’ fashioned payback?” 

Alex opened his mouth to rebute, “That-” It snapped shut. He mulled it over, “Huh. ”  

“Flynn’s got a point…” Julie input, “Give him a little taste of his own medicine. Show him that you won’t be pushed around,” 

“Go to war with a Trickster?” That didn’t seem to sit well with the blonde, “Right. Like that’s not gonna make the situation any worse!”  

Luke threw his hands up, “He started it!” 

“Alex. This guy is getting you in trouble with your work. It’s only fair to hit him back where it hurts.” 

Julie’s words reinforced their point. This was affecting work, and HQ would be out for his head if he didn’t deliver Matches quick. Luke couldn’t bear to see Alex get demoted like him. The office environment would literally sap his soul… 

The Cupid was turning the idea over in his head, his face embarking on a journey of different emotions. 

“Yeah,”  he said, coming around to it, “I mean, it’d be a service. Helping people? Making sure their days go on smoothly. Make them happy? Exact opposite of what Tricksters want, right?” 

“Exactly! You should do that” Luke patted him encouragingly on the shoulder. He caught a glimpse of the time on Julie’s kitchen clock and soon the date was back at the forefront of his mind.

“Listen, Alex. I love you. You’re my boy. Give that Trickster hell, but if you’ll excuse us, we have a reservation to get to.” 

“Right!” Alex blabbered apologies, “Should let you guys get going. Good luck, bud. And have fun you two!” 

He poofed out. 

“Okay if there’s no more interruptions,” Luke hauled Julie by the hand out her front door, “Let’s go!” 

Fiori’s was the place to eat on a Friday night- for those who were able to get in. With guest lists a mile long with only so many spots, it required being in the right circles, having the right connections to get the perfect table. 

Luckily, Luke was able to work miracles in their favor and fast tracked the line circling the block. All because he had Julie take the place of a socialite recluse. 

Luke didn’t have to change much of the reservation and all the odd requests that came with it- a table on the private terrace, away from prying eyes, a constant flow of wine.

The best part it was all fully comped and Luke just had to celebrate his genius for coming up with a foolproof plan. 

(Alright, Kai might have to take the fall for royally fucking up the communications but the guy had been a real dick to him when he first started working the desks so he totally deserved it…)

And it was everything like how Luke had described it to Julie weeks ago at the club. The view of the garden, the bomb pasta and the wine pairing, the moon. The sky was a bit more overcast than he would have liked but it was a victory all the same. 

“They probably think I’m forking all this down while they’re not looking” Julie mumbled to him after thanking the waiter for their second helping, the pasta served on two plates, “But trying to keep up a ladylike appearance.” 

Luke dug into his plate, sitting across from her, watching Julie do the same but more sloppily, “Wouldn’t want people to think you’re un-ladylike.” 

“What?” she said, a dribble of sauce hanging off her chin. 

Luke laughed, beckoning her closer so he could wipe it off, “I said your table manners are impeccable.” 

She rolled her eyes, snatching the table napkin from him and finishing the job off herself, “Could you blame me? This sauce-” 

“Is like crack. I know,” 

A couple more bites and sips of wine in, Luke wanted to check in with her, “Alright, so this is a date? It’s working?” 

“Nope. It’s not a date,” Julie raised her fork, “We need to follow the first date script.” 

“‘Where are you from?’, ‘What do you do?’, ‘What’s your sign?’ ” Luke mimicked. 

“I’d ask about what you do. But I know that already- well,” she squinted at him, “Not everything actually.” 

“Want me to bore you with extensive Cupid lore?”

An affirmative grunt rippled from her throat. 

“Uh, yeah?” she spelled out, “Because I need to know how it all works so I could hate it even more.”  

He set down his utensils, laying back on the chair, “What do you wanna know?”

“You said that you’re the child of Aphrodite,” 

He nodded. 

“What’s she like?” 

“Dunno. Never met her. None of us Cupids have,” 

“What? Really?” That answer threw her off, “But you’re doing her bidding? I’m assuming that’s what all this Love HQ business is for anyway. All this and you haven’t even met your mom?” 

“We don’t think of her as ‘mom’. Not like how you humans do,” 

Parents were not a sore subject per say, but it was the one aspect about the human experience he hadn’t given much thought. Perhaps due to a lack of understanding of how it worked, given he didn’t have that kind of relationship to model off of. Cupids were different in that way.

(As if they weren’t different from humans in other ways…) 

“Besides, we don’t have much of a claim to her actual bloodline since we’re literally ‘made up’. But we’re all still… hers? In a way? Hence- we’re all her children,” 

“I’m confused,” 

Alright, how could he… explain this? 

“So think of it as one big company, okay?” A company. Not a family. A soulless building with different divisions with a function- a use . 

“‘Synergy’. ‘Bandwidth’. ‘ Incentivize’-’ ”

“Gods, I hate corporate lingo. But yeah. But without the team building exercises or retreats, that’s total bullshit for us,” 

“So company. There are levels. That’s what you’re saying?” 

“Cupids, like me, are the underlings,” he described, “Mail room, cubicles, field work, all that jazz. We’re employees ,” 

Using his finger, as if drawing a diagram in the air, it followed an imaginary line from the imaginary box labeled ‘employees’ and straight to- 

“Management and heads of departments. Still Cupids but, like mad old. Like since the dawn of time old. The one I report to mostly is Harrison. She’s been around since the Renaissance.”

“You’re a baby compared to her then.” 

And she would treat him as such, Luke thought wryly to all the times Harrison would undermine his judgement.

But he had a fresh take on stuff while she tried to keep it old-fashioned. They often clashed but it would ultimately be ‘her way’ or ‘no way’. 

Refusing to dwell on his boss for any longer because hey- this was meant to be a happy occasion, he proceeded, running the imaginary line up again to the higher ups. 

“But they answer to Aphrodite’s actual descendants,” 

“What do you mean by ‘actual’?” 

“Cupids are her ‘creation’ but she’s got kids she had through the, well, more usual means. Kids she had with other celestials, magic beings, sometimes humans, but it’s been centuries since we’ve had some of those running around.” 

Julie lurched in her chair, “Like half-bloods?” she identified, a twinge of excitement laced in her voice. 

Luke stared. 

“What? I read Percy Jackson,” she composed herself, adjusting the straps of her dress, “Would that make Aphrodite CEO?”

“More like the Board of Directors or Trustees or whatever. Hands off. But very much still her ‘company’. The ‘CEO’ is one of her direct descendants. Claims that what they say is Aphrodite’s will. But if you ask me, I don’t even know Aphrodite is even involved at all,” 

“But that sucks. Having your whole life be dedicated to someone’s cause and not knowing if she’s even listening. If she’s still a part of it,” Julie harumph-ed, “I’d have a few choice words with her on this whole convoluted system.” 

Luke tipped his wine in her direction, “Join the club.”  

They clinked their glasses together, both taking a long sip of the Sauvignon Blanc. 

“Have any leads on Mystery Girl yet?” Julie inquired after her drink. 

“No,” And he had been looking into it ever since he found it. Even returning to Archives and exploring every nook and cranny of the infinite shelving. It was all they- he, Reggie, and Alex- could do because asking anyone else in HQ was out of the question. 

“Trail’s gone cold. It could be a desk jockey playing a joke on me or something,” 

“Well, I’m down to help you in any way that I can,”

Warmth bloomed in the pit of his stomach.

He appreciated that. It would get difficult being in HQ, his only allies and friends out on field assignments most of the time, no one else to talk to at the desks, but it was nice to know that he had another person in his corner, wishing him the same kind of happiness he wished for her. 

“Anything else you want to know about HQ?”

He could go on about the different departments, what they did, how the Compatibility Tests were put together… 

Julie sat on that. Then after a moment of pondering, she came out with a new question. 

“You said… it’s been a while since you played with the guys. On an assignment. So if you’re not out playing music then what have you been doing?”  

Shit. 

That, er, that was a dicey question. 

He did owe her the full story. He had been meaning to tell her. For a while. But it just… made him look bad. 

“I’ve been put on a bit of a probation,” he confessed, spurred by the wine to be honest , but also what would bullshitting do to the likes of Julie? 

“I messed up big time on a solo assignment and I’m stuck on desk duty. Have been for these past months. Not even supposed to go to Earth.” 

“And still you came. To help me?” 

“Well…” he drew out, higher pitched than he meant to, “I wasn’t totally being altruistic when I saw your file for the first time?”

His hands shot out, keeping her from responding just yet, “Like I wanted to help! Really, I did! And when I met you, I just, thought you were really cool but-”

“I was your ticket back to your singing job,” she hopped, skipped, and jumped to that conclusion. Spot on, “If you could Match the un-Matchable then you’re back in? Bye-bye desk and hello guitar?”

He lowered his gaze, “Yeah.” 

“Luke,” she called his name so gently, coaxing him to look up, “I’m not mad,”

“Really?"

“You went in with those intentions, yeah. But you weren’t… lying. In my kitchen. When you said all that stuff about wanting to help me. I’d know. So...what changed?”

“Thought it’d be routine. To check up on you and see what I’m dealing with but that was before-”

“Before what?”

“I heard you sing,”

The answer surprised her, though he had been praising her talents for the majority of the time they had known each other. Still, the admission, was news to her. 

“I’ve… never heard a voice like yours ever and I was… drawn to it,” he replayed the moment, the melody in his head like it was yesterday, “Suddenly, it wasn’t just a run of the mill case. Though I sorta knew that with how fast you went through our best Cupids,”

“RIP Valeria,” 

Luke wiggled a finger at her, “You’re a… pleasant surprise, Julie Molina,” And he stood by that. 

Julie’s lips moved ever so slightly, “You too, Luke NoLastName. Didn’t expect to like you so much.”  

“But here we are,” 

“Here we are,” she echoed. 

Their plates were cleared of the pasta, chicken and anything that resembled food not long after, and with dessert on its way, Julie was still hung up on where their previous conversation had left off. 

“Kinda random and by chance that you showed up and heard me sing. I don’t normally… do that. Alot. Especially out in public...” she recalled their first meeting. 

“I noticed,”

It did seem like a total fluke. And he had only been able to hear her voice again when demo-ing that song at the studio, but since then? Singing for the sake of it? For fun? Nothing like that free, mindless singing he had heard on the street. 

“Can I ask why you keep that wrecking ball of a voice hidden?” 

“Music and me- we’ve had a very complicated relationship because I got it from my mom. It was our shared passion and she taught me everything” 

The radiant brown hues of her eyes dulled, her smile souring- no, becoming more bittersweet than sour actually. His heart clenched at the sight. 

“And I nearly gave it all up when she died too”

His hand crossed the table to meet hers, unable to fathom such a loss, not with her, not with his powers that didn’t seem to work on her.

But also- music was his life. Reason for being. To imagine not having it, to go through something that… terrible to not bear the sound of it anymore? 

She layered her other hand on top and she exhaled deeply. 

“It took some time. Some therapy and rest and I eventually found my way back. Through writing, I feel closer to her. We used to do it all the time, and I sorta pulled my focus on that,” 

“But you tried to be a singer?” 

“I did. And I really worked for it too. Played the local coffee shop circuit, got some steady gigs. One night, I was supposed to perform at the Neon Dragon.

“No way. That’s huge,” 

“Showcase. Was gonna be it. My way in. Then my dad called, telling me to come to the hospital, and…” she broke off. Luke got the picture. 

“Writing music just… hurts less than singing. Which is funny because writing lately has just been a pain and I-” she barked out a dry laugh, “But I don’t feel like talking shop tonight. If that’s ok?”

Luke didn’t argue, feeling bad for prying into something so deeply personal. Of course there was a reason she didn’t pursue singing professionally even though she had the chops for it. Julie, like all humans, was riddled with complicated pasts. 

“Of course. You spent days writing for people. You’re here to relax, have a good time. Be wooed,” he took stock of their corner of the restaurant, “Are you being wooed?” 

Steering back to safer topics, Julie dismantled their tower of hands so she could play with her empty plate, smirking. 

“Getting there. The chicken and pasta already did so much of the work. Though the ‘dead mom’ talk sorta brought down the mood,” she joked. 

Yikes. That latter one was on him, but Luke was going to remedy that real soon. 

“Ah,”he stood up and waltzed to the balcony, “Wait for it.” 

And like clockwork, notes of smooth jazz floated up from the courtyard below. 

“Live music too?” Julie scoffed at how formulaic everything was to this point, “With the dinner, wine, the moonlight- no one really does this kind of stuff anymore.”

Or at least it wasn’t what a lot of people pictured as a realistic romantic experience in contemporary times. 

Luke shrugged, “Maybe they should?” 

You really are serving the works,” She forwent the table and came to join him at the balcony. 

Together, they admired the view of the rose garden, a hidden pocket of paradise nestled in L.A, the moonbeams setting the petals alight. 

“Come on,” he offered his palm to Julie, his feet already moving in time to the music below, “Let’s dance properly. I know you got the moves.”  

Julie pursed her lips, hand accepting his, “No moshing,” 

“In these shoes? I’d never,” 

She threw her head back laughing and followed his lead in the dance. Swaying and lazily spinning each other around, the music moved them. 

And if the waiters slipping inside to present dessert witnessed a girl waltzing with air, they didn’t comment on it. They were getting paid handsomely after all. 

After devouring dessert and tipping the waiters (“I know you don’t have cash, let me do this for them” Julie had said), Luke and Julie stepped out of the restaurant and into the cool night air. 

Luke had wanted to squeeze a good night’s stroll into the evening, so he had Flynn tell the car to wait for them some blocks away.

From what he had picked up, this was a great way to prolong the date, be revitalized by the outdoors, work off the food, recharging in the better sense of the word. 

Thought it had the opposite effect on Julie, as she leaned into him the entire time, still winded. But hey, that sorta worked, more physical contact and all. That would for sure boost the intimacy of the date. 

Luke had half a mind to carry her with how much Julie was burrowed into his side but they weren’t too far from the car and he didn’t want to scare any passerbys with a floating a human… 

“Luke, I had a good time,” she uttered, “The food, the wine, the dancing and everything but-” she had them stop near a streetlight, “-it was perfect.”

“You’re saying like it’s a bad thing,”

“It’s not. No really,” she tried to reassure him, “It’s just wild to me that this is the first time, in the history of our friendship, that we had a night out. That went off without a hitch,” 

Luke gasped, now seeing it, “Oh my gods you’re so right!” 

“I’m just sort of expecting something to go wrong,” 

“Are you sure that’s not just your pessimistic self talking?”

“We’re us , Luke,” she budged into him, and that somehow encapsulated the nuances of their weird relationship and circumstances surrounding it, “I dunno. Maybe I should stop thinking that way. But I can’t help it.” 

For irony purposes, Luke scoped out the street, half-anticipating that Trickster to pop out from a building and… pie them or something. 

“Yeah I get it,” he guided her along, getting them moving again so they could continue their trek, “Perfect is weird. Kind of overrated. But it’s not totally made up.”

“I think ‘perfect’ exists in other ways. In the unplanned. In the crazy. In the messy ,” Julie voiced. 

“Ok, but your last date there,” he stuck a thumb towards Fiori’s slowly shrinking in their peripherals as they put more distance, “Messy.” 

“There’s ‘messy’ and there’s ‘messed up’. That guy was the latter,”

“True,” 

The clacking of their shoes on the concrete marked the first lull in conversation of the night. 

“If you want…” Luke broke it, dropping his head to whisper to Julie, “I could totally fuck the rest of tonight up,”  

Julie snorted, “Luke, no!”

“I’m serious! What do you want me to do? And I’ll do it. Within reason,” 

“Don’t be an idiot. I’m not asking for bad things to happen!”

“But what are you asking for?” 

“I don’t know? An adventure?” she threw out, totally kidding. 

“A little...danger? Like, suspended, 30 feet from the ground, trapped in a glorified rust bucket?”  

“Just a little excitement. That’s all!”

They had their little laugh about it but all the sudden, Luke felt something land in his hair. And one thing turned into several. 

“Oh no,” Julie muttered, feeling it too. 

The light pelting of water drumming against the tops of their heads, and all over the street.

Manageable and non threatening at first, but then it started picking up, the rain coming down harder, edging away from a sprinkle to a definite downpour. 

And Luke could only stand there and glance down at Julie.  

“So you were saying,” 

Julie squealed, using her clutch for cover and hurrying to the nearest form of shelter, “This is on you, you magicky person!” 

“No! I wanted a chill evening for once!” Luke hollered back, braving the heavy rain and following her into a store awning, “How did this happen?” He had been so sure it wasn’t going to rain tonight!

“It’s freakin’ L.A! In the summer!” Julie shivered, patting down her already drenched hair, “How is this possible?” 

“Never mind that!” 

Luke, upon seeing Julie’s chattering form, speedily shed his not so wet jacket, and draped it over her shoulders. They stayed under the awning, assessing the situation.

The car was on the next street over, they didn’t know the driver’s number, and the rain didn’t look like it was gonna let up anytime soon... 

“How about it? Is running to the car in a shower exciting enough for you?” 

Julie, in the daze, snickered, “I really did ask for this, didn’t I?” 

“You sure did,” 

“We’ll go on the count of 3. And we charge. Got it?” 

“Sounds like a plan boss,” 

“Get in here,” she instructed, holding up his jacket as their makeshift cover. Luke took the other side and they were both protected. 

“One…” 

Luke’s free arm wrapped around Julie, bringing her close to him, “Two…” 

“Three!” 

They pushed out into the rain, leaving the awning and weathered through the storm, racing down the street, holding onto each other for dear life, crowing and squealing in rambunctious laughter until they made it to the car. 

Piling in, still immensely soaked despite Luke’s jacket covering them, they collapsed in the back, out of breath. The driver made haste and had apologized profusely for not having been nearby. Julie assured him that it was very much alright. 

Luke inched towards her, swiping the strands of hair clinging onto her face, giggling like a madman at what just happened, “A-Are you okay?” 

She nodded, wide grin on her face, body still shivering but buzzing with life. 

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Luke rubbed her bare shoulders to keep her warm, “How do you feel?” 

She glanced up at him. 

“Perfect. Just perfect,”

He smiled, “Glad to hear it. This ‘first date’ was one for the books, wasn’t it?” 

Julie sighed contently, though exhausted, relaxing into him. 

“For sure...”

Chapter Text

“Let’s get you dried up,” Julie giggled, fumbling with the key though having trouble slipping it in the lock due to her still wet hands. She was shivering slightly and Luke felt bad that he couldn’t warm her up with his coat- a casualty from their run in the rain. 

Luke wanted to stress that he was a Cupid and the threat of hyperthermia was basically nonexistent to him, but the concern was sweet nonetheless. 

He tried to help her but his hands were not any drier, and they were a bit tipsy from the wine. Flynn must have gone home, otherwise they would have been spared the awkward dance trying to get into the apartment. 

After a solid 3 minutes, they finally unlocked the door and they stumbled into the dark. Julie opted for turning on one of the lamps instead of the overhead lights, and sure enough it was just the two of them here. 

“See, the date went so well, you end up back at my place.” she couldn’t help but tease, kicking off her heels and freeing the rest of her hair from the tie. 

Luke snorted in laughter, walking around aimlessly through the room, not wanting to sit down and get her furniture soaked, “Ha ha. I don’t put out on the first date.”

Julie wiggled her eyebrows at him, “Oh, you’re not that kind of Cupid?” 

“Tried to be, but what can I say? I’m just too emotional. No shame to those who are built that way. I’m just… not,” 

He didn’t plan to be as candid about it, but Julie put the jokes on hold and nodded sympathetically. 

“I wish I was built that way,” she admitted, standing in front of him“Never been the one to just… go for what I want.” 

“Could’ve had me fooled,”

Julie shot him a small smile, but he couldn’t tell if it was her teasing one or the more genuine grins. Not in this low light.  “Take off your clothes?” 

“Wait- what?” 

She had been blunt in asking, and Luke must have been sporting some sort of deer in headlights expression because Julie laughed and pointed to an alcove near the kitchen.

“Oh my god. So I could get your suit dry,” she pinched his sopping pocket square and pulled it with a flourish, “I swear you looked excited there for a second.” 

“W-What? Psh, no-” Luke spluttered, shedding his jacket and following Julie to the washer. He recovered from the blunder, armed with a quip, “Uh no. C’mon Jules, you were begging and I just thought-”

Julie scoffed as she opened the machine, “Begging? Don’t flatter yourself, Lover Boy.”

“Okay, so if I take my shirt off right now, you won’t gawk at me like before?” he remarked cheekily. 

She rolled her eyes and mimed for him to start putting his clothes in the washer, “Shut up.”

Luke smirked, “That wasn’t an answer.”

“Whatever!” Hands up, she trudged towards the hallway, “I’m changing in my room. So you don’t gawk at me .”

“I don’t gawk at you!”

“Yeah. Tell that to my cleavage, dude!”  She was obviously harkening it back to his elevator eyes earlier on in the evening. 

Luke’s cheeks reddened. “I was- I was admiring your dress!” 

The shut door muffled Julie’s melodious laugh once in her room. She came back out in comfy sweats and her hair in a towel. 

Luke had quickly changed into his Nirvana tee and regular white jeans while she was gone. He didn’t have anything else more comfortable than that, but it was the best he could do with his Cupid powers at the moment. 

Accepting a towel for his hair, he finally got to sit down on the couch. Julie ran the washer, her dress on standby to not mix with his white suit, and joined him. 

Now Luke didn’t really plan this far ahead into the night (he didn’t anticipate the rain obviously), so it was safe to say that the date was over and they were back to their regularly scheduled program. 

He figured there should have been a switch, like there was ‘date’ mode and then normal, but it was a fun surprise that the date itself was just him and Julie hanging out, talking like how they would, just with fancier dress and the sprinkling of romantic gestures. 

It had taken the pressure off from before, thinking he had to be some sort of heightened version of himself to play up the ambiance and whatnot. But no, and like all things with Julie, it just fell into place. Almost seamlessly. 

This should be the time for him to make his leave, but he didn’t wanna roll up to HQ without that ‘borrowed’ suit, so he stuck around longer, just until his clothes were dry. 

He also stayed because the company wasn’t so bad either… 

Neither of them felt up for a movie at the moment, choosing to talk. They were coming down from the wine and relaxed into the couch. And if Luke were a human, he would so slip into slumber by how comfortable he was, his and Julie’s words dropped to whispers. Hers sounded almost like a lullaby. 

And it was during a gap in the conversation, with Julie staring off into space, cuddling one of her throw pillows, that that previous thought emboldened him to ask: 

“Sing for me?” 

That pulled her back from wherever her mind went, “What?” 

“I just wanna hear you,” he scooted closer to her, “Please?” 

He hadn’t heard her sing in months. Maybe a hum and a trill here and there, but not like a full on verse. The last time might have been in the studio at her work, and with all the talk during dinner about what drew him to her, and also her, at one point in her life, having wanted to pursue a singing career…

Maybe it was a little selfish for him to ask. It was clear she didn’t do much of it, only for work purposes. It was weird, to be so hooked in on her voice that any opportunity to hear her he would take it. But he couldn’t help it. 

And Luke had definitely considered Julie being some sort of siren or something (he heard those for sure existed), but no. That wasn’t it. 

Julie may not be magical persay, but her voice definitely was (in the hyperbolic sense of course). 

She reacted like he had said something funny, “I don’t sing on the first date.” 

“Wow. Really?” 

“Uh-huh,”

“What a shame,” 

He conjured up his journal and pen, cracking open the book to an empty page and scribbling something. 

Julie leaned over, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was writing, “What are you doing?”

“Making a note to add karaoke bar to lists of dates I need to take you on,” 

“You’re taking me on more?”  

“I said Do-Over Dates. Plural . We are recreating every single one of your dates, maybe a few extra because- karaoke? Is a must!” 

Julie looked like she was assembling a rebuttal but then thought against it. Almost like resignation. But she wasn’t too beat up about it, actually might be somewhat amused. Luke smiled to himself. She just knew that this was him being him and she was just going to have to expect that. 

 “How many dates do we have left?” 

“Ballpark?” he mentally counted the list, “11?” 

“11?”

Luke couldn’t tell if Julie was shocked that the number was so high… or so low, but either way 11 appeared to be daunting.  

“They’re not as comprehensive as the one we just had,” Luke assured, “We could knock out a few in one day.  But we can space it out?” 

Julie sat for a minute, processing, “You’re really… going all in on this.”  

“I don’t want you to be afraid of putting yourself out there,”

And there was that genuine smile, as clear as day, “I appreciate that but, you know, this doesn’t have to be all about me.”  

Luke peered over his journal, clueless, “What do you mean?” 

“If there are dates you want to go on,” Julie clarified, punching him in the shoulder, “For your curiosity. Then we’ll do those… if you want?” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. I don’t mind. I wanna give you good experiences too. That’s how this works. Right?” 

Luke was touched. They really were in this together, weren’t they? 

“Oh, so… it's a date then,”

She nodded, “I guess it is.” 

“And you know what’s on top of my list-?” 

She cut him off, rolling her eyes, “At a later, later , time…” 

“Fine,” he conceded (planning for karaoke to be a third date kinda thing anyway), “So as first dates go, how was this one?” 

The corners of her eyes cinched, her smile growing slowly like she wasn’t fighting whether or not to reveal as much. She played with the tassels of her pillow, “Great. You really outdid yourself, Luke.” 

“All for you, Julie,”

The washer beeped, signaling the end of the cycle. Julie uncurled her legs and got up. And like all the other times he was on the verge of being sappy, she ruffled his hair, called him a goon, then walked off to transfer his suit to the dryer. 

Okay, he knew that this wasn’t her first choice, but come on! 

Some weeks and a couple of dates later, Luke was stationed at a table in the karaoke, holding a microphone limply in his hand. Julie not having shown up yet despite her being the one to set this date up for him. 

Their dates after Fiori’s had been pretty normal. Some local coffee shops and food places, one at a roller rink. 

They had even gotten a mall date in there to unscrew up Julie’s sophomore year date dud and fulfill Luke’s ‘90s teen dream of wandering around the shopping complex, slurping on an ICEE and dragging his date to the music store. 

Those kind of stores didn’t really exist anymore (which blows!), but Julie had done her fair share of dragging too, and they were able to salvage the date at Hot Topic, where they bought a shit ton of pins and a couple more band tees. 

And after pushing karaoke down the list for so long-

(“Why are you so against it?”

“I never know what to do! Am I supposed to sound bad? Or try? Then I’m gonna be that show off that no one likes-”

“And?”

“I think I might have to be drunk to enjoy it,”

“Ok. Valid,”)

-Julie finally agreed to it. Apparently one of her coworkers knew the owner of a karaoke bar and they struck an arrangement to come in during the off hours so they had the place to themselves. So good singing, bad singing, sober singing- it was all fair game. Hopefully making Julie more comfortable performing. 

Luke was pumped, had even contemplated inviting the boys to come along, maybe to fill some seats so they could sell the bit, but Reggie had been spending more free time glued to his phone and Alex-

Well, he hadn’t seen Alex as much. Not since his and Julie’s first ‘date’. The guy was always out of HQ and whenever he did manage to catch him, Luke would barely get two sentences in before Alex would speed off with some half-baked excuse. Weird. 

So he was fully set on it just being him and Julie here, singing some tunes, having a ball at the karaoke bar. 

If she ever gets here that is…, he thought glumly to himself, feeling the Earth minutes slip away into an hour. 

She wouldn’t… stand him up, right? ‘Cuz that would be some cosmic joke since they were supposed to tackle Julie’s next do-over date where that very thing happened (Chance Donohue from Advanced Music Theory, fuck you!). 

Julie would never though. She wouldn’t leave him hanging like this (at least not for too long). 

Something was up. 

He poofed to her place, knocked their secret knock. And nothing. He didn’t wait, couldn’t squash this feeling that something was wrong, like the universe was off its axis, and so he poofed into the apartment. No Julie. 

Then to her work, checked all the studios and meeting rooms for her. He had even phased through Nick and Flynn during his search but without Julie as a relay, he couldn’t ask them. Flynn seemed less chipper than usual, and he was curious if it connected back to Julie. 

But seeing Flynn going about work meant that it wasn’t that serious. Like if Julie had been injured or sick, her best friend wouldn’t be here at the label. 

Yet, he still couldn’t find her. 

Then it was a massive poof session, bouncing around all over town to the spots she would frequent but nothing. No cloud of curls, no purple blazer in sight. 

Last resort, he returned to HQ. In the break room, he found Reggie, hunched over the table with his phone. 

“What day is it?” he asked, maybe getting the dates confused for when to meet up, (as if that would explain Julie’s sudden disappearance).  

Reggie paused his texting to peer at the date on his screen, “Wednesday? The… 20th.” 

Okay, so he definitely had today right. “I couldn’t find Julie at her place. Or her work. Or that coffee shop she likes so much.” 

“ The Polar Espresso? ”

“No. Java The Hut ,” 

The other Cupid approved of the Star Wars, “Nice,” Then he posed a question- “Can’t you just poof to where she is?”

“I can’t lock onto anything,” A downside to Luke’s Cupid powers having no effect on Julie, “We can get onto her socials, right? With your phone. Can’t we message her-?”

“Dude, I’m pretty sure she’s fine,” Reggie tried to quell his fears but Luke was already across the room, at his table, and he swiped the phone from his friend’s grasp, “Hey! Don’t I was just-”

He glanced at the screen and tried to stifle his laughter when he read the messages Reggie already had pulled up. 

 “.... ‘My little Junebug’? What are you, a from the '50s?” 

“What?” Reggie pouted, reaching for his phone, “That’s what I call her.”

“Your girlfriend?” 

“My lady ,” he corrected, proud.

Ok, Luke was kinda jealous that Reggie had somehow found a way to not only sneak a working phone into HQ, but to use it to get a girlfriend. 

With some finessing around social media and other apps (Reggie had always been the tech-savvy one out of the three of them), he had got to talking to some girl who, miraculously, wasn’t as put off about his lack of face on his profile and vibed well with him. Both such rays of sunshines, shared many interests. Even loving Star Wars just the same. 

This had gone on for months before Luke and Alex got clued in and by then they were pretty much official. 

Though as smart as Reggie was, falling for a human wasn’t the move. At least for a Cupid. They all knew it. But... it made the guy so happy. And who was Luke to get in between love? The best they could do was tell him to proceed with caution… 

He rarely got a glimpse of Reggie’s messages, the guy wanting to keep the forbidden device and his forbidden love affair close to him at all times in case someone walked in, so Luke was milking this moment for all its worth. 

“Oh right, sorry,” Luke cleared his throat, smirking, “And what- what does she call you again?”

Reggie pursed his lips. Then looked at the ground. 

“... her Honey Bunny.” he muttered.

“Cute. Disgustingly cute,” 

Luke proceeded to fiddle with the phone. Now, he had basic knowledge of how this worked, studying how Julie operated her phone, but the lack of buttons made it hard for him to navigate. 

He was just swiping randomly, hoping it would get him out of Reggie’s messages.

“Yeah, yeah,” The other Cupid waved off the previous comment, “Just go DM Julie, so I can back to talking to-”

“ Oh my Gods,”    

Luke accidentally had tapped something and the picture of Reggie’s girlfriend blew up the screen and he had to do a double take. 

He flipped the phone, pointing to the girl, “This her? Your girlfriend?”

“Yeah? Why? You don’t think I could land such a beautiful lady?”

“No. That’s not-” he broke off. He must have seen pictures of her a handful of times, but it didn’t hit until he recalled that night with Julie and Flynn, in the club. Nice and bubbly despite the company she kept (ahem, a certain Carrie Wilson ). 

“I’ve seen her! Julie knows her!”

“Shut the front door!” Reggie’s eyes blew open to a comical size, “Really? She knows Kayla?!” 

The picture was taken in broad daylight, outside a boutique storefront, but yeah. Luke was sure it was her. And hearing her name again only confirmed it. 

“Yeah man! They went to high school together! I saw her at the club,” 

“She didn’t… she didn’t see you? Did she?” And Luke smiled sadly hearing Reggie trying not to sound too hopeful. 

“No,” he said, and Reggie deflated, “And if she had then that night would have taken a turn. Look, you can ask Julie more about it when we find out where she is. Now can we please-?” 

Reggie sighed and helped him find Julie’s profile and they sent her a DM asking where she was. 

The phone pinged and they got a response. 

at home

srry

She didn’t sound like she was in mortal danger (Okay, his mind tended to blow things out of proportions.) But her short replies gave him pause. As well as the first line. 

“Home? I was just there and she wasn’t-” 

Wait. 

An idea came to mind. 

Luke sought out Julie’s file and found her family’s house, her childhood home, and he made a quick haste to Los Feliz. 

Poofing into the house instead of outside of it could be blamed on his anxiety, wanting to find Julie and make sure she was ok. 

It was a nice home, a large structure that was an extension of Julie’s apartment. The warmth of the walls and knick knacks and the pictures. His hurry had slowed, Luke traversing and exploring the first floor.

He found himself admiring the framed photos, smiling when he saw ones of Julie as a kid, decades old drawings and school projects still displayed proudly. It all was a shrine to a childhood that Luke never had. 

“You know, I worry about her too,”

Luke yelped, doing a 360 and was face to face with an older man, hair grayed, with weathered but kind eyes. 

Julie’s dad. 

He was staring, and Luke thought for a second he was talking to him. (That wouldn’t have been a possibility with any other human, but this human in particular was related to Julie. There could have been a connection…). 

But the dad was as human as they come, and it wasn’t until Luke pinpointed the direction of the man’s stare that he realized he was not looking at him- but what was behind him. 

Which was… no one. 

Julie’s dad continued, talking into the empty space, “I know I shouldn’t. She’s taken care of herself well. She’s our daughter after all, but…”

He ventured towards the kitchen. And Luke, interest piqued, tailed him. 

The man arrived at the island, twisting a plate of something- Tamales?, Luke surmised. 

“It’s today, when I see it… It’s always today,” Then Julie’s dad let out an exhale, and it was so deep, and so riddled with years . That was all Luke could describe it. Wasn’t all that unlike what he would hear from Harrison.

This man had been through a lot. (Obviously not centuries, but still...). 

Yet, he smiled. It reached his eyes and everything, so it was real, but Luke sensed that it was only a halfway-happy. 

Julie’s dad turned on his heel, leaning against the sink, and he stared at the window, “She’s so much like you. With that spirit. So stubborn. And talented. Her and Carlos actually.”

His view was zeroed in this time, and Luke knew now that he was actually looking at something. Sprouting up from behind the human, he followed his sight to a garage structure outside. 

That was where Julie must be. 

Luke could go to her now, like planned. But he lingered. Just watching the man and he was overwhelmed with the need to give this man a hug, to… to make sure he was alright. 

But he couldn’t. So he was subjected to play spectator. 

“We miss you every day, mi flora. My Rose,” The man shut his eyes, collecting himself, “Just wish you were here...”

The air grew heavy as Luke struggled to suck in a breath he wasn’t aware he had been holding. His head perked up at the sound of a sniffle, his insides plummeting at the thought of the older man crying. 

Oh. Wait. That was him. He had sniffled. It was his eyes welling up. 

That was his cue to leave. 

He shouldn’t have been here for this. This was a conversation he wasn’t meant to listen in on,, but now he had an even better understanding of what Julie meant, that night they met. 

If this was what love did to people, what could happen when that love was lost... why be a part of it?

Oh. Julie. 

He sobered up, wiping at his face. Whatever was plaguing her dad was what brought her back home, and if her dad needed some comforting… 

Luke eyed the plate of food on the counter, and lifted the tamale-looking food off the top and went to the garage. 

He raised his fist to knock, feeling weird to do this bit anywhere else but her apartment. He did it anyway, and he was met with a quiet, “Come in.” 

Creaking the double doors open, he slipped inside, fully expecting a car or a musty, dusty structure that acted as storage. 

Not a freakin’ palace of music. 

Guitars suspended by hooks lining the walls, stacks of starter books and sheet music scattered on a coffee table, a tower of amps just so casually placed near a drum kit. 

And a grand piano at the center of it. Julie sitting at the bench. 

“What’s- what’s this place?”

“Mom’s studio,”she said, not at all shocked by his presence.

“Sick,” he breathed. He closed the door but remained where he was, “Hey.” 

Her body twisted on the bench to acknowledge him, “Hey to you too.”

The tone didn’t match her easy greeting. This was Julie at 50% battery level.

“I didn’t- I didn’t know where you were,” He didn’t have it in him to summon a smidge of annoyance or anger. It had been mostly worry anyway… 

You scared me, you know?

As if reading his mind, she had to counter. 

“I left a note,” 

“Where?” 

“The coffee table,” 

“How did you know I was gonna let myself in?”

“Had a feeling,” she drawled. 

Luke sat next to her on the bench. He offered her the food. 

“Here’s, uh, a...well, er, a-” 

“Pasteles,”  

“Pasteles,” he corrected himself. 

Julie barely laid her eyes on the food, swiveling back to face the piano. 

“Not hungry,”

Shit. This was serious. Julie not wanting to eat something?

He cleared his throat, setting the pasteles on the piano top, “Sorry if I’m intruding.”

“No, we had plans. It’s my fault. It’s fine,” she tried to convince, even going as far as stretching a smile on her face, “ I’m fine.”

“Now, I’m still brushing up on the ‘Humans For Dummies’ guide, but I’m pretty sure that when a human says ‘I’m fine’...” Luke trailed off. 

He chanced a touch to her arm, and she could shrug him off or tell him to leave, but she didn’t. In fact, his touch triggered a deep exhale out of her, as well as the truth. 

“Today’s her birthday,” 

“Oh,” 

That explained what he had just witnessed in the kitchen, why Flynn wasn’t ‘Flynn-y’ at work, and why Julie was back home. It must be a difficult day for the Molina family. 

“It’s been, like, years. I know. And I would never, ever , miss today,” Tracing the piano keys, she pressed one. It sounded sour, “But I forgot it this year. If it weren’t for my brother calling me, asking me if I’m bringing dessert, or if he is and I...”

Oh no, he could sense where this was going. His hand skated past her shoulder, moving the width of her back and giving her a half-embrace, “Hey, it’s ok. We all forget sometimes.”

“But I shouldn’t. And I-”

Her upper body stiffened, head whipping round to look at him and Luke thought maybe she was going to redirect the blame to him. And he wouldn’t fight it. It had been plans with him , for him that almost made her miss out on a very important occasion. 

None of that came. “-It’s a really rough time for my dad. And it only got worse when Carlos went off to college. He’s all alone here.” 

Luke nodded, “He must have loved her. Your mom. Very much… I overheard him talking to her.”

“Yeah… he does that,” Her lips moved, the formation wry, and it made Luke wonder if she would do that too. Talk to her mom like she was still here.

“I think it’s kinda romantic actually…”

Julie coughed, “Shocker.”

“It’s still sad. Still… bittersweet. But, I guess…” he chose his next words carefully, “...love is that powerful? That it stays after someone’s gone. That the parts of them still here, are carried on by your love for them? Then they never… really leave, do they?”  

A weary sigh left Julie. She must have heard every iteration of this speech from loved ones over the years, and Luke inwardly cringed. He didn’t want to just say the same old thing. He wanted to actually, since the very beginning, give her some sort of solace in love. 

But what could he do? Against years of grief and sadness. Could he really make that go away? If he promised her love, would it actually heal the ache? 

There was one thing he was sure of and that was love. But the meanings and connotations with love had long since been expanded and complicated by meeting Julie Molina. 

“Still, it’s scary. Something ending. So I’d like to choose to believe that it doesn’t,” he finished off pathetically. 

And, with the way they were, Julie called him out on it. 

“Easy for you to do. You have… all the time in the world. You don’t run by a clock. There’s no… endings for you. For people like you.” 

Right, ‘cause he was essentially immortal. He never knew what it was like to lose someone close to him. But he was determined to hammer the last point home- 

“But she’s here. Still. In this place? In you? Right? She’s gotta be,”

Julie’s fingers curled over the piano’s wood finish, “She’s everywhere…”

 “She played music too?”

“It was her life . Told me that it was what she was born to do. I used to feel that way too,” 

Wow, Luke thought. There was much that he had in common with the late Rose Molina. Music was his core, his purpose. And… it was Julie’s too. Otherwise, why would she still write? If she really didn’t think it wasn’t something she was meant to do, then why be involved at all? 

He got up from the bench, intending to take another look around. 

It was so easy to imagine a young Julie here, learning the piano, her mom fostering her talent- a place to play with music like a toy. 

His feet brought him to the guitars, these beautiful guitars. An appreciative gasp left him, fingers hovering over the Antique White Custom 24- that one had caught his eye the moment he walked in. 

“You can pick one up,” Julie permitted, “It’s okay.”

“No, I shouldn’t-” 

“She wouldn’t have minded. It’s been sitting here, collecting dust. It’s a crime to leave an instrument unplayed,” 

Sage words, “Lemme guess, it’s another mom-ism?”

Julie finally cracked a smile, “Oh yeah. She had a lot of those.”  

She crossed the room and, without ceremony, unhooked the white electric and dumped it into Luke’s arms (he clearly wasn’t going to make the first move). 

“Hey! Careful!” he scolded, cradling the guitar like a baby. Might as well be. It was just as precious. Then it registered that he was actually holding the damn thing and immediately strung the strap over his shoulder, testing out a chord, getting a feel for it. 

He almost swooned when he heard the sound. 

Julie was entertained by this, like watching a kid play with a new toy he got for Christmas. Luke hoped she knew what she had done because now he wanted to sit here and play this six-string forever. 

“Can I show you something?” 

He paused his playing. Julie gestured towards the ladder leading up to a loft. Carefully, returning the guitar to its place on the wall, he climbed after her, bending over so he wouldn’t bang his head against the ceiling.

They sat amidst the boxes stored. All the stuff Luke figured would be in a typical Californian garage. 

“This is her writing nook. She used to come up here, with her book and write songs for hours. Sometimes, I’d- I’d crawl in and just watch. She’d ask me for ideas,” 

Luke was touched that she wanted to share more about her mom with him. And the picture was too cute to conjure. “You’d get writing credits?” 

“Of course,” 

“Really runs in the family, doesn’t it?” 

“Well… Carlos tried to pick it up, but he could barely carry a tune. No matter what instrument we throw at him. And dad sings. Loud and way off key. I think that was why mom loved him. It didn’t sound right, but it came from the heart,” 

Luke laughed, “That’s what matters.” 

For the next how many minutes, Luke got to hear Julie go on about her mom. Some funny moments- really embarrassing stories (“Luke, I swear you better not tell the guys about this,” “I won’t!”). 

There were beats of silence interwoven every now, when Julie was quietly reminded of today, but that didn’t last too long, with Luke asking guiding questions, segueing into another story. Overall, he could tell she needed this. 

Then abruptly, Julie checked the time and hurried down the ladder, “Shit, shit, shit.”

“What is it?” he asked as she returned to the piano, this time bringing out her journal from her back. 

It was open to a song and she was now rummaging for a pen. 

Luke put it together. And he was fuming. 

“Are you trying to work on this now?” he asked in disbelief. Julie couldn’t really get a day off? Today of all days? The label was making her work? Really?

This had happened before. Countless times actually. 

Julie getting random calls, during lunch, while at the park, during their movie nights. She would be trying to multi-task- watching Julia Roberts while scribbling some ideas in her journal. There were occasions when he would pop by her work and she would look like she had been through it but still managed to carry on and do whatever they had planned for the night. 

Come to think of it, Luke couldn’t remember a time when Julie wasn’t stressed out about anything work-related. 

They really were trying to make use of their most successful lyricist and that was not okay with Luke. 

“The deadline got bumped up this morning and the artist’s temperamental and the last song is down between me and this other writer and I-” she growled, slamming the pen onto the piano top, “Andi really wants me to land this client-” 

“Is that why you're here? In the studio?” 

“I thought, if I was back here again, I’d get those juices flowing, the words wouldn’t be lost on me. And I’ll get it done quick and go back to dinner, but now I just think the words are just hiding from me completely…”

“I can help. You look for them, that is. The words,” Luke blurted out, without thinking. 

Julie blinked at him, “What?”

Oh. Was he- was he really doing this? Offering to collaborate? Like write a song? With Julie? He hadn’t penned anything in months, too busy juggling his double life at HQ and visiting Earth. 

But Julie needed help. And screw the label for trying to make her finish a song on her mom’s birthday!

“I’m no in-demand songwriter, but two heads are better than one?” 

“Luke, you don’t have to,” 

“I want to,” he double-downed, “You deserve to have this time with your family.” 

Julie warred with herself, “But you don’t really need to-”

“Why? You don’t think I can do it?” he baited. 

She shook her head, biting her lip, “Can’t I just… protect you? From the dark side of the music industry?” 

He was gearing up, “Julie-”

“It’s a love song, Luke,” 

Whoop. There it is. 

“Shit,” 

“Yeah…” she blew out. 

“So you really don’t think I can do it,” 

“No, Luke. That’s not it," she grabbed his hand, "It’s just I don’t… I don’t really ask for help for these things,” 

He got that. Must be sacrilegious to suggest writing with her in the same place she used to write with her mom. 

Yet, Julie was just a more of an independent person in general. A fact he was well aware of the moment they met, with her thinking that she would have to manage by herself for the rest of her life. Unmatched. 

“For the record,” she continued, “You’d kill this song. I think it’s right up your alley…” 

He cocked his head to the side, “How?” 

“Here, being ‘too emotional’ is a good thing,” She echoed the conversation after their first date, and that drew his attention. 

“Oh really? Can I see? What have you got so far?” he asked, the question sounding innocent enough, and Julie didn’t clock his intentions when she summoned him to the piano, showing him the lyrics. 

“Yep,” he read through, “Love at its most basic,” 

“Oh, it’s basic?”  

Luke rolled his eyes, “ Intense . Love’s supposed to stem from this need. Need to be with someone so bad. Like literally you’d do anything to prove it,” he cited the part about crossing oceans, “That’s literally how it’s like, at the beginning at least, like so intense. Maybe you wanna swap out ‘waves’ with something else. I don’t know what rhythm you have in mind.”

“I was thinking-” Then she launched into a less rendered version of the melody, singing at half volume, setting the beats. 

Luke repeated it after her, “Yeah. It seems too short. That line. Especially when you wanna lead it into the next verse, which is already short.”

Julie clicked her pen, poised to write, “You’re so right. Yeah. That’s out. So if not ‘waves’ then what do you have in mi-” 

She stilled. It dawned on her. 

Then looked at him. 

Luke was sporting a shit-eating grin. 

“Did you just-?” she gaped at him, punching him in the shoulder and he cackled loudly, “Did you just trick me into letting you help with the song?” 

“Gotta admit, it worked, right? And this-” he swiped the pen, writing his own notes, “This works too?” 

Julie read the notes and… begrudgingly agreed with him. 

“I don’t like being tricked,” she pouted. 

“And I don’t like my friends in trouble,” Luke countered. He tapped at the pages, “So can we please…?”

“You haven’t written for other people,” she stated, sounding to be the start of an argument on why he couldn’t, “You gotta keep in mind of their sound, who they are as an artist, the album and what the angle is.”

She brought out her phone and presented the emails and the promos for the artist- some young alt pop-punk band-and Luke realized that this was actually a learning moment. Julie was teaching him. Giving him the tools to help her write the song.

“That’s why I think this is a perfect first trial. I think you’d vibe with this artist,” 

“Not sure I would if they’re making you work today,” he grumbled, “When’s the last time you’ve written for yourself? Sung for yourself?” 

The girl actually had to stop and dwell on that for a minute, “Back when I had a curfew and still slept in my butterfly-themed room.” she jerked her head in the direction of her house. 

“I have got to see this butterfly room,” 

“Down, boy,” she pulled his focus, “Maybe after we’re done?”

Luke grinned, “You got it, boss.” 

So they holed themselves up in her mom’s studio, writing away. Yeah, time was of the essence, it was getting dark outside and when Julie’s brother would arrive then dinner would commence. 

But writing with Julie was just too damn fun and he couldn’t imagine wanting to stop. (They did have to take breaks, so Julie could check in on her dad but other than that- unstoppable!).

And, not to bust out the corporate lingo, but there was a synergy present when they were collaborating, a lyrical repertoire that translated so well that there wasn’t much time to sit and think of things. They already had it in their heads, a finished thought spurred by the other person’s last sentence, and so it went on. 

Luke had even assisted in the melody, envisioning a heavy guitar presence for this song. He ramped up Julie’s melody via the 24 (And no, it wasn’t an excuse to hold that sexy piece of music hardware). 

“Yes! That’s perfect,” Julie voiced her enthusiastic approval, “Can we record a bit? On my phone so I can play it for them?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure,”

And to both their surprise, his playing came through on the recording. Luke had never really considered the possibility of being recorded. Sure, people could hear him, but tech picking up his music? That was pretty cool. 

Just past 7, Julie received a text from her brother, who texted saying he was close by. Which was good timing ‘cause they were just about to wrap it up, running through the lyrics one last time. 

“Can’t believe we wrote a solid song in under an hour,” 

Luke collapsed onto the couch, the guitar still strapped to him. He was winded, but so deliriously happy, “Me too.”

“Like, no really, Luke. This is great work,” she commended, “Are you gonna finally show me those songs the guys keep going on about?”

He raised an eyebrow, “So you could fix them?”

“Gods, just take the compliment,” 

Luke immediately ‘oooh-ed’, pointing wildly at her, to which Julie dropped her head onto the piano, groaning.

“Great. You have me talking like one of you,”

“Don’t worry. You’re still a rad human,” 

“Geez, thanks,” 

Luke took this time for a bit of a breather while Julie looked over her journal one last time. She seemed lighter than before, happily humming the tune they invented for it. 

He knew how she would get after finishing a song, treating the task as… like a task, really. Not seeing it as a fun activity but writing was fun. It totally sucked that she really had to work to find that joy in it again.

“Maybe… you should write. A song for yourself,” he tossed in there, interrupting her reading, “I think you’re getting exhausted, putting on these different hats, shoes- trying to put your soul into someone’s else’s music. Maybe the words would come easier then,” 

She nodded, expression indecipherable, “I’ll, uh, think about it.”

“Do you wanna… sing it? One more time?”

That seemed like a great suggestion. Julie leapt out of her seat, “Yeah, and we could really go all out with it too.”

The amp already had been on so Luke could do the guitar parts, but this time Julie brought out the mic stands. Luke eagerly bounced over after it was set up. 

“Wanna start from the bridge, leading to the chorus?” 

“Yes!” Luke loved that part. Might just his favorite chunk of the song to play, “1, 2, 3-”  

“So do you love me?” Julie belted, grabbing the stand forcefully, getting into it, “ All you gotta do is say yes. Do you love me? And I won’t ever second guess...”

Luke picked up the next line- though the song wasn’t written for a duet. But there was a window. Julie left it open and he took it. 

He jutted forward, strumming away, “Now do you love me? All you gotta do is say yes. Do you love me? -

“Then you already proved it,” 

“Ye-ah. Ye-ah!” They chorused. 

Suddenly, Julie bounded towards him, having swiped the mic from her stand, offering to Luke in time for the chorus. 

“And maybe if I’m half the man I say I am,” he sang, inching closer. 

She smirked, bringing the mic back, “For a woman with no fear, just like I claim I am,”  

“Then I’ll believe in what you say. There’s nothing left for you to do,” they harmonized, just- just like that. Not even having to talk about it. What ?

“The only proof that I need-”

“-Is you.”  

Their vocals rang out along with the faint wail of Luke’s guitar. They stood, their faces having grown even closer during the last line. Julie’s labored breath fanned his face, his own struggled to keep in time… the song having taken so much out of him. 

“Wow,” was all he said. All that he could say. His mouth had gone dry. 

Julie nodded, eyes blown wide, reeling from it too.  

They just sang together. 

And they sounded amazing. 

Luke could wax poetic about it, could describe that zing! that coursed through him when their voices mingled so flawlessly without planning for it. It was like what had enchanted him that day on the street, hearing her sing but a thousand times better. 

And for a moment, in one crazy moment, he contemplated whether or not Julie was just only meant to sing, like him.. But if they were meant to sing together… It… didn’t seem impossible. 

Then it hit him. He got to have his karaoke moment with Julie after all. 

A loud commotion from outside jolted them out of their post-song haze. 

Julie coughed, stepping back, “That’s, uh, that’s my brother,” 

“We should probably tidy up,” Luke unplugged the guitar from the amp. He gently returned the guitar. 

“Y-Yeah. Let’s… do that,” She breezed by him, putting the stands away in a hurry.

“Julie?” a voice called out, approaching. 

“In here!” 

The doors swung open and a guy in a baseball cap ambled in, brandishing a plastic bag. Luke kept rolling up the cord, continuing the cleanup efforts while Julie attended to her brother. His part of the studio was dim enough that maybe the guy wouldn’t notice a floating bundle of wire. 

Julie hugged Carlos, taking his hat off to ruffle his hair, annoying the guy. 

“Dude, was your phone dead or something? I’ve been trying to call you to move your car. I had to park all the way down the block,” 

“Whoops sorry. Just got carried away,” 

Then the older Molina clapped her hands giddily, taking the plastic bag from her brother’s hands. She peered in and her face fell. Cocking her hip, raising her brow, she lifted the package out of the bag. 

The cake, the tres leches cake, was crushed. The plastic covering dented in and Luke grimaced, emitting a ‘yikes’ at Carlos’ expense. 

“Can I ask what happened to the cake?” 

Carlos raised his hand, “Yeah but can I ask you something first?” 

Then he pointed to the side. 

“Who’s Biceps McGee?” 

Luke wasn’t aware of the question being asked, the gravity of the situation not settling in until he looked up from his task to find not only Julie staring at him. 

But Carlos too. 

He was pointing directly at him. 

Luke dropped the cord. 

He and Julie shared a bewildered look. 

“Oh my Gods…” 

No way , Luke thought, panicking.

There’s two of them?!

Chapter Text

“You- You can see him?” Julie shrilled.   

In an ironic twist, Luke was the one having to rub his eyes to make sure he was not hallucinating here. And yeah, Carlos’ eyes followed the movements, albeit with a judgmental lens. 

The younger Molina answered Julie with a scoff, “Uh, yeah?”

To him, it was a dumb question. This time he inched forward, sizing Luke up and the Cupid wilted slightly at the weight of the stare. He shouldn’t be afraid or intimidated, but the fact that it was Julie’s brother, another human that could see Cupids, had him on the defensive. 

“Now, how come I can’t bring Ayesha here today but you brought home some boy toy for birthday dinner. Does dad know?” 

“No. Dad doesn’t-” All the words caught up to Julie, and Luke could only assume that this Ayesha was Carlos’ girlfriend. Because she was quick to shut down that parallel, “And he is not my-”

“Boy toy?” Luke spoke for the first time since the discovery. The term irked him so much and he scrunched his nose, “I prefer ‘hunk’ to ‘boy toy’, thank you very much,”

“Luke, that’s not what’s important right now-”

“Who you callin’ boy toy?” 

Carlos crossed his arms, not outright acknowledging Luke yet. As if his presence annoyed the younger Molina. 

Then, Luke went right up to Carlos and flicked him on the nose, checking if he was corporeal as well as visible. Julie yelped out a ‘hey’ but she was just as stunned as Luke when his fingers snapped and made contact with her brother’s nose. 

Carlos winced and reared back, clutching his nose, “Ow? What the hell?!” 

“Okay, what is with you humans?” Luke was starting to lose it. 

A double anomaly? 

This was getting way freaky! The mystery had grown more complicated and he just might be overwhelmed by the knowledge. 

Luke dragged a hand down the length of his face,“Gods, can someone please tell me what’s going on?”

“Well,” Carlos started, “I show up, with smushed tres leches, to find some frat bro in the garage with my sister, and then he flicks my fucking nose!”

“Carlos? Mijo, is that you?” 

Their dad was outside, having just left the house upon hearing Carlos’ arrival. 

“Yeah, dad!” Carlos called back, though his eyes never left Luke’s face. He cocked his head from side to side in a taunting manner, “And with Julie’s boyfriend apparently!”

“Boyfriend?” Their dad muttered, confused. 

Julie’s hands clenched and unclenched at her sides, and Luke could tell she wanted to wring her brother’s neck for that comment. Her dad opened the garage doors before she could resort to violent measures to keep him quiet. 

She covered up her frustrations with a plastered smile and a strained laugh, “Carlos is just kidding around. There’s no one else here.”

Her dad conducted a visual sweep of the studio, indeed finding no one, “Huh. I swore I heard someone in here singing with you. The song sounded great, honey. Glad you can make use of this old space.” 

“Thanks,” 

Carlos gawked at how their dad glazed over Luke’s existence. He lifted his arm to point, “He’s literally right there-” 

In a slick and quick maneuver, Julie restrained her brother whilst thrusting the plastic bag at their dad, “Carlos brought the cake!”

“Great!” Her dad accepted the bag (and did not take a look inside, thank goodness), “And I just finished up the food, so let’s dig in, yeah?”

“We’ll meet you inside,” Julie all but shoved her dad out of the garage before Carlos could get in another word, “Need to catch up for a sec.”

If the man noticed something amiss, he didn’t show any signs of it. And with a jaunty walk back to the house, he was gone. 

“Do we need to put dad in a facility? He totally ignored him!” Carlos’ eyes narrowed at Luke, “Are you a ghost?”

“What? No!”

“Don’t bullshit me, I watch Unsolved,”

“I, uh-” Luke deferred to Julie, “Your call, boss.” 

“He’s not a ghost! I’ll tell you later but for right now, we need to be here for dad,”

“Oh, like how you were just now?” 

Julie was not in the mood to be baited, “Carlos…” 

And it might have been due to the tone in her voice, one that Luke could liken to how Harrison would speak to him sometimes- with authority and finality- but Carlos folded after seconds of intense staring between the two siblings. They could have been communicating in their own way, which Luke watched with fascination. 

“Fine!” Carlos surrendered with an aggravated groan, “I’m guessing dad has no clue. You haven’t told him about this guy.”

Julie blinked at him. He blinked right back. Then her nose twitched.

Carlos sighed.

“Okay. Whatever it is, I’ll keep it a sibling secret. But not for free. I’m not doing the dishes after.”

“What are you? 12?” 

Carlos quirked a brow so eerily similar to how Julie would, and Luke was now convinced that it was a Molina family trait. 

Then it was Julie’s turn to relent. She rolled her eyes, “Fine. I’ll do the dishes.” 

“Sweet. Later,” Carlos left to go to dinner, sending one last look at Luke, “You too, whoever you are.”

“It’s Luke!” he shouted after him.

All he got was an uninterested wave of the hand, “Yeah yeah. Whatever.”

They waited until Carlos entered through the back door before speaking again. 

“How is he so blasè about all this?” 

“Or a better question: how come my brother can see you?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure that out too,” Luke gestured lamely at her, “There’s-There’s two of you?” 

“It seems like it,”

Julie appeared to be trying hard not to let this new development rattle her as much as it was with Luke. It must have been quite a shock for her too. To find out her brother was similarly gifted. 

Deciding that it would be a matter to discuss on a day that was not her mother’s birthday, she shook her head then retreated to the piano, where her journal resided. 

“Look, for what it’s worth, thank you,” She packed up her materials, “Like no, really. You saved my ass with this song.” 

Deciding to switch gears (for now), Luke was happy to circle back to music, reminiscing about their killer writing session. 

“No problem. It was fun,”

“So much fun,” Julie seconded, “I’ll try to give you writing credit.”

“Of course. Though the lack of a last name- oh and a birth certificate- would make that kinda difficult,” 

“I heard somewhere that a cat got listed for a co-writer for a physics dissertation,” 

“Well good for Tibbles or whatever his name is,” 

That sparked a laugh out of Julie. 

“You’re one helluva writer, Luke,” she said, and it thrilled Luke so, just to hear that compliment coming from her. 

He beamed, “Thanks.” 

“I gotta go,” 

“Yeah. Enjoy your dinner,” 

She backtracked, securing the journal to her chest. And with a proud grin and mirth in her eyes, she held her gaze on her Luke, “You wrote a love song.”

He laughed, “I wrote a love song.”

“You did that,” 

“I did that!”

“Just think what else you could write,” 

And with a wink, she skipped away, and he hoped that the rest of her night would run more smoothly now that the added stress of the song had been stripped away. 

Luke lingered in the studio. He made his way to the piano, tracing the corners as he recalled how he and Julie had been hunched over the top, getting lost in the process. 

“Imagine what we could write…” he corrected. Now that he had a taste of it, he would be crazy not to write with her again in the future. But if she would let him again… he wasn’t sure. 

The ‘24 glistened under the garage lights and he thought back to Julie’s mom. How this day to honor her had almost been ruined by Julie’s job, how frazzled and panicked Julie had been because of it. 

He may have vowed to himself that anything to lighten the load, he would do it. Julie was special to him. She was his friend. He couldn’t bear to see her how she was today, so despondent and closed off. 

It was tempting. To pop in the Molina house to check on her one last time before leaving, but he wouldn’t. It was her mom’s day and he had already taken up too much of the evening. 

Luke closed the piano lid, pushed in the bench, and decided the studio was clean enough so he could make his exit. Right about when he stepped forward, intending to poof away, his leg paused mid-stride. 

Wait. 

The connection. 

Julie and Carlos. 

There was something linking them together. By blood. Right? That was it. That had to be it. They were related- and that was something he could go off of. But their dad couldn’t see him. They were still connected, and if not by the dad then-

Luke got to HQ, mentally mapping his course to the Archives when suddenly his shoulder rammed against another Cupid’s. 

“Sorry,” he uttered, but nearly wept in happy surprise, seeing who it was, “Hey! Alex!” 

His friend stumbled back, eyes wide in panic, “Oh! Hey, Luke. What’s up?” 

Luke waited a moment, expecting to see Alex’s eyes squint down to their normal size upon realizing it was him, but no. The other Cupid was… fidgeting.

He punched Alex in the shoulder, “Dude, I barely see you nowadays. How’s it goin’?”

“How- How's what going?” Alex forced out, at a higher pitch than usual, breathy in delivery. “Like the- the general ‘what’, like the general state of my life? That ‘what’?”

Luke blinked. “Yes. That ‘what’.” 

Alex crossed his arms, forcing a smile, “Swell. I’m just… swell."

Okay? Why was his buddy on edge? Not even looking him in the eye?  

“Hey,” his hand latched onto Alex’s forearm, “Have you been seeing that Trickster?” That could be why he was so rattled.

“No!” 

Luke stumbled back, releasing him. They stared at each other. 

The blonde winced at the act, reeling it back, “I mean, not-” he coughed, “Not lately.”

Volume and abruptness aside, Luke pressed, “So it… it worked? He backed off?” 

“Y-Yeah. Definitely not… bothering me. Anymore,” There was an added something to his tone that Luke, for the life of him, couldn’t translate. And as if sensing the need to talk more, Alex perked up, as if he heard something, “Actually, Reg and I have a case we have to get to right now-”

“We do?” Their other friend just approached them, catching the last fragment of the conversation. That was news to him it seemed.

“They just told me about it. Grab your cello, bro. We’ll get Bobby on the way,” 

Alex didn’t wait for a response before making a getaway down the hallway. 

“Uh, alright?” Reggie shared a concerned look with Luke. Then he summoned his cello and started after their keyed up friend, “Catch ya later, Luke!” 

All Luke could do was wave pathetically after the two, “Okay?” 

He continued his trek to the Archives at a much slower pace, his run-in with Alex now paired with his interaction with Carlos weighing him down. He could only handle so much craziness in such little time. 

The Archives was close to empty when he entered. Bypassing all the shelves filled with the supplementary material, Luke went straight for the older volumes. 

He had a theory. 

Now, he heard of the Gods blessing people with extraordinary gifts: Apollo handing out prophetic abilities- turning people into soothsayers, the whole Midas fiasco with Dionysus, etc. 

But that was centuries ago, and higher-ups tried to curb direct interferences with the lives of mortals. 

(There were whispers of the Gods forcing Zeus to get a vasectomy, and Luke had snorted into his ambrosia when he heard that one). 

The Gods could do whatever the fuck they wanted though, and so there was nothing stopping them from still blessing people. He hypothesized that Aphrodite, or some other deity, blessed a certain Rose Molina. That had to be it right? And maybe there were some unforeseen side effects to it, passing it onto her progeny. 

Now for the reason why Julie’s mom would be blessed by a God was something he had to look up. He pulled out some volumes, reading into historic examples of such things happening, running through all the possibilities but none that he could connect back to Cupidhood. 

A lot of these recent instances would be people wishing to be able to conceive a child. But why ask Aphrodite and not Hera? Well, there was some overlap with the whole ‘Goddess of Fertility’ thing. 

After digesting all this information, Luke figured that he would need more relevant, specific information. 

“Yo, I need the files on all mortals blessed by Aphrodite between the late 1960s to late ‘70s. Where are they?” he requested from Clive, the circulation assistant, at his desk. 

He had no choice but to ask for help. Their database was centuries old and he couldn’t snap his fingers and locate them. HQ ran differently like that. 

“Not available,” Clive stated, resuming his writing. 

“Not available or not available to me?”

The man lowered his spectacles, “Would the distinction matter?”

Luke growled, “Clive. You little shit. Why can’t I access those files?”

“Because that information is irrelevant to your duties as a Cupid,”

“Fine,” Then he tried another angle, “Okay, how about a file? A case file. On a ‘Rose Molina’. I can still access the records.” 

Clive hummed and swiveled in his little chair so that he was now facing the card catalogues. He ran his fingers along the drawers (and there were thousands of them.)

The guy had to pull out a ladder and climb several stories up to access the drawers there and it took a while for him to return. And when he did, Luke waited to be directed to whatever section in this mammoth of a library he needed to go. 

“Well?”

“Not available,” 

Luke was absolutely flummoxed, “Wait, I don’t understand-”

“There’s no file by that name here,” was the curt explanation. 

There was clearly a card in the other man’s hand, and with lightning reflexes, Luke snatched it up. 

Molina, Rose, he read. And that was all he could make out. Everything else was redacted. No call number or anything, just streaks of black marker. 

And a red ‘X’ in the corner.

The same ‘X’ on Julie’s file. 

That- That didn’t make sense. There was no reason for Rose’s file to be in No Man’s Land with Julie’s. Even the dead were still in their records, and as far as he could tell she and Julie’s dad had been happy together, definitely Matched material. There shouldn’t be any problems. 

“What the hell does this mean?”

“It means they’re forbidden,” 

He whirled around, the new voice drawing his attention, and frustration, away from Clive. 

Valeria, with a bundle of files and books, smiled sardonically in his direction. 

“Yeah, I get that,” He kept a close watch of the Cupid, who was innocently returning her resources to a more receptive Clive, “But all this trouble-” 

“Maybe they’re forbidden for a reason,” Valeria threw out there. 

“Why?”

“Orders,”

“Whose?” he grilled. Valeria was important around here, she must have information, “It’s Harrison, isn’t it? The people upstairs?”

She made no telling movements, her expression and body language neutral. Like always. 

“You’ve always been a strange one. Curious. Too curious about the humans, about things you should never concern yourself with. Some people may find it to be a… dangerous trait,” 

She faced him now, and he could see the slightest ticks of repugnance in her clean, razor-sharp features. 

“If you know what’s good for you, then you better quit it.”

His jaw tightened, eyes narrowed, “Are you threatening me, Val?”

The outer corners of her lips curled, amused by the accusation. As if he was important enough to be on her radar. 

“I’m just saying. That maybe what you find is not something you’d want to look for. Now, I’m going back to the elevator, and you will join me, or else I would take this up to Harrison,” 

If Luke had the choice between flinging himself off the Burj Khalifa and voluntarily doing what Valeria asked of him, then somebody better strap him to a ‘chute. 

But he had to keep the heat off of him, so he grumbled and groaned and trudged after her into the elevator. 

“Good choice,”

“Whatever,” He punched the buttons, the doors closing on them, “Tattletale.” 

Valeria ignored the insult, “There are worse things than desk duty, Lucas.”

“I’m sure there is,”

“We can’t have you up here. We need more on the ground. Matching people,”

“Okay,”

“What we do is important and you’re not… totally inept in your department,” 

Luke scoffed, “That’s not a compliment, is it, Val?”

The girl rolled her eyes, “I’m saying… you’re wasting your time pissing our managers off. Once you get your act together, then everything will be as they should be. You using your gifts. As Aphrodite intended.”

Snapshots of red ‘X’s collected in his mind. 

“Right,” he said, numb, “Whatever Aphrodite wants…”

Whatever that meant. 

Whatever that meant for Julie. For all of humankind.  

Valeria may be content with not knowing, but Luke wasn’t. He had to find out. 

It was part of his curious nature after all. 

Chapter Text

“Are you sure?” 

“Luke, c’mon,” 

“It’s kind of impossible?”

“I got you. Don’t worry about it,” 

“But… do we really need to do it? Like this?” 

“How else will you learn?”

“...okay, you’re right. You’re right, Julie.” 

“If you want, we could take it slow,” 

“I can handle much more than you think,” 

“Oh really?”

“You bet,”

Flynn skipped into the room with a bowl of popcorn while they went back and forth on the couch, “Jules, is he trying to get out of it?” she asked. 

“Uh huh,” Julie flicked Luke’s forehead, sending him wincing and pouting from his spot on the floor, his back pressed against the front of Julie’s couch. 

“Hey!” He rubbed the inflicted area, “I’m just getting warmed up to the idea…” 

The ‘idea’ in question was the harbinger of chaos, the holy flame itself- 

-the one and only Tinder. 

Making a Tinder, to be exact. 

Reggie had approached Luke and Alex yesterday. Apparently there was trouble in paradise between him and his Junebug. 

As the group’s designated pep-talker, Luke did his best to assure his buddy that everything was going to be alright. But Reggie started ranting about the possibility of getting ‘ghosted’ and other terms that went over his and Alex’s hand, and it dawned onto Luke that on the tech-side of love and matchmaking was certainly not his wheelhouse. 

It was hard to comfort him when he couldn’t decipher whether or not the emojis Kayla was sending were passive aggressive. Either way- Reggie was in crisis. And Luke had to help. 

Cue him calling upon Julie and Flynn’s assistance, which then led to this crash course in finding love on all kinds of platforms. He had no idea it required putting himself out there in the virtual dating pool. 

 “Listen, Luke. Your lack of face and body is nothing a good ol’ fashion catfish won’t fix,” Flynn passionately told the lamp (completely missing where Luke actually was), “But other than that, everything else is gonna be totally you and that’s what's gonna draw people.”

Julie snorted, “Yeah and the slightly photoshopped picture of Jacob Elordi as your profile. He’s not gonna find people worthwhile on Tinder, Flynn.” 

“This is all about vibing and connecting with people. Build up your flirting repertoire,”

“No, this is all about you guys giving me insight on how to help Reggie,” Luke relaxed onto the couch. Then bolted up, “Wait! I so can flirt!” 

He heard a snort from above him. His head snapped to frown at Julie, who immediately straightened up.

“I’m serious!” 

“Yeah. Me too,” Julie cleared her throat. A smile was still in place, “So, let’s see you,” She gave a lazy motion of her hand, “Shoot.”

The bravado dissipated. “It’s more of a situational thing, Julie-” 

“How did you flirt with Cupid girls?” 

“Like, ‘Hey, how about I make ‘us’ my next assignment?’ Oh! Or ‘We’re a Match made in heaven’? Because you know we do… the… Matching...” Luke scrunched his nose, hearing the words coming out of his mouth. His embarrassment solidified with Julie’s incredulous expression, “Yeeeeah. It didn’t land.” 

Julie had to reach for her drink, “That sucks.”

And when the same lines were repeated for Flynn’s sake, the other girl agreed, “Majorly.” 

Determined to prove himself, Luke vaulted himself onto the couch, “I could also hit them with the-” He laid his arm along the back, quirked a brow, and turned up the charm, “‘How you doin’?’”

The phrase, the delivery, might have worked. Julie was taken aback for sure. Then, her face reset to normal. 

“That only works if you’re Matt LeBlanc, Luke,” She shoved him back, laughing. 

“C’mon. It didn’t work on you? Not even a little bit?” 

“I’m immune,” Julie remarked flatly. 

“Sure you are,”

“Joey doesn’t even end up with anybody anyway, not sure if you should take a page out of his playbook” 

“Not if you count the spinoff, Joey,” 

“Nobody watched that,” 

Luke gasped, offended, “How dare you?” 

“Whatever. You can put Friends in your interests if you want,” She bypassed Luke to grab her phone,“I, for one, won’t respond to ‘lines’.”

Julie and Flynn shared a laugh between them, but Luke couldn’t be bothered about it, even if it was at his expense. It was just good to see Julie smile. 

Luke made the executive decision not to bring up his conversation with Valeria, or his search, in general, with Julie. 

It would be distressing to disclose that all files pertaining to her mother were mysteriously gone and/or guarded behind clearance above his way beyond his ‘pay grade’ (they didn’t make a salary, but that's besides the point). 

Julie’s mom was a touchy subject. He wanted to find out more before he could fill her in, but he wondered if he should broach it soon. It would seem rather improper for him to dive in deeper without her permission. His curiosity be damned, if Julie didn’t want him to snoop then he wouldn’t. 

But it seemed that the mystery had extended beyond Julie. It was a whole family affair. And that the higher ups were hiding it for some reason.

Returning to the present, Luke was smack dab in between Julie and Flynn. Tinder was already pulled up and running on Julie’s phone. 

“Alright, let’s start off with the simple stuff- Name: Luke. Age- ?” Flynn let the sentence hang. 

“Do I have to answer that?” 

Julie assessed him closely, “Make him 25.” 

After some typing, Flynn reached the next section, “Bio. Here we go.”  

“Well, okay? ‘I play guitar. So, let’s… let’s make some music’?” 

Julie and Flynn deliberated over his proposed statement. 

“Not… terrible?” They decided (well, Julie was the more lenient one. Flynn flat out dunked on it). 

“‘Let’s see if we’re a perfect harmony’?” He threw his hands up, “I don’t know? Can I be poetic?” 

“Save that for a song,” 

Julie and Luke exchanged a conspiratorial smile. Writing a song? Now that would be something he’s up for. Probably much easier than drafting out a dating profile. He had finally come around to giving Julie a peek into his journal and they would often have repeat episodes of their writing session back at her family home. 

Her eyes held promise as she mouthed ‘later’, dangling the opportunity for more song writing as an incentive to continue with Tinder-ing (is that a word?). 

How could he say no to that?

Flynn snapped her fingers at the two, “Y’all quit doing that. Now Luke, what is something that you’re looking for in a girl? We can tailor the profile to attract more girls of your type. So what is it?” 

She said it so plainly, like he should have had a list prepared. 

“I… don’t know” 

Julie offered assistance, “What are you drawn to?” she elaborated. 

“I figure I’ll just know. When the time comes” 

She sighed, “Some Disney movie logic there.” 

Okay, he could understand Julie’s frustrations with his lack of cooperation. Truthfully, he hadn’t given much thought to his’ type’. There didn’t seem to be room for preference when the Cupid dating pool was practically a puddle. Hades, not even that. 

“Think about your Compatibility Test,” Julie recalled the piece of paper Luke had been waving around during their first meeting, “How do you guys measure it? What do you look at? Think about the qualities that would better match with you.”

That was a good idea. And so Luke launched into, what he considered to be, the abridged explanation. 

“We look at different factors- similar interests, complementary upbringings and goals, oh, and love languages,” 

Julie’s brows pulled, “Love language?”

“Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Physical Touch, Gifts, and Acts of Service- Boom!” Flynn mimed a mic drop, having confidently listed all 5 languages, “What’s my prize?” 

“Oh! Those,” Julie must have heard of them before.  

Flynn raised her hand, “Mine are gifts and words of affirmation!”

Luke gave her finger guns, “Nice!”  

Julie seemed repulsed, “No. No gifts for me. Definitely not.”

Twisting around to get closer to Julie, Luke braced himself for another romance-skeptical tirade, “Really? How come?”

“I just feel weird about receiving gifts. Like I don’t mind giving them, but I just can’t accept them?”

Oh. It must be a general thing then. It was Interesting that a girl as giving as herself didn’t think she’s one to receive such favors. It did explain having to bully her into taking Thomas the stuffed Wallaby home. 

“Well what kind of gifts do you even get? In a relationship, I mean,” he asked Julie. 

“In my last relationship, he kept giving me roses and chocolates and more stuffed animals that
I know what to do with,”

“So basically the CVS Valentine’s Day bundle?”

“Exactly,” Julie glowered. 

“Yeah nope. That’s not the way to go. I’m a Cupid and even we think that’s lame,”

“It was nice for a while, but it really was just all disingenuous. Like, nothing about what you got
me said that it was for me,”

“Maybe you have yet to get something personal,”

“That could be it. But I just know that gifts are a no-no for me right now,” Eager to move on, Julie resumed the topic of love languages, “What about you? What’s yours?”

“I’m not sure. They all sound pretty great to me.” 

“Of course they do. You’re the Cupid,” 

Luke shrugged in an ‘I don’t know what to tell you’ kind of way. Julie looked like she was about to finish his profile without any more input from him and watch the chaos unfold. 

“Alright, so I’m kinda confused. Is love language both what you’re willing to do for the other person or what you’re willing to accept from them?” She posed the question, followed by more, approaching it like a scientist-

“Like would it be good to have the same love language? Or just find people whose love language doesn’t seem like, I don’t know, much of a departure from who you are and what you’re willing to do? I just have to ask.”

“No one ever asks questions in HQ,” Valeria’s impish face flashed in his mind for a fraction of a second and he blinked it away, “But I think, when you find a person, the right person, you’re willing to do anything for them really. You’d want to learn their love language so you could show that you care? In a way that makes sense to them,” Luke laughed, “Now if that isn’t the most diplomatic answer ever...”

There was nothing said after that. Julie was busy studying him (not to bring up the scientist comparison again) as if he was some fascinating new creature. 

“Yours is quality time,” She said after a while, “Or physical touch. I’m sure of it.” 

He grinned, “If you’re so sure then put it down on my Tinder.”

“Hmm, ‘I’m super touch-starved-’”

Luke crawled on top of Julie, keeping her from typing more, “Not like that!”

Wriggling and laughing, she kept a tight grip on her phone, “Oh how- ow!- bad can it be, Luke?” 

They fought for the phone like rambunctious school children until Luke tickled her into submission and took control of the device.

“Y’all are so cute” 

Whoops. Luke forgot Flynn was here. He could imagine how funny it looked, Julie wrestling with air. 

Julie swiped her phone back and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Honey, can we please finish this soon?” Flynn had been scrolling on her own phone, “So I can attend to my own Tinder after this, if you know what I mean?”

“Right!” Julie checked Luke with her shoulder, “Now. Your type! What do you want?” 

“I-I don’t know? I’m just looking for someone who I could talk with for hours and never get bored. Who’s willing to put up with my spontaneity, like when I said I wanna get hot dogs at 3 AM. Someone really sweet. Oh, and they have to love Julia Roberts as much as I do or no dice.” 

“And what about music?” Julie poked at him, teasing.

“They don’t have to be a musician. It’d be great if they are. Not a requirement”

Oh who am I kidding, Luke thought, the perfect girl would definitely be a musician now that he thought about it. 

Yet that might be out of reach. To find another Cupid with all the above qualities and loved music the way he does? He couldn't be that lucky.

He would be lucky to find anyone at all…

But he shouldn’t give up hope. 

Julie, the miracle worker, was able to translate his ramblings into a decent bio. His profile went live a minute later. 

A whole Earth week passed. 

And Luke was now more confused than ever. 

Flynn had loaned him an old phone to take back to HQ with him. It would be easier to keep up with messages that way. Good. Great. 

If only the messages weren’t so… much. 

Popping in front of Julie’s car as she filled up gas, he forcefully pushed the phone into her chest. 

“I can’t do this!” 

“Wha-?” Julie scoped out the empty lot and leaned in, “Was it that bad?” 

If Luke could nod faster he would. 

It had started off fairly well. He received some matches and he got to talking to a few girls. He had dropped some lines, cracked a few jokes, and they seemed fairly interested. 

What he hadn’t anticipated were the wave of matches he would get later on during the week- so much so that he had to keep the phone on silent so as to not give him away to his co-workers. 

Already overwhelmed, Luke struggled to maintain a steady level of conversation but couldn’t keep up- references going over his head, the requests for selfies and meetups, the ghosting- 

Now Luke was a multi-tasker, but juggling all of this while trying to be a good worker bee (he had to be in case Harrison was watching him like a hawk- Valeria’s warning had made him more paranoid than ever).

If this was what dating was like in this time, then he didn’t want to partake. He’d rather focus his energy and love on one person at a time, but his social appetite and penchant for being polite made him want to answer every girl. 

But it seemed as though at the first sign of things turning physical, his refusal to take their interactions away from the screen, led to the girls’ sharp exit. Apparently he had wasted their time.  

“Oh, is it because you used cheesy lines?” 

Luke huffed, “Some of them happened to like the cheesy lines, Julie thank you very much! Maybe...a little too much.” 

“Oh?” 

“I don’t want to talk about it” 

Julie nodded sympathetically. 

“I don’t think we were on the same page. Most of the time. And a lot of these girls are just put off that I don’t have other socials,” 

“They totally found out you’re a catfish, didn’t they?” 

“Jules, they keep sending me Kissing Booth references. They definitely knew,” Luke flung himself onto the hood of her car before Julie could stop him, “How was Reggie able to do this?” He mumbled into the hot metal. 

Julie rubbed his back, “Why don’t we just ask him?”

“So watcha wanna know?” Reggie blissfully munched on the doughnut Julie had bought on the way home. 

The three of them were back at her place (would have been four of them if Alex had been around. Where was he?). The whole reason Luke treaded the tumultuous waters of online dating was to get a better understanding of Reggie’s relationship issues. And to use that to help him. 

It could have been a smarter decision to get Julie involved from the beginning. (Would have saved him the embarrassment of getting a Tinder…)

So there he stood with her in the kitchen, arms crossed as if they were Reggie’s parents gently coaxing answers out of him. Julie definitely sold it with the petting of Reggie’s hair as she gave him the sweet treat, punctuating it with a ‘there you go, sweetie’. 

Reggie was none the wiser and he beamed at both of them. Only Luke knew that Reggie’s smile was a notch or two dimmer.

“For starters, do you mind telling us where you and Kayla met?” Julie inquired. 

“Oh,” Reggie drank some juice, “On Tumblr.” 

Julie bawked at that, “Tumblr?” 

She looked to Luke, and he shrugged, “I-I don’t know what that is.” Was he looking for love in the wrong place the whole time?

“It’s a site where- you know what? I’m not gonna get into it right now. Reggie, continue?” 

The Cupid obliged, “Yeah. ‘Cuz she had these cool takes on where Porgs came from- oh we met on the Star Wars tag- and I messaged her. She was so nice to me and we would talk for hours. Soon we took it to Discord and then texting. We became official sometime around 5? 6 months ago?” 

“Uh huh,” Julie had her thinking face on, which Luke found so adorable, as she considered these different factors, “And what seems to be the issue? Luke kinda mentioned you guys hit a rough patch?” 

“She has been texting me pictures,” 

That elicited a cringe-induced shudder out of Julie. Luke merely groaned, “Dude.” 

Rosy-cheeked, Reggie stammered, “N-Not like that! Just to let me know what she looks like. Like this was early on in our relationship. And I’ve told her that I’m not exactly ready to show my face yet, and she’s been fine with it. But a couple weeks ago, she linked her Instagram, I checked it out.” 

“And?” Julie pressed. 

“And I don’t know. I told her I liked her pictures. That I wish I could get to be there with her. Since then, our conversations have been short. Like real short. Just some check-ins. I can tell that she’s upset or just… wanting space?” 

Reggie had sunk deeper into his chair and clutched the remaining morsel of doughnut to his chest like a lifeline. Glum. 

“What did you say exactly?” 

“I said something about one of her pictures. She’s a dancer at this one jazz club in Hollywood? About how I wish we could split a plate of blooming onions after her set, drink some champagne, and finally be together. Oh, and maybe how we’ll laugh at that punk magician who does his bit right after her and the girls are done for the night,” Reggie had a far-off look in his eye and showed a hint of a smile, “He’s so wacky,” 

“Right. Kinda specific information there. Kayla tell you a lot about her job?” 

“Well, no. Some stuff. But I do go there every Thursday to catch her performances and-” Reggie’s sentence came to a halt when he, and Luke, finally realized the problem, “Oh.” 

“Yeah, ‘oh’.” Julie echoed, “She figured out you’ve been there! That you’ve seen her, and that you haven’t tried to meet up with her.” 

Reggie ran a hand through his hair, “Oh my gods.” 

“That’s not okay! No wonder she’s been distant. She thinks you’re watching her. Like stalking her. And with no other social media presence, no face, no real clues to you being an actual human being with an actual identity? She’s probably worried you’re gonna ambush her and wear her body like a second skin- mad psycho serial killer style!” 

“Woah Julie!” Luke cautioned, “Graphic much?” Why did she have to say it like that?!

All the while, with Julie’s ‘worse case scenario’ mode running on high, Reggie was growing more panicked by the second. 

“But I would- I would never do that to her,”

“I know, but this is all shady behavior. It could give her the wrong idea,” 

“Oh no. I’ve freaked her out… I’m scaring her away,” Reggie’s face puckered into a deep frown and he shrunk in on himself, “But, like, it’s not that I don’t want her to see me, Julie, you know why-” 

“I do know because I can see you. She doesn’t and won’t ever see you,” 

Luke dropped his hands, staring at Julie in shock. What the Hades was she getting at? She was blunt in the delivery, the gentle tone she had been sporting earlier was gone.

It was already established that no one but Julie (and Carlos) could interact with Cupids, but Julie dredged up that cold reminder and for what? 

Oh no. She wasn’t-? Was she?

“So- So what’s the move here?” Reggie’s voice quivered. He was afraid to ask. He was afraid in general, and on Reggie, the sullen expression looked particularly heartbreaking. 

“Reggie, I’m sorry, but I think that this has gone on for way too-” 

“Julie!” Luke loudly intervened, grabbing her by the arm, “That thing… we need to get… from the closet? Right? We’ll be right back, Reg. Wait there.”

His friend nodded, staring numbly at the floor, and once out of sight and earshot in the hallway, Luke chuckled half-heartedly, smiling as to not worry Reggie if he happened to glance their way, “Watcha- watcha doin’ there, Julie?” 

“Giving advice,” she whispered, “Some well needed advice,”

“Hmm ok,” He clapped his hands together, formulating a response, “It just sorta sounds like you’re saying that he and Kayla are a bad idea.” 

Julie didn’t deny it. “Luke, it’s cute and all, but let’s be practical about this.” 

“Exactly. So how can we have them be ‘practically’ married by the end of the year? Or two. You know what, there’s no timeline on love,” 

“You really think Kayla’s going to go on for two years totally content with never having seen Reggie? Haven’t met him and will never ever get to meet him? Do you think she’s going to be okay with that?” 

“She’s been okay with it for this long!” 

Julie scoffed, “Well yeah, Kayla isn’t exactly cut out for Mensa if you know what I mean.”

Well, Reggie wasn’t particularly bright either. What a match made in… well HQ. 

But HQ had nothing to do with this. This was all Reggie. And he found someone he really vibed with, someone who loves him back despite everything. He was fighting against fate! This was huge! Why couldn’t she be happy for Reggie? Wasn’t this something they were championing for?

“We don’t know what they have, Julie. They could connect in so many other ways so stuff, the hard stuff, would be an afterthought.” 

“And you think that’s enough?” 

“It has to be!” Luke hissed, his composure wearing thin. 

Julie didn’t think that was a concrete answer. 

She fixed Luke a hard stare, “Love may not have a timeline, but, if we care about Reggie, we’re gonna have to be honest and tell him that his relationship has a clock and it’s winding down fast if Kayla doesn’t get any real answers soon. And guess what? She can’t. So I’m afraid he’s gonna have to give this up. It’s inevitable.” 

Poised to retort, Luke opened his mouth but words couldn’t come out. Julie wasn’t looking at him anymore, more like looking over his shoulder. 

He whirled around to find Reggie standing in the hallway with red-rimmed eyes. 

He had heard everything. 

“Oh no, Reg-” Luke went for him, but his friend poofed out before he could say anything. 

 Julie sighed, covering her face with her hands, “Shit.” 

Luke spun back, his temper skyrocketing, “Can you not be a cynic for once?! For once?” 

He surprised himself by the yelling. He… had never been this angry before. But it all just bubbled up and spilled out, only spurred by Julie’s behavior. 

“Someone has to tell him the truth!” she defended. 

“Not like that. Not to someone like Reggie!” 

Reggie- who was the most tender hearted being he knew- had his heart blown to bits just like that. His friend’s expression. It was so broken, he couldn’t recognize him. 

But Julie just… she just had to. 

Luke could admit that at times, Julie’s bleak view on the world could be a tad bit frustrating. It was like pushing against a brick wall trying to draw out any shred of optimism. 

She had taken it too far this time, and all the past frustrations Luke had with her were now rearing its ugly head and he had to finally, finally, address it. 

“I can’t believe you! Just couldn’t help yourself!” 

Julie was taken aback, the accusation clear, “You think I get a kick out of this? I take some sick joy in making him cry?” 

“Yet you didn’t hold back, did you?” 

Julie crowded into his space aggressively, “Fine, then tell me how it’s gonna work, huh? How can a Cupid and a human be together?” She drove a finger into his chest in a hard poke, “Because I don’t see it ending well. How is it not gonna end up hurting him or Kayla in the long run?” 

Luke tugged at his hair and growled, “Oh my gods! You’re always looking ahead, worrying about the future when that’s not what we’re dealing with! This is happening right now and if you could let him have this one moment because I’m tellin’ you, we Cupids don’t get any chances. None. Sometimes hope is all we have and you just- you just-” 

He took a step back. 

What was he doing? Staying here and arguing about the same damn things, trying to get Julie on the same page. They never were on the same page to begin with. They were never gonna see this the same way, were they? They see the world too differently. 

Luke… didn’t want to live in her world anymore. If it was filled with harsh truths and broken hearts and broken dreams. 

“I’m gonna go check on Reggie” 

Julie sported a pained expression. She pinched the bridge of her nose, coming down from their yelling match, remorseful, “Luke-”

“Just don’t, Julie,” He held a hand up to keep her at bay, not wanting to deal with this kind of bullshit anymore, “You’ve done enough.” 

He poofed to HQ, this time without a goodbye.

Never before he had been so relieved to have left Earth. 

Chapter Text

Luke was in the process of organizing files when the tip of a drumstick held down the packet of papers, adhering them to the desk. 

“What are you doing?” 

Luke couldn’t bother to look at Alex, too in the zone. 

“Stapling tickets to the proper forms?” He delicately slipped the drumstick off the stack so he could continue working, “Believe me, if we don’t get this done, then the backlog would be astronomical-” 

“No. What the hell are you doing? Here?” 

“I’m supposed to be here, Alex. And you’re not.” He stressed each word through a gritted smile just as Harrison breezed by with Kai. Their boss briefly noticed Alex. He wilted and waved sheepishly at their manager. 

Luke had thrown himself into work right after his argument with Julie, only because Reggie hadn’t been in their usual break room spot. Reggie must have anticipated being followed, so he had gone somewhere else to be alone. 

And Reggie hated being alone. 

After a rage fest, kicking over chairs to purge his frustrations, work- monotonous, mind-numbing work- was a good enough distraction from the ugly feeling he was experiencing. 

No one had made him feel that way before- so, so unfathomably furious, but Julie had triggered a bomb. One that he had no idea was inside him this whole time. He tried to play out the remainder of his anger on the guitar to no avail. 

Perhaps his usual outlet, music, hadn’t served as a proper release.

Which also terrified Luke. 

Scan. Stamp. Flip. Stamp again. Staple this. Staple that. 

Each simple task leveled off his temper, leaving only a bitter taste in his mouth that Luke come to realize was the residue of his unsavory words. 

How much time passed? He didn’t know or care. 

Well, he did care. And his care revolved around a certain bassist of theirs. 

“Reggie?” Luke asked, “How bad is he?” 

“What do you think? He’s coming to that  club before and after our assignments. Singing Mitski at her until she leaves” 

“‘Francis Forever’?” 

Alex pushed out an taxing sigh, “Every. Single. Time.” 

“Shit,” This was bad. And that particular visual was especially depressing, factoring the lyrics Reggie would be crooning to his human sweetheart in his lovesick stupor. 

(I don't think I could stand to be

Where you don't see me)

Talk about taking it to the literal. 

Luke wished there was something he could do. The times that Reggie had poofed back to HQ was like interacting with a zombie. He was at a loss on how to comfort him, seeing as though it was hard to scrub away Julie’s words. 

“Have you heard from-?” 

“No” Luke cut him off. Was Alex telepathic or something? It was as if he plucked her name right out of his thoughts. 

“Look, I get that you’re upset. But you’re not upset at Julie because of Reggie, are you? Like yeah, that’s a huge chunk of it. There’s more, isn’t there?”

“Playing therapist as well as matchmaker?” chided Luke. 

Rolling up some papers and dropping them into their canisters, Luke left his post. Destination: Mailroom. Walking companion: Alex.

His friend was persistent and followed him. The elevator closed with both of them inside. 

“What is it? Tell me” 

“She crushed Reggie’s dreams,” Luke said simply. 

Alex pushed the button for an oncoming floor, “And yours?” 

“I thought we were getting somewhere, but sometimes she can be a real downer. And it didn’t bother me so much in the beginning, I dunno…” 

“Do you think this anger stems from Julie?” 

Luke shut his eyes, “No. I don’t think I have it in me to be angry at anyone.” They were creatures of love, not hate. None of them had it in them to be this ticked off. 

Gods, he wasn’t even mad at her to begin with. Just mad at… the situation.  

The doors opened, not on the mailroom floor, but with a hefty shove, Luke made an ungraceful tumble into the hallway. Alex did not stop pushing Luke until they were in the break room. 

Now safe from being overheard, Alex interrogated him further with no mercy. 

“Ok. You’re not mad at Julie, so I’ll ask again: what are you doing here?”  

Luke chucked the documents onto the nearest surface, “Because the whole thing is pointless!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Reggie had the best chance out of all us, ‘cuz come on! He’s a gem. He’s a lovable guy,” 

Even Alex, who teased Reggie on a regular basis, couldn’t refute that. 

“So if his relationship’s a sham, then what hope do we have?” 

“You can’t be serious,” Alex rubbed his face, “You think it’s us being Cupids that’s dooming us? Dude, it’s because Reggie just had to choose a human-” 

“It’s not his fault! Love could just happen!” 

“Right,” Alex blinked, and it seemed his mind was elsewhere for a split second, “And you’re... steamed.”

How could he not be? When the odds were stacked up against him? It wasn’t like it just occurred to him how utterly fucked he was from the start. He saw it all as a challenge, and that with Julie there by his side, his partner, they would tackle this together.

When Julie had laid it out, clear as day, that Reggie was doomed, he too received that sentence. When her words killed Reggie’s hopes and dreams, they killed his too. 

Her playing the ‘reality’ card felt like a betrayal. That they weren’t making any progress. A sign that this was all for nothing. 

Maybe it was. 

“Okay, um,” Alex had a pensive expression on his face, “Gonna float an idea here- maybe, just maybe, Julie is the reason you’re frustrated.” 

Luke wasn’t following. 

The drummer’s fingers pressed against his temples, “Like, there’s something else about Reggie and Kayla’s situation that makes you feel it’s all hopeless? A bit too close to home? You get what I’m saying?” 

He seemed to be waving a breakthrough in front of Luke’s face, but Luke was lost. 

“Holy-!” Alex was too appalled to finish. With a turn of his heel, he started to pace around the room, “Do I need to spell it out for you?! You. And. Julie. Are-” 

“Alex, hey, we’re being called in,”

The two fixed their posture when a third voice joined the conversation, waiting by the door. 

Alex nodded, whilst sharing a subtle glance with Luke, “On it, Bobby. Be right there.” 

The jet-black haired Cupid regarded Alex normally though his eyes narrowed slightly when they landed on Luke. 

Luke refrained from laughing or puffing up his chest in response.

It was no secret among their department that Bobby benefited greatly from Luke’s demotion. Previously on the sidelines, acting as alternate but mostly at HQ, training (he really needed it), Bobby was now on the field. 

Reggie had chalked up Bobby’s standoffish behavior towards Luke to plain ol’ jealousy. 

Luke couldn’t fit in a ‘Hey Bobbert’, the door having already closed and the Cupid now gone. 

Alex swatted Luke’s chest, following after Bobby, “We’ll talk about this later. And we will talk about it. Talk to her. Please?” 

Soon, the breakroom was empty apart from Luke and his canisters. 

He wondered what Alex had been hinting at but couldn’t put it together. That friend of his had always been a puzzling character. 

Anyway, thanks to him now all Luke could think about was Julie again.

Great. 

Luke had been throwing himself into manilla folders and memos for the sole reason of NOT thinking about her. All not to focus on that fact that- 

He fucking missed her. 

He did. Despite everything. 

There was a Julie-shaped hole in his life. An absence that he couldn’t shake. Her non-presence was ever present in everything he did. Turning a corner, he would hope to hear a sarcastic comment, or a hum of a song, to see a flash of purple or the waves of her brown locks. 

Oh Hades. He was being ridiculous was he? Was that what Alex was trying to tell him earlier? Here he was, in a place that he hated, voluntarily doing work instead of patching things up with a person who means a lot to him, who means just as much to him as Reggie. 

He couldn’t have two hurt friends on his hands now can he?

Alex was right. He did need to talk to her. As soon as he completed his tasks. 

Patting down his pockets, ensuring he wouldn’t forget anything before he whisked the containers and the other documents to the mailroom, a crunch of paper in his left jean pocket drew his attention. 

Digging in, Luke found the note- the ‘Are You In Love?’ poem from the mysterious Cupid. 

It mocked him now. Seemed like there was one Cupid out there who understood this love business better. 

If only he could find out who it was. Maybe they had figured it out, cracked this ‘Cupid Curse’, and found love. 

“Who are you, Miss Cupid?” 

He glazed over the words he had already committed to heart, so that he would know when he’s in love. That day had yet to come. 

Flipping it over, intending to fold it back up and store it away, thin red scribbles stalled Luke in his tracks. At least he thought it was scribbles this entire time, but at the angle he was viewing the paper, he made out words from the squiggles. 

“Holy Aphrodite,” he murmured. 

This day just got a lot more interesting. 

She was alone in one of the recording studios when he popped in. 

Luke, one for gabbing on the cuff, had rehearsed what he was going to say when he saw Julie again. There was no room for error on this, she could very well be pissed off at him. 

All that went away when he poofed right in front of her. 

Speechless, his mouth must have yapped open and closed with no words coming out. 

Julie, in her chair, slipped off a pair of headphones as she rose to meet his eye level. 

“I’m sorry!” 

Luke reeled back, unsure who it was who said it first. They must have exclaimed it at the same time. 

Julie rushed at him, grabbing his hands, “Luke, please, I’m sorry-”

“No, I’m sorry!” Luke argued, “I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you. I swear, I’ve never- I’ve never been that angry before in my life. My very long life. It was so not okay-” 

“I remembered there was yelling from both sides,” 

He gripped her hands tight, “You’re not a cynic.” 

That solicited a dark chuckle. 

“I can be,” she muttered sullenly.  

“A little ‘glass-half-empty’ maybe. I don’t think I’d be friends with a cynic,” 

Julie cracked a small smile, “Me neither.” 

“You’re my friend. Reggie’s our friend. We both wanted to help him,” 

“We had our different approaches. My methods can be harsh. I’m just so used to being so brutally honest with Flynn. She does the same with me. It’s all I know,” Julie violently shook her head, “Still no excuse. I should have known that Reggie wouldn’t respond well to that. And with you- I just… I just let my mood get the best of me.”

“And I let my fears get the best of me ,” Luke confessed, “And mood? Was it work again?”

He must have been glowering at the recording booth as if it housed the bane of Julie’s existence because she laughed warmly at him. 

“Nothing too crazy at work. Just tweaking our song. The music, not the words,” 

Luke stopped breathing, “They liked it?” 

Julie bobbed her head excitedly. 

“A song I helped write is gonna be on an album?” He couldn’t believe it. Was he- was he dreaming?

“I was planning to tell you! But then that whole thing...” 

“So, to be clear, neither of us are mad? Free reign to victory-hug you right now?” 

“Please!”

Luke threw his arms around her and they fell into a tight embrace, absolutely ecstatic. And with no bad blood between them, it was a win for them, their partnership. They were Julie and Luke again. 

Julie shifted her head away from his chest, not letting up in the slightest, “Have to admit. I missed these hugs.” 

“You’re gonna get a lot more of these before the days out” And with one last restricting squeeze, they released. Luke sobered up, remembering, “Julie, there’s been another development. At work. Two things actually,”

Julie brought him to the couch, “Yeah?”

“I had to know. What made you and Carlos different,”

Before he lost the nerve, Luke caught Julie up to speed on his theory and his findings- or lack thereof- regarding her family, her mom especially.  

Julie listened intently, face neutral. She pressed her knuckles to her lips, taking it all in. 

“You think... my mom’s been blessed?” 

“Yeah, given a gift. You,” 

She smirked. 

 “...and Carlos! Gift of fertility! Being able to have kids.” he added late, unsure why the previous phrase alone would have made it awkward, “Aphrodite’s been known to be a little bit generous with her magic. It could have had side effects, power passed on to you guys. So that you can see her ‘children’.” 

“Yeah but one problem,” Julie brought up, “Mom never had trouble having kids. At least, it hasn’t been mentioned to me.” 

“Huh,” That torpedoed his theory,“Sorry. For bringing her up. I was checking something and that’s what I found out.” 

Julie sighed, “I love my mom. I don’t really talk about her that much. Well, not since you showed up I guess.” 

“Is it too painful?” 

“I thought so, but I think I miss talking about her more. I don’t know… I thought her chapter of my life was closed. But finding out that there may be this link between your world and mine, and how it might be my mom, it’s kinda…exciting? Is that weird?” 

Luke shook his head, smiling reassuringly, “No. No, it’s not.” 

“I get to discover more about her. Like she has more to tell me,”

That was a relief and a rather optimistic way of putting it. Luke had predicted she was going react badly, but Julie was choosing to see this as an opportunity to get to know her mother better. 

And Luke wanted that, wanted to help foster that connection between her and her mother, and like she said, bridge that connection between her world and his. 

It would be so easy to say that it was fate that brought him and Julie together, but he shouldn’t put so much faith in that. It did try to Match Julie and Nick after all.

“But what if what we find is not something you’d want to look for?” Valeria’s haunting warning decided to make a reappearance, but Luke needed Julie to be absolutely positive about continuing down this path. 

And in typical Julie fashion, she shrugged and pursed her lips, “At least we’ll know.”

Snaking an arm around her waist, Luke buried himself into her side, “I want to help.” 

“Thanks, Luke,” She appeared to be very grateful, knowing the kind of hoops he would have to jump through to pursue more information. He could get in serious trouble. 

But like they had been doing- damn the rules. Damn HQ. Damn Valeria and all of them. 

“What was that other thing? You were gonna tell me?” 

Right!

Luke summoned the note, “A lead.”

He showed Julie the back page and what was written behind their Mystery Cupid’s letter. 

“What do these random letters and numbers mean?” 

“You’ve been to a library before, right?” Julie’s eyes narrowed at him. He snorted, “Anyway, this is a call number. It took me to the movies section of our Archives and this number correlates with one DVD we have.” 

With a snap of his fingers, said DVD materialized. Julie made a face. 

“ What Women Want ?”

Luke scrunched his nose, “I know. Not the cream of the crop of rom-coms, but I think that’s why she led me here in the first place. All of us Cupids hate that movie,” 

“So no one would check it out,” Julie concluded, “So, what did you find?”

“This,” 

Together, they cracked open the case. There wasn’t anything glaringly out of the ordinary at first glance. Then Luke wiggled the pamphlet from the inside cover and upon flipping through it, a scrap of paper fell out. 

“These are just more numbers,” Julie summed up after digesting its contents. 

It wasn’t like before. It was a series of numbers written in rows though some left blanks in various spots. 

“I’m stumped.” 

“I’m not a codebreaker or anything, but this may be a combo for some magical safe that holds all the answers?” Julie spitballed. 

Luke scoffed. 

Julie punched him in the shoulder, “What? You tell me about cosmic compatibility tests and pneumatic tubes but there’s no such thing as magical safes?”

“What kind of combo has this many numbers?”

“Magic ones. You’re not paying attention!”

A snort erupted out of both them, bleeding into loud laughter. It was obvious their brains would not be able to solve this tonight. It would have to be another time. 

“Wanna get out of here? For some late dinner?” Dangling the opportunity for food, it wouldn’t take long for Julie to agree. Luke could see that she was itching to get out of here. 

Julie grabbed her purse, “I do. And I actually know a place we could go.” 

The Hollywood Jazz Club was, no pun intended, in full swing by the time he and Julie arrived. 

They were left to seat themselves and Julie fought her way to the lower level, right at the lip of the stage. There was already someone sitting there. 

Reggie didn’t hear them approach, as he was facing the stage, waiting. Luke had to tussle his hair to force him to look up. 

“Hey, man!” Reggie then noticed Julie, his eyes widening, “Oh… hey.”

The human smiled weakly, “Can we talk?”

Luke gave the two their time alone in favor of exploring more of the venue. He strut in time with the music, really feeling the big band set up. Jazz wasn’t his jam but he could still appreciate it. 

Eventually he landed at the bar, subtly observing Reggie and Julie, who seem to be in good spirits with the way their heads were hunched over, animatedly discussing something. 

Eavesdropping was tempting, even when one of them would sneak a look in his direction before resuming their conversation, but Luke didn’t read too into it. He’d rather they make fun of him than not talk. At least they were doing it together. 

Reggie soon met him at the bar and it was like he reverted to his ol’ cheery self, which made Luke smile in return, “So are you two-?”

“All good!” Reggie exuberantly reported, “She explained everything. Why she was so cross that day.”

“And?” 

“I see everything now.“

The cryptic phrasing gave Luke pause, but he figured it was Reggie being Reggie. 

His friend elbowed him in jest, “But yeah. Me and Julie never stopped being pals, dude. I just got into a little funk, that’s all.” 

A voice projected over the space, announcing the start of the show in a couple of minutes. 

Luke nodded at the stage, “Are you still sticking around?”

“Yeah. I’d never miss my Junebug perform,”

He didn’t want to burst the bubble, but Luke was curious. 

“What are you gonna do?” 

Reggie shrugged, “Cupids and humans can’t be together.”

“No, they can’t,” Luke confirmed. 

“It’s nice to pretend for a while that we could be,”

“Are you gonna let her go?”

Reggie said nothing. He merely kept on smiling and was soon retreating to his seat before Luke could discern if it was bittersweet. Luke slowly followed.

The show was how Reggie had previously described, with the zany magician as the opening act then followed by the spectacle of the performers. Kayla, donning a sparkly blue ensemble, spun onto the scene, twirling her chair near the front of the stage. 

Reggie whooped and Luke saw how he lit up when his eyes landed on her. Julie loudly applauded, sharing in Reggie’s excitement, but it would be Julie who Kayla would notice, to whom she gave a little wave. And for a minute, it was like she was waving at Reggie. 

“Oh, this is my favorite part. You have to check this out,” 

Reggie pointed out just in time for Kayla to leap onto the chair, in heels no less, in a jaunty to and fro from the platform and the floor without a misstep, before leaping and was expertly caught by another dancer. 

“Gods, isn’t she amazing?” Reggie was in absolute awe. 

Luke nodded, “She definitely is, Reg.” 

It wrecked Luke in a way he had never felt before, how Reggie carried on. It must be torture being here, watching the love of his life and never be acknowledged. How could he stand it?

It wasn’t until Reggie scampered off to find Kayla after the show, showering her with praises even if she couldn’t hear that Luke realized that having any piece of Kayla was better than not having her at all. 

That was the point, wasn’t it? Love was supposed to twist and turn and scream and burn like what the note said, but it was worth it. To have that moment with that person you really cared about. 

It felt like he was one step closer to understanding what real love was like. 

Julie laid a hand over his, both of them trying to appreciate the ‘sweet’ of this bittersweet moment. 

“If only things were different, huh?”

“Yeah,” Julie mumbled, “If only…”

Chapter Text

“Luke, can I see you in my office please?”

The Cupid sat petrified at his desk upon Harrison’s summons. Refraining an audible gulp, he calmly set down his stamp and followed his manager.

On the way in, Luke conducted a mental checklist of what he possibly could have done to warrant this meeting. Only his 'mistakes' came to mind. 

This was it, he thought, Harrison found out about Julie, about his activities, and the search for Mystery Cupid. Valeria was a rat and he was fucked!

“What is it that you want to talk to me about?” His tone was neutral as he took a sear in the chair. 

“Your performance.”

“My...performance,” Luke parroted.  

Harrison shook her head, wagging a finger, “Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

His hand shot to his mouth, testing a breath. It was the hot dogs, wasn’t it? He just had some with the boys. They didn’t have them up here! He was gonna be punished all because Harrison could smell the mustard on him. Shit, shit, shit-

Luke gripped the chair tight, lurching forward, “I can explain-” 

“Aside from some bouts of odd behavior, I’m happy to see that you’ve been consistently on top of your desk duties.” 

“-but if you could just hear me out, I- wait, what?” 

His manager, for once, was not disappointed. Or cross. In fact, she appeared to be proud?

(Well, a frown was absent from her face so he could assume that this was what happy Harrison looked like). 

For an Earth second, Luke thought Harrison was mistaking him for someone else, but then it dawned on him that she was right. 

He hadn’t slipped with paperwork at all. Not even once. Was his handwriting horrendous and he kept misplacing envelopes? Yeah. But that shit got done.

Funny how paperwork duty was meant to improve his work ethic and in some ways, it had. Because getting it right was an incentive to duck out and see Julie without having to worry. If he kept his head low, went along with the goings on of day-to-day HQ life, the less likely he was to get investigated. 

“Er, yes!” Luke interlocked his hands thoughtfully, resting his forearms on the chair, evoking a sense of respectability and seriousness, “It’s important work. If I can’t do my part down on the ground then I’ll do it up here.” 

“It is important work,” Harrison was pleased with his response, “I hope you have a greater appreciation for all that we do in this division.” 

More like you hoped that I’m as docile as the rest of your workaholic drones…  

On the outside, Luke smiled, the corners of his mouth aching. 

“I do. Yup. Sure.” 

“Luke, I really am proud of what you’ve accomplished,” Harrison was in the midst of poring over the last of Luke’s reports as well as typing out memos. She shook her head, “Believe me, this is the most ideal form of punishment. There are worse fates than paperwork. It’s great that you’ve acclimated well.” 

Luke’s interest was piqued instantly, “Like what?” 

The older Cupid looked up, glasses sliding down the bridge of her nose, “Hm?” 

“You said fates worse than paperwork.” 

A suspended silence overtook the room as Harrison rewinded the conversation in her head. It must have been her multitasking that overloaded her better judgment because Luke could pinpoint the exact moment the manager remembered what was sandwiched between the positive assessments. 

Her face dropped. 

She collected herself. And smiled. Which made Luke’s skin crawl. 

“Oh,”  She waved it off and resumed her work, “You don’t have to worry about that. Just keep up the good work and I’ll put in a favorable word with the folks upstairs.” 

Swallowing the bad vibes he was getting, Luke stood from his chair with a rushed out ‘thanks’. 

He was almost home free when Harrison called out: “Is there something amiss, Luke?”

Oh boy, is there… 

It was the severe lack of backtalk and an eagerness to get back to work that must have tipped her off. With an aggressive motion of his head, Luke turned on his signature ‘charm’. 

“Nah. In fact, it’s a good thing you stopped me. Since I’m doing such a good job, would it be ok to get some time off? Planning on going on a trip. A vacation sounds looooovely.” 

Harrison said nothing. 

“...that was a joke.” 

And whatever sliver of respect she had for him went up in smoke, the familiar crease on her forehead making a comeback, “That will be all, Luke.” 

“Right.” 

She dismissed him, and Luke went back to tackling his stack of folders. He didn’t leave until he got through it all. And when Harrison scurried to an important meeting, Luke traveled to the Archives. Clive was there, like always. 

“My record. Please,” Luke made the reasonable request. 

“Why? To relieve the glory days?” Clive snarked yet did what was asked of him. 

Luke happily accepted the folder, “Something like that.” 

Luke hadn’t been kidding back in Harrison’s office. 

They were going on a trip. 

And it wasn’t like they needed her permission, but it was kind of funny to request the time off in hindsight. 

They were gonna hit up all their greatest Matches. Luke and the boys had been in the matchmaking game for a long while and so they had racked up a list of favorite couples they had put together. 

It was a fun idea sparked by Julie actually. Who wanted a weekend off, to which Luke gladly agreed. And it was a cool way to show her different dynamics and get a feel for all the ways romantic love could look like. 

The excursion started bright and early at 8 AM,  the trunk packed with Julie's overnight bag and Thomas the Wallaby (upon Alex’s urging) and they had been driving up California, heading northeast and making stops along the way. 

So far they had visited a Renaissance Fair near San Bernardino to check on one of Reggie’s favorite matches- a jousting knight couple, previously divorced in their own respective marriages, who would show their affection by trading swords and blows to the point of sustaining injuries. 

(Though they were very tender while tending to each other’s wounds which had been sweet to watch... and also the epic jousting tournaments).

Then came Alex’s pick, one involving a chef of a small restaurant in Barstow and their spouse, both of them struggling to keep the business afloat. Not as affectionate. Hadn’t been since they had 5 kids and subsequently 13 grandkids. 

(But Luke was well aware they split a bottle of wine every other night and talk ‘til morning. Julie had left a hefty tip. She wished she could do more to help them). 

“So when are we gonna see your favorite Match?” Julie prodded Luke. 

He pressed a finger to his lips, “Just wait and see.” 

It was time to refuel and stretch their legs (which was a must during road trips the Cupids come to find out). 

Cupids didn’t travel. They just appeared in different places. They had the ability to pop up anywhere at any time. Luke had been to so many countries, some of them don’t even exist anymore. So rarely he got to see all the spots in between- the majesty of mountains, the plains, hell, even the ocean. 

It had been wild to sit and watch and cruise . He even got some writing in, inspired by the scenery and this once-in-a-Cupid-lifetime opportunity to go on a road trip with his best friends like it was some coming-of-age movie. 

“I’m surprised we’re only seeing a handful of couples,” Julie voiced, pulling into the gas station, one hour away from their final destination. 

“We had to narrow down our list of favorites from like a 100 to like 10,” Alex said.  

“You guys sure love Matching people.” 

“It’s awesome, Julie!” Reggie exclaimed, “You were there for one of them. Didn’t you see the sparks flying? Feel all the warm flutteries?”

Julie chuckled at the wording, “I guess.”

“We mixed it up with our list,” Luke said, “We have some Second Glances and Love at First Sights.” 

“Really?” Julie left the car, heading for the gas pump, “The latter definitely sounded like my parents,” 

“How did your parents meet?” From the rolled down window, Alex asked tentatively, “If- If that’s not too personal.” 

“They ran into each other. In a dive bar in Hollywood. Dad said mom was unlike any woman he’s ever met. ‘Destiny’ he said. It was like they knew each other already,” Julie rolled her eyes though smiled, “Anyways, she got up on stage for open mic night, sang, and it was all over.”

“Huh, your mom didn’t seem to need our help then,” Reggie climbed out of the backseat to stretch out his legs, “Must be one helluva voice too.”

“Your mom seemed really cool.” 

Julie nodded at Alex’s words, “She was.” 

“You guys ever heard anything about a ‘Rose Molina’?” Luke thought to ask the boys, “Because HQ has nothing on her besides what was on Julie’s file.” 

“Because it was redacted, right?” Reggie recalled Luke having mentioned this once, “Weird. Why would they redact your mom’s file?” 

Alex furrowed his brow, thinking, “So nothing about her life?” 

“Only from the time she got with Julie’s dad. And beyond that.” 

“Maybe something happened before then,” Alex turned to Julie, “Was there anything… strange? About your mom’s upbringing? What she was doing prior to meeting your dad?” 

Julie filled the tank and shrugged, “Mom didn’t talk a lot about her childhood. My guess is that it must have been kinda fucked up, seeing as though she treated mine and Carlos’ childhood as something precious. She said her parents were gone and that she had a sister. That’s all I know. Never met her.”

All talks of her mom ceased when Julie gave the boys the greenlight to pilfer the convenience store for goodies and souvenirs. She joined them shortly after to pay for everything. They all returned to the car with their slurpees, chips, and cheap sunglasses. 

Alex did a double take, “What… is… that?”

Luke circled the car, joining the rest of them. They were fixated by the new decal on the rear window. 

JULIE AND LUKE’S SWEETHEART TOUR, it read in white script across the glass. 

“Oh my gods.” Luke muttered. 

Julie was too tired to be embarrassed, “This isn’t a honeymoon,” she said what everyone was thinking.

Reggie didn’t see the problem with it, “It’s too good of a name to pass up!”

“Well, it’s gonna obscure my line of vision when I drive so if you could please…” Their resident human made a sweeping motion, “It’s cute though, Reggie. Thanks.” She made sure to say with a soft smile. 

Although it put a pout on Reggie’s face, he snapped his fingers and the decal whooshed away. 

Julie and Luke shared a concerned glance before getting in the car. 

Ever since the jazz club, Reggie had been acting out. Or at least, acting out of the ordinary. 

It wasn’t unlike him to pull cheeky stunts like the decal, but it came at increasing frequency over the last week. Poofing dozens of roses into Julie’s apartment, switching on the speaker while Luke and Julie were writing- he attributed it to the fallout of Reggie’s decision to give Kayla some space. 

It must have been difficult for him. So the rest of them agreed to go easy on Reggie during this period. To accept his antics as his way to cope with heartbreak. 

‘Ooh baby, I love your way…. 

Everyday…yeah…

I wanna tell you I love your way...everyday... yeah

I wanna be with you night and day...

Both Luke and Julie zero in on the stereo. Which neither of them have touched since the car started but had somehow started playing that Big Mountain song. 

(Now that Luke thought about it, he might have heard the crack of one’s fingers snapping not that long ago…)

Reggie, hands behind his back, reclined in the backseat, mouth open in delight, “Oooh. I love this one!” 

“Hey Reg, might wanna be like the ‘b’ in subtle?” Alex hissed and promptly shushed him. 

“There’s no ‘b’ in subtle,” Reggie responded. 

“See you don’t even know how to spell the goddamn word, how could you know what it means?”

“What are you trying to say?” 

“I-urgh-” Alex threw his hands up, already done, “I’m in a car with oblivious idiots.”

From the rear-view mirror, Luke caught Alex side-eyeing him too, and he wondered what he did to garner that title ‘oblivious idiot’. 

 But then again if he knew, then he wouldn’t be one, would he?

“Surprise!” 

“This isn’t a surprise, Luke. I know where we’re going this whole time. I’m the one driving.” 

The iconic ‘Welcome to Fabulous Vegas’ sign blinked at them in the distance, inciting rowdy celebrations in the backseat, Julie, however, sported her signature ‘happy but not too happy’ grin whenever in the boys’ presence. 

Luke poked her cheeks to shake loose a real smile. Julie scrunched her nose and tried to bite at his finger. 

“Not me! Save it for the all-you-can-eat!”

A manic flash in Julie’s eyes indicated a hunger so fierce that Luke almost became nervous. Something in his face must have shown his fear because she snuck a glance at him and bursted out laughing. 

Luke had no comeback, looking at Julie the entire way to the hotel, trying to internalize her smile and frame it in the recesses of his mind. It was one of the moments that he wanted to remember forever- here, with her, with the boys, in the City of Lights.  

They were only there for one night and Flynn, the gem that she was (though she couldn't make it), had come through and got Julie a sweet deal for a room at a nice hotel. Although they barely spent any time in the room because they were out exploring. 

“So who are we here to see?” Julie asked while they were on The Strip.

“I dunno. Maybe Penn and Teller? Wished Gaga was still here. But for you and Alex, we could definitely sneak into Magic Mike.” He found the look of confusion on her face adorable, so he clarified: “Vegas was always gonna be your vacation, Jules. Let’s do something fun while we’re here. No love talk, okay?” 

Julie puckered her lips, thinking, “Hmm… how about we go batshit crazy?”

The boys were at the mercy of Julie’s definition of ‘batshit crazy’ for the rest of the day. Which had been a hazy period of drinks, gambling, and attending shows (all with their unique challenges given they were unseen by the human population). 

Somehow, somehow , they snuck into a Bruno Mars show at the Park MGM. 

And Luke had attended his fair share of performances over the years, but this had been one for the books. The guy really knew how to work a room and vibe with the crowd. Luke couldn’t fathom having a hold on that many people through music and showmanship. 

He always dreamed about commanding a crowd all at once, enrapturing them with his lyrics, having them sing it back to him. But that wasn’t in the cards for him. 

For a second, he was a little gloomy and he didn’t know why it was affecting him now and not centuries ago. (Well then again, he did have a few drinks under his belt). 

Julie snapped him out of it, shaking his shoulders and urging him and the boys to hop to the beat. His troubles were forgotten soon after. 

After zipping between more bars and casinos, they capped off the night by visiting a Vegas wedding chapel, sitting in and cheering on the couples as they got married in rapid succession. Luke didn’t remember whose idea it was in the first place). 

Soon it was time for Julie to get some shut eye. The boys accompanied her to her room with Alex tucking her into bed (along with Thomas the Wallaby). 

“Come on,” Still in her blouse and jeans, she patted the empty space on both sides of the queen mattress, “Sleepover!” 

“Can’t, Julie-fish. Gotta make sure we’re not missed at HQ.”  Reggie booped Julie’s nose. She pouted. 

“Not even for a little bit?” Julie directed her puppy dog face at Luke, and he was just about to fold even though he didn’t need the rest. The bed just looked comfy. 

Luke knelt beside her bed, “We’ll be back in the morning.” 

“Not two weeks?” 

“Nope,” Luke assured, “Just a quick pop in and we’ll ride with you back to L.A.” 

Julie pressed her cheek against Thomas, eyes already fluttering closed. Her voice was waning, “Get me morning coffee?” 

“2 cream and 4 sugars?” 

She emitted a childish giggle, “You know it.”

He returned it, “One ‘Venti Tooth Rot’ coming up, boss.” 

“Goodnight, Luke.” 

“‘Night, Jules.” 

Not a minute passed when Julie drifted off to slumberland. Luke tucked a stray curl behind her ear, thumb caressing the side of her face. He was taken aback by how soft her cheek was. 

Alex cleared his throat, “Hey, man, if you’re done-?” 

Luke removed his hand, “Yeah. Sorry.”

Reggie’s gaze bounced between Luke and Julie but said nothing. A glint of amusement flashed in his eyes. 

Finishing up, Luke drew the covers to Julie’s shoulders and turned off the lights. All three of them poofed to HQ. 

It turned out, there were no new cases for Alex and Reggie. The stack of folders on Luke’s desk grew to a sizable but manageable amount. All in all, their extended absence hadn’t been noticed. 

Luke sighed, making an appearance in the office just to pretend to take a case file and go to the mailroom. Reconvening with the boys in the breakroom, with only a ten minutes Cupid time to spare, it had been an unspoken shared thought between the three of them:

They’d rather have that sleepover with Julie. 

The next day, hours having passed for Julie and only minutes for the boys, they said goodbye to Vegas and drove back to L.A, which took longer than expected due to traffic.

Julie, luckily, wasn’t hungover. She was tired, but, with the coffee Luke had provided, she soldiered on. Luke had to ask if she had a couple more stops left in her before she got to go home. 

“Don’t worry. They’re not far.” 

Julie didn’t object to that and drove them to one of their last couples on their ‘sweetheart tour’.

“Aaand now for Luke’s Choice,” Reggie alerted as they rolled into a residential street only an hour away from Julie’s place. 

Reggie and Alex were too tuckered out, so it was only Julie and Luke who ended up leaving the car and walking up the driveway of a one-story house. 

Julie studied the structure, from its inconspicuous lawn to the Christmas wreath hanging prematurely on the front door, “Huh.” 

Luke sifted through the oddly toned uttering, “What?”

“I never would have pegged this to be your favorite Match.” 

“You haven’t even met them yet.” 

“I thought we’d end up at some aging rockstar’s Malibu mansion or something. Or like a couple who bungee jumps together. Or runs demolition derbies. Who wrestle crocodiles. ” Julie lamely gestured at the house, “This is so normal it hurts.” 

Luke took her hand, leading her around the back so they could spy the residents via their sliding door, who happen to be a husband and wife sitting in their living room. 

“The Pattersons- Emily and Mitch,” Luke introduced From their vantage point behind the well-manicured bushes, they could see the couple in separate chairs. 

The older man with glasses was pouring over a book. The woman was knitting. They didn’t appear to be interacting. 

Julie looked just as confused as she was on the driveway, “What makes them your favorite?” 

“I dunno. Something about them. It’s so quiet here. That always fascinates me. A quiet kind of love but it’s still so…” Luke had trouble explaining it, “Just look at them.” 

It was at that moment, Emily paused her knitting and reached over to grab her husband’s hand, which had been hanging off the side of his chair. Upon his wife’s touch, he set the book down, and they shared a look, one of tenderness. 

They didn’t need to say anything. That one look held everything- the history, their shared pain, and the love that helped them through it. 

“They lost their son. A long time ago. It really beat them up,” Luke said, recalling the Pattersons’ wayward boy who never came home. Who could never come home. It had been Luke’s first glimpse into grief and what that did to people. 

“He left around Christmastime. That’s why they still have the wreath. They never took it down. Emily took it the worst, so I like to stop by every now and then just to check up on them.” 

There was no specific reason why Luke did this. The Pattersons weren’t his first case. They were one of thousands he was assigned. But he had always felt inexplicably connected to them. He was protective of them and wanted to make sure they were ok. 

Julie nodded, sympathetic, “That’s sweet of you, Luke.” 

“Mitch is a college professor," he rambled on like he was discussing a favorite topic, "Teaches English. He’s probably read that entire shelf behind him a dozen times over. And Emily, she was studying business before she met her husband. She’s stern but sweet. She likes cherries and eats them all the time. I played them Otis Redding at college and they have been together ever since.” 

They lingered for a while longer before Luke decided it was enough and they had to go. He waved goodbye like he always did, right in plain view. 

The couple didn't wave back. It might be one of the few times, Luke really hated being invisible...

For their last stop, they caught the first show at the nearby planetarium. 

The audience was sparse. Julie had bought a ticket and was led inside the dome by the boys. When the lights shifted, the spectacle about to begin, Luke nudged Julie. 

“There,” He pointed at an elderly couple towards the center, “That’s who we’re here to see. Guila and Sai. She was a computer engineer and he was an astrophysicist. Both worked at NASA. That’s where they met.” 

Alex smiled, “It was a long time ago, but I remembered them. Late at night. Knee deep in numbers and equations. Then we showed up, and the rest is history. It was either ‘Dream Lover’ or something by Bobby Vinton, I swear…” 

Reggie sighed, content, “Now every weekend, they come here. To look at the stars.”

Julie’s lips puckered, primed to ‘aww’ at the couple if it weren’t for the commentator’s request to be silent as the first galaxies and the constellations cycle through. 

But while everyone else spectated the wonders and vastness of their universe, Luke and his friends watched the couple with a similar fascination. 

Sai had stood up, guiding his wife to her feet as well, before they gingerly sprawled themselves out on the floor, forgoing the seats for optimum stargazing. 

They were now out of view, but Luke could picture them leaning in close, whispering the names of constellations to each other and pointing them out (as if the other didn’t already know). 

Julie had slipped away to the aisle, her interest in the old couple evident by how much she was craning her head to get a good look at them. Luke followed and when he drew close, he saw a shaky breath leave her. 

He knew why. And who she was thinking of. 

“They’re pushing 80.” 

“Wow.”

“They’re lucky, you know,” Luke whispered, “To get to spend the rest of their lives together.” 

Julie nodded, her voice thick and froggy, “It doesn’t happen a lot.” 

“But it still happens.” It didn't always have to be one-way conversations and somber anniversaries...

Luke laid a hand on her shoulder and her form relaxed under his touch.

“C’mon, boss. We don’t have to stay long.” 

Julie wiped at her eyes, “No. We can stay. Let’s look at the stars too.”

They made their way back to their seats and stayed for the duration of the show. 

Galaxies spun above them and they could only gaze with awe. Gazing at the stars, planets, and other things that seemed way out of reach but were now close as ever before.

In the middle of the show, Julie’s hand wound up in his, and it felt like she was tethering him back to Earth for it was easy to get lost in the cosmos. But with the way she held him, it might as well be him grounding her. 

“And here we have Venus. A planet we could see from here actually. Even in the daylight. Named after the goddess of love and beauty herself…” The guide lectured. 

The bright, almost white planet emerged on the large screens, zooming in and out, rotating in view. 

It was almost like it was winking down at them. 

Alex and Reggie were called away for an assignment before they arrived at Julie’s place. 

In the parking garage, Julie killed the engine. The setting mirrored the end of their first outing together all those months ago, after the drive-in. What a funny thought. 

“Have you ever thought about what it would be like? When you fall in love? ” Julie asked. The first words she had spoken since the planetarium, “Like imagine you’re human, and you hear that song, you meet your soulmate. Like you’re being Matched.” 

“The songs Cupids play depend on the people. The situation.” Luke leaned back, “If I had a say, it’s gotta be like Dylan or Bowie. Maybe Grohl. Not a slow build up. It hits me like a fucking truck, makes my heart race, blood pumping. Like when I’m performing. It would make sense since music is the closest thing to love I’ve ever known. 

“And the boys,” Julie reminded.  

He rolled his eyes, “And the boys. Duh. If good ol’ mama Aphrodite didn’t give me a soulmate, those two might as well be mine.”

“I like that song you were working on. About them.” 

“It’s about all of us really.” 

“‘And when I feel… lost and alone… I know that I… can make it home’” Julie sang the excerpt from ‘Bright’, one of Luke’s oldest works in progress. His heart jerked at the sound of her voice. He always got a kick out of her singing the lyrics- his lyrics. 

“Promise me. When you’re finally free from desk work and go back to playing music. You try out some of your songs on people. I think people could fall in love to your words.”  

“Sure. When I’m finally free,” Luke said. 

Hmm… ‘finally free’…that would make for a good song…  

Switching off his writing mode for a second, Luke returned to the topic at hand. 

“I think people could fall in love to your words too. When you sing them yourself.“ 

He knew that Julie carried some apprehension performing her own songs. But it was high time that she would get her due and be recognized for all the hard work she’d put into other people’s songs. 

“You’d put all of us out of a job if you sing like how you do…” There was no doubt that Julie would make a better Cupid than him. 

Julie averted her eyes, corners of her mouth debating whether or not to smile or smirk. 

“Changing people’s lives with a song- that’s pretty incredible,” Julie concluded, now that she got to see the long term effects of what Cupids do. 

Luke nodded solemnly, “It is. It’s… important work.” 

“You really did save them from a lifetime of loneliness.” 

The callback made Luke groan in embarrassment. 

“I did say that, didn’t I?”

Julie scrunched her nose,“Yeah. You did.” 

“Oh gods.” 

“Not your best wordplay.” 

“We can’t all be like you, Julie.” 

She punched him in the shoulder, red in the face, “What’s with all this ‘love bombing’. Get outta here before I vomit rainbows. It’s getting too mushy in here.”

“Fine, fine. I’m leaving,” Luke held his hand up in his surrender, exiting the vehicle. He knocked on the window. 

Humoring him, Julie rolled down the window, “Yes?” 

“What about you? How would you want to fall in love?” 

With how the conversation was going, Luke fully welcomed a sarcastic reply. 

Instead, Julie was earnest as she took a moment to reflect. 

“A surprise,” she said finally, “Unexpected. But turned out to be not so unexpected after all.”

Luke drank that in, marveling at the fact that Julie was starting to picture it- falling in love. They both came a long way from where they first started out. 

“I hope it comes soon.” 

Julie blinked at him and the warmth in her expression flickered. 

“Yeah. For you too.” 

Luke figured she must be exhausted and needed to retreat to apartment. They said their goodbyes shortly after, making open-ended plans for next time. 

If only Luke knew at the time, it would be a while before he’ll be able to see Julie again. A long while. 

Chapter Text

Every millennia there came The Inspection. 

It was the one day where the CEO of Love HQ, of the entire Love and Matchmaking Operation, would personally oversee every single department and make changes where it seemed fit. 

(If anyone wondered who had axed the ‘bow and arrow’ it was them) . 

It was also the one day where Harrison and the other supervisors were scared shitless. Or so Luke had heard because he hadn’t actually been brought into existence yet when the last Inspection happened. 

But given how every department’s workload had quadrupled in anticipation of this visit, it didn’t take another brain cell for Luke to comprehend the gravity of the situation. Everything had to be running smoothly or else. 

The ‘or else’ riddled Luke, and he couldn’t help but relate it to what Harrison had said about fates worse than paperwork. What kind of ultimate punishment would be waiting for screw ups like him if he even so much as misfiled a folder?

Most of the anxiety was rooted in surprise. No one knew when The Inspection would occur, just that it was within the rough time frame of an Earth-year, but that didn’t mean they weren’t going to prepare. 

It had been a soul-sucking, all-consuming round of paperwork. He might as well be glued to his work station given how the holiday season was fast approaching, accompanied by half-baked friends-with-benefits and/or fake dating arrangements (which, surprise, often result in the real thing). 

The added pressure of Inspection meant that Harrison was more vigilant than ever, so fleeing to Earth hadn’t crossed his mind. 

Then Luke lost all concept of mortal time. Before he knew it, he blinked, and three months had passed on Earth.  

Three months since he had spoken to Julie. 

Luke would have reached out via the phone Flynn had given him but it was so rare for him to have a moment alone. Even rarer to have a moment where Harrison wasn’t breathing down his neck. 

So when Harrison had to step out for an important meeting, Luke couldn’t help himself and poofed down to Earth to check on his favorite human.

In his excitement, Luke had forgotten about boundaries and appeared in Julie’s living room without knocking. 

It was nighttime when he arrived in the hallway. Ahead of him, he could see the living room was missing its full warm glow, the space now illuminated by candles scattered about. 

A power outage was Luke’s first guess. The music playing softly from the stereo disproved that theory though. He crept forward, intending to seek Julie out in the near-dark. Emerging from the corridor, his mouth opened to announce his presence. 

Though the words died out, replaced with a strangled gasp when he stumbled in on Julie brazenly straddling a stranger on the couch. 

“Holy Aphrodite!” At the flash of bare skin, Luke’s hands flew to his face, 180-ing so fast he got dizzy. 

“Gah!” He heard Julie yelp, followed by a thump and the rustling of clothes. Presumably the girl was rushing to put something on.

Rooted to the spot due to sheer panic, Luke dared to peek through the gaps between his fingers to piece together what the Hades he had just witnessed. 

The man, who Julie had been previously on top of, sprang up on the couch, hands extended towards her. His eyes were wide with concern, “What is it-? Did I do something?”

“No, you’re good! Like-” Julie gestured vaguely at his muscular torso while jerking her arms through sleeves of the man’s discarded button-up, “- so good.”

That earned a sheepish smile from him, “That’s…good to hear?” 

“I just need a minute. In the bathroom, if you don’t mind?”

Luke didn’t see the man nod, Julie already leading his Cupid ass to the bathroom, shepherding him inside. 

To say that she was pissed was an understatement. Leaning against the door, she radiated with frustration (and Luke could only assume what kind).

His eyes kept flitting to her chest, for Julie hadn’t buttoned up the shirt. 

Julie huffed, crossing her arms and obstructing the view of her bra, “Oh grow up.”

“Could you-?” Luke cleared his throat, pointing towards her torso. He quickly redirected his gaze, his cheeks burning red and hot like Apollo’s sun. He was looking elsewhere. Anywhere . 

She buttoned her shirt. Once done, she prompted Luke, “What?”

“I-I have questions!” he whisper-shouted. 

“And I have a half-naked man waiting for me,” Julie reminded smartly, “Shoot.” 

Where to fucking start?

“What happened to not being built for casual?” Luke, for some reason, settled on. 

“I’m not.”

“Then who’s-who’s-” He manically waved his arms, “-that Hallmark Movie cover model?!”  

“That’s Tristan and we’re…” Julie moved her head side to side, thinking Luke would have caught on by now. He didn’t. 

“You’re what?” 

“We’re dating.” 

Out of all the reactions he could have given, had imagined giving once Julie reclaimed her love destiny, the numb ‘oh’ that left his lips was not it.

“You’ve been gone for a while, so I understand if you didn’t know.”

Luke swallowed, “How long?” 

“A month and half now? Been actively trying to date the whole time you were away but this was the one that finally stuck.”

A month and a half?

He knew he had been gone a while, but he didn’t think things could change so much. Like, Julie had gotten into a whole ass relationship while he was away and-

It finally registered in his thick Cupid brain: Julie was in a relationship . 

Luke was quick to fill the extended silence with exuberance. 

“That’s great! You’re dating!” He extended his arms for a hug but immediately dropped them, considering Julie’s state of dress, “Wow. Like, wooow. It’s happening. You’re-You’re doing the damn thing!” 

Julie pinched her earlobe, wincing, “You’re kinda being loud there, Lover Boy.”

“Um, yeah? Because I’m happy for you.”  

“You are?” 

The question prompted a pause from Luke. 

“Yeah?” 

Julie broke out into a relieved smile, “Good. Because he’s been really sweet actually. Like, a huge step up from what I’m used to. We have a good time together.”

“Good.” Luke studied her face, “So, you like him?”

“I do. A lot. In fact, tonight’s kinda the night we’re supposed to… you know…”

“I know. I saw,” Luke cringed, “No! Not ‘saw’! I didn’t see you. I didn’t see anything-!” 

Julie held up a hand, saving him from further embarrassment, “It’s whatever.” 

“Any other bombshells you wanna drop, Julie?” 

No answer. 

“Oh no.” What else did he miss?

“Tomorrow,” Julie shelved the topic, “Or whenever you can come by. We’ll talk later.” 

“Right. Totally. Have fun.” Luke wrinkled his nose, “Not too much fun though.” 

Julie grinned impishly, “No promises.”

For a second, Luke entertained magicking up a pack of condoms as a gag. It was well within their shared sense of humor. Julie would have found it funny in other circumstances at least but maybe not at this given moment. 

Instead, with an awkward wave, he materialized in HQ, trying to put to words the growing weight in the pit of his stomach.

Maybe he wasn’t as happy as he previously claimed…

“Any reason you’re stalking Julie’s boyfriend?” 

Luke busied himself around the juice bar at the fancy fitness center Tristan so happened to be at. With no one in immediate vicinity, he poured out a mango smoothie, sliding it over to Reggie. He could say that he came for the beverages. Nothing else. 

“I happen to like going to this gym, Reg. Thank you very much.” 

Luke thought he had slipped away clean, with Harrison off at another official meeting, but Reggie managed to tail him. 

The other Cupid took a slow, deliberate sip, sustaining intense eye contact over the cup. 

Luke broke. Damn ‘puppy dog’ eyes.

“Fine. Maybe I am.” 

Ever since Julie told him about Tristan, Luke could not stop obsessing over him and their relationship.  

They- Luke, Alex, and Reggie- were eventually made privy to the meetcute during their last get together, though only the bare bones version: 

It had been a rare rainy L.A day. They were on the street. She had an umbrella. He didn’t. 

(‘Could I make it any more obvious?’- as Avril Lavigne would have put it.)

And that was how Luke would have surmised it too. But, as picturesque and textbook romance it was, he was not convinced. 

‘Mediocre’ was the word that came to mind. 

It could be Julie's sensible side rubbing off on him, but he wasn’t convinced. Perhaps it was because Luke hadn’t been there (and he hated to have missed such a monumental occasion), as if being a first hand witness could verify whether or not the sparks were flying between Julie and Tristan. Sparks were mandatory!

It seemed to be going well though. Luke would hear about these above-and-beyond dates like going out dancing, touring a winery, horseback riding, etc. 

Julie would talk about Tristan with such fondness, and it made Luke all the more curious about the guy who managed to capture Julie’s heart. 

Luke avoided digging up Tristan’s file from HQ, in fear of what he might find (like if he was already planning to be Matched with someone else or anything of the sort). But how else was he gonna get a feel of the kind of guy Julie’s shacked up with? 

He could always ask Julie, if he ever saw her. She was too wrapped up in the honeymoon bubble of the relationship and he didn’t want to burst it. Naturally, some good ol’ fashioned sleuthing was the way to go. 

So for the past week, any bit of free time was spent ‘keeping an eye’ on Tristan. Nothing too creepy.

“Do you blame me? We know nothing about him!” Luke argued. 

Reggie rested his elbows on the counter, observing Tristan as he worked the elliptical, “Don’t worry, I get it. Julie’s our pal. We need to screen any guy she even thinks about dating. I even ran them through the test. Only 65% so it's not promising."

Luke scowled at the mention of the Compatibility Test, "It’s bullshit, remember? That test paired Julie up with a saltine cracker of a human?"

Reggie chuckled, "So what’s the lowdown?” 

And so Luke relayed his findings: “He’s in his late twenties and lives in a decent sized condo.”

“Ooooh, he’s got money?” 

“Get this: he’s an actor .” 

“What?” Reggie waved his hand at the tall, muscular adonis that was the subject of their conversation, “Like on The CW?” 

The Cupid laughed at his own joke. Luke didn’t. 

Reggie gasped, “No.” 

Luke snatched the cup away from him, “Yes.”

“The CW?” Reggie shook his head, “Never mind that. Interests? What about interests? He’s gotta be a music man, man!” 

“Nope. It’s basketball, crocheting, and healthy eating? He’s a partner for a new vegan restaurant.” 

“Access to food. Julie loves that.”

“I know! And they’re cute together!” Tristan was handsome to the point it was almost ridiculous. Anytime he was with Julie, they always looked so picture perfect, “He seems to listen to her and cares about her and is a decent person!” 

“You sound… angry about that.” 

“No, I’m not!” Luke impulsively bit off a banana, “I’m cautious!” 

“Has he done anything problematic since you’ve been stalking him?” 

Ignoring the use of the ‘s’ word again, Luke grumpily reported:

"No. He gave money to a homeless person on the way here, and I heard him speaking French on the phone- another point for attractiveness- booking a restaurant reservation for him and Julie. And look! He wipes down the equipment after using it!"

He narrated just as Tristan made sure to clean the elliptical for the next person’s use. 

Reggie made a face, "That's just common courtesy, but the other stuff though…"

"I don’t want her to get hurt,” was Luke’s defense, “I know I preach that it takes trial and error but she’s already been through a lot. She deserves to be happy and be with someone worthwhile.”

“Then you better let her find it. On her own,” Reggie rubbed Luke’s shoulders, jostling him in jest, “She doesn’t need you to hold her hand through everything.” 

Luke stopped mid-chew. 

“You’re right.”

Julie didn’t need him anymore, did she? Luke had served his purpose. He got Julie to open her heart to love again. There was no reason for him to really stick around. Not when she was spending all her time with Tristan, which he understood. 

He and Julie were friends, yeah, but how could he compete with the boyfriend, huh? 

Reggie discovered the error in his statement, “But, but , you guys are partners! Musical Partners in Song… Crime?” 

Luke, sullen, chucked the banana peel at the trashcan, “She’s been doing well without me for 3 months. I missed so much. I don’t know if we’re even the same people anymore.” 

“All the more reason for you to come and visit more. Please, don’t get all in your head. Julie… she likes spending time with you, man. She loves it. She loves-” Reggie curls his fist and falters, “She loves having you around.”  

Then how come she hadn’t asked them to hang out at her place for a boozy movie night in? Like what they used to do? Or gorging on all street food within a 3 mile radius? Or to play lyric popcorn to write nonsensical songs and get the creative juices flowing?

All the stuff Luke would do with Julie, she could do with Tristan. Easily.  (Maybe not workshopping songs though…)

It killed him to be away for so long. He didn’t want that, but that was how his job went. Julie couldn’t (and shouldn’t) wait around. Tristan could be there for her all the time. 

And for that Luke envied him. For the stability he couldn’t provide.

She was certainly much happier for it. Luke tended to associate sunshine with Julie but it was something even brighter now when she smiled (which she did a lot when she had him and the guys over). 

Luke was gonna take a step back. He would be there for Julie in any way she would like, but for right now, he was gonna let her bask in her epic love story, and maybe it was time for him to find his own. 

The most recent clue from Mystery Cupid Girl in his pocket was calling out to him. The sooner he solved it, the sooner he could figure out how to fall in love as a Cupid. 

Then maybe he could have what Julie and Tristan have.

Luke came to find out what Bombshell #2 some time later, when Julie invited him and the boys to one of the recording studios housed at Destiny Records. 

He recognized something amiss when Julie and Flynn kept glancing over their shoulders as they hurried down the hall. They ushered the Cupids into the room, which had been where Luke first saw Julie play the piano. 

Though this time there was a drum set and a rack of guitars and basses, Luke couldn’t fathom how much time had passed since meeting Julie. It had felt like a lifetime ago since he was last here, soaking in her talent and ardently coming to her defense when Carrie Wilson rejected the song. 

“Why did you bring us down here?” Alex put out what they were all wondering. 

Julie’s left side drooped, her smile just as crooked. She clapped her hands and tapped her foot, unable to contain her excitement any longer. 

“I’m done with destiny.”

“Uh yeah? We know,” Reggie said, “You found Mr. CW without Cupid intervention- er, well…” he paused, “... I mean we did sort of helped? Though not like we found Tristan for you. I, personally, wouldn’t have picked him for you, but-”

Luke jumped in, “No. You don’t mean what I think you mean.” 

He knew the moment Julie said it.

“I’m done with Destiny . As in Destiny Records.” 

Flynn shook Julie, absolutely thrilled, “She quit, dudes!” 

“You’re not gonna be a songwriter anymore?” Alex asked. He sounded like he didn’t know whether or not he should be happy or concerned. 

“No I am. Just not for them anymore,” Julie looked to Luke, “I’m gonna be writing for me now. I was so sick of them passing over my ideas. Wasting time and energy on stuff that I know is good.” 

Luke was stunned, “You’re gonna perform again?” 

“I've had some stuff cooking for months, but it’s been mostly me learning to be comfortable being the mouth piece for my innermost thoughts and feelings. Flynn’s been helping me with the music and trying to get me back out there in the public again,” Julie detailed, “I feel free, guys. You have no idea.” 

“That’s amazing!” Luke darted forward to pull her into a hug, Alex and Reggie joining on either side, encasing her in a group embrace. 

Julie was finding her voice again. She was making music for herself. Luke couldn’t be any prouder. 

He might have contributed it to Tristan, but it must have been why Julie was in high spirits more often than not, how smiling came so freely to her now than before. She was no longer bogged down by other people’s expectations and demands. Music was no longer a chore but a passion again. 

“You gotta let us hear something because you can’t just tell us you’ve been working on new stuff- wait, that is why you brought us here?” Alex then noticed the lack of a piano or keyboard, “But you’re not, are you?” 

After having been released from the group hug, Julie conveyed a stare to Flynn. The woman with braids understood and strode over to the mixing booth. 

Julie went off to find something, disappearing to the other side of the studio and coming back with a long rectangular case. She flipped the latches open and proceeded to pull out the ‘24 from within. 

“Wha-?” Luke was trying to figure it out while Julie slung the guitar over his chest.

“I wanted to thank you guys. I wouldn’t have come to this decision if it weren’t for you opening my eyes to new opportunities. To open up my heart to things I was initially afraid of before. You,” Julie raised her face, locking eyes with Luke- who was hanging onto every word, “You believed in me, and I’ll be forever grateful. So as a token of my gratitude-”

Julie was off again and handed the guys each a piece of paper. 

It was sheet music. For ‘Bright’. Julie had remembered and transposed it accordingly. 

Then grabbing Alex’s hand, she led him to the drums, “If I get to have a chance to sing my truth, then you guys should too. I wanna record you.” 

“Record us? Professionally?” Reggie might faint, “Is that possible?” 

Julie set him up with a shiny bass and hooked up his mics. “We’ll find out. If people could hear you and if we could use some professional grade equipment to augment what doesn’t come out super clearly, then you could be heard.” 

Luke didn’t know what to do or say, even as Julie was fixing a pair of headphones on him and raising a mic to his face. Like was this really happening? 

“Julie-” 

“Save your voice for the song,” she reprimanded with a quirk of her lips, “We don’t have too long because we’re not supposed to be here and Flynn’s excuses could only go so far with Andi.”

She was about to zip away again when Luke grabbed her wrist. 

“Thank you.” 

“Anytime,” Julie sounded like she meant it. 

It was tricky to get started because Flynn would buzz in with instructions and wait for confirmation that would never come, so Julie had to be the conduit for sound check. 

As a shock to everyone, the mics were able to pick up the boy’s instruments. The only caveat was that the voices didn’t come out as clearly as they would have liked but they made do. 

Singing into a mic was new for Luke. He wouldn’t come across them for work because that meant projecting his voice for an audience when there was no need. 

With a laugh, Julie had to tell him to stand back a couple times, claiming that he was close to kissing the mic than actually singing into it. But once he got the hang of it, Luke was having fun. 

He played the electric with more showmanship, invigorated by the chords he came up with. It was his song! He had to give it everything he had. 

Alex and Reggie had a blast too. Alex wailed on that kit like there was no tomorrow, unleashing his might and releasing his stress. Reggie hopped around like a bunny with his bass and Luke was scared the other Cupid would give him a run for his money. 

They never played like this, for the purpose of letting loose and entertaining rather than having an agenda. 

And rise through the night, you and I

We will fight to shine together, bright forever…

After every run through, they would descend on Flynn in the booth to listen to themselves which was such a surreal experience. 

“Damn, Julie. If they weren’t shooting people’s asses with arrows, they might actually make a good band,” Flynn remarked, playing the music through once more, “If this counted as a demo,  they might make it in the pile. Who knows? Maybe Andi would sign them.” 

“The pile?” Luke asked. 

Julie nodded at a pile of demos sitting in a box in the corner of the room, “It’s just we get tons of demos from tons of bands. Sometimes we can’t even get through them all.” 

Morbidly curious, Luke checked out the box. There must have been over 50 tapes in there. He doubted that this was it. There must be more. He picked up a tape, rubbing a thumb over the band’s name written in sharpie. 

“You don’t listen to every single one?” 

Julie repeated Luke’s question to Flynn. 

“It’s Hollywood, Cupid dude. Everyone’s trying to get their voice out there. Not everyone makes it. Besides, we have rooms full of demos. We do our best.”  

Yeah, Luke was aware of this, but it still saddened him. There must be a whole lot of talent inside this box and they may never get their day in the sun. It was a new kind of invisibility. 

Luke may be unseen to the human world because he was a Cupid, but he’d rather be heard than seen. His music really was all he had. He wouldn’t know what to do if he didn’t have it anymore. If it didn’t reach anyone. Then what was the point of existing?

Before he went down the rabbithold of dismal pondering, Julie rallied everyone in the studio. Flynn remained in the chair and spoke into the comms. 

“How about we go one last time, and Julie-?” Flynn drummed her fingers together, “Why don’t you join the boys on this one? For funsies?” 

Julie sought confirmation, “Would that be ok?” 

“Play with Julie? You mean the greatest collab ever? Hades yeah!” 

Alex took the words right out of Luke’s mouth, yet Julie's eyes were on him, waiting for his explicit consent. 

Luke twisted the mic in her direction, “You’ll take the lead on this one, boss.” 

And so she did. 

Julie took the first verse but called Luke in for the second, their voices blending in that same intoxicating mix from the last time they duetted, in her studio garage. Alex and Reggie chiming in with their instruments and harmonies elevated it. 

It clicked, the four of them, like the pieces of a puzzle Luke didn’t know he was meant to solve. It was a mistake for Flynn to suggest this because now Luke couldn’t imagine not having Julie in the ensemble. 

Bright forever! 

All four of them hit that final note with the gusto and feeling it deserved, and it was Luke and Julie, like before, sharing that mic, staring at each other breathlessly. 

Luke could see Julie absolutely flushed with excitement. He could also see the deep seated gratitude in her eyes. 

This gesture she had put together for them was every single dream coming true. A testament of their shared passion for music, of how their souls were now closely entwined from all the time they spent together, what they had been through. 

It felt like a goodbye...