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War huffed as he navigated the labyrinthian mansion, uncaring of the burly men walking in and out of the rooms. He wasn't here for them and they can't see him anyway.
Among the silk and dark marble, his unusual pastel get-up would have stuck out like a sore thumb. And of course, the pearly white wings on his back wouldn't have gone unnoticed either. But being cupid had its perks and being invisible to humans was one of them.
He looked down at the card in his hand. The intricate print of his target's name printed in front.
Yin Anan Wong
"Since when did we start matching mafia bosses?" War mumbled to himself, perplexed at the sudden change in their client repertoire. But he shrugs it off and continues on his way, it wasn't his job to question the matches anyway. He just had to make it happen.
After a few minutes of navigation and a few wrong turns, he finally stopped in front of the room in the farthest end of the mansion. Wordlessly slipping in, he pulled out his bow and an arrow, intending to get this mission over with.
Yin Anan Wong was seated behind a large table, speaking with another man. And by the looks of it, his companion was quite taken by the boss. Although the Yin himself seemed oblivious to the glances he was getting, it wasn't something that one of his arrows couldn't fix.
War's lips tug up to a smirk, it was this part of his job that he enjoyed the most. Watching people fall in love, even in the most unlikely circumstances, has always been the main reason why he loved being cupid. And matching a mafia boss was certainly something to be proud of.
He pulls his string and lets the arrow loose, expecting his arrow to go through the boss' heart without a hitch.
But it didn't and the arrow fell to the ground, vanishing in a puff of smoke.
The startling realisation that he missed was enough to loosen his hold on his bow, missing the slight quirk in his target's lips as he dismissed his companion.
It was a few seconds of terse silence as the War processes the waste of losing an arrow. But the silence was broken when Yin turned to face the shocked cupid.
"You missed cupid."
"I never miss." War's response came before he realised exactly who was speaking to him. His eyes widened when he finally got over his shock. "You can see me."
"Wings are kind of hard to miss." Yin replied with a small nod at his white wings. War rolled his eyes before folding them back, hiding them from view.
"How did you escape my arrow?" War asked with a raised brow, taking a good look at his target for the first time since he got here.
Yin Anan Wong was every bit as imposing as his profession required him to be. He was handsome but tinged with a slight edge of youth. It was becoming abundantly clear that War just landed himself in the lion's den.
"Simple, little cupid." Yin said, leaning on his chair as he met War's gaze. "I dodged."
"No one can dodge a cupid's arrow."
"Did you consider that maybe you're just a bad shot?"
War's nostrils flared as he glared at the man who just spoiled his day. He was already thinking of the litany of curses he was going to send to his boss for sending him an immortal as a target.
Yin for his part, didn't seem to be bothered by the impending explosion from the being in front of him.
"I just said I never miss." The cupid replied with a haughty glare. "This is why I don't meddle with the affairs of immortals, you're all just a headache waiting to happen."
"Oh, little cupid is feisty."
"Shut up."
There was a knock on the door and it opened, revealing the man that Yin dismissed a while ago.
"Yes?" Yin asked, face a mask of cold indifference. War snorted as he loaded up another arrow, he was going to see this through one way or another.
"I thought I heard some voices."
"You must be hearing things. Is there anything else?"
"Well-"
"You may go." Yin interrupted before the other man could say anything. He nodded and closed the door behind him.
"Harsh." War whispered as he let another arrow fly, hoping to take Yin by surprise. Of course it doesn't and the man only chuckles at his attempt.
"I already told you little cupid, your tricks won't work with me."
"I don't know why they want you to be matched. But Yin Anan Wong, I have never failed an assignment and you are not going to be the first one."
Yin levelled War with a stare that would send any normal person running, but War only crossed his arms as he walked and sat down on the chair in front of his target.
"How sure are you that you're matching me with the right person?"
"I'm not. But we'll see once my arrow pierces your heart." War considers his statement for a bit before looking back at Yin. "Is there even a heart to pierce?"
"What do you take me for?"
"A cold-hearted bastard?"
"You wound me, little cupid."
Yin smiled slyly as War directed a harsh glare at him. "Stop calling me little or I swear I will just stab you with my arrow."
"Have cupids always been this vulgar?"
"Only when certain immortals piss them off."
The mafia boss folded his hands in front of him, eyes never leaving the ethereal creature in front of him.
"I've always heard that cupids are beautiful, I just didn't think I would get to meet one myself. But I have to say, they weren't lying when they said your kind would put every beauty in this plane to shame."
"Believe me, the last thing I want is to cross paths with another hard-headed immortal." The cupid huffed. "So let me help you fall in love so we can both go our merry ways."
"No." Yin said with a shake of his head. "I like having you around."
"Do you take me as some sort of entertainment?"
"You're cute and I've always liked pretty things. I'm not going to stop you from trying but I will warn you. You will not succeed."
War hops off his chair and heads to the open window, stepping up on the ledge as his wings open behind him.
"I'll make you fall in love Yin Anan Wong."
He casts one last look at his smirking target before flying out of sight.
"I'll bet you do."
---
For the next two weeks, the cupid followed the mafia boss around, intent on matching the stubborn man despite his many failed attempts. He watches in indignation as another arrow misses its target and vanishes.
Yin looks up from where he was entertaining his guests and sends the cupid a discreet smirk, making War's wings flutter in annoyance.
"He's insufferable." He whispered with a scoff. "I'm going to wipe that smirk off his face when he falls in love."
But as the night deepens and he's left without a choice but to concede for today, letting Yin Anan Wong walk free without a match.
War let's himself wander to the large garden, laying down on the grass and kicking his feet in the air, letting the exhaustion from following the boss around wash over him.
"I'm never going to match another immortal again." He whines as he points at a particularly bright star. "You hear that, no immortals for this cupid anymore. This is the last one."
"Should I be flattered that I put you off matching immortals indefinitely."
War looked away from the sky and turned to the familiar voice of the man he's been following around.
Yin was dressed to the nines in an extravagant suit with his hair done up, showing off his chiselled features. War let's himself think that this man was a work of art before he was violently stomping that thought away with the annoyance he felt for the man's insufferable smirk.
"You should be in love by now."
"What is it with you cupids and falling in love?"
"That's kind of our aesthetic, brush up on your mythology." War replied with a snort.
"And what about you, what happens when a cupid falls in love?"
War looks up at the sky again, turning his gaze away from Yin's sharp stare.
"I don't know." He replied honestly. "It's not unheard of, cupids are more susceptible to love than any other beings, but I haven't experienced it myself."
"Isn't that a bit sad, you specialize in love and yet you've never fallen in love yourself?"
The question hung in the air as they sat in silence.
"It is, isn't it? Might as well call myself a fraud."
"It's not too late, little cupid."
The annoying smirk was back in Yin's face and War frowned. He won't ever admit it but the nickname has grown on him.
"If you call me little-" He growled, making Yin guffaw in laughter.
"You haven't stabbed me yet."
"You're seriously making me reconsider."
When Yin's laughter dies down, he looks down at War, his wings spread behind him, making him look breathtaking in the evening light.
"You really are quite the sight."
"Flattery won't work on me Anan."
"You've taken to calling me Anan now?" The mafia boss chuckles. "Some of my associates would flinch at the thought of my name."
"I'm not your associate. I'm your love coach." Yin snorts as War scrunches his nose. "I'm never listening to my boss ever again. That stupid phrase was from him."
"I still wonder why they want me to be matched. Your boss I mean."
"Beats me, I'm just here to make it happen." He then turns to Yin with a raised brow. "And what about you, why don't you want to be matched?"
"I don't want to fall in love with a cupid's arrow."
"I should be offended really." War shrugs. "But I've worked long enough to know that my arrows are just a push in the right direction. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't."
"Are you trying to convince me to let you stab me with your arrow?"
War looks at Yin, fingers held out as an arrow materialises in his hands. "Is it working?"
"No."
"Too bad." War closed his fist and the arrow vanished before their eyes.
"Speaking of, how many arrows have you wasted on me?" Yin asked with a smirk, challenging him.
"Enough for my boss to know."
"Well then, little cupid. I have a confession to make."
War perked up at those words, lifting himself up from the ground and sitting cross-legged in front of the man.
"What is it?"
"I have my sights on someone. I don't want you to pierce an arrow through my heart but I do want you to help me."
His wings flutter in the air and War is taken, curious about the identity of the person who managed to steal his target's heart right under his nose.
"You fell in love without me knowing?" The cupid asked incredulously "I may be losing my touch after all. Well then describe this person to me."
"He's not human." Yin said with a small smile, the complete opposite of his usual smirk. "He's beautiful, quite extraordinary actually. He's hard-headed and he really isn't as good of a shot as he thinks he is."
War's eyes widened as Yin continued to describe his supposed interest in this individual. His heart beating erratically in his chest.
"It almost feels like you're describing me."
"Because I am." Yin replied, looking at him with honest eyes. "I've always been alone. It's a path I decided for myself when I chose to live in this plane. But I can't deny what my heart wants and it wants the little cupid that walked through my doors two weeks ago."
---
The days after that moment in the garden, War purposely ignored all of Yin's advances, wasting more and more arrows. Maybe he was a bad shot or maybe it was because of the secretive smile Yin would send his way every time his fingers pulled on the string, but not a single one of his shots landed on their target.
But Yin was a busy man and he was always moving from one place to another, making deals with shady people. It was on one of these particular occasions, as War peeked from a window that he felt something. An almost foreboding pull.
War was unseen, as always, his bow by his side and an arrow already in his hands. He watched as they talked and as they shook hands, breathing a sigh of relief when Yin walked out of the room scratch-free. He was about to hop off the window when he felt it, the rush of a bullet whizzing past his ear.
His head whips and his wings move on their own, desperately trying to beat the bullet to its target. Yin's back was turned to him and to the bullet and this time, unlike War's arrows, he couldn't dodge.
The bullet pierced through his back, making him crumple to the ground just as War reached him. He caught him in his arms, laying him on his lap, his wings shielding them as he frantically looked at Yin's closed eyes.
He couldn't breathe. Not even the commotion from his sudden appearance could stop his sheer horror as his hand laid on Yin's cheek gently.
"Wake up." His voice was broken as Yin's eyes remained closed. He looked up at the men who were staring at him in shock as his eyes blazed with anger. "The shooter is in the next building. Find him."
They all moved after he pointed at the building behind them. Intimidated by the small man cradling their boss in his arms.
"Hey, little cupid." War looked down, only to be met with Yin's open eyes, a warm hand enveloping his own. "You're already ordering my men."
"You got shot." Was his reply, eyes wide as his other hand pressed at the area where the bullet broke Yin's skin. There was no wound. "What?"
"Immortal, remember? Although it might take some time for my energy to recuperate, bullets are a bitch." Yin said, slumping on his lap and closing his eyes again. "But this is nice."
"Getting shot?" War snorted.
"You are fretting over me. And your lap is a nice pillow."
He lands a soft punch on Yin's chest making him groan in pain. "How do you even get shot? I think I just lost years from worrying about you."
"You worried about me?"
"That's all you got from that?"
"Don't worry, whoever tried to put a bullet through me will be punished. Severely. But that's not important right now." Yin hooked their fingers together, holding him tight. "I might just have to thank them though."
"Stupid, careless, hard-headed immortal." War said, emphasising each word with a soft punch.
"I'm sorry for worrying you, little cupid."
"Don't do that ever again."
"You have to talk to my enemies to stop shooting me then." Yin replied, earning a glare from War. "But you've managed to intimidate my men, it won't be too hard for you."
"Fall in love now so I can leave." War whined but Yin's hand only held him tighter.
"I already told you little cupid. I only want you."
---
One year later.
"Yin Anan Wong!" The doors to the mansion slammed open as the small man walked in, the black men in suits clearing a path for the man to walk through. "Where is he?"
"In the garden." One of the men replied, looking anywhere but the fuming man in front of him.
"He took another bullet and he's out gallivanting in the garden." The small man replied with a huff before walking away towards the back of the mansion.
"You-" The smaller man said as he flew to the boss sprawled on the grass. "I told you to stop taking bullets."
"It won't hurt my love." Yin replied with a smile, patting the open space next to him. "It does make you take time off work to see me."
"You speak as if I don't go home live here" War scoffed but laid his head on Yin's chest nonetheless. "Stop making me worry."
"I'm sorry little cupid." Yin's hands find their way to his hair, running his fingers through his silky locks. "It wasn't my intention. But it's part of the hazards of the job."
"I know. I just wish people would stop trying to shoot you." War rolled his eyes. "They won't succeed anyway but my poor heart can't take any more of Eros trying to scare me."
"Your boss is a pain. And you really can't complain about people trying to shoot me, you were the same, remember?"
"Just don't fall in love with them and we're good."
"I could never." Yin leans down to kiss War's forehead, wrapping his arms around him in a warm embrace. "Tragically, none of them are as beautiful and as lovable as you are."
"Your flattery is not going to make me forget about the fact that I literally left in the middle of a mission to rush here."
Yin laughed, full and free, settling his chin on War's hair as the smaller man rubbed circles on his back.
"If you told me a year ago that I was going to fall in love with a cupid, I would have laughed at the absurdity of that statement alone. But here I am, madly in love with you."
"And you didn't even need an arrow to fall in love. Well done, Anan."
"What's my reward?" Yin pulled away to smirk down at the blushing cupid.
"Me not casting you out of our bedroom for the stunt you pulled today." War replied haughtily.
"Fair enough."
"To be fair, I didn't think I'd fall in love with you of all people." The cupid said with a faux frown. "But I'm glad I did."
END.