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Valentine’s Day is a cherished romance holiday.
It’s the one day of the year where receiving a hundred roses at your doorstep is a blessing rather than a hassle (most of the time), the one opportunity to purchase artificially flavored chocolate in inaccurately shaped heart boxes for your loved one or to buy it for yourself because self love matters too (or when your date rejects you and failure isn’t an option). A holiday filled with all the love and mythical creatures in the world, all accompanied by reds and pinks and the less beautiful evil corporate industry that feeds off marketable occasions like this one.
Okay. Well. Maybe Valentine’s Day isn’t as romantic as it seemed in previous years, and maybe Kohane swore up and down that she wouldn’t feed into the scam of profitable love. And yet she did.
Kohane of all people can tell apart true love and the ones made just for a show. She would know that a hundred roses is actually a fucking disaster to clean up and she finds that seasonal chocolate only tastes good when it’s wrapped in enough aluminum to compress into a ball. Or maybe she just says that because that’s the exposure she’s been given over the years of being a Certified Cupid.
That’s right. Cupid isn’t real, just like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. The little guy with the bow and arrow was nothing more than just another scam to feed into the lovesick people of the world. A supernatural being that could create love just by the dopamine on his bow– Nope. None of that.
CUPID, however, is in fact a real thing.
And as a loyal employee of CUPID Corp, Kohane has both seen and heard many stories about fake love and the deepest horrors behind universal relations. Pairing couples together only for temporary romantic prosperity, picking the wrong partners for individuals who only wish to have a Valentine and nothing more, the aching reality that love is just a horrendous marketing scam after all.
Because of this, she swore to herself that she’d devote a life to never celebrating these occasions. If romance was as dead as all the girls she played games of matchmaker with said, then maybe trying to discover true love was a worthless attempt. She’ll be one of those girls who post ‘Love is fake. Love yourself. <3’ on Instagram every February 14th while trying to convince everyone that she’s not just a little jealous of seeing her coworkers get Valentine's kisses and shitty looking teddy bears.
Love is a scam. Cupid isn’t real. Valentine’s Day is a terrible holiday that should be wiped off the face of the Earth—
“Kohane, babe. I'm going to die.” An dramatically falls onto Kohane, the blues of her hair entangling with the soft pink of Kohane’s wings. Her lashes are fluttery, her cheeks flushed. “Work was so hard. So much work, Kohane. Can I use your wings as a blanket tonight?”
Azusawa Kohane, a loyal employee of CUPID Corp who swore to distance herself from love and evil corporations outside of her job requirements has gotten herself a girlfriend.
Not just an average girlfriend. A clingy, annoyingly loving girlfriend. A girl who believes in constellations and reads the weekly zodiac newsletter like her life depended on it. She’s consistently feeding into every mass market and deeply believes all of her February paychecks (she gets paid weekly) should go to spoil the life out of Kohane. The epitome of consumer doom, the exact individual that seasonal cashiers fear.
As much as Kohane has tried expressing her displeasure of all things artificial, she has not once found herself in a position to say no to An. Something about the stars in her eyes. Another thing about how her face scrunches up when she’s smiling. Adoration. Endearment. Words that the general public fear (yet always wish upon).
Back to the clingy part though– “Rough shift at the arcade?” Kohane murmurs, combing her fingers through An’s hair, worn up in a frizzy ponytail.
“So rough,” She begins, “I spent an hour trying to win a teddy bear, which I eventually got thanks to Toya. But then, afterwards, I went on my lunch break only to see your favorite chocolate sold out already. I'm doomed.”
Right, Valentine’s Day is soon, Kohane carefully guides her wings over An. If there was one thing that Kohane was truthful about, it would be that she fell for the concept of love far long before she actually fell in love. To adore a girl the way that she’s seen through the lenses of love-yearning individuals, to be shot with an arrow through her heart.
Cupids are the center of all things romantic and sweet, they also happen to be the ones with the most dirt regarding the topic. Then it becomes bittersweet, and the chemicals in Valentine’s Day chocolate begin tasting like laundry detergent.
Still, Kohane wanted to fall in love, and she did. She can put aside her opinions and swallow a few pieces of disgusting desserts just to feel her heartbeat pound within her chest. “It doesn’t have to be my favorite, you know?” She says, “I’ll love anything if it’s from you.”
An rests herself on Kohane, positioning herself just below her chin. Her eyes beam so brightly, Kohane wonders if she’s even human sometimes, “You deserve more than ‘anything’, babe. Valentine’s Day is an important occasion and I can’t just spend it giving you red 40 marshmallows.”
“The holiday is not that serious, An-chan.”
“How could you say that?” An idly tugs at Kohane’s sweater, a faded pink compared to the deep red it once was. “We met on that holiday. You were an angel sent to me from the heavens.”
I wouldn’t exactly word it like that, Kohane considers saying. “I’m a Cupid, An-chan.” She answers instead.
I.
‘Meet-cute gone meet-wrong’
Like all great love stories, this one began with a girl (with wings) who fell off a tree (couldn’t fly) in front of Shiraishi An, a fully human girl (not ideal).
Honestly, Kohane has read through every single love dynamic to know that accidental meetings are already a popular concept in the fiction world. She’s seen just about everything, she’s heard even more, unfortunately. But those stories wouldn’t make sense if there wasn’t an underpaid Cupid above the couple, waiting for the perfect moment to fire their shot (fictional ones apparently like slowburn. Real Cupids would just shoot and move on).
Kohane didn’t intend to fall off that tree, but she didn’t intend on a lot of things that day. It’s simply a collection of harmless flaws of hers, including and unfortunately limited to a list of familiar synonyms,
1. Generic clumsiness; didn’t mean to fall off the tree in the first place, she just slipped on the branch.
2. Overdone stupidity; has wings and could’ve totally avoided human confrontation if she used them.
3. Complete idiocy; firing and landing her arrow into Shiraishi An’s heart.
Shiraishi An. As in some random girl she’s been following around for the past week, as in the person she has been assigned to for the last, uh, forever. For the life of her, she just couldn’t find someone for her to fall in love with.
Emphasis on the past tense ‘couldn’t’, emphasis on the doomed aspect ‘landing her arrow into Shiraishi An’s heart’.
Everything just happened so fast, between her wings crashing against the tree and her face quite literally imprinting into the dirt– then the explosion of animated hearts that plastered all along the ground, torn straight from a 90’s magical girl anime. Almost like a glorified crime scene, glitter is sprinkled along every inch of the area around them.
An ache instantly hits her legs, her wings scrunch up close to her instinctively. “Oh my god..” Kohane grumbles to herself, attempting to push herself back onto her feet, “I'm gonna lose my job. I'm so fired. I'm so–”
“Hey, hey. Don’t try to stand up,” An rushes by Kohane’s side, lifting Kohane’s numbed body against a tree, subtle pains gathering through her. “You could be seriously injured right now, uh, angel girl.”
But Kohane wasn’t worried about herself at that given moment, far from it. She was more concerned about the arrow shot through An’s chest, the lack of reaction she had to it, the fact she’s been exposed to this girl at all.
It only makes things more strange when she realizes that An wasn’t even reacting poorly to Kohane’s wings, instead carefully guiding each feather between her fingers as she examined the injury. Kohane couldn’t move for a number of reasons, she wants to believe it’s because her fall was that bad, she probably wants shock and fear to be a factor in her equation, too.
She clearly messed up on the job, that’s a given. This would be a guaranteed moment to receive a complaint in the office within literal hours— but that’s not why her heart is racing. A realization dawns on her, her job might’ve not been at risk. This girl..who is she exactly? Kohane watches each move made from An, who calculated every movement. A careful grasp. Her caring nature visible through adoring eyes.
A Cupid’s job description is initially very vague (HR doesn’t require very long training periods). Monitor an individual's movements. Connect them with someone you believe would be a partner for them. Wait until they make eye contact, then shoot your target to make them fall for one another. Just try your best.
Not every paired couple will make a soulmate, as not every first relationship is meant to be the perfect one.. but something about this was different. The sudden explosion of glitter. An’s vision immediately connected with Kohane’s. The scene ripped straight from a horrifically written fantasy meet-cute. It couldn’t be.. At a loss for words and oxygen, Kohane is found nonstop staring at An. This wasn’t a fantasy. This was reality. Did I.. discover my own soulmate?
“I..I–” Her mind can’t ignore the palpitations in her chest. This was bad. This was good? Kohane isn’t getting fired, but she just met her goddamn soulmate. She fell off a tree and shot an arrow into her fucking soulmate. How does one recover from this? “I can’t believe you’re real..”
“Huh?” An pulls Kohane’s bangs back. She’s closer. Far closer. “You’re talking. That’s good.. you’re okay. Hey, could you talk again? You have a really pretty voice.”
Kohane blinks, dropping her arm by her side. “Repeat that?”
“You have a pretty voice.” An says, “Now that I think about it, your face is pretty, too. Pretty voice, pretty face– oh my god.. are you passing out?!”
Kohane swore that she wouldn’t fall for the romantic faults of love, but it seemed the universe had different plans for her.
It was a one in seven billion chance that she was going to come across her soulmate and fire her shot so incorrectly correct. Sure, maybe it costed a bit of her ego and made her heartbeat spike beyond medical recognition, nor can she sit here and say encountering her wasn’t just pure luck.
She can’t say she doesn’t find the girl cute either, because Shiraishi An is cute. A cute, kind girl with the face of a doll and the yearning of a long lost princess (she probably talks to animals in her free time). Her soulmate that took Kohane into her care without a doubt in her mind, her soulmate who is honestly kind of weird and a Yuri fanatic—
“I prefer this series because it lacks angst but the writing is too wacky for my liking–” Like, a bit too much of a Yuri fanatic. Fortunately, a perfect fit for her. “I also like this one since the characters have cute banter and idiots in love is the best genre ever but I absolutely despise slowburn so I skipped a few hundred chapters—”
Kohane passed out just minutes after their first meeting, which somehow led from one thing to another and eventually ending up in the present. Bundled up on An’s bed watching her rate Shoujo manga. This girl is definitely my soulmate.. she’s kind of confusing, but I like her.
Not that Kohane has ever once made her mind clear– but this time she must’ve definitely hit her head hard to be thinking about buying Shiraishi An a box of chocolates right now. She lifts herself up, only to be immediately pushed back down.
A gentle shove, yet she still slammed back onto the pillow. “An-chan,” Kohane murmurs, catching another glimpse of her. “The day is almost over, Valentine’s Day. Did you celebrate?”
Slowly, An places her manga down. It’s a college slice-of-life. “I sorta did, yeah.” She answers, “Well, uh, I didn’t have a Valentine or anything, but I did buy a bundle of expensive grapes for myself. Self love, ya know?”
And there it was. The agenda that Kohane herself follows on a yearly basis, lacking the scheduled Instagram post but that’s a topic for an uneventful afternoon with the girls. “Yeah.” Kohane glances out of the window, the frame still entangled with December’s Christmas decor. She knows Santa is another corporate scam. “Would you want a Valentine?”
“Sorta.” An shrugs, cracking her knuckles absentmindedly. “I do, yeah. I want a Valentine really badly, I-I just–” A pause. Synced shivers run down their spines as the leftover Christmas spirit uncomfortably runs through their veins. Goddamn SANTA employees. “Wait. Are you trying to ask me out!?”
This was a make it or break it moment. Kohane is nowhere remotely the type to be bold, she didn’t even expect to be going through this rabbit hole in general. Between a broken wing, broken heart, or a broken Word Document: Kohane would prefer no damages and maybe a girlfriend to bring back to the office.
So, with all ideals in mind and one shot (pun intended) at making this right, Kohane prepares herself by clearing her throat, “You said you aren’t a slow burn fan.”
“You–” An internally panics, which eventually becomes external as her face flushes red. Blushing is in fact a thing, unfortunately Kohane isn’t used to being the cause of a blush. “You might actually be an angel sent from heaven. For me? Definitely for me. I'm in love with an angel.”
That might be my fault, Kohane holds back a sneeze. “I'm a Cupid, An-chan.”
II.
‘Tags: F/F, Fluff, Romance sort by: best match— Wait…’
“I must say, you’re kind of a traitor, Haruka.” An picks out cubed tomatoes from her garden salad, tossing them aside for Kohane to eat (olive theory; but the devil’s indecisive fruit-vegetable). “How could you not tell me your girlfriend has a cute girl best friend?”
Minori and Haruka were always that one corporate couple that Kohane had to witness every single shift. From national holidays to sudden shift visits dedicated to doting to random occasions they made up on the spot because that’s what romantic people do, allegedly. Whatever it is, Kohane was happy for Minori when she showed up with a bouquet of her favorite flowers and an idol girlfriend on her shoulder a couple Februarys ago.
Really, Kohane supports young love. She really just wishes that they could magically forget about her relationship, then bi-monthly double dates wouldn’t be a concept to her (she gets full on breadsticks before getting her entree goddamnit).
Haruka stares down at her bowl of soup, covered in enough cheese to put the restaurant out of business (she forgot she had to tell the waiter when to stop). “I’m afraid I wasn’t quite sure how to explain the whole Cupid thing.”
“A pair of wings could never stop me from loving a girl.” An states, slamming her hand onto the table. She hit it too hard, she pulls closer to Kohane for emotional support. “I’d love Kohane in any form. I would in fact still date her if she was a worm, I’d date her if she was a goddamn atom tall –except she kinda already is—”
“An-chan,” Kohane interrupts, “you should eat your lasagna before it gets cold.” Kohane pushes An’s plate in front of her, to which Minori puts her hands together and says ‘true love!’ in the center of a packed, corporate-owned restaurant.
She sort of doesn’t want to be here anymore. She sort of wished she was informed about the grated cheese rule and the cheese itself being cheddar instead of parmesan before putting it all over her alfredo based dish.
Kohane has wished for a lot of things recently, and just about nothing has come true.
Her wings are folded uncomfortably under her jacket and she forgot to eat her vitamin gummies before being ushered out of the house. An is trying to beat Haruka’s unsaid romance contest, it’s clear, “Babe, tell me, would you love me if I was a worm?” An tugs on her arm, beaming her eyes like a sad puppy.
How would I even answer that–, Kohane almost says. She sees Minori’s expression in the corner of her eye, and the room weirdly becomes silent as hell. These are the types of questions that everyone awaits in flourishing relationships. What the fuck. I remember reading about this. Top 100 Most Feared Questions For Partners, “Yes, An-chan.” She exhales, “I'd still love you.. if you were a worm.”
“This is so romantic!” Minori taps away tears with a napkin until Haruka offers a shoulder to cry on, “Love is so sweet. I knew –sniffle– Kohane-chan would find a girlfriend!” She cries out loud.
Love holds no boundaries and miraculously Kohane’s interactions hold no standards. So this is what being girlfriends with your coworker’s girlfriend’s best friend is like?
‘No firing is permitted indoors, please practice your bow shooting in unrestricted areas’ is plastered seven times outside of the double doors, fighting for dear life to not be blown away from the increasing winds (like Kohane, the tape is working overtime).
With that being said, Kohane’s involuntary lunch break ends when an arrow shoots through her book, grazing the tip of her nose. She’s silent for a moment, practicing her breaths. Patience. Lots of it. “Minori-chan, please refer to the signs.”
Minori sheepishly holds her bow close and shuffles left to right. Her hair is freshly ruffled, her girlfriend must’ve left just now. “I know.. I just wanted to get your attention, uh, you sorta don’t respond when you’re reading yuri, so like..” She scratches her chin, looking down at her untied sneakers. “I'm letting you know that boss, uh. She gave you an extra day off. This month.”
“A day off.. huh.” She shuts her book closed. “Which day?”
“Uhm, uh, the 14th. Of February.” Minori says, “She found out about An-chan, then said something about CUPID Corp valuing employee’s relationships.”
Kohane blinks at her, “Aren’t you working that day?”
This was Minori after all. A girl that values her relationship with Kiritani Haruka more than she values the oxygen that they breathe. The epitome of epitomes are invented for her. Historians would say that she even invented love and was probably the CEO of Cupid Corp for all Kohane knows. So, this was absolutely not adding up–
“I have to.. Haruka-chan has her Valentine’s concert that day. Label orders.” She waves around her lightstick, which isn’t at all a lightstick but rather a broken arrow with its chemicals spilling onto her hands. A collection of dopamine, glitter, and the absolutely not-sponsored Sweetarts. “But I agree with what Ichika-chan said. Which was, uh, she said you should cherish these first few Valentines with your girlfriend.”
Okay. Maybe it could add up. This would all arguably make sense. CUPID Corp is incredibly prideful when it comes to successful relationships, it wouldn’t be any different when the relationships in question are their own employees. HR wishes each person a cheerful partially-paid holiday to your own living room sofa; they'll even occasionally provide their original recipe brownies for Cupids to gift their partners as well (correction: Tenma Saki has apparently been responsible for the brownies this entire time, not HR).
It’s almost understandable, except it wasn’t the manager herself sending the message. It was Minori. Hanasato Minori, as in the girl that tried forcing Kohane to take An on a date to the sky. She even built the table out of the fluffiest clouds, carefully constructed a balanced meal of chocolate-covered strawberries and edible ribbons— this is not the point.
Okay, Kohane is usually good at constructing sentences. She’ll just ask Minori for the paperwork and respectfully explain that she really doesn’t celebrate Valentines beyond the morning tackle or maybe the fifteen hours of cuddling afterwards– “Does Ichika-chan know she said this?” Kohane is usually good at constructing sentences. Usually is a key word.
“Sure she does!” Minori snaps her fingers, “But, uh, you know! She’s just so busy with ordering supplies and baking red velvet cakes for the office party..that’s why she sent me to inform you!” Jolliness and holiday spirit almost radiates through Minori (that’s if Kohane ignores the bead of sweat running down her face), just a happy soul. “Take An-chan somewhere nice for the holiday, for my sake– to the lake! I said lake.”
That didn’t sound remotely alike, Kohane slowly lifts her book back to her face. “Maybe I will.”
Contrary to popular belief, being a Cupid is a bit more than just shooting and crossing your fingers.
That doesn’t even touch the surface of the job description, which often begins with having the bow wielder first focus on the target. Examine their habits and monitor how their relationships differ, putting best friends or even little cafe crushes into careful consideration. Essentially the job is a lovey-dovey version of a pay-to-shoot, Shiho told Kohane during her training period.
At first, the job turns out to be a pure disaster (don’t get Kohane started on love triangles), then over the years the Cupids would have a hunch and be able to fire within minutes. A mental radar; like those love percentage apps except they make more sense.
Speaking of hunches, Kohane believes she has one right about now. A target stands ten feet away from her, talking to a girl her age. They’re standing close (sign one). Fingers intertwined (considered as holding hands in the Cupid handbook). Smiling a bit too widely to be friends (according to the mangas).
The epitome of all teenage love plots, it almost hurts when the targets are too obvious. Where’s the fun in obvious love when there could be a 120 chapter long yearning? The realization arc? Waiting until their Cupid actually decides to get off their ass and fire the arrow already?
Which is why Kohane ultimately decides to raise her bow up, locking the arrow towards the shorter girl. For a split second, she thinks about what to get for her lunch break after this, maybe a Cupid sandwich or a LOVE! LOVE! MORE! protein bar– then a bag slams the back of her head.
What the actual hell?
“Holy shit.” And there stood Shiraishi An in the flesh, an expression of pure shock wiping through her face. When it does settle, she rushes to Kohane’s side and squishes her cheeks. “Holy shit. Are you okay? Did I hit you too hard? I'm so sorry, babe– please don’t get a concussion! Is that a cut on your nose? Babeee–”
“An-chan,” Kohane starts by placing a hand over An’s. Ignoring the arrow on the grass and the headache forming, she exhales, “How..How did you find me?”
“Hard to miss you darting the sky, Kohane.” She shuffles besides Kohane, placing a kiss on the tip of her nose ( kisses cure wounds, she would say). “When I saw you, I knew I couldn’t just ignore the sight of my dear lover soaring the gorgeous blues!” Leaning against Kohane, she acts as if they were on set, a wrist to her head. A lovers arc of the good ol’ ‘reunited at last!’ segment.
Kohane only can return quick blinks, “Right..”
“Right!” An clicks her tongue, “Anywho– can I stay with you for, uh, emotional purposes? I'm sure this mission could use a second opinion aswell?”
Usually, Kohane’s answer would be a ‘just for a while’, since there’s nothing inherently bad or risky about her job. But those encounters were also often the times where Kohane wasn’t one shot away from completing a mission– or a singular crinkle from her position at the trimmed bush being exposed. It’s all about the love, which apparently dies when she rejects An for anything so call it a contradictory or whatever.
“Just stay really still.” Kohane eventually answers, pulling another bow from her bag. “Focusing on my target.”
“Those two?” She in fact doesn’t stay still, hovering over Kohane’s shoulders, pointing. “Well, I assume the target is one of them..but they sorta already look like a couple.”
Kohane nods, “I was also thinking that.”
“Yeah!” An hums.
She’s totally going to expose our location, Kohane furrows her brows. She attempted to refocus her attention on the target. Short girl. Long white hair. Clearly in some sort of complicated pre-love arc with the girl beside her. If I make this quick, then nothing can go wrong, I hope.
“Aim..focus..and fire.” Kohane mumbles to herself quietly, squinting her eyes. “Aim..fire– nope.”
The target doesn’t seem to be actively moving, which makes her job much easier (her last mission was chasing a girl in a car– ‘FYI wasn’t fun, Minori-chan’). She ignores the pressure progressively growing on her arm and pulls her arrow back. The common Cupid target was the person’s heart, where love is most sourced within a person, so she positioned it exactly there. Another mission well done, more Cupid exclusive treats coming soon to a corporate market near you—
All perfect. Until it obviously wasn’t. “Oh my god. That’s my fucking manager.” An lunges too far over Kohane, her shot entirely misses. “It’s Kanade! She works at the arcade! I know her!”
Kohane watches another arrow shoot straight through the other, splitting it right down the middle. Blistering in overemphasized pinks and reds and generally representative failure. With the current atmosphere she’s in and the fact An was right beside her, she couldn’t just throw a glitter grenade and fly away from the embarrassment quietly attacking her.
Victory was nothing more than a foreign concept after all. “Oh.. That’s cool, An-chan.” She mumbles a response, nearly monotone.
It was all doomed from the start– but Kohane couldn’t really say that because An is here and she believes no love is doomed, or she’s simply projecting their own weird love.
Somehow tracking her down from the sky. Somehow obtaining the exact chocolates that Kohane liked inside that bag beside her. Somehow the somehows have somehow’d in a way Kohane couldn’t really comprehend, then at the next second she was literally watching her target leave the scene.
Seeing the two girls walk away was just a repeated failure that sunk into Kohane’s veins. For another hour or so she’d probably have to play a not-so flawless game of tag with them, but replace the hands with bows and replace ‘tag, you’re it!’ with ‘please, give me a paycheck’.
Another thing that sunk in– the most delayed connection between face and individual ever. Navy blue hair past the shoulders. Light blue eyes. A dark grey jacket suspiciously covering her back– “That’s also my manager.” Kohane says, “My target was Yoisaki Kanade. Your manager. Our managers are going to be a couple..”
An perks up, speaking up in the most unsuspecting voice, “Manager yuri?”
She blinks, nearly exhausted out of her mind. “You know what? Sure.”
III.
‘A Little Birdie Told Me It’s Lover’s Move-In Season’
With Tax Returns being just around the corner, Kohane has quickly realized that readjusting to human life wasn’t exactly what she thought.
Okay. Rephrasing required. Kohane isn’t any more or less human than she was as a newborn baby –Is our daughter a bird? Honey, she’s a Cupid. Like the Hallmark commercial Cupid? Get out.– but she definitely wasn’t a human human either. She was born with fluffy white wings and a gentle charm which essentially (unfortunately) fated her to the life of a Cupid.
Some born with wings simply choose to live out their lives as humans, living with a cape wrapped over their back and doing all things by the legal means. Some have government jobs. Others work at magic shows. Most simply choose to do what they’re destined for. Being Cupid. But even then, they’d eventually have to settle down in an actual house (CUPID Corp provides clouds boxes until retirement. Literal fucking boxes in the sky).
With that being said– Kohane was really only trained for the Cupid life from the very start. Living in boxes within the sky, only leaving for corporate meetings and to play matchmaker for another day. She’s lived in those boxes sometime forever ago alongside the (at the time, single) Hanasato Minori. Then, Minori got her little girlfriend and eventually moved into her humble home by the beachside and sort of not humble at all.
And before Kohane could assume she had that cloud home to herself, she was bewitched by her own (accidental) accord.
As all other stories tell, one thing led to another and suddenly Kohane was being lifted up bridal style towards their new home. Their home. Plural. ‘Shiraishi An & Azusawa Kohane’s home’ as written in permanent marker on their mailbox.
For once in her life, she had to think about dusting the furniture (her bed used to also be a cloud) and buying groceries for two (her diet was entirely chocolate bars and sponsored energy drinks). She slept on a real bed and was let go of most corporate meetings for the sake of keeping an eye for the lover’s clock. Whatever that was.
It’s a life she never expected to live– loving a girl to the point she was willing to see her for all 365 days of the year. Being so in love that she couldn’t care less about how embarrassing it was for the neighbors to witness her being lifted up into An’s arms. Making dinner. Hiring an accountant. All of these things that she tossed away years ago.
But there’s still one thing that remains. Her monthly online meetings for her job (arguably not as bad as physical corporate meetings, but, why?).
Because balancing the work of a Cupid and a clingy relationship wasn’t already complicated on its own, she simply needed to know who made the most successful couples and the theme of the upcoming office party. None of this actually mattered. It was all statistics she could check out by viewing the logs and old news she could hear in tomorrow morning's yoga session.
“Azusawa-san. Eyes on the screen, please.” Ichika’s voice echoes on the computer. “These meetings are incredibly important for the better of our company. I would appreciate it if you actively participated.”
Kohane blinks towards the screen, a display of her frizzy hair and baggy clothing flashing on the screen. She just woke up. Lazily, she reaches for the unmute button, “My apologies. Please resume.”
Now, she was usually pretty good at nailing these online meetings before. It was practically an hour of rambling and hypothetical negotiations. Sometimes it was Kahoot! games with randomly selected questions about romance novels they’ve read. Really, she was almost a professional at using ZOOM and using her fine programming skills to play Flappy Bird while appearing mentally present in the discussion— then, she met a girl that tore her eyes off the screen permanently.
Shiraishi An, a girl who acts unemployed when she really isn’t (she has a strict no morning shift policy), hovering over Kohane’s monitor like a cat to a college student’s computer. But Kohane isn’t in college, and An is definitely more like a puppy. “You’re still looking at me.” An teases lightly, “So in love, aren’t you? It must be the new season taking effect.”
“You’re hovering over the screen, An-chan.” Kohane mutters, “And I don’t believe seasons change emotions.”
“Oh, but they change the weather!” An presses her fingers onto the monitor, creating small statics at her fingertips. “You get hot in two out of four seasons. Then, you start sweating. And after, you get upset and then suddenly it does change the emotions when you’re too upset and sweaty to cuddle with me—”
Kohane can feel her body phasing in and out of sleep. She assumed An to be an illusion until she picked up her hand. Technologically Advanced Illusions, she thinks. “An-chan. I'm doing very important business operations.” She begins, clearing her throat (business-like, perchance). “I would appreciate it if you waited for me in the dining room. You could order takeout. Anything you’d like.”
Her hair begins to pool over the screen, covering half of Kohane’s fellow Cupids. Her fingers fidget with the nearby SD card. “Could I just ‘take’ you ‘out’?” Pun intended, she hypothetically snaps her fingers.
“You could call it our midday date.”
“It’s the morning.” An murmurs.
So this is what it was like living with a girl like An. More particularly, being in a real house on the actual surface of the planet– having the girlfriend that she imagined but never pictured to actually have, a girl that doesn’t get that work is work but simultaneously understands that Kohane can’t stand work while half asleep.
This is the An she files taxes with (she hates taxes). The An she learned to grocery shop for (tomatoes are banned from the house indefinitely). The An that caused her hundreds of dollars in Cupid shampoo the day they met (Kohane’s wings were covered in glitter).
“This is business, An-chan.” Kohane repeats, hovering a hand over her mouth as Ichika faces back to the screen on ZOOM. “I love you very much. You know that.. But you should also know that Cupid work is very serious.”
She leans even further forward, pressing her lips closed. “I see the reflection on your glasses. That’s Flappy Bird.” She pushes up Kohane’s glasses with her index.
“Business operations.” Kohane furrows her brows.
“Fine.” An backs away, lifting her arms into the air. Not much longer, she glances back up, “Hm. Do you like medium rare steak?”
“Medium well.”
An blinks, almost robotically. “Medium well with a side of potato wedges?”
“An-chan.”
“Kohane.” She reaches for a corner of the desk to lean against. Her palms press along the safety border. “Your job is all about love, baby. What is love without a Cupid? What is a Cupid without love? They’ll understand the circumstances.”
Kohane stares back at her computer screen, to the left were numerous colleagues of hers, to the right was a live chat of one worded responses, front and center was Hoshino Ichika. Ichika discussed the scripts and recent company investments on the lounge room vending machines, the inclusion of energy drinks and hotdogs on sticks to be determined by HR.
Something else she discussed an awful lot was more romance related than work related at this time. A combination of restaurant ideas and the whether Carbonara Buldak Noodles would be a good Valentine’s gift for a girl who doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth—
The more she thought about it, the less time it took for the realization to hit her. Only the first ten minutes of the meeting was actually business, the rest was Ichika making Valentine’s arrangements for her new girlfriend (the one that Kohane got her just the other day through numerous battles of hand holding and sightings of allegedly platonic ramen dates, mind you). Really, what would a Cupid be without love?
This job is actually so unserious. “You might be right.” Kohane types out her apology letter into the live chat, gleaming quick glances towards An. “Okay. Alright. I’m sure they would understand.”
“And I'm sure they will.” An smiles, hovering closer to Kohane’s monitor. “I forgot to mention, my legs hurt. Could you fly us to our date spot?”
By all accord, Kohane hasn’t properly been readjusting to human life. An contacts their landlord to make payments. She tells Kohane her favorite foods and that’s what she gets. And Kohane more or less watches her file their taxes and hire the accountant. She’s still a Cupid in the eyes of the universe and Shiraishi An (and the ZOOM room that she’s about to leave, irrelevant).
Her house used to be a cloud box. Shiraishi An used to be another girl on the planet. “I’ll think about it.” Kohane replies, pressing the bright red button on her screen: Leave Meeting.
[To Everyone]
AKohane: My apologies but I need to exit this meeting immediately. I have nothing against your favorite fantasy novel or your new girlfriend but I must tend to needy matters. But I really do wish you a good first date Ichika-chan!!!!!!
HMinori: Eh?? The first date isn’t a hypothetical situation??? :o
HIchika: Ah okay!! Have a good rest of your day, Kohane-chan. Please try to make yourself present for our next meeting as we’ll be going over our yearly achievements!! :)
Replying to: HMinori; Long story, Minori-chan!! I can explain after our Kahoot! game.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Scheduled Day Off On February 14th.
Good morning, Kohane-chan.
I hope this email finds you well. Me and the fellow Cupids’ are more than happy to hear that you’re taking a proper day off for that special holiday! You were always adamant on working that day so to hear Minori-chan say you’re requesting was such a surprise. I wish you and your dearest a wonderful Valentine’s Day, make sure you don’t eat too much chocolate or you’ll get sick!!!
Best wishes, your manager. :)
From: [email protected]
Re:Subject: Scheduled Day Off On February 14th.
Good morning, Ichika-chan. ^^
I was actually informed you scheduled for me but glad to have that cleared up now. Already made plans with my ‘dearest’, so, I won’t request a switch this year.
Thank you.
[Minori]
Happy early Valentines’ day to you and An-chan!!!!
I know there’s still three-ish days left before the big day buuut I'm gonna be out for a bit + working sooo I'm not too sure how much we can talk!! I’ll be spending the time prior with Haruka-chan and potentially going on our boat..I will try to make it to our midnight call if anything…, I promise!!!!!!!
Remember to make the day cherishable and maybeee consider sending pictures of you two afterwards…young love is so heartwarming I can cry :’[
[Kohane]
Minori-chan!!
I’ll try my best to take photos but considering the date I have planned,,, it might not happen. I hope work isn’t too busy for you on the holidays. (╥﹏╥)
Have a good pre-valentines-day with Haruka-chan!!
[Minori]
♡♡♡ ٩(ˊᗜˋ )و
[Minori reacted to your message(s) with a ♡]
Reminders [Task]:
- Wake up an-chan valentines’ morning
- Pretend to like those chocolates (or offer an-chan a hot choco. don’t tell her.)
- Check the weather
- Don’t talk about corporate scams throughout your date, even if she lets you ramble…again…
“Sometimes, I wonder if you shot me more than once.” An’s voice remains muffled against the fabric of Kohane’s clothing. “I'm just so in love with you.”
It must’ve been far past midnight by now, and there were clearly signs of An fighting to stay awake despite her ‘complete exhaustion’ and ‘near death experience’ from being at her workplace. Now, in no way has Kohane ever discredited the work at the arcade. An works just as hard as your average office worker, she might just take a few more breaks than usual and spends over half the shift giving unsolicited relationship advice to her manager.
Okay. Maybe she’s not the most solidified worker in her field, and she’s definitely self aware about that fact. With that being said—
This was definitely just an excuse to snuggle up beside Kohane for another night. Which is a weird way of going about it, considering that it’d be hard for her to decline An over something so trivial.
“I don’t think more than one shot would go well.” Kohane leans further into her pillow, her palm is hovered over An’s head. “Everyone reacts differently to love, this could just be your reaction.”
“Impossible.” An lifts her head up, glancing towards Kohane. “It’s simply not possible for a human to feel such emotion. Wait. Oh my god. I think I'm dying.”
Kohane furrows her brows, “What?”
“I'm gonna die, Kohane. My only cure must be a Cupids’ touch. A kiss on the lips from you to me, it’s my lifeline.” An hesitantly lifts her arm away from the warmth of Kohane’s wings, settling a finger under her chin.
That’s the strangely romantic girl that Kohane has always known. She could only assume she learned that from a manga on their shelf, like all other artificially created acts of love. If it was possible, An’s love was so pure in a way that it was more like overpriced fruit than the prepackaged Valentines’ stuff she always insisted on.
“A Cupids’ touch.” She repeats back, settling her fingers through the subtle waves of An’s hair, now loosely flowing over her wings. “Not sure if I heard of that before.”
“I can promise you, it’s very real.”
With everything that An proclaims to be ‘credibly real, without a doubt’, this could honestly be the one that she could believe most. That’s if she wasn’t a Cupid herself. That’s also if An wasn’t known for inventing complete falsifications just for a quick touch of affection from hers truly, but that’s for another time (a time that doesn’t exist).
And Kohane really really doesn’t have any room to be lying here complaining about An’s blatant lies and lack of work ethic, because at the end of the day, those factors are what makes An collapse into her arms and give Kohane a clear excuse to show up late to tomorrow morning’s candy selections.
Watching as An blinks away tired tears and settles between the warmth of Kohane’s wings and the fuzziness of her pajamas, she is eventually going to fall asleep. Hard shift or not. Perhaps it was hard. Maybe it felt like a breeze.
“I'm sure it’s very real, An-chan.”
IV.
‘What’s It Like Above The Clouds?’
Even if Valentine’s Day is cherished romance holiday, Kohane never believed in a million years it’d be her holiday to celebrate.
As a believer of natural and authentic love, she very well believes that Valentines’ is nothing more than a scam to leave lovesick individuals with empty wallets and broken hearts– which is sort of the polar opposite of what a legitimate Cupid wants. She also believes that corporate should at least try a bit harder to make their chocolates taste half decent because there simply isn’t enough romance or tears in the world to make it remotely edible—
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Kohane.” An tosses her arms over Kohane’s shoulders, locking her hold by the curl of her fingertips. “Our first romance holiday together. Isn’t that exciting?”
And there was An, the enlightenment of the door Kohane simply didn’t associate with. A proud believer of corporate love and the first person in line for any February limited-edition products. Her Valentine of thirty minutes. “It’s our first day together in general, An-chan.” Kohane answers.
Not even twenty-four hours on the clock, in fact, it hadn’t even hit midnight at the time Kohane had asked An to be her Valentine. Everything about this was on a pure whim; just a handful of whiplash and a sprained wing was what it took to bring the two of them to this point. Trails of ombre-colored feathers on the bed. Glitter permanently traced across An’s carpet. Kohane’s thumbs pressing on An’s hand.
A girl that she never met before, but fell for so quickly. Those arrows really do have their effects, even when Kohane wasn’t the girl shot by it, “That just makes it more special, no?” An scrunches her nose, a gleeful grin taking over her face, “Our perfect meet-cute story! One of those Valentines’ Day stories, a human girl and her angel– uh, Cupid girlfriend! I knew that.”
There’s a library bag on Kohane’s injured wing. Two receipts for three different Girls’ Love collections. “Not sure how many meet-cute stories involve this plotline.” Kohane glances down at An’s bed. She knows every single title. This girl was absolutely her soulmate.
“Then, we just invented a new trope.” She suggests, shuffling her hands back to Kohane’s shoulders as she sits. “A happy accident. A young girl in such need for a cute girlfriend that the saints above heard her wishes and sent down a perfect—”
“I'm a Cupid, An-chan.” Azusawa ‘not an angel’ Kohane interrupts.
An blinks. Two books fall to the ground. “And like I said. I totally knew that.”
Kohane is pretty much convinced that An will never adjust to the whole Cupid thing. She got a soulmate. She got a Valentine. Maybe there were just minor details she needed to adjust to soon, like being Shiraishi An’s angel (C.U.P.I.D).
Love has become its own magic.
Even if it realistically was just a shot in the heart, a collection of chemicals that would make any health inspector drop to the ground (good news: they can’t reach CUPID Corp). Dopamine. Norepinephrine. All the long labels that everyone chooses to skip over because they only care about the positive side of it (‘can’t pronounce it but hey it’s love! Love is cool!’).
And even though Cupids’ have technically never been caught, they still manage to become a large stable in the production aspect. Albeit in a completely different form, an existing concept nonetheless, one that everyone has wished upon at least once in their lives.
A natural process of human nature or as a shadow casted in the corner. One singular shot to change the trajectory of what everybody wishes. “I'm gonna make you fall in love, Kohane-chan!” Minori slams her fists onto the table, which immediately floats again. Their table was a cloud.
Kohane glances away from her manga. Doomed Yuri. She doesn’t know that yet. “What are you talking about?” She leans back on her office chair, not a cloud.
“I can’t just stay here and watch you like this.” She says, pressing Kohane’s book onto her lap. “You need love, Kohane. Every Cupid does!”
Kohane knows that Minori always means well in her words. That girl has always been all about love, she used to be the one to proudly third wheel every single unofficial relationship and fangirl whenever they did get serious. She’s a perfect Cupid by definition, a good friend to have around, too.
With that being said, Kohane didn’t always agree with said words. That’s another given. “I'm alright without a relationship, really.” She offers a smile, unreciprocated.
“But Valentines’ is coming soon. I can’t go through another February fourteenth seeing you like this!” Minori firmly holds onto Kohane’s shoulders (as strong of a grip as a mouse to a cheese roll). “I know you care a little about the holiday. I also know you at least thought about buying those chocolates at the pop-up store!”
Kohane furrows her brows, lifting up her book. “They were shaped like puppies, could’ve made a cute picture or three. For Instagram or whatever.”
“Puppies.” Minori echoes, “Puppies..puppies.. So, you like puppies? Funny story, I saw a girl in the files that looked exactly like a puppy, you know? I could grab it–”
“Minori-chan.” She tries to force a more stern voice. She fails. “I'm serious. I don’t need—”
“ —a girlfriend.” An perks up, her eyes beaming as if a puppy. If she had ears and a tail, it would be shooting straight up, her tail wagging out of excitement. “Didn’t need a relationship, hm? Weren’t interested in falling in love, hm? Had no faith in your own system, hmmm?” Her teasing was nothing more than a ploy to turn Kohane red, she knows that very well, then she falls for exactly that.
“That was before we met, An-chan.” She trails beside An, her fingers curling between An’s. For once in what felt like forever, Kohane’s wings finally got some fresh air.
Because where they were wasn’t some fancy restaurant or a random park, not even the ones with only bushes and rocky trails. None of that, because they made the settlement that their Valentines’ Day would truly be spent alone, with no other witnesses or long queues to stop them. Spare dimes to Kohane’s name. A lingering flavor of her morning tea on her tongue rather than chocolate. And a final flare of her wings.
After however many months of begging it took, Kohane was finally going to take An to her favorite flower field. It was just off the road from An’s old high school, a couple lights away from the first convenience store they visited.
A blank field of small, newly bloomed spring flowers that Kohane adored too much for her own liking. “I used to go to this exact spot back when I was learning to fly.” Kohane steps on a blank patch on the ground, a green spot within the pinks and whites. “And then, this became my place of relaxation, simply lying down on the ground.”
“Sounds like it could be a portrait.” An mentions, “Your wings all flared out over the flowers, a blurred landscape with just you at the center.”
“It could be.” If you were the artist, Kohane fails to add. Too cheesy, I'm gonna get first hand embarrassment if I say that out loud. “Hmh.”
Valentines’ Day was the anniversary of the two of them meeting, also the anniversary to them officially becoming girlfriends (An hates slowburn), which was ultimately what brought them here. Their fingertips warm within one another’s touch, their faces arguably warmer. Anything else that came with scenarios like this one.
Where Kohane’s eyes dart back and forth between two sights. The partly-cloudy sky (which was said to be clear, the weather channel is a liar). And, without needing to be said, Shiraishi An. Her yuri fanatic, commercial-loving girlfriend– her dearest girl, if you must.
No. Nope. Too cheesy, again, she doesn’t like commercial humor. “Come a little closer, An-chan.” Kohane whispers, hushed.
She pulls An into a hug, her fingers running under An’s loose hair. With a lack of initial reaction, An holds onto her waist, “Kohane?” she looks up at the girl– her angel, per say.
With a careful kiss on her bangs, gloss subtly sparkles over An’s blues. Her expression softens immediately, indulging in her embrace. “You might want to hold on a bit tighter,” Kohane suggests, lifting An’s arm up higher.
Valentines’ Day, despite what the media likes to tell everyone, is meant to be more than just a typical romance holiday. In reality, there should be zero reason for those businesses to be having as much traction as they are, the chocolates on her nightstand are more of an addition than a requirement.
An is a romantic by textbook definition, she believes in zodiacs and loves to say new pickup lines that she found on the internet. And meanwhile, Kohane was born with all romantical capabilities that a Cupid would have. A hundred roses is nice and all, but nothing could possibly beat fulfilling one of An’s wishes.
A quick gust of wind cuts straight through their breaths, carried heavily through flaring sways of their bangs. The floral field came from a location to a landscape, her skin, a warmth until it became a balanced cold.
When Kohane opens her eyes again, she spots An’s expression of pure astonishment in the corner of her eye. Which would make sense, since, they’re sort of in the sky now. “Kohane, you–” Her feet dangled aimlessly, her embrace almost a suffocating kind of hold, nothing that Kohane wasn’t used to by now. “We’re flying..”
“We are.” Kohane says, “You always wanted to fly, right?”
“Absolutely.” An clutched onto her even more, her bangs now brushing against Kohane’s shoulder.
Her wings cut through stray clouds dotted across the sky, others blew away in quick flares. Kohane’s voice became nothing more than a visionary as the sounds turned into pure white noise in their ears.
The flower field they previously stood on was simply another sight among the hundreds of miles she could point out from the sky. Busy roads and busier pop-up stores. Pink and red at every plaza within the vicinity, cartoon hearts made a frequent appearance across the streets, too.
Those very same streets that Kohane used to linger around for potential targets, shooting one arrow after another like her life depended on it (in a way, it did. Her library fees). That particular Valentine’s Day with An was when she was stuck with one target, which was a more uncommon occurrence than what most would predict.
She simply didn’t budge, not until Kohane (accidently) did first.
Maybe they were a happy accident after all (which An found out was an actual Shoujo genre). Maybe Kohane is sort of an idiot when it comes to An’s general giddiness (a given). Maybe the little guy with the bow and arrow is real in a very ironic way, Cupid and CUPID lives simultaneously together in the lives of the general public and the loving universe altogether.
An was Kohane’s first true cause to walk into a Valentines’ store and buy a box of chocolates, using the plain excuse of ‘it’s 50% off so we’re not feeding into the cruel market industry too much’, just to give her a late present.
Her first bid to the economy. The first girl she ever held closely while in flight. First for just about everything related to her longing of romance, and always will be.
Azusawa Kohane, a girl who has quietly yearned for the perfect romance. She has gotten herself arguably the most commercially romantic girlfriend known to mankind and beyond. A girl with long ombre hair and beautiful amber eyes.
Her permanent staple of glitter between the feathers of her wings, slipping away into the sky as Kohane swerved every direction imaginable. All caused by a soulmate’s connection, something that only they would know.