Chapter 31 � Plans-a-Poppin�
He was not going to throw up. Just wasn�t. Not happening. Nope. Just in case though, he kept his head between his knees.
Just in case.
Joxer groaned out loud, grateful that no one was there to hear it or to witness his obvious distress. He was as far away from the Hall of Intellect as he could possibly get and still be on Olympus, but even that wasn�t far enough. The temptation to just zip down to Greece and keep running until he hit Chin was hard to ignore. He wasn�t sure what that would help� but at this point it couldn�t hurt.
What was it that Gabby had said about curiosity? Something about it killing a cat. He had to agree. This was definitely going to kill him � either from anguish in knowing it or in trying to fix it. His stomach gurgled sharply. An ulcer wouldn�t be out of place, either.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, he scolded himself. And with no one around to argue against it, he did it again. STUPID!
Fortunately, everyone on Olympus seemed to have other things to occupy them and he was allowed to be miserable all on his own. Which was fine. He wasn�t up to others being privy to this. This was bad. Really bad. Bad like few things were bad. And even worse now that he knew about it. Because now�
Now he had to do something about it.
Not that he especially wanted to � this was exactly the sort of thing that got his narrow butt into trouble time and again. He should steer as clear as he could of it. Or better yet, tell someone about it and enlist their help.
Now there�s a thought. But like before, he ruled out most of Olympus as either not caring or potentially going apocalyptic over it. And neither would get the job done. For a moment, he wished he were mortal again. Things were so much easier when you could rely on Hercules and Xena to take care of� stuff. As Joxer the Mighty, he�d been able to doofily mention things and prod the hero-types in the right direction. As Joxer, Undetermined God, he wasn�t sure if that would really cut it anymore.
But why not? They don�t know I�m all immortal and stuff� Right? As far as they know, I�m still Goofy Ol� Jox, trampling through Greece, setting things on fire in my wake. He sat up and retrieved his face from his palms. Now that he thought about it, that wouldn�t be a half-bad idea. They didn�t know. And Herc and Iolaus were already heading to Athens for the party� If there was a little nudge in the right direction� A few omens of trouble�
Joxer bolted up off the bench he�d been sulking on. He knew just the Omens for the job, too.
***
Cupid groaned and stretched. Everything hurt. His back hurt. His thighs hurt. His left shoulder hurt. His balls hurt. His wing joints hurt. His hair hurt. And his ass was a sore throb that twinged like a pulse all its own.
And his face was going to hurt from the huge, satisfied smile that was plastered there.
Gods, it was glorious!
He�d forgotten just how inventive his cousin could be when motivated. And how flexible he himself was. No one had bent him into a knot in a long time. Too long a time, he mused, trying to remember how to properly operate his limbs. Damn, but Strife was good.
It took a while for Cupid to lift himself up to a sitting position, as his body felt like it was mostly composed of melted butter and love-bites. He wondered if anyone truly ever appreciated the Mischief God. He wondered if anyone ever bothered to look past the wide, evil grin or the impish twinkle in those clear blue eyes. He assumed his father did � if anyone knew Strife, it was Ares. He wondered if anyone knew his cousin beyond work. Most people didn�t even address him by his proper name, sticking with Strife. Cupid knew he was guilty of that as well and made a mental note to try and avoid that from now on. At least when horizontal.
