CHAPTER TEN:
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After the couple took a moment to savour the feeling of holding the other in their arms, they broke apart just enough to look at each other.

"I... I have feelings for you too Hadria," Clara announced as her cheeks began to grow warm and turn into a deep shade of pink. "Gosh, I can't believe I just said that. I sound like a teenager telling someone I have a crush on him."

A soft chuckle escaped Adrian as Clara buried her face in her hands to hide the vivid shade of pink that covered her cheeks.

Her nickname became more fitting as light refracted through the prism-shaped lamp that sat on the windowsill, casting small fragments of a rainbow that settled on Clara's hair.

"Come here, Sunshine," Adrian requested, almost as a whisper, as he placed a tender hand on the back of her head pulled her closer to him. Clara's arms snuck under his jacket to wrap around his waist as she rested her head against Adrian's chest. Years ago she would have judged someone for hugging someone like she was hugging Adrian, never imagining that she would be held like that; the thought was absurd. Maybe increased levels of oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine weren't all that bad.

Adrian had never seen such vulnerability or acceptance of comfort from Clara, and he knew that it must have felt very alien to her. He just hoped that he would be able to make it a little less scary.

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The moment may have been somewhat ruined if the couple had been aware that Aphrodite and Cupid were above them, watching in delight. Aphrodite was almost bursting with joy as she bounced up and down and squealed, completely unable to contain her excitement.

In her haste to share her excitement with as many people as possible, she was too rough as she pulled open a bag of gummy bears, causing a few to spill onto the floor. The Goddess, however, did not care about the fallen gummy bears, and, much to Cupid's chagrin, she found herself unable to stop consuming the remaining bears; I mean she could have at least shared!

Cupid reacted a little differently; he preferred to observe in silence, not that it was possible to watch in complete silence thanks to Aphrodite's continuous rustling of her bag of gummy bears. Still, Cupid remained speechless, choosing to internalise his excitement; his small smile was the only indication that he was in fact, excited. He supposed that, in the eyes of any humans, their stereotyped personalities had reversed; Aphrodite was the giddy and excitable one, whereas he was more restrained and subdued.

"Oh, Cupid!" Aphrodite gasped in delight, "oh, this is too wonderful for words."

"Wonderful indeed, Aphrodite. I cannot-"

"I just cannot take it! Catch me Cupid!" Aphrodite interrupted, remaining unable to control her enthusiasm.

She squeezed her eyes shut, spread her arms and began to pretend to collapse. Contrary to her expectations, she felt no arms make an attempt to hold her up, encouraging her to pop one of her eyes open.

"Cupid! Why aren't you holding me?" Aphrodite demanded with a child-like pout, prompting Cupid to roll his eyes at her antics while humouring her and catching her as she fell dramatically with one hand on her heart.

"Oh, this is just terrific! I can barely contain my excitement!"

"Or not at all," Cupid murmured from behind her.

"What was that, Cupid?" He wasn't sure if Aphrodite was being facetious or not; however, he answered her question with a shake of his head to symbolise that it was nothing.

After what was, in Cupid's opinion, too long,  Aphrodite jumped out of Cupid's arms and shifted her attention to the bag of gummy bears that remained clutched in her hand. She began to eat one after the other as she watched Clara and Adrian sit and cuddle on the sofa.

"Oh, this is too much!"

This time when Aphrodite fell, she wasn't pretending, drawing a large sigh from Cupid before he knelt down next to her to make sure that she was breathing properly. Once he had established that she was fine and had just become too excited, he eyed the packet of gummy bears that she had somehow managed to keep a hold of and tried to take one. Aphrodite was having none of it as she proceeded to hug the bag to her chest and cradle it.

With one final sigh, Cupid placed a pillow under her head, draped a blanket over her body and sat next to her to watch his new favourite couple interact.

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"Aphrodite will be pleased," Adrian mentioned casually, his arm wrapped around Clara as she used his shoulder as a pillow.

"Really?" Clara began as she lifted her head to look at him, "I just professed my feelings for you and we shared a kiss, and you're thinking about Aphrodite?"

Adrian let out a small chuckle as Clara placed her head back on his shoulder.

"Well, she does always have some pretty great sweets, it's about time that she shared them with us, don't you think?"

"Hmm well, I do love gummy bears."

Clara giggled as she thought about Aphrodite's obsession with sweet treats, yet empathised with her too. Who doesn't love gummy bears?

Adrian noticed that he was bringing out a very 'un-Clara-like' version of Clara. When he first met her when they were in high school, she never used to giggle like that, not even with her friends; she was more reserved and quiet, comfortable with sitting in silence. When he met her again, ten years later, she seemed unimpressed with the world and a little... well sad... if he was honest with himself. She was so consumed with her work, and, while it paid off, she didn't spend time on self-care or fun. He was gradually showing her that there is more to life than just work and being alone, you can have a balance of work and fun and still be successful. He was rather pleased with himself.

"What are you doing?" Clara looked at him with her left eyebrow raised, humour and confusion shining in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Adrian was a little confused himself; he didn't think he had been doing anything at all.

"You just tried to give yourself a pat on the back, and failed miserably I might add."

Oh. So maybe he'd actually tried to give himself a pat on the back for a job well done instead of just mentally praising himself. Oh well, he supposed that it all added to his charm.

"Oh. Oops."

Clara giggled and leaned in for a kiss but shot away from him with the sudden appearance of a  face resting too close to her own and Adrian's. There was a young man staring at them as they were about to kiss, not at all creepy.

"Ahh!"

"Ahh!"

The first yell came from Adrian, as he made eye contact with the stranger in their living room. The second yell came from the startled stranger who had not been expecting Adrian's yell.

"Don't shout like that!" The stranger exclaimed while taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

"You're in my house, of course I'm going to shout!"

"Ahh!" Clara yelled while running towards the stranger with a frying pan held in a firm grip in both hands. Nobody had noticed her leave the room, so her reappearance with a frying pan was more than alarming.

"Wait!" The stranger begged while dodging Clara's first attempt at killing him as if he were one of the moles in a game of 'Whack a Mole.'

Clara obliged and paused for a moment, still holding the frying pan at him.

"I'm Eros!"

"Eros?" Adrian was more than a little puzzled as he took in the scene in front of him. A strange man was being threatened by Clara and a frying pan... right, totally normal,

"Eros? As in Aphrodite's son Eros? Eros as in the god of love and sex Eros?" Clara asked while lowering her frying pan a little.

"The one and only," he proclaimed with a proud smile.

"Hmm, I can see the similarities now. Both of them have no boundaries and keep sweets with them at all times," Clara stated while pointing to the packet of strawberry laces that were poking out from the top of Eros' pocket.

"Okay wait, why are you here then? Did Aphrodite send you down to spy on us?" Adrian eyed Eros suspiciously, knowing that his presence couldn't be a good thing.

"Ahh, umm, well. I wasn't aware that you knew my mother existed, let alone that you met her, leading me to presume that she is the reason that you are together. There may have been a mix-up; I came down here with a man, planning to set him up with Clara..."

"You what?!" Both Clara and Adrian shrieked at the same time.

"David? Do you want to come in here?"

A timid young man who looked to be around their age poked his head around the corner of the doorframe and looked at them.

"Uhhh, hi?" David asked rather than stated as he waved a little.

"David Peters?!"