Chapter 6- Picnic

~Picnic~
The streets surrounding the park were far smoother than Cupid was used to, and thankfully, this cab driver obeyed a majority of traffic laws, unlike the previous one. He thanked and paid the lad with a hefty tip, and as the well-oiled vehicle sped off, he looked around at the pocket of greenery around him.
The Sloth district was known for leisure and ease. They naturally excelled at making everyone else do their work for them, hence why it was also one of the most ornate and visually pleasing corners of the City. The park overlooked the crystal-clear river, so clear, in fact, that you could even see the aquatic folks swimming right above the river’s floor. Environment-friendly sky-scrapers littered with rooftop gardens lined the edges of the river and a massive, gorgeous greenhouse stood in the very center. 
Cupid stood on the premises, rethinking whether he really had time to take a break. Heidi wasn’t messing around and may be inclined to believe he’s slacking.
Unfortunately, it was a bit hard to persevere through the emotional whiplash he experienced the night before, so ultimately a morning off couldn’t hurt. Right?
Speaking of Heidi, her ‘pet’ arrived not long after Cupid, bouncing off of traffic lights and road signs.
“Whatcha dooooin’?” She cocked her head to the side, continuously turning till it was upside-down.
“Nothin’ much. Trying to relax instead of dealing with the crippling weight of my mistakes and responsibilities. Now please leave so I can actually do that.”
“No can do buckaroo! Boss says to watch you, so I watch you. Always…”
“Wait, huh-”
“OOH WHAT'S THAT!?” She bounded off towards a startled-looking bird.
“Oh hey, that takes care of that I guess.” He looked around for Tami, who he was supposed to be meeting somewhere around here.
Cupid had called her immediately when he had entered his house last night, venting about the fight he’d had with Kumo and how for some reason he was almost more distraught over the fact he felt like he knew Kumo’s most recent manager.
As soon as Cupid had finished speaking, Tami demanded that she meet up with him the next day so he could de-stress with a nice picnic and manicure session.
He sighed and made his way up a nearby hill to get a better vantage point, taking in the lovely view. An excited squeal caught his attention and he looked left to see Tami and an adoring fan of hers geeking out over videos she’d made. Tami may look clueless sometimes, but she knew her way around the internet like she knew her nail polish colors. So well, that she had managed to become a positive and well-meaning influencer in a city that thrived on making horrible decisions while it profited off of other’s horrible decisions. A rather rare sight nowadays, but Tami was slowly making it ever so common.
He watched her sign an autograph and take a selfie, the fan ran off right as he approached, “Mornin, cat-ears! Make another new friend?”
“Oh, hello Cupid!” She beamed at him, “How are you holding up… feeling any better?” she gently asked.
Cupid winced, “I’ve been better, but hey, this should be a pretty good remedy.”
They settled down, choosing a perfect spot underneath a tree. Tami set the picnic basket down, unpacking an array of goodies while Cupid sorted all his nail polish bottles into rainbow order.
“What colors are you feelin’ today?” Cupid asked, glancing up at his friend as she finished taking out two bottles of strawberry ramune.
“How does purple and cyan sound for you? I can draw lil white hearts on ‘em too if you want!”
“Sounds like a plan!” he grinned, “And yes, please do, that’s going to be adorable. Can I pick out yours?”
“Of course! Surprise me.” she rested her hand on her thigh, head turned the other way to not spoil the colors for herself.
Cupid scanned the assortment of polishes before scooping up three. A pale pink, a shimmering white, and a buttercream yellow. They reflected a gentle and carefree energy, just like Tamagotchi. 
“Alright! You can turn around now,” He began to show her when a dead bird fell next to him. He let out a high-pitched scream and dashed towards an equally surprised Tami, holding onto her for dear life.
“I brought you a giiiiift!” Lady dropped down from the tree above them. Cupid groaned, Tami looked back and forth between the sudden moon woman and the stupid heart boy in her lap.
*tami line here*
“I saw it earlier when we were together and I just knew I had to give it to you!” Lady jumped up and down excitedly, disregarding Tami as she stared intently at Cupid, “Do ya like it?” 
“I’d like to be left alone,” He picked up a nearby stick and poked at the tiny corpse, nearly gagging as he did so. The thing was practically torn to shreds, unlike the clean kills he was used to.
Then, he had a genius idea.
“...Have you ever played fetch?” He slowly raised his gaze to Lady with a dramatic tone in his voice.
She gasped, “NO? WHAT IS THAT, IS IT FUN?”
“Ohohoho it’s great,” He seethed, wagging the stick in front of her face. “All you need to do is go get this lovely stick after I throw it, and bring it back to me.”
“Easy peasy! I will be the best ever at this game!”
“Great!” Cupid sarcastically beamed, then pretended to throw the stick off to his right.
Lady, being the complete idiot that she is, believed this and sprinted off immediately after.
“That should keep it busy. Anyways, where were we?” He held out the colors he picked for Tami.
She stared at him with no intention of continuing her manicure, “Who was that?”
“The little gremlin my latest client sent after me to make sure I do my f*cking job.” Cupid scoffed, crossing his arms.
“Your latest- what? I thought you were taking a break? For safety? Did you miss that entire conversation?”
“Well- yeah, I planned on it. But she offered me like, a damn lotta money.”
Tamogatchi sighed, “I’d rather you be alive than rich, Cupid.”
“She’s literally going to give me 10 million if I manage to get this done.”
“How on earth- nevermind, 10 million to a will-be Cupid corpse doesn’t mean a whole lot in my opinion,” her voice was stern.
“Did I mention that if I back out or fail she’s going to turn me into home decor?” Cupid gestured at the nearest lawn chair to prove his point.
Silence.
“Yeah. It's not that big a deal, ‘not like she’d be able to do anything to me, but ya know. Still a looming threat.”
Tami cradled her head in her hands, “Oh my god, Cupid. Why don’t you ever think anything through.”
“I did, I’ll be fineeee.”
“You reckless idiot, one of these days Clover’s going to be sick of your nonsense and run your luck dry.”
“It’s fine, I can bribe her with part of the 10 million blooms I’ll have once I finish this job,” he gave her a thumbs up, “It's worked before.”
Tamagotchi sighed, clearly worried.
Cupid decided against telling her that his target was the ruler of everything. If she’s worried now, then- it's best if we just don’t tell her. *add more details as to why here*
Cupid took her hands from her face and held them in his own. “I’ll be fine,” he softly whispered, “I promise. Try your best not to worry for me?”
“Okay, fine,” Tami sighed again, “just promise me you’ll be careful? just this once?”
“I- ughhh, fine,” he crossed his heart in his chest, “No reckless nonsense.”
Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Tami reached down for the ‘Flashy Dream’ nail polish bottle, screwing it open and holding it up, “Anyway, ready for your manicure?”
“Ooh, always,” Cupid posed, holding his hand out for Tami to paint.
Tami delicately painted Cupid’s nails, each stroke displaying expertise and care. Meanwhile, Cupid let his mind wander, gazing out at the park buzzing with its usual activity.  Children raced with uncontainable joy, their laughter and giggles creating a symphony of innocence. Elderly couples strolled hand in hand, sharing stories of a lifetime spent together. Picnic blankets dotted the lush grass, each one a canvas for familial bonds and friendships. Despite the impending danger and the weight of responsibility looming over him, Cupid felt like he was able to take a breath for the first time in days.
“So enough about me, what's up with you? Excited about your birthday?” Cupid grinned.
“Very! I’m not really sure what I’m going to do yet, though.”  Tami said.
“Well hey, you still have plenty of time to think about it. We could always watch the fireworks for The Emperix and pretend they’re for you?”
“True… oh! Speaking of which, Saber, one of my internet friends, mentioned that another one of his buddies managed to get tickets to the Emperix’s birthday party! They didn’t have anyone else to go with and are using the extra ticket as a race prize. I figured it would be fun for our crew to go watch.”
“Oh yeah, that could be fun…,” Cupid said, clearly not using his brain.
And then he realized that he should probably do that.
If he could get his hands on that ticket, he’d have a pretty good shot at finishing his job.
Not only would the Emperix’s guard be lowered, but there would probably be so much chaos that no one would notice Cupid.
“Ok. so. Change of plans. What if we raced instead? Like, in the race,” Cupid asked as Tami finished painting his nails.
“You want to do what?” Tami asked, slightly exasperated, “Um, Cupid, are you sure that's the best idea? The person running this is known for being… well, slightly unhinged when it comes to races.”
“Oh yeah, this is a great idea. I fail to see anything wrong here,” Cupid hummed as he unscrewed the nail polish he had picked out for Tami.
“I- why do you want the ticket anyway?” Tami asked, giving Cupid her hand.
“Uh, I don’t know. Could be a fun thing to do?” He lied.
“You’re set on this aren’t you,” Tami leaned back in semi-defeat.
“Oh absolutely. When is it?”
“This Thursday.”
“Great! See you Thursday then?”
“Sure, sounds good. I’ll text the others while you work on my nails.”
Cupid nodded and continued to paint. He certainly was lucky, and crazy, but getting that ticket would make his job a whole lot easier. 
Once their nails were dry, they dug into the wonderful snacks that were brought. 
The refreshing Strawberry Ramune allowed for a nice break from Cupid’s recent endeavors, he savored every bit of it. Neatly arranged sandwiches swirled around a large plate and rose macarons sat in an aesthetic-looking pile. 
Those sandwiches were literally the best things. It’s really nice that they’re available to the general public now.
Tami and Cupid finished catching up with each other: how Tami’s videos were going, how Cupid’s mental health was going (since that was in fact the reason for this venture), and how the iPhone 20987 RXSE new Pro Max+ Mini was no different than the iPhone 69. Then Tami took out a deck of cards and they played Go Fish before they both went home.