The Deal
Hera's Curse AU

By Kristina Andersson 
kriscat@gmail.com
 
 
 

Summary: Getting a new sibling isn't always easy, even if you are the God of Happiness. 
Disclaimers: I own Cupid and Strife from 'Xena: Warrior Princess' and 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'. That nice young man who sold me the Brooklyn Bridge gave them to me... He also said that if I buy some land in Florida, he'd throw Hades in for free... 
But Scorpio owns Recess and this AU. All bow down to the greatness that is Scorpio. I so enjoy to play in her AU. This story is also inspired by a chapter in a book called Vi på Saltkråkan by Astrid Lindgren.
Big hugs and thank yous to my beta Carrie, who not only came up with the opening sentence, (and we all know that's the most important one) but also put in some commas that I had forgotten. I'm sure you readers are very thankfull for that. 
 

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A scowl and a grumbly growl were Bliss' demeanor as he continued to pull the little wagon. Behind him, in said wagon, Recess giggled and clapped her hands, obviously enjoying herself immensely. Stupid parents just had to go and make a stupid baby sister that he had to pull in a stupid wagon... 

At first, Bliss had been thrilled over the idea of having a sibling. A brother to play with, to teach things. To be a big brother for. Having a brother would mean that he wasn't the smallest on Olympus anymore. Finally, people would realize that he was a big boy now. He was almost three! 

It had taken so long for the baby to come out of Daddy, that Bliss figured that the baby would come out fully grown, like Auntie 'Thena, or at least be as big as Bliss. It had felt like a whole year had passed before the baby arrived. 
 But when the baby did finally arrive, she was so little; and screaming all the time. And worse of all, it was a GIRL! 

For the first couple of months, all Recess did was sleep, poop, scream and eat, and not necessary in that order. Everybody bent over her and cooed at her, saying she was so pretty and cute. Bliss thought Recess was ugly; all red and wrinkly. 

Being seen as a big boy wasn't as fun as Bliss had thought it would be either. All the time, it was, 'Bliss, please get this or that' or 'Bliss! Can you take this to Dad Strife?'. Or even worse, 'Not now, Bliss! Recess needs this or that,' and 'Can't you play on your own? You're a big boy, now, Bliss!'. 

The more Recess grew, the more annoyed Bliss got. What was the point of having a sibling when all she did was cry, sleep, eat and steal all the attention? And then things got worse! When Recess finally got old enough to sit up and crawl, the whole 'giving stuff away ' started. 

For some reason, Daddy and Dad Strife thought that it was cute to let Recess use the same things that Bliss had used when he was her age. So, Recess slept in Bliss' old bed, sat and ate in Bliss' old high chair and played in Bliss' old playpen with Bliss' old toys. She even went potty on Bliss' old potty! Bliss didn't like it one bit. Not that he ever used that stuff anymore, he was a big boy now, but they where *his*! He never told his parents that, though, since he didn't want to sound selfish. 

Even after Recess learned to take her first steps and say a few words in baby talk, she was still a disappointment. Recess didn't play like Bliss did. He tried to let her borrow his toys but since she didn't know how to play with them and just broke them, he soon began to keep them away from her. 

Recess' favorite occupation was to cuddle the tiger she got from Auntie Artie when she was born, and banging on a pot with a spoon, making noises. (Dad Strife used to say she got that from him.) And giggle; she was always giggling. And she was always in the way, too. Even though she couldn't play with Bliss' toys, she always tried to get to them, and when she broke them, all any grown up ever said was that she was so little to understand and that Bliss was such a big boy now that he should be able to watch her better. Bliss was really starting to hate being called a big boy. 

"Look after Recess," they all said. "Watch Recess for a while, she's too little to be left alone and you are such a big boy, you can keep her company in her playpen for a little while." 

The older Recess became, the harder she became to look after. She was almost as fast as Unc' Hermes. All you had to do was close your eyes for a couple of seconds, and crash! Recess would be standing next to a broken urn, while giggling and flapping her wings without a care in the world. 

Today, Recess had already managed to get a hold of some of Cupid's arrows. Daddy had found her cheerfully sitting in the kitchen, half naked, with a big jar of jam in between her legs, dipping the arrows in the jam and painting the floor with them. She had then learned to turn on the water by herself and thereby overflooding the bathroom. She had celebrated her newfound knowledge by crashing Daddy and Dad Strife's wedding present from Auntie Demeter. And although Dad Strife said she'd done them a favor by destroying that vase, Daddy had decided that Recess needed to play outside for a while. 

And who got stuck on Recess watching duty? Bliss, of course. 

It wasn't fair! He'd planned to go and 'help' Auntie Hestia make sugar cookies but he couldn't bring Recess over to Hestia's on baking day anymore. Not since the flour incident... 

So, that meant no sugar cookies for Bliss today. Instead, he was walking around on Olympus, pulling his stupid sister in a stupid wagon. To say Bliss was annoyed was an understatement. Recess, however, was completely enthralled with the experience. She loved riding in her wagon. 

Bliss decided to walk to Hestia's temple and back. Because, while he might not be able to go inside and get any cookies, he still could stand outside for a while and try to at least *smell* them. 

Half way to Hestia's temple, the children met Hades. 'And wasn't that just typical?' Bliss thought. Uncle Hades was eating a sugarcookie, and carried a large bag in orange and brown. The kind of bag Auntie Hestia always put her cookies in. The bag looked full... 

"Hello, Bliss," Unc' Hades said. "Out walking your sister, I see. Having fun?" 

Bliss shrugged. Honestly, some grown ups asked such stupid questions. Like someone could have fun walking Recess! 

Hades bent down in front of the wagon. Recess cooed. "Oh, aren't you a sweet little thing!" Hades said, and tickled Recess under her chin. 

Recess giggled, and Bliss rolled his eyes. 

Hades sighed, "How I wish I could get one like you for Persephone's birthday." He turned to Bliss, and joked, "She's not for sale, is she?" 

Bliss froze. That little voice inside him, who used to come forward to point out that putting Grandma 'Dite's potions in Grandpa Ares' doggy's food was not a good idea, was screaming at him not to do this. But, almost like from a distance, he could hear himself say, "Actually, she is. We can't keep her." 

Hades stared at the boy, "What?!" 

"You see, Daddy said just this morning that our temple is too small for all four of us, and that we can't have it like this any longer." And Daddy *had* said that this morning, as he had practically every morning ever since Recess learned to walk. But Bliss doubted he really meant to get rid of Recess... It sure sounded good, though. "So, we've been looking for a good home for Recess," he continued. 

For some reason Unc' Hades' eyebrows were almost up at his hairline. "Really?" he asked. 

"Yes!" Bliss heard himself say. "We practice the 'last in, first out' principle," he nodded, and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Getting rid of Recess would take care of their housing problem. He was surprised Daddy and Dad Strife hadn't thought about it before. 

"I see," Unc' Hades said. "So, what's the current rate for a Recess these days?" 

Bliss thought for a while. "Well, you are family..." he finally said, and eyed Hades' cookie bag speculatively. "So, we know you will take good care of her." Uncle Hades' eyebrows were climbing again after that statement. "If you give me your cookies, I guess we can call it even," Bliss continued. 

Unc' Hades grinned, "Are you sure about this, Bliss?" 

Bliss nodded, not taking his eyes from the cookie bag. 

Hades was still grinning. "Very well," he said, giving the cookie bag to Bliss, and picked Recess up from the wagon. "It's a deal." 

Recess giggled and tweaked Hades' nose. Something she was very fond of doing ever since the weekend Xena had baby sat her. Daddy Strife blamed Gabrielle. 

"Say bye, bye to Bliss," Hades said and Recess waved her little hand and said, "Bah!" 

Bliss didn't notice. His face was buried in the cookie bag. It smelled divine, and, indeed, they were. 

"I think we should leave Bliss and his cookies alone," said Hades to Recess, and walked away. Recess looked over his shoulder and waved her arm again. "Bah! Bah!" She called back to her brother. 

Bliss was blissed out. Hestia's cookies were the best! He stuffed them in his mouth two at the time. Closed in eyes and moaned a happy sigh. He ate, and ate, and ate, savoring their taste, but when the cookies were gone, so was the bliss. 

What had he done? 

 The cookies felt like huge cold stones inside his stomach. What had he done? Daddy and Dad Strife would be so mad at him. And he'd eaten all the cookies, so he couldn't even try to buy Recess back. Besides, a deal was a deal and he doubted Hades would agree to give Recess back since she was a birthday present to Auntie Pep. 

No, Bliss was toast. He could come up with good reasons why it was a good thing to get rid of Recess until he was blue in his face, but not even Dad Strife would find this funny. 

Bliss spent the rest of the day at Gaea's field. It was a great place to be if you wanted to be by your self for a while. Generations of young gods had spent time there, playing or just laying around thinking, when they needed a break from the grown ups and didn't want to go home. And Bliss really didn't want to go home. 

If Gaea was there, she usually didn't bother the godlings. She just smiled at them and continued with whatever she was doing, but she always had a kind ear to lend them if they wanted to talk. Only if she sensed huge distress from a godling did she initiate contact. 

Ares had been one of them and now, Bliss was another. 

The day was almost at its end when Gaea walked up to Bliss, sitting in the soft grass beside him. 

"You look troubled," she said. 

Bliss nodded. "I did something I shouldn't have, and now I don't want to go home," he explained. 

"Oh," was her reply, and they fell into silence for a while. Bliss took a deep breath, Gaea smelled like lilies of the valley. It calmed him. 

"You know, sometimes the best way to deal with something troublesome, is to face it head on," Gaea said. "Instead of wasting time and energy on dwelling on it, I mean. Most times it isn't as bad as one thinks it is." 

"And sometimes it's worse," Bliss choked out, almost crying. 

Gaea put her arm around his shoulder and hugged him. "I bet that if you stay here all night, your Daddy and Strife are going to worry themselves to Hades. And I doubt Strife want's to return so soon." 

Bliss bit his lip, "And maybe when they find out what I did, they'd prefer I stayed here for always." 

Gaea tightened the hug. "Never!" She said, with much conviction behind that one word. "Your parents love you, Bliss. And while they may be angry with you, or disappointed, they'll never hate you or want you to go away." 

That didn't completely calm Bliss. If they felt like that for him, the chances were big that they felt the same way about Recess... Besides, "How can you be so sure?" he asked. 

Gaea smiled, "Haven't you heard? I know everything." 

And since Bliss had heard Dad Strife say that just yesterday, he nodded weakly and gave Gaea a long hug and kissed her cheek. "I got to go home now," he said. 

Gaea ruffled his curls, "A wise decision," she said. 
 
 

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Bliss took a deep breath and opened the front door. His heart was beating so fast; he expected it to jump out of his chest any time now. 
He could hear someone singing in the kitchen. 

Slowly, slowly he walked into the kitchen where Daddy stood and did the dishes the mortal way. He claimed it was relaxing. 

"Oh, great! You're back." Cupid smiled. "I have a surprise for you." He dried his hands on a towel, opened a cabinet and triumphantly held up a bag. One of Hestia's brown and orange cookie bags. "I realized that since you took Recess out, you couldn't go and 'help' Hestia today, so I asked Grandpa Ares to pick up a bag." He gave Bliss the bag. "Here, these are just for you," he said with a grin. 

Bliss felt like throwing up. 

"I have another surprise too," Daddy continued. "We're moving! We're going to trade temple's with another god, so we'll get a much bigger place. We don't have to be so crowded anymore! You and Recess will love to have one big room each." 

Bliss *really* felt like throwing up. 

Daddy frowned, "Bliss, what's the matter? You are so pale." He felt Bliss' forehead. "Are you sick? You don't feel warm..." Daddy was looking around, "And where is Recess? I can't see her anywhere." 

 "Ok, remember how you complained about our temple being to small at breakfast?" Bliss started. "Well, I tried to fix the problem for you..." Presentation was alpha and omega when it come to confession. He took a deep breath, "IkindasoldRecesstoHadesforsomecookies." He took another breath, "Yousaidwehadtodosomethingandshewasthelastonein..." 

It took Cupid a while to catch up with what Bliss was saying. "Now, wait a minute," he said and held up a hand to stop Bliss from continuing. "You sold Recess?" 

Bliss nodded guiltily. 

"Because we were so crowded." 

Bliss nodded hesitantly. One of the reasons, anyway. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he was beginning to realize that what he'd done had larger consequences than Daddy and Dad Strife being mad at him. There would be no more Recess in the household. No one giggling at everything. No one to take the blame when *he* had broken something. And Recess did give the best hugs... 

"So, we have to live without our little Recess, now?" 

Bliss looked down at the floor and nodded. 

"And you took it upon yourself to do such a transaction." 

Bliss looked up, a bit confused. "Huh?" he said. 

"You made a deal with Hades, on your own, without checking with the rest of the family if we agreed," Cupid explained. 

Bliss bit his lip and nodded. He felt so bad right now. 

"It never occurred to you that Dad Strife and I wanted to keep our little girl?" 

Bliss' chin shivered. 

"That we would miss her terribly? That we would be very sad?" 

Bliss threw himself in Cupid's arms. "I'm so sorry," he howled. "I didn't mean to!" 

Cupid rocked his son, muttering soothing words, rubbing his back. 

 Bliss cried and cried until he suddenly heard someone giggle. He knew that giggle. He lifted his tear streaked face from his father's chest, and turned around. 

Dad Strife stood in the doorway, holding a squirming Recess. "Dauh!" She demanded. Strife obeyed and put her down. 

"Bliss!" she squealed and raised her arms for a hug. 

With a shout of joy, Bliss hugged her. Hard. "Oh, Recess! I thought I'd lost you forever!" 

Recess smiled and gave his cheek a sloppy kiss. 

"I'm so sorry, I sold you. Can you ever forgive me?" Bliss asked. 

Recess gave him another hug. "Wuv you," she said. 

"You do?!" Bliss asked a bit surprised. 

"Of course she does," Strife said. "She completely adores you. You're her favorite person." 

"I am?" 

"Of course, you're her big brother," Cupid said. 

"Oh, Daddy, I'm so sorry for what I did," Bliss said and hugged Recess harder. 

"I'm glad you are, son," Daddy said. "But you'll still get punished. Because selling your sister wasn't a nice thing to do." 

Bliss nodded. "I understand," he said seriously. "What's my punishment?" 

Cupid actually squirmed and seemed to blush a little. "You'll have to ask Dad Strife, 'cause this time he'll have to do it." 

Bliss lower lip shivered, "Because Recess is his only child?" 

"No," Strife laughed. "Because Cupe doesn't feel comfortable punishing you, when he did something similar when he was a kid!" 

Bliss stared at his father, eyes wide open, "You did?" 

Cupid, still blushing, nodded. "Yes," he admited, "I didn't sell Anteros, but only because I couldn't imagine that anyone would be willing to pay anything for him. I did abandon him in the mortal realm a couple of times, and once I sent him to Poseidon as a present. I even wrapped him up as a gift." 

Bliss frowned, "But you like to have uncle Anteros around." 

Cupid nodded, "I do now, but when he was little, he was a pest." 

"So, Recess won't be so annoying when she grows older?" Bliss asked. 

"Probably, but I'm not giving any promises, she is *my* daughter, after all." Dad Strife grinned. 

"Are we really moving?" Bliss asked. 

"Yes," Cupid answered. "We're trading temple's with Hades and Persphone. They wanted something smaller, and we need something bigger, so it's perfect! They hardly live on Olympus anyway, so we can start moving in tomorrow if we want." 

"And that gives me an idea for Bliss' punishing," Dad Strife said, smirking. "I want you to pack all Recess stuff carefully in the boxes I'm going to give you. That should keep you busy for a while." 

Bliss nodded. "I better get started right away. She's got a lot of stuff." He started to leave the kitchen, but halfway out he stopped and looked at the bag of cookies he was still holding in his hand. Bliss smiled gently and walked back to Recess. "For you," he said and gave Recess the bag and a kiss on the cheek. 

As he left he heard Daddy say, "Aww... That was so sweet..." 

And Dad Strife snort, "Remember that when you get to stay up with a Recess on a sugar high tonight!" 
 
 
 

THE END 
 
 

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