"You guys ready for breakfast?" The two men jolt. Still stunned from the Trial.

Vallerie went to the locker room to change into her outfit for the day, makeup and hair done to perfection. The boys felt like rags next to her as they didn't get the chance to present themselves more properly. 

"I somehow feel 20x uglier than usual." Sanne comments to himself as Loukas attempts to smooth his sweater. 

Loukas still had so many questions; his heart never did that before. He almost panicked, but when he briefly looked at Sanne's calm expression, he relaxed a bit. He avoids looking over to Vallerie, his hand still on his chest, trying to calm his heart. He felt like he had just run a marathon.

Was this it? What Sanne feel in the past? It has to be. Something as strongly as that meant something. 

He doesn't want to dismiss it, but he'll have to ask Sanne about it later when Vallerie isn't around. Something about her arrow didn't feel right. The arrow was strong, but it couldn't be love. 

Vallerie squinted her eyes over their shoulders. 

"What? What's with that look?" The two men shifted uncomfortably at the sudden change of her facial expression. 

"Who... is that over there?" Vallerie points. 

The two of them turn around to see a girl peeking around the corner, and Loukas sighs as Sanne already recognises who it is. 

"Great, I guess she found out I'm single again." Loukas pinches the bridge of his nose. Sanne was quick to use this opportunity to lighten the mood and pester his friend. Looking over to Loukas, then at Vallerie. His eyes lingered more than he should.

"Piko! Over here! We just finished the trial." Sanne calls, a small sacrifice he throws at his friend to get Vallerie all to himself during breakfast. 

"Sanne, don't, what are you doing?" Loukas scowls, pushing his friend. His annoyance was already bubbling.

Piko comes closer, she was dressed in white. Her face was soft but unsure, her eyes were focused on Loukas, before her attention was directed to Vallerie. Her face grew even more unsure at her presence.

"Who is this?" Vallerie gasps, "She's so darling." 

"Hihihiiii, hello there, my name is Vallerie. The newest member of the club, and you are?" Vallerie circles Piko like an overexcited goldfish. 

"I-I'm Piko!" She stutters out, "I work with the current Goddess of Sorrow. I heard the club was using the shooting range and came here as soon as I could.... in case an accident happened again." 

"Accidents?" Vallerie raises her eyebrows and looks over Sanne. 

"WOW, WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME? IT'S ALMOST 7 AM!! We should get going before the cafeteria gets crowded." Sanne laughs it off, but his hands were already at the small of Vallerie’s back– steady and guiding, like he had done this a hundred times before.

"Piko, I think Loukas got grazed by an arrow. Could you take a look at him for me?" 

"What?! Really? Let me take a look." 

"Wh– no– I'm fine! Sanne!" 

Sanne quickly leads Vallerie away from the two, his hand still planted comfortably, tracing patterns as if was a way to calm his still bubbling nerves. Vallerie didn’t seem to mind as she allowed Sanne to lead her away, only looking back at Loukas and Piko. 

"Meet you back in the clubroom! We'll bring you breakfast!" Sanne walks off. 

"What was that about?" 

"Don't worry about it, Piko has a massive crush on Loukas, juuusstt trying to help a girlie out." 

"Oh! How fun! I can’t wait to do that myself." She claps her hands.

"For now, let’s have breakfast, yeah?” 

------

The cafeteria during this time is already as crowded as it is, teachers filling up on coffee, students taking a quick sandwich, and dormers still in their pajamas. 

Luckily for the two members of the Cupids Club, they managed to snag a quiet seat in the corner. Sanne offers to buy their breakfast as Vallerie holds the table for them. 

"Got it, hot chocolate and crepes." Sanne comes back, "Looks good." Vallerie smiles at her meal.

"A burger? This early in the morning?" Vallerie notices the choice of food Sanne eats, "Fries and chicken nuggets— who is cooking all of this?" 

Sanne simply laughs, "Food is food, darling Vallerie, worried for my health?" 

"Habit, I worry for everyone." 

"Aww, I thought I was special." 

"Maybe, we'll see." 

They laugh at the shared ridiculousness. Sanne had never been able to banter with a girl this easily before. Every girl always seemed like they wanted something from him— a chance at romancing a cupid, most likely. 

Vallerie didn't need to, however. She was already a cupid herself; she didn't look for his romance, just his company, which reciprocates his passive flirting without batting an eye. 

This is how it should be; it's refreshing. 

Sanne’s eye briefly grazes to where Vallerie set her phone down, it lights up from an Instant notification before fading back to the black screen. 

"Do you have an Instant account, Vallerie?" Sanne asks, trying to act as his usual suave persona, but remnants of his beating heart were still present. Why was he suddenly so careful of himself? If it were any other girl, he wouldn’t be hesitant to ask. Was he scared of rejection? Now of all times?

"Oh! I do, you want to follow each other?" 

Vallerie easily says yes; this shouldn’t come as a surprise. But as soon as she said yes, his heart felt lighter, as if the nervousness faded away as soon as his request was accepted. 

"I– yeah, I’d like to… if you'd let me." 

"Of course!" Vallerie is all too eager to exchange socials. 

He scrolls through her page, impressed by her posts. She's obviously a very social person, usually out with her friends, in a cafe, the park, etc. 

Scrolling deeper, he took notice of a particular post. 

"You have a boyfriend?" 

"Hm? Wh— oh! Oh my goodness... I totally forgot to delete that, please ignore it." 

"Ex now, then?" 

"Ugh... yeah. It was such a shame, too! I reeeaaalllyyyy loved him." 

...

...

...

"Love?" That can’t be right.

"Yeah, I.... didn't really want to delete the post or... any of our photos either." 

"Do you still... love him?" Sanne asks, Vallerie had to be messing with him. 

"As a partner? Not anymore. I can't imagine myself ever going back to him. But, I really did love him, I dunno." She chuckles to herself, "I'm a little too... affectionate sometimes. I love my family, I love my friends, and I still have a small bit of love for former lovers, too." 

"Why?" His voice bordering on hoarse, she throws around the term so easily. His breathing quickened again, but not from his beating heart this time; he clenched his jaw. 

"I am a complete mosaic of all the people that I have ever loved. Even if they are no longer part of my life, I will never regret them, who would I have been if not for them, y'know?" 

Sanne is breathless. 

A cupid who knows what it's like to love, how can she experience that? Not just romance but a complete understanding of what love is like and what love should be. 

It should make him jealous, but he feels soft. The shroud surrounding his chest disappears. 

Was what he felt earlier Vallerie's love? She had so much of it that it reached him. Maybe he'd get more of it if he stuck by Vallerie's side more often. 

"Have you ever felt like you weren't capable of love? A complete emptiness?" 

"Never, even when my mother died, have I had my older cousins to keep me company. They were the first ones to teach me what it was like to love and to never be ashamed of loving too much." She laughs at a memory she recalled.

"Oh, geez. Was I rambling again? Sorry, I just get so sentimental about things like this. I often let my heart lead me to my next adventure." 

"Did it tell you to join us in the club?" He drops his burger. 

"It told me that no matter what, I should be a part of it." 

"Your heart is right, I'm glad to have you here, Vallerie." 

------

"Hi Loukas!! How was Piko?" Vallerie asks her fellow club member, squinting and smiling. 

"Terrific." Loukas is still yanking off the excessive bandaging Piko did. 

"Here, we got you breakfast. Sanne said you loved siomai rice, so I snagged you some before they ran out." 

"Very thoughtful, thank you. Lemonade would have been great with this." Loukas' foul mood immediately dissipates. 

"You're absolutely right, ugh, I can't believe I didn't think about that! I'll go get it really quick! Be right back!" 

"Ah, wait! You don't have t– THANK YOU, VALLERIE!" 

"Did you really send her out to get lemonade? I knew you were brutal with girls, but even to our darling Vallerie? You know no bounds." Sanne teases his friend. 

"YOU!" Loukas grabs him by the collar, "What the heck was that? Leaving me with Piko and everything." 

"Did you even ask about what we were curious about?" 

"In a way, it was subtle enough for her not to notice it. She practically just told me everything I wanted to know." 

"And?" 

"She's capable of love.... A lot of it." 

Loukas drops him. 

"So… that was what we felt earlier?" 

"Yeah." 

Loukas covers the bottom half of his face to think. A cupid who is so full of love that it spreads to others, it's not impossible for a cupid to be capable of love. But even her amount is excessive. 

"Yet she's terrible with the intention she attaches to her arrows." 

They were so close, the solution finally in their hands, now it was just a waiting game for Vallerie to give them what they've been missing. 

...

"We don't even matchmake anymore, do you think she'll leave as soon as she knows this?" 

"Yeah, it would have been easier if she were like us. But we can't afford to lose her either." 

The last thing she needs to know now is what they’ve been doing. 

"Call Velt, tell him to shut up when he comes back next week. That we've found the solution to our problem, and all he has to do is not scare her off." 

"On it." 

"Not after we finally found something that works."