Warnings: OOCness, AU, strange pairings, lack of spellcheck, fast pace
Notes: Poor ol' Yamino finds himself a minor character often. I thought he deserved some reward. Yep, Yamino's first canon name is Ryusuke. I don't know why I know this but I do. This fic has gone by many names before being published here. Though its current title may not be perfect, I would say it suits the fic better than any other. "Cockaigne", "Utopia", and "Paradise" were big contenders until my thesaurus suggested...
Valhalla
"Ryusuke!"
He opened his eyes to the familiar voice and looked around. His room was the same as usual, but something felt different. Why did he feel like his world had changed?
Yamino sat up, glancing at her. Who was she...? Oh! He was so silly, this was his best friend. They had known each other for nearly twenty years now, since the age of six. She was a pretty girl, with long brown hair and intelligent eyes. Yet she never found men...Yamino could not understand why.
"We're going to be late for work." Verdandi said, crossing her arms. "I know we're just temping until we get our business up and running, but the vet we're working for is so sweet to us. We can't just leave him hanging."
Nursing a headache, Ryusuke Yamino nodded. "Right..." He rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom, dressing formally as usual and putting on a smile. "Let's go."
The pair headed out quietly, walking towards their destination. "Does something feel odd to you today?" He finally asked her, unable to deny his sense that something was off.
She shrugged. "Not particularly."
They arrived at the vet's office as a grown man ran in, looking frazzled. "Mine pig is sick! Save Gullinbursti!" He sobbed, carrying said pig in his arms.
The doctor, one Tohru Narugami, groaned. "Freyr, this is the fourth time you've been here this month. Stop feeding him taiyaki!" He said, gesturing for him to bring the pig into an examination room. "Temps," he addressed Ryusuke and Verdandi, "watch the waiting room."
So the pair sat there, behind the desk, checking in patients as they slowly walked in. Nothing too unusual, though the man with a hawk was interesting.
At least not until Skuld arrived, carrying a baby pig. Skuld was Verdandi's younger sister, a real knockout who went through boyfriends like water. She was still immature and often required her sister's help. When Narugami brought the piglet in to be examined, Verdandi sighed.
"Skuld gets everything."
Yamino glanced at her, understanding the feeling. With one older sibling and one younger himself, he had often been in charge of keeping peace.
"The boys, the fun, the cute pets..." Verdandi continued. "But at least I have you, right?" She gave him a grin and his heart pounded.
Yamino blushed. "Of course, Verdandi. We're friends."
She glanced at him curiously. "Did you ever think that maybe we could be more...?"
Such a thing startled him. "Are you serious?"
She smiled. "Of course not, silly." She sighed, and he stared at her awkwardly until the phone rang.
X
"Yep, we're getting married." His brother said the next day, and both visibly paled in response.
"But, Urd...you've only known each other a month!" Verdandi exclaimed, staring at her sister in shock.
Ryusuke's brother, Fuuto Yamino, shrugged. "We're in love, what do ya expect?"
Ryusuke just sighed and watched the newly engaged couple head off to tell the other family members.
As soon as the door shut, the pair broke into laughter.
"They're so alike." Verdandi said, smiling wide. "They both make random, rash decisions."
Yamino smiled back and nodded. "But at least they're happy together."
She glanced over at him. "Right...I only hope that I find someone just as charming one day."
X
"I lost the patient!" Narugami groaned, burying his face in his hands. "The damn cat just jumped out the window! The owner is coming back tomorrow morning and she will be so mad if her cat is gone..."
Yamino and Verdandi exchanged glances. "We'll go search for him." Yamino said.
Narugami nodded, sweating a little. "Yeah, okay."
Hours later, the pair collapsed on a bench in the park.
"When we find that cat..." Verdandi grumbled threats.
Yamino smiled at her. "Don't worry, we'll find him soon. But perhaps we need a little more help...?" A flyer flew through the air and hit Verdandi in the face.
She muttered something again and took it off her face, looking at it. She grinned. "Look, Ryusuke, a detective agency! Let's hire them to find the cat."
X
"Is the cat a ghost?" The pink-haired woman asked hopefully, eyes sparkling. "Oh, or an alien?"
"Mayura, I think it's just a normal cat." The detective, one Loki Kamiya, said to his wife with a slightly annoyed glance. He turned back to his clients.
Yamino and Verdandi were sitting on the Enjaku Agency's couches across from the tall detective, who was looking at the photos they had provided. "I should be able to find the cat." He assured them.
The pair smiled wide. "Ah, thank you, detective." Yamino said cheerfully, glad to have help.
"Especially because I went to school with Narugami Tohru." Loki said darkly, remembering high school. "I'd like to pay him a visit..."
The pair sweat-dropped, wondering what Narugami had done to the detective.
X
With the detective's help, Yamino and Verdandi were able to return the cat to the vet's office before the owner arrived.
They still didn't know about that grudge of the detective's, but it was best not to ask.
Now they were enjoying ice cream in the park--a reward to themselves for a job well done.
He had forgotten it with his brother's engagement and the cat ordeal, but that strange feeling was still all around him.
"Verdandi, I still feel like something's different than usual."
The brunette blinked at him, pausing mid-lick. "Really? Why?" She faintly recalled a conversation about this a few days ago.
"I'm not sure..." Yamino said thoughtfully. "Something's just off. But not necessarily in a bad way."
"Well, Ryusuke, I haven't been totally honest with you." Verdandi admitted, looking down at her lap.
He blinked. "You haven't?"
"A few days ago...when I said that I never thought we could be more than friends..." She started, and he began to blush as he realized where this was going.
"I've had a crush on you for years." Twirling a strand of hair, Verdandi was blushing even more than Yamino was. "I'd really like to go out with you."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner...?" The green-haired man wondered.
"I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I don't know if you feel the same way as I do but it wasn't worth the risk."
"But...I do feel the same way." He said, finally matching her blush.
She gasped and gave him the biggest hug she possibly could. "Ryusuke, really?"
"Yes..."
She squealed with joy and forced a kiss on him unlike any other.
X
It had been years since that fateful night, and now it was a lovely spring afternoon.
Mayura was sitting in the restaurant, attempting to spoonfeed a cute baby while her husband sat across the booth, grinning as he watched.
The baby smiled and cooed something that sounded like "more". Mayura gasped in delight and began to shriek how adorable her son was.
"You're making a scene..." Loki muttered, watching as the other restaurant patrons noticed his wife's excitement.
"Mou, Loki, if I want to make a scene, I'll make a scene." The detective's wife said, crossing her arms. "He's too cute!"
"Hey, you're the detective who helped us with the cat!" Verdandi exclaimed, exiting the kitchen and approaching the booth.
"The ghost cat, right?" Mayura asked, trying to remember.
Loki sweat-dropped. "A regular cat, Mayura. It was a regular cat."
"Thank you so much for your help." Verdandi said. "We actually started dating right after that and now we're the chefs and owners of this restaurant."
Loki blinked. "Ah, Narugami did mention that those two temps had married. He never found better assistants than you two."
Verdandi sweat-dropped. "Yeah, my little sister works there now..."
Awkwardly, Loki smiled. "Oh."
Yamino entered the dining area, looking for Verdandi, and spotted the detective. "Oh, hello, Detective Kamiya. It's nice to see you again."
"You too." Loki greeted. "Congrats on the restaurant and marriage."
Mayura nodded cheerfully.
Yamino smiled. "Thank you. I actually have been meaning to have someone investigate my family tree...could you do that for me?"
Loki nodded. "Yeah, sure. Just stop by the agency later and I'll help you."
"Well, it was nice seeing you again." Verdandi said, heading back to the kitchen. "Lunch is on the house, detective!"
Mayura smiled. "Thank you!"
"I'll see you later, Master Loki." Yamino waved and paused. "Oh, I'm sorry...I don't know why I said that."
"It's alright, sometimes the mind slips. I'll talk to you later about the family tree." Loki assured him and watched the green-haired chef leave.
X
"Won't you come with me on a journey to Midgard?"
"I enjoy my place by Master Loki's side."
"This peace is Hel's gift to you for serving Father so well..."
"Midgardsormr, live as a human in a human world. The gods are no more. Go to a world better than Valhalla could ever be."
Ryusuke sat up in bed and glanced over at Verdandi, who was reading beside him. She usually went to sleep later than he did.
"Something wrong?" She asked, closing her book. "You were tossing and turning but I thought I'd wait for you to wake up. Sometimes bad dreams need to be played through until the end."
He shook his head. "Everything's fine. What are you reading?"
"A book about the Norse gods." Verdandi said, smiling. "It's pretty cool. These Norns--fates--control everyone's lives. One of them shares a name with me! There are monsters, gods, goddesses, giants...one god even has a snake for a son. That's kinda cool. The only thing scary is the goddess of the underworld. Her name's Hel, and she seems kinda mean and ugly. Wouldn't want to meet her. I guess if I did, though, I'd ask what she does with all those dead souls. I wonder if she experiments with them..."
Listening to a tale that sounded familiar but was just out of his grasp, Ryusuke smiled back at her. "I think I'd thank her."
Verdandi gave him a perplexed look and went back to reading.
Ryusuke turned to go back to sleep and noticed, for the first time, an hourglass that was sitting on his nightstand. He glanced at Verdandi, wondering if it was hers.
He wasn't sure why he did it, but he suddenly felt that he had to turn the glass upside down and look at the bottom of its base.
Carved into the wood was a single phrase.
"You're welcome."