Episode 5

"I think we scared Teorus."

"He should've moved, then," Leon snaps back, but he does glance over his shoulder where we could still see the sprawled out body of the blond, at the end of the long hallways behind us, who had yet to move from the floor. The lion snorts, closing the door behind us to cut off the sight of a worried Vega so that he can direct my eyes to the giant steamy room in front of us.

"Did you...Take me to a bath?" I turn narrowed eyes to Leon, but the shit head was already topless and slipping into the water. I groan, looking away. "I actually hate you."

"I will drink. You will wait on me."

"Or, I'll leave and make sure Teorus isn't dead after he fainted because of your dumb face and you can shrivel up in the water." I go to the door, a bit smug, but of course the damn thing is locked.

Magically locked.

….Or just normally locked. I didn't know. Couldn't tell. Honestly, at this point I've just started to blame everything on the gods powers because it made myself feel better.

"We ended up in that situation back there because you didn't get here fast enough. That's what happens when you don't come when I call." I glower, but keep my eyes away from his form in the water. The room may be full of thick steam and he may be waist deep in water, but I wasn't going to risk my eyes.

"You mean I forced you to actually do work?" I then notice the bottles of fancy wine at the wall. I was pretty sure they hadn't been there earlier, so Leon was probably talking about drinking this stuff.

Picking up one of the drinks, which looked more like a greek themed vase than the normal glass bottle for wine, I try and read the label. It's written in latin… I think. I'm pretty sure these were latin letters.

"Isn't it bad to drink alcohol in the bath?" I ask over my shoulder as I pop the lid off one of the drinks and sniff it. I gag.

"Humans enjoy drinking in the bath, don't they?"

"Ugh...I mean- Sure. Sure Leon." That's super inaccurate. Though I couldn't put it past him. I didn't expect him, who never cared about humans he was supposed to be watching over, to understand anything about them.

I decided to fill the glass, which i also found at the wall, to the very brim and set it at the bath's edge. I wonder if he could get drunk. What about passed out drunk? That'd be hilarious…

"Do you all share the bath? It's like something out of a castle..." I ask, turning my head when he looked to me, as he picked up his cup. The whole thing took up the entire room- like it was the bath room. It even had a giant full figure statue of a women mid waltz-step spitting out water. It was annoyingly fancy. Like. Just get a tub.

"Sometimes. I have no interest in small baths."

"Please. If you were in a small tub or not it'd be the same relax time." This bath looked nice and all, but it was less of a bath and more of a pool. How could someone even relax in it, honestly? I wanted a small little tub of water that I could pull my legs up in as I read a book and huff incense or something, not have to worry about drowning. Like the bath before me had steps going into it on the right side, but definitely had a deep end to the left where I couldn't see the bottom.

Out of the corner of my eye I catch Leon slowly pulling himself up from the water, exposing his body through the steam as he downs the rest of his glass. I'm about to look away, but I notice his tattoo again. It was...Dark and curvy and looked more like a branding, or the crest of a royal family in medieval times than a normal tat. Guess that's why it was the King of God's doing and not a choice by him. Yet...Wasn't it lighter? I had sworn it was much darker the first time I had seen it. Was it the cloudiness of the room…?

He catches my stare.

"What?"

"Nothin'."

"Do I have to ask again?" He narrows his eyes with a smirk that's left all of his snide playfulness behind to drown.

"Your mark," I snap with bite to my tone. Damn it. Just his stupid face pisses me off. "It's faded."

"What?"

"Do I have to say it again?" I mock, but the lion ignores me as he looks down to his chest. His eyes widen subtly in surprise.

"...It does seem faded. I can return to the heavens when it disappears completely." I blink.

"Shit. Wait, why did it fade?" If we kept doing whatever helped the mark, then his ass would be able to leave and I'd be able to go back to not being on butt dial.

"This didn't happen when I gave you pleasure…" I frown. "The only other thing I've done is grant that human's wish." I stare at him for a long time and then start grinning.

"You mean that little thing that I connected with love? Maybe if you just do your job, and watch the people you make happy, it'll make your mark disappear."

"I'll be able to return…" Though the god doesn't smile...I can see it. Somehow, I can see it in his eyes. He's genuinely happy. I mean, he'd just found out that all he had to do to get home was his damn job. I'd be pretty stoked if all I had to do to get away from these gods was to work at the Planetarium. But...Why did doing his job unravel his sin?

"Leon," I ask, making his eyes leave his empty glass. "Earlier, Teorus said that you "defiled a goddess" and that's why your King kicked you to Earth."

"What about it?"

"Well...What does Teorus mean by "Defiled"?" His smirk slips from his lips and he give me a silent look. It's cold. When his features shift, it's a frozen smirk that chills me more than when I saw him pissed.

"Asking about a god's sin? You really don't know what's good for you…"

"Leon!" I bark, taking a step away from him. My yell even surprises me, but it was in response to the intention I spotted in his eyes.

He lurches at me like a roaring lion pouncing on it's prey.

I swipe my foot up to kick him, but my own damn momentum and fear lodged in my throat distracts me enough that I don't think about grounding my other foot. It slips out from under me, partly because of the wet floor, and Leon swoops in to grab me and slam me against the cold ground I was just about to land on.

He straddles my hips, holding my struggling arms above me in one of his large hands. Immediately, I'm panicking. I kick my legs out fruitlessly, pull at my arms as if I could dislodge them from his grip, and nash my teeth in a way like some vicious dog that promised if he got to close I'd actually bite him.

He only smirks. Even gives a puff of laughter.

I breathe in, trying to calm down. It was a wild panic that I hadn't felt in forever and it was pissing me off.

"You want to hear what I did to that goddess?" Drops of water shower me from his body and each drop has me flinch.

"Get. Off." I grind out, forcing my kicking legs to stay put. Maybe if I put all my strength into a sudden pull I'd be able to get out of his grip…

"Is it cold?"

"Leon-"

"I like you like this much more than naked." His eyes slip down to my wet shirt. He could see my bra under it.

And he was staring.

"I'm going to kill you, lion," I spit, literally, at him.

"You're the one who asked what I did to that goddess." His free hand flutters down a straight path on my chest and my skin crawls. "You're in the territory of the gods now. You should be more polite." His finger stops at my navel and we lock eyes in a staring contest.

"Be polite to-!?" My words choke off as his hand snaps down to the buckle of my shorts. He stops again with a lift of a brow, challenging me to throw names his way. "I won't ask questions about your fucking sin!" I shout, pissed. "I don't care about whatever you did to some goddess!"

His smirk curls unnervingly high.

"Too late. Humans always want to know about the past. It's another one of their flaws. But if you want to know, I'll tell you." His hand moves from my shorts and takes one of my wrist so he can pin them on either side of me. As soon as his hands are full, my nerves settle a little bit.

"I don't care." I say again, quietly. But he ignores me.

"That goddess fell from grace."

"After or before you?" He snorts.

"She made advances towards me, came after me. There is no need for me to touch women I can't use. When I rejected her, she went crazy and fell from grace as a result." I purse my lips, try pushing against his unmoving hands, and decide to humor his opening up.

"Is falling from grace kind of like being exiled to Earth like you guys?"

"No. She was forced out of the heavens. Those who fall from grace are not allowed to return to the heavens ever again. The stars in their eyes and their power as gods are taken away. Me and the others may still return to the heavens, since we have our stars and powers still."

"...Wait. So. Saying you weren't interested in a goddess was your sin? Like… You didn't even touch her?" His lips fall to a pout and he resembles a young boy who was upset that he had been scolded.

"The King said I "refused the advances of a noble goddess, driving her insane", but that goddess obsessed over me and drove herself insane on her own… That's why I thought I might be able to erase this mark if I was with you, if I gave you pleasure."

"Quid pro quo," I say, nodding along. I actually… understood that thought process. Made more sense than him trying to screw me after being kicked out of heaven for screwing, as I thought it was before.

"You and the goddess who fell from grace are different people, but it was worth a try."

"It wasn't worth a try at all, but imma just say I understand." He shakes his head at me, shrugging innocently.

"My problem was, essentially, refusing to "love" a goddess… I never would've thought that simply doing my work would make the mark fade…"

"Like I said. It has less to do with the work and more to do with seeing how the humans react to it, I think." I stare at him for a pregnant pause and then, with all my strength, yank my arms down. One of my hands get free and I whip it up to try and bat at Leon so I can escape, but his hand catches mine in a heartbeat.

"Are you worried for your safety? Do you think I'm going to try something…?" He raises my hand to his lips and I cringe.

"I don't know what the hell you're thinking. I just know you're straddling me and I hate the feeling of you touching me,"

"What a joke." He says, his look growing dark. "You think a god would want you?" His words honestly have him cracking up, as his whole body shakes as he starts to laugh. It bubbles up from him and I pull a sneer as I again try to pull my fingers from him. Why was this guy so damn strong!? Usually I'd have no problem getting away from a guy, I mean, dad's training made sure of it, but this strength was just inhumane-

Riiight. He's a god.

"There's no need for you to be so worried...or so full of yourself. I guess even a goddess changes when she's reincarnated as a human. Even though she looks like...you now, she still has her pride."

"You're crossing a line, lion," I heave a big breath trying to keep my cool. I hated this guy but it didn't mean everything he said I could ignore. I was still human. I was still an insecure piece of shit that did my best hiding it behind cursing and dorky humor. I mean, I only trusted a single friend, Hiyori, for a reason.

"Hurry up and atone for your sin so you can get the fuck out of my life and go back to your little bubble of fake utopia!" As I scream this, a rage I hadn't felt in a long time courses in my blood. In the height of adrenaline, I pull my arm back and my hand falls from Leon's hold.

"Uh-oh. Are we interrupting?" The door to the bathroom opens. Teorus and Ichthys walk inside.

"Oh, goddess, long time no see-!"

"Go to hell and fall from grace you fake god!" My guttural scream is punctuated by my first flying forward and kissing Leon's jaw. His head whips to the side and it gives me enough room to slide myself out from under him. My eyes, during a scan of the room to find something I could use as a weapon if Leon came pouncing again, meets Ichthys's, with way too much raw emotion, and he hurries over to me.

"Still hanging out with the Department of Punishments' problem child, Teorus?" Leon asks as he rights himself, pulling at his jaw with a dark look my way. The blond casts a confused look at me, but answers as I get Ichthys to help me up without slipping on the wet floor.

"I don't like the Department of Punishments, but Ichthys is easy to talk to."

"Hey goddess," Ichthys starts as soon as my feet are safely under me. I'm shaking all over, partly in anger and partly as a reaction to...whatever just happened with Leon. Ichthys's voice is lowered and comes out sweetly in a way that has me sighing in relief. "You should come by our place sometime and let us use our powers." He then pouts. "If not, we'll only be able to do paperwork, and Scorpio will be even grumpier than usual."

"With the way your vice-minister constantly frowns, he probably likes being "grumpy"." Leon's on his feet, looking at the two gods as if everything was normal. Ichthys frowns, pulling me to him with a wrap of his arm on my shoulder. If anything, the normal touching that I hated from strangers felt more like a crutch I could lean on. Anyone touching me was better than Leon.

"Scorpio? You'd never know it from looking at him, but he's not all that bad. He's just a little rude, and short tempered...and selfish."

"Are you trying to talk him up or list his bad points?" I ask, snorting. Ichthys smiles, jostling me a bit.

"Goldie-chan's right, the way you tell it, it doesn't sound like he has any good points."

"Anyway!" Ichthys says, skidding over the topic to give me another big side hug. "You should come hang out with us sometime, ok?" I give him a funny look. I then gesture between him and Teorus, who were barely covered by their towels.

"Maybe when you're fully clothed." He chuckles, messing with me by bumping his hip against mine.

"What if… I save you from Leon, will you come by and let us use our powers?"

"Any minute I'm away from that lion is a saving grace." Ichthys "ooo"s loudly, giving the Lion a smug look as he drops his arm from around me.

"Hitomi doesn't sound like she likes Leon very much. Can I try it out?" I tilt my head at the abrupt question. He probably means using his powers.

"Sure. I don't mind." I hold my forearm out to him as he fist pumps.

"Yay! I haven't used my powers in foreeeeever!" Yet, right before he grabs my arm, he pauses and smiles. "Actually…"

And then I'm shoved backwards.

I fall into the bath with a choked off scream and a giant splash. At the feeling of the sudden hot water, I gasp as I begin to sink and my lungs fill with burning water and I begin violently choking. The bath is like a pool and the deep end swallows me up, my feet unable to find the bottom.

I'm drowning.

And then I wasn't.

Someone had pulled me up and forced my head above water before I could struggle too much. I'm coughing out water, feeling cold tears running down my cheeks to mingle with my soaked face because of the burning in my nose, throat, and lungs.

"You've got terrible reflexes." Leon says, telling me he was the one who "saved" me.

"Awww," Ichthys giggles as he leans over the pool. "I just wanted to have some fun with her. Let me use my powers for real next time, ok?"

"Go and rot," I say over my coughing and choking. I feel Leon's hand on my lower back and I can't tell if it's there to comfort me or because that's just how his hand fell when he grabbed me.

"What goes on with the Department of Punishments is no concern of mine, but I hope that asshole Scorpio is in paperwork hell." Leon says as he begins making his way to the bath edge.

"Don't be mean. It's not just Scorpio, we're all in paperwork hell."

"Good." I say, sending him a chilling glare that makes his childish pout falter. "I hope you drown in it like I almost did, prick." He averts his gaze. "Leon," I says, quietly and with no bite. I have none left. I just want to go home. "I'm fine now."

On "dry" ground, I snag Leon's discarded towel he had when we first arrived and hold it to my front. It wouldn't dry me, since it was damp from the humidity, but it'd cover my bra from showing through my shirt.

"I'm going home." I say for the three to hear. "And I'm staying home for the rest of the day."

"Aw but Hitomi-"

"Don't take another step or I'll hold you under the water myself." I eye Ichthys dangerously, then give a small wave to Teorus and make my way out.

A couple days later it's become normal to visit the godly mansion on a daily basis. It doesn't bother me too much anymore. Specially now that it seemed that I didn't have to spend all my time with Leon. Sometimes he'd call me over just to get Teorus to stop whining and then I'd chill with the blond for a while. Honestly, the blond was growing on me. He didn't annoy me and he was pretty fun to hang out with. Also he'd swoop in and get me out of work if Leon was pissy and decided to take it out on me.

Walking into Leon's room, though, I can already tell today was not a playdate with Teorus.

"Do you have work to do today?" I ask once I see his deeply engraved, dark look as he stared into the fountain.

"The noisy little girl is here…" He doesn't lift his eyes to give his usual smirk. "But the pool looks even dirtier than before." I raise a brow and move to look into the reflecting pool. Nothing reflects and it looks like murky beach water.

"I'm guessing it has to do with Earth being, uh, not as "pure" as heaven, or something?" Leon blinks, finally looking to me.

"Yes." He says, looking sincerely surprised. I can't suppress my smirk. "I can't work like this I'll have to try again tomorrow-"

"A-Are you kidding me?!" I jump, whipping around to see little Vega suddenly clinging to my shorts.

"Jesus- what- when did you…?" She smiles with rosy apple cheeks up to me, but then sets a frown onto Leon.

"I brought some new jobs. Lord Karno's orders. Lord Leon, if you can't see from here, you'll have to go on-site."

"...Are you suggesting I go to the human world?"

My thoughts go to the human clothes he had me explain how to put on because he probably had never dressed himself before. I can't help but laugh at the thought of him having to wear them and then accidentally putting them on incorrectly.

Vega sputters, rambling about how Lord Karno would act if she went back without Leon doing his job. Mid way through he gives a deep, heavy sigh.

"Why is it that you bring up Karno whenever things don't go your way?"

"Because I know you'll do your work if I say Lord Karno needs you to."

"Why you little-" I pull little Vega closer to my hip with my arm and raise a challenging brow to Leon. He gives me a look, but doesn't move from his spot towards Vega.

Either Leon did work when he knew he was being relied on by someone he was close with, or this "Karno" was more of an ass than he was. Which was hard to believe.

"Cute lil' Vega is doing her job, ya know? Unlike someone-"

"I can hear you."

"Amazing. I can hear you too." He narrows his eyes at my sass and then spins on the ball of his foot.

"I'm going to change. Come."

"Kay." I say offhandedly. This was going to be funny.

It was not funny. Leon didn't like the clothes I had gotten him weeks ago and after putting them on decided he needed something else to wear. So I had to go out and buy him something. By the time we headed out of the mansion's teleporting doors, I was ready to knock a bitch.

That bitch was Leon.

We appear in a city. More like the train station of a city. I glance to the rust head and can only shake mine. Maybe he wasn't in some bright white frilly suit, but the loose black button up, that was unbuttoned pretty low, did nothing to make him look less of a god. I wasn't going to deny that he had...a kind of aura. I mostly couldn't deny it because as soon as we stepped out of the door every single man and woman was staring Leon down and winking.

"The air is stagnant. That's why the reflecting pool appeared cloudy and dirty." I hum at his explanation.

"Guess only gods can feel it." He nods, smirking.

"Your body isn't nearly as sensitive as that of a noble god."

"...Well. Duh." I give him a confused look. "I'm not a god." He rolls his eyes, probably a little put out that I didn't get offended at his weak jab.

Oh. Leon looked kinda pale. Was…That what he meant when he said "sensitive"? Like the air actually affected him?

"Let's hurry and get this over with so we can go. The person with a wish is over there." I follow his line of sight to see-

"Hi-chan?" I breathe out in shock.

"Don't talk to me like that!" She yells, "I want to be with you!" Across from her is her boyfriend. The one I had, out of her many failed ones, finally deemed acceptable. Meaning the one that was a decent person who wouldn't lash out at her like the other controlling shits she had dated.

"Do you really mean that?" He asks, raising his voice. "I don't understand you at all, Hiyori."

"Leon, do you know why they're fighting?" Maybe it had to do with the wish?

"That's the human you were with before, right?"

"Yeah," I then look back to them. "She's my friend." I watch their argument get worse and worse to the point they don't notice anyone around them. They're in their own little angry world.

"Fine then, don't believe me!" Hiyori's face falls into a crestfallen look and my heart leaps for her.

"I see how it is. I might as well just leave."

"If you want to go, go!"

"Fine! I'm going!" The man says this, whose name escapes me, as he starts to get on a train. Hiyori looks broken at her own words. I know she didn't mean what she just yelled. It had been so long since the last time I'd ever seen her raise her voice. Last time it was because I wasn't taking care of myself but now…

"Okay good, this is easy. Leon, Hiyori's wish is to-"

"I see. In that case," Leon snaps his fingers the instant his other hand brushes my arm.

…. God damn it Leon.