I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

Situated in a lightly forested area right outside the celestial capital, the small garden blended in so well with its natural surroundings that it was almost impossible to spot it from a distance. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for her father's announcement that they've arrived, Urd would've simply flown over it and keep going for who knows how much further into the Asgardian wilderness.

"Wait… this is it?" For something dubbed as a 'secret meeting place' this whole patch of land was so… underwhelming that it made Urd wonder if Tyr just came up with this story to get her attention. "This isn't a garden! It's… just a clearing with… bushes randomly arranged all over the place."

"Yes, you're quite correct, Urd. Although keep in mind that you're only seeing this place in its current state," said Tyr as his expression softened a bit while looking at his surroundings. "It used to be a beautiful garden back then, with rose bushes and hedge mazes covering most of what you see."

"Okay… and it's fallen in disuse from what I can see," said Urd as she scratched her head. Checking her surroundings once more, just in case she missed something obvious, Urd still failed to see why her father brought her here. "So, why are here anyway?"

"Impatient, aren't we?" said Tyr, giving his daughter a sideways glance and then started to walk towards an old tree in the distance. "Come this way, and you'll see for yourself."

Having nothing better to do, Urd let out a sigh and simply followed her father's childlike avatar, wondering just what the big deal was all about. 'Even if my mom liked this place back then, there's nothing left of it anymore. So, why did he-' thought the Norn, but then came to a stop, when she got a closer look at the tree they were heading to. Built around the base of its canopy was a wooden structure that slightly resembled a scaled down version of the treehouses typically found in Alfheim. "Huh? What is that thing doing here? I thought that treehouses weren't very popular in Asgard."

"Once again, you're correct. However, your mother wished something a bit out of the ordinary, and for the lack of a better term, this was our little home," said Tyr with a rare smile as he stared at the otherwise unimpressive treehouse.

Raising an eyebrow at her father, Urd remained silent and turned to give the otherwise bland exterior of the treehouse a critical look. 'Actually… there are a couple of ways to describe it; with love shack being the nicest.'

Considering that there was nothing else to accomplish by standing there in the middle of the forest, Tyr gestured for his daughter to follow him inside, before he floated up and tapped his hand against the door, dispelling a seal that's been there for many decades. In sharp contrast to the exterior, the interior of the treehouse felt much more homey, despite the sheer lack of furniture. Aside from a couch, a dining table with two chairs placed opposite of each other, and a cupboard -all made from the same type of wood as the rest of the house- there was almost nothing else inside the one and only room of the whole structure.

"Wait, that's it?" asked the confused Urd as she searched around for any hints of a door that leads to an adjacent room, but soon found out that there was nothing other than what she could already see. "That's… pretty quaint, even compared to Keiichi's house."

"Ah, yes. I must admit that luxury wasn't exactly what we were going for when we came up with this house's design. After all, both of us own lavish mansions, so there was little to no point of adding yet another one to the list. That, and it's far less private when you need extra hands to help with the housekeeping," said Tyr, ignoring the Norn's amused look. "What we wanted here was a place for the two of us, and nothing beyond that."

"Okay, I get it. Kind of hard to imagine you two living in this tiny place, but, I suppose you didn't stay here for too long, anyways."

"Even at best, we rarely managed to stay for more than a couple of hours at a time," admitted Tyr with a sigh. Walking up to the cupboard, he quickly shifted though some of the supplies, much to his daughter's confusion. "Well look at that! I did remember right!" Picking a ceramic bowl that contained a small loaf of bread, Tyr handed it to his mystified daughter, before he went to search into the cupboard once again. "Now, where was the honey? I know I bought some with it, too..."

'Never thought it would've been possible, but this is weirder than spending time with uncle Loki. Interesting….' Giving the offered bread a critical look, Urd had to admit that it appeared as if it just came out of the oven, and it smelled fresh too. Which only meant that her father had put the whole place under a time freeze spell, just for the sake of preserving something like this; or perhaps the memories associated with it. "Hey, are you sure you want me to eat it? I mean-"

"Go ahead, Urd. It's not like your mother's going to drop by to eat her breakfast anytime soon," said Tyr, and while he tried to keep his voice as neutral as possible, there was clearly some sadness etched in his tone, until he found what he was looking for. "Aha! Here it is! I knew I've got some honey with it; even though it's been a long while since then."

"Uh… just how long are we talking about?" asked Urd as she cut the loaf in half and let her father sprinkle both parts with honey.

"Let me put this way: you're holding something I bought from Rome, back in its imperial days," said Tyr with a grin, before he remembered a tiny detail. "Oh, and just for the record… I had nothing to do with the fire."

"If you say so." Grabbing a chair, Urd simply took a seat and offered the other half of her bread to Tyr, who wordlessly thanked her and imitated her, sitting opposite of her. 'This is so strange… I would've never expected to end up doing something like with my dad. Come to think of it, have I ever spent any time with him as a child?' Try as she might, Urd couldn't quite remember her earliest days very clearly, but even then, she seriously doubted that she spend too much time with her father. "Hm… Can I ask you something?"

"Yes? What is it, Urd?"

"How come you never visited me when I was little?" asked Urd, even though it sounded a lot more like an accusation than a question.

Yet interestingly enough though, the Daitenkaicho's avatar didn't seem to mind it, and maintained a rather neutral expression as he tried to put his thoughts together. "The problem wasn't that I didn't wish to visit you, but that I couldn't. Or rather… it was your mother I couldn't come into contact with, so, you ended up being off limits for as long as you were around her. As a matter of fact, what do you know about out attempt to pass the Judgment Gate?"

"Actually… not much. Mother told me that you two had to face the Judgment Gate Test at some point, but you've failed and that's how you ended up being separated," said Urd as she recalled a conversation she had with her mother a long time ago. Of course back then, the young half demoness had no idea how someone as powerful and important as the Daimakaicho was forced to do anything, and then went ahead and threw in an angry fit, accusing her mother for lying, just to cover up for Tyr's womanizing habits. Until she learned that 'auntie Ansuz' who was regularly visiting her, happened to be Tyr's second wife and the toddler she carried with her wasn't just her daughter, but also Urd's half sister.

"That's indeed correct, Urd. Although the biggest issue was that once separated, we weren't supposed to meet each other ever again. Now, that happened before we had you, so… do you see the problem here?" asked Tyr as he carefully studied his daughter's expression that shifted from mild confusion to shock. "I suppose you know what it means then. In order for us to have the child we so much wished for, we needed to meet one last time after the Gate deemed us unworthy to stay together. And for that to happen, your mother did something really irrational. She… basically put a curse on her; one so powerful that overwhelmed the restrictions placed upon us. Yet the price for that measure was terrible, and while we're no longer subjected to the Gate's verdict, we must remain far from each other. You see… if we accidentally meet each other, your mother won't survive the encounter."

"WHAT?!"

Just as he feared, his daughter didn't quite take the news well, considering that his ears still rang from Urd's deafening shout. Not that he honestly blamed her for overreacting, since Tyr himself wasn't exactly thrilled with his ex's idea of finding a way to have a child prior to their inevitable separation. Unlike him though, Urd had someone she could still blame, so, he wasn't all too shocked when the growling half demoness grabbed him by his robe's collar and more or less pinned him against the wall.

"And you're okay with that?!" Urd's voice became so harsh that if she pulled this on anyone other than her father, they would've broken down into tears. And if that wasn't enough, her glowing, cat like pupils simply added more to her terrible visage, while her shaking hands betrayed that this was no mere act; Urd was genuinely beyond herself.

"No, of course not. But… you know how your mother. Hild had already put herself under that curse, before she even told me anything about it, and by the time I realized what she had done, it was far too late to undo the damage. So, the only option I had was either to go along with her plan or just waste her sacrifice," said Tyr, feeling his daughter's grip on him loosen up a bit. "Personally speaking, I came to regret a lot of things, but you're not one of them; despite how you came to be."

Letting him go, Urd shook her head to calm herself down. Her pupils had already returned back to their original state, yet the Norn of the past was still somewhat rattled. "So… that explains why you never visited me."

"That, and why I cannot meet your mother face to face anymore. I know that most think it's due to us failing the Test, but the truth is a bit different," said Tyr, lowering his head as he went silent for a while. "But that still leaves us with the main question: What are you going to do, now that you know all this?"

"I'm not entirely sure… I need some time to think about all this and-"

"No, I'm not talking about myself, Urd," said Tyr, interrupting his daughter who raised a curious eyebrow in response. "What happened to me and your mother is a thing of the past, but your sisters' situations are a totally different thing altogether. And… yes, I'm talking about both of them; Belldandy and Hagall."

That last statement made Urd gawk at her father, as he was the last person she expected to say something like that. After all, according to Hagall's claims, she and her… mystery boyfriend were already past the 'kiss and hug' phase of their relationship; which meant that they were encroaching a dangerous territory. And while she wasn't exactly sure just how far one could go without triggering the Judgment Test, Urd had no delusions that should Ansuz knew about this, then she would've definitely used that Gate on her sister. Which only left one possibility. "Wait! You knew about Hagall, and you… kept quiet about it?"

"Of course I did. Unless you've forgotten, I've been through the same roller coaster and it was no fun at all; that much I can reassure you." Making a hand gesture that initially caused his daughter to blink in confusion, Tyr summoned his power and channeled it through their surroundings. And promptly enough, all the wooden planks that the treehouse was built with light up as seals appeared upon every single of them.

"What the?"

"Don't be alarmed, Urd. From this point on, it's better if we have some privacy, so, I made sure that no one's going to hear what we're about to discuss," said Tyr with a hint of a grin as he could still see the stunned look on his daughter's face. "Oh, are you surprised? Truth to be told, there's a reason why we've built a treehouse, instead of something else on its place. Every single one of these planks has a containment spell, which only needs to be energized in order to keep us isolated from the outside world. After all, it's a total nightmare to do this kind of thing on something as large as a mansion, which is the biggest reason why we came up with this seemingly unimpressive dwelling."

"Alright… I guess that explains a few things," said Urd as she tried to hide how awestruck she was, and regain her composure. Considering that her father's avatar performed a fairly complex and demanding spell without even trying, the half demoness had to admit that powerwise, Tyr was indeed a close match to her mother and not the bureaucrat she often thought him to be. At least not to the point where paperwork was the only thing he was good at.

"Good, now as you probably already know, there are two couples who are going to deal with the Judgment Gate in the not so distant future. However, I have serious doubts that either of them will pass the test, as Belldandy and Keiichi aren't exactly close enough to know each other intimately, while… your adopted sister is probably a tad too interested in intimacy of a different kind," said Tyr, before he cleared his throat and averted his gaze. "Not that I blame her, given that me and your mother weren't all platonic back then, but-"

"Okay, that's good and everything, but I still haven't heard a name yet." Leaning closer to her father's avatar, Urd gave him a very pointed stare, which in many ways reminded him of Hild whenever she really wanted something from him.

"Hm… are you familiar with the lord of Alfheim?"

"That would be Freyr," said Urd with a nod, before she paused and frowned. "Wait… that's him? The so called god of fertility?!"

"Indeed. With everything that title might imply, if the rumors are you be taken as facts. Well, at the very least, it's never a dull moment with those two," said Tyr, trying not to laugh at his daughter's almost panicked expression. It was rare for Urd, who normally enjoyed to play the matchmaker to suddenly act just like him on a bad day.

"He's so dead! No!…They're both dead! Just you wait until I've got my hands on them!" growled Urd, clenching her fists to the point where she was visibly shaking from anger. "And you! Why are you grinning like that?"

"Because I never thought you'd be this overprotective," admitted Tyr, as he found his daughter's face mere inches away from his. "You almost sound like a mother who's worried about her wayward daughter."

"Sock it, dad! I'm trying to be serious here!"

'Dad huh? Well, well… what do you know?' Noticing Urd turn around to leave, Tyr grabbed her by the back of her dress and despite his avatar's childlike appearance, he managed to stop her. "I think that's enough, Urd. You of all immortals should know not to judge a book by its cover. Freyr may have a reputation due to his assignment as the god of fertility, but in reality he's not some womanizer. As a matter of fact, if you get to know him, I assure you that he's a pretty decent guy. Besides, just what kind of a god would you like to be your sister's boyfriend?"

"Um… well…" Truth to be told, Urd had no idea how to answer that question, and nor had she put any thought on the matter. Even though she liked to think herself of a matchmaker of sorts, she only tried to help others get closer, instead of finding them potential love interests. Which was surprisingly difficult, especially when it came to family members.

"You never thought about it," concluded Tyr with a satisfied grin on his face. "But that's alright, Urd. It's not a demoness' forte to bring couples together in happy marriage. Perhaps incite them to get to know each other in that way, but definitely not to spread love around. Although to be perfectly fair, more that half of the self proclaimed love goddesses have a success ratio so low that sometimes makes me wonder if they're deliberately trying to mess around with other people's relationships because most of them are single. Or, as they say… forever alone."

"You know… for a god -and for the leader of them too- you're surprisingly snarky and sarcastic when it comes down to it. I thought that my mother preferred cute and lovable idiots, not sardonic jerkasses," laughed Urd, but for some reason her father didn't seem to mind her.

Despite exaggerating a bit on purpose, it was a good opportunity for Tyr to make his daughter think of him in a more positive light than her stereotypical views of him as a tired, serious and utterly boring bureaucrat. Not that it didn't also feel nice to talk to her without worrying about things like political correctness, since Urd wouldn't really care about that anyway. Yet the best part was that for once, his daughter didn't seem to mind spending time with him, instead of treating the whole thing like a chore. "Well, I did attract your mother, didn't I? However, that's not important right now. I believe that we were talking about something else."

"Ah, yes…" said Urd, deciding that she had enough fun for the moment. Which… was a new experience for the Norn, at least as far as dealing with her father was concerned. "We still have those lovebirds to worry about. So… any ideas?"

"Not really. After all, if I knew how to deal with that blasted Test, then things would've been different." There was a clear hint of bitterness in Tyr's voice, and for once the Norn didn't offer him some witty response. "What I do know for sure is that as long as you interfere in Belldandy's life, there won't be any progress. She and Keiichi need to grow as a couple by facing hardships together, and while it's normally a good thing to give them a hand, in this particular case it can become a problem. During their Test, they won't have that luxury, so, it's important to develop a strong bond between them."

"I get what you're trying to say, but Belldandy isn't used to be on her own. She likes to have others around her -Skuld especially- and to suddenly push her away to spend time with Keiichi… well, it sounds more of a punishment to me than doing her a favor. Not to mention that Skuld won't like that a bit, and to be absolutely honest with you, neither I will," admitted Urd, despite her reluctance to sound soft. "This is the first time in years that we've got to live together, and to waste that… I dunno… it sounds wrong to me."

"In my defense, I never said it was going to be easy. And let's not even mention anything about Hagall, who's in a much worse position than Belldandy. As I can personally attest, long distance relationships have a severe disadvantage when it comes to the Judgment Test."

Letting out a long sigh, Urd's shoulders slumped as the realization sank in; her sisters were in a much worse situation than she had expected. Or perhaps, that had always been the case, but Urd simply pushed those thoughts out of the way, dismissing everything with an everything's gonna be fine attitude, despite that it was most likely a classic case of denial. "So this is it, huh? We can't do anything other than wait for the inevitable conclusion to their relationships?"

Lowering his gaze, Tyr's avatar remained silent for a few seconds, before he offered his daughter a hesitant nod. "I'm afraid that there are no easy ways out of this situation, and even if they try spending time together, there are no guarantees that it'll make a difference in the long run."

However, before Urd could reply, another one did that for her; a voice that came from inside the cupboard, catching both father and daughter by surprise. "No, considering who you're talking about, it's merely going to increase their stress level."

Although he would deny it later on, Tyr's scream was even louder than Urd's, as neither of them expected someone to be there, let alone interrupt them. Yet considering just who that voice belonged to, it was no surprise that he decided to poke his nose into this matter.

"LOKI!" shouted Tyr's avatar as soon as he let go of his daughter, after spending a good couple of seconds holding onto her for dear life, not unlike a frightened child would do with his mother or elder sister. "How did you bypass my spell?"

"Uh… technically speaking, I was here before you cast it," said the trickster god as he poked his head from his hiding place, behind a jar full of jam. Jumping onto the floor, Loki resumed his original size and then took his time to dust himself, much to Tyr's chagrin. "Now, where was I?..."

"The point where you were about to leave, I hope?" offered Tyr, narrowing his eyes at his troublesome adopted brother, only for Urd to stop him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, let's hear him out first. Uncle Loki's ideas may cause a lot of problems, but there are times when they prove to be effective," said Urd, earning a groan from her father. Especially as the aforementioned god of mischief grinned like an idiot; just to annoy Tyr even further.

"Fine…" said the Daitenkaicho, and then turned to his smiling brother. "Let's see what you can come up with. But I'm warning you, Loki… If this turns out to be a practical joke, I won't be happy. Did I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly. Now where to begin?…"

XXX

Visiting a spa was one the things her fellow goddesses loved to do, and yet Lind deemed as a huge waste of time. At least for mortals there was some hygienic element to the whole concept that Lind could understand, but for an immortal, it was just a totally pointless activity. So much as a matter of fact, that the Valkyrie often chided her subordinates whenever they dared bring the topic in her presence.

Boy, was she wrong about it. So… utterly… wrong. 'Good Heavens… YES!'

It was a good thing that she had a warm towel covering her face, or the whole experience would've been an utterly embarrassing one for the poor warrior, who experienced the joys of foot massage for the first time in her immortal life. And that was far from the only service the Valkyrie got to sample, with pedicure and manicure being the next best thing she didn't knew that existed until she actually tried it. Unfortunately though, the towel did little to muffle her content sighs.

"Are you alright over there, Lind?" asked Freya, as she looked up from across the room, where the blonde goddess received her own beauty treatment.

"Yes! I mean… yes ma'am!" said Lind, even though it came out a lot more enthusiastic at first, than the blue haired warrior would've wanted.

"In that case, how about we go back to pool and soak for a bit longer?" suggested Freya with a smile, even though she knew that her subordinate wasn't looking at her; and even if she did, Lind was simply too distracted to pay attention to her. 'Well…would you look at that! For someone who objected so vocally, you sure are enjoying this nearly as much as everyone else. Or come to think of it… a lot more than most would…'

"Actually, I'd like that, Freya-sama," replied Lind with a ghost of a smile.

Yet Freya wasn't going to look at a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak, and offered Lind a warm smile. "Excellent! Just follow me, then, Lind."

Offering a nod, the blissful goddess did her best to go after her superior as she felt surprisingly lightheaded. Which was something totally unexpected for Lind, given that she could take harsh training sessions without much of an issue, and yet right now she was struggling to remain focused. So much, as a matter of fact, that when Freya took a turn to their pool, Lind simply went on, until she finally reached the pool on the far end of the corridor.

Entering it under the assumption that this was the same one she and Freya had used several minutes earlier, the Valkyrie paid little attention to the somewhat startled brunette who was already soaking in the water. It actually seemed that the warrior was so distracted, that she became totally oblivious of her surroundings at the time being, with her body almost moving in a mechanical fashion as she removed her towel before entering the water.

For several seconds, Peorth simply stared at Lind, almost expecting this to be a trick of some sorts. She had just returned from the Daitenkaicho's office, after filing her report about the whole 'Queen Sayoko' debacle, as it was unofficially dubbed, and the rose goddess desperately needed some R&R. Which was exactly why she chose her favorite spa in Asgard, yet Peorth had no idea that Lind also appreciated such establishments.

Although it was part of a goddess' daily routine to bathe, the exact method of doing so was up to each individual's discretion, which in most cases involved nothing more than a quick shower. Of course, there were few who indulged themselves in daily visits to spas or onsens, but for the vast majority of the celestial population such luxuries were a bit of a special thing, which was exactly the reason why Peorth was here today.

Interestingly enough though, the Valkyrie was still oblivious as to who the other goddess in the pool was, given that as soon as she entered the water and took a seat, the warrior leaned against the pool's rim and closed her eyes, basking in the warm sensation of the natural spring water. Even after a whole minute of awkward silence, Peorth saw no hints in Lind's body language to indicate that the blue haired goddess was aware that something was amiss. Or rather, that she was sharing a relatively small pool with someone other than a fellow Valkyrie. At least amongst the war goddesses it wasn't exactly uncommon to bathe together in onsens, since the whole thing promoted camaraderie and allowed them to familiarize with each other, and to a degree, create the feeling that they all belonged in the same 'family' of sorts.

'Well, that's an interesting situation… Should I tell her, or wait for her to find out on her own?' mused Peorth as she simply stood there and watched Lind, struggling to resist the urge to poke her nose with a vine and see how she would react to such input. It was totally out of character, and not to mention immature to extend one of her angel's thorned vines and carefully aim for the Valkyrie's nose… yet… that's exactly what she was currently doing; much to her own shame. 'Hold still… just a bit more…'

Inches away from its target, the vine was intercepted by the war goddess' hand, when centuries old instincts caused her to lash out and grab the incoming threat, even as Lind herself seemed rather startled by the fact that there was a threat in the first place. "What the?!... Wait… PEORTH?!"

"Um… hi." It certainly came a lot weaker than she would've preferred, although given how immature she may appeared at the moment, Peorth wasn't nearly as confident as she normally was. "I just tried to poke you, since… you seemed unaware about my present?" While technically not a lie, Peorth did her best to go around the topic, stating only the facts without directly admitting that she was attempting to pull a prank on her.

However, Lind was primarily preoccupied with the fact that she was staring at a naked Peorth, and not to mention that she too was in a similar state of undress. Which left her with the very important question as to how she was going to handle the whole situation. 'In other words… fight or flee?' Letting out a sigh, Lind decided that fleeing wasn't her style and released the vine that Peorth immediately retracted and then relaxed, trying to change the topic. "How did you go with your report?"

"Oh, I had no problems," said Peorth with a bit of a smile in an effort to regain her composure. "Sure, I've noticed that Tyr-sama wasn't all too pleased at times, but… he was kind of distracted for some reason. Although, he's always busy, so… I cannot say that it definitely had to do anything with me."

"Well, that's definitely a good thing." Taking a deep breath, Lind had something she really wanted another opinion about, especially after talking to Freya. "Peorth, can I ask you something?"

"Hm? What is it, Lind?"

"Am I… a workaholic?"

There was a long pause, as the rose goddess found herself in the rather unpleasant situation of having to break the news to the apparently oblivious Valkyrie. "Uh… you're very… dedicated. That's for sure. Although it would've been nice if you had fun once in a while."

"In other words, that's a yes," mused Lind, furrowing her brows, while Peorth fidgeted around, trying to come up with something nice to say. However, before the rose goddess had the chance to utter a single word, Lind had already made up her mind. "If that's the case, then how can I become more… fun?"

Scratching her chin in thought, Peorth made a mental list of all the things she could come up with, and that's when she realized just how little she actually knew about her. "For starters, why don't you tell me your interests? Anything other than fighting, that is." The deafening silence that followed actually made the rose goddess wince and feel a bit bad for asking something like that without thinking. "Alright… let's try this; we'll start with your wardrobe and-"

"Peorth, I don't want to sound rude, but, I emphatically refuse to walk around in a bikini," said Lind, although she did regret how harsh she must've sounded.

Which did little to deter Peorth; far from it, actually. As a matter of fact, the rose goddess never intended to try something like that on Lind. Until now, that is. "One day…"

"Huh?"

"Just try my style for one day, and then we'll see if you dislike it as much as you apparently do," said Peorth, crossing her arms in defiance. "I'm tired sick of everyone making fun of my elegant look, just because they don't quite get it!"

"Uh…"

"Just for one day!" repeated Peorth, before Lind had much of a chance to say anything. "Besides, what's the worst that would happen? It's definitely not the first time you're wearing a bikini and in the process you could learn something new, too!"

'Like what? The fact that I need to cover my behind?' wondered Lind, but remained silent, mostly due to the fact that she did actually end up insulting Peorth, even though that wasn't her initial intention. And in a situation like this, offering a simple 'sorry' wasn't going to cut it. "Fine… Just for one day."

"Wait… you're gonna do it?" asked the astonished Peorth, who could hardly believe her ears, already expecting a flat out no.

"Yes, but only as long as I pick the attire. I'm not going to put on just about anything you might come up. And while we're at it, how about you show me what you do on an average day?"

"That would be… quite nice actually!" said Peorth with a hesitant smile that just grew wider by every passing second. "Let's do it, then!"

Offering a nod, Lind reached for her towel, and while she was as calm and stoic on the outside, the same couldn't be said about her thoughts.

'What have I gotten myself into?'

XXX

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Although coming from you, I shouldn't be surprised..." Crossing his arms, Tyr's avatar scoffed at his adopted brother and resident troublemaker of Asgard, who once again came up with an utterly ridiculous idea.

"Don't be so dismissive, Tyr! Just think about it, and you'll see that I'm right! If Belldandy marries Keiichi in an earthly ceremony, they can start adjusting to a married life, which in most cases is quite different than the earlier phases of a relationship. Now, providing that they won't get too physical to trigger the whole Test thing, that could allow them to grow as a couple and by the time they'll have to face the Test, their chances of success will be considerably higher. At least compared to what they have right now," said Loki, glancing over to Urd for support, who unlike her father, was actually considering that idea.

"If we do that, then chances are that they'll trigger the Test too soon," insisted Tyr. "Then what? We might as well ask them to pass the Test right now, and you know how well that's going to work; or not. Besides, even if they agree to… keep a safe distance, for a married couple that could end up ruining their relationship, since they'll be afraid to approach each other, as anything could bring the Judgment Gate at their doorstep."

"Who said it's gonna be easy? It's already bad enough, but at least I came up with something that might work, unlike you mister pessimist," said Loki as his voice became progressively more sarcastic towards the end. "Because I've heard your previous conversation with Urd and your… let's say… idea is a disaster in the making."

"I say it's worth the shot." Breaking the silence, Urd caught both gods' attention, although Tyr didn't appear as excited as Loki. Which prompted Urd to go on. "I know it's far from the ideal solution, but in this case… there's no ideal solution. So it's better to try and fail, rather than fail because you haven't tried doing anything at all."

"You almost sound like your mother." Letting out a sigh, Tyr finally admitted defeat and decided that arguing with them was a lost cause. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean that he wasn't going to go on the offensive and come up with a counter argument of his own. "So, when are you going to tell them about this idea? I mean, considering that it involves a marriage, you can't just drop this on them without prior warning. After all, they need to invite their friends, and in Keiichi's case… his family too. Plus, someone has to explain that masterpiece of a plan to Skuld, and also come up with something for the poor couple to do in their wedding night, since the most obvious of things will be out of question. Oh, and once you tell Skuld, don't forget to inform Ansuz, too."

This caused Urd and her adopted uncle to visibly wince at the prospect of telling the news to either goddess, as both Skuld and her mother would definitely disapprove such an experiment, albeit for different reasons each. Still, it was undeniable that Tyr had a point, especially when it came to Keiichi's friends and family, who would definitely have no idea about the true nature of his 'marriage' to Belldandy, adding more pressure to the couple than it was probably necessary. After all, if they had to keep a distance to avoid triggering the Gate, then someone was bound to notice and start wondering if there's a problem in the relationship and how they could fix it. In other words… it was a huge mess just waiting to happen.

Still, this was the Norn of the past, Tyr was dealing with, and if there was one thing she was known for, that was her obstinacy. "Right… In that case, how about we pick a wedding dress for Bell?"

"Let me take back my previous statement," said Tyr with a groan. "You're worse than your mother."

"Thanks dad!" chirped the half demoness, earning a chuckle from her uncle. Although her father was far from impressed, judging from the pointing stare he was giving her.

"I wasn't praising you," said Tyr in a deadpan voice, trying his best to ignore Loki. Dealing with his troublemaker of a daughter was already hard enough, without the other troublemaker added in the mix. "And I may be repeating myself here, but trying to pull such a stunt is going to cause more issues than its merits. Humans have many expectations when it comes to marriages and throwing all that pressure on their shoulders will add more stress than anything else. To begin with, Keiichi isn't ready to find a job, and as far as mortals are concerned, he's not ready to provide for his family."

"Fine! How about an engagement, then?" offered Urd as an alternative. "It's close enough and won't put nearly as much strain on them. At least it's going to give them a chance to take their relationship a lot more serious, without everyone else impose their expectations onto them. Sounds better?"

"Hm… I suppose it could work," said Tyr with some hesitation, although it was uncertain whether it was due to him having some concerns about that idea, or the fact that he was essentially going to follow one of Loki's suggestions. "Still, it's not going to be easy to convince them, so, I hope you can handle it. And try not to have Skuld blow the whole city into bits."

"Don't worry, I'll manage," said Urd dismissively, even though she knew just how hard this was going to be. "So, how about we go and pick some rings for them?"

"No, I think that even if this is our idea, they're the ones to pick the rings," said Tyr with a shake of his head. However, no sooner than he uttered those words, the Daitenkaicho's lips curled up in a grin. "Although, we can pick a nice dress for your wedding, Urd."

Which… proved to be more than enough to send his daughter running for her life. Or at the very least try to, because as she found out, the spell her father put on the treehouse also prevented anyone from leaving it without his permission.

'Oh no! I'm so screwed!'

XXX

Wearing pink and black two piece bikini with the triangle shaped cleavage cutout, along with a replica of Peorth's belts… or whatever that thing was supposed to be anyway, undeniably not her style at all. And to add more to the peculiarity of the whole situation were the odd stares the blue haired Valkyrie was getting from pretty much everyone. Whether it was due to her choice of a bikini, or simply the fact that she decided to adapt Peorth's unique style, the vast majority of the celestials she ran across, couldn't help but openly stare at her. Which only made Lind self conscious of what she was currently wearing. "Peorth, can I ask something?"

"Hm? Of course you can, Lind." Unlike her nervous friend, the rose goddess was strolling around as if everything was fine. Although in all honesty, with everyone else already used to her eccentric style, few even bothered to make too much of a big deal about her attire anymore.

"What's the purpose of this thing you're wearing?" asked Lind, tugging at her own replica of the same gravity defying belt around her. "You constantly wear this, but I don't see any function to it. In that case, are they just for looks?"

"Yes and no. You see, although I could technically go without it, doing so would've made everyone think that I'm just wearing a bikini, instead of my official robes," said Peorth with a smile, until… she noticed the dubious look on Lind's face. "What?"

"Peorth… even with the belt, it's still a bikini. It's the same argument as trying to call your panties something else, if you put on a belt over them. They'd still underwear, and this is a bikini, regardless of whether you wear something else along with it or not," said Lind as she pointed at her own attire.

Yet Peorth didn't seem to take offense, as she had already gotten used at other celestials criticizing her choice of clothing. "I beg to differ. For instance, have you seen the kind of attires certain athletes in Midgard wear? They're eerily similar to swimwear, yet they're not classified as such. Additionally, the names and roles of certain articles of clothing had changed over the ages. Who knows, maybe in a few centuries a lot more immortals will wear outfits like mine!"

'Good Heavens no!' Thankfully for Lind, her stoic personality allowed her to hide her inner thoughts behind a calm and collected facade, offering nothing more than a nod to blissfully oblivious Peorth. Although she could tolerate the idea of most goddesses in bikinis, the sight of most gods in similar attires was stuff of nightmares. And to avoid visualizing some of them, with Loki as the worst of examples, Lind did her best to change the subject, before she ended up needing a memory suppression potion. "So, what should we do next?"

"Well, for starters we need you some new clothes; and by that I don't mean bikinis," said Peorth with a pointed look, just to make sure that the Valkyrie wouldn't start arguing again. "You know… civilian clothes. Then we can see if we can find some type of music you might like and get you a few albums, or even try to find something else you might enjoy. Books, magazines, movies, puzzles, anything! We can even try several types of games you might enjoy, like video games or even the old school board variety. Those are especially fun if you play them with others."

Others. In Lind's mind it was obvious that the word Peorth was most likely going for was friends, but given how few the Valkyrie had at the time being, she probably chose something more neutral. "I don't see why I should buy games that require others to play with. I'm not a very… sociable goddess."

"Well, for starters I can play them with you! And I think that it's about time you start socializing, too! It's such a shame that a nice goddess like you stays clear of everyone else. I'm sure that once you open up to others, you'll find many people that might be interested to become your friends. Just trust me on that."

Friends. For whatever reason, Lind kind of liked the sound of that, even though she had never really considered this as a priority for her. But then again, her obsession to get her second angel to emerge kind of defined her everyday life, as well as the primary reason why she pushed others away. Lind simply didn't have the time for frivolous things like chatting with others goddesses about the latest developments in Asgard, or even what was taking place in the mortal realm. Still the idea of having others accept her the way she was sounded surprisingly appealing to the otherwise solitary Valkyrie, and considering that one of them was standing in front of her, it made Lind smile a bit. "Perhaps I might try just that; having friends, that is. Although I'm a pretty boring goddess with no interests outside of combat and from what I've been told, a terrible cook."

"Rubbish! You're a pretty fun goddess once you open up to others and being able to cook means absolutely nothing!" said Peorth in such a forceful manner that caught Lind slightly off guard. "I know a lot goddesses who are great chefs, yet terrible friends."

"That may be, but you shouldn't try stretching the truth so much, lest you end up telling a lie. Although I appreciate your supportive words, I'm far from a fun goddess. Pretty boring maybe, but definitely not fun," said Lind with a slight frown, only for her eyes to widen in shock and confusion when Peorth grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Just look at you right now! Would a boring goddess humor my request? I think not; yet here you are wearing a pink bikini that even displays some cleavage! YOU of all goddesses picked a bikini that doesn't look like something a granny would wear, and even has a triangle cutout to show off some skin! I'm totally impressed, Lind!" said Peorth with a huge smile that caused her Valkyrie friend to reconsider, and slowly return the smile. "There, that's so much better! You know… you really have a beautiful smile, so, try doing that a lot more, Lind."

For a moment, the Valkyrie was taken aback from the sheer shock of hearing something like that, and she was almost certain that her cheeks were absolutely red from embarrassment since she wasn't used to such compliments. "Thank you, Peorth. You're... beautiful too." Of course having completely forgotten to mention that she was talking about her smile, rather than Peorth in general, it took her a few moments to notice that one of Asgard's most outgoing goddess had turned beet red.

However, before the whole misunderstanding was resolved, a voice from their right caught the goddesses' attention, especially as neither noticed anyone approach them. "Hey, what are you staring each other for? Isn't that the time when people go all smooch smooch and touchy feely?"

Turning sharply to the source of the unexpected interruption, the two goddesses found none other than Fenrir staring back at them with what they assumed to be a rather bemused expression; as neither of them was a canine behavioral psychologist anyway. Unfortunately for said canine, one was a Valkyrie and the other a… whip enthusiast… which kind of seemed a bad choice of targets for Fenrir to tease, but it was already too late to recall his previous statement. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he's been stuck waiting for hours outside the shop where his creator and the Daitenkaicho took Urd for picking a wedding dress for her, and in the absence of anything interesting to do, he found those two as a viable source of entertainment.

"Uh… why are you looking at me like that?"

Suffice to say… that was a grave mistake.

XXX

"No, not happening, I'm NOT wearing this!"

Even watching her reflection on the mirror proved enough for Urd's eyes to hurt, as the ridiculously cutesy dress her father picked for her was something that maybe Belldandy would've approved; but not her. The Daimakaicho's daughter wasn't going to wear something more fit for a fairytale princess, than a powerful and seductive demoness like herself.

Although whether Tyr failed to understand her concerns, or simply tried to pull her leg along with the help of his adopted brother, that was up for anyone's guess. "What's your problem with it? I think it really suits you quite nicely."

As much as Urd wanted to blast her father with a well aimed bolt of lightning, the Norn had to show some restraint, considering that she was right in the middle of his realm. So, the next best thing she could do was to fix him a glare and then cross her arms in front of her. "Of course it does! Anything would look great on my body, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to wear them too! For beginners, I'm not wearing a wedding dress that shows nothing below my neck, and on top of it… it's filled with… pink bows! They're frigging everywhere!" complained the half demoness as she pointed at the offending decorations, although her father didn't seem as sympathetic to her plea.

"So what? Your adopted sister is a full blooded demoness and she still likes bows. Additionally, your wedding is a very important event, so you might as well dress up for the occasion. And when I say dress, I definitely don't mean undress," said Tyr, putting a lot of emphasis behind the last word. "Demoness or not, you still have to be presentable for the ceremony, instead of showing up dressed like a stripper."

"Excuse me, but the standard wedding dress for goddesses is a strapless thing that goes this low!" said Urd, indicating the point right above her bustline. "And it goes even lower in the back! So, why am I supposed to wear something even less revealing than the average goddess would?"

Letting out a frustrated sigh, given the stubbornness of his daughter, Tyr decided that a less direct approach was preferable. "Because this is the same style that your mother wanted for… well… our wedding. Not that it happened, as you probably know already, but… she did think that for the first night to be exciting, she had to wear something special underneath the dress too." Pausing for a moment to clear his throat and give his adopted brother a warning glance, to avoid any unnecessary comments, Tyr moved on with his reasoning. "Surely if you also want to impress your girlfriend with a fine choice of lingerie, pray tell me how you're going to keep them a secret if you choose a particularly revealing dress. Well?"

"Alright, you've got a point there, dad. Although… something tells me that this is just an excuse you came up on the spot to fool me into wearing this," said Urd with a slight grin, much to Tyr's chagrin. "What? You think I don't know that you can tell a lie? After all, I had seen mom's wedding dress, and it's nothing like this."

For a moment, Tyr's avatar almost wanted to ask his daughter for more details, yet he knew that even if he got them, it would've only make him feel worse about the whole outcome of his relationship with Hild. Perhaps that was exactly why he persisted so much for Urd to have the best wedding ceremony possible, even though she was probably correct about failed his attempts to come up with something classy for her to wear. Then again, he should've asked Ansuz for some advice before attempting to pick something for Urd, but at the same time, he really wanted to do something for his daughter instead of assigning that task to someone else. As it tends to happen in such cases though, good intentions alone don't always equate success, and Tyr had to admit defeat before his daughter decided that she had better things to do than humor him. "Fine, I suppose you have a point there. In that case, how about we try something a bit different? This time we can go with some more… typical designs. How does that sound to you?"

"Actually, I'd like that," replied Urd in an effort not to salvage the situation and not end up ruining the first thing she had even done with her father. After all, he was the Daitenkaicho, not a fashion designer, so expecting him to come up with something she'd like on the first try was essentially a bit too unrealistic. "So, what's next?"

"Well, how about we start with the regular design and then tweak it a bit? You know… modify the color, add a few decorations you might like… that sort of thing," said Tyr, and this time he actually got his daughter to crack a smile.

Before the glass door cracked in a loud fashion, attracting the everyone's attention, when Fenrir came rushing towards his creator. "Boss! HELP!"

It was a scene that defied any logical explanation, as not one but two furious goddesses chased after the hastily retreating wolf pup, and that wasn't even the strangest part. What actually made everyone stare in stunned disbelief was that one of them happened to be none other than Lind, the dreaded One Winged Angel… in a bikini. A pink and black two piece bikini, and the rest of what seemed to be a replica of Peorth's harness like belt. Which totally contradicted anything they knew about the otherwise reserved and stoic Valkyrie and caused even Loki's jaw to drop from the sheer absurdity of it all.

"Come back here, you!" snarled the Valkyrie, her trusted battle axe at hand as she relentlessly pursued her target, until Fenrir managed to dive under a clothes' rack for protection, trying to get closer to Loki's position. But as she was about to move around the obstacle and intercept the troublemaker, Lind came to an abrupt halt and looked over her shoulder. Somehow during that whole scene she must've gotten in front of her unwitting audience and crouched down to yank Fenrir out of his hiding place; which put her in a very compromising position.

And while everyone else hesitated to become the first to comment about the Valkyrie's attire, Urd had no such reservations. And she even started by giving her a nice, loud wolf whistle. "Why hello there, captain! What a magnificent view! I never thought you had it in you, but boy I'm so happy I was wrong!"

Shooting straight up from the floor, Lind hastily turned around to face her nemesis, although this time she had no retort to offer. Unlike most of their past interactions where the Valkyrie had something to say about the Norn's ridiculous comments, this time she was the one being ridiculous. And as if this wasn't already bad enough, Lind was also in the presence of Loki -of all possible gods- and even worse, the Daitenkaicho himself. 'Dear Heavens, this will go down in my permanent record! Being the One Winged Angel is one thing but now… I'll become known as the One Winged Exhibitionist...'

Sensing her friend's distraught, Peorth moved in to offer the much needed explanations. "It's my fault! I've asked her to try my idea of doing something fun, and… this is the end result."

"Well, it was about time our good captain tried something fun for a change." Tyr's statement not only caught everyone by surprise, given his own status, but also prompted Fenrir to poke his head out of his hiding place and offer some additional information from his own observations.

"You said it! They were totally in for some good fun! Smooch smooch style!" said the overjoyed wolf pup, causing Lind's face to lose all color, and at this point even Peorth had a similar reaction. Although for the first time in a long while, Lind not only recovered from her stupor, but came back with a vengeance. "Hush you fleabag!"

"I don't have fleas! And you totally have the hots for miss pantsu" barked the dreaded wolf back at the furious Valkyrie, and… infuriated yet another goddess. One who preferred to be associated with roses, rather than… undergarments.

"What did you call me, you mangy dog?!" demanded Peorth, and much to her satisfaction, that little insult seemed to work just fine.

"I'm a WOLF, not a dog!"

The lord of Asgard pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance from the absurdity of it all. Yet to a certain degree, this whole situation did bring back memories of the past, when a troublemaker of a demoness he used to hang around had the bad habit of causing similar scenes. 'And then she would just sit back and laugh at the expense of her unwitting victims. Heh… typical Hild…' Casting a glance to the one person who most resembled her, Tyr was kind of pleased to find Urd chuckling to herself at the sight of her uncle trying to save his most famous -or infamous, depending on one's point of view- creation from the agitated goddesses. He knew that as her father, and not to mention, the Daitenkaicho, Tyr should've frowned at her behavior and try to set her straight. Yet part of him was happy to see that mischievous part of Hild in their daughter.

Noticing the glance she was getting from her father, Urd turned to properly look at him and then grinned. "You know what? If Lind can wear something like that, then I can wear a wedding dress like this! Just let me change the color of the bows, since they kind of burn my eyes and might even send Mara running for the hills if she catches a glimpse of them in their current state."

"Are you sure about that, Urd?" asked the somewhat startled Tyr, as it was a bit too unexpected for his daughter to simply change her mind that easily. "It's your wedding, after all. Don't let my silly ramblings ruin your moment."

"Nah… I kind of like this dress actually, it's just that… I dunno wanted it more revealing?" said Urd with a shrug. "But then again, it would've looked exactly like most of the rest of the stuff I wear, so… I might as well make it special; and classy."

Daitenkaicho or not, it was hard not to smile when he heard such a nice thing from someone who used to avoid him for most of her life. Later he would claim that it was just some pollen from Peorth's flower attacks that got in his eyes that caused those tears, yet it wasn't all that important for the time being. He had another daughter, or at least she was no longer shunning him like she did in the past and that demanded a hug; one that the Norn actually returned and not nearly as reluctantly as she would've in the past.

"Alright, how about we save poor uncle Loki, before those two get him?" said Urd with a wink. "He may be a royal pain in backside, but he is family, right?"

"That he is," admitted Tyr, before he let go of his daughter and cleared his throat. "Alright, knock it off you two. That's more than enough."

Coming to an abrupt halt, the two goddesses immediately put some distance between themselves and Fenrir, as well as Loki who let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the storm had passed. Until all four -with Fenrir included- openly stared at the half demoness next to Tyr, causing the latter to follow their intent gaze and find that in the few seconds he took his eyes off of his daughter, she more or less came up with her own version of the Peorth outfit. Which… in her case consisted of a daring golden bikini, and went even as far as create a modified belt harness made out of black leather with a golden triangular motif similar to the one found on her official robes etched on it.

"Urd! I didn't stop them, so you can just tease them instead! And I won't hear a word either!"

"Aww… that sucks!"

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

There are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

First of all, although Belldandy and Keiichi weren't featured in this particular chapter, some of the topics discussed above will have an impact on Urd's efforts to get those two closer in the next chapters. That, and I really wanted to have something with her and Tyr in this story, since unlike the canon series, Urd grew up with her mother and rarely even got to interact with her father.

Don't worry though, Belldandy and Keiichi will be the main focus on the next chapter.

Now as far as Hagall is concerned, the choice of having Freyr as her secret boyfriend was kind of inspired by the Norse legends, where Freyr fell in love with Gerdr, a female Jotunn and allegedly the most beautiful woman in the world. Which in some ways resembles the situation Hagall is in this particular story, but more about her will be revealed in the next chapters.

Lind's bikini is actually part of the official artwork of the series, as she's actually depicted in something very similar to that (sans the belt of course), although it should also be noted that she was never seen inside the manga wearing it.

As this will be most certainly the last chapter of the year (with the next one likely to be released on January), I'd like to wish everyone happy holidays and a happy new year!

Oh, and as a final little thing! With this chapter, and according to 's statistics, I've broke the one million word count (with all my stories combined)!Thank you everyone for your continued support that kept me motivated to keep on going!