A/N: You guys apparently liked the fluff? So here's some fluff. We're not going to be jumping into the Apollo Familia War straight off the bat. I think we can all use some nice, relaxing character dynamics after everything.

Chapter 17: Return

The good thing about homes was that they rarely, ever changed. The Hostess of Familia looked exactly as Godou remembered. Mama Mia was wiping a mug at the counter when he came back. The waitresses were gossiping in the corner, with an excited Syr's voice being the loudest. He could hear his fellow chef, May, humming in the kitchen as she was preparing the ingredients needed for the evening.

They stopped what they were doing when he walked in.

Mama Mia grunted. "Welcome back, Godou. I hope you had fun."

He smiled at her. "I did," he said, and then hefted the large sack he was carrying and dumped it on to the table next to him. A dragon fang rolled out of it. "I brought souvenirs."

"Godou's back?" asked May, popping her head out of the kitchen door. When their eyes met, she let out a squeal and came bounding toward him, tackling him in a hug that stole his breath away from sheer surprise. "I'm glad you're safe," she said.

"I'm sorry for leaving all the work to you these past two weeks."

"It was fine," May said, letting go. "The customers complained my tonkatsu wasn't as good as yours."

"We'll have to fix that," Godou said.

Then May was almost shoved away by Syr, who went up to him and cupped his hands into her own.

"Is it true, Godou? Are you and Loki a thing? I heard there was a kiss, and lots of handholding, and a moving speech that brought everyone to tears!"

How? They'd been back for less than an hour. "And where did that last one come from?" he asked. "Nobody was crying."

Syr's eyes widened as she stumbled backwards. Her hand rose to cover a gasp. "It is true! Godou and Loki…Oh dear me, I have to tell someone!"

Then she was out the door.

"She's still on the clock," Mama Mia grumbled. Then she turned to him and grinned. "A goddess, huh. And Loki, no less. As expected of you, Godou. Any drinks she doesn't pay for will be coming from your paycheck."

Godou frowned. He'd have to pester Riveria to pay their Familia tab punctually from now on.

"Come on, Godou," May said, yanking on his shirt. She looked angry for some reason, refusing to meet his eyes. Her cat-ears twitched and her tail swished in the air agitatedly as she dragged him to the kitchen. "You've got a lot of dish-washing to catch up on."

Despite himself, Godou grinned. Some things never changed.

XxXxXxXxX

Godou was a on a short break. Somehow, instead of actually resting, he found himself sitting with the Loki Familia, who occupied more than half the Hostess in an obligatory celebration of the Expedition's success.

"What do you mean, you're not joining the Familia?" Loki said, her breath reeking of alcohol. "After everything we've gone through, you're still saying no?"

"Yep," Godou said. "I don't want to be an adventurer, Loki, and I really don't want to return to the Dungeon again. I like working here."

"You don't have to be an adventurer, or go back to the Dungeon," Loki said. "You can stay in the Familia house all day with me and do whatever you want!"

"Great," Finn said, "there'll be two of them."

There was a brief respite from Loki as she started scolding Finn. This felt nice. They were a good Familia—a real family. But he knew he could never be one of them. With Loki being the sole exception, he shared nothing in common with them. They were all thrill-seeking individuals who sought to challenge the impossible on a daily basis. Godou didn't want that kind of life.

"I think you just don't want to be with me," Loki said, crossing her arms.

Godou rolled his eyes. "I'm here sitting next to you, aren't I?"

That was an understatement. He and Loki were physically sharing a single seat—half his butt was hanging off the chair. The rest of the table was occupied by the core Expedition team. Their tense movements, lack of eye contact, and forced smiles told Godou all he needed to know. Most of them were still wary of him—more so than before. After what happened with Enyo, Godou couldn't blame them. And they still didn't know what a Campione was.

"It's different," Loki said. "We're a lovey-dovey couple now. We're supposed to hold hands wherever we go, and you're supposed to buy me stuff and treat me like a princess, and we're supposed to be living in the same house!"

That sounded like it came from one of Liliana's books. Judging by how she was reacting to everyone's looks, Loki was only starting to realize how silly she sounded.

"I clearly need to do more research," Loki said. "Hestia must have lied to me."

Godou didn't think a goddess famous for staying a virgin was the right person to ask about relationships. Between him and Loki, he reluctantly admitted he probably had more experience in these kinds of things, and he needed to set the tone. "It's okay, Loki. We'll take things slow. Nobody's going anywhere."

"That's not true," Loki said. "We're going to Melen."

"What? Where's that?"

"It's a port city nearby. It has a beach. You know what that means, right? Swimsuits! We leave in two days."

"Sounds nice," Godou said. "Have fun, guys." It was good for the Familia to take a break together—they could use a vacation.

"Thanks, Godou. We will," Finn said.

"That's right. You and I are—wait! What do you mean, have fun? You're coming with us!"

"No, I'm not," Godou said. "I've already missed two weeks of work. I can't miss more, and there's no way Mama Mia is going to let me, anyway."

"But…but… Swimsuits!"

"Next time, Loki," Godou said. When the goddess began to look heartbroken, and Godou's chest tightened at seeing her lips quiver, he added, "and it'll only be you and me, too."

A warmth spread through him when Loki instantly brightened up. "I'll hold you to that."

Godou hoped he wouldn't regret his words. But Loki's hand wrapped around his under the table, and he had a feeling that things would turn out just fine.

XxXxXxXxX

The best thing about having a normal job, Godou decided, was being able to return home at the same time—more or less—every day. On a good day, he could reach home at midnight. On the busiest, he'd stumble through his door exhausted, some time after four in the morning. Barring the Loki Familia, business today was average. He'd gotten off at two and looked forward to sleeping in his own bed for the first time in what felt like forever.

His hours were odd by regular standards, but that came with working in a tavern. But at least they were predictable.

What wasn't predictable was Loki waiting on the other side when he swung his door open.

'Welcome back, Godou!" she chimed. "Would you like a bath? Or some food Instead? Or maybe you'd like—"

Godou slammed the door back shut.

A few seconds later, he reopened it. Loki was still standing there, a bright smile on her face, with her eyes pressed into thin lines.

"How did you find this place, Loki?"

Even Godou had difficulty finding home sometimes. It was a small unit on the second floor of a narrow backalley on a street filled with narrow backalleys, and the only reason he'd found it while house-hunting was because he'd gotten lost.

"I asked Syr."

That explained it, even though he was sure he hadn't told Syr either. "What are you doing here?" he asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"Well, if you're not going to live with me, then I'm going to live with you!" Loki declared. "But man, this place is kind of a dump."

Godou frowned. Sure, it was spartan, with nothing in the main room except a sofa and a table. And maybe the view could have been better—staring at a grey slab of wall through his only window could be depressing at times. But this was his home; it was his dump.

He sighed and entered. Loki closed the door after him. He could already tell that nothing short of brute force would chase the goddess away, and Godou wasn't sure his apartment could survive that kind of firepower being tossed around.

"I'm going to take a bath," Godou said. "And when I come out Loki, you'd better be wearing something more than just an apron."

XxXxXxXxX

It turned out Loki had asked Syr for more than just his address. Once Godou told her never to ask Syr for any kind of advice again, he made a mental note to murder the girl when he saw her at work later.

"Where are you going?" Loki asked. She was lying on his bed, which was small and narrow and could not possibly fit the two of them while giving them a good night's sleep. She'd scooted all the way to the edge, pressing her body against the wall to make more room.

"I'm sleeping on the couch," Godou said. "You can have my bed."

Loki stared up at him with disbelief. "What happened to making out and the stuff that comes after? You know, just because I'm bad at this love stuff doesn't mean I'm clueless about everything. I was pretty wild in Heaven; I know how things work."

"I…" Godou paused. He wanted to do it. He was a man, and his instincts were telling him to just dive into the bed with Loki and do all kinds of things. But the same four faces kept popping up in his mind, and after the stunt Enyo pulled, he realized that even after a hundred years, the scars of losing them were still fresh. "I can't. Not yet."

Loki's face softened. "It's those four girls, isn't it? Ena, Liliana, Yuri, and Erica."

"You remember their names?"

"They seemed very important to you. So yes, I made sure to remember them."

"They were. They were the most important part of my life. And when I lost them, I lost myself. The years without them are a hazy blur to me. I wasn't alive, I just existed. When Death came for me, I welcomed Him with open arms. Then I came here, and it still feels a large part of me is missing."

"You still love them, don't you? The kind of love that I'm bad at."

"More than anything else in the world."

He wished Loki didn't look so hurt when he said it. She recoiled as if physically struck. But he didn't want to lie to her, or hide anything from her anymore. "I'm sorry," he said.

Loki kept quiet. For a long time, she seemed fixated with playing with her blanket, pulling and squeezing the fabric together. Godou sighed. It was time to call it a night, anyway.

"Tell me about them," Loki said. "What were they like? What made them angry, what made them laugh? They must have been amazing people, if you still love them to this day."

Godou hesitated. Loki was lying on her side, but she looked determined. Finally, he sat next to Loki. "The day I met Erica was the day I became a Campione…"

He told her. Everything he could remember, even the things he didn't want to. The way they had to kiss him to imbue him with their magic. Their little quirks and pet peeves. Their first nights with him. The way they fought by his side against unfightable foes. They way they died in his arms.

He nearly cried several times. Each time though, he would look at Loki's face, and see that she was putting up a brave front for him. Her stoic expression was a dam holding back an entire ocean of emotions.

He spoke until the Sun came up, and streams of yellow filtered through the little cracks in his window shades onto Loki's face. It made her smile all the more dazzling. It also made her unshed tears glisten.

"Thank you, Godou. For trusting me," she said.

"I'm sorry for making you hear all that. It couldn't have been easy. You can't replace them. You never can."

"I know," she said. "I think I knew the moment I saw your face in the Dungeon. When Enyo raised them for you, you made a face that I thought you were incapable of making."

"If you want to end things after hearing that, I'll understand."

"Don't be stupid, Godou." Loki rubbed her eyes, which made her attempt to look angry very pathetic. "I owe the four of them my thanks. They made you who you are today. They kept you happy in a time and place I could not. I'm not saying I can replace them, and I don't want to. They're them, and I'm me. They did things for you that I'll never be able to. But that doesn't mean I'm going to lose to them. I'm going to show you, Kusanagi Godou, that I can love you, and make you fall in love with me, as much as they could."

Something was making his chest stir. It hammered away in his ribcage, and Godou didn't know what to say. He didn't want to raise Loki's hopes up. He didn't want her to feel as if she had to compete with the four of them for his affection. But he knew Loki. Loki liked a challenge, and once she issued one, even to herself, she wouldn't back down.

"I hope you do, Loki," Godou said. "I really hope you do."

They went to sleep after that, and Godou kept his word to sleep on the sofa.

When he came back from the Hostess the next day and Loki was there to greet him, he didn't say a word against it. They spent the night talking. He slept on the sofa again, but when he woke up and saw that Loki had moved her whole mattress out of his bedroom to sleep on the floor next to him, he had nearly choked.

The day after that, Loki and her Familia left for Melen. When Godou arrived home from work that day, he found himself pressing his nose against his pillow, wishing that the scent he was smelling was real and next to him.

A/N: So a short, transitional chapter while I start planning the next arc. As you can tell, since Loki and gang are in Melen, Godou will be interacting with other characters and gods, which is something a lot of you have been asking for. I'll try to update more frequently, too. At least once a month. Chapters might be a bit shorter though, because I'm starting to like my chapter lengths being 2k-6k long.

As always, likes, favs, follows, reviews, comments are much loved and a great way to encourage me to write the next chapter a little faster.