Disclaimer: I do not own DanMachi or any of Omori's original characters, nor do I make any profit off of my writing.

There were plenty of things Loki could be doing right now that she would prefer to this.

She could be touching one of her girls' breasts. It could be any of them, she wasn't going to be picky, honestly even a particularly heavy dude would have done the job.

She'd take paperwork over this.

And she would most certainly take spending time with Bell (who she absolutely did not consider one of her children, that would be ridiculous) over this.

There were just so many better options than what she was being forced to do, but she had to because of things like 'responsibilities' and 'making sure Ottar doesn't use my spear as a kebab for my pallum ass.' She really hated it when Finn started talking sense. All she wanted was to touch boobs and spend time with her dying son, was that too much to ask?

It was monsterphilia! She could be out there making sure he was happy!

But noooo.

Instead, she's here, pushing open this stupid café door, walking past these stupid café patrons, pushing open yet another stupid café door to the balcony, pulling out a stupid café chair, and sitting across from this stupidly pretty goddess.

And wow what she wouldn't give to get her hands on those lumps of fat hidden beneath the folds of that cloak.

But as the ancient proverb goes: 'you do not put your hands on crazy and you absolutely do not feel up crazy's boobs.'

It was a tragedy, really.

Crazy people always had the best boobs.

Hera. Alfia. Freya.

The list wasn't that long but by the gods it was perfect.

And was it weird that she included Bell's aunt on that list? Absolutely! But she made it years ago, she can't possibly be blamed for acknowledging the fact that the woman was hot as hell and crazier than shit.

It was a fact. A truth of the universe.

Alfia was hot and Alfia was crazy.

Who the hell wouldn't like their own voice when it sounded so heavenly.

Loki would know. She lived there.

And–

Loki gulped when Freya fixed her with a glare and Aiz prodded her in the rib to get her attention.

And she was getting distracted.

"Freya, been a while."

"Hello, Loki. I see you've brought company."

Loki glanced over toward Aiz who was resolutely avoiding Freya's gaze, unwilling to allow herself to fall under the goddess's charms. Loki scowled ever so slightly before turning back to the goddess of love and beauty.

"Yes, well, we were supposed to be havin' a day out so she wouldn't scamper off to tha dungeon again. Yer interuptin' that with this here meetin' so how 'bout you tell me why yer being suspicious and we can move on, 'kay?"

".. "

".. is it a guy?"

Ah.

There it is.

The slightest inclination at the corners of her mouth, the only clue given as to Freya's recent moves. Realistically, Loki should have realized far sooner because when isn't it about a guy with Freya?

When it's about a girl, Freya didn't discriminate in the slightest. She saw all and she loved all.

The question now is who?

Who was it that has caught the slutty minx's eye?

Loki heaved a sigh and slumped backward in her chair, kicking one leg up over the side and raising her boot onto the table, "how idiotic.. so somebody who's already been claimed has caught your eye. Who is it?"

".. "

"Just spit it out already, you don't want trouble between us, right?"

Freya hummed in thought as she leaned forward ever so gracefully. Her arms uncrossed from beneath her bust as she moved fluidly to prop her elbows up on the table and clasp her hands in front of her. She smiled ever so slightly at Loki before beginning, "well, he's not strong. Compared to the children of either of our familias he's still entirely unreliable, barely able to hold his own at all. If something hurts him a bit, he'll cry right away.. that's what he's like."

Loki eyes narrowed because if that didn't sound like–

".. but he was beautiful and clear. His soul a color I had never seen before in a shape I'd never seen before, that's why he stole my eyes and I fell for him. It was a coincidence, truly, he only crossed my vision by chance alone. It was a day like now, I was just looking down from my seat and– "

She caught herself off abruptly, her gaze drifting over the metal railing of the balcony and over the crowds of citizens wandering the streets below. A light dusting of pink spread across her cheeks as she swallowed thickly.

Loki followed her gaze and clicked her tongue in distaste as a cloaked figure meandered through the people slowly.

Freya cleared her throat and began to rise from her seat but Loki was a step ahead, "Aiz block the door."

The girl didn't even question the order, simply being replaced by a gust of wind as she swept across the ground to the entrance, putting herself between Freya and the door.

Ottar appeared at Freya's side followed by the sound of what she could only assume was a roof collapsing a few streets down. She rolled her eyes as the boar glared at her before gesturing for Freya to sit back down.

"Relax King, I'm not going to attack her. We just haven't finished our meeting yet."

".. "

She sighed tiredly before turning to look at her own child, "Aiz-tan, go out on your own you won't be needed."

"But– "

"I'll be fine, I need to speak with Freya in private, 'kay? Go get yourself some jagamaru– and, she's gone. Really didn't take much did it?"

Freya waved a hand through the air nonchalantly and just as soon as he appeared, Ottar vanished, only leaving a few splintering cracks on the ground in his wake. Their menu flew across the room and hit the wall with a slap! before falling to the ground, but she wasn't planning on ordering anything anyways so not like it mattered to her.

"Loki, what is it?"

".. this new interest of yours. Tell me, does he have white hair and red eyes?"

"Why?"

"Because if he was, I'd be inclined to tell you he was under the protection of the Loki and Hephaestus familias, most likely Hermes as well."

"Oh?"

"Yes 'oh' indeed. Look, Freya, if it were anybody else, I would let you at 'em, but not this time."

"Why's tha– "

"He's dying."

"W- what?"

Loki almost felt bad for breaking the news to her that way. She knew that even if she was a less than stellar person, she could always count on Freya truly loving her children. So, finally seeing that smug smile drop from the woman's lips brought her none of the joy she thought it would.

What she wouldn't have given to see that smugness and superiority drop from Freya before and yet now the action only brought her emptiness.

She nodded slowly, turning her head to face where she previously had seen the cloaked figure. In truth, she really just didn't want to see Freya's distraught expression or the way her hands were shaking.

"H- how?"

"A disease, impossible to cure and healing magic only makes it worse. Look, Freya– "

"Don't.. I just– I need time to think, just– I'll just– I can't– he– "

Her face contorted into something ugly before she tugged her hood down over her face and stood up, shuffling quickly toward the door. Some words were mumbled through the fabric, but Loki couldn't quite make them out, she supposed they may have been a 'goodbye' or they could have been a 'thank you,' she certainly wasn't going to ask for her to repeat it.

Her chair squeaked harshly as she pushed herself backward and stood to her full height.

She sighed as she moved across the room. She reached for the door handle before freezing just before her fingertips brushed along the cool brass.

A heeled boot scuffed along the floor as she wiped away the drop of water that had splashed down on the floorboards during Freya's hasty retreat. It'd be their little secret, no reason for anybody else to know.

The door rotated across its hinges soundlessly as she pushed her way through, nodding to the confused-looking Sword Princess as she stayed frozen in place – a fried potato snack mere centimeters from reaching her lips.

She nudged the girl with an elbow and silently beckoned her to follow her to the streets.

…

Freya wandered the streets aimlessly as she kept her eyes downcast.

She should have known.

She should have seen it.

But.. even now, after Loki told her, she couldn't – wouldn't – believe it, because how could he be?

His soul was so bright, blinding even, that wasn't the soul of a dying man, no not at all. Freya had lived long enough to know the difference; she'd watched kingdoms rise and fall during her time in the lower world and alone. She knew exactly how many of her children had passed on already, she kept track, of course. She'd watched many of their souls wane for months before they passed on and journeyed to Tenkai. Their souls would dim, flicker, quake, they'd do something to show the end draws near.

She'd watched as some fell in battle too and Bell was still nothing like them. Their souls wouldn't dim or quake, they'd bleed and–

And that's what Bell's soul was doing, wasn't it?

She supposed it's been so long since she's last seen one of her children fall in battle that it simply never came to mind: the bleeding soul.

It made sense, from what she knew of the boy.

He had a bleeding heart, willing to help anybody with anything so long as his body was strong enough to do so.

His life was slowly draining out of him from wounds unseen.

He was dying.

He was dying.

He was dying and she had let him wander the city for two weeks so she could watch his soul change as he was rejected by familia after familia. She'd let him suffer.

Her Odr.

She let him suffer so carelessly? Was that right? Was that what she did?

She bumped into somebody and mumbled out an apology as she kept her eyes firmly planted on the cobblestone streets, they waved her off, but she didn't see – far too focused on the way her eyes burned and nails bit into her palms.

Did she even deserve to call him her Odr?

Or maybe she had just been wrong? Maybe he wasn't her fated one, maybe she was wrong just as she was with Ali. Could that be it?

If she believed that, she could spare herself all of the pain that would come with watching him die. It would be easy.

But that would be a lie.

Even if he wasn't, she'd still hurt. She'd watched over him – did she even have the right to call it that when she so blatantly ignored his pain? – for weeks. Even if he wasn't her Odr in the end, it would still hurt her to watch, because she loved him, regardless.

She turned the corner into an empty alleyway and collapsed in the dirt, her legs instinctively curling up into her chest and her arms wrapping around them. She hugged them close as she rocked herself back and forth, no thought staying in her mind long enough to become anything congruent and competent.

She didn't know anymore. She just didn't know.

…

A short ravenette of a goddess walked beside a cloaked figure east of where Freya was currently curled in on herself, simply taking in the air of joy that surrounded the annual festival. They received more than a few strange looks, each of which toward the suspiciously cloaked figure when it was far too hot for anything like that today. Still, it was far preferable this way than for Bell to show his face, maybe he would be fine and nobody would recognize him, but on the off chance they did.. well, he wasn't going to ruin the Hestia familia before it ever got off the ground, not if he could help it.

So, his face wouldn't be associated with it at all.

Nobody would join up with the weak adventurer who crawls out of the dungeon half dead every day, even when they are seemingly uninjured.

No, he wouldn't do that to her.

Luckily, the cloak came with more than a few advantages than not being recognized, namely, people gave him a wide berth. Even in the thickest areas on the street that are the most densely packed with festival-goers, he was rarely even touched.

Did they think he was an elf?

It's possible, he can't say he really minded the comparison if it meant he didn't get elbowed in the rib every few feet like he's seen happen more than a few times already.

They had only just paused in front of a stand for..

Crepes? What are crepes?

It didn't matter because he spotted the reason for him coming to the festival through the cracks formed between peoples as they came and went. He tapped his goddess on the shoulder and gestured to over where he saw the waitress he was asked to find.

"Do you see the girl in the green dress, grey hair?"

It took her a minute, she rocked back and forth on the tips of her toes as she leaned to either side and scanned the crowd, but eventually, she did.

Syr looked somewhat frantic as she dashed back and forth across the street, something that Bell found to be more than a little concerning. Why did she look so panicked? Was she looking for her purse? He really hoped she wasn't looking for too long, it was hard to find her in the festival.

"Can you call out to her? I was supposed to deliver her purse to her."

Her two pigtails danced through the air as she nodded quickly, it's not like she was going to risk Bell hurting himself with something silly like yelling.

"Syr! Over here! Syr! Syyyrrr!"

Bell winced ever so slightly as the smaller woman cupped both of her hands over her mouth and began shouting through the wall of bodies. It wouldn't have been as bad if her voice wasn't as shrill as it was, though he supposes that's good for cutting through the other noises of the street.

Two light grey eyes peeked around the shoulder of a broad man in a brown tunic, confusion dancing across the young woman's face. It took her a minute to recognize the cloaked figure beside the unknown girl, she couldn't quite say she understood why Bell wasn't calling for her himself, but that was beside the point.

She needed to find her goddess and he may be able to give her a clue.

Horn wasn't even entirely sure what was wrong. Just that her goddess was in anguish and she needed to help her, so she scurried over hurriedly, the heels of her boots striking the ground harshly as she took quick but measured steps through the crowds.

"Bell-kun? What is it? Is this your girlfriend?"

She really hoped not. It would explain why Freya was upset maybe (maybe not to this degree, but still). She knew the teasing came out weak, her heart wasn't really in it at the moment, but at the very least she tried.

The two glanced at each other, their eyes meeting under the rim of Bell's hood before they turned back to her and gave two firm shakes of the head.

".. I– uhh– I was asked to bring this to you.. "

Syr blinked down at the small purse sitting on the boy's gloved hand and accepted it with a grateful smile, "thank you, Bell-kun! You didn't have to go out of your way to do something like that for little ol' me! Unless– fufufu, Bell-kun are you trying to win me over?"

The folds of the hood twisted in a way she could only interpret as a shake of the head, which (admittedly) hurt, but she had bigger problems right now to worry about that.

"Say, I'm looking for a friend, we were supposed to meet up here," she lies smoothly, "have you seen anybody around with long grey hair? She tends to be a bit of a worrier so I think she may have been a little stressed and emotional since I missed our meet-up time."

Another shake.. is it a shake? She should really make sure.

Her eyes flick over to the shorter girl who had been quietly watching their interaction, her head dipped ever so slightly toward the divine as she began, "umm.. Lady.. "

"Hestia, dear."

"Thank you, lady Hestia. Do you know if he's shaking his head right now?"

"He is."

Syr sighed and nodded before returning to glancing around the street worriedly, "well– I really must– I– bye!"

She scampered off, quickly jumping around their sides to move through the crowds back the way they had emerged. Her pace only faltered briefly as she started out as she smiled at the quiet 'good luck' that emerged from within the shadows of Bell's hood.

She really hoped she could be there in time to comfort her goddess, but with Bell's best wishes she knows she can do it!

Not long after, Bell and Hestia were slumped against one another in a park just north of the festival, dodging away from the crowds along the outskirts of East Street. Their location helped in more than just getting out of the hot streets compounded by the rapidly warming stones and body heat that poured out from all directions. It also was nice because it was closer to the industrial district of the city, meaning it was far easier for–

"Hestia!"

–a.. smith? to find them. Why was a smith calling out to his goddess? Does she know this woman?

The short goddess turned to face the newcomer with him, a smile gracing her lips as she did. She jumped to her feet almost immediately, waving erratically while calling the woman over.

"Hephaestus, hi! Are you done already?"

Hephaestus?

Goddess knows Hephaestus?

The red-haired woman smiled over the cloth-wrapped package she was carrying, the large item pressing into her breasts enough to push them an uncomfortable distance out of her white dress shirt. Bell quickly averted his eyes, turning to stare out at the window gardens that decorated the storefronts around them. He was more glad than ever that he wore that hood.

"Yes, well, you know how it goes. A smith's best work always comes when they're crafting items for somebody they're close to. Here, here, take this."

The goddess of the forge shoved the package forward into Hestia's awaiting arms; the smaller woman yelped in fear as the weight shifted into her arms, sending her reeling forward as she tried not to drop them. Luckily enough, she caught herself before she fell all the way to the ground.

With her face.

But the rest of her body was perfectly erect up in the air so at least her dress didn't get dirty!

The weight of the armor and weapons was enough to flip her on her head; she received no help from her chortling frie– former friend. No way their relationship could ever recover after a betrayal like this one.

"Here, let me help you up. Sorry, I didn't consider the weight."

Okay, maybe they could still be friends.

The verdict was still out, and she would be watching Hephaestus like a hawk just to make sure she didn't try anything funny. She accepted the hand that reached down to her from where she fell backward onto the ground and allowed herself to be pulled up to her feet.

".. so.. what all is in there? It's pretty heavy."

"Well, he needed better armor protection than that rubbish the guild offers as well as a few weapons."

".. a few?"

Hestia was incredibly thankful for the perfect memory that was commonly associated with godhood because she hoped she would never forget the sheepish, embarrassed smile her friend gave her. It's not like she thought she would forget something that very well be the reason for her to live eventually, she just preferred to not have the risk.

"Well.. okay," Hephaestus sighed and scratched her cheek sheepishly, "I was sort of.. worked up when I got back to my forge so I just dove right in. First was a knife, nothing special about it, just something that would be better than what he had. But then, I considered that he really only has short range then, so obviously, he needed a sword, so I made him one."

She sucked in a breath before continuing on.

"Now, okay, I know how this sounds, but it's a lot of work to continuously make new equipment to match the monsters in the dungeon. Plus, if I were to make him something too good then he runs the risk of the weapon hindering his growth, most of the previous items are made from standard low-level materials. Anyways, I– "

Another breath.

" –I didn't want Bell to be held back like that, but I also didn't want him to outgrow his equipment (because of that skill), so I may or may not have created something that never should have been created and broke several taboos to do so. Here!"

Hephaestus broke free of her rambling spell and withdrew a small knife in a black sheath before thrusting it forward into Bell's arms, wanting it to be free of her possession as soon as possible.

"Now, that blade is made with a lock of your and Bell's hair inside– "

"Wait, when did you get a lock of our hair?"

Hestia's justifiable question was promptly ignored.

" –so the blade will grow with you, similar to a falna. And, when.. when Bell is ready to move on, the blade will go with him, nobody other than him will be able to wield it."

Bell held the blade in front of him, balancing it between his two palms and staring at it with something akin to reverence. It was a sleek, midnight black blade with blue hieroglyphs scribed into the blade; he couldn't deny for an instant that it was breathtaking. He really hoped that wouldn't become a problem in the future because breathing was hard enough as is without the added struggle.

Hephaestus took his silent awe in stride, smiling and patting him on the head over the hood before unrolling the cloth that held the rest of the items together.

And again, he really wished nothing more than for his breath to stop catching in his throat every time he saw one of the goddess's works (which he did figure out she was a goddess when he caught her name, doesn't mean he quite understood why she was making his gear).

".. it's beautiful.. "

The red-haired goddess smirked and puffed her chest out with pride, "I take it you like them?"

He nodded slowly as he leaned forward, the underside of his sleeve brushing along the blades of grass as he reached forward and traced the smooth edge of a pauldron.

The various armor pieces laid out in front of him were light, that much he could tell just from looking. They were far smaller than most armors he sees adventurers wandering around the city using, they likely have more reason to prioritize protection than him anyways.

He winced slightly at the thought, having already received a verbal lashing from Riveria for something similar he said the day before.

He doubted that was the nice goddess's intention anyways, making him light just does as much good for protecting him as making him heavy, he'll just prioritize dodging to shielding. The excess weight and metal would have been stifling anyways, inhibiting his breathing and tiring him out.

There were only a few pieces of armor overall: the pauldrons, a chest plate, knee and shin guards, elbow guards, and bracers. All of them looked just about perfect, no small mistakes could be picked out through his untrained eye.

They were golden and designed in a way that seemed reminiscent of the designs his grandfather had told him in the tail of the Argonaut. He liked that. It made him feel good about himself, about what he was trying to do.

Hephaestus believes you can do it, that's what it said, she believed he could accomplish his goal. She wouldn't have made it this way if she didn't. It was a hero's armor, no smith with any amount of pride would have made anything in the like unless they believed it would be put to good use.

Naturally, he didn't waste any time throwing his head down so he could give her a tearful smile before lunging forward into a surprise embrace.

The goddess melted into it immediately, wrapping her arms around the boy and rubbing a small circle on his back. She smirked over his shoulder at her pouting friend as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, refusing to see her friend getting such a warm-looking hug.

Bell withdrew slowly and rolled back onto his knees his face still holding a small smile as he wiped tears away from his eyes, "thank you.. how can I– "

She held a hand up in front of him to cut him off, "the costs have already been handled by Hestia and– "

"Oof!"

He tackled the shorter girl in another hug, taking her completely by surprise as she kept her eyes resolutely closed in her defiance.

" – and Loki."

Hephaestus smirked at Hestia as she hugged the boy as tightly as he could handle, a beaming smile on her lips as she did. Bell pulled Hestia up with him as he sat back up, his shoulders shaking in silent laughter as he did.

It was nice, seeing him so relaxed and happy.

Hestia hadn't seen it much, Hephaestus hadn't seen it at all, these moments where he wasn't anything but a normal boy.

"Yer forgettin' a hug, kid."

Bell blinked as he turned over to look at the new arrival before a small smile played at his lips as he gave a shy wave and opened his arms up. Loki smirked at his invitation before joining in on the festivities.

Aiz trailed just behind her, much preferring to hug her box of fresh and warm potato snacks as opposed to the quiet boy, instead offering him a nod in greeting.

It took her several hours (and only when she was safely back in her bedroom at the Twilight Manor) to realize she completely forgot to apologize to him.

Again.

Aiz sighed and collapsed backward onto her bed, slamming her pillow over her face so she could hide from the judgmental walls and judgmental ceiling around her. She didn't need them looking at her like that.

Next time! Next time she would apologize!

(She wouldn't, she's horribly forgetful).

Author Notes:

Just kidding! No new mom this chapter, just some fluff with his current ones instead. I think there are about eight (eight?) mother figures I plan to include.

Can you guess them all?