l

-27-

Skuld ended up rooming with Urd that night, as she had in the first weeks after Belldandy's rescue. Like the night prior, Belldandy ended up sleeping in Keiichi's room with Keiichi on the Ugly Beast and Peorth in Belldandy's room. The evening this time around ended on almost peaceful terms following Keiichi's storm earlier that evening. Nobody wanted to spur another fight, and even Skuld was on her best behavior.

With the evening's calm had come another attempt to open the doors leading outside. This time the front door opened without resistance, and the look of relief that had shown on Keiichi's face was so great that more than one goddess felt a bit guilty. "Last thing I need is for my own house to become a jail," Keiichi had muttered. "Hey Bell, is this 'System Force' thing an actual creature? Like, can it think and comprehend complex thoughts like you or me?"

"It's hard to say," Belldandy replied. "It has a presence that is not dictated by gods or demons as a force of fate and destiny, and senses intent more than the actual thoughts of those creatures that reside on the many planes. Many deities had theorized it might be sentient, but-"

"What I'm really asking is this," Keiichi interrupted, catching Belldandy off-guard. "If I tell the System Force to 'fuck off', do you think it will listen?"

"Stronger gods have tried and failed, Magilla," Skuld said in passing.

"Damn it."

It was going on midnight when Urd called it quits for the night. "It's exhausting managing the two of you with how you bicker," she said, glancing between Peorth and Belldandy. "And I'm sore after letting you toss me around like a ragdoll, Bell. I'm done."

"Dibs!"

"What?"

"Dibs," Skuld repeated, trailing after Urd up the stairs. "If Bell tossed you around today, then I get a go at you tomorrow. It's only fair."

"Fucking Christ on a donkey," Urd grumbled. "Watch. Lind's going to appear this weekend and ask for a rematch right after you beat the crap out of me, and then I'll be too sore to defend myself!" she groused.

"Nah, she'll have other things to worry about."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Urd demanded. Their voices grew muffled as they progressed up the stairs.

"What's what mean?" Those were Skuld's ending words as the two sisters retired that night.

Keiichi sighed. "Might as well do the same," he said. "I've got another early day tomorrow."

Belldandy looked at him in concern. "But tomorrow is Saturday," she said. "I thought this was the end of your exercise."

"It is," Keiichi replied. "But the team is signed up for a base fun run early tomorrow morning. A ten mile run around the major roads in Norfolk, and I need to get there a little earlier because Braxton and I were... volunteered as road guards."

"I see..." Belldandy looked a little disappointed. She looked around, and satisfied that Peorth was preoccupied with... something, Yggdrasil knew what, she took the moment to lean into Keiichi. Startled, Keiichi put a hesitant arm around her in turn, and the goddess sighed deeply. "I had hoped to spend a bit of time with you." She rested her head on his shoulder- Belldandy was taller by Keiichi by a good couple of inches- and the SEAL responded with a tender hug.

"We'll work on it," Keiichi assured her. In a lower voice he whispered, "Maybe we can get Urd to scare her away with Skuld."

It elicited a chuckle from the goddess. "Perhaps…" she murmured. "Thank you for being so tolerant of our behavior," the Norn said. "I know it's been difficult for you. Our behavior since Peorth's descent has been a deplorable representation of gods these past several days." She hesitated a moment, then moved in and planted a light kiss on Keiichi's lips. She looked at him earnestly, and for a second, to Keiichi, it looked like she wanted to say more, to do more, only for the goddess to bite her lip and look away.

Keiichi ended the embrace with no small amount of reluctance. "Once Peorth is sorted out," he said. He wasn't certain if he uttered the words for himself or to Belldandy. "We get Peorth and this wish sorted out first, and then, well..." He shrugged and grinned at her, and the Norn returned it with a weak one of her own.

It hadn't taken Peorth much convincing to go to bed that night either. The goddess was withdrawn after Keiichi had lost his temper with her that evening, and seemed more than ready to retire for the night as well. Keiichi once more had a change of uniform on the coffee table, this one a pt uniform for the upcoming run, and the evening lengthened into a peaceful, blessedly quiet night.

Right up until a shriek rang out at a quarter to two in the morning.

Belldandy awoke with a start, eyes wide and breath expelling from her in a gasp. She looked around, for a moment not recognizing Keiichi's room. The scream began to fall silent, and with it, Belldandy sighed and allowed herself to collapse back onto Keiich's bed. "Looks like it worked," she mumbled.

With a sigh and a slight smile tugging at one corner of her lip, the goddess rolled onto her side, hugged her pillow and snuggled up to the Sailor Teddy Keiichi that Aiko had lent her. She was back asleep in minutes.

Which was a bit more than what some of the other household residents could say. Skuld jumped, eyes flying open and falling still as the scream penetrated the house. Her most immediate thought was danger, which was then discarded as she recalled Belldandy's request from Friday evening. Had she been alone, Skuld too, would have returned to sleep without a care in the world.

Unfortunately, she was sleeping in the same room as Urd, and a Norn of the Past at that. Urd awoke with a shout of her own, then fought against the covers as the scream began to die down. "They blew up Jimbo!" she cried in a thick, Southern accent. "Them Gooks done blown up-" She stopped herself and looked around. Skuld stared up at her with a blank face. "Where in tarnation am I?" The accent hadn't faded.

"Urd...?" Skuld asked hesitantly. "Are you... are you all right?"

"What in blue blazes-" Again Urd stopped herself, this time shaking her head before clutching it with one hand. When she spoke again the accent had vanished. "Did I just... was that a Vietnam flashback?"

"Urd... you never went to Vietnam."

"Not in this timeline," Urd muttered off-handedly, then stopped herself a third time when the blank look on her sister's face didn't fade. "Skuld, do yourself a favor and never take up the mantle of a Goddess of the Past, okay? Memories get wonky."

"Could say the same about the future, Urd."

Urd grunted and glared at her sister as she ran a hand through her hair. "What was that scream?"

Skuld winced. "Ah, yeah… about that. Belldandy asked for a favor to help protect Keiichi and-" she didn't have a chance to finish her explanation before Urd was up and out the door. "If it's any reassurance, it wasn't lethal!" she called after her sister. "It's like being tazed! Enough to stun but not to kill! Banpei Light only goes off at preset hours to a specific bio-signature!"

A loud and resounding "Fuck!" was Urd's reply.

Skuld winced. "Maybe if I lay down I'll be asleep before she comes back," she muttered. In a lower voice she said, "I wonder if Belldandy will let me room with her for the night..."

"Skuld, get out here!" Urd shouted.

"...Or not," she grumbled.

"Belldandy, you too!"

Skuld sighed, and resigning herself to her fate, rolled off the blow-up mattress and exited the room. Urd stood outside the room Peorth was using where the woman in question was lying in a mangled heap within the door's threshold. As Skuld came to stand next to Urd, the door to Keiichi's room opened and a disheveled Belldandy appeared.

"You too," Urd growled. "If I have to roll my ass out of bed because of some petty-ass bullshit like this, then you two clowns are going to join me." She knelt down beside Peorth's unconscious form and shook her shoulder, seeing if the goddess would respond. Nothing. "This bitch screamed so loud my subconscious got thrown back through time and space to 'Nam," Urd snapped, looking up at Skuld and Belldandy. "The fuck made you think electrocuting her was a good idea?"

"Had to make sure she left Keiichi alone," Belldandy muttered, her voice thick with sleep.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Urd growled. "This shit is getting out of hand. Skuld, dismantle that thing. Bell, help me drag Peorth back to bed."

"But-"

"Bell, you remember what I did to you when you were fourteen after you snuck into my room thinking potion ingredients could supplement cooking ingredients?"

"Yes..."

"Skuld, you remember what happened when you planted a shock bomb in my boot when you were ten?"

"Yeah..."

"Do either of the two of you want to figure out what I've got planned for you after your combined shenanigans sent me back to Viet-fucking-Nam?"

Skuld and Belldandy looked at each other. At once they were in action, Belldandy grabbing Peorth's feet and dragging the poor goddess back into the bedroom while Skuld went to work on the tiny little smiling Banpei next to the door.

And throughout the entire ordeal Keiichi, his ears forever ringing with Tinnitus, never heard a thing.

XXX

"TWO ROAD GUARDS!"

At McGuinness's call, Keiichi and Braxton, who were jogging in the back of the formation, sprinted ahead of the upcoming squadrons, yellow safety vests flapping in the wind. They took point on either side of the intersection the group was approaching and paused.

"ROAD GUARDS POST!"

The pair walked into the intersection, each facing towards oncoming traffic before holding one hand out. "Stop!" the two sang, "In the name of love! Before you break my heart." SEAL Team 12 ran past them as though the singing duet were the most natural thing in the world. Jackson and Sanchez in particular where fighting hard not to laugh, and McGuinness didn't even spare the two pop idols a second glance.

Instead he roared, "LOUDER!" in passing. The man, responsible for volunteering the only two Navy SEALs acting as road guards for the event, was still peeved over what had happened on Friday. Keiichi and Braxton began singing The Supremes louder. SEAL Team 12 ran on and were replaced by SEAL Team 10, who smiled and laughed openly at the two men's' opening act as they passed.

More units passed, none of which bothered to hide their amusement, and then a new set of road guards came to take Keiichi's and Braxton's place. The two SEALs sprinted back to the front of the run to fall back in formation with Team 12, only to be forced back out again in a rush as they approached the next major road. It was a ten mile run. There were a lot of major roads on Norfolk. Ten miles of sprints and endurance running and each one with the two of them singing at the top of their lungs.

And it was raining.

It was going to be a long fucking day.

"Hey Morisato," Braxton said during their sprints.

"What?" Keiichi panted.

"Fuck Peorth and fuck McGuinness for this shit."

"Amen to that, Brother."

In hindsight, at least he was out with his team and away from the house and all the madness it had become in the past three days. The morning had been... strange. Very strange, given what he'd woken up to over the past several days. Urd and Skuld he hadn't expected to see, and so their absence from the early morning hadn't surprised him. Both women had a penchant for sleeping in later, whereas Belldandy had a stronger habit of waking up early. Perhaps it was a habit from her past or perhaps, he hoped, that she wanted to spend the morning with him. Yet, whichever the reason, Keiichi awoke that day and discovered her absence in the house. Though he awoke no earlier that day than any other weekday, Belldandy never once appeared that morning. It was strange and a little concerning after the past two mornings, and the woman's absence was felt in the silence of the house. A part of him had been looking forward to seeing the Norn that morning after last night. Missing her before heading out for the run had hurt.

But then... Peorth had been absent as well. Gone. A suspicious thorn in his side whose annoyance was a noticeable absence in the quiet. Yesterday was fresh in his mind though, and it had left Keiichi suspicious, and perhaps even a bit alarmed. He missed Belldandy because of the peace she often brought in the morning. He missed Peorth because an absent Peorth had led to her appearance at a later and more unfortunate time and place. "I never thought I'd say this," he'd muttered while driving down the road. "But I hope Belldandy is keeping a close eye on Peorth, today."

"I am!" A tiny voice had emerged near his right ear, and at 0543 on a Saturday morning, Keiichi Morisato had almost swerved off a road while driving through the rain. Experience and quick reactions kept him from crashing into a tree. The man pulled off to the side of the road, breathing heavily as he looked around for the owner of the voice.

That was how he'd discovered the hitchhikers.

Two of them. Both no taller than the length from the tip of his middle finger to the bottom of his palm, they both looked so eerily close to Belldandy and Peorth that for a moment, Keiichi had a brief panic attack.

Chalk another one into the Big Book of Weird Norn-no, Weird God Shit.

Keiichi didn't know how they'd snuck into the truck or what either of the two goddesses were doing standing so close to each other without one trying to murder the other, but it scared the crap out of him. Belldandy had tried to explain it to him back then- something about extensions of selves and magic and pieces of a whole. He'd understood none of it and was more concerned with what the two- the only word that had come to his mind was 'chibi'- what the two 'chibi' goddesses were doing in his truck as he was driving towards Norfolk.

"We are here for you, of course!" Peorth... chibi-Peorth had announced, and oh, that didn't set well with Keiichi at all.

"The fuck either of you are," he'd announced. "I'm about to drive through the front base onto Norfolk after the two of you almost made me crash, and you both are going to poof off to Never Never Land with Tinkerbell and all her friends."

"Who's Tinkerbell?" Chibi-Belldandy had asked. Unless his ears were as deceptive as his eyes at that moment, Keiichi would have claimed she sounded a bit jealous.

"Make believe," Keiichi replied. "Just like the two of you. Now go away."

He'd been relieved and marginally surprised when the two of them had actually listened, and the rest of the drive onto base and to where the fleet was gathering was made in peace. McGuinness had been in a disgustingly cheerful mood that morning as he'd handed Keiichi and Braxton their safety vests, and that had soured Keiichi's mood as well. "You all ready for this?" he roared, a large, toothy smile on his face as they stood outside in the rain, already drenched to the bone. "We're gonna have a blast, I tell ya." The man was literally bouncing on his feet.

"Whatever pre-workout you're snorting, I want some," Sanchez grumbled. "You look like a junkie who learned it's raining coke."

"I just had a damned good night of rest is all," McGuinness had claimed. "Hot damn did I have a weird dream though. Morisato, you best be telling Sheila to stay out of my head. She came and visited me last night. You might find yourself with competition!" While he had laughed and Jackson and Sanchez had jeered him on, Keiichi and Braxton both shared a look. Keiichi was relieved though. Urd had stayed true to her word from last night, and after shooting a quick thumbs up to Braxton, the younger man had relaxed as well.

It was kind of nice having another person on his Team that was in on his secret.

Of course, most of that relief faded as soon as the run had begun and McGuinness had instructed them to 'sing some golden oldies' before taking off. He should have had Urd look at the old bastard after the run.

"I'm aware of where you go," Braxton sang.

"Each time you leave my door," Keiichi bellowed.

"I watch you walk down the street." McGuinness passed them by with a large, stupid smile on his face in the rain.

"Knowing your other love you'll meet." There went the rest of Team 12 as a whole, and then Team 10 and all its members followed.

"But this time before you run to her." More runners followed, and then the next set of road guards appeared to relieve Keiichi and Braxton. They abandoned their song and sprinted after their Team, who had to be at least a quarter mile away by now. They caught up and slowed their pace to match the teams, and not even two minutes had passed before they were sprinting ahead once more at McGuinness's call for road guards.

"We should have let that fucker keel over and die," Braxton muttered. Now they were on one of the larger main roads where heavier traffic was expected. Four road guards were called out for additional safety, and Keiichi and Braxton stood next to each other, slightly winded.

"Hindsight is a golden piece of shit," Keiichi grumbled, and together he and Braxton once more broke into song, "Leaving me alone and hurt."

"Think it over!" Braxton screamed in a high voice.

"After I've been good to you?" Keiichi sang.

"Think it over!"

"After I've been sweet to you?" There went Team 12 again.

"Stop! In the name of love!"

"Before you brea-" SLAP!

Keiichi recoiled, stunned, and stared at Braxton in shock. Braxton stared at him with wide eyes as well, frozen in disbelief. Did this motherfucker just-

An itsy-bitsy teeny weeny Chibi-fied Belldandy, stood hiding near Braxton's right shoulder. "Oh hell no," Keiichi uttered, reaching for her just as the mini-goddess vanished and right in time for Keiichi to slap Braxton across the face with his open palm. "Fuck!"

"Did you see her?" Braxton asked, unconcerned over the fact that he and his supervisor had fallen into a slapping fight like a couple of ninnies. Keiichi heard laughter- Peorth's laughter- near his right ear and had the sense to duck as again Braxton took a swipe at her. He missed again, and the tiny pest vanished before either men could follow up with another grab.

Team ten passed, now staring at them both in confusion. "They high?" someone muttered loud enough for the duo to hear. "Didn't know Team Twelve had a bunch of addicts in their ranks."

"Fuck you!" Both Keiichi and Braxton wheeled on the passing team, and forgetting the leadership heading the charge flipped the entire team off.

"Goodness, Monsieur Braxton has certainly taken after you, Monsieur Morisato."Again a tiny little voice in his ear.

"Leave him alone Peorth. Remember what we agreed on?" Little Belldandy this time. Oh fuck him three times sideways and call him a hare, had they made a fucking deal?! Was that why they were here? What the fuck was going on now?!

"No," Keiichi muttered, whirling around and groping for the two voices. "Oh no. No no no no no." His hand never touched either of them, and Keiichi caught them both vanishing and reappearing in close proximity to Braxton. "You two ladies are going to cut the crap right here and right now. Play this shit at home, not while I'm on duty." Again he reached out, this time trying to grab Peorth, and met the same results when he instead once more slapped Braxton on accident. "Fuck. Sorry."

"Forget it." Braxton didn't even seem to feel it. His eyes were two busy dancing in their sockets, trying to follow the flight path of the miniature deities. "Morisato, we need to grab these two before they give themselves away."

"You telling me?" Belldandy appeared over Braxton's head. Peorth appeared over Keiichi's. Neither men was aware of it and only saw the goddess directly across from them. They both lunged and crashed into each other, then fell onto their backs, cursing wildly.

"Maybe there's another way to this," Belldandy murmured.

"No," Peorth disagreed. "Qui n'avance pas, recule." She drummed her fingers against her arm in irritation. "We're getting this settled, and we're getting this settled today."

Belldandy sighed. "I suppose..." she groused.

More road guards were coming to take the place of the initial shift, and as Keiichi and Braxton crawled to their feet Belldandy and Peorth flew a little higher, ensuring the new folks didn't catch sight of them. "Hey, are you guys okay?" A woman asked. The other one, a man, grabbed Braxton and helped him up, placing himself between Keiichi and Braxton to ensure they didn't lunge at each other again.

"We're fine," Keiichi said through clenched teeth. "Let's go, Bravo."

The run went downhill from that point. Belldandy and Peorth would appear towards the back of Team 12's formation, where both of the road guards stayed to ensure easy separation from the others. The two miniature deities were like a pair of overly large mosquitoes, buzzing around Keiichi's ears while all the while offering him aid: do you need water? Would you like to be dry? Do you need more endurance? How does Braxton know about us? Oh wait, he was one of your clients Peorth? Tell me more.

Both of the men did what they could to keep them away, yet all of their action was for nothing. Peorth wasn't leaving and Belldandy wasn't leaving Peorth alone with Keiichi. On several occasions their ruckus was enough to disrupt McGuinness, who was pushing all of Team 12 to their limits with an absurd amount of energy that hadn't been present a day ago.

"DON'T MAKE ME COME BACK THERE!"

XXX

It was a relief to finally be done with the run. Keiichi had brought a change of clothes with him for the ride home, and he changed in the gym nearby so as not to drive home wet. The locker room was packed with other individuals doing much of the same, and Keiichi kept looking over his shoulder, certain that either one or both of the goddesses would appear to watch. He was grateful, relieved and suspicious when neither of them popped up, but chalked it up to the fact that the girls probably didn't want to see a bunch of wrinkled man bits bouncing around like a bushel of old prunes.

The ride home was nerve wracking. Neither goddess showed up here either, though he fully expected them to while he was in the middle of traffic from all the folks rushing to get off base. Another mixed blessing, sad as that was; Keiichi was so tense that had either of them shown up, he'd have probably caused an accident. Perhaps they'd learned from their first lesson and decided it was wiser to leave him be. Perhaps they were at home plotting some other horrible madness.

Perhaps I should turn around and drive over to Jackson's place, he thought. Jackson lived on base, far from home, and would be willing to let Keiichi use his shower.

But no, he was already driving through the gate and off base, and would need to waste an extra ten minutes turning around. Best to face the reaper now and try and get the girls under control rather than run like a dog from a pair of two year olds.

Belldandy and Peorth were there to greet him at the front door. "Welcome home, Keiichi," they chorused and the man was reminded of the twins from The Shining.

"Okay, whatever you guys are doing needs to stop," Keiichi said.

"We'd love to," Peorth said.

"But we can't," Belldandy followed.

"Everything I've tried so far has ended in violence and failure," Peorth continued.

"And it's not fulfilling the requirements necessary for Peorth to leave," Belldandy said.

"So we're setting aside our differences for the better of the whole in a joint effort to have you recognize your heart's desire," they chorused once more.

Keiichi looked between the two of them with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Urd!" he called. "They're bonding!"

There was a curse and an audible thump from the garage. Skuld's laughter rose from within. "Urd can't save you now! She's mine! Suck it up, you pussy-assed bitch!" There was a sound like heavy object being thrown and colliding with a padded mat, followed by and audible yelp that sounded a bit like Urd's voice. All three- Keiichi, Belldandy, and Peorth- winced.

"I'm... going now," he said, and slipped past the two goddesses and up the stairs in a mad rush. Grabbing a fresh pair of civvies, the man proceeded to the bathroom on the second floor and started the shower. Triple checking to make sure the door was locked and certain that his efforts were ultimately futile, the man hopped into the bathtub and proceeded to scrub off the grime that had accumulated on his person from the run.

"Oh my, I didn't realize Monsieur Keiichi was so big!" A tiny voice squeaked.

Keiichi froze and looked down. Oh for fuck's sake. Just as he'd feared, the tiny versions of Peorth and Belldandy had returned. Both were in the bathtub, staring up at him in all his naked glory. At least they were clothed though.

The tiny Peorth fanned herself with a hand. "My, is it me or is it getting hot in here?" she squeaked. "I'd certainly enjoy handling that package.

Belldandy sent her a flat look. "You'll have to fulfill that wish in your dreams," she said.

Keiichi took several long, deep breaths. Don't lose it, Jank. It's not worth it, you'll slip in the water trying to smash them both and break your fucking neck. Calm yourself. "Not cool, guys," he said, kneeling down beside them, naked and with warm water beating on his back, speaking as though he was just correcting a simple error they'd made. "Seriously, I need some privacy in the shower and I didn't invite either of you." Quick as lightning his hands zipped out towards them both, and where he'd failed earlier during the run this time he was successful. He grabbed both of the deities, one with each hand, and held them in a firm grip. Peorth yelped. Belldandy smiled.

"You can hold me any day, Keiichi."

The man gritted his teeth and quickly hopped out of the shower. "I don't want to hold either of you right now," he said. "I want some fucking privacy!" Now naked and dripping wet, he rushed for the door, maneuvered it open with both hands, and hurled both of the tiny goddesses into Urd who was heading to her own room after her sparring session with Skuld had finished. Peorth smashed into the elder Norn's ear. Belldandy fared better as she collided with Urd's breasts. Both caused the goddess to recoil with a shout before turning to Keiichi.

"OW! What the fu-" She cut herself off in the middle of snarl as she caught sight of the state of Keiichi's undress, and all at once the both of them froze.

In that moment, a strange, shared thought went through both Keiichi's and Urd's mind. Don't look down. Don't look down. DON'T LOOK DOWN.

Urd's left eye twitched.

The cold began to set into Keiichi's bare skin.

He stared at her, eyes pleading. The temptation was great, and he could see the internal war raging within her mind. Spare him/me some dignity, don't look down. For the love of Ygddrasil/god, don't look down! Urd closed her eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and without a word resumed her original path to the bedroom. The door slammed shut behind her hard enough that Keiichi could feel the vibrations through the floor boards.

"Huh." Peorth rubbed her head from where she'd collided with Urd. "I would have sworn she would have looked."

"Why would you say that?" Belldandy asked, none the worse for wear. "Urd has no interest in Keiichi."

In a manner that mimicked Urd, Keiichi turned and slammed the door shut behind him with all his might. Peorth stared at the almond haired goddess in silence. "You know, there are times I wonder about you."

The rest of the shower came with no further interruptions or embarrassments, yet Keiichi wasn't chancing a repeat. He hopped in and out of the shower as quickly as possible, just to finish rinsing the soap and shampoo from his person before wrapping a towel around his waist and hopping back out. He used a spare towel to clean up the water he'd trod across the bathroom floor, then peeked outside to ensure the hallway was empty before rushing back to his own bedroom.

This time he was in the process of pulling on his boxers when again Peorth's voice met his ears. "Incroyable! With how uptight you act, I would have imagined you more for briefs!"

Keiichi's head thumped against his dresser in frustration. "Really?!" he moaned.

"Oui!" Peorth replied, misinterpreting his outrage. "But then, I have always been particular to briefs. Nothing to hide, and they do so remind me of France and the men on the beaches."

"I prefer boxers," Belldandy quipped. "It leaves more to the imagination."

Keiichi groaned and threw his towel on the two of them, then gathered both of them up, formed the towel into a bag, spun and twisted the bag a dizzying amount of times as he approached the door, yanked it open, and then threw the towel outside the bedroom.

It smacked into Urd with a thump as she was heading out to take a shower herself. "NIDHOGG BLESS YOU WITH YOUR ACTIONS! I AM NOT A FUCKING HAMPER!" she roared as the package collided with her head. She tore the damp towel filled with mini-goddesses off her person, then rushed towards Keiichi with a roar.

Keiichi, dressed in little other than his boxers, took one look at the anger on Urd's face and slammed the door to his bedroom before she reached it. As he backed away, a fist punched through the door. Keiichi screamed. Urd pulled her hand back and punched again, then ripped it out once more and peered through the sizeable hole she'd created. "Here's Urddy!" she snarled.

Somewhere downstairs he thought he heard the high cackle of Skuld's laughter.

Keiichi screamed louder.

And was silenced by a face full of wet towel and bedraggled goddesses still bundled inside.

"DO YOUR OWN LAUNDRY FUCKWAD!"

"I feel ill," Peorth moaned from inside the towel.

And so the day proceeded.

XXX

It was close to five in the evening when Lind arrived to witness the latest debacle. After they explained the situation to her, the Valkyrie grimaced and rubbed her brow. "Come off leave and walk into a shitstorm. Of course. Situation normal: all fucked up." She sighed and leaned into the pink recliner, now known as 'Son of the Ugly Beast', once more dubbed by Urd. "Pray tell, why is it that every time I come to this house, some new madness has spawned?"

"Well hello and fuck you too," Urd growled. "It's not like we had any say in this." The goddess was sitting on the Ugly Beast's arm closest to where Lind sat. Keiichi sat on the couch, imprisoned between Belldandy and Peorth on the middle cushion. Both goddesses were pressed into either side of him with their heads leaning on his shoulders. To further aggravate the situation, the two tiny versions of the same goddesses were sitting in his lap. It looked like both of the chibis were fighting for the most prime spot.

"I never asked for this," Keiichi said. "I never wanted a wish. I just wanted to live a normal fucking life and hope to live into old age without getting filled with bullet holes," he lamented. "Is that so hard? Now I almost broke my foot trying to kick a goddess out of the house thanks to some magical 'all seeing eye' that thinks my one goal in life is sex, I found out that same woman knows someone else in my own troop, and now two goddesses are literally sitting in my lap and fighting for my attention." He sighed and let his head fall back against the back of the couch. "Urd's been the only person stopping me from going on a fucking rampage through the entire house- or at least she was before punching a hole larger than my head through my bedroom door."

Urd tensed, then wheeled on Keiichi with her teeth bared in irritation. "Oh I'm sorry." Urd's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Was this before or after the fact that you fucking flashed me after pelting me with the two tiny terrors in your lap?" She accused. "And then you threw a towel at me-"

"Those were all accidents," Keiichi interrupted.

"So you accidentally mistook me for a hamper, or better yet, a fucking wall. So perhaps I'm still a little peeved with you right now." The goddess crossed her arms atop her chest. "All things considered, I think punching a hole in your door- which I repaired, lest we all forget- was justified."

Keiichi sputtered something inarticulate from where he was imprisoned on the couch, then looked at Lind. "See?!" he snapped. "This is what I've been going through for the past couple of days! You've got to help me, Lind!"

Lind eyed the group of four on the couch and promptly decided she wanted no part in it. I joined the military to escape drama like this. Not to referee it like a coach at some sporting event. "What about Skuld?"

"What about Skuld?" Urd and Keiichi chorused in flat, unamused voices.

From the dining room, Skuld's voice rose, perhaps the only cheerful tune in an ocean of misery.

"Gold plated toilet seat!"

Peorth's eye twitched and she shot a glare in the direction the comment came from. She then cleared her throat and turned back to Lind. "Alas, his Heart's Desire remains hidden, as he will not speak it," she said, then sent a sharp look to Belldandy. "And this one, she has a part to play in this, yet refuses to help."

In Keiichi's lap, the tiny Peorth held up both hands and shrugged her shoulders in a 'what can you do' manner. "She's useless," the little deity double squeaked.

"Your intent here has been clear from the beginning." Belldandy narrowed her eyes at the woman sitting on the opposite side of Keiichi. "I refuse to assist you in your goal of taking Keiichi to your bed."

"Grade-A Slut," Belldandy's own mini-me growled.

Peorth raised an eyebrow, unperturbed. "So you continue to fail to see what he truly desires?"

"So clueless," the tiny Peorth tittered.

Belldandy took in a deep breath. "It seems that what he truly wants is for you to return home."

"Hit the road, Skank!" The tiny Belldandy chucked a thumb to the house's front door.

"Funny, that's not what it seemed like yesterday." Peorth fluttered her eyes at Keiichi and leaned into him further. Keiichi, showing signs of visible discomfort at the act, leaned away from her and into Belldandy instead. If Peorth noticed, or cared, it never showed.

"I needed a cold shower!" Her double fanned herself.

Belldandy was growing red in the face now. "I know for a fact that a foursome is not what Keiichi wants!" she snapped.

In Keiichi's lap, the little Belldandy's hand's curled into tiny fists. She stomped her foot. "You filthy harlot!"

Lind's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She looked at Urd expectantly, yet the goddess did nothing but shake her head and rub her brow. Keiichi groaned with the voice of a long suffering man whose aches and pains had grown voices and would not leave him in peace.

"And how, pray tell, would you know what he wants?" Peorth persisted. "Have you taken the time to actually ask him? Have you discussed how you plan to move this… Kindergarten relationship to the next level?" The Peorth in Keiich's lap held up her palms expectantly.

Belldandy stared at her, abashed. "I-I told you!" she stammered. "It's complicated!"

"Are you dense?!" The tiny Belldandy threw her hands up in frustration.

"So let me complicate it even further." Peorth leaned back away from Keiichi in order to better look at both him and Belldandy. She reached over and took his hand into hers. "Keiichi, your display last night of fearlessly standing up to a deity who, with but a thought could erase your very existence, stirred feelings inside me that I thought nigh impossible. My heart aches for you. When I see what this woman does to you, I cannot bear to see you treated so. If love is truly your heart's desire, then let me be the one to fulfill it! I, Peorth of the Roses, hereby declare my love for thee!"

"Be mine, Loverboy!" the mini-Peorth clarified.

Keiichi's jaw dropped in obtuse horror. He looked to Urd and Lind with wide eyes. Help me, he mouthed.

"By Yggdrasil's roots, Peorth!" Belldandy snapped. "You step away from him this instant you… you…. you fart-sniffing rose obsessed bum-licking floozy!" Her duplicate, who'd been following along and nodding, paused and looked up at the larger version of her herself in confusion.

"Wait, what?" the tiny Norn started.

The rose goddess narrowed her eyes. "Belldandy, I warned you what would happen if you spoke to me in such a fashion."

The tiny version of herself pounded a fist into her hand, glaring at the miniature Belldandy across from her. "Fixin' to open a can o' whup-ass!" she snarled.

Belldandy rose to her feet. Keiichi didn't stop her, looking more relieved that she'd left the couch. "Bring it you turd-like fish-crotched bitchwad!" she challenged. Her double stared at her in shock, too stunned for words.

"Ok, you asked for it!" Peorth rose from the couch as well. "I will not stand here and be insulted! I demand that you face me in the Triple Challenge of the Goddesses!"

"It's on now!" the tiny Peorth crowed.

Really, it was a poor move on Peorth's part. Urd, who had grown up with Belldandy, saw all the danger signs right away and was quick to move away from the couch. Years of arguments, teasing, and yes, fights, had left the elder Norn quick to recognize what was about to come, and she wanted to ensure she stayed out of range when Belldandy acted. As such, perhaps it was Urd and only Urd who was unsurprised when Belldandy took a single step towards Peorth, pivoted on her rear foot, and nailed the goddess in the chin with a left hook.

Peorth dropped like a sack of bricks.

Urd winced in empathy.

For a moment the living room fell into a stunned silence. Lind stared at the fallen goddess in surprise, looking more impressed with Belldandy's left hook than horrified at the display of violence. Keiichi stared at the unconscious deity with wide eyes, his hands gripping the back of the couch. The only thing keeping him in his seat were the two miniature goddesses in his lap, and even they appeared shocked.

"Wow," the tiny Peorth whispered. "Didn't see that coming." She looked at her small counterpart, who stared back at her with an equally shocked expression. They both vanished into nonexistence.

Belldandy took a deep, soothing breath. "Bitch had it coming," she muttered.

XXX

"I can't believe you punched Peorth in the face, Bell." Keiichi sighed and rubbed his face. "I thought you were better than that."

They'd moved Peorth back to Belldandy's room to recover from the aftereffects of the punch. Urd, in the kitchen, was whipping up a potion for the goddess once she regained consciousness. They'd moved their conversation into the dining room, where Keiichi had more freedom to maneuver after witnessing Belldandy's display of violence.

"He's right, you know. That was pretty childish, Belldandy." Lind nodded her head in agreement, though she didn't appear nearly as upset. "Good follow through though. People tend to forget that in a fight," she muttered under her breath.

Keiichi shot her a glare. "We are not here to encourage this!" Lind returned his look with a placid stare of her own.

"You mean I missed Belldandy's legendary Left Hook again?!" Skuld cried out from her own spot next to Belldandy at the dining room table.

"What do you mean 'legendary'?" Keiichi demanded.

"You mean you didn't know?" Skuld asked. "I thought Urd would have warned you-Bell's got a mean left hook. She used to use it all the time on Urd, from what Mother used to tell me."

"Oh Yggdrasil," Belldandy muttered. She buried her face in her hands, and her words came out muffled. "Mother told you of that?!"

"There's a reason I stopped teasing you when we were kids," Urd said from the kitchen. "Your fists are hard as diamond, Bell. They knocked out what was left of my baby teeth and broke one of the permanents." She looked over to Keiichi and Lind after pouring the contents of a bowl into a glass and sticking it in the fridge. "Bell's the type who'll bottle up her emotions and then let them explode all at once. She's down-right terrifying when the fists start flying. And they leave scars, too. She beat enough sense into me to realize that I should stop teasing my little sister at the tender age of ten.

The goddess in question moaned. "Could we please not?" she begged. Letting her hands drop, she looked over at Keiichi, who was sitting beside her at the table, with Lind across from her. "Keiichi, I apologize for my acts. I don't know what came over me- when she admitted her feelings for you, I just..."

"Lost it," Lind supplied. She pursed her lips. "Seems a strange thing to lose your temper over, Belldandy."

"Especially when you know I don't have feelings for her," Keiichi grumbled. "I'd sooner confess my undying love for McGuinness."

"What?" Belldandy looked at Keiichi sharply, eyes wide. Over head the lights flickered. Urd started when the bowl she was cleaning cracked.

Lind observed the display in silence, then frowned. "You seem a little insecure in your relationship with Keiichi."

Belldandy held her silence. In the kitchen a glass shattered, causing Urd to erupt in a fit of swearing.

Keiichi groaned. "What are you getting at, Lind."

The goddess fell silent once again, drumming her fingers against the solid wood of the table. She scowled. "I'm going to regret this," she muttered, then announced in a louder voice, "Who wouldn't have feelings for Morisato?"

Skuld raised her hand. "I wouldn't!" she cried proudly. Everyone in the dining room sent her an exasperated look before returning their attention to Lind.

The Valkyrie shrugged. "What's not to like about him? He's handsome, articulate for the most part. He's already shown how selfless he is on multiple occasions, and he's compassionate enough to open the doors of his own house to strangers. I mean, hate to break it to you Belldandy, but the man has enough qualities to attract the interest of any goddess, let alone just Peorth."

Belldandy stared at the woman in shock, then rose from her seat and pointed at Lind with one finger. "You like him as well!" she accused. The window overlooking the kitchen sink cracked.

Lind held her peace, fingers still drumming on the table, this time more rapidly than before. She chewed on the inside of the lip, looking between Belldandy and Keiichi with a face that gave nothing away. "You might get that idea, yeah," Lind said slowly, then inched closer to Keiichi. The SEAL watched her warily. "But allow me to show you something, Belldandy." She looked to Keiichi. "Hold still for a second, please."

Keiichi held still, but it was obvious he didn't enjoy it. "Lind, what are you-"

The Valkyrie kissed him on the lips, and the man abruptly leaned back, almost falling out of his chair. Belldandy froze, eyes wide.

"Lind!" Urd screamed. "What the hell did you just do!?"

Lind didn't reply, instead walking around the table to Belldandy. Like the man a moment prior, Lind kissed Belldandy on the lips, then took a step back and folded her arms over her chest. "There," she said. "I kissed Keiichi and felt nothing. I kissed you and felt nothing. Don't group actions together with emotions, Belldandy."

Belldandy didn't reply.

Skuld looked at Belldandy and Lind with wide eyes. "That was a really, really stupid idea, Lind," she said.

Another glass exploded.

"Fuck!" Urd brought a hand up to shield herself. Another glass exploded. Then a bowl. The windows shattered in a hail of glass shards. "Lind, you idiot!" she cried.

At the table, the overhead lights flickered, brightened, hummed, and shattered, and with a yell Keiichi dove for cover under the table. It promptly rose over his head as though gravity had lost its hold on it and drifted around Belldandy. The shards of glass, porcelain, and plastic from the kitchen moved to join it.

Lind began to edge away from Belldandy, eyes wide.

"Lind, what the fuck did you do?!" Keiichi demanded.

"I was trying to prove a fucking point!" Lind replied.

"Well good fucking job, asshole! Now she's going to murder all of us!" Keiichi screamed shrilly.

Skuld, the only person apparently unconcerned with the latest turn of events, leaned back in her chair and laughed. "Nah, not all of us," she said. "Just you and Lind, Magilla."

"FUCK!" screamed the two service members.

The empty chairs rose to join the table dancing around Belldandy's head. The chair Skuld was sitting on proceeded to rise with her still in it, and as it moved to hover a foot off the ground she balanced precariously on top of it.

From the kitchen Urd moaned. "One of you do something before I dump a bucket of water on her," she warned.

"Like what?!" Keiichi snapped. "You heard Skuld, she's going to try and kill us!"

Urd muttered something under her breath. In a louder voice she yelled, "Fucking KISS HER or something, I don't know!"

"Oh, that is all you, Morisato." Lind shoved him roughly towards Belldandy, who still didn't appear to be registering any of the side conversations happening around her.

"Oh fuck you all up one side and down the other," Keiichi growled, then climbed to his feet, eying the swirling shards of glass with wary eyes. Biting back his nerves, he pressed towards the goddess when an opening presented itself, ducking inside the perimeter of glass and hissing as shards ripped into his skin as though it were paper. At least he'd avoided the table and chairs though. Skuld too, who was doing her best interpretation of the Lone Ranger. "High ho Silver, away!" she whooped as she passed by his head.

"Come on Bell, don't do this to me," he muttered, grabbing the goddess firmly by the arms. "You cannot tell me you're going to freak out over something as meaningless as a kiss from a person who doesn't have any feelings for me." Belldandy stared at him with blank eyes, and the SEAL groaned. "For fuck's sake, Lind kissed you too!"

"Fucking kiss her already!" Lind and Urd chorused from their hiding places. Skuld floated by again waving a hat in a scene straight out of Dr. Stangelove.

"Why don't you both go fuck yourselves!" Keiichi yelled over his shoulder. He looked back at Belldandy with a grimace. "I don't want to kiss you," he told her. "Not like this. Not when you're freaking out over something so inconsequential, over something that doesn't even show my own feelings for you." He searched her face, still frowning. "Please stop this," he said. "You're insecure. I see that. I get that. But I gotta know, in the two months we've been together when have I shown any interest in Lind? In the past four days Peorth has been here, when have I shown any interest in her? Do you really think someone is going to come and whisk me out from underneath your nose? Because it's not going to happen. I'm right here. You're freaking me out, again, but I'm still right fucking here. Now would you stop with this bullshit and snap out of it?!"

"Morisato, your fucking pep talk isn't working!" A chair cartwheeled towards Lind, who was creeping out into the open. She dodged it with a yelp and dove back whence she came. "Snap her out of it before I knock the shit out of her!"

"Give me a moment!" Keiichi snapped once more over his shoulder. He returned his attention to Belldandy. "I'm asking you, Bell, snap out of it." His voice was urgent, but absent of the anger so directed towards Lind and Urd. "I'm not going to trail you on. I'm not-" He stopped himself, and his eyes went wide as an idea struck him.

"JANK!" Urd yelled.

"Fuck me," he muttered to himself, then bowed his head. He began humming a tune, and then, much to the shock of everyone present, Special Warfare Operator First Class Keiichi Morisato began to sing. "We're no strangers to love...you know the rules and so do I...A full commitment's what I'm thinking of...you wouldn't get this from any other guy."

The whirlwind of chairs and table and glass and goddess began to slow its twister. Keiichi kept singing. "I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling...gotta make you understand!"

The heavier debris fell to the ground. Skuld, in her bucking bronco of a chair, settled gently on the floor. She looked disappointed the ride was over. Keiichi took a deep breath, and in a deep voice boomed, "Never gonna give you up! Never gonna let you down! Never gonna run around and desert you! Never gonna make you cry! Never gonna say goodbye! Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you!"

The glass was falling to the ground around them now. Belldandy blinked, and for the first time Keiichi noticed her eyes focusing on his face. She looked... stunned. Stunned and confused. Keiichi continued his song. "We've known each other for so long... Your heart's been aching, but... You're too shy to say it... Inside, we both know what's been going on... we know the game and we're gonna play it."

Belldandy's mouth dropped in shock, and Keiichi rubbed her shoulders in reassurance. "And if you ask me how I'm feeling... Don't tell me you're too blind to see..."

He began rocking her back and forth in a shuffling kind of dance. Too bewildered to protest, Belldandy allowed herself to follow his motions, swaying gently from side to side. The singing didn't miss a beat. "Never gonna give you up! Never gonna let you down! Never gonna run around and desert you! Never gonna make you cry! Never gonna say goodbye! Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you!"

He stopped there, his face red to his ears in embarrassment but smiling a large, shit-eating grin in spite of that fact.

"And Aga Sedna says I sound like a bleating goat," Lind muttered.

"Jank, did you just Rickroll us?" Urd looked both confused and somewhat impressed.

"That was the most ridiculous, sappy song I've ever heard," Skuld moaned. "If I hear another line of lyrics it will be too much too soon."

"You sing," Belldandy stated. "I- you sing?"

"Not in the slightest," Keiichi replied, ignoring the other's comments. His face was as red as a tomato. "But it worked, didn't it?" He stopped dancing with her and instead rubbed her upper arms. "Please don't do that again, Belldandy okay?" He sent a look over his shoulder at Lind, glaring at the Valkyrie. "And you. Don't fucking kiss me again."

"Don't plan to," Lind said, "You aren't my type any more than Belldandy is, and Yakone forbid I bring another 'bleating goat' home to the Old Bat."

Belldandy seemed to breathe a bit easier at the statement, relaxing as though some unknown weight had been removed from her person. "I see... that is a relief to hear."

Lind raised an eyebrow. "You going to act like that every time someone comes and gives Morisato a kiss?" she asked. "Because my understanding is that kissing is just as much a greeting down here in Midgard as it is a sign of affection."

"Carrie's got a lot of heads to blow up if that's the case," Urd muttered under her breath. "Pray she doesn't ever meet Deb on 'friendly' terms." Off in the kitchen away from the main conversation as she was, no one else heard her comments.

Belldandy flushed a shade of red almost as bright as Keiichi's fading one. "I hadn't thought of that," she whispered, abashed.

Keiichi wisely chose not to comment on how kissing was more often reserved for children and cheeks in his family. Instead he said, "Lind's got a valid point, Bell. I can't have you blowing up on me any time I receive affection from another person." He stared at her with solemn eyes. "What does that say about our relationship? That you don't trust me? That you think I'll go running off with another person as soon as they blow me a kiss?"

Belldandy flinched. "No!" she snapped, perhaps a little sharper than planned. "It's- that's not it!"

"Then do you think I'll just come to my senses one day and realize it was a mistake falling for you then?" Keiichi asked, and by the way the goddess went white the man knew he'd struck gold. "It's not," he assured, and his voice was soft. "Bell, I want you to think of all the fucked up shit I've seen because of you and Urd and Skuld over the past two months. Over the shit I've seen you pull with Peorth. Did I leave you after any of those times? When a smart man, hell, a sane man would have cut his losses and quit while he was still alive?"

Belldandy bit her lip, then quietly shook her head. Keiichi nodded. "Exactly," he said. "I've stuck with you through thick and thin- there's nothing for you to feel insecure about. It doesn't matter what happened to you in the past or who you are today because of those actions. I'm here to stay." He hesitated before adding, "I might get pissed off or traumatized or scared shitless of the stuff you pull, but it hasn't chased me away yet, right?"

"Right..." Belldandy responded with a hesitant voice of her own.

"Good." Keiichi nodded, and then leaned forward, moving to hold Belldandy in his arms. "Then stop trying to find a reason to scare me off, alright?"

"All right," Belldandy agreed. She bit her lip, then pressed her face into his shoulder, where the others could not see the tumultuous emotions reigning havoc on her face.

"All right."

XXX

It was close to ten in the evening when the decision was made that Lind would share a room with Peorth that night. She looked less than impressed.

"You'll ensure Peorth doesn't sneak out, won't you?" Belldandy asked her as they set up a futon for the Valkyrie.

"I'll make sure you don't come in to wale on her," Lind corrected. "And I guess, if I must, I'll make sure she doesn't creep out either."

"As if I would want to." Peorth shot Belldandy a glare. Half her face had swollen up after Belldandy had knocked her out, but Urd's potion had diminished the effects. It was still tender though, and she nursed her right cheek with a tender hand. "I fear what may happen to me if I step foot outside these prison walls."

"I'm not apologizing," Belldandy said.

Peorth sniffed, indignant. "Neither am I," she professed.

"Regardless, if anyone in this house wakes me up with a fucking scream that sends me back to a fucking major historical war, I'm going to tear you all new assholes," Urd warned. Lind and Peorth sent her a queer look. Urd didn't elaborate.

"You'll be in for a shock then," Skuld muttered. The goddess looked distracted, eyeing Belldandy with a deep frown.

"What was that?!" Urd snapped. "You got something planned, Brat?"

Skuld snapped out of her reverie. "What? Wait, what'd you call me? I'm not a brat!"

"Knock it off, all of you," Keiichi groaned. "Let's just try and get some rest, okay? Maybe with Lind here to babysit we can all get a full night's rest this time."

"I'm not a babysitter," Lind said flatly.

"And yet for some reason you stop by regularly to babysit Urd..." Skuld trailed off and headed down the hallway to the room she shared with Urd. She missed the dark look her elder sister and Lind shot her way.

"No more fighting," Keiichi warned. "There's been enough for one night, and I don't want to stay up any longer ensuring every fucking bit of glass is swept up and melted back into a light bulb, all right?" He sighed and rubbed his brow. "I'm going to bed. Please, please don't blow up the second floor tonight, okay guys? I am literally sleeping right below you. You. Will. Kill. Me."

"You're not dead yet," Urd pointed out.

"Don't jinx it Urd."

XXX

After more than two hours, Belldandy, her thoughts once more running madly through her mind, gave up on sleep. She sighed as she sat up, and after a moment's debate opened the bedroom door and peered outside. The hallway was empty and, for the most part, quiet, although if she listened carefully the Norn could hear what she thought to be whimpering from the room across the hall. It sounded like someone was having a nightmare. She was willing to place money on that someone being Peorth.

Placing the sounds out of her mind, the Norn crept down the stairs and into the living room. Keiichi was sprawled out on the Ugly Beast, nestled under a light blanket and fast sleep. His chest rose and fell in a deep, even rhythm, and for a long moment Belldandy stared at him, recalling the man's words from earlier that evening. She pursed her lips, then gathered her will and approached The Ugly Beast, kneeling down beside him.

"Keiichi?" He awoke at once to her touch, the long-honed nature of a warrior responding to possible danger, then blinked as he realized there was none. Rubbing his face, the man sucked in a deep breath, and as he released it he looked to Belldandy.

The goddess bit her lip, then smiled. "You've slept on this couch for close to four nights now," she whispered. "Come upstairs."

The man yawned mightily. "I'm good," he mumbled.

"You deserve a good night's rest in a proper bed," Belldandy persisted. "And I..." She scowled, searching for the right words. "I want to be with you right now," she said slowly. "I need- I need to reassure myself of where I stand with you."

Keiichi stared at her, and by his expression Belldandy guessed he understood perhaps one in every five words the Norn was saying. "I want to spend the night with you," she tried, and watched his eyes widen and grow alert.

"Bell-" Keiichi started to protest.

Belldandy shook her head. "I just wish to be near you is all," she said. "The house is growing noisy and more crowded with each passing day, and there is little time for just the two of us." She looked at him, eyes pleading. "Will you please come upstairs with me?"

The man rubbed his eyes and yawned again. "Nothing's gonna happen tonight," he said. "Not with Peorth still here."

"I'm not expecting that," Belldandy said. "I just... I want to be held. By you."

Keiichi sighed. "Right." He nodded. "Right, sure. Okay. Like when Jackson spent the night. Okay."

Belldandy flinched. "I promise I won't kick you in the face again," she said quickly.

Keiichi nodded, unconcerned, then rose with a stretch. "Let's go to bed," he muttered. "Tired."

They met no resistance returning to bed either, though Belldandy noted that the whimpering had yet to cease. A bad nightmare indeed. Keiichi didn't seem to hear anything, however, and collapsed into the bed like a dead man. When Belldandy crawled in to join him, the man wrapped an arm around her and drew her close, spooning up against her. For a brief moment, Belldandy felt her heartbeat quicken, yet she could already hear Keiichi's breath drifting into a deeper, slower rhythm. She sighed and adjusted, causing the man to grunt a moment, then allowed herself to relax. "Thank you, Keiichi," she murmured.

"Uh huh," Keiichi grunted.

"Not just this," she continued. "I'm grateful. For everything. You rescued me from both Aoshima and the wish that so bound me, then opened your doors to my sisters and me without any reservations. And despite everything you've gone through, you said it yourself... you have not you and will not simply abandon us." She pressed into him with a sigh. Keiichi didn't respond, and for a moment she feared he'd already drifted off. Yet the breath in her ear was no longer the same deep breaths of sleep, and she could feel the man tense against her body. The Norn turned to look at the SEAL and found Keiichi watching her with a somber expression in the darkness. "I mean what I say," she said. "You have tolerated so much from us... from me... I don't want you to come away thinking it was all in vain. I truly am grat-"

"Stop."

Belldandy froze, staring at the man in confusion. Keiichi returned her gaze, frowning now, before sitting up with a sigh and removing himself from the bed. He paced a small distance away, then crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Belldandy...I don't want your gratitude."

The goddess sat up in the bed, squinting at the SEAL in the darkness. "I... don't understand."

Keiichi's face remained a careful neutral as he observed her. His foot tapped a quick rhythm that now spoke of a man completely awake and alert, no longer the half-asleep individual Belldandy had fetched from downstairs. "I don't want your gratitude, Bell."

There was a long moment of heavy silence between the two of them, and as it was drawn out the man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Guess it's story time again," he muttered. "Of all the talks to be happening now..." He sucked in a deep breath and released it with flourish. "Alright. Let's go back to Afghanistan. This happened... probably a month or two before I met Urd," he began. "So Afghanistan is a bit of a wild country. Became that way when the Russians invaded and bombed them back to the dark ages in the eighties. No centralized government that had the respect of its people and lots of terrorist cells popping up all over the place and putting their foot down on local villages."

He looked out the window, obscuring his expression from Belldandy's inquiring gaze. "Taliban were... hell, still are, a hefty presence in the region, but back then they were particularly bad. This was before they came to their senses and realized you win more flies with honey than bug spray, and so when they put their foot down on a village, they put it down hard. I won't go into the details, but... well, the locals knew nothing outside of what the Taliban fed them and the women didn't have any rights, so when we went in and helped clear the place out, there was a lot of gratitude and hostility on both sides of the coin."

Belldandy held her peace, confused but curious as to what this had to do with herself. "Some of the Village Elders got on some pretty damned good terms with us. A couple of the older men had a bunch of daughters who'd been married off to Taliban Insurgents, who our team wound up killing up in the mountains north of Kandahar. They wanted us to take their daughters. As brides." Keiichi closed his eyes. "McGuinness had us all in a tight spot because of the culture down there. They don't forget, you see, and anything that's seen as a foul on their end is something that haunts us for generations. The women- the brides- were all grateful, just as their fathers were; their old husbands, the men who'd rape them and beat them and mutilated them were dead and gone, and I don't think they gave two shits who they married next so long as the word 'Taliban' wasn't in the title. We all had to be very careful in turning down their hands so as not to insult, and it nearly cost us the shaky alliance McGuinness had formed upon the village's liberation."

Now Keiichi turned to face her. "I saved you, Belldandy. I saved you from a man who was forcing you to do terrible things, just like those women in Afghanistan. They were grateful, just like you were that day, like you are now. But I want you to understand, that is gratitude, not love. Now don't get me wrong, I want to say that I love you, but... I don't want a relationship founded on gratitude. I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to love me or make me happy, like you were for that shit-stain of a man in Japan. I want you to like me because you know me and you genuinely like the person I am. Not the Navy SEAL- though that's a plus- but the man himself."

He paused, observing Belldandy's face, his eyes searching. "If we move forward with this relationship," he said quietly, "then it needs to be on the foundation that we are both flawed, that we are both scarred, and that neither of us is a golden savior in the eyes of the other. I lost a wife based off that misconception because the wounds I had at the time were too open and raw and neither of us acknowledged it. I don't want to lose you for that same misconception. Sort out your feelings Belldandy, figure out what is gratitude and what is love, and throw the gratitude away for now. If you still think there's something there... some sort of spark that won't just burn out, then let me know, and I will try my damnedest to return it. But I don't want your gratitude."

He stopped himself there and headed for the door. "Take your time and think about it. I'm heading back downstairs." His hand had just wrapped around the handle when Belldandy caught his arm. He looked back at her and found the Norn was upset; angry even.

"Keiichi Morisato, I have watched you grow from when you were but a small boy," she confessed. "You were eligible for a wish from an early age, and as such, I followed you from childhood into adulthood waiting to see if you would fall from the heaven's graces." Her eyes caught and held his, and the blue orbs dug into his brain like raw sapphires in the late evening, in the early morning.

"I watched you get bit by a dog when you were nine after your friends taunted it by poking it through the holes in a fence. I watched you pull your sister's hair from elementary school and into high school. I watched your awkward teenage years to include what you did behind closed doors. I followed you as you walked into a Navy Recruiting station in San Francisco a week after you graduated high school and I watched you get on a plane that would fly you across your country to where you trained. I was with you when news reached you of Aiko. I saw the anger that would have destroyed your candidacy for a wish."

Her gaze never left his. "Yet you did not fall. You maintained your dignity and you upheld your personal morals despite the despair that news had implanted in your heart. I fell in love with you then, Keiichi Morisato. Not from being rescued by you ten years later. Not because you have the human decency to tolerate me at my worst or at my best and ask for nothing that a mortal woman could not already provide in return. I fell in love with you. Your personality and its kindness, though you liked to tease your siblings. Your sense of morals and how you respond under stress when an absolute worst case scenario could have occurred to you. Your strength of character, to be able to still hold on to that kindness, that love, despite the bad hand that some higher fate dealt you to test your might. I could have just been rescued by Urd. I could have just been rescued by a squadron of Valkyries. I could have just been rescued by another man, and it would have changed nothing. Though I would forever be grateful to them for saving me, I would not love them. Not the way I love you."

She pulled him away from the door, and too stunned by this new revelation, or perhaps too captivated by her gaze, Keiichi let the Norn do so. Her hands slid around his waist, and she kissed him, hard enough to be bruising on the mouth. It stole his breath, but it was Belldandy who ended it, not Keiichi himself, and he drew in a ragged breath when her lips left his. "You do not realize it, but you've held the heart of a goddess for well over a decade, Keiichi." She stepped past him and to the door. Still facing him, she reached behind herself. Keiichi heard the click of the lock. "Now come to bed."

His eyes locked on to Belldandy's as she stepped back to him. So transfixed was he that Keiichi felt rather than saw her hands move to his shoulders. They slid down his arms until they reached his hands. She grasped them, pulled them to her, and placed them on her hips. She then reached around his back and pulled him to her, catching his lips in hers in doing so. This kiss was full of passion and desire.

Keiichi's hands roved from her hips to her back as she pressed in to him, forcing him back to the bed. Without disengaging from the kiss, he sat down as he reached the edge. Belldandy effortlessly slid into his lap, straddling his legs. He felt his arousal grow, and could tell she did as well as she reached up and grabbed his head, deepening the kiss as she did. This only served to ignite his passions further and he reached down and cupped the cheeks of her bottom. She whimpered into his kiss, then broke it. "Oh, Keiichi," panted Belldandy as she sat back and pulled Keiichi's head to her breasts, bringing him into her marshmallow heaven.

The dark haired man grabbed hold and stood with Belldandy. In response, she wrapped her legs around him to provide additional support. Keiichi was mildly surprised for a moment at how light she felt, but pushed that aside as he pivoted and sat her down on the bed. He lifted his head up and looked back into her eyes, seeing the desire he felt for her reflected in her azure pools. He felt her hands move to his waist where they grasped the hem of his t-shirt and pulled up. He reached down and pulled it up over his head.

As he threw the article of clothing aside, he saw Belldandy closely inspecting him as if in a new light. She reached out and caressed his chest, running it along the creases between the muscle groups, causing him to shudder. They roved further down along his sides, and the sensation, rather than tickle, aroused him further. Belldandy looked up to him again. As she did, she slid her hands around to the small of his back and pulled him towards her as she fell back.

He placed his hands on the bed so as not to collapse on her as he pulled his legs onto the bed. Belldandy pulled her legs up and wrapped them around him as he settled on top. Together they scooted further up and away from the edge. Keiichi slowly lowered himself onto her, then leaned to his left side, freeing his right arm. Tentatively, he touched her side with his hand, and slid it down to her hip where he caught the bottom of the chemise she was wearing then slipped under. Belldandy sighed, then leaned up and kissed him again.

Further emboldened, Keiichi caressed her silken skin, sliding the night gown up as his hands roved up to her breast. He cupped it, but Belldandy tensed up. Concerned that he may have overstepped her boundaries, he began to slide it towards her back, but then the goddess slightly shook her head. She reached up and grasped his hand while maintaining the passionate kiss they were engaged in, and guided it back to where it was. Emboldened, Keiichi palmed the breast in its entirety.

For just one agonizing moment, Belldandy broke the kiss. "Ooooh, Keiichi," she gasped, then returned her lips to his, once again stealing his breath at the desire and lust he felt in that act. He gently squeezed, and the goddess shuddered. Carefully, he slipped his finger around and circled it around her nipple, causing Belldandy to pull back with a gasp.

"Toshiyuki."

For the briefest of moments, Keiichi felt as if a bucket of ice water had been thrown on him. How! Why would she say that name right now! How could she be thinking of him? That man who put her through ten years of slavery. Ten years of torture.

Ten years of rape.

Those thoughts came to him as he was opening his eyes. When he looked into her eyes, though, his mind fully processed what he saw and compared it to what he had heard. That was not someone calling out their lover's name in a fit of passion.

That was rage.

Pure, unadulterated rage.

Shit!

He didn't have time to say it or even to do it. There was a bright flash and Keiichi, for the briefest of moments, felt himself fly through the air, only to impact the wall a moment later. Before he could react, Belldandy was on him. She grabbed him by the throat and held him there with his feet dangling a dozen inches off the floor.

Then she started to squeeze.

Keiichi tried desperately to pull in a breath, but found his airway had already collapsed from the pressure being exerted on his neck. Belldandy, you're choking me! He tried through sheer force of will to say those words. But nothing came out, not even a croak.

Can't breathe!

Fear started to grip him as he clawed at her arms, seeking a way to break her hold. Nothing was working as her grip was like iron, her arm like steel. He looked to Belldandy's face. "Toshiyuki Aoshima!" she growled. It almost sounded feral. Her eyes were glazed over and almost glowing. He could see what almost looked like ethereal energies leaking out of the sides of them, floating away before dissipating into the darkness.

Can't… breathe!

He saw her rear back her hand. A blue-white ball of energy began to manifest. It crackled with energy.

Can't… … br…th!

"For ten years, Toshiyuki!" Belldandy growled again, louder this time. "Ten years you put me through your own personal hell!"

Ca… t… br… !

The edges of Keiichi's vision began to darken. Still, he kept his eyes locked on Belldandy. Searching desperately for something to click, some recess of her brain that might still be functioning to recognize what she was doing.

She was killing him.

"I shall suffer you no more, Toshiyuki!"

C… … … … th! Urd... …lp!

The glowing ball Belldandy was holding ceased its growth. In that moment, Keiichi knew that he was dead. It was just a matter of whether he would pass out from asphyxiation before Belldandy delivered the killing blow. For the briefest of moments, he thought about how Belldandy would react when she realized what she had done. She was still damaged, still scarred.

This would destroy her.

But there was nothing he could do.

He didn't blame her, though.

How could I?

That was his last thought before he sensed a flash of light.

Then darkness.


A/N: Oh, the evil cliffhanger. We are ending this on that note. Enjoy! Review and comment please!

A/N2: Revised chapter with grammar/spelling updates uploaded 2/25/17


Comments of a Madwoman: An extra long chapter since it took some additional time to figure out the ending. Time to go on another horrible ride as we see the repercussions that arise form such actions. And on the eve of the arrival of a Tic as well...