Daidouji Mayura: Chaos Goddess

by Yashahime

Mayura, a goddess? How did THAT happen? See for yourself!

4. Chapter 4: Male Posturing

Daidouji Mayura: Chaos Goddess
Chapter 4:  Male Posturing
By Lady Crysiana and Yasha-hime

"You're going to have to go to school like that," Loki said without a trace of sympathy.  He was still bright pink all over, and he had begun to peel in large areas. And he'd told Mayura not to mess around with shapeshifting...
Mayura touched the cat-ears.  "...maybe I can get more people to join the mystery club like this..."
"They'll probably think it's a costume," Loki warned.
"...and?"
"What's mysterious about a costume?  ...other than them wondering what H store you bought it at..."
"Koutaro-kun's family has a store a few streets away from school," said Mayura cheerfully.
"An H store?" Loki asked with great interest.
"Mmhm.  I knew they had that one because he took me there when we were dating."
"....you what?"
"...went to the store."
"An H store.  With Kakinouichi Koutaro."
"We didn't buy anything."
Loki plucked a nice heavy umbrella out of the umbrella stand next to the door and marched outside in his pajama bottoms.
"...Loki-kun?"
"I'm going to beat his skull in!" Loki gritted out.
"Oh.  If you were going to beat his skull in for that, I shouldn't tell...um."
"Tell what?" Loki demanded fiercely.
"Nothing!  Nothing happened!  Less happened then with me and the illusion of you!"
Loki did not appear to be convinced.
"Really," said Mayura sincerely.  "But you would have misinterpreted it."
"How so?" Loki demanded.
"Well, I was thinking that I shouldn't tell you how he took me out in his parents' car to out by the house by the lake."
"....he what!?"
"We didn't get anywhere!  It was like making out with my brother and I said that!"
"I'll kill him anyway!  You can't have been more than fourteen!"
"I know the binding spell and if I must use it on you, I will."  Mayura glared at Loki.  Loki ignored this and headed for the front gate.  Mayura sighed and threw the binding spell at him.
Loki attempted with no success whatsoever to struggle against the spell.  Mayura dragged Loki back into the house and settled him on the couch.  "Why are you so upset?  Koutaro-kun and I broke up before I met you."
"You were fourteen!" Loki growled.
"...I'm sixteen now.  How old are you?"
"Why does it matter?  You're not a child anymore."
"How old, Loki-kun?"
"I'm a god, it doesn't matter."
"...right."
"And you're an adult now, anyway!"
"Loki-kun, you're being stupid."
Loki sputtered.
"Do I have to leave you like this all day?" Mayura asked warily.  It did look like it, from the expression on Loki's face.  Mayura pressed a kiss to Loki's forehead.  "See you after school, Loki-kun."
Loki growled.
Mayura got to school.  No one seemed to notice the ears and tail for more than a few moments.  She did, however, have to knee a classmate in the groin once.  Koutaro was late to school, for reasons having to do with car troubles and traffic, and thus did not see Mayura until lunchtime.  "Dai...."  He broke off, eyes going wide, jaw dropping, and certain other things sitting up and taking notice.  "...suki da..." he finished in a dazed tone.
"...Koutaro-kun?" said Mayura, sounding puzzled.
Kotaro abruptly teleported over to Mayura's side and wrapped himself around her about like a tentacle monster.  Mayura attempted to pry him off.  "Koutaro-kun, let go."
Koutaro did not.  In fact, if anything, he clung tighter, his...interest...poking at Mayura's hip.  Mayura hissed and swatted at Koutaro like a cat would.  That got her released, as Koutaro fell over with vivid, bloody scratches all over his face.  "Ittetetetete!"
Mayura glowered at him.
This did not deter Koutaro from giving it another try.  Though at least this time he tried to keep from pressing too tightly against the nekogen-Mayura.  Mayura again attempted to shove Koutaro away.
That again resulted in a tightening of Koutaro's grip.  Fortunately, however, he was abruptly yanked away from Mayura.  "Just what the hell do you think you're doing to my girl!?" Loki demanded loudly enough for the whole school to hear.
Mayura face-faulted.  "What are you doing here?"
"I came to take care of you!" Loki said fiercely, glaring at Koutaro, who was just sitting up and shaking his head dazedly.
"...not...a dream...?" the blond boy muttered to himself in confusion.  He had been scratched in Catgirl Dreams before.  Daidouji Mayura had featured in more than one of them, too.  But he was quite sure he had never included this guy in any capacity at any time in a dream of his, and especially not as Daidouji's boyfriend, a role he devoutly wished to fill himself.
This was going to take a great deal of thought.  Koutaro rose and wandered off in a daze.
"I can take care of myself, Loki-kun," said Mayura.
"Like you were doing just now?" Loki asked saccharinely.
"I would have gotten him off."
"I'm sure he would have gotten off, yes," Loki said dryly.
"Off of me."
"On you, more like."
"Loki-kun, I do not need to be protected, and I do not want to be protected."
Loki folded his arms.  "I seem to recall saving your life on more than one occasion."
"Fine," huffed Mayura.  "I don't need or want to be protected from Koutaro-kun."
Loki's eyes narrowed.  "Is that so."
"Loki-kun, I have already kneed a classmate in the groin today, and the only reason Koutaro-kun got his face clawed first was because I was trying to be kind to a friend."
"Kind to a friend.  I'm sure," Loki said acidly.  Mayura gave Loki a flat look.  Loki returned it with a jealous look.
"Loki-kun, I'm not going to have this argument with you in front of the school."
"Fine!" Loki snapped, frustrated.  "Do what you want!  I don't care!  Consider it over!"  He turned on his heel and stalked out of the schoolyard.
Mayura muttered words it would have horrified her father to realize she knew and stalked after Loki.  Loki refused to stop walking.
Mayura sighed and followed him out of sight of the school before attempting the binding spell again.  Loki stopped, of course.  One does that when one falls over.  Mayura walked over to him and knelt down next to him, sighing.  Loki said nothing loudly.
After a moment, Mayura sighed, released the binding spell, and walked off down the street.

Hel had come to investigate why her father's power had suddenly begun to fluctuate out of control, and at full strength.  She had her eyes closed and was following the traces--difficult, since they felt oddly unfamiliar.  She bumped into someone with an "umf!" and sat heavily on the sidewalk.
Mayura blinked at the girl in front of her.  "I'm sorry!"  She offered the girl a hand up.
Hel's brow furrowed as she accepted the hand and rose.  This was definitely not her father, and yet this girl just as definitely held her father's power.  "I should have been looking where I was going.  I apologize, too.  ...you look troubled."
Mayura sighed.  "It's just...stupid boys, with their stupid issues and their stupid possessiveness, you know?"  She wrapped her arms around herself.  "My boyfriend just broke up with me," she said softly.
"Why don't we have tea at that shop?" Hel suggested, interested in hearing this, and feeling oddly sympathetic.  She didn't know quite why, considering her situation.
Mayura had started to sniffle.  "He really did say that, didn't he?"  She blinked at Hel.  "...I guess tea would be okay."
"Something soothing is good at a time like this," Hel offered, leading Mayura over to the teashop and settling in with her at a little table by the window.
Mayura buried her face in her hands as she started to actually sob.  Hel patted Mayura's shoulder awkwardly and tried to get her to drink a cup of tea.
Mayura eventually calmed down enough to sip the tea.   "Why don't you tell me what happened?" Hel suggested.  "Maybe we can think of something to do then."
Across the street, unnoticed, Loki stopped dead as he saw the pair in the teashop window.
"Well," said Mayura slowly, "Loki-kun and I have known each other for a while, but it was only recently that we actually got involved, and I think I love him and I think he loves me but he found out that I dated Koutaro-kun and got stupid and jealous about something that happened two years ago and then he said it was over and I don't know what to do."
"What did he get jealous over?" Hel wanted to know.
"Koutaro-kun and I made out once and Loki was upset that it happened.  ...which I understand, kind of, but Koutaro-kun is like a brother to me now," said Mayura.
"That's all?" Hel asked, frowning.  That didn't really sound like the father she knew...
"Hel?" Loki's voice called.  Hel jumped and looked up...just in time to be pulled into a tight embrace.  Loki buried his face in Hel's hair and closed his eyes tightly against tears that escaped anyway.  "Hel!"
Mayura plainly stared at Loki and Hel.  "..."
"...o...otou...sama..." Hel squeaked fearfully.  She shoved Loki away from her and backed up several steps, only to find that Loki still held her wrists.
"Hel, how did you get here?" Loki demanded.  "I thought Odin confined you to Nifelheim...I haven't been able to see you for years..."
Hel looked confused and a little frightened.  "...o...tousama...doesn't...hate me?" she asked tentatively.
Loki felt that called for another hug and a few more tears.  "Hel...of course not!  You're my daughter; I could never hate you."
Mayura stared down at the table, looking, if possible, more upset than she had been at first.
Sadly, when Loki looked down at her, he didn't see her face, only the back of her head.  And he hadn't spent enough time with cats to learn what the position of the ears meant.  "...Mayura.  Are you coming home with us?" he asked.
There was a long pause before Mayura managed, "No, I'm going back to my father."
"......"  Loki was made unhappy by this, but thought that Mayura would probably get over being mad at him if he gave her some time.  "All right, then.  I'll see you later," he said in a neutral tone.
"I guess you will," said Mayura flatly.
Loki led his daughter out of the teashop.  Hel glanced back at Mayura over her father's shoulder with a little frown of concern and puzzlement.

Mayura did not go back to Loki's house for the next few days.  She actually didn't go anywhere other than school and her room.  Loki approached the temple with his gift in his hands.  Hel had talked to him, using short words and a large stick, and told him how she thought Mayura must feel; he had delayed two days in order to get the things he wanted.
Misao Looked at Loki.  He was holding a broom, and he looked like he couldn't decide between yelling at Loki and beating him with said broom.  Loki met Misao's look without flinching.  "I came to see Mayura."
"To apologize," said Misao evenly.
"Yes," Loki said a trifle belligerently.
"I thought you would."
"Why shouldn't I?" Loki asked flatly.
"Because if you hurt my daughter again I'm going to kill you," said Misao calmly.  "And because I doubt that you'd be here if she didn't have your power."
"My being here has nothing to do with that," Loki insisted sharply.
"Really."
"I intend to marry her," Loki said flatly.
Misao looked at Loki for a long moment.  "That doesn't exactly improve the odds of my letting you in to see her."
"I'm not asking your permission," Loki said evenly.
Mayura appeared in the doorway of the shrine at this point.  "What are you doing here, Loki-kun?"
"I came to apologize."  He held out the flat box he held in his hands, about the same size as a hardback book.  "I brought you a gift..."
Mayura glanced at her father, who made a face.  She walked over to take the box slowly.  "How is your daughter?" she asked neutrally.
"She's doing well, now that she's with her family," Loki said, waiting for Mayura to open the box.
Mayura opened the box, though it seemed as if she did so merely to avoid looking at Loki.  Inside the box was a small book, written in English and painstakingly translated into Japanese.  The translations were written in beautiful bold calligraphy, probably by Loki himself.  A carefully-de-thorned raspberry vine threaded through the book, marking two pages, and a small and beautiful three-petaled orchid lay on top of the book.
Mayura, after staring at the gift speechlessly for a few long moments, opened to the marked pages.  She promptly began crying and stepped forward to wrap her arms around Loki's neck.  Loki wrapped his arms tightly around Mayura.  "I have never seen you as either a child or my daughter," he murmured in her ear.
Mayura pressed her face to Loki's shoulder.  "I love you."
"I love you, too," Loki whispered.  His voice cracked halfway through--it scared him, how deeply he felt about Mayura.
Misao sighed and went inside.
Mayura blinked up at Loki, looking surprised in spite of everything else.  "It scares me, how much I...care about you," Loki admitted, shying away from the words.
Mayura beamed up at Loki and pressed her face against his neck.  "It's scary because it means that someone else can hurt you without meaning to.  Or hurt you deeply easily."
Loki closed his eyes and buried his face in Mayura's hair.  "Mmm..."
"...Loki-kun..."
"Yes?"
"We haven't really tried to give you your powers back, have we?"
"I don't know that anyone's been able to think of a way to do it."
Mayura frowned.  "...well, I think I absorbed everything that was in your basement."
"Even if you hadn't, it probably wouldn't be good to try and repeat that," Loki warned.
"I wasn't thinking of repeating it, I was just wondering how it could happen."
"Probably because you're a natural medium."
Mayura blinked.  "Really?"
"I've noticed it before.  Do you remember that doll?"
"Yeah..."
"You were possessed by the ghost of her owner at one time.  And then there was the Volsung sword.  And Nidhogg...I bet that's why your father doesn't want to admit there are such things as ghosts and demons."
"Because I might get possessed more often?"  Mayura thought a moment.  "...does this mean that technically your power possessed me?"
"Something like, I think," Loki agreed.
"...so how do you undo a possession?"
"If it were a spirit, it would be fairly easy.  But it's not."
"Oh.  ...what would you do if it were a spirit?"
"It would depend on the spirit," Loki explained.  "There are several different ways of dealing with a possession, based on the type of spirit involved and whether you care about getting it out intact."
"Which we do."
"Yes, and trying to sweet-talk my power into leaving your body is a fruitless exercise since it has no intelligence on its own."
"...the stuff in the basement seemed to have some sort of consciousness."
"Jaki always does," Loki sighed.  "But you're definitely not possessed by jaki."
"...yay?"
"Yes, yay," Loki said kissing the tip of Mayura's nose.  (Because it was such a cute nose, he thought.)  "I'd really hate to see you trying to kill me again."
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!"
"That's what happened when you were possessed by the Volsung sword, and again when Nidhogg possessed you."
"..."
"You see why it's so easy to tell you're not possessed by any jaki?"
"Hai..."
"Would you like to come to my house for dinner?" Loki asked abruptly.  "Yamino-kun and Fenrir miss you, and Hel's been talking about you nonstop since Monday."
"...so that's why you knew how I felt?"
"Well...sort of.  I thought you were angry with me over Kou-chan, and I was going to apologize for that."
Mayura just shook her head and smiled slightly.  "It's okay."  She paused.  "...why did that upset you so much?"
Loki was silent for a long moment.  "There are two reasons."
"Alright."
"The first is..."  Loki stepped away from Mayura, feeling a need for a little physical distance.  "When she was thirteen, Hel...there was a boy she liked.  I didn't want him around, but he convinced her to sneak out and meet him, and then he raped her.  She got pregnant, but miscarried, and...she hasn't been the same since then."
Mayura's eyes widened in understanding.  "Oh, Loki-kun..."
"...and because of that," Loki continued, "when I went to college in America, I specialized in working with rape victims and teenaged pregnancy, in clinics like Planned Parenthood.  I wrote my doctoral thesis on the damage having sex too young does to girls."
Mayura nodded.  "I can see why you'd feel that way then," she murmured.  "...I thought it was just that you were jealous," she admitted.
"...well.  I was a little," Loki admitted sheepishly.  "When you were defending him that afternoon, anyway."
Mayura looked amused.  "That's because he's my friend, Loki-kun.  ...even if he has a weird catgirl fetish."
"Yeah, he and I discussed that.  At length," Loki recalled.
"Eh?"
"While I was waiting for the book to arrive," Loki explained.
"...did he tell you about dating me?"
"We discussed that, too," Loki agreed.  "And we especially discussed why he had photographs of you changing clothes."
Mayura blushed.  "...that was...I was..."
"He won't be doing anything like that again."
"...you didn't hurt him, did you?"
"No, I just told him I would curse him with impotence if he tried anything on a girl under the age of sixteen again."
"That's a threat that would work on Koutaro-kun," agreed Mayura.
"Oh, it wasn't a threat," Loki said cheerfully.  "As soon as I get my powers back, I'm going to cast a conditional curse on him so I don't have to watch him all the time."
"Oh.  ...That's..."  Mayura paused.  "...he was only fifteen, you know."
"And?  He's not now."
"...so, Loki-kun...you don't think that rules for girls should be rules for boys?"
Loki looked blankly at Mayura, not understanding her point.
"You don't think that a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy should have the same care applied to him as a fourteen-year-old girl?"
"Boys don't generally get pregnant," Loki pointed out.
"Boys are less prone to emotional damage, too, then.  In all cases."
Loki frowned, but he made no disagreement.
"...Loki-kun, you're being sexist, and while in general it's one of the nicest ways you could be, it's still annoying."
"......" Loki said, offended.  Mayura gave Loki a Look.  "I had sex when I was fifteen and it didn't do me any harm," Loki pointed out sulkily.
"...remember what you told me about Kaitou-san?"
"...what about it?"
"...I don't think, clumsiness aside, that he was ready at that point."
"I didn't do anything he didn't specifically ask me to do!" Loki snapped defensively.
"I know.  But you're using age and sex as a boundary line, absolutely."
"...better me than Baldur or Odin," Loki muttered.  He didn't really intend for Mayura to hear the comment, either.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Loki said hastily.
"Alright..."

By the time Loki and Mayura actually made it to Loki's house, Hel had more or less captured Freyr just outside the front gate.  That is to say, Freyr was on the outside, Hel was on the inside, and Hel was very seriously telling Freyr about her books.
"....Kaitou-san?" said Mayura, surprised.
"Ya...Yamato Nadeshiko!" Freyr gawped, startled and nervous now, as if he'd been caught doing something very wrong.  Loki eyed him in pretty much the same way Misao eyed Loki.
"Oh, you've been talking to Hel-san," said Mayura.
Heimdall, at that moment, came walking down the street.  In a dress.   "Heimdall!?" Loki sputtered incredulously.
"Heimdall," Freyr greeted even more nervously.
"When I find the Norns, I will do everything short of killing them.  Trust me," said Heimdall, darkly.  He turned to Mayura.  "Thank you, by the way, for giving me this form back."
".......you're welcome, Kazumi-kun."
"...Mayura...when did you do that and why?" Loki wanted to know.
"Er...uh...I probably should be going..." Freyr said, hastily mounting his pig.
".......I have no idea," said Mayura.
Heimdall grabbed Freyr and dragged him off of Gullinbrusti.  To Mayura he said, "Probably in your sleep, considering it was around two am."
Hel smiled slightly at the look of blatant terror on Freyr's face.
Heimdall now turned to Freyr.  "Why are you avoiding me?"
"...avoiding you?" Freyr echoed.
"Generally when someone leaves a room whenever I come in and also finds very obviously false reasons to leave the house where they know I'll tend to stay when I can't kill the people who are tormenting me, I assume that they're avoiding me."
"...why would I do something like that?" Freyr asked nervously.
Loki folded his arms and leaned against one of the supports for the gate.  Hel leaned against the gate itself, wrapping her fingers around the bars and listening with great interest.
Heimdall just Looked at Freyr.  Freyr cringed.  Heimdall giving one that look generally prefaced pain.  "Either stop avoiding me or move out of the house completely," said Heimdall finally.
Freyr seriously considered moving out.  But then he also figured that Heimdall would hunt him down and hurt him if he did that.
"I'm going to be searching as far as I can for the Norns, so you have some time," said Heimdall shortly.  He stalked off down the street, skirts rustling around him.  Freyr sagged in relief.
"...so Kazumi-kun really does like Kaitou-san," said Mayura softly.
Loki sighed.  "Damn.  Now I owe Odin twenty gold pieces.  I should have known not to bet with him."
Freyr and Hel both looked at Loki incredulously.
"...Loki-kun, go inside before someone hurts you."
"...Otousama gambled with Odin?" Hel goggled, leaning on the gate enough to keep it closed.
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of!" Freyr scoffed at Loki.
"...I suppose a bet is more important than Heimdall's emotional pain," commented Mayura.
Loki muttered something highly uncomplimentary about Odin and Odin's sons.  "Hel, sweetheart," he coaxed then, "open the gate for us, please?"
Hel pressed more of her weight against the gate.
"It's an entirely separate issue," Freyr told Mayura.  "Surely you can see that."
"You don't know how you feel yet, do you?"
Freyr shook his head, a particularly serious look on his face.
Loki continued to attempt to coax his daughter to open the gate.
"He's giving you time...well, some time," Mayura amended.
"I know," Freyr said.
"So what are you going to do with it?"
Freyr was spared the necessity to answer when the gate clicked open.  "Are you coming, Mayura, Freyr?" Loki questioned.
"I'm coming," said Mayura.  She looked at Freyr.
Freyr started toward the gate.  Hel slammed it shut in his face, putting her back to it and digging her heels into the ground to keep the gate shut.
"..." said Mayura.  "Apparently Kaitou-san isn't coming."
Freyr heaved a huge, sad sigh.  His shoulders slumped as he mounted the metal pig again.  "Let's go, Gullinbrusti," he said morosely.
"Buuuu..." Gullinbrusti agreed, put-putting off.
"Come on, Hel, Freyr's gone, let me open the gate for Mayura," Loki coaxed, wrapping his arms around his daughter.  It still took him almost ten minutes to get her to let Mayura inside.
Mayura smiled at Hel when she got inside the gate.  "It's nice to see you again."
"Mm-hm, you, too," Hel said to Mayura.  She did not smile, but then, she rarely did.
"I hope Kaitou-san and Kazumi-kun will be alright," sighed Mayura.
"I'm sure they will," Loki comforted, leading the two girls inside.

After dinner, Mayura sat in the living room next to Loki.  She did not miss the fact that Yamino was almost as overjoyed as Loki to have her back at the house, and she absently patted Ecchan, who had settled on Loki's head.
Loki crossed his eyes, looking up, and sighed when he failed to see or feel Ecchan.  "Ecchan is there, isn't he?" he questioned, putting an arm along the back of the couch behind Mayura.
"Mmhm," said Mayura, continuing to pet Ecchan or, if one couldn't see Ecchan, air.
Across the room, Hel's hands tightened around her book as she watched her father smile and chat with Mayura.  Abruptly, she asked loudly, "Will Otousama read to me before bed?"
Loki glanced up.  "Of course, Hel, if you want.  At bedtime."
"Now?" Hel asked with a mixture of wistfulness and demand.
"No, Hel, it's not bedtime yet," Loki said gently.  "Come over and sit with us, instead."
Hel walked over to the couch, still clutching the book, and laid down on it, using her father's thigh as a pillow.
Loki stroked his daughter's hair with a sorrowful expression.
Mayura had, by this time, started a conversation with Ecchan.  About demons, the demon world, being summoned, and what Ecchan was.  "I didn't know those really existed," she said, blinking.
"Eh?" Loki blinked.
"Tentacle monsters."
"Well, he did go up your skirt that one time," Loki noted thoughtfully.
"...what?"
"Do you remember that time you woke up in the zoo, soaking wet, in the middle of the night?"
"Oh, yeah.  The possessed birds," said Mayura.  "That was the night Kazumi-kun kissed me."
"........" said Yamino, who had just entered the room.
"He did more than that," Loki said dryly.
"He did?"
"He tried to kill you."
Mayura frowned.  "I don't remember that..."
"You were unconscious," Loki explained.  "He dumped you into the pond in the birdcage.  I managed to catch you, but I couldn't hold on, so you fell.  And Ecchan rescued you."
"Why was he trying to kill me?" Mayura asked.
Loki grimaced.  "Because he knew it would upset me."
"Oh."  Mayura mused over this for a few moments before asking, "Why does he dislike you so much?"
Loki was silent for a long moment.  "He thinks I stole his right eye, which controls his magic."
"Did you?"
"Only," Loki said, "because Odin wanted me to."
"Is that why Kazumi-kun is afraid of people?"
"...." Loki said, having never exactly seen Heimdall as 'afraid' of anything.
"I mean," said Mayura, "He acts like he doesn't care because he doesn't want people to know that what he really wants is attention; otherwise he would have just killed you when he found out you had no powers."
"...I suppose that makes some sense," Loki said dubiously.
"Heimdall is like Hel," his daughter said unexpectedly, without lifting her head from her father's lap.
"Lonely," murmured Mayura softly.  Loki's arm tightened around his daughter instinctively.  Mayura leaned her head on Loki's shoulder.

Freyr had spent the past two days cleaning house.  He didn't do it often, but sometimes when he felt a need to think seriously, it helped to have something to do while he thought.  By the time Heimdall got home, he had even organized Heimdall's dresses by style, color, and material.
Heimdall was muttering viciously about the conspicuous absence of the Norns, and about his considerations of what to do to them when he actually found them.  "Oh, Heimdall!" Freyr greeted.  "If you had stayed out just another half an hour, dinner would be ready.  ...Gullinbrusti!  Stop eating that vegemite!"
"...what is vegemite and why are you so cheerful?"
"I don't know what it is," Freyr admitted.  "But it was on sale!  I got fifty jars of it for twenty yen!"
Heimdall frowned.  "...I don't think I want to eat it, then."
"What?  Why not!?"
"Anything that you get fifty jars of for twenty yen is not something I want to eat."
"It's a good bargain, that's all!"
"Have you tasted it yet?"
"...well, no..."
"You taste it first."
"Gullinbrusti likes it.  He's already eaten three jars."
Heimdall Looked at Freyr.  "Gullinbrusti ate the welcome mat, too."
"It was good straw!" Freyr protested.
"Right.  You try it first."
"I'm cooking, you try it."
"You bought it."
"It can't be any worse than sake," countered Freyr.
"That doesn't mean that it's good."
Freyr folded his arms across his 'Kiss the Cook' apron sulkily.  "I went to all this trouble to have the house clean and dinner ready when you got home, and all you can do is insult my bargaining skills?"
"I do not try new foods before I see that they do not have debilitating effects on other people," retorted Heimdall.
Freyr sulked.  Lots.
"...besides, Gullinbrusti's eaten another fifteen since I've gotten here."
"...eh...ehh!?  Gullinbrusti!"
The squabble between pig and master shortly ended when dinner burst into flames--but not until after all the jars of vegemite had been mysteriously destroyed.
Heimdall sighed when the cleanup in the kitchen was done.  "You know, we never have fires when I cook."
"You weren't home to cook," Freyr pointed out, eyeing his apron mournfully.  At this point, it said "-ss -- co-k" and there wasn't much left of the rest of it, either.
Heimdall eyed the kitchen.  "We should probably go out now.  Or order something."
Freyr took a long considering look at Heimdall, then dashed into his room.  A moment later, he came out dressed in something that had far too many ruffles for something that was supposed to be a suit, and was made of dark blue velvet and white silk.  "Now we match!" he said brightly.
Heimdall fought the urge to bash his head on something.  The fact that they did indeed now match did not make things better, since he was less than pleased to be wearing a severe black crepe dress with a long skirt and a matching hat with a miniature black veil and black gloves.  He would not have looked out of place at a Victorian funeral.
"There's a nice place about six blocks away that's got dancing and all," Freyr suggested.
Heimdall eyed Freyr suspiciously.  "...what kind of nice place...?"
"It's a really nice place--let's go!"  Freyr dragged Heimdall onto Gullinbrusti's back, and they went.
Heimdall glowered at Freyr, still suspicious.
It was a short trip--all of about two minutes.  "Gullinbrusti, you wait on the roof," Freyr instructed his pig.  "You had all that vegemite, so you don't need more food."
"...you have the money to pay for this?" asked Heimdall, eyeing the restaurant.
Freyr ignored this and dragged Heimdall inside, where he told the maitre d' they were there with reservations, under 'Kaitou.'  "..." said Heimdall.  He seemed caught between being impressed and annoyed.
Freyr was decidedly smug as they were seated and drink orders taken.
Given the smugness, Heimdall opted for annoyed first.  "You did not have to blow up the kitchen for this."
"You wouldn't have come with me otherwise," Freyr pointed out reasonably.  Heimdall couldn't come up with a response to that, since it was undoubtedly true.
"Oh, the band is starting up again, come on and dance with me!" Freyr bubbled cheerfully.
"...I do not dance."
"It's not that hard, come on!"
Heimdall sighed a longsuffering sigh.  He had noticed that Freyr was in one of his determined moods.  This was, he reflected, probably a good sign in general, but did not bode well for doing anything like winning an argument that evening.  Mostly because Freyr would ignore or bulldoze through any resistance.
Freyr dragged Heimdall out onto the dance floor and commenced seducing him there, through little touches and brushes and a lot of intimate and very sexy little smiles.  Heimdall found himself blushing, which, happily for his sake, annoyed him enough to keep him from completely melting against Freyr.  The healthy amount of terror at the fact that he was melting at all also contributed to this.
Freyr was frowning as they returned to their table.
"...what?" asked Heimdall after a few moments.
"I thought this was what you wanted."
"It's..." Heimdall found himself annoyed that he couldn't even be annoyed at Freyr.  He made an attempt at something very unusual for him; tact.  "It's a bit overwhelming."
"Oh."  Freyr said no more as the waitress brought their food.
Heimdall made a face after the waitress left.  "People don't do things for me," he said.
"That's because you always hit them when they try."
"I haven't hit you yet."
"Mm," Freyr said around a bite of his dinner.  "Yet is the operative word."
Heimdall sniffed and turned to his dinner.
Freyr tried to keep his flirting to a minimum while they ate.  It was clear that he was trying.  It was equally clear that he had fallen into "Courtship Mode" and was not particularly successful.  The fact that Freyr was clearly making an effort was probably what kept Heimdall from actually snapping at him.  He did get a Look, once, however.
"...." Freyr said in response to this.
"I'm going to act as if you didn't say that," said Heimdall evenly.
"...." Freyr repeated.
"You can go on talking," said Heimdall.
"...about what?" Freyr asked, deciding at this point that maybe it would be a better idea to let Heimdall pick the topic.
Heimdall blinked, then said, "Something that does not involve Loki."
Freyr launched into the first topic he could think of that didn't involve anyone either of them knew, which happened to be a long-winded ramble about his favorite daytime soaps.
Heimdall interrupted Freyr, "But Alec shouldn't have dumped Mei for Kyoko.  Kyoko just wants his money, even if she is prettier."
"Alec is a jerk and doesn't deserve Mei anyway," Freyr sniffed.  "She should be with Takuya, who really loves her, even if Alec is the father of her child."
"Oh, I missed that episode," said Heimdall.  "When did that happen?"
"Monday, when you were gone," Freyr explained.  "And Tetsyua finally slept with Shouta, too.  It was a really really important episode!  ...and the VCR broke..."
"We could check the fansite; someone must have taped it," said Heimdall.
"The cable modem got knocked in the toilet and shorted out," Freyr said mournfully.
"How did that happen?"
"I don't know, I wasn't there when it happened," Freyr explained.  "But I think Gullinbrusti was surfing porn sites again and didn't want me to find out."
"...........that was far too much information, Freyr."
"You were the one who wondered where all those pop-ups came from last time," Freyr pointed out.
Heimdall shuddered.  "I really didn't want to know."
"I tried putting a child filter in, but he knows my password."
"Child filters don't work very well anyway," said Heimdall.
Freyr was distracted from the topic when the band returned from another break.  "Come on, let's dance again before we go!" he said, jumping to his feet.  Heimdall allowed himself to be led to the dance floor.
As Freyr didn't know how to dance any other way, this was a repeat of the earlier dance--seduction set to music.  Heimdall was more receptive to being seduced this time.  In the sense that his annoyance at Freyr was mostly gone, so he melted faster.
The only reason Freyr didn't rip the dress off of Heimdall and screw him on the dance floor was because of a timely dropping of a tray by a fanstricken waitress.
Heimdall pulled away from Freyr at the crash.   Freyr blinked and shook his head, then pulled Heimdall toward the front door urgently.  Heimdall allowed himself to be pulled, not really giving much thought to it at the moment.  They had stopped dancing and all was well.
Just outside the front door, Freyr stopped, picked Heimdall up, and whistled for Gullinbrusti.  The pig arrived almost instantly, and Freyr continued to hold Heimdall in his arms like a new bride as they hurried home.  Heimdall squirmed, though not that much, considering they were airborne.
Freyr didn't even put Heimdall down when they got into the house.  At least not until they hit the master bedroom, at which point he dropped Heimdall on the bed and pinned him there.  Heimdall, upon some consideration lasting roughly a millionth of a second, buried his fingers in Freyr's hair and dragged his head down for a kiss.
Later, Freyr curled around Heimdall in a happy post-coital daze.  Heimdall was content to lay there, mindless for a few moments.  Then he said, "I suppose this means you're staying."
There was a long silence.  "Heimdall," Freyr decreed finally, "you are never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever allowed to call me an idiot again, after that."
Heimdall looked amused.  "I'll just call you a moron, then."  Freyr snatched up a pillow and whacked Heimdall with it.
Heimdall scooted to sit back against the headboard.  "I'd retaliate, but I haven't hit you this evening.  Yet."
"...no pillow fight?" Freyr questioned, disappointment written on his face.
"Oh, all right."  Heimdall picked up a pillow and whacked Freyr back.
Shortly after that, the room was covered in pillow feathers.

"Mayura?"  It was well after dark, and Loki's children had already retired for the night (after observing her father carefully, Hel had given her brothers a look that promised pain if they didn't do what she wanted), leaving Mayura and Loki alone in the living room.
Mayura blinked at Loki sleepily.  She'd been half-dozing on his shoulder, and his voice had taken her by surprise.  "Hm, Loki-kun?"
Loki caressed Mayura's cheek lingeringly as desire glittered in his eyes.  "I've missed you..."
Mayura leaned into Loki's touch, her eyes falling closed.  "I missed you too," she breathed.  Loki pulled Mayura gently into his lap, where he kissed her passionately as his hands caressed her body through her clothes.  Mayura kissed Loki back urgently and ran her hands down his chest hesitantly.
Loki spent several more minutes kissing Mayura that way, then scooped her into his arms and stood, heading up the stairs to his room.  Mayura wrapped her arms around Loki's neck and lay docilely in his arms.  Loki kicked his door shut and laid Mayura down on the bed.  "Mayura..." he breathed reverently, kissing her again.
Mayura made a soft sound into the kiss.
"Shh...Mayura, I'll take care of you," Loki murmured warmly.
Mayura nodded.  "I...I know."
Loki kept his promise--he was exceptionally gentle, and patient, and drew out every last ounce of pleasure for Mayura before finally taking his own.  Mayura curled up next to Loki afterwards.  "I love you," she whispered.
"Mmm..." Loki breathed.  "Me, too."
"...ne, Loki..."
"Hm?"
"...you said...they made you leave your home, right?"
"...un," Loki agreed, pressing his face against Mayura's hair.
"...if you...if you got the chance to go back there..."
Loki's arms tightened.  "I would go," he admitted slowly.  "But not for long.  Like someone who has a chance to go back to a house they were thrown out of and collect their belongings."
Mayura pressed closer to Loki.  "As long as you would come back."
"I would," Loki promised.
"Alright," sighed Mayura.
Loki was silent for a long moment.  "Hel likes you," he noted.
"Hel's a nice girl."
"Do you think you'd be able to deal with her as a stepdaughter?"
"....I..."  Mayura blinked, then smiled.  "I think I could."
Loki reached over to his bedside table and produced from it a dark gray ring-box.  "I'm not that sure of exactly what current customs about marriage are," he said wryly.  "The last time I looked into that, I would have been making this proposal to your father, in front of at least half a dozen witnesses.  But I did figure out there's a ring involved..."
Mayura stared at Loki.  "You, you got me a..."
Loki flipped on the light and offered the box to Mayura.  "I'd intended to wait until morning," he admitted.  "But I don't think I can."
Mayura reached out to take the box and opened it.   The ring in the box wasn't your typical diamond engagement ring.  Instead, it was a band of silver filigree, in the form of animal interlace, with an opal held in the mouths of two of something that might have been birds or might have been wolves.
Mayura immediately put the ring on.  "It's beautiful."
"An old friend of mine made it for me," Loki said.  "It should resize itself to fit your finger no matter what."
Mayura smiled brilliantly at Loki and kissed him.
Loki returned the kiss.  "Is that a yes?" he asked with a soft chuckle.
"Of course it's a yes!"
Loki kissed Mayura again.  "Good.  I'd hate to find out I was mistaken on this."
"Mm.  I hope Koutaro-kun won't hold me to that promise we made when we were five, because I don't think he wants to be a bridesmaid."
"...e...eh?" Loki said, trying not to laugh.
"We promised that we'd make each other part of our wedding party," Mayura explained.  "But I'm not sure that you'll have room with people standing with you since you have Yamino-kun and Fenrir and Narugami-kun and Kaitou-san and Kazumi-kun."
"...I hadn't planned on inviting Heimdall, or letting Freyr into the ceremony."
"But you're friends with them."
"No, I am not," Loki said patiently.
"...really?"
"Really," Loki insisted.  "He wants to kill me.  Or at the least cause me as much pain and suffering as he possibly can."
"I'm sure he'll get over it someday."
"...do you actually understand the difference between 'friend' and 'enemy,' Mayura?"
"Of course.  An enemy would try to kill you during a time when you were completely vulnerable, rather than teaching the person who has your powers a very useful skill."
Loki muttered something Unkind about that 'useful skill.'
"Well, I'm sure you think it's useful when it's not being used on you."
"I have my own version," Loki sniffed.
"Really?" asked Mayura, sounding interested.
"Un," Loki agreed.  "Ask Hel to show you sometime, I taught it to her when she was a little girl and her brothers kept picking on her."
"Alright...Kazumi-kun was surprised I was good at it, wasn't he?"
"He was," Loki agreed.  "I was, too, to be honest.  That's not an easy spell to learn."
Mayura looked thoughtful.  "But I learn some things faster than you and some things slower, right?"
"That's only to be expected," Loki pointed out.  "You aren't me."
"It would be inconvenient if I were."
Loki grinned.  "Not entirely," he said slyly.
"Hm?"
"A fair number of people enjoy watching," Loki said to the ceiling.
"..."
"Or so I've found over the years."
Mayura tried not to think about it, failed, and blushed.  Loki chuckled and blew in her ear.  "Would you like to watch?"
Mayura attempted to process this and only managed incoherent sounds and more blushing.  Loki laughed openly.  Mayura picked up a pillow and whacked Loki with it.
Loki laughed some more and fought back.  ...unfortunately, he grabbed a long-lost pillow imp.  Mayura managed to banish the pillow imp only after it bit Loki's hand.  "I thought we'd gotten all of those..."
"...it could have bitten at a worse time," Loki allowed, wincing in pain.
Mayura nodded fervently.  "Bandages?"
"First Aid kit's in that drawer," Loki sighed, nodding at the bedside table.
Mayura pulled out the First Aid kit and bandaged Loki's hand.
"I hope that was the last one," Loki sighed.  "I really do."
"They seem to like you."
"I've noticed," Loki said dryly.

To Be Continued...