Disclaimer: I do not own DanMachi or any of Omori's original characters, nor do I make any profit off of my writing.
"Suko?"
"Yes, papa?"
How dare she. How dare she act all innocent right now when she was very clearly guilty.
Bell pointed down at the child sized broadsword cradled in her arms. "Where'd you get that?"
She smiled, wide and innocent and unsuspecting. "Uncle Welf made it for me! Isn't that the greatest?"
"Uh huh."
What? No! Not at all! Who gives a sword to a ten-year-old? Bell understood that Welf was even younger when he first started forging (and Aiz even more so when she first went into the dungeon), but considering the state of the blacksmith's family, it wasn't exactly the best of explanations.
Bell kneeled down in front of his daughter, one of his hands laying palm up in the space between them. "Can I see?"
She nodded. "Mhmm!"
The sword was light, weighing little more than the obsidian knife still sheathed at his waist, and covered in a red scabbard with gold highlights. Slowly, Bell drew the blade and holy shit what had Welf done.
Really, man?
A Crozzo magic sword for a child?
Like really?
Is that even necessary? What's she going to use it on?
On second thought, he really didn't want to know. He'd seen Aiz try to cook enough times to know that question led nowhere good in the Waldstein family.
(He certainly wasn't winning any awards either.)
"Do you want to see the others?"
Bell choked.
"O- others?"
The child nodded again, a giddy smile gracing her lips as she practically vibrated on the ground. Bell mourned the new pair of shoes and how fast they were going to be worn down by her seemingly unending well of energy. He'd just bought this pair last week.
"Yeah! I have lots more!"
Bell was going to have some words with 'Uncle Welf' about what is and is not age appropriate for Suko.
"Is that so?"
She bobbed her head some more, her excitement not going down in the slightest.
"Wait here! I'll be right back!"
"Wait! Don't run with– " He sighed. This kid was going to be the death of him. The concepts of 'fear' and 'self-preservation' were completely lost on her. "I wonder where she got that from," he muttered. A mystery in the truest sense. It certainly couldn't have been him. Absolutely not. He was afraid of a lot of things. And he.. he.. well, who really needs all that 'self-preservation' nonsense anyways?
My daughter, he mentally chided. My daughter needs that 'self-preservation' nonsense.
"Papa! Papa! Papa! Look! Look!"
At least her vast array of weapons was still sheathed as she carried them? That was certainly better than the alternative.
Still, a talk with Welf was definitely at the top of his to-do list because that was far too many weapons for one person to own.
Was he trying to stock an army or something? Bell could make out several more swords, a replica of his own divine blade, three glaives (which how was she even carrying this all?), several axes, an Urga (was that Tiona's actual Urga? It couldn't be, right?), a katana, what looked to be an assortment of throwing knives, another magic sword, and one – get this – one, singular arrow. Where was the bow? Where were the rest of the arrows? Why was their only one?
Bell had so, so many questions and exactly zero answers.
The father licked his lips as he eyed the veritable armory before him, eyeing each weapon with a bit of trepidation. Even he didn't know how to wield that many!
"Why has your uncle made you so many weapons?"
"So, auntie Mikoto could teach me!"
Great.
How as it that all of this was going on under his nose? Mikoto had been giving his daughter weapons training? Wasn't that something she should ask him or Aiz about?
"Don't be mad!"
Bell turned away from the katana laid out neatly on the ground to glance at the child looking up at him pleadingly, her hands clasped in front of her chest as she did.
"We wanted to surprise you! I made them do it!"
He blinked.
".. Suko.. "
"You're just.. you're him! You're the hero! And– and.. I wanted you to be proud of me, so.. "
Bell kneeled down and cupped the girl's cheeks, his thumbs ghosting over her skin as he wiped the beginning of tears beading in her eyes. "I will always be proud of you, honey. You don't need to be anything but yourself ever. Okay?"
One of her hands reached up and gripped her elbow nervously.
".. okay.. "
Bell placed moved one of his hands to her shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze, and smiling tenderly over at her downcast eyes.
"Hey.. "
She glanced up from the ground.
"I love you. So. Much." He punctuated each word with a poke to her stomach, relishing in the quiet giggles that erupted from the girl.
"I love you too, papa!"
This was it. This was heaven.
"Does that mean I can keep them?"
And just like that, the illusion was broken.
"What? No, of course not, who even needs two magic swords?"
Suko stayed suspiciously quiet at that. Lips pulled in and eyes wandering the yard around them.
.. you're kidding..
"There are only two magic swords, right?"
"Err.. "
"Right, Suko?"
"I love you, papa!"
She bolted.
".. what the hell, Welf?"
How many did she have? What ever happened to the guy who refused to make magic swords for anyone? He was handing them out like candy to a girl who once thought she'd lost her finger. Her finger! Bell isn't even sure how to explain it! It was literally on her hand!
Somebody cleared their throat behind him.
"That's a lot of weapons you have there."
He shook his head ruefully as he rose back to his feet, resolutely ignoring the aching of his knees as he did. He was not getting old.
"I'll have you know; these are actually Etsuko's so hah."
Despite his annoyed tone, the smiling tugging at his lips as he spun around showed he meant little by it.
"It's good to see you, Bell."
He opened his arms, inviting the woman in for a hug.
"It's good to see you too, Riveria."
The elven princess stepped forward to hug the young man before she was interrupted by a french fry-powered missile to the stomach.
"Grandma!"
Bell snorted at the slightly strain that came to the high elf's easy-going smile and smirked at the twitch of her eyebrow. "Little one? I thought we agreed that I was your mother's sister, right?"
Etsuko shook her head into the woman's green robes, an all-too-happy 'nope!' escaping from its folds.
Riveria sighed and Bell quickly stepped in to save her any further embarrassment.
"What brings you here today?"
She tilted her head to the side, gesturing vaguely toward the binder that now lay abandoned on the ground, the high elf having dropped it in order to catch the little hellion in her arms.
"Wedding planning."
Bell nodded. He probably should have known that.
She turned toward the entrance to the Hearth Mansion. "How's she doing today?"
Riveria had been the one to watch over Aiz during Bell's absence, occasionally stepping in and acting as a second parent to little Etsuko on the golden-haired girl's worse days. She'd been so focused on Az's well-being that she never had the time to find Bell like she'd wanted to. It had been hard, seeing the girl in the state she was, especially after Aria had asked her to watch over the young girl before ascending to the upper world.
Aiz hadn't been in a good place before Bell's disappearance, even worse so after the fact. She simply couldn't forget, couldn't forgive those words she said.
("Why can't you see it? I don't love you! I never have.")
It had been a lie, even at the time she knew it was a lie. Bell probably did to, at least to some degree, but hearts and minds were cruel and which one could he trust more? But she was suffocating and she needed him away and no matter what she did he wouldn't give her space and she snapped.
The high elf had devoted all of her time and energy to this family, having officially stepped away from her executive position in the Loki familia to be here. She didn't blame anybody for the past. In her eyes, there was nobody to be blamed.
Nobody was the cause of what happened, nobody was at fault.
There aren't any winners when it comes to things like mental health.
Aiz couldn't be blamed for her sadness.
Bell couldn't be blamed for leaving.
He'd stuck with her through thick and thin for years, dealing with the older girl's eccentricities and peculiar habits with a smile. But at a certain point anybody can reach their breaking point. Bell loved Aiz with all his heart, but he couldn't be there for her in the way he was needed when he couldn't even be happy himself.
So, Riveria didn't blame him.
That didn't mean she wasn't relieved to have him back though.
She had doubted, once, that Aiz would ever fully recover, that she'd ever be happy. She wasn't even sure if she'd ever seen Aiz actually happy before. Maybe close, during her and Bell's first days together, but never wholly. There always would have been some sadness lurking beneath the surface, some pain hidden to the world.
That wasn't going to change even now.
But it had been so much worse after Bell left. There'd been days when the girl couldn't even manage to get out of bed. Days when she'd shut down as she had all those years ago when she first arrived in their time. Days when she wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink, wouldn't speak. Days when she lacked all enthusiasm for the things she once loved.
But then, all of it would be worth it for moments like these, when Bell would smile and say:
"She's doing great, she's actually making lunch right now."
Riveria's eyes widened, "she's wha– "
Whatever she'd been prepared to say was drowned out by the deafening boom that echoed out from the halls of the Hearth Mansion. The birds on the nearby trees flew away in droves and the bystanders outside the gates paused to watch as Bell grumbled to himself.
".. more than two magic swords.. "
He cursed his luck.
"Etsuko, honey?"
"Yes, papa?"
She didn't even peak out from Riveria's robes, the coward.
"Did you give your mama a magic sword?"
"No?"
"Convincing."
It was a good thing she'd inherited his natural talent for lying alongside his aptitude for finding danger (even if it did seem like she actively sought the danger out most of the time. And no, he did not do the same when he was younger, that's ridiculous).
Bell really hoped that Aiz didn't do too much damage to the kitchen. He didn't want to saddle any of the new members with the debt. His disposable income was rapidly diminishing.
He blamed Etsuko's shoe budget.
A figure appeared in the front door, coughing and gagging and waving a hand through the air as stepped out through the clouds of black smoke billowing out.
"Lunch is going to be a little late today, guys!"
Aiz smiled beneath layers of soot and what Bell could only assume were the remnants of the enchiladas she'd tried making.
"We can eat out?"
Aiz glanced back at the building before turning and nodding quickly.
"We can eat out."
"Mia's?"
Another nod.
"Mia's."
Bless the gods. He wanted to be supportive, but he really, really didn't want to eat whatever it was Aiz had cooked up. Gods above, the only thing her cooking managed to beat out was whatever weekly concoction Freya and Helun whipped up. They needed a waiver or something to give to any of their would-be victims. How they managed to avoid being sued over their borderline criminal dishes was beyond him.
Bell took the time to wipe some of the ash from Aiz's face, gently caressing her cheek as he did, and smiling softly at the tender look she gave him.
"I look like a mess."
He shrugged. You look beautiful to me.
"Did I ever tell you about what happened after we met that first time?"
She shook her head in the negative as one of her hands slipped into his and the four wandered away from the smoldering house.
"Well.. you know how I was drenched in bl–uhhhh.. blubber."
Etsuko blinked over at them from her where she walked at her grandmother's side. "Blubber?" She gave them an unimpressed look.
"Yes, actually! I was covered in blubber; do you not believe me?"
"You, dad, were covered in blubber."
"Yes."
"The same blubber that comes from sea animals?"
He nodded. Obviously.
"You met mom near the sea?"
"Of course!"
"The same mom who's deathly afraid of water?"
".. yes?"
Who taught this girl to argue? Weren't kids supposed to never question their parents or something?
She hummed but let the matter drop, something Bell was very thankful for.
"A- anyways.. I was covered in– "
"Blubber." Or not.
" –yes, blubber. Thank you, Suko. I was covered in blubber. I, of course, ran away from you at first sight–"
"Which I'm still not over." Aiz helpfully interjected.
" –which you're still not over. I ran straight to my advisor to make a very, very important request. So much so that I spared no time to wash off the– "
"The blubber."
Bell sighed.
"Yes. I had no time to wash off the.. blubber."
He didn't even know why he was keeping this ridiculous lie going. Etsuko hadn't believed him for a second. All he was doing was ruining his own credibility.
Aiz bumped him softly with her shoulder. "What was the request, blubber boy?"
"Naturally, it was nothing other than 'tell me everything you know about, Aiz Wallenstein, please!'"
"Oho~ is that so?" She smirked. "So, you can ask your pretty advisor to tell you everything she knows about me, but you couldn't just ask me yourself? You just had to run away from me. Again. And again. And again.. "
She kept going, her voice growing quieter and her head bobbing with each again. Yeah. She certainly wasn't over that.
The group turned appeared from the side street they'd head down, stepping out onto the larger 'East Main' directly in front of their destination. It truly was a blessing that the home of the Hestia familia was so close to the Hostess of Fertility.
Funny enough, Bell had never actually eaten in the restaurant during their café hours. He hadn't even the slightest inclination on what they served right now. He just hoped that he'd brought enough valis along with him to pay for everyone.
Kami, was he going to need to get a job soon?
That sounded horrible.
What could he even do? Food service? He'd sooner choose the dungeon.
"Nyaa! White hair!"
Gods above. How do some of these girls still work here? There were new waitresses – or would they be hostesses? – sure, but a few of the original girls still remained. Why? The job was hell. Surely, they would have searched for something more enjoyable, right?
Bell had already come back more than a few times since his return to Orario, being met with equal excitement each time.
"Bell?"
"Bell-kun is back?"
"Cushy tushy has gotten a little old for my tastes."
Bell sighed.
Chloe was seriously freaky.
Three heads appeared above Anya's shoulders.
Bell gave the first two a warm smile before it tightened on the third. "Ryuu, Helun.. Chloe, please refrain from doing anything.. untoward.. around my daughter."
"Where's the faith? Nyaa~!"
He rolled his eyes. "Table for four?"
"What in Gekai are you reading?"
Suko blinked owlishly up from her book before frowning. Was this something bad? She turned the cover over to reread it. It certainly didn't sound bad.
"Romeo and Juliet?"
Her mom had said she remembered it from her childhood, was it so bad to read it?
Bell plucked the so-called 'story' from his daughter's hands with two fingers, holding it away as far from his body as he physically could. His other hand reached up to pinch his nose closed as he dramatically ran off toward the nearest trash bin. "Ew, ew, ew!" His voice was nasally as he whined, truly an attractive image consistent with that of the world's strongest man.
Etsuko pouted. She liked it!
"What's wrong with it?"
"Romance?" Bell scoffed. "We don't read romance in this house."
"Mama liked it!"
The father grimaced. His wife's infatuation with such a horrible plight on fine literature always confused him. Romance? Of all the things she could enjoy reading, it just had to be romance. And of all the people it was Aiz?
"Your mother's taste in books is.. " He gagged. ".. questionable."
His daughter merely groaned and sunk into her chair. Mama said the same thing about yours, papa!
"At least I'm not pushing thirty and reading books made for children."
Bell froze. Uh oh.
"Get 'em, mama!"
Aiz leaned against the door frame, her toes tapping idly at the threshold between the entry and the family room and her arms crossed in front of her. She looked thoroughly unimpressed, eyebrow raised and lips drawn in a thin line – though Etsuko could see the hidden mischief in her eyes. Her father would have seen it too if he hadn't been petrified in fear; unfortunately, being frozen also meant his fingers were still fully clamped over his nose.
"H- hey.. l- love?"
"Oh? Are you sure you want to talk about love, Bell? Right now?"
Bell's eyes flicked down to the book extended over the waste bin then back up to her.
"Yes?"
"Hm."
Bell shuddered. He did not like that hum. It promised pain.
Aiz took a step forward and Bell retreated one back. His wife-to-be uncrossed her arms and brought them out to her side, widening her stance as she crept forward.
Bell chuckled and pulled his fingers from his nose and held the hand up in front of himself placatingly.
"We can talk about this, r- right?"
Aiz merely shook her head and took another step.
"Papa's in t-r-o-u-b-l-e!"
"Thank you, darling, for the narration. That is very helpful."
"No problem, papa!"
Aiz lunged.
Bell screamed.
Etsuko giggled.
The two went down fast, flipping over the armrest of the cough and tumbling leg over limb onto its cushions. Aiz's hands gripped Bell's wrists as he tried to fight back and held them firmly together, pushing them down into the seat. Her legs looped around Bell's, locking them in place.
He was well and truly trapped.
This is it! This is how I die! If it had to be in defense of hero novels then I leave this world proud of the battles I've fought! Forgive me, 'Suko!
Aiz smirked.
"You've gotten worse."
Eh?
"Is it just your old age that's made you sloppy or had I just imagined you a better fighter?"
Okay, rude.
"You're older than me!"
"Papa! You're never supposed to bring up a woman's age, hasn't grandma taught you anything?"
He honestly wasn't sure which grandma she was referring to; both Riveria and Hestia were rather militant when it came to their ages. He still didn't know how old either of them were. They wouldn't even give him their birthdays! How was he supposed to give them gifts when he didn't know when that was?
Aiz nodded her head over to the young girl who had returned the accursed book to her lap and continued on reading.
I need to get – he grunted as he pushed up with his arms – out! He couldn't let his poor, wonderful daughter's reading preferences be corrupted so young!
"Suko, dear! Don't read that! There are better options, come on, listen to papa!"
"I'm good!"
"I'll make you cookies and bring that blanket you really like and let you take a nap on the couch?"
She and Aiz gasped in unison.
He meant business.
"Really? You mean it?"
"Bell! That's cheating!"
He ignored his fiancé.
"I do! All you have to do is say 'mama, hero books are way more interesting than romance,' can you do that?"
"But you said lying was bad?"
Curse his parenting! Who did he think he was trying to impress by teaching her something stupid like that? He had honestly just known she was horrendous at lying and had wanted to protect her from the consequences when she inevitably tried and failed.
Think, Bell, think! That's it!
"What would your aunt Lili say?"
Etsuko blinked and Aiz sucked in a breath, abandoning her mission to keep Bell's hands down to slap a palm over his mouth.
"Auntie?"
Bell nodded his head frantically through the makeshift gag. "Mhmm!"
Their daughter tapped her chin in thought. "Auntie.. auntie.. what would auntie say?" She raised one of her fingers in the air haughtily. "'Suko-chan! The world is a horrible place! People are mean, evil, conniving monsters worse than anything Lili ever saw in the dungeon! If Suko-chan needs to step on a few toes to get what she needs? Lili says don't stop with a light stomp, grind those lil' things into meat paste!'"
".. "
".. "
".. "
".. "
.. what the hell, Lili?
".. she said that?"
Etsuko nodded emphatically.
Seriously. What the hell, Lili?
".. that's.. nice."
His daughter sure seemed to think so if her beaming smile was anything to go by.
"Papa!"
Gods he was worried. What was going to come out of her mouth next?
"Hero books are way better than romance!"
She shot him a conspiratorial wink and a (not so) discrete thumbs up.
Well. He won.
Why'd it feel like he lost?
Bell was nervous.
He felt like it was justified.
Weddings make people nervous.
They were serious occasions. Monumental moments in two someone's lives.
And they had to be perfect.
He had planned for this; he'd slaved away to make sure everything was perfect and amazing and wonderful and magical and he was so gods. Damned. Nervous.
How could he not be?
There was no going back from this.
He knew there would be absolutely no regrets in anybody's mind when the day was finally done, but that didn't change the weird fluttering thing going on his stomach or the way his heart felt like now was the time to run a marathon falnaless or how his hands became a veritable ocean of sweat.
Gods above he was nervous.
Shakily, he raised his hands to his tie. He hated ties. So confusing. So weird. It was just a skinny piece of fabric. What was the point? To look nice? Ridiculous. Still, it was expected of him to wear the tie so he'd wear the tie. Anything to make the bride happy.
He closed his fingers lightly around the knot at the top, shifting it back and forth slowly as he tugged at the weirdly long strip that hung from it, slowly making it even longer and bringing the knot closer to his throat.
"Hm."
He'd made it too long.
Bell sighed and pulled the knot apart, tugging the fabric is just about every direction he could imagine in his efforts. He really had no idea what he was doing.
Eventually, the fabric extended into one long strip and Bell repositioned it over his shoulders, just beneath the collar of his shirt.
He could do this.
He could do this.
He swept the longer end over top the shorter end and began his thankless work.
Three minutes later and–
".. are we certain ties are necessary?"
Ouka turned, an eyebrow already raised, and snorted when he saw the mess dangling around Bell's throat.
"Unless you want to look a fool up there, I would say ye— what is that?"
The white-haired boy shrugged. "A half Windsor.. nobody told me what the other half was supposed to be, so I just went for a fisherman's."
".. wait, what?"
"Eh? What's wrong?"
The far eastern man groaned. Of course. Of course. How could he possibly think Bell would be anything less than clueless. The guy's head only had room for three topics when they were younger, his advancing age had only expanded that limit by one. Heroes. Fighting. Aiz. Etsuko. Anything else and he was completely lost.
"Why– " Ouka clapped his hands in front of himself and took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he did. If he kept going like that, he'd end up yelling at Bell and that just wouldn't do. Not on a day like today. "Bell, there is no other 'half' to the half Windsor. That is just its name. It's the half Windsor."
"But.. what about the other half?"
Wha–
"I just explained that!"
Honestly! In one ear and out the other!
Bell didn't get it. He had never been very good at math, honestly the only reason he knew the little he did was because it helped with understanding his blessing. Well, that and his familia's crippling debt all those years ago. Still, even if he wasn't good at math he at least knew if there was a 'half' anything then there was another half out there somewhere. If he went and ordered half a sandwich, there would still be another half.
So where was the other half of the knot?
Ouka sucked in another deep breath through the nose.
"Just– get over here and I'll do it for you."
Bell did.
Ouka was far quicker with his hands when he did, his movements sure of themselves. It didn't take long for him to finish up.
He guessed the knot looked good like this, but where was the rest of it?
"It's done."
"You only did the first half?"
"Do you want a full Windsor?"
"That's a thing?"
The former captain of the Takemikazuchi familia took another deep breath, trying desperately not to throttle the white-haired man. He'd been doing that a lot. Should Bell be worried? Was something wrong? Was he sick? He really hoped he wasn't sick. That would be unfortunate.
"Yes, Bell, that's a thing. Now, do you want it or not?"
"Why are you gritting your teeth? Are you in pain?"
"Nothing physical."
Bell blinked.
"Uhh.. yeah.. sure? A full Windsor sounds.. good.. "
"Good."
By the end of it, Bell's knot was just a little bit bigger and that was the only difference he could see.
Not worth it.
He shrugged. What's done is done.
"Thanks, Ouka!"
The man just grunted.
Bell returned his gaze to the mirror.
Shined shoes? Check.
Pressed slacks? Check.
Sharp suit jacket? Check.
Crisp button up? Check.
Tied tie? Check.
He was ready.
".. "
".. "
".. "
".. "
.. oh, gods. He wasn't ready.
How could he ever hope to be ready for something like this? He needed so much more time to prepare. A year. If he had a year more, he'd be ready.
There was a knock at the door. "We're about ready to start!"
Great. Wonderful. Perfect. He couldn't ask for better timing.
"Welf! Ouka! I'm not ready! It's too soon! What if I can– oww! What the hell, man?"
"Get a hold of yourself!"
"Right, right, right. I can– I can do that."
".. "
".. "
".. how do I do that?"
In lieu of an answer, he was shoved toward the door. "I don't know but you better figure it out because we're going."
Good. Good. That's good. Great, even. That was great. He couldn't ask for anything better. It was honestly even better than great. What's that? Perfect. It. Was. Perfect. Exactly what he wanted and needed. Perfect.
"Good gods, man, you just have to stand up there and smile. It's not the complicated."
Bell nodded. He knew that. Don't tell anybody, but he'd read a lot (and he means a lot) of romance books in advance for this.
Studying, he told himself, he was just studying.
They came to a stop in front of some unreasonably large doors and Bell sucked in a deep, calming breath. Welf gave him a hardy slap on the back. "You'll do great! Catch you in there!" And then he ran off, abandoning Bell to his fate.
He could do this. It was just like the redhead said. He'll do great. I'll do great.
He sucked in another deep breath as Hestia moved to his side, dressed to the nines in her bridesmaid's gown. "Ready?"
He shook his head. "I don't think I'll ever be ready."
Was he crying? It felt like he was crying.
"Are you happy at least?"
"Thrilled."
Gods he was thrilled.
The goddess nodded, satisfied. "Good, now give me your arm so we can walk out."
Bell did and took another breath.
He could do this.
He wouldn't screw up Welf's special day.
He could do this.
"How is 'Suko so calm?"
Seriously! She was the flower girl and she was flitting back and forth between the different members of the bridal party like it was nothing. Was she not nervous? Terrified? This was her uncle here! Did she not fear for his eternal happiness?
How had he raised a girl so heartless?
"Because she's a normal person. Normal people don't freak out for their friends' weddings, heavens above how did you ever manage to get through your own?"
Bell smiled down at the metal band around his ring finger, a serene sense of calm washing over him as he remembered his special day. He shrugged. "How could I be nervous about any of that? It's Aiz."
Hestia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You are hopelessly in love, I get it. Yeesh."
Bell mirrored her exasperation. "Sorry for being happy, mom."
"Whatever, just promise me you won't pass out until after the ceremony."
He could.. probably do that.
"I'll try."
Hestia sighed again.
Here's hoping.