Disclaimer: I do not own DanMachi or any of Omori's original characters, nor do I make any profit off of my writing.
Aiz was just taking a nice, leisurely stroll through the market district. That was all she wanted to do. She'd been feeling strangely at peace since she met the boy in the dungeon and today she wanted to go for a walk. Was it too much to ask that she not have anything weird happen to her?
Things had been going great.
Well, they've been going about as well as they usually do. Bete got drunk, again. He insulted somebody, again. But it couldn't stop there, oh no, he just had to go and insult the white-haired boy (who she regretfully never asked the name of). To make matters worse, said boy was also in the tavern at the same time and heard it all.
And Aiz was just a moment too slow to correct the idiot wolf, saying that she – in fact – would choose the 'Tomato Bitch' over him.
But the white-haired boy heard it all and she wasn't quick enough.
She sure as hell was after he ran away, though. Made sure to chase that boy downright quick and follow him from a distance. Of course, he would run into the dungeon. At night. Alone. With no armor. Men, she decided, were idiots. Occasionally she would help, cutting down monsters from the shadows and making sure he wasn't overwhelmed.
It was nice.
Then, she went and decided tomorrow was going to be a good day. A nice, normal, calm day. A day under the sun. A day without all of the monsters and violence. One where she could just breathe.
Aiz let out a sigh, her chin held high, and a soft tune playing in her mind as she stepped around the eighth man of the day to get down on one knee. She never really understood what they were doing, it seemed to happen a lot around her. Certainly, no other women seemed to be suffering the same plight.
Perhaps she was just cursed?
It would certainly be a silly curse.
'All men who is't found within ten feet of this mistress shalt suff'r loose shoeth laces 'r p'rish.'
See? Silly.
The golden-haired swordswoman couldn't think of any other reason for why all of these men would be kneeling. She didn't have the same problem with her tall boots. No laces to be seen across the entire surface. It was nice, especially in combat, she wouldn't have to worry about tripping. These men should really consider that before they head out, she'd hate to see them trip and hurt themselves.
Aiz gave a pleased hum as she paused in front of a market stall, her head tilting to the side as she examined the different items on display.
The merchant gave her a funny look – probably not expecting somebody of her renown to come to their shop – but didn't pry, for which she was thankful.
"Can I interest you in anything, miss?"
From what she could see on display, probably not. He had a nice arrangement of food ingredients, some of which seemed to be imported from faraway lands. Some of what appeared to be spices were marked with the seal of Israfan to the south. That flour looked to be from around Karuna, odd but not unheard of.
Aiz kept her face perfectly blank as she scanned the cart, golden eyes scanning for something she knew she'd never find. She opened her mouth to speak before pausing and carefully choosing her words, making sure not to let any of her accent slip. "Do you have any.. junket?"
The question gave the man pause, his mouth turning down ever so briefly as he considered her words. Reluctantly, he shook his head. He was clearly apologetic, but Aiz had already resigned herself, dipping her head in thanks, she departed.
Nobody ever had the foods she'd been used to, the ones that reminded her of simpler times with her parents. A lot of what was common back then had changed, 'better' spices replacing the old ones. Aiz disagreed with that, but nobody ever cared to note that. The food she has to eat now was just.. weird. Things like pasta and burgers; butter and oils; vanilla and cocoa. They'd never had these things in her little cottage with her parents and she didn't care much for them now.
The only food from her childhood that truly remained were potatoes. There wasn't much to improve there.
She missed it.
She missed home.
It wasn't something she would have considered had she chosen to journey a thousand years into the future. She would have guessed she'd miss her parents and her house, never the simplicity of the foods they ate.
There was just too much going on with dishes nowadays.
There was no way she would let that get in the way of the nice day, though. Her mood was still high, really the only thing that would make it any better was–
"White-haired boy!"
She gave him a small smile as he jumped and spun, his rubellite eyes wide and his eyebrows raised.
"Aiz?"
A happy hum escaped her as she nodded. It was nice to see him. Well, it was nice to see him when a werewolf wasn't insulting him, or he wasn't under mortal threat. Still, she had something important to ask him. "What's your name?"
"Oh.. I never did tell you, did I?" He gave her a shy wave with an even shier smile.
Cute.
"I'm Bell!"
Too cute.
Aiz's stomach grumbled and the boy gave her a confused glance.
"Was that– ?"
"Nope."
"But– "
"I'm certain thou art confused."
He hummed, pointedly ignoring the light dusting of pink on her cheeks. If she wasn't going to acknowledge it that was her own problem, it didn't mean he was going to leave here hungry. He was raised to be a gentleman. "Here, catch."
Before Aiz could even process what was happening, Bell had plucked an apple from his tote and tossed it her way. The red fruit landed squarely in her hands. Aiz stared down at it wordlessly, her mouth opening and closing as she sputtered. Her face was entirely crimson, not unlike the apple she cradled tenderly.
Bell thought her golden irises contrasted nicely against her flushed face. He watched them flick back and forth between the fruit and his softly smiling face. It was weird. Why was she blushing? It was just an apple?
A high-pitched squeaking tore from the maiden's throat as she tried to process what was happening.
Bell was.. he was..
"It– it's too soon! M- maybe s- s- some time.. b- but I," she swallowed thickly, "I don't bethink myself r- ready, B- Bell."
The white-haired frowned before glancing up at the sun. It certainly didn't seem too early for a snack, right? Her stomach was growling either way, why didn't she think she could just eat it?
Instead of voicing his questions, he merely shrugged. "I think it's okay to so long as it feels right. I won't ever pressure you into anything though. If you're not willing, it can wait."
Aiz was lost for words, truly out of her depth in what to do.
She couldn't believe Bell was just proposing to her! People don't just go around proposing to anybody they fancy, do they? Did Bell do this to a lot of girls? Her heart sunk a little at the thought, a boy like him wouldn't have to wait long to find somebody who accepts if that were the case.
He was being so bold too! He wasn't even blushing! Was he always this brave? It certainly hadn't seemed so when she'd seen him the other times. Perhaps he has hidden strength?
The apple set prettily in her palms, the fruit fitting almost perfectly between her fingers. She stared at it for a long, hard moment, considering its implications. Her parents always stressed the importance of this moment, of knowing who was the right person for her to wed. Her eyes flicked up to meet Bell's one more time.
She couldn't. Could she?
Aiz took a deep breath before taking a small step forward. Then another.
Soon enough she was standing in front of him, her chin lifted up ever so slightly once more. Quickly, before she lost her nerve, she placed a light kiss on his cheeks. She reveled in the way his cheeks finally seemed to match hers in heat, at least she wasn't the only one nervous about all this.
With one more calming breath she spoke. "I am honored by thy off'r. P'rhaps we can meeteth again ov'r food to get to knoweth one anoth'r bett'r first?"
Her eyes were hoping as she looked at him. She wasn't ready for that just quite yet. The thought of marriage at such a young age scared her and this was the first time somebody had ever proposed to her before. Her parents had said that it sometimes started as young as thirteen, but Aiz was well past entering womanhood by now. Truthfully, she had worried that something was wrong with her. Was she ugly? Undesirable?
Apparently, she had nothing to worry about if Bell wanted her like that.
Either way, she would prefer to get to know him better first. She hoped he would understand.
Bell's brain took a while to restart, the space between his ears filled with nothing short of panicked screaming and echoes of 'ROOOOOMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNCCCCCCCCEEEEE!'
"Uhhhh– "
He caught Aiz's hopeful look and found himself nodding dumbly. Screw waiting till he was strong enough to stand by her side, he was ready now and she seemed so too. "I would," he choked on the words, still processing, well.. everything. "I would like that."
He gave her a small, shy smile, one which she had absolutely no problem returning.
A short nod later, she took a step back. "Thou should pickest something good." Aiz made to leave before pausing and glancing over her shoulder, regarding the boy for a moment. In a small, quiet voice she spoke again, unbelievably nervous about her request and entirely unsure of how it would be received. "I haven't hadst junket in some timeth. I wouldst v'ry much liketh to have some again."
Bell blinked. He had no idea what that was but he would do his best!
Bonus:
Aiz stormed into the high elf's bedroom without even bothering to knock. Wordlessly, she threw herself down onto the older woman's bed, pulling a pillow beneath her face as she did. A beat of silence passed as Riveria just watched the girl lay there before the screaming started.
It didn't stop for a while.
Tentatively, the mage walked closer to the girl, gently rubbing a circle on her back and releasing some of the tension between her shoulders.
"Aiz? What happened?"
The girl pulled her face from the pillow and stared up at her pseudo mother. Her face was redder than Riveria had ever seen, even worse than when she'd caught the girl setting the kitchen on fire in her quest to recreate some horrible smelling food.
Aiz took a deep, calming breath before deciding that wasn't worth it at all and electing to yell out her frustrations some more.
"Dalcop! Stampcrab! Cumberworld! Saddle-goose! Skelpie-limmer! The boy doth proposed, Riveria! Proposed! To me! I hast never been proposed to bef're and he just doest on the street?"
Riveria blinked.
Then she blinked again.
Then, just for good measure, she blinked a few more times because she was well and truly out of her depth with this one. Who was Aiz talking about and why was she so flustered? She's been proposed to many, many times before. So why is she so worked up about it now?
"Also, I has't a date. I knoweth not what to wear."
Huh. She truly never thought this day would come.
Perhaps Gareth still needs that drinking buddy.
She left without another word.
Author Notes:
What? You thought the only culture shock Aiz was in store for was language? Nah, the girl is just perpetually confused because everything is different. What do you mean kneeling is for proposals and not throwing apples? That's simply ludicrous.
