Ah! The following day

by zeroIQ

Getting married is never really simple for anyone, let alone a certain mortal and his goddess. One might expect that with the hard part out of the way, the rest would be just an ordinary married life. But with those two and the ones around them, there is no such thing as ordinary...

61. Chapter 61

I do not own the Ah! Megami sama / Oh! My Goddess series

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Odal's diary, Entry 5

It's strange how beautiful and scary nature can be at the same time. The eerie feeling as you walk across a dead forest, with nothing more than the burnt remains of trees standing as a silent reminder of days long gone, never to return, or the horror of actually finding someone, only for the sweet, acrid scent of death to dash your hopes of not being alone. And perhaps the realization that this once living, blue planet was reduced to nothing more than barren wasteland where corpses wouldn't even rot for much, much longer it would've normally taken. Leaving you with that sick feeling whenever the rain unearths them from the deep layer of silt that gigantic tsunami left on its wake.

To say that this put me off from getting close to urban environments would've been an understatement, as that's where the problem became far worse, with so many humans packed in such confined areas. And not to mention the guilt I was left with, whenever I found signs of survivors, only to eventually realize that they too ended up joining their beloved ones… once despair became an unbearable burden in their minds. There was even a case of a woman talking to a stone she thought was her long dead husband, and yet despite my efforts to talk to her, she seemed to completely ignore my very presence.

As much as I liked to think that I knew humans and their perks, those days made me realize the frailty of the human mind. It also made wonder why I hadn't gone completely crazy like most of the survivors, and the only answer I could come up with was an old saying that went on like this: A man capable of living all by himself was either a beast or a god. Perhaps an exaggeration as there were more than enough hermits who were indeed mortals and yet handled their loneliness pretty well, but that also depended on the individual and even more importantly, the circumstances that lead them to such a choice.

In the following days of that calamity, I began a journey to the west, heading towards Europe, where I assumed that the damage would've been lesser compared to the pacific rim. However, every night the sky would light up with falling debris from the initial blast, that found themselves into low Earth orbit, only to end up brushing against the upper atmosphere and slow down enough to fall back in. It was kind of the deadliest meteor shower in all recorded history, as large enough chunks of rock, capable of blowing up areas to the size of city blocks, fell across the world and without any warning whatsoever. Well… perhaps it was more noticeable in the night, at least for the smaller objects that didn't generate enough light to be seen during daytime, but even then there was little to no difference. If you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, it wouldn't matter what time of the day it was or how well did you think that you dug in, which was something that I found out at least a couple of times when I was caught in the blast of a falling debris.

Such was life for the first couple of days, which some would even describe as a living Hell, though ironically enough, I did happen to know that Hell was a much better place than this. Worse yet, some of those rare survivors who made it through that critical period of time, became increasingly weirder and far more selfish, almost as if they were trying to prove just how low they could sink in order to live one extra day on that wasteland. I've even seen a few cases of looting… as if amassing shiny trinkets and fancy paper bills would make any difference to a world where society had all but collapsed.

And then there were the loons who somehow got their hands on a gun and pretended to be the 'law' as in those cheesy old Westerns aunt Urd made me watch in the past. She must've really enjoyed me cringing to the cliches of those old movies, although I had to admit that there was a part of me that enjoyed them regardless. What I didn't enjoy though was having people shoot at me, most of the time by blokes who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, only to start screaming incoherently when the did eventually hit me and realized that I didn't care any less.

Alright, I'll have to admit that in one situation the screaming was caused from me throwing a lightning bolt at the offender, although in my defense he was totally asking for it. I can tolerate a lot of things, but when someone bad mouths my folks and especially my mother… I can become particularly unpleasant.

But I digress.

After all, it's not like I was the perfect example of a god, regardless of my young age. At the back of my mind I knew that there was no way for this disaster to be something permanent, and once the crisis between the two warring sides subsided, someone… somehow would revert this poor planet back to its original state. Just like those video games where you hit the game over screen and a dialog pops up, asking you if you want to start over the last level. At best, I expected that time would revert back to the day or at least month of that incident, and all what I've seen and experienced for that whole month would be nothing more than a bad dream.

That wasn't even wishful thinking on my part, as it was definitely within our abilities to restore time and space in a certain area, should something went terribly wrong, especially when it's all thanks to our involvement. And considering that this was indeed the case here, with the crisis being a direct result of a stray shot from one of our battleships, I was expecting my parents to show up sooner or later, alongside my aunts and tell me that everything was finally over and we could go back to our happy, carefree lives.

All I can say, is that my naive young self couldn't be more wrong. That little inconvenience was nothing more than the prelude to something far, far worse, and the mere fact that I'm still here to make a record of it, is nothing sort of a miracle.

Or maybe… it is a curse. Only time will tell.

XXX

When everything settled down after the Norn's turbulent arrival at the temple residence, Belldandy took a moment to absorb all the information Hagall had provided for her. Granted, it was quite evident that the demoness only did that to spare her spouse the trouble of doing that himself, but in the long run that wasn't the problem here. It was the mere idea of knowing that somewhere, in another world, her counterpart had utterly failed to be there for her son. A realization that hit her like a ton of bricks, especially since she was mentally preparing herself for motherhood, only to question whether she was actually ready for such a step or not.

And if that wasn't enough, Hagall gave her a much better insight in Odal's mind by letting her read the latter's diary, which acted like the rudest wake up calls imaginable. From what she could tell, her counterpart over in the rogue god's original world, was living her married life with Keiichi in a very similar fashion as she too was envisioning for her future with her beloved. Yet, it quickly became apparent that they were repeating her parents' mistakes, although without having any of their excuses. After all, Tyr and Ansuz had a whole realm to manage, while she -or rather her counterpart- should've spent way more time with her son, rather than worrying so much about her everyday life on Earth.

Maintaining a sense of normalcy, as important as it might've been for Keiichi's sake, didn't seem to be compatible with their own son's best interests, who ended up being raised by her sisters. It was quite a familiar feeling, as both she and Urd were raised by tutors, given how busy their parents were most of the time, and with Skuld being raised by Belldandy herself, she could personally attest how attached her younger sister became to her. And the idea of not being able to develop that kind of strong bond with her own son was something so alien to her that it took Belldandy quite some time to accept.

Of course, she was perfectly aware that maybe things were actually way simpler than she made them out to be, and perhaps all it needed was to make some changes in the way her counterpart handled her son in order to rectify that problem, but with her being pregnant at the time being, Belldandy was far less willing to take her chances with her yet to be born daughter. On one hand, it was undeniable that she wanted to give her beloved Keiichi the chance to get his old life back, yet at the same time, she wanted the best for her darling little goddess, and for the sake of not looking for compromises, something had to go.

But that was something that could wait for later, as Belldandy had a far more immediate problem to deal with. Namely, she had to decide whether she was going to consider Odal as her son, or just the child of another version of her, yet totally unrelated to her present self. Sure, it wasn't that she needed to raise Odal, for he was actually older than she currently was, but the Norn was still unsure if she was mentally ready to see him as her child. After all, the last thing this poor soul needed was to finally find a family, only to realize that his new mother only half heartedly accepted him, at which point it would quite possibly crush him. Especially now that she was expecting, and sooner or later she'd have to raise a young goddess, her own flesh and blood so to speak, and it would be possible for Odal to compare her attitude towards him and his new sister.

Even then though, she was fairly confident that she could manage to do something about him, yet the same couldn't be said about her… daughter in law. Not only did Belldandy gain one all of a sudden, but this turned out to be the very same demoness who tried to convert her into one of her kind, and without asking for her opinion as well. And if that wasn't bad enough already, she also removed Holy Bell from her, and kept threatening to kill Keiichi only because he was getting in her way. Even if it was all an act for the sake of becoming Hild's worthy successor, Belldandy was quite nervous at the idea that her son was married to such a ruthless person, and her current willingness to play the role of Odal's wife was a telltale sign that this was nothing more than yet another act.

"Hagall, can I ask you something?"

The sudden question caused the blonde demoness to look up from her book, as she didn't wish to sit there nervously waiting for the Norn's second wave of questions, and setting it aside, Hagall straightened her back and steeled herself for the inevitable encounter. "Yes... mother?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Pardon me?" replied the confused demoness, tilting her head slightly as she stared at the suspicious Norn. "I thought I've mentioned that I'm now Odal's wife. Surely that explains why I'm here… unless you meant something else."

"No, you know exactly what I meant, and I honestly can't say that I'm buying your story. For someone who practically married a stranger, you sure don't look terribly worried about it." Even though she didn't like being this blunt, Belldandy just couldn't ignore the fact that this demoness was the same person who pulled that ridiculous stunt a while ago. Most importantly though, during that coup, it became more than apparent that Hagall's whole demeanor as the Daimakaicho was nothing more than an act. Which did little to reassure her that this also wasn't the case right now, and that in the long run her poor son would end up heartbroken, especially if he allowed this demoness to lead him astray.

Yet despite the confidence in Belldandy's voice, Hagall was not only from intimidated, but she even decided to drop the niceties and go on the offensive. "Someone who practically married a stranger, huh? Hm… it's kind of funny, but I do know one such a person actually. She's a goddess who accepted a mortal's wish to live by her side forever, yet without knowing anything about her. And she accepted without a worry in the world. Imagine that…"

The sarcasm in Hagall's voice was so strong that Belldandy wouldn't help but wince at the way her own past was brought into the discussion. And while she hadn't dreamt of the day when she would talk to someone like that; but then again, there was always the first time for everything. "Don't you dare compare yourself to me! I had the purest of intentions towards Keiichi, while you-"

"I did what exactly? Slept with your son, instead of following your example? Sorry to disappoint you, mother, but I don't believe in chaste relationships, let alone marriages. And while we didn't do anything other than share a bed for the time being, I've got every intention in the world to consummate my marriage at the first given opportunity," said Hagall with a sneer, returning the Norn's fierce glare with one of her own. Despite the relatively polite tone of their previous discussion, Hagall had no desire to simply stand idly and listen to a younger goddess berate her like a little kid, and especially not while accusing her of the same things she had already done herself.

"Consummate your wedding? Which wedding are you even talking about? Because the one I think you're referring to sounded like a sham to me!" Clenching her fists, Belldandy was dangerously close to actually launch a spell at this infuriating skank of a woman.

"So what? Hild-sama ended up marrying us for real, and quite likely on purpose too, so we're as much of a legitimate couple as you are with your hubby! Say what you will about me, but at least I didn't make any empty promises, acting as if nothing was wrong for years, while knowing that in reality I was just stringing someone alo-" The blonde demoness' sentence was cut short when the infuriated goddess prepared to give her a resounding slap, and given how close together they were standing by now, it was far too late for her to react.

Belldandy's palm made contact with Hagall's cheek, causing the demoness to reel back in pain, while the Norn herself was left with a particularly bitter taste in her mouth from the whole exchange. Acting out of anger just wasn't herself, but for a moment that dark emotion clouded her better judgment, which resulted in such a dramatic end to their discussion. After all, she wasn't planning to stick around and get slapped in turn, at which point this would simply devolve into a catfight to the likes of which she was most certainly not used to. As such, Belldandy quickly turned around and rushed out of the room, heading back to the one she used to occupy while living here, at least prior to her marriage to Keiichi.

Seething quietly as she stared at the departing Norn's back, Hagall felt tempted to forget everything about her marriage fiasco and return the favor to this damned goddess. After all, as the Daimakaicho's deputy, it was her duty to show her who's in charge here, rather than allow a lowly goddess to treat her in such a horrid manner. Still, she wasn't going to give up that easily, and not for the sake of her marriage, but because of her own sense of pride. If her mother in law thought that a slap would scare her enough to give up and go back to her home, then she was in for a surprise. Contrary to common belief, she had worked extremely hard to prove her worth and justify Hild's trust in her person, and that experience armed her with a steely resolve to the likes of which her mother in law had yet to witness.

'I haven't gotten this far by being a quitter. Mark my words… but, this is far from over.'

XXX

Asgard

"Ugh… What hit me?"

Struggling to get up, Keiichi groggily rubbed his eyes, making a mental note to pay more attention at incoming traffic when entering a junction. Looking around, the dark haired god couldn't find any trace of the vehicle that left him unconscious, but instead all he did manage to find were a pair of purple eyes boring holes into his head, all thanks to the sheer intensity behind that gaze. And as his eyes made out more of the clearly feminine features of the person sitting, or rather floating in mid air, across the room, Keiichi began to recall what actually took place a couple of minutes earlier. "Ow… what happened, Urd?"

"Where should I even start?" replied the eldest Norn with a sigh, trying her best to maintain a straight look. Though she was expecting something serious, given how even Odin tried to keep it a secret from the rest of them, nothing had prepared her for the sheer magnitude of this. "Apparently I've been an aunt for quite a while, and that elusive nephew of mine is the same exact god who kidnapped you some time ago. Oh, and by the way… Bell decided to pay him a visit, just because she started to feel maternal all of a sudden."

"So, she knows…"

"Yep!"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Keiichi got up and although somewhat disoriented, the god started to pace around the room as he desperately tried to sort his thoughts. There were all kinds of things running in his mind, with the first and foremost being Belldandy's reaction to the news. More specifically, this was the first time he attempted to hide something this serious from her, and Keiichi couldn't help but worry that this could be seen as sheer lack of trust on his part. 'Well… there was that time when I learned about the libido blocker. Then again, it probably wasn't a case of Belldandy not trusting me, but her having to follow the rules and remain quiet about it. And even if that's not the case, I don't think that returning the favor is a good move on my part.'

Watching him with a curious expression on her face, and an ever diminishing patience, Urd was starting to get annoyed by Keiichi's lack of decisive action; namely him teleporting over there to handle things like a real god. "Hey! Have you forgotten about something?"

"Huh?"

"Not huh, mister! Your wife is currently with a rogue god, who regardless of any family relation is still a bit of a wild card. And let's not even mention a demoness who tried to turn her into one of her kind! So, why are you standing there, doing nothing?" asked Urd in a rather forceful manner, causing Keiichi to back off a bit.

"But… what can I do while I'm here?" asked Keiichi with a shrug, only for Terrestrial Spark to answer his master's own question.

'Get your ass over at the temple, master. At least that's what I would've done in your place…'

"How about you-" started Urd, before she came to an abrupt halt when she saw Keiichi raise a hand in response.

"Okay, let's not do that! Instead, is there any way for me to teleport there?"

Rubbing her chin as she studied the sheer determination in Keiichi's face, Urd's own expression softened and then pointed at the light fixture on the ceiling. "There are actually two ways if you want to get there in no time. One is using your personal transfer medium, which in your case seems to be light sources, or you can always travel via the Gate."

Taking a moment to glance up at the ceiling, Keiichi wasn't entirely convinced that this was indeed the case with him, and that Urd wasn't trying to get him back for being this indecisive by making him bump his head on the light fixture. So, instead of doing that, the dark haired god decided to try something a bit less dangerous and walked to the nightstand where they had a table lamp placed on it and poked it with his hand. Which… unsurprisingly had no effect whatsoever, and considering that his wife's well being was more important than his ego, he decided to ask for help. "Okay, I'm… trying, but it's not working."

"That's because you need to open the connection first, before attempting a transfer," said Urd, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at something that sounded pretty obvious to her, but not to a total rookie like Keiichi. "Look, let me do it for you now, but just promise that you'll study on how to properly transfer on your own, Keiichi."

Offering her an impatient nod, Keiichi was barely even paying attention to what Urd was telling him and instead focused on the most important thing in his mind. "Can we go now? This isn't exactly the time for chit chat!"

"Okay, gimme a second to grab Skuld and Mara and we're out of here!"

XXX

Earth

"Do you think that it's alright for us to simply stand by?" asked the worried commander of Ratatoskr as he watched the array of monitors inside of the mini van they were using as a temporary base of operations. After carefully surveying the area, he and his agents had picked this empty lot, right across the Nekomi Ridge, since it was a fair distance away to prevent those inside the temple to sense their presence, and yet within the range of the sensor array that was mounted on a telescopic boom on top of the vehicle. To the onlooker this vehicle strongly resembled a telecommunications van used for broadcasting live news, and as such few of them paid too much attention to the bizarre sight and simply walked by it without making too much of a big deal. That, and the anti-inquisitive talismans placed all over the area did wonders to prevent humans from becoming too curious about the demons' presence in Nekomi.

"I don't see why this of any concern to us," replied Surt, who had just arrived on Earth as per Hild's orders to give Bergelmir a hand with securing the area. Already several of the two dozen demons he brought with him from Muspelheim had dug in in select locations around the city, with an equal number of Ratatoskr operatives working side by side with them, in quite possibly the biggest surveillance operation of the last couple of years. "Our job is to make sure Hagall-sama's safe and sound. No more, no less."

"I know… but this is already getting out of hand," insisted the head of Ratatoskr, as he turned back to the monitors and frowned at the image of Hagall clenching her cheek after the slap she got from the middle Norn. "Who would've thought that out of all goddesses, she'd be the one to raise a hand on Hagall-sama…"

"Don't be so surprised. Those two seem to have a bit of a past from what I can recall," said Surt while thoughtfully tapping his chin. "More importantly though, it's the overprotective nature of that goddess that pushes her to such extremes. And in a way, that's the most charming aspect of her personality. After all, I hate doormats."

"Really? I thought that you were into more aggressive women, not the housewife types," said Bergelmir with a snigger, much to Surt's chagrin. And as if that wasn't enough, the commander of Ratatoskr went on, undaunted by the vicious glare he was receiving from the agitated Eldjotunn. "Oh, and the bustier, more developed and mature type of women too."

"Shut up! I didn't come all the way here to listen to your stupid jokes," grumbled Surt, unwilling to make go all out on him, fearing that the crystallized one millionth avatar of Hild that he was carrying on him was listening in to their conversation, and the last thing he needed right now is to say something stupid in her presence.

"Hey, it's not a joke! It's one of the latest rumors, and I think you know which one I'm referring too. After all, it's not every day when Hild-sama invites someone to her private quarters," insisted Bergelmir, even going as far as to drop a rather big hint, since revealing too much information on his own could get him into trouble, should the ruler of Muspelheim chose to involve Hild in this.

"Wait! Let me guess… you heard about that and immediately jumped to the conclusion that she invited me for a quicky in broad daylight, and right before I had official business to deal with? Seriously?" shouted Surt, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. "Besides, since when do hard working grunts like us get this lucky, anyway?"

"Okay, okay!... I guess you do have a fair poi-" stated the blonde demon, only to come to an abrupt halt when the console began to beep, catching Bergelmir's attention back to his work. Almost immediately, the demon's attitude changed and became much more serious, and reached for the communication array's handset, just in case he needed to issue orders to the standing by demons. "Multiple inbound transfers detected!"

"Run a scan, and if those aren't the rest of the Norns, sign the alarm!" came Surt's reply, as he too put their silly discussion behind him and headed for his own station on the other end of the van, where the long range communication array's console was located. It was his job to send in a message to the Centrals in the event of an emergency, and then head over to the temple and give their forces a hand in dealing with the intruders. "Well? Come on! What's the reading?"

"It's the Norns after all," said Bergelmir with a sigh of relief, placing the communicator's handset back on its console and turned to glance over at Surt who seemed more annoyed than happy about this development. "Is there something wrong? Unless I'm mistaken, that's what we wanted, right?"

"Yes, but they came a bit too soon. I was hoping for wait just a little bit more, before coming here. At least for long enough to let those two settle down their differences, or for that boy to step in and draw the line," said Surt with a groan, as he scratched the back of his head remembering the conversation he had with Hild's one millionth avatar on his way here.

'Just remember that we're not doing this merely for the sake getting back to the gods for pulling the Judgment Gate on me. No… I've got plans for those two, but first we need to ensure that they'll stay together for long enough to consider developing an actual relationship,' were Hild's exact words, at which point all Surt could do was simply agree with her, despite his own opinion on the matter. After all, he was a soldier and not a matchmaker, but he knew that whenever Hild became so passionate over something, it was utterly pointless to argue with her. That was also the case when she became involved with Tyr, too, and no matter how much he and a few of her direct subordinates attempted to dissuade her, Hild just wouldn't give up.

"Anyway… things are apparently under control here; for the most part, at least," said Surt after a long pause as he stared at the monitors depicting Urd's arrival at the temple, which was soon followed by Keiichi literally dropping by for a visit… right on top of his son's head. "Have fun watching this comedy show. I need to head to Svartalfheim to pick Grid up for the meeting, and I'm already late as it is. If anything at all happens and you can't reach me, just call Hrym and he'll give a hand."

"Understood. I hope you're going to enjoy your trip to Asgard," said Bergelmir with a ghost of a grin, keeping his eyes glued to the monitor in front of him, just to avoid aggravating the ruler of Muspelheim way too much.

"Sure… I might as well buy you some candy on my way back. Smartass."

XXX

In retrospect, Odal should've known better than going to check on his father's ancient, monochrome TV when it turned on all by itself, only to narrowly dodge a knee that was meant for his face. No matter how ironic it sounded, Urd was in such a hurry to teleport here that she shot out of TV a lot faster then she probably should've, and almost repeated the same stunt she pulled on his father.

Granted, the eldest Norn didn't attempt to entice him with a faux porno video, that would've been awkward experience on so many levels to say the least, but the end result was almost the same nonetheless. Urd in all her majestic glory floated mere inches from his nose, causing Odal to take a few steps back in order to put some distance between himself and the clearly peeved goddess, who looked as if she wanted to bite his face off.

However, no sooner as he took the second step back, the rogue god's attention was diverted to the light fixture directly above him that just like the TV did moments ago, turned on all by itself. This time though, it was far too late to move out of the way, as none other than Asgard's latest god came crushing down onto the floor with Odal being the only thing to cushion his fall.

Even Urd felt somewhat sorry for her 'nephew' when Keiichi literally landed bottom first on top of him, which naturally resulted in a scene out of a comedy gag. 'Somehow I can see the family resemblance with those two… And if that boy ends up liking Hagall, then there's definitely some influence from our side of the family too. After all, dad also had a thing for well endowed demonesses, and the last thing we need is have poor Bell end up with Hagall as her daughter in law. Seriously… this is so whacked up!'

"Oww! What happened?" asked Keiichi with a pained groan, trying to pick himself up from the floor where he and Odal ended up.

"You landed on top of me, that's what happened! Now, get off will you?" snapped the peeved god, drumming his fingers on the tatami floor, much to Urd's amusement who stifled a giggle from the silliness of it all.

"Ah! Sorry about that!" Picking himself up faster than he thought it was even possible, Keiichi put some distance between himself and his 'son' before the latter decided to cast a spell on him, and then took his time to inspect the god as the latter got up to his feet. 'Well, he does kinda looks like me, although he's definitely Belldandy's son. Heh… I never thought I'd say that… Not with me being a human and all. Well, at least before I became a god. And that's another thing I never thought I'd say.'

Fixing his father a rather pointed glare, Odal eventually calmed down and with a tired sigh he reached for the desk where he had left a water bottle. Only to reconsider when he noticed that it was literally shaking as its contents churned and bubbled, with the plastic container itself bulging slightly. 'Oh no, I'm not falling for this one, too!'

Unlike him, though, neither Urd nor Keiichi took notice of the violently shaking water bottle, and by the time they did, it was too late for them to erect a shield. Which would've spared them from getting splashed, when the bottle finally reached its limit and burst into a glorious shower of water droplets and plastic debris.

"Skuld! Why can't you use the bath?" cried Urd, trying to shield herself from getting splashed with water all over her front, but miserably failed to do so.

"Hey, I was trying to get as close as I could!" protested the young goddess, mostly to avoid admitting that she simply haven't thought about that other alternative.

Yet as Skuld was about to offer a retort, she felt the rogue god walk up to her and then address Urd in her place. "Considering that both your and… father's entrance was just as bad as Skuld's, I think that you should cut some slack to the kid."

"Who's a kid?" countered Skuld and quite loudly too, but the only thing she earned from doing so was to have Odal boop her nose, and quite casually too. "Hey! Hand's off, pal!" cried the provoked deity, only to act as encouragement for Odal to poke her once more, at which point he had to retreat his hand fast, just in time to avoid being bitten by the peeved goddess.

'Doing this feels so strange… It's almost as if the tables have turned all of a sudden and I'm the one playing with her, rather than the other way around. And she doesn't actually like being poked on the nose, either. Oh, sweet irony,' noted Odal as he watched his aunt's reactions in amusement, especially now that she was still young enough to throw a temper tantrum without as many reservations as her older self. Not that she didn't do that from time to time whenever someone managed to piss her off to the point of going all out on them.

"Are you done yet?" asked Urd, clearing her throat when she felt that everyone was getting a bit too sidetracked for her liking. "Because we've got more important things to discuss than teasing each other."

Noticing that look on Urd's face, Odal knew that the half goddess was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with the familiarity he was displaying towards her sister, and as such he decided to back off a bit. Not that he could blame her, after all, as from everyone else's perspective he was essentially a stranger. And to make matters worse, both his classification as a rogue god, and his former allies did little to convince anyone of his good intentions; if there was such a thing, anyway. "Ah, of course. My… mother, and Hagall are in the living room, along with aunt Megumi. So, why don't we join them and then discuss matters?"

It still felt rather awkward for Keiichi and the two Norns to hear this god refer to them and Belldandy with such familiarity, but then again it was apparent that the feeling was mutual. The rogue god seemed equally awkward around them, which was no doubt due to something that had to do with the reason why he was here in the first place. But for the time being, what was really important was to focus on the present, and that's why Urd offered her nephew a nod and slowly headed for the door, indirectly hinting the others to follow her.

"Very well, let's get there before those two end up in a catfight. Come on, you two!"

XXX

Once everyone gathered in the living room -which also included Mara who for once decided to use the front door rather than make a dynamic entry- it became painfully obvious that the the tension between Belldandy and Hagall was real. It was remarkable how hostile and yet polite those two could be, since no insults were ever uttered in the presence of others, and yet it was clear that they merely tolerated the other's presence.

Still, with lunchtime fast approaching, those two had to reach a general consensus as to who was going to be in charge in the kitchen, as neither was willing to back off and let the other take over with the task of preparing the food. Sure, such was to be expected from Belldandy, who clearly enjoyed cooking, especially when her beloved Keiichi praised her meals, yet Hagall wasn't the type of demoness who simply turned her back to an argument. And this went twice when she got the idea that someone looked down on her, even if the whole subject seemed to be rather insignificant at a first glance.

With that in mind, as well as the whole argument he had with his wife yesterday, Odal knew that unless he did something to de-escalate the situation, a blowout was all but inevitable. As such, he and the next most impartial person present… volunteered to give Belldandy and Hagall a hand in the kitchen. And with that aforementioned person being none other than Mara, since Keiichi and Belldandy's sisters would be more than happy to take the goddess' side in an argument, Odal knew that the demoness was far from happy to be stuck behind the kitchen's counter, and more importantly, while doing something as menial task.

"Say, kid… Why are you even trying?" asked Mara after looking over her shoulder to make sure that no one was overhearing them. "I mean… what's in for you?"

"For me?" replied Odal with some confusion evident in his voice, not fully understanding just what the blonde demoness was hinting at.

"Yes, why are you playing along with this farce? Even if Hild-sama tricked you into marrying Hagall-sama, that doesn't mean that you have to become her hubby. At least not in anything more than name," explained Mara, before she paused and gave him a suspicious look. "Did you two were an item from whatever world you came from? Or is there some other reason for not giving up already?"

"No, I only met Hagall on a couple of occasions back in my home, and not to mention that I was a kid at the time. So, no… it has nothing to do with the past and more with…. umm…" It was that moment when for the love of his life Odal had no idea how to explain the situation to Mara. However, being his parents' child, Odal didn't back off and try to change the subject. Instead he took his time and collected his thoughts as he did his best to offer an explanation. "I'm not entirely sure, but I guess that this kind of setup gives me some place to call… home? I know that it probably sounds pretty stupid to you, but I missed that feeling."

Nodding slowly, Mara took a moment to stare between him and Hagall, who was still busy preparing her dish of lasagna to notice her, and then a smirk slowly formed in her lips. "Are you sure that's the reason?" asked the demoness once she turned her attention back to Odal. "After all, the more I look at you two, the more it reminds me of another couple that came to live together under unusual circumstances and… I think you've got more than enough reasons to repeat history."

"You're so wrong that I won't even bother correcting you," said Odal, keeping his voice as level as he could. It wasn't that he took offense at Mara's assumption, but the possibility that she might had been right after all. "After all, there's also the fact that my father is now a god, so he and mother no longer count as a genuine case of an intespecies couple. And with the only other example being grandfather and Hild… Well, that's one history I'd rather not repeat."

"Yeah… it's bad enough that Hild-sama had to deal with all that nonsense because you gods wanted to know what people are doing in their bedrooms," said Mara with a mirthless chuckle, fixing Odal a look that he didn't quite appreciate. "I hope you won't run away once you get her in trouble."

"Excuse me… but are you talking to me, or yourself?" countered Odal with a raised eyebrow, as he poked Mara's shoulder. "After all, you're sacking with a certain aunt of mine, and that could also end up in the same way."

"Like Hell it will! It's more like Urd might run away from me, than the other way around!" snarled Mara right in the rogue's face, until she paused and reconsidered her words, and more importantly the implications behind such an admission. "Boy… if any of this escapes your lips, then I'll curse you so badly that it won't be even funny!"

"Got it!" said Odal defensively, even raising his hands for extra effect. Yet as he was about to go back to his current task, the god couldn't help but admit that there was one thing that he needed to know. "So… are you?..."

"Nope, not yet anyways…" muttered Mara, glancing ever so slightly over her shoulder in the direction of the living room, where Urd was waiting along with the others. "I swear… it's not that we're not trying, but I bet that Urd's not all too interested in kids."

"Well, maybe she's going to change her mind now that her sister's pregnant," came Hagall's amused voice, especially when she heard Belldandy's startled gasp. "Isn't that right, mother? And while we're on the topic, why not bake an angel cake for celebrating the event? After all, this is perfect opportunity to make the big announcement, rather than wait for the first signs of pregnancy to become noticeable."

"Uh… I'm not… I mean…" Considering how eventful the last couple of days had been for her and Keiichi, the Norn didn't wish for anything else to add to the list and postponed the announcement, even though she knew that this was far from the best option. "Is this really the time to do this?"

"Why not?" countered Hagall with a casual shrug. "You're back on the same house you spent the last couple of years with your husband, and your sisters are here too. I don't see a better opportunity to tell them," said the blonde demoness before turning to Odal for support. "Right, dear?"

"Please don't get me involved in…"

"Excuse me, but you're my husband, as well as her son! Of course I'm gonna involve you, mister!" snapped Hagall, causing everyone -Mara included- to slightly back off from her. "Now, you try to convince mother why this is a necessity, while I'm going to bake that cake! Oh, and Mara… give me a hand, too!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Waiting for Hagall to walk over to the other side of the kitchen, with Mara right after her, Belldandy couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh, no matter how unsightly it was for her to do so. "She's such a difficult person to deal with!"

"That she is. But then again, aren't we all?" said Odal with a shrug, before tapping his mother's shoulder. "You're actually worse whenever you set your mind on something. Which… goes twice when father is involved too."

"Really?" Taking a moment to consider her son's words, Belldandy had to admit that he did have a point. However, she chose not to make any further comments about it, and instead she changed the subject to something that really bother her. "Still… is it alright for you to stay with such a difficult demoness?"

"Honestly? I never intended to stay with anyone, although… it's not bad after all. I mean, sure it's far from ideal, and the fact that Hild tricked us into this remains, but I can't say that I hate this arrangement either."

"Do you like her?" asked Belldandy in a much softer tone, worrying that she was not only overreacting, but also doing so without taking her son's wishes into account.

"Do I know her, should be the real question here. Which I don't, and the same is true about her, but so far we tolerated each other, and that's something, right?" replied Odal with a slight grin. "I guess this is one those cases where one needs to give something a chance before telling whether it's going to work or not."

"Yes, I can understand that, but what I really wanted to know is whether you want this work or not," said Belldandy in an effort to clarify her previous question. "Because if that's the case, then I'm definitely not doing you any favors."

"Like I said, I'm still unsure. However, pushing things to extremes never helped anyone, so I'll say to back off a bit and give her a chance."

"Very well, I'll do as you say. After all, you're old enough to make such decisions by yourself." Letting out a heavy sigh, the Norn of the present glanced in the living room's direction and nervously fiddled with her hair as she worried about what was about to come. "Do you think that Keiichi's going to take the news well?"

"Of course he will; eventually. I mean… sure, he'll faint and all that, but in the end he's gonna

be the happiest man alive," said Odal with a big smile, adding under his breath. "With all this cheerfulness… Mara's going to be a whole different subject."

Taking a moment to evaluate the situation once again, Belldandy eventually relented and offered her son a nod. "Very well then. Let's try this, and see how it goes."

XXX

Nearly half an hour later, the entire group had finally assembled in the living room, with Mara and Odal carrying the food plates, while Belldandy and Hagall put the finishing touches to ensure the best presentation possible. And while the situation have thankfully de-escalated to a certain degree, neither the Norn of the present nor her daughter in law, wished to back off from this impromptu culinary challenge.

The table was so full of dishes that some of the onlookers started to worry about the poor thing giving way under the ever increasing weight of the feast that was laid upon it, and for a certain former mortal… this brought back some rather unpleasant memories of a very similar situation back when he had to eat both Peorth and Belldandy's meal, one after the other.

"Um… Belldandy?... Are we expecting more guests?" asked Keiichi, voicing the same question that was on everyone's mind, yet no one dared to ask.

"No, not really. I just thought that with all of us here, it's a great opportunity for a nice celebration. After all, we haven't seen Megumi for quite some time!" said Belldandy, trying to avoid elaborating too much and risk telling a lie about her initial motivation. After all, she didn't think that Keiichi would've appreciated turning this joyous occasion into a catfight, so Belldandy pushed such negative thoughts aside, and focused on the bright side of things. Demoness or not, Hagall put enough effort to cook something for her husband, and the fact that she even attempted to remain civil towards her was a great bonus as well. On top of that, Odal also appeared to genuinely like being around her, which may had baffled Belldandy at first, but then she had to remind herself that she really knew nothing about him. So, instead of jumping into conclusions as to what he was like, and would be the ideal match for him, Belldandy decided to let him be for now and only intervene if he really seems to need her help.

The former mortal offered his wife a nod, even though he knew that it wasn't just his sister's presence that justified such a feast, but he was more than willing to agree with Belldandy if not for maintaining the delicate peace between her and their… daughter in law. 'I still find it hard to believe that this is the same person we had to confront in order to restore Hild back in her throne. She seems so… normal right now…'

Almost as if she could sense Keiichi's thoughts, Hagall glanced over to the middle Norn, just to make sure that she was busy serving her sisters, and then approached her father in law with a big smile on her face and a bigger platter of food that she gracefully placed in front of him. "Father… if you'd like you can also try a bite from my pasta as well. I've made more than enough for Odal and myself, so, I'd love to hear your opinion about my-"

Noticing his father's gaze shift from the platter to the buxom demoness'... assets... that literally found themselves mere inches from Keiichi's face, Odal almost spat the Sake Urd had offered him, and then turned to check on his mother with a clearly terrified look on his face. 'This is it… we're so dead!' Almost by a miracle though, his mother was looking the other way, while she was still busy serving Skuld, and therefore was blissfully unaware of what was taking place behind her back. So, before he ended up a widower, Odal reached across the table and grabbed the back of Hagall's skirt, and then pulled her so hard and abruptly that her teeth rattled from the impact of her heavy mounds against her own chin.

"Hey, what was that for?" snapped Hagall at her husband, especially as the god caught her in his arms, before they both ended up crashing on the floor. Which despite her typical mannerisms, brought a slight blush on the Hagall's face when she realized that her husband had instinctively wrapped his arms around her.

"I saved you from certain death," said Odal in a hushed voice before leaning in to add in an even lower tone. "Don't even think antagonizing my mother like that. If she thinks that you're hitting on my father, then all Hell is going to break loose!"

"What are you droning about? I'm only trying to be nice to your father, not seduce him you dumbass! He's not even my type!" growled Hagall as she craned her neck back to look at her husband and pointedly narrow her eyes at him, despite the blush she had on her face. "Oh, and if you really wanted an excuse to touch some boobies, then try not to smash them against my chin! That's definitely not the way to get some, you ungrateful son of a-... mmph?!"

Hagall's angry tirade was interrupted when Odal saw his mother turn towards them to find out what the commotion was all about, and with him panicking at the prospect of involving her in this kind of conversation, Odal decided that easiest way to silence Hagall was by kissing her. Sure, it wasn't anything romantic or even planned, as he simply improvised and hoped that the demoness wouldn't kill him afterwards, but Odal did end up accomplishing his goal, even by doing something truly uncharacteristic of him. And strangely enough it didn't quite feel as bad as he would've originally thought it would, although the embarrassed looks he was getting from both Skuld and his parents caused him to turn beet red and pulled away.

Silence filled the room, as neither of the newlyweds knew how to properly respond to a situation like this. And with Hagall already at odds with her mother in law, it took her enough time to consider her next move that it was Urd the one who reacted first by tapping Keiichi lightly on the shoulder.

"Why can't you be this convenient for me, too? Do you know how hard it is to spy on you and Bell at times?" asked Urd as she pointed over at her nephew who nervously fiddled with his fingers as he stated at his wife.

"Neesan! You aren't supposed to do that anymore!" protested Belldandy, much to Mara's chagrin, since the poor demoness had already seen more than enough to make her hair stand. And judging by the looks of it, the worse has yet to come. "We're no longer single, so… some acts of intimacy aren't meant to be shared! Even with you, Urd!"

"Okay okay! I'm just kidding!" said Urd in her defense, before she ended up facing Belldandy's fury for her transgressions, although not before she added another bit under her breath. "Still, you girl sure pick up skills too quickly… I can't believe you're this good already…"

Unfortunately, Hagall did hear that little bit and almost as if on impulse she replied to the half goddess' comment, regardless of the consequences. "Tell me about it… Her hubby's a god for less than a few days and she's already with a child. Talk about fast!"

The collective gasp was so loud that almost caused Belldandy to step back and stare back at her sisters and Keiichi, not unlike a deer caught in a truck's headlights. This definitely wasn't the way she intended to break the news to them, although truth to be told, Belldandy hadn't put too much thought into this matter either. Of course she wanted to tell them as soon as possible, and their arrival here on Earth was the best opportunity to do so, but then again… her whole argument with Hagall threw her plans off; only for that demoness to complicate the situation even further.

"C-Child?!" sputtered Keiichi, as he stated his wife in sheer disbelief, but caught himself from asking the most obvious thing. In the aftermath of his… deification, Keiichi must've completely forgotten that he was no longer subjected to the same restrictions that applied to all other mortals, and thus it was now possible for him and Belldandy to have kids. And judging by the looks of it, not only did Hagall, but also Odal and even Megumi apparently learned all about it before him. Which meant that for once it was him -rather than his sister- who was left in the dark, although… his angel's scream coming from inside his head caught Keiichi's attention.

'Don't you just stand there! And don't even dare think of fainting either! Just hug her, or I'm doing it!'

Which he eventually did, even though it took him quite some effort to recover from his reverie. So after a couple of wobbly steps, Keiichi caught Belldandy in his arms and twirled her around, much to the latter's initial surprise… and Mara's utter horror, as she could hardly breathe at this point.

"I'm so happy, Bell!" cried the overjoyed Keiichi as he pulled his wife in for an almost crushing hug once he came to a stop, and kissed his wife on her lips. Which proved more than enough to cause Mara to call it quits and go out to get some fresh air… while Skuld instinctively reached for a fresh batch of bombs; something that obviously caught Urd's attention.

"Hey, I thought that you had finally accepted the fact that those two are now a couple."

"I did! But I never said anything about making me an… aunt!" screamed Skuld in her eldest sister's ear. "I'm too young for that!"

"And to imagine that you've always wanted to become an adult," calmly replied the Norn of the past, despite the vicious glare she was getting from her little sister. "Now, let's drop this nonsense and celebrate… Odal's conception-"

"Actually, that's not me," said the rogue god, causing everyone save for Belldandy, Megumi and Hagall to stare at him in wonder. "Apparently, for whatever reason, mother's… firstborn is a… goddess."

"Eh?" was all the two Norn and Keiichi could offer as a reply, while Mara's shrill laughter could be heard from the front patio, as she was still within earshot of what was taking place inside the living room.

"That child cannot be me, since she's not even my gender," explained Odal for them, fixing a bit of a pointed look at his father. "So, no… that's a totally different person altogether."

"But that doesn't change a thing! We still have to celebrate, right?" said Megumi as she reached for one of Urd's bottles of Sake, and for once the half goddess didn't seem to mind.

"Megumi's right! Let's have some fun everyone!" said Belldandy with a brilliant smile that was simply contagious. "I think that we all have something to celebrate for, and this is the best chance to do so!"

"Alright! The party's on!" shouted Urd, holding her glass up in toast, although she couldn't help but give her little sister a glance. "Right, auntie Skuld?"

"You do realize that Belldandy got pregnant way before you… miss I'm too sexy to cover most my body?" snapped the youngest Norn, at which point she and the aforementioned scantily clad goddess engaged in a mocking wrestle match.

All while the others laughed and started to eat their servings of both Belldandy's and Hagall's food, with Mara finally joining them once they stopped with the cutesy act and simply enjoyed the moment.

XXX

Odal's diary, Entry 6

Just when you think that you've seen pretty much everything, life always finds a way to prove you wrong. Of course, if I have to be absolutely honest with myself, I did kind of brought this upon myself by bringing Hagall here, which… almost ended up in a catfight between her and my mother. And the worst part is that I've got absolutely no clue as to which side I'm supposed to take in a situation like this.

I risk sounding like a momma's boy, but I've always had a soft spot on my mother, whose kind nature was deemed unique even amongst her fellow first class goddesses. Unfortunately that also made her a goddess you just didn't wish to let down, and given that I was far from perfect myself… I found it tremendously easier to confide on my aunts whenever I needed help with something. And in honestly while I held nothing against aunt Urd, I tended to prefer confiding in aunt Skuld for some reason.

Perhaps it was the fact that we shared the same interests that made me show some favoritism towards Skuld, or even the fact that she resembled me even more than my own mother. It might sound silly, but there had been a couple of times when humans confused me for her son, especially once she looked old enough to have one. Come to think of it, in a sense that was kind of correct, at least as far as my upbringing was concerned. Although in turn aunt Skuld was raised by my mother, which may had been a case of following her beloved sister's example, or at the very least return the favor.

I miss her.

Who am I lying? I miss them all, and seeing them right now is pretty awkward. On one hand this feels like a dream come true, but then again these aren't exactly my relatives. Sure, they're the closest I can get to meet my long dead loved ones once more, yet… I dunno. It's more than obvious that they've got no idea who I truly am, or what took place from where I came from. And in all honesty, I'd rather not burden them with that knowledge. Even gods feel anxious about the things that may come to be, and while this is a very similar place to my home, it's not identical to it. As such, I'd rather not scare them with a horror story that for all I know may never come to be. That's a baggage I need to carry, and even then… only for the sake of not forgetting who I am. After all, I've gone back and forth considering whether I should truly start over and erase all my memories once I came here, but to toss everything aside in such an indiscriminate fashion was far too ungrateful. It would imply that I held nothing dear from that old world, and no matter how bad things turned out, there were enough happy moments to let those go.

Still, I have no idea what to do with my current predicament. I even tried to write something down as a distraction, and still ended up back to square one. I mean, what is a god supposed to do in a situation like this? What can I do anyways? Of all possible goddesses in the world, my mother, the very epitome of perfection, ended up antagonizing my… well… wife, who in turn is did her best to piss her off as well. Alright… I'll have to admit that for a demoness, Hagall avoided a downright exchange of insults and kept things rather civil during lunch, and after the whole… party, she offered mom the chance to use dad's old room, since the latter was out cold and the western style bed I've placed there was more comfortable than their old futon.

Unfortunately… as soon as my parents were out of sight, I could definitely tell by the way she was staring me that she really wanted that bed for herself... and I now need to find either a replacement or an alternative. On the bright side, I've got a project for tomorrow morning, since it's too late right now to deal with this.

On the downside however, I've got a potentially grumpy demoness on my hands, and unless I come up with something to keep her busy, I'm in for a very long night. And I mean that in the most literal fashion, rather as a euphemism of sorts. Now… that by itself is actually starting to become an issue now, as Hagall kept making those idle comments about her wishing to invite Hild for lunch as well.

Initially I thought that she probably wanted to talk her out of this, and request her permission to dissolve this farce of a wedding, but after a short discussion with Mara… I may have gotten it wrong. Apparently, it's not unusual for demons to seek the approval of either their parents or guardians before they took a partner, especially for a serious relationship. Of course, this has little to do with ethics, as infernals had no taboos about premarital sex, and a lot more with imposing some form of standards that became even more stringent the higher up you went in the demonic society. As a matter of fact, from what I've heard back in the days of demonic nobility you needed to pass a committee's evaluation in order to court someone as high ranking as Hagall.

And… while I've got no doubts that Hild won't give me any trouble… at the same time I'm at a loss as to how to maintain the peace between Hagall and my mom. I'm not sure if it's a territorial reaction to my parents' presence, as to make sure who's got more influence over me now, or good old fashioned reverse psychology. You know… when someone does the exact opposite of what they've been told not to do in the first place. Which in this case must've been my mother's initial displeasure of me being married to a demoness like Hagall, pushing the latter to take things to the next level.

Either way, I'm now facing the possibility of having Hild drop by for dinner, with her acting as the closest thing to a mother in law… and with my actual mother on site, along with aunt Urd… Joy, oh joy.

I should've listened to Hagall and never brought her here. Actually, forget about the mortal realm… we should've gone to a cozy mountain cabin in Jotunheim. Why did I insist coming here is besides me.

And with that I need to leave the rest for another time. As much as I'd love to continue from the last part, I can definitely feel my lovely wife's intense glare as she's waiting for me to join her on the air mattress I've managed to slap together, at least until I find a more suitable replacement for out bed.

Seriously… this isn't how honeymoons are supposed to work.

XXX

"Are you done writing your novella already? It's late, I'm trying to make myself comfortable in the guest room, rather… our room, and on top of it, I had to give up our new bed too. For your mother!"

Just the way Hagall spat that last word caused Odal to visibly cringe, and it wasn't like she sounded all too happy saying the rest either. Then again, despite having spent only a single day with her, part of him could already tell the demoness might've been exaggerating a bit to make him do what she wanted. Which in this particular case was to force him into sharing that much smaller bed with her, and judging by the frilly bustier she was wearing, Odal was in no particular hurry to join her. 'No thank you, we had more than enough shenanigans for today.' Closing the notepad, the nervous god racked his brain for an excuse to keep himself up for a bit longer, in hopes that in the meanwhile his wife would eventually fed up waiting for him and go to sleep. "You know… speaking of the bed, I still have some leftovers from what I used to make this mattress, so how about I make an inflatable chair for you? Compared to the rest of the furniture here, I bet that's gonna be much more comfy to sit on."

"Hm… that's not a bad idea, actually. But you better do that tomorrow morning," said Hagall with a slight smirk as she knew all too well what her husband was up to, and she just wasn't going to let it pass. "Now, come here and get some rest, or you'll start getting wrinkles from all this stress."

"Stress? W-What stress?" stammered the rogue god, not liking where this was heading. "I'm feeling perfectly fine! Actually, I've got so much energy to spare that I think that I could start another project-"

"Oh, no you won't!" said Hagall in a far more forceful manner, interrupting her husband before he got too far with his excuses. "Unless you've forgotten, this is technically our honeymoon. And while I won't push you too hard on getting physical with me, that still doesn't mean that we should do such things only as a distraction; like that kiss. Now stop being so difficult and come here."

"Fine, fine… you win." Letting out a defeated groan, Odal approached his wife and took a seat on the bed next to her, until he felt her hand push him on his back. "Wait, I-"

"Shush… just lie down for a bit and let me give you that massage I've promised," said Hagall in a soothing tone, trying to reassure her husband of her intentions. "You do deserve a bit of a treat, after all."

"Huh? What for?" asked the confused god, since he had no idea what his wife was even talking about.

"For trying to stand up for me. I thought that you were more of a momma's boy, but it's nice to be wrong sometimes," said Hagall with a giggle, thoroughly enjoying Odal's disgruntled expression. "Oh, and maybe you also proved that you're not nearly as hopeless as your father is with women. That little kiss back there wasn't half bad, if not a tad too awkward."

"Gee, thanks a lot!" muttered the rogue god under his breath, and then looked away from his wife, who simply carried on with her massage.

Silence filled the room for the next couple of minutes as Hagall kept working on her husband's different muscle groups, moving from his abs to his chest, and then towards his upper shoulders, pausing only for a moment to notice his blush. After all, the higher up she went the more she needed to lean forward, which not only made Odal increasingly aware of their proximity but also of her rather impressive physique, especially as the gravity took hold of her ample bosom. And not unlike a cat that's staring down a trapped mouse, Hagall's lips curled up into a mischievous smirk as she reveled at her husband's embarrassment. "Well, well… would you look at that! Someone's staring at me with such greedy eyes! Could it be that you're looking for something more than kissing me… darling?"

"Just because I did something without thinking, and maybe went too far without asking you… doesn't mean that I'm totally desperate, Hagall," replied Odal with a tired sigh, fearing that unless they talked about this, then it would only make her wish to tease him even more from this point on. "Look, this isn't about whether I find you attractive -which I definitely do- or not. It's mostly that I don't wish you to think that I'm too eager to make the best out of our arrangement. Especially when I could simply make an even worse mess than yesterday's, or even the stunt I've pulled today."

"Perhaps. Yesterday's argument may had been bad, although I can't say the same about that kiss. More importantly though, the whole thing made me realize something and that's why I have a question for you," said Hagall with a cryptic smile as she finally rested on top of her husband, much to the latter's chagrin. "If this is merely a temporary thing, then why do you even care about the future? For all we know, this whole marriage thing may not even last for long enough to get anywhere in the old fashioned way. Yet right here, right now, I'm more than willing to relieve each other's stress, so why not grab the opportunity to spend a fun night with me?"

"Hagall, do you really want an honest reply?" asked Odal back at her, and noticing a slight nod, the dark haired god carried on. "I know that you probably find it entertaining to see how much I resemble my father, but… on this occasion I'm seriously finding it hard to refuse your offer. You're definitely my type, and even drop dead sexy by anyone's standards, yet that's also the reason why I don't want to screw this up. Call me an idiot, or naively optimistic for even thinking about it, but…"

"But you'd like to be my husband for real? After all, you didn't' quite seem to hate the idea of kissing me, so maybe you want more?" finished Hagall for the blushing god as he honestly didn't intend to tell her all that, and so early on, too.

"Would you laugh if I say yes?" replied Odal, averting his gaze in hopes to regain his composure, as the demoness' piercing eyes made him too self conscious about his current predicament.

"No, not really," said Hagall with a chuckle and eventually got off the god, and allowed him some much needed personal space, as her rather aggressive method of probing him for answers was starting to take its toll on him. At the very least she got her answers, though, and that was more than enough to justify such means in her books; and speaking of answers, Hagall was pretty pleased with what she heard so far. While she was initially wary, if not downright negative, of her marriage to this god, Odal managed to prove himself worthy of fair chance and after some consideration, Hagall decided to actually give him just that. After all, if he managed to meet up with her expectations, then she had no reason to turn him down as a legitimate spouse, and the best part was that with him being a god, he had little to no reason pretending to like her as a means to climb up the demonic hierarchy. "Alright, I'll back off and let you have some rest now, as this day turned out to be more eventful than either of us thought it would. Tomorrow we can get a new bed, and hopefully go on a tour to Nekomi. After all, we're still on our honeymoon and I'd like to see more of the city than spending the whole month in this temple."

Nodding numbly as he honestly wasn't expecting a positive response, Odal took a few moments to accept that for whatever reason, Hagall didn't actually mind the prospect of them ending up as a couple. The only problem however, was that now he needed to be far more careful to make sure that they wouldn't end up like his grandfather and Hild; although this time thanks to their own fault, rather than outside forces. 'Sure, no pressure there… And I'm not even sure whether I'm ready for a relationship! This whole thing makes no sense to me! But then again… Urd always said that when it comes to these kind of topics, logic has little to do with it. Oh, well… I'll have to think about it tomorrow, and make sure that I'll come up with a good idea for a date, because that's what it really is right? Our first date.'

---

AN: I would like to thank everyone that has offered their feedback and support both here and on the Goddess Relief site.

Now, there are a few things that I'd like to note for this chapter.

First of all, I apologize for the delay since I went on vacations sometime between the release of the previous and this chapter. Normally I make arrangements for such things, but this year the situation was so unpredictable that I've failed to prepare the chapter prior to my departure. Then again, I think I could've done it, but decided against it, since it would've caused a negative impact on the chapter's content.

Speaking of that, not too much had happened here, although what did happen felt important enough to me to spend a chapter about it. Now all the Norns are present on Earth and Keiichi's aware of Belldandy's pregnancy, so that was a good enough topic to cover before moving on.

For that very reason, Odal's second diary for this chapter didn't delve into his own story, as I found it too serious for the rest of this chapter. Still, more of that will come.