Previously:
"Hello, Kusanagi-san. It's good to see you again." Regin greeted. The rest didn't say anything but they were looking at her with smiling faces.
A tear fell from Yui's eye and she slowly wiped it away before she stepped away from the table and started walking towards them. Regin met her halfway and hugged her. The two brothers Fjalar and Galar were right behind him, waiting for their turn. "Regin-san… thank you so much for everything." Yui whispered.
"I'm so glad you're alright, we all are." Regin smiled and let go of her. He then moved to the side so the other two could greet her as well.
"You look much better now, Kusanagi." Galar pointed out.
"You do." Fjalar agreed.
"Thank you Galar-san, Fjalar-san." Yui smiled down at them. "You were very kind to me back then." Her eyes then found Otr, in his dwarf form, a little further away. "Otr-san."
"Hello, Yui-san… You look well."
Yui walked up to him but before she could say anything he took her hand in his and kissed it.
Now:
The gods around the table gasped at the sight but still managed to hold themselves back from doing anything about it. They knew Yui wouldn't appreciate it if they did but they still didn't like it when some dwarf they didn't know put his lips on her.
"O-Otr-san…" Yui stuttered.
Otr removed his lips from her hand but didn't let go of her hand. "When I heard you had survived and you wanted to see us I didn't hesitate. I wanted to see you, too."
Yui blushed a little at his words and this caused Loki to narrow his eyes.
"Move, dwarf." Einar, the elf, said as he walked up to them and pushed Otr out of the way. "I see you're fine now." He told Yui and placed a hand on her naked shoulder. "You look much cuter now when you're not covered in ice anymore."
Yui giggled. "Thanks, Einar-san. Thank all of you for your help."
"Thank you for the payment." Einar smirked.
A second later Einar too was pushed away by the centaur named Alexandro. "Yui, it's a pleasure meeting you again." He grinned, bent down and took her hand, he had to lower his whole horse body to be able to reach her. He then pulled her towards him and hugged her. "To think that such a beautiful creature was hidden behind all of that ice."
"That's enough, Alexandro." Chiron told him as he patted him on the shoulder.
"Chiron-san, thank you for last time." Yui smiled up at him.
"It was my pleasure, Yui-chan, even if I wasn't of much help."
Yui shook her head. "No, you helped me with my wounds, I'm very grateful for that."
The goddess Iaso moved to stand beside Chiron. "I got worried when you suddenly disappeared right in front of our eyes back then. I was afraid you had accepted your fate."
"I'm sorry, Iaso-san. It was a close call, though."
"I know and I understand. You barely had any energy left and you looked so tired and weak. I'm sorry I couldn't help you either."
"You did plenty, all of you did. You took care of me when my friends couldn't. You have no idea how grateful I am to all of you, thank you, you helped save my life." Yui said before she bowed at them in gratitude.
Her friends, the gods, had been quiet all this time but had observed what was going on between Yui and the strangers Odin and Zeus had invited closely. They could completely understand why Yui was grateful to them and wanted to thank them but it still made them a little sad because they were the ones who should have protected her, not the outcasts. And besides, the way the outcasts were gathered around their human friend and the way they looked at her reminded them of themselves. They remembered how they used to gather around her to get her attention and keep her safe, now it was like she had found new friends, friends who had helped her because they couldn't. But they were absolutely not going to give her up. She was way too precious to them, so they did the only right thing to do. Apollon, Hades and Balder got up from their seats and made their way over to Yui and the others. "I, Apollon, the Greek god of the sun, thank you for helping our dear friend. We were unable to do so, therefore we are grateful to you and will never forget the things you have done for her."
"Apollon-san…" Yui uttered in surprise.
A moment later, Apollon, Balder and Hades were bowing their heads at them the same way Yui did and the outcasts looked at them in surprise and confusion. They hadn't expected the gods to act this way. Did this human mean so much to them that they were willing to swallow their pride?
"I welcome you to our castle, friends." Frigg spoke. "Did you have a safe journey?"
"We had no problem getting here, queen Frigg." Regin answered politely. "I must thank you for sending someone to tell us about Kusanagi-san's condition and to invite us to the home of gods."
"This was all for Yui's sake." Bragi pointed out calmly.
"If Yui-san wants to meet you then we will allow it." Tyr added.
"We thank you for that." Chiron smiled before he turned to Yui once again. "Unfortunately we don't have time to stay much longer."
"We have to return soon I'm afraid." Iaso said.
Yui smiled at them. "I understand. Thank you for coming here today."
"For you I will visit any time." Otr smirked up at her.
"Of course." Alexandro agreed and moved closer to her. "You are the first human I've ever met. I'm definitely going to come visit you again."
"Don't scare the girl, horse." Einar sighed and put himself between the centaur and Yui. "If you ever need anything, you know where to find me." He winked at her.
"Guys…" Yui smiled.
"Well then, we should go now. Take care Kusanagi-san!" Regin called as he and the others turned to leave.
"I hope we meet again!" Iaso added.
"Me, too! Have a safe trip home!" Yui called after them.
The servant who had let them in followed them through the door to show them the way out and closed it behind him. For a few seconds Yui stood there smiling before she turned around and walked back to her seat, followed by Apollon, Hades and Balder.
"Are you satisfied now, Kusanagi?" Zeus asked.
"I am, thank you so much for doing that." Yui answered him as she sat down. One thing she noticed was that her friends were smiling, yet seemed sad about something. "Everyone, what's wrong?"
"What do you mean, Fairy?" Apollon asked, he was smiling widely with his eyes closed.
"Yeah, we are just very happy for you." Balder agreed.
"Everything is just fine." Takeru told her. He had a small smile planted on his face as well.
Yui took a good look at them all and opened her mouth to speak. "You know I know you better than that. I can see you are forcing yourselves to smile. Please, tell me what's wrong…"
Her friends sighed in defeat and dropped their smiles. "You can see right through us, my little flower." Freyja pointed out and leaned back in the chair.
"As expected from Kusanagi." Freyr said with closed eyes.
"Did I do something you didn't like?" Yui asked her friends, worried she had hurt them without realising it.
"You did nothing wrong, Kusanagi-san." Dionysus assured her.
"It's just-..." Hades started.
"We got jealous." Tsukito admitted.
"What?" Yui asked in surprise. "Why?"
"Because they were the ones who protected you instead of us." Loki explained, not looking her in the eye.
"And that's what friends are supposed to do, right? Protect what's precious to them." Takeru added with his eyes glued down at the table.
"I guess we just thought it looked like you had found new friends." Sif uttered.
Yui's surprised look turned into a smile. "So that's how it is… I'm sorry everyone, I didn't realise how much this affected you but I promise you that you have nothing to worry about. It's true that I may have made new friends but there's no way they're going to replace all of you. And believe me when I say that I would have gone to you for help, not them, if I had been able to."
"Fairy…" Apollon uttered quietly.
"So don't worry, alright?" Yui continued. "You're all my precious friends and there's no way I'm going to throw away our relationship. You are far more important to me than anything."
Yui's words hit them right in the heart and some of them had to look away to hide their blushing faces while the rest looked at the human girl with wide eyes and mouths slightly open.
"T-That was so beautiful, Yui-chan!" Freyja suddenly cried out.
"F-Freyja-san?" Yui said, surprised.
"What a relief…" Balder sighed before his forehead hit the table.
"It's a good thing you told them this, Yui." Frigg smiled at her. "Your friends looked really worried as you were talking with the outcasts."
"Oh…"
"Anyway…" Zeus started. "Now that everyone has calmed down we have an announcement to make."
"About?" Hoenir asked.
"The island we sent Kusanagi to is almost ready." Odin continued.
"And we want all of you to "try it out" before we let anyone else enter." Zeus finished.
"Awesome!" Dionysus exclaimed.
"Hell yeah!" Takeru uttered as well.
"Me, too?" The older god, Bragi, asked in confusion.
"Yes." Frigg confirmed. "We need you to keep an eye on these young ones."
"Don't you trust us to keep the island intact?" Loki grinned.
"No." Odin, Zeus, Frigg and Bragi said in unison.
After the dessert Odin had told them they could stay in his castle during the night and gather in the throne room the day after. They were free to take any guest room they wanted and a servant would be sent to their rooms in the morning when it was time to leave. Yui and her friends were talking about the island in excitement as they were walking through the hall towards the guest rooms. "This is going to be so much fun! It's going to be fun, right?" Apollon laughed.
"Absolutely!" Takeru agreed.
"I can't wait to see what it's going to look like over there!" Sif said in excitement.
"Kusanagi Yui had good ideas for the island." Tsukito pointed out.
"I'm going for the spa house!" Dionysus uttered. "If I can have a drink at the same time it would be even better."
"As long as you don't drop the glass…" Yui giggled.
"You'll survive one day without drinking." Hades told Dionysus.
"No, I can't. Wine tastes even better while you relax in hot water."
When everyone started laughing and discussed Dionysus's cravings Loki took his chance and grabbed Yui's hand and pulled her to the side. They disappeared behind a wall before anyone could see them. "L-Loki-san, what are you-?"
"Quiet…" Loki whispered and waited for the others to leave.
Yui stayed quiet as he wanted. Her back was against the wall and Loki's body was pressed against hers.
Once their friends were out of sight Loki let go of her but just enough for her to move her arms, he was still standing close to her. "Loki-san, what is it?"
"Shall we continue?" Loki asked.
"Continue?"
"From where we left off."
"...Oh…" Was all Yui got out when she realised what he meant.
Loki's eyes turned serious as he leaned down and buried his face in her neck and started kissing it. Yui didn't protest, she didn't want to protest. Her breathing became shorter and her cheeks turned red as she felt Loki's right hand on her hip and his kisses became more intense, she even turned her head to the side to give him more space. "Loki-...san…" She breathed out.
But then Loki stopped what he was doing and rested his head against her shoulder. "Why…?" He whispered.
"...?"
"Why am I feeling this way?"
"Loki-san?"
"This wasn't supposed to happen."
Yui understood what he meant. This wasn't supposed to go further than teasing and fooling around. But here they were…
"Do you want me…?"
Loki's question caught her off guard and her eyes widened. She looked down at him but all she saw was his red hair since his head was still buried in her shoulder. After a moment of silence she finally answered… "...Yes…"
Now it was Loki's turn to be quiet and for about a minute they just stood there with their bodies close to each other. "Damn that Thor." He finally spoke. "He realised it before I did."
Loki's head left Yui's shoulder so that he was now standing straight, looking down at a blushing and confused Yui. 'I… I have to tell him.' Yui thought. She couldn't stand it anymore. "I'm… I'm sorry, Loki-san, I wasn't planning on telling you." Tears threatened to fall. "I'm in love with you… I'm sorry."
Loki's eyes widened slightly before they softened again. "Why are you apologizing?"
Yui looked down at the floor. "Because, like you said, this wasn't supposed to happen."
A brief pause occurred before Loki spoke again. He placed his right hand on her naked shoulder and leaned down. "Look at me."
Yui, unable to refuse him, looked up from the floor and allowed him to move even closer to her. His forehead then touched hers for a few seconds and both closed their eyes as their lips found each other. Yui slowly laid her hands on his shoulders and Loki in return placed his hands on her waist to hold her closer as they kissed. They stayed like that for several minutes before they separated but their hands were still glued to each other. "It seems…" Loki started. "I've fallen for you as well."
Yui smiled to herself and leaned her head against his chest. "This didn't turn out the way you had planned."
"Not at all." Loki smirked. "But it still turned out well."
"Mm."
It felt good for both of them to admit what they really felt for each other, especially after everything that had happened. It felt like a huge boulder had been lifted off their shoulders. After a few minutes they decided to head towards the guest rooms hand in hand. The others seemed to have disappeared into their rooms already so no one saw them when they stopped by one of the empty rooms and looked inside. The bed was pretty big, two people could definitely fit in it. That was, of course, the first thing Loki noticed. "Want some company?" He grinned down at her.
Yui looked like she was thinking hard about something before she answered. "... A-Alright… but don't try anything."
Loki got quiet and stared at her in surprise. "You'll let me stay with you? !" He exclaimed.
His outburst made Yui jump. "H-Huh? !" She stuttered. "W-Well- I just thought- I- We-!"
Loki started laughing.
"W-Why are you laughing? !" She cried out.
"Because you're so freaking adorable!" He laughed as he was holding his stomach. "I'll never get tired of hanging out with you!"
Yui didn't say anything else after that, she just stood there, blushing like crazy and waited for Loki to stop laughing.
When he did, he took a step towards her and placed a hand on top of her head. "I'll stay with you if you want." He smirked.
"You don't have to… if it was meant as a joke."
"I was serious, I just didn't expect you to let me."
"I just thought it would be alright, since we both feel the same way…"
"Isn't that cute." A voice said from just a little further down the hall.
Both Loki and Yui looked to the side in surprise and Loki pulled his hand away from her head as they did.
It was Hoenir. He was standing there with two glasses of wine in his hands, smirking at them.
"Hoenir-san." Yui managed to get out. "Hello, I didn't expect to see you here."
"Hello again, Yui-sama. I see you two are even closer than before."
Loki narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't you have something better to do?"
"Actually, I have. Dionysus and I are going to have a glass of wine as we play Twister with Hades-san and Takeru."
"Ah, I see." Yui answered as she sweat dropped. "Have fun."
"We will, good night Yui-sama, sweet- uhum- dreams." He grinned before he passed them and continued towards the room where the others were waiting.
Once he was out of sight Loki turned towards Yui again. "Well then." He said as he grabbed her shoulders, spun her around, pushed her inside the room and closed the door behind them.
"That was embarrassing." Yui sighed. "He heard us."
"Who cares." Loki said and sat down in one of the two chairs by a small, round table.
"Do you think he's going to tell everyone?"
"They probably already know something was going on. If not, Thor definitely made them realise."
Yui sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Oh well…" Then her eyes suddenly widened, making Loki look at her in confusion.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Yui looked down at her dress, then at the bed she was sitting on and then at Loki. "We… don't have anything to sleep in."
"... Pffhahahaha!"
"Aaaand you're laughing again…"
"Guess we just have to sleep naked!" Loki said between the laughs.
Then a pillow hit him in the face and landed in his lap.
"You wish!" Yui shouted at him.
"Haha, sorry, sorry, Kitten!" Loki laughed. "In our underwear then?"
Yui stared at him for a few seconds and then looked down at the floor. "No other choice, huh?"
"Fine by me!" Loki said in excitement. He seemed a little too excited actually.
Yui started blushing again and moved backwards on the bed so that she could rest her legs on it. "We just confessed to each other and you're already going to see me in nothing but my underwear."
"I've already seen much of your body you know. On the island, remember? Oh, and before the kid woke you up from your coma only your private parts were covered by two towels." Loki explained like it was nothing.
Yui looked up at him and her whole face turned red. "W-What? !"
"Yes, the others saw you as well, when we came to see how the ice had spread."
"...!"
"You look a little pale, Kitten."
Yui placed a hand over her face and sighed deeply. "That's it, I can never get married now."
"Aren't you exaggerating? I would marry you any day."
Yui's eyes widened and she quickly removed her hand. "Loki-san! Don't even joke about that!"
"Hehe, you got happy." Loki stated.
"Wha-? No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did. It's written all over your face."
"Loki-san, stop teasing me!" She cried out and let her body fall down onto the bed so that she was now lying on her back.
"Loki."
Yui lifted her head from the bed. "Hah?"
"Call me Loki. Just Loki."
She looked at him for a moment and then let her head fall back down. She closed her eyes and tried saying it. "... Loki…" When she heard footsteps coming towards her she could sense what was about to happen and she quickly sat up again to avoid it. But too late. The last thing she saw before she found herself on her back again was Loki's grinning face and his mouth saying, "Let's make out!" He put his entire weight on her and started kissing her neck, quickly working his way up.
"Loki, I told you not to try anything!"
A/N: Together at last! Next chapter will be out in about 3-4 days!
