I Couldn't Leave Yet, Our Love Has Just Begun

By : Ashkar44

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Summary

Bell is struggling months later, and many triumphs later, to get over the greatest loss he has ever felt. His Familia tries their best, but little did they know, their celebration would turn out to be the best one of Bell's long life. One-shot - Bell X Artemis

Regardless of what had occurred over the last couple of months, Bell Cranel just couldn't bring himself to enjoy much of what had happened to him or anyone recently. It had nothing to do with the fact that almost all of it was bad that eventually had a happy outcome.

No, it had everything to do with her.

His blue-haired, green-eyed virgin Goddess of perfection. The only time he didn't relive every moment with her was when he was in the dungeon or fighting for his life.

Both of those had happened way too often in the last, almost, two months. First, there was Apollo and his shenanigans with him declaring a War Game against the Hestia Familia. The only good things that happened when Apollo did that was Bell getting to train with Ais and Tiona, and winning.

At first, Bell thought training with Ais would be a very good thing. He swore to himself up and down that he was in love with the Sword Princess. He thought training with her would help him get over what he did to Artemis, but no such thing happened. Honestly, it was quite the opposite.

Bell realized then that he either didn't love Ais as he claimed to or if he did, it wasn't nearly the kind of connection he formed with Artemis. The moment he saw Ais and Tiona standing on the wall waiting for him for his first training session, he felt nothing for the Sword Princess except a determination to defeat the Apollo Familia.

Every time he tried to picture himself standing next to her as her hero as he did before, he never saw her standing there. The only one he could see next to him was Artemis. He had stopped that after only a couple of days. It was affecting his training and he needed to focus so his goddess wasn't banished from Orario and he wasn't forced to join the Apollo Familia.

And that was exactly what he did.

He no longer pictured himself next to anyone anymore, if he could help it. The only things that helped that along were training and the dungeon so he threw himself into both more than he ever had before.

Every moment he spent outside of those two things, he spent questioning himself about why he was so stupid. He knew he loved Artemis, but believed no mortal should ever feel they deserve such love from a Goddess so he never did anything about it.

He relived every moment with her, but he had two that dominated his mind relentlessly. The first was on their dragon ride over to the forest when Artemis had leaned into his chest to rest and sighed as if it was the most comfortable and safest place in the world for her.

Even then, after only having been around her a short time, Bell wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and promise her he would protect her. After his failure, this memory became more of a nightmare of the promise.

The other, it was when all the men tried to spy on the women bathing and he snuck away. He never thought he'd run into Artemis off by herself doing the same thing. He snuck away from the group because he didn't want to be a peeper, but he ended up being just that anyway.

He couldn't look away when he saw Artemis in that water. He had met plenty of Goddesses in his short time in Orario, and they were all beautiful, but he believed none of them held the beauty that Artemis did.

Sure, he had blushed at the Apollo party when Lady Freya had come to talk to him, but even the Goddess of Beauty couldn't affect Bell as Artemis did. In his eyes, there was no one more perfect or beautiful than his blue-haired Goddess.

When she had realized someone was there, she acted like the Artemis Hestia had told them about. She immediately grabbed her bow and threatened to kill whoever was peeping on her. To Bell's surprise, when she realized it was him, she only smiled, put her bow away, and told him to join her.

Talking to her was so easy for him. He usually stammered and blushed when any girl took any interest in what he was saying, but he felt so comfortable around Artemis it wasn't like that at all.

When she had asked him to dance, it is the only thing that still brought a genuine smile to his face nowadays. Those smiles were usually short-lived though as he remembered how much of a coward he was in those moments as well.

As they danced in the water to the music of the forest, Bell and Artemis had gotten lost in each other's eyes. Bell had the feeling that she not only wouldn't kill him for kissing her then but wanted him to do it.

It will forever be his biggest regret not doing just that. If ever he could go back in time to any moment, it would be that moment. He wouldn't be such a coward, he would do more than just sway to the music with her then head back to the others.

He would kiss her and let her know just how much she meant to him. He would tell her that he had never thought he could love someone as much as he loved her. That when he was with her, everything just felt right. As if he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

But he would never get that chance. No, he put a dagger through the heart of the woman he loved. He killed her, and he'd never forget it as long as he lived. It didn't matter that everyone else told him over and over that he was setting her free and only he could do it.

How could they know how he feels? Did any of them ever have to kill the person they loved more than anything? He knew they didn't, but he tried his hardest to remember they were only trying to help him.

Hestia had been so much different after their return than she had been. She wasn't nearly as clingy, stopped snapping at every girl who talked to him, and even encouraged him to try and find someone to date if you can believe that.

Bell was grateful his Goddess was trying even if he could tell those were the last things she wanted to say to Bell. Bell didn't think he'd ever be interested in dating ever again. If the Sword Princess couldn't get him to think about dating again, he doubted anyone or anything ever would.

If you couldn't believe all of that about Hestia, her reaction to him returning from a night in the Pleasure Quarter would be the final proof his Goddess was acting differently. Instead of accusing him of cheating or anything like that, she had listened with complete attention as he explained Haruhime's situation.

The fact that she still only helped plan a way to save Mikoto's friend instead of yelling at him was the final nail that his Goddess was way different than she was before. Even Welf and Mikoto had voiced their shock when Hestia left to Bell.

Mikoto was sure that Hestia would blame Bell for being in the Pleasure Quarter, even if it was Mikoto's fault. When she didn't, she realized how much their trip with Lady Artemis had changed her new Goddess.

Welf didn't really say much of anything except a "Wow, that is not how I thought she would react to that." said to Bell. He agreed whole-heartedly with Welf on that thought.

Since they had no time between coming back from the mission with Artemis, the War Game against the Apollo Familia, and his incident with the Ishtar Familia, Bell was trying to please his Goddess with where they were headed tonight.

Bell didn't feel like celebrating anything, but he knew his Familia was just trying to cheer him up and get him out of the funk he has been in. Setting a new record when he reached level 3 and getting ready to set another as he was almost level 4 hadn't brought him any joy at all anymore.

Hestia had even told him his growth had slowed down. He supposed it was inevitable. It was hard to believe he would continue to grow at the pace he was. He was still growing faster than adventurers normally did by a lot, but it wasn't as fast as it was before.

His Goddess had never given him an explanation, but he knew she would tell him if it was important. Instead, he was determined to try and have a little fun tonight. He was the Captain of the Hestia Familia, but they were the ones trying to take care of him lately. It was supposed to be the other way around.

As they got close to the Hostess of Fertility, Bell tried to smile a little at the thought of being there. No matter his mood, it was always good to see the staff of the Hostess, Ryuu, and Syr especially.

Mama Mia had become somewhat of a motherly figure to Bell. She was firm, blunt, and cared about his safety. He knew she tried to hide that last fact, but Bell could tell she just wanted him to come back from the dungeon safely.

When they finally got to the door, everyone entered before Bell as he brought up the rear. He was expecting a nice quiet night, well as quiet as the Hostess could be, with his Familia. Instead, when he stepped through the door, he was greeted with a loud.

"Congratulations!"

As Bell took in the room, there were plenty of things he noticed. First and foremost was the giant banner hanging from the rafters that said: "Congratulations, Hestia Familia, on winning the War Game!".

The next was all the people. He was used to the Hostess being packed, but it seemed filled with those that were friends, or at least acquaintances, of the Hestia Familia. He saw Lord Hermes off on one side with Asfi, Aisha, Lulune, and a few other members.

Standing next to the Hermes Familia was the entirety of the Takemikazuchi Familia, including their God. Next to them were Lord Miach, Naaza, Daphne, and Cassandra. Next to them were Lady Hephaestus and Tsubaki, but the ones across from all of them were the surprise for Bell.

Loki was standing there with a decent amount of her Familia. All of her executives were there, Riveria, Gareth, and Finn along with most of their high-level adventurers. Bell could see Ais, Tiona, Tione, Raul, Anakitty, and even Lefiya was there with a few other members. The elf still scowled in his direction, but it wasn't as intense as it used to be.

"Thanks for coming everyone! Let's get this party started!"

Bell was a little astonished at all the people here to congratulate them on their victory. It wasn't until his Goddess had yelled that he was able to shake himself free from the shock. It wasn't so much that they were all here, but more of the fact they were celebrating their win against another Familia.

Bell knew other Familia's sometimes had close ties to one another, but they rarely celebrated together. It was especially strange since it wasn't just one other familia celebrating with them, but many others. It was nice to know the Hestia Familia had so many friends though.

As the drinks and food started flowing, and the conversations started to pick up, Bell tried to enjoy himself. He was doing his best to engage in conversation, but it was harder than he thought it would be.

He knew that forming bonds with this many people from other Familia's could only help the Hestia Familia, but he found it hard to focus on other conversations. He knew Welf could probably tell all his smiles were forced, along with just about everything that came out of his mouth, but his friend said nothing.

No, not friend, more like a brother.

Welf was the brother he had always wanted, and the man filled the role perfectly. Not only did he act just like a brother and friend, but he was also the only person Bell could talk to about his love. As he was the only other person he knew who was genuinely and completely in love with a Goddess.

Many others claimed to love Goddesses, but he could tell from the way they said it or their actions that it wasn't pure love. The most easily noticeable of them was the Freya Familia. They all claimed to love their Goddess, and Bell had no doubt they thought that, but it wasn't pure love.

No, it was more like an obsession or need. It wasn't born from knowing the Goddess's heart and mind, it was more like they were under a spell and their love is all they thought of, but never thought themselves worthy of it.

Bell was somewhat similar for a long time, he had only fallen in love with one Goddess, but it wasn't until he learned what kind of Goddess she was. Although, he also believed himself unworthy of her love and his inaction would haunt him until the day he died.

His night was starting to get a little strange, in his eyes. He had tried to go from Familia to Familia and talk with as many people as he could. He wanted to make sure he showed his appreciation for everyone helping in whatever way they could, but someone kept popping up either when he was talking to other Familias or walking between conversations.

You wouldn't think it that surprising now that Bell was rather famous in Orario, but it was who kept popping up that felt somewhat strange to him. It was none other than Ais Wallenstein, over and over and over again.

She made small talk with him then would disappear for a while only to come back and do the same thing. She was even smiling and laughing a little as they conversed and it was strange to Bell.

He knew Ais fairly well but didn't know everything about her. Even with that being the case, he knew this behavior was strange. He had seen Ais slightly smile from time to time, but he's pretty sure the Sword Princess had smiled and laughed more times tonight than all the other days before combined.

It was during one of these strange moments that something happened that changed Bell's life and mood forever. Ais was smiling at him, Bell could tell all the Loki Familia members sharing their conversation were just as perplexed at Ais behavior as him, and during this conversation was when it happened.

"I still can't believe you went from standing no chance against the Captain of the Apollo Familia to defeating him. Your growth is astonishing, Bell."

Bell wasn't sure he had ever heard Ais speak in such long sentences. She usually got her point across in as few words as possible, but that wasn't happening tonight. Bell could only rub his neck at her praise before saying.

"I'm sure it had more to do with yours and Tiona's training, Ms. Ais. Plus, it seems my growth is starting to catch up to the way most adventurers grow."

Bell was surprised to see the Ais seemed sad, or maybe disappointed, at this news. He had no idea what to make of that reaction, but she schooled it quickly and flashed another half-smile before she said.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out and grow as fast as you did before. You'll be back to breaking the level record before you even know it."

Bell was about to deny it. He wasn't sure what caused his growth to start to slip, and he wasn't sure it would ever come back. He had never trained harder or pushed himself more in the dungeon than he had before his last status update, and it was the least growth he had seen since joining the Hestia Familia. However, he never got the chance. A voice from behind him froze him up completely.

"Of course he will. My Orion is the most amazing man to ever live!"

Bell could pick that voice out from anywhere, but he refused to believe it was real. He had to be hallucinating or something because she couldn't be here. He drove his dagger through her heart two months ago.

Bell could tell though that it might in fact be real. Everyone in the entire Hostess was dead silent. Not only that, the looks from his own Familia over his shoulder screamed at him that he wasn't hallucinating.

Welf, Lily, and even Ryuu looked like they had seen a ghost. All of their jaws were hanging open in utter disbelief. Hestia was the worst of them all. Not only was her jaw open, but small tears were forming in the corner of her eyes. Even Lord Hermes and Asfi looked completely stunned as they stared over his shoulder.

"I traveled all this way to be with my Orion and he can't even bring himself to look at me."

Bell couldn't stop himself from what happened next if he tried. Hearing her voice again had shaken the last of the frozen state from his mind. Bell slowly stood from his chair and turned around even slower. He wasn't sure why, but it felt as though she would disappear if he turned around too quickly.

But she didn't, and she was truly standing only a few feet away from him when their eyes finally connected. Bell blinked once, twice, three times, but she didn't disappear. It was too good to be true so Bell took the final few steps between them as Artemis beamed her beautiful smile at him.

Bell looked into her eyes as he brought up his right hand and ran it down her cheek. It was still hard for him to believe she was standing there, but there was no mistaking the feel of her skin on his fingertips.

Her emerald eyes seemed to shine brighter as he stared into them. Her blue hair was just as captivating as the first time he laid eyes on it, and her beauty was only enhanced by the beaming smile she was directing at Bell.

"Artemis..."

Artemis's eyes closed at the sound of her voice coming out of his mouth. Bell's fingers wrapped around the back of her neck as he gently caressed her cheek with his thumb. She finally got to enjoy the feeling of being with her Orion once more.

"H-How?..."

When she opened her eyes again, she could see that Bell finally realized she was truly here. It made her heart flutter when he looked at her like he was now. She had told her children how silly and useless something such as love was, but now she understood.

Nothing would ever make her feel better than the way Bell was looking at her now. She knew what she saw in his eyes. It was something she denied for too long until she met him.

It was pure, complete, genuine love shining through his eyes, and it was directed only at her. She wasn't even truly sure how this came to be, but she gave him the answer her heart told her was true.

"I couldn't leave yet, our love has just begun..."

Tears began to form in the corner of Bell's eyes. He knew he didn't deserve her love, not because he was a mortal, but because of what he did to her. He promised to protect her, and he failed.

But Bell was through with doubt, self-loathing, and believing himself unworthy. He was going to do what he should have done the first time. He wasn't just going to show her how much he loved her, he would tell her, every day, for the rest of his life.

Artemis though, she had even bigger plans for them...

"My Hero, my love, my Orion, my Bell. Ten thousand years is not enough time to show you how much I love you." Artemis puts her hands on his chest and stares into his eyes. "Would you be mine for all time?..."

Bell had tunnel vision since he heard her voice again, and he did not see any of the reactions going on around him. There were some smiling, some were frowning, some were happy, some were puzzled, some were enraged, but none of that mattered to Bell. Only she did, and only she ever truly would. No one would ever take her place in his heart.

"I promise I will love you forever..." Bell brings his other hand up and rests it on the other side of her neck, stroking her cheek gently with his thumb. "I will not allow anything to part us again, my love."

Bell was about to lean in and finally kiss her, but he heard a weapon unsheathe. He looked down to see Artemis's sword sliding back into its sheathe before she brought her thumb up in front of Bell.

He could see the blood from the cut on her thumb. He didn't realize why she had done that until she wiped it on his lips and leaned in to kiss him. This time, this time he did not hesitate.

When their lips connected, it was everything Bell and Artemis thought it would be and more. It felt like electricity was in the air and everything was getting warmer. Little did they know, it wasn't just a feeling. It was actually happening around them as they kissed.

They explored each other's lips, their tongues finding the perfect rhythm between each other, and everyone else faded even farther away. When they finally had to stop for a need to breathe, you have never seen a more beaming smile on two people.

Everyone finally fell completely silent around them at the look they were giving each other. No one would ever know if Artemis leaned in to say what she said next because she realized they were in a room full of people or because she was always going to lean into him to say it. No one ever found out what she said or heard it, but Bell would remember it for all time.

"Now... make love to me Bell."

No one got even a hint at what Artemis had just said as she whispered it so close to Bell's ear. There was plenty of speculation over the years, the most agreed-upon version was because of what happened next.

Bell never answered, he never got the chance as Artemis grabbed him by the hand and laughed as they both ran out the door. You could probably guess as to what everyone thought, especially after they left, and learned something none of them had ever heard of.

"I-I can't b-believe t-t-they... they are bound!"

All eyes in the building turn to the sound of the high pitched voice to see a very tiny, very busty little Goddess. She had a look that was half enraged, half awed. It only took a few moments for everyone to figure out why.

"What are ya talkin' bout, Goddess Hestia? Like bound in marriage?"

For some reason, Welf seemed completely fine and happy with everything that just happened so he had the sense of mind to ask what in the world Goddess Hestia was talking about. Bound sounded like married to him, but you never knew with Gods.

"B-Bound... they bound their souls together! Usually, only a few Gods have access to mortals' souls when they die. By binding their souls together, Bell's soul will always return to Artemis and no other deity may have a say in what happens to that soul. But... but that isn't the only possible outcome..."

Hestia looks completely wide-eyed at everyone. She probably doesn't realize how concerned she looks on the outside, but little did everyone else know, she was panicking much more on the inside than her terrified self even showed.

"If... If Bell gets high enough level... He could... there's a possibility... I mean... There's a theory that if a mortal can break the Level 10 Rule they may ascend themselves and become... Immortal or even a new deity..."

'Bell has Liaris Freeze! He kept it even after his love died, it just lost the part where his willpower and emotions made him grow faster. Now though! Now, it... it might push him to Godhood! And he's so close to leveling again!'

This was the internal struggle Hestia had as everyone in the Hostess started yelling, gossiping, and being shocked at such a thing being possible. None of it mattered to either Bell or Artemis, Bell tried to make it to his room, but he and Artemis only made it to the inner courtyard of the Hearth Manor.

Although it wasn't either of their plans, making love under the stars for the first time felt like it was supposed to happen. Even after Bell finally ascended to a Demi-God and stayed by his love's side forever, he always remembered their first night together...

When their love had just begun...

THE END