Ah My Goddess - Honeymoon by Sean Gaffney All characters (c) Kosuke Fujishima and used without permission except Kenji (c) Ed Sharpe. Used with kind permission. Note: This fanfic contains a LEMON scene! It's done as tastefully as I can make it, but it's there, so be warned. Note 2: This fanfic is a sequel to my other 2 AMG fanfics, Proposal and Wedding. They can be found on a couple of AMG sites, or at the anime FTP site under the title CLOSURE. ************************************ "Are we all here?" Belldandy asked. Somewhat incongruously, Keiichi was holding Belldandy in his arms, determined to carry her over the nearest equivalent of a threshold. Skuld and Kenji were holding hands next to them, and Urd was standing a few feet away with a *very* surprised Megumi. "I thought heaven was supposed to be ice castles and rainbow rivers! This is...it looks like a lobby!" Megumi was *not* impressed. "Well, it is. I thought it would be more convenient to get us to where we wanted to go." Belldandy was wearing her practical look. "Of course, we could travel via the river..." Suddenly, Megumi found herself a thousand feet up a mountain, clinging to the ice face. A raging river was barely visible down below, and in the distance was a large palace, seemingly composed entirely of crystal. Megumi gasped and tried to get a safer grip... And then they were back in the lobby, and Belldandy was speaking again. "But that would take us three days, whereas in this guise we can get to our domain by the elevator. Is that alright?" "Sure! No problem! Elevator it is!" Megumi decided that safe beat impressive any day of the week. "Bell, can we stop by Yggdrasil before we split up? I want to touch base, and it might be nice for everyone to see the cause of all their problems." Urd was still looking slightly depressed, but arriving back in heaven seemed to buoy her spirits. "Of course! Um, Kei-chan, can you put me down? We need to go down about 672 floors..." Keiichi had been feeling very tired for a while now, but wasn't about to admit it. "Of course, Bell-chan", he said gracefully. Urd smiled. "Listen to the two of them. Maybe we should just get you two to Belldandy's place so you can start doing your marital duties." Both Keiichi and Belldandy blushed deeply. "Well, Kami-sama has called us to his office first..." Belldandy murmured. "So let's go, then! Don't want to keep you two lovebirds waiting!" Smiling, Urd led the party into a waiting elevator. It took them down to Yggdrasil, the world computer, the one piece of machinery that held everything together. *** "Wow!" Megumi exclaimed. Yggdrasil was big. Actually, big doesn't even begin to describe Yggdrasil. It extended in all directions, till it disappeared from vision. "Impressive, ain't it? Terminal." At Urd's command, a small keyboard appeared in front of Urd. She logged in and began to type. "You keep the entire world running from here? How...well, I don't mean to have it sound like this, but...how can you stay on Earth all the time? Doesn't it require constant maintenance?" "Not really," responded Belldandy. "The main program has been running for thousands of years, and it requires only periodic maintenance. The problem we had with the bugs last Christmas was very much an aberration. It shouldn't happen again." Megumi nodded; she was still a little fuzzy on the whole "bug" situation last Christmas, except that Keiichi seemed unhappy most of the time. Keiichi was looking at Urd, who was typing at speeds approximating Mach 1. "Somehow, Urd, the thought of you as a computer geek just doesn't fit." Urd frowned, but didn't take her eyes off the screen. "Excuse me, Morisato, but who do you think was the sysadmin for this? Just because I don't have a mecha fetish like my sister doesn't mean I don't know programming. Anyway, if I get tired of it, I can always -- " At this point, Urd waved her hand, and the entire space seemed to *shift*. Where Yggdrasil's massive computer banks had once stood, there now sat a rather small, twisted tree. Keiichi and Megumi turned in amazement to Urd, who was now scrubbing at the sides of a well, removing small pieces of lichen. "This is the original; after all, computers weren't all the rage in the ancient times." Urd waved her hand again, and Yggdrasil and the terminal were back. "This is definitely less wear and tear on the body, though. Ah, finished." Urd hit the return key with a flourish, and the terminal vanished. "That's that; now for some fun. Bell, while you and Keiichi go see Kami-sama, I'm gonna take the others on a little trip." She turned to Megumi and winked. "Get to see a little slice of heaven, kid. And I won't even charge you." Keiichi was looking around. "Has anyone seen Skuld or Kenji?" Urd suddenly snapped her head around. "What?! Where'd they go! I've got to -- " Belldandy smiled. "I believe Skuld wanted to show Kenji her room. Don't worry, Urd, I'm sure everything will be all right." Urd glared, but said nothing. *** "Well, here we are!" Skuld stopped outside of a door somewhere near Yggdrasil's center. "I need to be close to here in case any bugs pop up." "Um, Skuld...I dunno if I should be going into your room." Kenji said, noticing what appeared to be a manic grin on Skuld's face. "Don't be silly! I need to try something out, and you're the only person I want to do it with!" With that, Skuld flung open her door, revealing the inside to Kenji. He paled. "Umm...er...I really think we should be getting back to the others..." he stammered. "What are you afraid of? C'mon, it'll be fun!" "Help..." Kenji murmured as Skuld dragged him inside. The door closed. Coming from inside, you could hear the click of a lock. *** Keiichi felt like running for his life. He knew on the surface that marrying Belldandy would entail this meeting, but hadn't prepared himself for the reality of it. He was about to meet Kami-sama. Nothing at Nekomi Tech had prepared him for this. "Don't worry, Kei-chan; he's really a very nice god." Belldandy said, but Keiichi noticed that her eyes told a different story. She was concerned, as well. Keiichi remembered that Kami-sama had said to her that he would allow the marriage, but would not give his blessing. He wondered why. Similar thoughts were running through Belldandy's mind. When she last met with Kami-sama, he had seemed distant, as if he did not approve of her marriage to Keiichi. She, too, worried about what this meeting would entail. The large doors in front of them opened by themselves, and Keiichi found himself looking upon a throne room. Simple, to be sure, few luxuries or ostentations, but a throne room nevertheless. Sitting on the throne was a small man, looking to be in his mid-70s. Keiichi was amazed to see that he wore a patch over his right eye. Belldandy was equally amazed. Kanmi-sama rarely wore his true form, preferring a more impressive body. To see him as he really was... Belldandy began to be seriously concerned. Kami-sama said nothing at first, merely watched as the two of them came forward and bowed. He seemed to be concentrating on Keiichi, as if looking for some inner facet. Finally, he spoke. "I must confess to surprise; I had been expecting... well, you seem so ordinary." Keiichi began to bristle, in spite of himself. He had been hearing that from Skuld for years. Kami-sama smiled, and the tension seemed to leave the room. "I did not mean to cause offense, son. I am intrigued, however. You have attracted the love of one of the goddesses, and yet there seems to be nothing special about you. What is it about yourself that makes such a goddess want you, for the rest of your life?" Belldandy began to flush a little, and started to answer, but Kami-sama held her back. "No, Belldandy, this is important. I want to hear it from him." Keiichi thought for a few moments. Kami-sama obviously knew all about him already, so this was more of a test than anything else. Keiichi decided to just make it simple. "I'm nothing special, sir. I'm just an ordinary Japanese college student. I'm not rich, or powerful. I can't offer Belldandy life in a palace. The question you ask...I have asked myself, over and over again, these past three years. I have no idea how it happened, but apparently I was fortunate enough to have Belldandy come into my life." Belldandy, outraged at Keiichi's self-deprecation, was about to leap to his defense when she hear Kami-sama chuckle. Angered, she turned towards him as he spoke. "You impress me, son. I had been afraid that marriage to a goddess would have made you feel important, too full of yourself. Keep that humility, Morisato. It is something that we gods all too often lack, and in your marriage, you will need to bring many human qualities." Belldandy's anger began to drain out of her. Kami-sama continued, "But this does not mean that your opinion of yourself has to be so poor. The reasons, Keiichi, why Belldandy fell in love with you are easy to see. Your honor, your respectfulness, your love of others, and unwillingness to hurt them. When you were fighting against Fenrir, you sacrificed yourself, not for Belldandy, but for her sister, who had not treated you well. That, more than Belldandy's words of love, is why we allowed this marriage to happen." Keiichi turned beet red, as Belldandy's expression lit up. "Oh, Kami-sama, thank you! Please forgive me for having doubted you!" Kami-sama smiled wryly. "Do not thank me yet, Belldandy. I still have a few more things to say." Keiichi, recovered at last, looked up. "Is there anything I need to -- " Kami-sama stopped him. "No, boy, this is something else. You have become aware, recently, of your first meeting with Belldandy, correct?" Keiichi noticed Belldandy blushing this time, apparently she hadn't mentioned that she had restored his memories. Kami-sama went on. "We didn't really see a problem with the two of you meeting. But Belldandy had made a promise to you, one that she was not allowed to make. Therefore, we decided to stop her, hoping that eventually she would forget you, once she realized the magnitude of what she had done. Unfortunately, we underestimated her obsession with you." This time, it was Keiichi's turn to get annoyed. Just as he was about to say something, Kami-sama continued. "Yes, Keiichi, it *was* obsession, no matter what you might think. Belldandy went to work at Yggdrasil, in order that she might follow your life more closely. When we transferred her to the Goddess Relief Office, she set about arranging things so that she would be in a position to grant your wish." Keiichi looked over in amazement at Belldandy. She had her head bowed, refusing to look at him. "I let the wish be allowed, much against my better judgment, in the hoped that Belldandy might get over you, and be able to move on. After all, as I'm sure she has mentioned, relationships between gods and mortals are usually less than successful. But, to my surprise, she matured quickly. She became less quick to anger, less inclined to prejudge. Whether you know it or not, Keiichi, you were helping her to grow up." "Even her love for you changed. If it had stayed as it was, as an unhealthy obsession, then I would never have allowed the marriage. But she has come to love you for yourself, not as her childhood playmate. This is a love that I can certainly allow, and perhaps even envy a little." He smiled briefly. "So, thank you, Keiichi. Belldandy has matured to the point where she is an excellent young goddess, and it is in no small part due to your influence." Keiichi wondered if it was possible to pass out from blushing. "Umm... you're welcome, Kami-sama..." he muttered. Kami-sama straightened up. "And now to my final task. Belldandy, you were concerned when you first visited me, because I refused to give my blessing. I still do. I am not the one who needs to bless you. You are already a goddess, Belldandy. Bless your marriage. Let it be full of love and happiness. For it is you and Keiichi who will be living it, every day." "And though I cannot give you a blessing, I can give you a gift. If you are unsure, please tell me." Belldandy and Keiichi looked up, puzzled. "Keiichi, when you made your wish, you had stated that you wanted a goddess like Belldandy to be with you for the rest of your life. I released that contract, because I wanted your lives to be your own, with no artificial bonds between them. But since the contract is now over, I am allowed to grant this." Kami-sama stood. "Keiichi, you are a mortal, and eventually you will die. Normally, since you are Shinto, your spirit would be dealt with according to your beliefs. However, with your permission, I would send your spirit to Valhalla. There, you and Belldandy, if you so desire, can continue to be together, even after your death. Does this meet with your approval?" Keiichi stood there, utterly stunned. Whatever he had expected coming in here, it was nothing like this. He looked over at Belldandy, and was startled to see her looking at him fearfully, waiting for his answer. She seemed to be fearful of it. Keiichi looked at Kami-sama again. "Kami-sama...if this is what Belldandy wishes as well..." and here he looked at her, "then there would be no greater joy for me than to accept. Thank you." Belldandy screamed and threw her arms around him, kissing him over and over again. "Oh, Kei-chan, thank you!!! I love you so much!!!" Kami-sama looked at the goddess of the present, who seemed to be acting very much like Lum Redet. Oh, well. "This meeting is now concluded. I wish you both the best of luck with your marriage. May it last until the end of time itself." And with that, Kami-sama left the chamber, leaving the two lovers still locked in an embrace. He wondered if they'd even heard him. *** Megumi was bored. She had never thought she'd be bored by heaven, but she was. Urd had apparently decided that the tour of heaven would take in all her old haunts, which meant that they'd been to a succession of bars and restaurants. She looked over, watching Urd catching up on old times with yet *another* tall, blond, gorgeous god. Megumi could appreciate them as much as the next girl, but it began to get a bit repetitive after a while. "Hello." The voice seemed to ease into her consciousness, as if it took a while to comprehend. She looked up to see a tall, blue-eyed man (well, god probably). But at least he wasn't a blond Adonis. The best word to describe him would be striking. "You don't seem to be having a good time. Heaven not living up to its name?" Megumi found herself strangely drawn to this man, and she answered him quickly. "Well, I'm sure it's lovely, but I'm not getting the scenic tour from Urd, I can tell you." There was a flash of...something, Megumi wasn't sure...across his eyes for a moment at the mention of Urd's name, but it quickly vanished, to be replaced by his grin. "Yes, I can imagine that the Alcohol '96 Tour is somehow lacking. Tell you what, you'll want to get away from all this. Heaven is a fascinating place, and you're not seeing some of the truly exciting things. Urd isn't the one to show you around these things, anyway. I'm a fairly low-key guy; why don't I take you around?" Megumi glanced over at Urd, who seemed to be heavily into a drinking contest. "Well, I'm not sure if..." The man smiled again. "Don't worry about Urd; we'll be back before she notices we're gone." Megumi looked into his eyes again, and found herself saying yes. Those were the oddest eyes... "Well, where should we go first?" "Ah, now that's a surprise..." And with that, Megumi felt herself disappearing, held by the man in an iron grip. Just before she lost consciousness, she wondered if perhaps this wasn't such a great idea after all. *** Belldandy's room was exactly what you would expect from her - simple, yet elegant. Not that Keiichi got much of a chance to see it, as he was still wrapped up in Belldandy's arms. Pausing for breath, he decided to extricate himself. Keiichi didn't dare admit it, but he was *incredibly* nervous. Besides the usual jitters about the wedding night, he had a bunch that were specific to his own situation. He was married to a goddess, and about to sleep with her. There were quite a few existential dilemmas in there to worry about. Belldandy seemed to notice his discomfort. "What's wrong, Kei-chan?" She paused, a nasty thought running through her mind. "Is it...is it because of what Kami-sama said?" Keiichi looked up, puzzled. "What do you mean, Belldandy?" Belldandy clutched onto Keiichi fearfully. "Oh, Keiichi-san, you have to understand! I didn't realize how much you would mean to me when I first had to leave! I had to see you again! And now you hate me..." Keiichi at least knew the answer to that one. "Belldandy, I don't hate you. I love you. You're the most important thing in my life. It doesn't matter to me if our meeting wasn't the heavenly wish-bringing I thought it was. What matters to me now is you, and how much I love you." Now it was Belldandy's turn to be puzzled. "Then, Keiichi-san, why did you pull away from me?" Keiichi considered his words carefully. She had stopped calling him Kei-chan, he noticed. That bothered him, and he didn't want to mess it up. He needed to come at this carefully. "Bell-chan, do you remember shortly after you arrived on Earth, you were talking about auras?" Belldandy didn't really follow where this conversation was going. "Yes, I remember." Keiichi continued on. "And afterwards, you thought I had a fever and put me to bed..." *Now* Belldandy realized what Keiichi was getting at. She blushed fiercely. "Yes, I remember." Keiichi was also rather red. "Well, um...I wasn't really sick." "Yes, I know that now, Keiichi-san. You must understand, I was fairly inexperienced at dealing with humans." Keiichi didn't really want to continue the conversation, but..."Um, and I was concerned that...you might think..." Belldandy giggled suddenly. "Oh, Keiichi-san, that was three years ago! Goodness knows, having Urd living with us has taught me a few things. She blushed again. "I've no actual experience, but...I won't put you to sleep again." Keiichi sighed a bit, both relieved and nervous at the same time. "I have to tell you, Belldandy, this is making me uncomfortable. I mean, much as we agreed to be husband and wife down on Earth, you are a goddess. Please don't get offended, Bell-chan, but...the idea of making love to you is somewhat unnerving." Belldandy smiled. At last she knew what was bothering him. Well, she'd just have to take care of his fear. She leaned in and caressed his face. "Kei-chan, why do you assume that there is such a difference between gods and mortals? You've seen enough of me and my sisters to know that we share many of the same traits." She slowly began to move her lips along his neck as she loosened his tie. "Anger, fear, jealousy...why shouldn't we feel the same desire?" Keiichi was suddenly finding it very difficult to think clearly. While they had kissed, their physical relationship hadn't really gone much further than that. With Skuld in the room next door, it seemed prudent to wait for the honeymoon. Now, however, Belldandy was exciting him in ways she never had before. He tried to concentrate. "Um...it never occurred to me..." Belldandy had half removed his shirt, and was moving her lips down his chest in a manner that Keiichi was finding incredibly erotic. "And besides," she continued, "do you think you're the first mortal a god or goddess has made love to?" She removed his shirt, and drifted back up to kiss him on the lips again. Keiichi could understand the rightness of her arguments, but had to admit that at the moment it was what she was doing to him that was swaying his opinion. Belldandy decided to end the conversation. "Kei-chan, I *want* you. You know that I love you with my whole self, and that includes my body. I find you incredibly attractive, Kei-chan. Please don't deny me." She smiled shyly to attempt to take the edge off of her words, but her eyes showed what she was really thinking. Keiichi gulped. He had never thought of himself as being a very attractive person, and here was Belldandy telling him how she wanted to make love to him. All remaining doubts were ripped away as he realized that he desperately wanted to make love to her. And more importantly, there was her final statement. Keiichi would do anything rather than deny Belldandy. Belldandy kissed Keiichi, waiting for his answer. She was the one who was nervous now. She had admitted a lot of personal feelings in the past few minutes, and hoped that Keiichi would understand. She wanted him so badly it was almost painful. Thus, when he relaxed and began moving into the kiss, she almost cheered with relief. Keiichi leaned back, setting Belldandy back onto the bed. They leaned back, letting their bodies flow together. Belldandy began to remove her own clothes now, her dress falling down around her waist. She could have removed them all by magic, but the object was to get Keiichi aroused, and that certainly seemed to be working. Standing Belldandy up again, Keiichi said, "I should be helping with that." He slowly removed the dress from around her hips, letting it drop to the floor. Stepping out of it, Belldandy stood in front of him dressed only in her underwear. Despite the conversation they'd just had, Keiichi couldn't help but blush. "You...you look wonderful, Bell-chan." Belldandy looked down demurely. "Thank you, Kei-chan." She pulled him close to her for another kiss, and began to remove his pants. Keiichi jumped a bit. "Um...we can go more slowly if you like, Bell-chan. I mean, we have a few days of our honeymoon to go..." Belldandy seemingly paid him no attention, removing his pants until he stood there clad only in his boxers. "I know, Kei-chan. And I want to be able to do this with you as many times as possible during that time." She sat him down on the bed again, and they kissed passionately. Then Keiichi surprised her by moving his hands behind her back, attempting to remove her bra. For a moment, she thought she'd have to lead him through every step. It took him a few tries, but he finally released it, and it fell to the floor. Keiichi looked down and gasped. Belldandy's breasts, while not impressive in size like Urd's, were one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen. He raised a hand tentatively to stroke them, noticing how soft they were. As he did so, he began to kiss her neck, and then worked his way down, noticing how much he appeared to be turning her on. Belldandy was having trouble breathing. The feel of Keiichi's hands and tongue on her body were driving her into a frenzy, and it was all she could do to keep from bringing his mouth up to hers. Then his lips reached her nipple, and began to suck it gently. She gasped at that, feeling dizzy, as a rush of blood left her head. Keiichi was in heaven, marveling at the taste and feel of Belldandy's body. As he kissed it, Belldandy's nipple seemed to stiffen in his mouth, growing harder to the touch. As he went to the other breast, he was surprised to find her moving his head towards it. So surprised in fact, that he accidentally bit it. Belldandy moaned, feeling Keiichi's teeth pulling at her. She was unbelievably aroused now, and couldn't wait for much longer. She began to move towards his boxers, needing to feel more of him, needing him inside her, making her fulfilled. Keiichi felt Belldandy move lower, and begin to take off his boxers. This proved to be more difficult than he thought, because he was fully erect, and thus impeding her progress a little. Finally, however, his shorts slid to the ground, and Belldandy saw his manhood for the first time. "Oh, my..." she said. Keiichi was no monster, but he was certainly impressive. Now it was her turn to be hesitant, as she slowly reached out to caress it. Keiichi gasped when she did so, and she felt his member twitch in her hands. She smiled again, and slowly began to move her hand along its length. Keiichi found himself lost in pleasure for a moment, as Belldandy's hands caressed his manhood. It was all he could do to hold himself in, and not come in her hands right then. Then he suddenly realized that Belldandy was doing all the work, and found a reserve of patience within himself. He moved his hands down towards her legs, and slowly began to ease her panties down off her body. Then, slowly and carefully, he began to explore her sex, trying to find what would make her happy. Belldandy felt Keiichi's hands at her sex, and began to moan as she felt his first attempts to explore. Then suddenly, his fingers brushed at her clitoris, and Belldandy cried out as a warm feeling coursed through her body, and out between her legs. Keiichi immediately noticed her response, as his hand was soaked with her juices. He therefore decided to experiment with this more, and began to stroke Belldandy's nub in a circular motion. She was breathing in great, heaving gasps, and more fluid ran out from between the lips of her sex. Suddenly Belldandy could stand no more. She grabbed him and pulled his face up to hers again, kissing him fiercely. "Keiichi, please. I want to feel you inside me. *Now*." Keiichi was momentarily overwhelmed again. The heat from their bodies was making it difficult to keep control again, and he knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer. Wordlessly, he pushed her down onto the bed, and put his manhood up to the lips of her sex. For a time, they merely rocked back and forth, enjoying the sensation of pressing against each other. Then Keiichi attempted to bring his penis inside of her. Unfortunately, he missed, fumbling at her entrance. Belldandy smiled at him, took hold of his member, and gently guided it into her. Then, as if obeying some hidden signal, they rocked their hips together forcefully. Keiichi could feel himself driving deep within her. He was a little surprised to find himself momentarily blocked, and he realized that he must be hitting Belldandy's hymen. He would have thought that she could have magicked it away or something, to make the experience less painful for her. But as he broke through the barrier, he looked up into her face. She cried out momentarily, but her eyes were shining. At that moment, Keiichi realized that she had wanted the full experience of her first time with him, both the pleasure and the pain. And now, as he stroked in and out of her, he could see that the pain was beginning to pass. Belldandy felt no small amount of pain as Keiichi broke her hymen, but it was quick to pass. She felt a wonderful sense of completeness, as if the two of them were now truly husband and wife, coming together as one pair, and was sure that she woudl feel this way for the rest of her life. Then she was beyond thought, letting the pleasure take her to greater and greater heights. Keiichi was reveling in the feel of Belldandy's softness surrounding him, of the way that their bodies seemed to come together effortlessly. Then he began to realize how close he was to orgasm, and panicked slightly. He didn't want to come while Belldandy was still on the edge, so he sped up in an effort to make her reach her peak. It worked. Belldandy shuddered and cried out as her body reached orgasm, her arms clinching Keiichi tightly to her. At the same time, Keiichi screamed Belldandy's name and let go, filling her with his seed. They both hovered in ecstasy for a few moments, and then collapsed onto the bed, panting heavily. Keiichi felt exhausted. He'd never really gone through anything like this before, and didn't realize how tiring it was. Looking up, he saw Belldandy's face smiling at him. That smile was what made him love her, more than anything else. He attempted to smile back, but the best he could manage was a goofy grin. "Kei-chan, that was wonderful. I don't think I've ever felt such pleasure before. Thank you." Belldandy was amused to find that even though they had made love, Keiichi was still blushing at her words. "Kei-chan! Are you still embarrassed at the thought of being with me?" Keiichi felt himself flush more. "No, of course not...it's just that..." Belldandy grinned, and began to clench her muscles, bringing his penis back up to full strength. "Well, then, we'll just have to do this again and again until you're not embarrassed any more." She giggled as his eyes bugged out, and stopped any protest he might have made with a kiss. *** Urd was annoyed. She'd been having a great conversation with Thor about the influence of alcohol in human history when she noticed that Megumi was no longer at the bar. "Now didn't I tell that kid to stay put? That's the problem with kids today, nobody listens..." The barman looked up. "If you're talking about the mortal that was here a while ago, I think she left with one of the gods. I dunno, seemed to be pretty happy to me." Urd frowned. Now why would Megumi go off with a god? Urd had told her again and again how dangerous this place was. "Do you know who it was?" The barman shrugged, and turned to his assistant. "Hey, Jake, do you know who that mortal went off with?" The assistant, a stringy guy who was tuning up a guitar, piped up, "Yeah, of course. It was Loki. Hard to forget a guy like that." At the mention of Loki's name, Urd turned white as a sheet. Her hands clenched and unclenched as she stood for a moment not knowing where to turn. Fortunately, this didn't last long. "Shit, fuck, SHIT, **FUCK**!" she shouted, and leapt over the counter and into the television, vanishing from sight. *** Megumi awoke slowly, wondering when she had fallen asleep in the first place. Recollection came flooding back to her, and she attempted to get up, only to realize that she was immobilized somehow. "Ah, I see we've decided to get up. Good, what's the point of a captive audience if they're not awake to appreciate their position?" Megumi's head snapped around. The man she had met at the bar, with the strangely hypnotic eyes, was standing beside her. To her embarrassment, he was now naked, and had lost much of the charm and handsomeness that had drawn her to him. She noticed that she appeared to be bound tightly to a rock slab, and hovering above her head were (she paled) several dozen snakes, all looking down at her greedily. "Please, allow me to introduce myself. Loki, at your service. A man with wealth, but no taste. And you would be Megumi Morisato, the sister of Keiichi. The pleasure is all mine, as I'm sure you've noticed by now." There was none of the earlier warmth in his voice, and he seemed to be openly sneering at her. "Wh...why are you doing this?" she managed to ask. "Why? Oh, a reason, let me think. Maybe it's because of your brother's marriage to Belldandy. Yes, that sounds good. I had a crush on Belldandy from a long time back, and she threw me over for a mortal, so I'm seeking me revenge. Or maybe it's you; maybe I've seen the future where you solve the world's problems, and have kidnapped you in order to make sure it never happens." He leant right over her face, and Megumi shuddered. "Or maybe, just possibly, it's because I'm an utter bastard who doesn't need a reason. Could be, hmmm?" Megumi, almost frightened beyond belief, still attempted to fight back with whatever spark remained in her. "They won't let you do this to me. Urd or Skuld will find me." Loki laughed uproariously. "Skuld? I'd love to see that child go up against me. I'd stick that hammer where she's only dreamed of. And as for Urd, that drunken slut wouldn't bother to save you. She only thinks of herself. Surely you've noticed that." Megumi noticed Loki's eyes wandering around the room, as if he were looking for something. "I'm getting bored," he yawned. "Time to make this more interesting." And with that, he produced a very large, deadly looking knife. For a moment, Megumi thought that he was going to kill her. Then, systematically, he began cutting her clothing away from her body. "Can't let your brother have all the fun, eh?" Megumi, finally overcome with fear, fainted. *** As Megumi passed out, Loki put the knife away. He loosened her bonds and arranged her in a more interesting position, so it might look as if something more had happened. Then, tightening the ropes again, he slowly looked up. "Five...four...three...two...one..." Urd shot forwards, coming at him with a longsword that almost dwarfed her body. Loki easily ducked out of the way, and came up again a little closer to Megumi. "At last. You know, I was beginning to think you wouldn't join my little party. What seems to be the matter? Are you upset?" Urd's eyes seemed to be glowing red. "You will let Megumi go, and then I am going to beat you bloody." Loki looked back, seemingly surprised. "Oh, that's right! I had almost forgotten about her. To tell you the truth, I could care less what happens to her. It's you that I wanted to see." Urd made another attack, which Loki evaded a little less quickly. "If you wanted to talk to me, this wasn't the way to get my attention." Loki grinned. "Of course it was. Or have you forgotten who I am, Urd? I certainly wouldn't stoop as low as to come to you directly. No, the feint, the clever trick, that would send you running. After all, she was simply sitting unguarded. It's not as if you were watching over her..." A flush came to Urd's cheeks, as she realized the truth in Loki's words. Suddenly she heard a cry. Megumi had regained consciousness and was whimpering faintly, looking down at what Loki had done. "What have you done to her, asshole?" Urd growled. Loki was unruffled. "Oh, she probably thinks I've raped her or something else terrifyingly obvious. Fear not, young mortal, your virginity is still intact. I needed to give the right mood, though...and may I say, dear, that you make a wonderful sacrificial victim." Megumi's eyes were a mixture of revulsion, fear, and relief. Urd needed to get control of the situation, this was getting nowhere. "And now that you've gotten my attention, what do you want?" Loki turned to her again. "Ah, yes. You know, Urd, we used to chat all the time. It was one of my favorite things. But now that you're down on the surface...you never call, you never write. We've been worried sick, you know. Afraid you'll catch all sorts of things down there." "Get to the point!" Urd hated Loki's roundabout way of talking. Loki's eyes flashed. "Fine, for just this once, I will be blunt. What's happened to you, Urd? I've been watching you for the past two years. You used to be fun. I remember when you went down in the first place. Simple, you said. Just give the kid a potion, he'd fuck your sister's brains out, back by morning." Urd, reluctantly, felt a need to defend herself. "Well, Kami-sama suspended my license. I couldn't come back." "I'm not talking about that!" Loki snapped. "What happened to the Urd that was half-demon? The Urd that slept with whoever she felt like, caroused all night? I remember your finest moment. You went down to Osaka..." "Stop." Urd nodded at Megumi. "I don't want this brought up in front of her." "And why not? She probably thinks that you're her friend or something dreadful like that. Well, my dear, your friend Urd decided to go down, find this pathetic wretch with nothing to recommend him except his faith in the gods. She then proceeded to have wild, tantric sex with him for three straight nights." Megumi as embarrassed. "So what? I mean, we knew that Urd was wild..." "Yes, but did you know how wild?" "SHUT UP!" Urd tried to come at him with the sword again. This time, he tripped her up, sending her sprawling. Then he turned back to Megumi. "At the end of the third day, she told him that such ecstasy must have a price, and demanded both his eyes as payment. And he gave them gladly. After all, he believed in the gods without question. Just ripped out his eyes, and gave them to her. I think they're still in her room, if you want to take the *full* tour. Megumi, horrified, looked over at Urd, expecting her to hotly deny the accusation. But Urd only stood there, looking down to avoid looking into Megumi's eyes. Urd murmured, "I was young. I mean, we all do things we regret when you're young." Loki turned back to her again. "Why do you regret it? It's what you are, Urd. Belldandy's the nice one, Skuld's the ditsy one, and you're the nasty one. When did you suddenly start to be so ashamed of yourself, Urd?" Urd was silent. She hadn't really asked herself that question, had never actually faced up to it. Loki continued. "I'll tell you why. Because you've allowed the mortals on Earth to change your ethics. You're feeling guilt, and that's not good. Why do you think you've been so depressed lately, Urd? Because you know that being a good person is not only dull, but *wrong*. Wrong for you. Your entire being is rebelling against you, Urd." He sat down next to Megumi, and cocked his head. "My last hope was when you invited her up to the heavens with you. Ah, I thought, she's going to seduce the sister. Wouldn't that make for a nice, twisted family tree? But no, you just wanted to show her around, didn't you? You're a tour guide. You're dull, and you're boring. You've joined your sisters in a slide towards stability. It's not you, Urd. Come back to us. Be happy again." Megumi looked over at Urd. She was standing very still, looking right into Loki's eyes. Megumi realized, with a start, that Urd was genuinely considering Loki's offer. "Urd, NO!" she cried. Loki looked at Megumi and grinned. "Tell you what. Here's your chance. We have here before us a mortal, tied up and semi-naked. Fairly attractive, I suppose. I want you to take her, right here. Drive her insensate with passion. The old Urd, the lover, the seducer. You can do it. I'll even give you an out, we can erase her memory. She can go back home to your sedate little life, forgetting that anything ever happened." He paused, and drove home one last point. "The old Urd wouldn't even have paused." Megumi's entire world seemed to be centered on Urd. She couldn't see Urd's face, as her head was down low to the ground. But her body was shaking with tension, and for a moment Megumi feared that Loki had won. Then, slowly, Urd stood up, carefully picked up the sword, and looked directly into Loki's eyes. "All right, why not? You're right, I haven't been very happy lately. Maybe change is what I need." She looked over at a horrified Megumi. "Sorry, kiddo." Urd got up and removed her clothes, one by one. Loki smiled nearby. "Ah, at least you've been keeping yourself fit, I see." Urd said nothing, merely climbing up onto the slab where Megumi lay. Looking down, she saw Megumi slowly sobbing, utterly helpless at her feet. She looked over and saw Loki's crafty grin. She looked up. And saw the snakes. In a move so quick that even Loki didn't get a chance to react, Urd had twisted one of the snakes around her arm. He snarled, realizing that she'd tricked him, and started to move towards her again. A stream of venom shot from the snake's fangs, and hit Loki square between the eyes. He fell to the floor with a scream. Urd didn't even bother to check on him. She quickly untied Megumi, and then got dressed. Looking her over, she said, "Well, there doesn't appear to be any physical damage, but Loki ruined a good set of clothes. C'mon, we'll go back to my room and find you something." Urd looked at Megumi, who was still trembling. "Hey, what's the matter?" "It was all a trick, right?" Megumi said in a small voice. "I mean, you just wanted to get to the snakes, right? You weren't going along with him?" Urd laughed. "Oh, *that*. Yeah, don't worry, it was all a trick. I'd never do that sort of thing to you." Urd frowned, and began to lead Megumi out of the chamber. "At least, not anymore," she added quietly to herself. *** They had agreed to meet back at Yggdrasil before they went back. Urd was amused when she caught sight of them. "Keiichi, you look a little tired. Don't tell me you haven't been getting your rest." If Urd expected Keiichi to blush, she was disappointed. "Well, I have been up awfully late this past week, but I've never felt more relaxed. So it must be your imagination." Megumi was also surprised at Keiichi. "What's the matter with you, brother? Usually you'd be totally red by now." Keiichi and Belldandy exchanged knowing looks. "Belldandy's been trying to cure me of that. It's working so far." Megumi wisely chose to say nothing. She had spent most of the rest of the week recovering from her ordeal. Urd had helped, and they had had several long talks. Megumi felt that she knew Urd a lot better now, and hoped that they could become friends. She looked over at Urd, who was once again lost in her own thoughts. Then she thought of something else. "Hey, where's Skuld?" That snapped Urd out of her reverie. "Yeah, where's Kenji, more importantly? Those two haven't been seen in a week." Belldandy smiled politely. "They must still be in her room. We should probably go and get them, it's getting late." Urd glared at her, and the four of them went to Skuld's room. The door was locked, however, and when Urd knocked, she only heard an insensate moaning from within. What the hell's going on in there?" Urd screamed, and proceeded to break the door down. They were left stunned at the sight before them. "Oh, *yuck*!" was all Megumi could manage. The floor was soaked, and they could see Kenji off to the side, unconscious, with a sticky white fluid dribbling out of his mouth. Over by the bed, Skuld was still moaning deliriously. "Ice creeeeam...ice creeeam." Keiichi looked up at the appliance that seemed to dwarf the room. "I didn't realize that Skuld had an ice cream machine in her room." Urd stood with her mouth open in shock. "Neither did I." *** They were all ready to go, when suddenly Urd held up her hand. "I'm not coming back." Megumi reacted before the others. "WHAT?!" Urd smiled sadly. "Look, I've given this a lot of thought. But I haven't been happy lately. I think that staying up here will be a nice change of pace. I can go back to being a sysadmin, I've been neglecting my job lately." Megumi was ready to argue, but realized that what she wanted to say couldn't be said in front of the others. "Come over here!" she hissed. She dragged Urd out of earshot from the others. "Look, is this about what Loki said?" Urd snorted. "I'd been planning on this before Loki talked to me. He just clarified things for me. Look, the surface world isn't for me. He's right, I have lost a lot of myself down there. If I'd been myself, he'd never have been able to nab you. You never would have been up here in the first place." Megumi pleaded. "Didn't you listen at all to what he was saying? He's right, but not in the way you think. Your being on Earth has made you into a better person. That's not a bad thing! I see you now as opposed to when I first met you. You're more responsible, more patient. More importantly, I see how much you love your sisters. Leaving them now would hurt them a lot more than you think." Urd began to object. "Belldandy's got Keiichi now, and Skuld's always hated me - " Megumi drew Urd's eyes over to the rest of them. "Do you really believe that, looking at them?" Urd looked over at the four others. She could see the concern that Keiichi and Kenji had for her. She saw the worry in Belldandy's face that temporarily overshadowed her happiness. Most shockingly, she saw fear in Skuld's eyes. She thought that her youngest sister would be overjoyed at Urd's leaving. But Skuld's face belied that statement. Megumi tried her last card. "Urd, if not for them, do it for yourself. You're not the person you were. Loki said it. The old Urd wouldn't have cared what happened to me, anymore than she cared what happened to the surface world itself. Do you really want to go back to being that sort of person?" Urd considered Megumi's words. If she stayed here, would she go back to being the same person she was before? A shudder of revulsion coursed through her body at the thought. She liked who she was now, liked the better person that interaction with humans had made her. She looked at Megumi, and realized that even a year ago, she wouldn't have saved her. She didn't really want to stay, she was surprised to realize, not anymore. She wanted to be back on Earth, with her sisters and her friends. Of course, she didn't have to tell them that. Urd sighed, and suddenly felt a lot lighter. She looked up at Megumi. "All right, I'll come back. But it's not for any altruistic reasons. We don't know if Loki might try something on you again, I've got to be there to make sure you're not hurt." Megumi smiled lightly. "And that's not an altruistic reason?" Perhaps for the first time in her life, Urd blushed. *** It was midnight, and Belldandy had just made Keiichi a special midnight snack. They'd arrived back at the temple too late for supper, and Urd had gone with Megumi to see that she got home alright. Skuld, suffering from an acute case of overeating, had gone to bed, and Kenji had staggered back to his house. Therefore, the two of them were alone in the house. Keiichi looked up. "Bell-chan, you didn't need to do this." "Kei-chan, just because we are no longer bound by contract doesn't mean that I'm going to stop cooking for you, or cleaning, or doing all the other things I do. I love you, Kei-chan. Allow me this one little fault." Keiichi looked at her, and then smiled. "All right, but I'm going to cook breakfast tomorrow. And you're going to eat it, and you're going to love it. And you're not going to complain once that you should be doing this." Belldandy smiled. "All right. But only if you feel like getting up to make breakfast." Keiichi was puzzled. "Why wouldn't I?" Belldandy grinned, took his hand, and headed for their room. "Exhaustion," she said. END of Honeymoon. Author Notes: Bet you never thought you'd see this completed, eh? I put out Proposal at the end of August, Wedding at the beginning of September, and then crashed into one of the worst cases of writer's block I've ever had. I just didn't want to write, so I didn't. But, it's done now. A trilogy, go figure. I don't currently have any plans for another AMG fic, but you never know. Thanks to James 'Zen' Bateman, Richard Lawson, Chan Wei Lik, and Sebastian Weinberg for giving this the once over before I released it to the horde. Aplogies to Caroline Seawright for ripping off "Oh, my!" It was impossible to avoid. I tried. :-) This plays fast and loose with AMG mythology, dragging in a fair amount of Norse stuff. Influences include Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Spider Robinson, and (strangely) Barbara Kingsolver. Fanfic influences include Divine Passion, Scenes from a Life, Growing Pains, No Mere Mortal, and that long discussion about Urd seducing Megumi we had on the AMG ML. Now, to get into a Urusei Yatsura frame of mind. The next one won't take as long, I promise. --Sean Gaffney --1/11/97