Staying vigilant against Freya at all times—that was the greatest respect Tsunayoshi could offer that goddess.
"How do you feel now?" After their playful sparring, Loki slipped back into how a goddess ought to be: gentle eyes, a voice full of warmth and acceptance, and a maternally amused smile—so different from the usual shameless trickster.
"I learned a lot." Tsunayoshi sat up from Loki's lap, her warmth lingering on his cheek—though the "patient" clearly wasn't the only one affected. One glance down and he saw her legs still trembling.
He laid a hand there, a soft orange flame flowing out and soothing the trembling in moments.
"Mmm~" Loki let out a pleased hum and glanced at the hand on her thigh. For now, she let it pass. "Let's call it… treatment."
"I never thought you'd go this far—for me," he said, not joking in the least.
"Neither did I," she admitted, expression complicated. Back in the heavens, she'd scoffed at romance, treating it as nothing but a game. Who would've thought she'd meet a child down here who caught her interest so deeply—deeply enough that a twice "suspected proposal" had been treated as the real thing, deeply enough that she was now thinking about how to keep him by her side longer, deeply enough to make the decision she had just made.
"But since I've decided," Loki said, pride slipping back into her voice, "we do it my way." The Trickster Goddess would not back off from a choice once made.
Her eyes slid to the young man still before her, and her possessiveness sparked a mischievous thought. "By the way, you did propose and gave me a wedding ring. Aren't we… forgetting a step?"
Forgetting… a step?
Proposal procedure was… ring, a confession of love, and—oh.
The reminder clicked. He hadn't "eaten pork," but he'd surely seen the pigs walk—stories of proposals, confessions… and that special follow-up.
A kiss.
It was how newly engaged couples vented that rush of joy. And it wasn't something the woman should have to ask for. If she said it outright and he still didn't act, that would be… missing the moment.
Damn, I have zero experience.
He kept his face calm, but his heart was a mess. Without experience, this was easy to bungle. But there was no time to gain any now.
Forget it.
He drew Loki into his arms without overthinking—and kissed her.
A girl's lips are soft, was all his mind supplied at first contact.
This idiot has no experience, Loki noted the instant their mouths met. His movements were stiff, just holding on and doing nothing else—nothing like someone practiced.
But…
Her arms circled him anyway, like a lovestruck maiden discovering something for the first time. They stayed that way for a while, not breaking, not rushing—just breathing each other in—until, by mutual cue, they parted.
Their eyes met. Loki's cheeks looked as if lit by sunset, flushed through, but her tongue still refused to lose. "Next time, come practice with me—don't be so hopelessly green."
The word "inexperienced" added a fresh layer of embarrassment to his first-kiss awkwardness… but "come practice" lodged warmly in his ears.
He caught the lack of any real displeasure in her invitation and answered at once. "I'll come by later."
"Don't answer so formally!" Loki groaned. "At times like this, just say 'mm'!"
She drew a breath and threw him a lifeline topic. "Besides confirming Tione's situation, what else did you come for?"
"Ah—Tiona and Tione's plan to challenge Amphisbaena." He smacked his forehead; he'd almost forgotten the other reason he'd come.
Loki wasn't surprised. With their ability values maxed—even Magic catching up to the cap—the next step was obvious: find a way forward. They'd mentioned Amphisbaena before… but their luck lately had been poor.
"They haven't found any trace of it, have they?" Loki mused. "Strange that for two straight months they couldn't find the floor boss. Maybe the Dungeon's been fluctuating."
Normally, either sister could win promotion by challenging Amphisbaena. Missing it twice in a row was a shame.
"This time will be the same plan as always. Let's see if their luck holds… or if it vanishes again," she said.
Across from her, Tsunayoshi dabbed sweat in his heart.