Please read the author's notes. (Examples and explanation of moves and appearance+ Monster Sources)
Discord: https://discord.gg/K7f8qGpvuk
pat.treon:/Keanu_Eugene
CHAPTER START---
Laying on her side, head propped up on one arm, Thalie reads a book as she waits for Yang to change.
With Welf sitting on the floor drawing some designs up, Hephaestus watching him work from a single seat at his back, their entire team as well as their goddess and captain, currently raiding Yang's fridge, have gathered in his apartment just before sunset.
"Alright, I'm ready!" Yang says as he jumps down from his bedroom; the second floor.
Landing quietly in front of everyone, they all take a moment to scrutinize his outfit for the date with Freya.
"Go change man," Welf is the first to speak up.
At a glance, he decided that the casual black pants and grey T-shirt combo was unfit for a date with a goddess of beauty.
"Yeah I'm with Welf on this," Thalie says, immediately turning back to her book.
"You really should be more appreciative of the chance to have dinner with a goddess Yang, the least you could do is wear the suit from the Gala," Hephaestus adds in.
"I still don't like the idea of him going on a date with that woman," Tsubaki says as she sits on the couch at Thalie's feet, a bowl of ice cream in her hand.
"And I don't like you eating all my snacks," Yang fires back with no real heat.
"I outrank you as captain, but anyway Mr foot in mouth over there," she gestures at Yang," on a date with someone who we're 99% sure wants him, and has destroyed familias for less before, bad idea."
"I recognize the risk Tsubaki, but I trust Freya, we've had a long-standing relationship with her familia and even in heaven she never wronged me, and she can't make any moves before at least 9 more months pass," Hephaestus adds with a shrug.
"9 Months?" Yang asks with a raised brow.
"You can't switch who your Falna is tied to until at least a year passes, that's the rule," Welf explains.
"What's your plan anyway?" Thalie questions as she takes a spoonful of Tsubaki's ice cream.
"She all but owns the world and has more power than she knows what to do with, so any traditional approach with a nice suit and fancy restaurant won't work because that's just her regular day. I'm gonna do something only I can do, that's always worked for me so far," he replies with confidence.
"Yeah just don't go punching holes through her bestie..." Thalie mutters as she closes her book.
"That was a first, and Freya doesn't seem like the type to have a bestie anyway, I should get going."
"Yeah man, can't wait to get my hand on those Ingots, supreme grade weapons are something else..." Welf says as he continues his sketches.
Walking onto the balcony, Yang looks at the looming shadow Babel cast over the city, his apartment was on the sunrise side, a sight he always sleeps through.
Reaching down he stores both his shoes into his inventory with a simple touch, then rockets into the air.
A blue flame can be seen ascending beside Babel, soaring toward the heavens.
Moments later, Yang reaches the top of Babel without interruption. The setting sun shining brightly behind the curvaceous figure of Freya. Wearing her rather provocative black outfit with red edges, exposing much of her midsection, legs and breasts for all to see.
He hovers in place just beyond the roof as they stare at each other for a moment, his eyes flicker to the crate behind her beside a trap door, the only entrance to the roof.
Moving forward slightly, he stops the flames on his left foot as he steps onto the roof before doing the same with his right.
"Aren't you a bit cold in that, the wind up here can't be fun," he says, earning a strange look from the woman.
Her hair was in fact blowing in the wind, as violent as the wind was when standing 100 stories above ground, she still took it in stride and made it look graceful.
"A bit, but I haven't had to wait long thankfully," she says with a smile.
"I like to be punctual, when it benefits me..." he says with a shrug.
"Hmm, you seem underdressed, rather casual for a chance others would kill for."
She drinks in the sight of him with her eyes, taking in every well-defined muscle previously hidden beneath his suit.
"No I'm perfectly dressed for what I have planned for us, don't go getting ahead of yourself Freya."
Noticing his confident, no, amused smirk, she can't help but let a hint of surprise twists her features as her mind wanders, and still can't find any mortal that has ever spoken to her like this.
"Of course, the crate has your reward, you may take it and leave."
Her tone was dismissive, as if trying to remind him, no, remind herself that she was the only god on this roof.
"Excuse me?"
"I only wanted to test your courage, you showing up is enough for that. I have a dinner reservation to get to, I hope to see your progress Yang," she says before turning on her heel and walking toward the stairway on the roof.
"No, that's not gonna work."
His words cause her to stop in place, no man had ever refused her as such. Resisting a charm is already impossible, but to defy the will of a god, this raised far too many questions for her.
As she begins to turn around, he casually walks past her toward the crate, placing a hand atop it, a white light envelops it as he stores it away with his magic.
"And what exactly do you mean by 'No'?" She asks, glaring openly at the mortal.
"I mean, everyone always says you're so devious and ruthless at going after what you want. If I take the reward and leave then you might just hold it over my head, a knife at my back as Thalie would put it..." he says with a shrug, raising to his full height and walking toward her.
Stopping only a meter away from the goddess, her neck craned back to meet his eyes and his cocky smirk as she glares daggers at him.
"Quite the accusation Mr. Shen..."
"Cancel your plans, Freya," he says while withdrawing something from his inventory, a gift bag of some kind, blue with its contents hidden. The label is a store she didn't recognize, strange for a woman who knows the name of all the finest shops in Orario.
Taking the bag with her delicate hand, the contents don't make any sound as she looks at the gift with some hesitation.
"And this is?" She questions, her eyes meeting his once more.
"Clothes, go change..." he says with finality while stepping out of her path, allowing her to move toward the stairs once more.
Still dazed and confused about what's happening, Freya's body just begins to walk. Not sure why she was even allowing this. She decided to play along. She was curious after all.
Standing at the edge of the tower, no railings of any kind are on the roof, it really is just a stone rooftop with a trap door opening to a staircase.
'Man, never would have been able to stand here if I couldn't fly, this view is nuts...' he muses while looking past the border of Orario. The town of Melen sitting on the shore of the ocean nearby.
"I could get used to this view, and it's pretty useful since I like flying around," he says with a shrug while watching the sun setting on the horizon, the sound of high heels approaching at his back.
"Most men try to get me out of clothes, this is not what I expected..." Freya says as he turns around to look at her.
In a baggy red robe, not even her feet showing as it's obviously too big for her. Hiding her perfect figure under all the extra cloth that goes almost past her fingers at the sleeves, the hood pulled back as her hair is draped forward over her right shoulder.
"Don't get all pouty, it's salamander wool, keeps you warm in the cold and cold in the warm. And resist magic with those properties..." he informs her.
"Yes, I'm aware, but why am I wearing it, I hope you don't plan to take me into the dungeon..." she says with a glare.
"Tempting but even I'm not that dumb, we're going up there," he says while pointing at the sky.
Following his train of thought, Freya looks hesitant to even ask his meaning.
"You won't need shoes," he casually says while withdrawing a large blanket from his storage, one side being a fine leather while the other is a high-end cotton cushioning.
"I'd like to know what you're planning at least," Freya says, not a fan of being out of the loop.
Ignoring her, Yang begins to channel magic into his hands, water and flame, left and right hands respectively as he clasps his hands together, a massive cloud of steam erupts forward.
Changing the fire magic in his right hand to wind, he begins swirling and compressing the steam while cooling it with his water magic.
Eventually, after a few moments, a cloud forms as if it were a platform attached to the roof of Babel, connected at the same level as the floor.
Freya can't help but be curious at this, and her curiosity turns to realization as he surprisingly steps onto the cloud as if it were solid ground, spreading out the blanket and sitting down as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"Well, c'mon..." he says while patting the spot beside him on the large blanket.
"Dinner... on a cloud?" Freya asks, obviously apprehensive at trusting him with her mortal body like this.
With a roll of his eyes, Yang casually made a pulling motion toward the goddess, her body is pulled forward by the draft his hand makes through the air, lifting her off her feet and plopping her down beside him, the cloud easily making her landing seamless.
"Ah..." her short-lived cry was enough to have Ottar out on the roof in less than a heartbeat.
"No," she says while lifting a hand to stop her captain before he exits the staircase, "I'm fine Ottar," she says, the man gives Yang a harsh glare causing the young man to try to shrink in on himself before descending the stairs.
Turning toward her date, Freya can't help but give a huff, "That almost got you killed, very stupid move..."
"Yeah, but I don't like indecisiveness, and you were being indecisive."
"You can't expect people to just walk on clouds because you ask them to," she says while glaring at him.
"Well then, you're welcome to leave if you'd like," he gives her a knowing smile.
As she stands up to do just that, she freezes in place when she sees that Babel is no longer where it was a moment ago, he'd already had them ascending toward the other clouds.
"Kidnapping a goddess..." she mutters, sitting back down and giving him a curious look.
"You agreed to a date woman, and this is as unique as it gets. Even all the money and power you have can't get you this, that's why I chose this."
"Hmm, that's true, so you bought all this to keep me warm in the wind up there."
"Nope, I can probably keep you warm and keep the wind out, this big oversized coat was to annoy you, you like wearing skimpy things and showing off and I just figured this would throw you for a loop," he replies with a fit of giggling.
"I'm stuck on a cloud with the only man who'd put MORE clothes onto me, nothing makes sense anymore," the goddess jokes.
"Yeah, want some wine..." Yang says while withdrawing a bottle of fine wine, he truly spared no expense on this date.
As they ascend above the first layer of clouds, even to his level 5 senses Orario looks like a circular blur from this height, after a glass of wine and some pleasantries, he brings out a picnic basket.
Maybe he should have expected that Freya would only be interested in the various fruits, not that he cared seeing as they're generally too sweet for him.
After a few more minutes of casual conversation with the goddess, not something he ever thought possible in his life before arriving in this world, Yang decides to get to more heavy conversation points.
"Why do you live at the top of Babel Freya, Hephaestus has floors 40 to 50 mostly for shops, and some residences. But you have 90 to 100 AND your mansion, do you just like the view?"
A curious and what he thought to be a harmless question honestly, this got her thinking for a quiet moment as Yang lays down on the blanket, watching the stars above.
Looking over at him, Freya knits her fingers together as she leans forward slightly, her hood still down allowing him to see the back of her head.
"It's because of my charm, some people are susceptible to it just by proximity. Being down there I'd always be surrounded by crowds, the guild gave me the top ten floors of Babel so my existence wouldn't interfere with people..." she says with a small sight, taking a breath to regain her composure she looks down at Yang," but yes, the view is well worth it."
"You won't get swarmed by people here, so try and relax," he says while pulling her down to lay beside him. The action surprise her, this is two times in one night someone had done such a thing but neither time she'd gotten upset.
Laying on the warm blanket atop the soft cloud, no wind bothered them courtesy of Yang's magic, she feels her body almost trying to sink further into the comfortable cloud.
"This is nice, I'd expected you to plan a classic dinner date, not a cloudline picnic..." she says while taking in the stars above.
"Anywhere we go people would swarm, and I figured all your dates try the wine and dine angle right..."
"The few I've had yes."
"Sorry, figured a goddess of beauty would have a more active love life."
"I've never been one for LOVE, pleasure is one thing but anything more is, difficult. People are easily seen through after all," she says with a faint hint of sadness.
"Right, you can see their soul right, and their intent most likely..." Yang mutters.
"So Hephaestus did tell you, but yes I can. People lining up just to get a glimpse of me with nothing but depraved dark souls and lustful intentions, my place at the top of Babel gets me away from the vile masses that flock to me."
'A goddess of beauty that can see how people want to use her, almost a curse...' Yang thinks to himself as a long silence takes the conversation.
"And what about me?" he finally breaks the silence.
"What do you mean?"
"When you look at me, what do you see in me?"
His question hangs in the air for a moment, before Freya quietly lays on her side, her eyes looking right through him.
"I see, I'm unsure. It looks like... it's trying so hard to put itself together, something destroyed everything that you held dear, and your soul is fighting desperately to bring it all back. Souls take the shape of desire, and yours is trying to put your life back together..." her voice falls into a hush as she stops talking.
Another pregnable silence fills the air, she couldn't miss the hurt that flashed across his face. The anger flared up for a moment as his gaze hardened at nothing in particular, but then she saw the determination in his eyes. It felt as if she watched a flame flicker in the wind before returning as a roaring inferno, it almost took her breath away.
"What you saw, that's as accurate as it can get. Everything I'm doing is to make myself better."
"You wish to become the best adventurer?" She asks, genuinely curious about his motive.
"No, I NEED to be the best version of myself, like you said, I'm trying to put my life back together... and my family is my life, was my life..." a wave of sadness takes over his face.
As the tears build in his eye, they turn to vapors as his body heats up with a small flash of anger.
Giving him a moment to collect his thought, Freya decided to ask the question Hephaestus rudely interrupted at the Gala.
"What about me, what do you see when you look at me?" The goddess asked.
Rolling onto his side to face her, their eyes met as Yang was graced by oceans of silver in her gaze.
"You won't like my answer to this Freya," he says in a matter-of-fact manner, as if asking permission to continue.
"Then I have to hear it, Yang," she demands, her brows furrowing as she glares at him.
Taking a deep breath, he looks into her eyes as he says words that she never expected from a mortal.
"You, are everything I despise."
Sitting up in a flash as if something had bitten her, Freya's anger flared up immediately as she stared at the mortal who just laid on the cloud, all he did at her reaction sigh as if he expected this.
"EXPLAIN, NOW!"
"Simmer down woman," Yang says as he sits up, looking into her eyes once more.
"You're a goddess, perfect by definition, and a goddess of beauty no less. Expected to be perfect even when compared to other gods, and you are. Nobody compares to your beauty, it's such a contrast that they have you at the top of a tower, like some princess waiting for her knight to save her. But that's the problem."
"How is that a problem, everyone dreams of being perfect, I'm perfection giving form," her tone dripping in hate.
"Because I study nature, nature is change, perfection means there is no change. Perfection is stagnation and boredom, it's disgusting in my eyes."
Freya looked as if someone had slapped her across the face, she felt like he'd knocked the wind out of her.
"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME DISGUSTING!" her voice was ear-splitting, eyes manic and teeth gritted in anger as she tried her best to intimidate the mortal, Yang looked completely amused as the woman tried to look scary while wearing the baggy robe and sitting on a cloud.
"YOU---" her rant was cut off as he placed a hand over her mouth, try as she might she couldn't move it, he was level 5 after all.
"Calm down and listen to me, got it?" he commands, his voice stern and leaving no room for debate.
After a minute of huffing and glaring at him, Freya finally nods, curious as to how he'd explain this in a way to save his life.
Removing his hand, the woman crosses her arms and glares at his, awaiting his explanation. The very least he could do was look apologetic or cower a bit, but he brushes off her anger as if she were a child throwing a tantrum.
"I like change, gods can never move forward because you're all-powerful, immortal, PERFECT. As I said a goddess of beauty takes all of that to the most literal sense, you leave no room to improve and you become stagnant. You become bored and complacent, that's why you gods got bored in heaven after fucking each other over so much. That's why you take time to live with us mortals, you can't struggle, overcome or change. So you get your fix through us, tell me I'm wrong, Freya," he challenges her.
Freya opened her mouth to speak, but her words died in her throat, was he right, had he figured out gods better than they had understood themselves, did a mortal see through them?
"I-I can't say you're wrong, but you didn't have to be so cruel about it," she pouts while refusing to look at him.
"Yeah well, it reflects in your familia too ya know."
This caught her attention, whipping her head back at him she gave him a look as if begging for an explanation.
"Your familia is 'Perfect'. The king and his strongest men, power, money, influence, resources, or whatever else, you've got it all. That's why I can't ever join you, I'm sure you planned on making a play for me later on, but I'd just become stagnant in a place like that. I'd be bored and stagnant. Unlike your army of puppies trying to hump your leg, I don't hold you in that high regard, you're just another woman to me so you aren't any good motivation for me to keep breaking myself to improve. If I join you I'd stop moving forward, and I'll die before I let that happen." he says in a confident tone, leaving absolutely no room for debate.
A few minutes pass as Freya looks out at the sea of clouds before them.
She can't help but try and think of any mortal that would openly speak like this to her. Even gods mind their words around the goddess. She also couldn't help but come to respect Yang Shen, he was a man that knew what he wanted and how to get it.
"Most people would die to be in the position you are, a date with me and a reserved spot among my executives, you really won't join us?" Freya asks for the final time.
"I already said my part Freya, I can't let anything make me complacent, I rather struggle in the mud and achieve my goals than join you and never move forward..." Yang says as he meets her gaze.
"I-I respect your decision, I give you my word as a goddess that I won't try to coerce you into joining my familia Yang Shen," she says with a sad smile.
"Thank you, Lady Freya."
"Now, you study nature... most adventures don't even own books much less seek out knowledge..."
After almost another hour of conversation, Yang was honestly surprised at how...relaxed... the goddess was.
Both of them were once again laying on the cloud, Freya now eating a chocolate bar and looking cute doing it of course.
"Does it feel good Freya?"
"Mmm," she swallows a block of chocolate before looking over at him, "what?"
"You were so tightly wound before tonight, so stiff, now you're up here eating candy and talking about your books and the places you've been, you've been more relaxed."
A long pause happens as Freya considers her actions.
Had she really been so different, she was still the same perfect goddess, right?
No, she's here laying beside a man with chocolate smeared on her lips, she'd lost her composure already when he insulted her but still she's here enjoying his company. This felt so different.
"Maybe, after all that time locked in a tower, as you put it. Getting to relax in the presence of someone who treats me like he would anyone else is refreshing. And we have similar interests so that makes it better..." she mutters out, unsure of her own answer.
"The bookworm goddess of beauty, talk about being an overachiever for the perfect girl award..."
"Well, you did say I'm perfect..." she quietly says while licking the candy off he lips.
"We should probably get you back before your lost puppies start a manhunt..."
"My FAMILIA, won't do anything of the sort, I ordered them to stay put in the mansion after I leave, and I'd like to enjoy being unbothered by people for a bit longer please..." she says while laying on her side, resting a hand on his chest, her first attempt at touching him all night.
"Hmm," he says, looking at the hand on his chest, perfectly polished purple nails on the most delicate fingers he'd ever seen, "you should know I'm not one for subtlety Freya."
The underlying implication was clear, almost a challenge to the woman, but Freya was a relentless goddess, especially when challenged.
Pressing off his chest she pushes herself to a sitting position, quickly leaning down with no hesitation she seals his lips with hers. The most delicate kiss from the softest lips he'd ever experienced.
After a heated moment, they separated, with no hesitation he pulls her down onto his chest, wrapping an arm around her.
'Definitely never thought I'd be meeting gods, much less getting kissed by a goddess of beauty, what a world,' he mused as the night went on.
END CHAPTER---
THIS WAS NOT IN MY PLOT BUT IT FIT YANG'S CHARACTER REEEEEEEEE!
This chapter was 4200 Words because my hands couldn't stop the fluff XD