6 CH6

Disclaimer: Not a lick of planning went into the making of this piece of fan fiction. I'm just writing down what my little noodle up here had thought of on the spot. 

Chapter 6: A normal day.

"Leon?" Enkidu gave him a cold stare that would've bore a hole through Leon's head had he carried such an ability.

"Yes?" he answered, his voice casual and composed.

"Who is this?" The clay construct gestured at their guest—a blonde girl who was sitting at a stool right next to Leon, perhaps a little too close to the point where their shoulders were pressed against each other.

She projected an aura of oppression that usually forced most to drop to their knees, a power only attained by those of higher authority. But her current demeanor and actions showed anything but; her knees were buckled, her fingers fiddled nervously, and her expression resembled that of a maiden in love instead of the cold exterior of a ruler.

"Ah, let me introduce her to you." He coughed, clearing his throat. "This is Ishtar's sister, Ereshkigal—Goddess of the Underworld."

A few hours had passed since their meeting in her home, the two talked for a while and came into a agreement that allowed Ereshkigal to roam Mother Earth while retaining her full authority as a goddess, while also supressing the bad things that came with said authority.

"And what exactly is the goddess known to rule over the depths of the afterlife doing here? Was it a wise decision to bring a being like her inside the walls of Uruk?" Enkidu spelled out in a monotone voice, his emotions had fully left him by this point.

First it was the goddess of Venus, now the Underworld? He basically attained both the sky and earth with those two. Gilgamesh might be on the right path; maybe chaining Leon down and occasionally letting him go would be the correct decision to make.

"Hey, don't be like that. I'll have you know she's wonderful to be around with. She's nothing like what people say about her, she's just a little shy and wants to have a talk." Leon caressed the top of the goddess' head, his motions slow and tender. "And can you blame me? Look at her, she's adorable! How can I refuse!?"

Ereshkigal yelped, surprised by his sudden touch, but made no move to stop him. She kept her head low, accepting his show of endearment. Since their meeting in her domain, the Underworld, Leon had been nothing but kind to her—perhaps a little clingy, but she didn't mind it one bit and returned it in kind. Due to her nature, nothing was allowed to touch her, or they would have their life literally siphoned out of them in a matter of seconds. This was the first time in many millennia she had ever made physical contact with anyone and wanted nothing more than to experience it for a little longer. 

"You can't just bring in goddesses left and right like they're stray puppies, Leon." Enkidu pinched the bridge of his nose at the sheer absurdity of it. Gods weren't something one could take under their wing willy-nilly and expect nothing to happen.

The fact that not a single god had yet to approach him to demand the same privilege was baffling, shouldn't they have taken notice of this anomaly by now? Perhaps the self-proclaimed God of Hugs had done something to hide from their sight. Not that he wanted to see Leon hurt, he just couldn't wrap his head around the idea of adopting beings of supreme power as family.

One day—he left him alone for one day and he brings another deity home like it's the most normal thing to do. This was getting out of hand real quick. What's next? Adopting the Goddess of Beginning, Tiamat, as his daughter? With that, Enkidu's train of thought crashed into a fiery explosion. He immediately banished the idea into the deepest crevices of his mindscape, never to be seen again. Surely Leon wouldn't do that, right?

Seeing his blank expression, Leon took advantage of the momentary lapse in attention and vanished in place, reappearing just behind the green-haired construct with his arms extended. In one swift motion, he pulled Enkidu into an affectionate cuddle and sat on the edge of his bed, forcing Enkidu on his lap.

Enkidu didn't react much and began to position himself better, settling comfortably within his arms. He didn't even attempt to escape Leon's clutches and simply rested his body against the man. At least by letting Leon do this, he would keep to himself and wouldn't cause any trouble for a while. Enkidu knew just how starved Leon was for his affection, so the clay construct decided to indulge him just for a little bit.

"Let me guess, you offered her the same thing as Ishtar in exchange for her staying on this side of the world?" The man offered nothing more than a "Yup" as a response, making the grass-haired entity sigh. "Gilgamesh is going to tie you down in her bedroom and I won't be there to help you, just know that."

Enkidu glanced at the goddess across the room who was shuffling on her seat, a tinge of jealousy could be seen brewing within her topaz-like eyes whenever it was directed at him. While studying her form, Enkidu took notice of a certain feature she possessed that both Ishtar and Gilgamesh had as well.

"You know, I'm starting to see a pattern here. Want to take a guess what it is?" The cozy construct spoke, a small amount of vigour returning to his voice. 

"Did you finally take notice of my undying love for you?" He lightly blew into the back of Enkidu's ear, causing a blush to capture the sentient clay's soft features. "Though, can you at least give me a hint? I don't really see what you're talking about," he asked.

"Do you you remember—" he was interrupted before he could speak another word.

"The twenty-first night of September?" Leon sang in a jolly tune, recalling a certain popular song in his past life.

It had been quite a while since a memory of his previous life had resurfaced, and most of it had already been lost in the sea of memories that came after his reincarnation. Leon doesn't know how old he truly is, but he'd wager a few million years at a minimum, which was insane now that he think about it. 'It's been that long, huh?' he thought with a hint of gloom.

"What?" Enkidu turned his head, peeking at Leon's face firmly planted on his slender shoulder. 

"Nothing, go on." The enigmatic man snapped out of his trance and gently nuzzled his victim, earning him a light slap on the thigh. It was times like these that he truly enjoy; just hanging out and enjoying each other's company.

"You know, back when we were teenagers? You practically begged Gil and I to wear it. She still does even today while I don't, and you keep pestering me about it." the autonomous piece of earth resumed, hoping to jog Leon's memories.

"To be completely honest, I don't remember a thing," came his response not a beat later. Enkidu and Gilgamesh's teenage years was nothing more than blip, a flash compared to the time he'd spent walking around the soils of a juvenile Earth. While the remembrance he had with them certainly existed, they've already been burried deeply into his mind.

Enkidu lifted a hand and reached back, taking hold of Leon's cherub cheeks. "Twin-tails, you idiot. Remember now?"

"Ah," he uttered in realization, unbothered by the fingers pinching his face. Yeah, now that he thought about it, there was quite a lot of times when he basically begged Enkidu to tie his hair into twin-tails. Huh, he didn't realize he had a preference for the style until now.

"Now go attend our new family over there, she looks like she's about to explode." Enkidu let go of his cheeks and motioned towards the blonde goddess, who was showing signs of restlessness while sitting on her chair.

An air of menace was swirling around her form, brought forth by her jealously over the amount of physical intimacy the two were sharing, right in front of her no-less. If not for her demure personality, she would've already jumped and took firm hold of Leon.

"Okie." Leon begrudgingly loosened his clasp, placed Enkidu beside him, and stood up. Not before giving the sentient clay a smooch on the cheek however. "You're probably pretty busy, so I'll go play with Eresh for a while."

The chain of the gods countered in kind, reciprocating with his own. Its recipient donned gleeful smile on his face like a child on Christmas eve about to unwrap their present.

"You promise you won't cause any trouble?" Enkidu spoke, his eyes narrowing in a vain attempt to look intimidating, which Leon found adorable more than anything. "You'll be sleeping alone tonight, without me or Gil for you to hug, if you break it. And maybe, just maybe, I'll put on a pair of scrunchies if you behave, alright?" he spoke like a devil whispering in Leon's ear.

Leon felt a cold hand grasp his heart hearing his words, followed by a sense of elation from imagining Enkidu with twin-tails. "I promise, okay? Please wear them, I haven't seen you in one in a long time," he answered, almost pleading.

"Good," Enkidu nodded in approval, then turned towards the goddess. "Watch over him, and if he ever acts out of line, just tell him you won't hug him for the rest of the day," he advised.

Leon's least favorite thing in the world was being refused an embrace from the people he cared about—Gilgamesh, Enkidu, Ishtar—and now Ereshkigal was added to that list. Enkidu had been using this tactic for a long time to keep him in line, and it was certainly effective. Leon would instantly melt the second he heard "no" whenever he asked for a hug.

"Hey, this isn't fair! You're giving away my weakness!" Leon complained with a outraged expression. Betrayed by the people he trusted the most! How could this be!?

"Make sure he doesn't bring any more goddesses home; he's developing a habit of adopting every cute goddess he meets," Enkidu continued, ignoring the man's ramblings. "A piece of advice: you might want to get used to sleeping with someone, since Leon over here," he pointed at the man in question, "won't leave you alone for a while."

Ereshkigal's face turned cherry pink, unable to form a response. She shot a yearning glance at Leon before burying her face into her palms, slightly embarrassed by the thoughts sprouting in her mind. If she were to delve into wishful thinking, she wished Leon would treat her like how he treated Enkidu earlier, and enjoy each other's presence from dawn to dusk.

"I am developing no such habit!" his exclamation went through deaf ears.

Grumbling, Leon made his way back beside Ereshkigal, her awkwardness swiftly morphing into one of anticipation the closer he got. Without hesitation, Leon immediately went on the attack and took her into a loving embrace. She returned it with equal force, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest.

"Hah," the sentient clay let out a sigh, "you two are a match made in heaven." With one last look, he gave his farewells and left the two to their devices. They'll probably be still interlocked with one another by nightfall. 

'Why couldn't Ishtar be more honest like her sister?' he shook his head at the thought. The goddess of beauty had been showing signs of a maiden in the midst of courtship, yet she refused to take the next move despite Gilgamesh graciously giving her the opportunity to do so many times, and even outright told her that the ruler was fine with it as long as Ishtar doesn't betray their trust, or she would search the ends of the world to enact judgement. It's a bloody miracle that none of them had fought each other to lay their claim over Leon, probably because the two knew it would sadden him had they done so.

"Your sister is going to get ahead of you if you keep at this, Ishtar." Even Enkidu himself had a chance of entering a relationship with Leon if he simply asked. That's literally all it takes; a simple confession and Leon would immediately accept it without a doubt.

Later that night, just as Enkidu had predicted, the two remained in each other's arms until the sky darkened, the atmosphere around them never once turning awkward.

As they silently slumbered atop a bed, the door to the room was violently flung open, revealing a pair of curvaceous figures standing right behind it. The King of Uruk stood with her back straight, one hand snapped onto the goddess of Venus' right ear.

"Ow! Gil, please let go!" Ishtar begged as droplets of tears formed in her eyes. It was an amusing sight watching a demigod pull the ear of a fully fledged goddess as if they were an uncooperative child.

"Hmph," she let out a grunt, "you should know better than to refuse this King's offer, goddess." She released Ishtar's ear and pushed her inside Leon's room before locking the door behind her.

Hearing the commotion, Leon was stirred from his peaceful slumber and looked towards the door, finding both Gilgamesh and Ishtar standing there wearing nothing but their nightwear underneath a thin robe. A sight no man or woman could resist, but Leon is no ordinary man and was more interested in sleep.

"Gil? Ish?" he drawled, "good evening, here to sleep?" While uncommon, there were times when both the goddess and demigod would go into his room at the same time to have a sleep over, so he wasn't all that surprised by their presence and was rather welcoming.

"Indeed. But this wench had wasted much of my time with her unholy screeches," she motioned at the black-haired goddess. "Worry not, her piercing cries would no longer be a problem now that she's here."

Gilgamesh removed the shawl covering her body and threw it at the coat hanger by the entrance without a care. Ishtar did much the same after a bit of hesitation, but more mindful of her actions.

"Okay…" Leon settled back down, immediately losing conciousness the second his head made contact with the fluffy pillow. Quite an impressive feat; to be able to just knock yourself out anytime.

"You dragged me here, of course I'll give you a piece of my mind!" She placed both of her hands on her hips, glaring sharply at her abductor, whom gave a cocky smirk that irked the goddess more than she expected.

Prior to this, the two had met at the entrance, made some small talk, and found out that both of them were planning on heading into Leon's room. Ishtar, in her ever indecisive self, decided to abandon her plans and leave, but Gilgamesh grabbed her by the ear and forced her to come, all the while Ishtar voiced out her displeasure.

"Then feel free to leave," Gilgamesh suggested, stretching her arm towards the door.

Ishtar stilled, having no intention to actually leave. But before she could return with a rebuttal, a familiar voice erupted from within the sheets.

"Sis?" The goddess of the afterlife emerged from beneath the mound of fabric blanketing the bed, beside Leon's drowsy form.

"E-Ereshkigal!?" Ishtar called out in surprise, her words tripping over themselves as her mind spun. "What are you doing here? Wasn't there already a room assigned to you?" she asked, her tone accusatory.

"I… um, I was sleeping," Ereshkigal replied, glancing at Leon's face. "Do you want to join?" she asked softly, wearing a face of unspoken innocence that prevented Ishtar from responding harshly.

Their relationship wasn't the greatest, but Ishtar would occasionally visit Ereshkigal's domain to chat, even if just for a little bit, and she had even told her about the time she spent with Leon, which led the blonde goddess to reach out to him using the rubies she hid as a catalyst.

"I—" the black-haired goddess' next words failed to leave her lips as Gilgamesh brushed past her and crawled into Leon's bed without hesitation.

"Move aside, mongrel," Gilgamesh interrupted, swiftly shoving the blonde goddess away and making space for herself next to the man.

"H-hey, that's my spot!" Ereshkigal quickly recovered and demanded justice, only for Gilgamesh to ignore her and pull Leon deeper into her embrace, wrapping her arms around him possessively, causing the goddess of the Underworld to pout.

"Don't even bother, Eresh, she'll throw a tantrum if you do," Ishtar said with a defeated sigh, then went to her sister's side and rubbed her head, a habit she had caught from Leon. "Besides, you look like you've been with him for the whole day," she pointed out.

"But-but!" she squeaked out, pointing at Gilgamesh, who had buried Leon's head into her bosom. "I was there first!" she reasoned, her voice filled with protest.

"Shush," Ishtar placed a finger on her lips, silencing her. "You'll have your time with Leon. Trust me, he's more than eager to give you a hug if you ask him." She knew just how much the man loved the act of embracing someone, and she's grown rather fond of it, resulting in her heart to be rife with ardor. However, she's never gone through it, unable to convey her feelings.

Ishtar then gently dragged her sister atop the bed and settled her right behind Leon, directly facing Gilgamesh's serene face. The goddess of Venus lay behind her sister and coiled her arm around the latter's waist, the feeling of her smooth skin against her stomach slightly startling Ereshkigal.

"I-is this okay?" the blonde goddess asked nervously, a little worried that she was making her sibling uncomfortable.

"Yes, yes. Now sleep," Ishtar calmly assured, closing her eyes and gradually falling asleep herself.

Ereshkigal hesitated for a moment before tentatively resting her head on Leon's shoulder, her gaze flickering between him and Gilgamesh, who held him tightly. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, she soon found herself drifting off into a deep slumber, encased by the warmth of her sister, a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time.

END.

Author's notes: I had an hour worth of sleep when I wrote this. I can hear God directly speaking to me.