Notes: My first, and most likely last, fanfic for this series. You'll probably thank me for the latter. Be warned, I've only seen the anime, so that's what this is more or less based on.

Summary: When Belldandy abruptly cancels her contract with Keiichi and returns to Heaven, Peorth is poised to claim him for herself. But what she doesn't know about Keiichi will spell the end of her days as a Goddess.

Broken Dreamers

An Ah! My Goddess Miniseries by

Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Prologue: And So Fell Lady Peorth

There was no grand announcement, and hardly even a footnote in Yggdrasil's records to mark the event.

Almost twelve years to the day she had descended upon Morisato Keiichi's misfortunate life, Belldandy, Goddess First Class, Second Category, Unlimited, simply returned to Heaven, all too eager to get back to work. Except that she politely (but firmly) refused to return her duties at the Goddess Relief Agency. In fact, she applied for a post at the Earth Help Center. Only one Heavenly Being could even begin to guess why Belldandy would willingly do that... and He wasn't talking.

The whole affair made Peorth rather furious, frankly. Belldandy had the perfect life on Earth, the perfect guy to go along with it, and she'd given it all up just to try and compete with her number one rival, and worse, as a coworker again? It was sort of flattering, but ultimately extremely stupid: typical Belldandy behavior, in other words. Still, this was going a bit too far.

Trying to ask Belldandy what had happened only resulted in the same answer: "I have cancelled my contract with Morisato-san. There is no further need to discuss the matter. Will you join me for some tea, please?"

Peorth had very nearly thrown the teacup in Belldandy's face a few times, but knew it would serve no purpose, except to make herself even angrier when Belldandy failed to react. Who did she think she was, to simply abandon a man as sweet and lovable as Keiichi? Never mind that he was the ONLY man who had ever successfully resisted Peorth's charms for more than a day, and that she herself wouldn't have minded being stuck with him (or on him, or he in her...), there was simply no excuse for giving him up.

And if Belldandy really was that foolish, there was only one suitable action. If she really wanted to compete with Peorth so badly, then Peorth would do the one thing that Belldandy apparently could never, and now no longer cared to do: descend to Earth, and make Keiichi her own, for the rest of his life.

But Peorth was not quite so impulsive as to charge in blind (not anymore, at least). She wanted to know just how bad things had become between Belldandy and Keiichi, and what state of mind Keiichi was currently in as a result. The most obvious sources were, of course, Urd and Skuld. But even that idea proved difficult.

Urd had returned to her duties as Yggdrasil's System Administrator several years prior to Belldandy's own return. Upon trying to get in to see her, Peorth was firmly blocked: Urd could only be seen by appointment now, and her next available slot was almost thirty years into the future. No matter what Peorth tried, there was no way around the waiting list. If the rumors were true, the only ones who could see Urd without an appointment were her parents... and it was quite odd, to see the Daimakaicho traipsing in and out of Urd's office, wiggling her fingers in greeting while at the same time smiling smugly at all the shocked looks she drew. No one could quite explain why Hild had been granted such frequent access to Heaven, although certain rumors claimed it involved a century-spanning game of strip poker, and more tequila than had ever been on Earth at any one time.

Skuld was even more impossible to get a hold of. She came back to Heaven a few years after Belldandy (while Peorth was still waiting to see Urd), but no one (save God) could say exactly where she was working now. Some claimed she had become a Valkyrie, but Peorth thought that was so unlikely that she didn't even bother questioning Lind on the subject.

Peorth was eventually forced to access the file itself in Yggdrasil, but the only thing confirmed there was what Belldandy had admitted from the start: she had been the one to cancel the contract. Any further information was restricted, and access to that could only be approved by God Himself.

This left Peorth with only one more option: she had to get the full story from Keiichi himself. She made no secret of her intentions, hoping Belldandy would simply cave in and tell her everything. But the response she got was not the one she'd been expecting.

Belldandy was not angry in the least. Instead, she merely placed her hands on Peorth's shoulders and said, her voice full of concern, "Be very careful with him, Peorth. He is no longer the same man that we once knew."

That was it. That was all she would say about the man who had shared her life for over a decade.

Not persuaded in the least, Peorth requested some time off, and left for Earth the next day.

She would never return to Heaven again.

Peorth had not expected Keiichi to be the same. He was in his thirties now, after all, and most likely living alone again had not agreed with him. None of that altered her plans, however. No matter how he had changed, Peorth was certain that deep down, he would still be that scared boy that blushed and ran away from her so many times.

So she decided to greet him by lying across his bed, wearing her skimpiest lingerie. She didn't have to wait long.

An hour before midnight, Keiichi entered his bedroom and froze.

Peorth drank him in with her eyes, and was pleased with what she saw. He was older, of course, but at some point devoted himself to getting into better shape, and succeeded. He was not really bulging with muscles, but they were still easily visible beneath his loose-fitting shirt. The thin glasses he wore now gave him a more mature look, and in no way subtracted from his overall appeal.

"Keiichi-sama," she purred, beckoning him with a finger. "I've been waiting for you."

He blinked and shook his head slightly. "Peorth? What are you doing here? You shouldn't-"

"I'm here for you, just as I always was, Keiichi-sama," she whispered, crawling to the end of the bed.

It was heartbreaking, how fast the confused expression on his face changed to desperate need. "R-Really? You'll stay with me? For as long as I need you?"

"Longer," Peorth promised, opening her arms to him. "If that is your wish."

Keiichi all but tackled her back onto the bed, burying his face in her neck. "Never leave me, Peorth," he choked out, his voice cracking pitifully. "Stay with me always..."

"Of course, Keiichi-sama," she cooed, stroking his hair tenderly. Peorth closed her eyes as blinding light engulfed them for a few seconds. When it faded, she smiled and lifted his head, kissing him softly. "Your wish has been accepted. I'm yours now, always."

"I can't remember the last time I felt so happy," he whispered, tears still leaking from his eyes.

"We'll see if you can remember after we've finished," Peorth murmured, yanking off his shirt and running her hands over his chest.

Keiichi hesitated for a moment. "Peorth... is it... will it be a problem if I still love Belldandy?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Not at all. If you swear to share even a fraction of that love with me each time we make love, I'm certain I'll be more than satisfied. You must realize, Keiichi-sama, that I was only able to come here because she abandoned you. I am your Goddess now."

To her surprise, Keiichi smiled, more genuinely than he had so far. "I think I could get used to hearing that."

"Later," she promised. "For now, I think it's time you worshipped your Goddess, Keiichi-sama." Peorth drew his head down and claimed his lips again, barely able to resist the urge to smirk and do a victory dance. "I win, Belldandy," she thought to herself as she felt Keiichi's hands traveling down her body.

Neither of them noticed the short, white-haired, brown-skinned girl watching them from a crack in the doorway. "Another little mouse for my collection," she laughed softly, closing the door. "Good work, Kei-kun. You're turning out to be a better pet project than I ever anticipated."

She could not quite explain it, but Peorth felt different the following morning. It couldn't just be the mere fact she was in bed with Keiichi, although that alone was far more pleasant than she'd ever dreamed.

Keiichi opened his eyes a few minutes later, sighing contentedly when Peorth laid her head on his chest. "So it wasn't a dream..."

"Oh, but it is," Peorth whispered, lightly tickling his stomach. "A dream that will never, ever end, Keiichi-sama."

He sighed again, closing his eyes. "Listen, Peorth," he said, suddenly sounding very serious. "Maybe you shouldn't touch me too much while we're not actually... you know."

She laughed. "Don't worry, I rather enjoy touching you."

"No, I mean it." Keiichi sat up in bed, avoiding her curious gaze when she draped herself over his back.

"I know this is new to you, Keiichi-sama, but the touching is almost required. And I thought you liked that about me?"

"I do, but it might dangerous, for both of us."

Peorth frowned and slowly let go of him. "What are you trying to tell me, Keiichi-sama?"

"I'm sorry, Peorth," he muttered, lowering his head. "I should've told you this last night, before we made the contract."

"About what?"

"About my angel."

There was a long pause, and then Peorth asked in a trembling voice, "You're joking, right? Humans don't have angels."

"I know they don't," Keiichi replied as a crimson, vaguely humanoid shape with wings appeared just over his head. "I had to give that up years ago."

"W-What do you mean?" Peorth asked, unable to rid herself of the fear building in her heart. "Keiichi-sama...?"

"I guess it doesn't really matter. We have a contract now," Keiichi said as he turned to face her, the triangular mark now exposed on his forehead burning an angry red. "And we demons take our contracts very seriously."

Peorth opened her mouth, either to deny the claim, or perhaps to scream. But she never got the chance, as Keiichi's angel surged over her, burying each of her senses beneath a flood of enormous demonic power. All Peorth could do was faint and allow the darkness to take her.

End of Part 1.

Next Chapter: Skuld of the Valkyries

Skuld always tried to keep Belldandy and Keiichi apart, never realizing that she was more interested in keeping the less obvious one to herself. When Belldandy returned to Heaven, Skuld seized her chance to have Keiichi for herself, and nearly lost her life in the process.

Endnotes:

Let me start off by defending a few points I know will come up.

1) Don't let the new names for Keiichi throw you. Belldandy is trying to distance herself from him, and Peorth... really isn't (and wouldn't you feel special if she did it to you?).

2) I'm basing this story on the idea that Keiichi is 19 when he meets Belldandy. Even if you wanted to argue with that, there would most likely only be a few years difference.

3) Peorth isn't dead. Just so I don't get any threats (well, not over that, at least).

Note that I have never, EVER done a story for this fandom, so PLEASE feel free to comment on every little fact I may have gotten wrong, particularly concerning proper names for things and angels.