10 Chapter 10

Thea's smirk vanished as the book manifested in her hands, her fingers rubbing against the edges of the crisp page, feeling almost surreal that the contents of the book were records of the most private and intimate details of her family's life. Reading a few lines ahead, she started to read.

But before she uttered the first word, another beacon of light shone down upon the center of the throne room.

'Damn!' cursed Thea in her mind, mirroring the thoughts of her counterpart as they watched a figure emerge from the light. 'This is going to complicate things'.

"Ugh, what is it now?!" muttered Hades as the light felt unnatural in his eyes.

"Daddy!"

Lacy's voice cut through the throne room like a hot knife through butter, and everyone immediately focused on the figure standing at the center of the room. It was Namikaze Naruto, looking the same as he did in the images and videos on the screen. The man still wore an apron and was holding onto a greasy spatula.

The stony silence was finally broken when Naruto spoke. "Um, what's going on?"

The slightest twitch of the finger alerted Athena, and she quickly stood from her throne. "Father, no!"

Thea and Dite immediately covered the eyes of their daughters and pulled them close, completely covering their senses with the mist. They watched as Zeus summon the Master Bolt to his hand, the shimmering cylinder of Celestial Bronze crackling and humming with power as the God King stood to face the man who defiled his little, innocent, fragile baby War Muffin.

"Zeus, don't you dare!" cried Rhea, but her words fell on deaf ears.

"Oh shit!" cried the demigods and younger Olympians.

"Die!"

A blinding and deafening blast of lightning fired from the destroyer of Olympus, nearly destroying the throne room with the sheer power behind the blast. Poseidon and Hades instinctively reacted by summoning their weapons but could do nothing. All could do nothing but watch as Zeus potentially declare war on another dimension of Gods.

But the ultimate explosion did not come. Instead, Zeus was shocked to see his electricity crackle around a pitch-black rod that Naruto hovered in front of him. The small rod had managed to stop an attack powerful enough to destroy a small country. The God King growled and prepared another strike, but was halted at the sight of the, rippled, blood red eyes that stared back at him.

In the halt, Rhea stood, her eyes shining a bright gold as she raised a palm to her youngest. Zeus was pushed violently back to his throne with Rhea towering over him in her giant form.

"What in Order's name are you doing?!" Before Zeus could utter a word, the tie around his neck tightened and he was pulled close to his mother. "I don't care how angry you are, you do not attack someone from another world. Do you want to start a war?!"

"M-Mother!" started Zeus, "He defil-"

"Not your daughter; that Athena is from another world!" Rhea glared at her son, making him recoil and his anger fade, "Even if she is your daughter, she's old enough to make her own decisions without her overprotective father interfering!"

Poseidon and Hades were really enjoying the scene.

"Stop smirking, you two!" Rhea turned to glare at her other sons, making them immediately turn away.

Trying to keep whatever dignity and authority he still had, Zeus sat up on his throne and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Mother. Let us proceed."

Rhea nodded as she turned to face her family. "Now I don't want any more fuss from any of you," she demanded as her eyes lingered on Ares, who shrunk under the Titan Queen's stare. "I don't want to, but I will not hesitate from grounding every single one of you." Apollo and Artemis nodded frantically as their grandmother turned to them, along with a curt nod from Hephaestus and Dionysus.

With a sigh, Rhea finally turned to Naruto, who looked as bewildered as everyone else. "I apologize for me son's behavior, Naruto Namikaze." The man nodded silently, helplessly the center of attention. "Do you have any idea what is going on?"

Naruto bit his lip and looked over at his wives and daughters, "No…"

Dite giggled as she walked over to her husband, linking their arms together. "It's okay, honey. Just come over here."

Naruto made his way over to Thea and his daughters as his eyes wandered. "W-What is going on?" he muttered. He stopped when his eyes landed on another Goddess on one of the giant thrones, then another just a few seats down.

Aphrodite couldn't help but stare at Naruto, a man who made her counterpart so happy. It was a foreign feeling, envy. She pulled her gaze from her counterpart's husband and lingered over Athena, who was also staring at the man. She only sighed, deciding to just think about it later.

Dite sat Naruto down between her and Athena, who placed a comforting hand on his.

"Where are we?"

Thea squeezed Naruto's hand, "We are in a parallel universe." Naruto's eyes widened, but Thea continued, "We were summoned here by the Fates. This world is learning about our life, and we are here to provide our insights."

"There are two of you." Naruto looked up at the giant forms of Aphrodite and Athena. He noticed the other Aphrodite look away from him and Athena blankly stare at him, as if he was a stranger.

Dite nodded, "Yeah, and two of the girls, too."

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw Annabeth and Lacy. "Oh, my Gods!" He shook his head and covered his mouth, "No, no, no! How are they so grown up!"

Annabeth and Lacy both had tearful smiles, making Percy and Aphrodite hold them closer.

Thea smiled, "Relax, Naruto. This universe is a bit further along than we are." She stroked the back of his hand to relax him, "We are reading through a book that records our lives. It's strange, I know, but we must finish the tale if we are to return to our world."

"Okay," said Naruto as he tried to wrap his mind around his situation. "…I think I left the stove on."

Dite laughed and hugged Naruto's arm, "It's alright, babe. Let's just finish this story."

He looked around the room, "But where's the me from this world?"

The winces of Dite and Thea were obvious. "You…you don't exist in this world." Naruto's eyes widened again at Dite's words. "At least, we never met you in this world."

Naruto turned to look at Annabeth and Lacy, who turned away from him. "Then what about…"

Thea sighed and spoke up, "They have different fathers in this world."

Naruto fell silent and rested back against the sofa, not knowing how to feel and could not ignore the sadness in his heart.

"We have to continue with the story." Thea said, "Naruto, I'm going to lift the mist from the girls, so don't freak out or you'll scare them."

Naruto slowly nodded, "Alright."

Annie and Lace blinked as they woke from their magic-induced daze. Annie rubbed her eyes and groaned as her head spun a little. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah, baby," whispered Thea.

"Daddy!" cried Lace when she woke to see her father, "I just had a dream that you got here!" She crawled over to Naruto's lap and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her. "This place is really cool!"

"Dad, when did you get here?" Annie reached for her dad's hand as she asked.

Naruto chuckled, "Just now. You were asleep, Princess."

Zeus' eyebrows twitched at the scene and spoke up. "Enough of this banter. Let us continue with the story."

Thea nodded. "Alright, I'll read."

With the latest new of Percy being a son of Poseidon and the disturbing thought of Sally being a lover of the God of the Seas, Naruto thought the gathering would have been awkward and uncomfortable, but he was wrong. Everything was back to normal and the immortals were being just as cheerful and happy as before – Artemis had eaten another fifty cookies. Even Athena, who was the angriest when she found out about Percy being Poseidon's son, was once again chatting with Annabeth – though Naruto did notice that she was trying to isolate her daughter from Percy.

'I guess Athena and Poseidon really do hate each other.'

"Wait," started Naruto, looking very concerned. "You mean this story is literally about us? Our thoughts and everything?"

Dite nodded with a giggle, "Yep." She bit her lip to hold in her laugh, "I honestly can't wait to see how you react to this, honey."

Thea cleared her throat to hide her own laugh, "Let's just read on."

Then came the real highlight of the day: costume shopping. Every year, Naruto would bring his girls to the small little costume shop near their home, and it was no different this year, except for the fact that he walked into the crowded store with five breathtakingly beautiful women. The moment Naruto and his company walked into the store, almost everyone stopped to stare at them. Some of the wives in the store immediately glared at their husbands for staring. It was already troublesome when Artemis and Hestia walked in – they had attracted every man's attention with their stunning beauty – but because they were so eye-catching, every single person noticed Athena and Rhea when they stepped in after. As if the men in the store weren't jealous enough, Aphrodite skipped into the store with her gorgeous smile – at that moment Naruto could feel the amazement of the normal people.

"This was just last Halloween!"

Rhea smiled at Naruto, "Yes, and we've really been enjoying this."

"Okay!" chirped Rhea as she smiled at the group, "Let's find some costumes!"

Naruto was still trying to regain his composure when everyone divided themselves into groups and headed off around the store.

"Dite, the princesses are over here!" cried Lacy as she basically dragged her new favorite person into the princess section.

Aphrodite happily followed her daughter and giggled at her, "Oh, these are so cute!"

"Come on, Seaweed Brain!"

Percy rolled his eyes at Annabeth and ran after her, "What's the rush, Wise Girl?!" Sally and Athena were following their children with the latter's mind trying to figure out ways to separate the Sea Spawn from her daughter – Percy looked far too much like Poseidon for her liking. "Ohh, I like this Aquaman one!"

Yes, definitely far too much like Poseidon.

Naruto gave Thea a look, which he pointedly ignored.

"Tia, you'd look adorable in this!" Rhea had dragged Hestia and Artemis into the farthest section of the store and something caught her eye. "And it's perfect for your innocent and warm look."

Rhea chuckled at the image, "So perfect for you, sweetie."

Hestia just sighed.

"Mother, I may sometimes use my child-form, but this is a little too childish." Hestia held up a Little Red Riding Hood costume and sighed. "You have to remember that I'm your eldest child; I'm even older than Hades." The last time Hestia saw her brother, he looked like he aged ten thousand years, and it made her feel old.

"You're too busy, brother." Hestia looked at Hades, who just raised a brow. "You need to take a break sometime."

"Nonsense, you'd look great in it!" Rhea turned to Artemis, "Don't you think so, Arty?"

"I think Aunt Hestia might be more suitable with this!" The Huntress held up a cosplay of Azula, from Avatar the Last Air Bender with a small smile. "She does have absolute control over fire and can be pretty scary when she glares at you."

"Ha!" Apollo gave his twin a wink, "That's good."

Hestia frowned, "I am not scary…"

Artemis smirked and shook her head, "Last time Boreas came to report to Father with Khione, she deliberately hid outside of the throne room because you were tending the Hearth inside. I saw her sneaking glances at you and shivering when your power flared as you tended the hearth."

Rhea laughed and nodded, "Sweetie, as much as everyone loves you, you are extremely powerful and can be very scary when you want to."

"Well I don't do it on purpose…" mumbled Hestia as she accepted the Azula costume.

Naruto sat back with his travel mug of coffee and just watched his friends and family run around the store. It was great to see such harmony between his little girls and their mothers and aunts. Even sitting down at the edge of the store Naruto could hear Lacy's laughter and Annabeth occasionally yelling at Percy. Even the other Goddesses' laughter could be heard from where he was; he almost gave a chuckle when he noticed Rhea and Artemis drag Hestia into one of the dressing rooms. He could only wonder how within a few days his life could have changed so much. Suddenly, the mothers of his children were back into his life and decided to bond with their daughters – a wish Naruto had hoped would come true for a long time.

Dite and Thea leaned closer to Naruto at his thoughts, making him flush red.

"Daddy!" cried his little girl as she ran towards him wearing an adorable blue princess costume with a silvery tiara on her head. "What do you think?!"

"You look adorable, sweetie." Naruto hugged his daughter to his chest and kissed her lovingly on the forehead, making her giggle.

"She certainly does!" Naruto looked up and was momentarily stunned to see Aphrodite wearing her own princess costume, which failed her hide her beauty as a goddess. Hers was pink instead of blue, but was basically the same design as Lacy's, and her tiara was gold instead of silver. Though just like many of the adult versions of costumes, it revealed an alluring amount of cleavage, and it was making Naruto a little excited. "She's much cuter than any of the Disney princesses we see on television."

Lacy smiled at her mother happily, "Doesn't Dite look amazing!"

"Yes, absolutely gorgeous…"

Dite kissed Naruto's cheek, "Thanks, honey."

Naruto's face nearly reflected the color of Dite's hair.

The Goddess smiled and kissed Naruto on his cheek, "You're so sweet!"

Lacy giggled at the interactions between her daddy and her new favorite lady, "Kissy, kissy!"

Naruto smiled at Lacy and lifted her into his arms. "Okay, let's go see if your sister is finished with her costume."

"I'm finished!"

Annabeth and Athena stepped out of their dressing rooms and walked up to Naruto and Lacy. It was an adorable sight; even Aphrodite smiled when she saw them. The mother and daughter were both wearing the same costume: Lady Liberty. Annabeth was grinning ear-to-ear as she held the plastic torch on her hand, waving it at her dad and sister. Athena just smiled down at her daughter, looking regal and elegant in the costume – it was as if she was Lady Liberty herself.

Oh, if only they knew.

"You two are adorable!" exclaimed Aphrodite with a happy smile. "If Annabeth had dark hair, you two could be twins!"

Athena smiled proudly and patted her daughter's shoulder, "Yep."

Naruto chuckled and patted the spiky hat of Annabeth's costume, making her giggle up at him, "Great choice in the costume, Annie!" He had read that some people say that the Statue of Liberty was based on the Goddess Athena, so it was just perfect for Annabeth.

"You should see Percy's costume," said Annabeth with a giggle.

"I still think it's awesome, Wise Girl!"

"Sure it is, honey." Sally, wearing a mermaid costume, smiled at her son who was having a blast wearing an Aquaman costume with a built-in seahorse. She couldn't blame her son for his slight obsession with the ocean – he was just being his father's son. It only made things more interesting when the costume came with a golden trident; Sally smiled, if only Poseidon could see Percy at that moment. "The seahorse thing is pretty poorly made, but the Trident looks good!"

Poseidon laughed at the sight. "Great choice, my son. I'll get you your own Trident on your birthday."

Percy smiled, "Thanks, dad!"

Naruto smiled and nodded, "I do like the Trident."

Athena sighed, "Just like Barnacle Beard…" she whispered under her breath.

Aphrodite smiled at the scene and shook her head fondly, 'If that boy starts wearing Hawaiian shirts, I would start laughing.'

"I'll get you some of those as well!"

Percy's smile was not as bright this time. "Sure…thanks, dad."

"Oh, you all look so cute!"

Rhea walked up to the ground wearing a Fairy Godmother costume and happily smiled at her granddaughter, great-granddaughter, grandson, step-daughter and step-granddaughter. It was hilarious how they all managed to dress up in a way that reflected their domains and how the parents and children all dressed up in the same themes. The Mother of the Gods was seriously starting to adore Halloween and might actually plan something for it next year so the other gods could participate – she could already see herself forcing Zeus to dress up as Thor.

"Hmm…"

Zeus stared nervously at his mother. "Please no, Mother. I am far stronger than that Nordic buffoon."

Rhea ignored him, "I might have to invite Odin and Frigg for tea sometime." She looked over at her other children, making them each fear what their mother has install for them.

"The girls are absolutely adorable!" Rhea turned back to Artemis and Hestia, "Look at them; that little princess dress and little Lady Liberty dress."

Hestia, actually wearing the Azula costume, smiled and nodded. "They do, especially with Thea and Dite wearing the same things."

"We shouldn't be too surprised that Thea chose Lady Liberty to wear…" Artemis, dressed as Katniss from the Hunger Games, smiled and gave her sister a wink.

Thalia and the hunters smiled at the Goddess. "That's really cool, Lady Artemis."

The Goddess of the Moon smirked, "Thanks."

"I heard somewhere that it was based off this Greek Goddess, and you know Thea, always obsessed with Athena."

"Yeah, I know, right?" added Aphrodite.

"Ha, Ha…" replied Athena dryly. "Just like how you are addicted to shooting people with arrows."

"Only bad men, sister." Artemis smirked as she crossed her arms – if she was in the Hunger Games everyone else would be doomed.

Apollo scoffed, "And way too overpowered."

"Okay, we're done now, right?" asked Naruto as he started his way to the register.

"Oh no, we're not."

"What do you mean?" asked the man as he looked back at Aphrodite.

The Love Goddess grabbed her lover's arm and pulled him back, "We still have to find a costume for you!" She grinned as Naruto gulped at the expression on his lover's face; the last time he saw such a playful look on her face, he ended up giving her a striptease in the bedroom.

"Ugh," groaned Naruto as he buried his face in his hands, making Dite laugh at his plight. "The girls don't need to hear this!"

"It's okay; I still have my old vampire costume at home!"

"Oh, screw that Empousai-wannabe!" Aphrodite giggled as she dragged Naruto over to the men's section. "We're going to find you something cool for tonight!" Ignoring the pleas of her lover, Aphrodite's eyes gleamed as she scanned all the costumes on the racks – particularly the sexy ones. "Where are the sexy policemen costumes?!"

Hestia and Sally looked scandalized as Athena glared at her rival, "Dite, there're children here!" She marched up to them and yanked Naruto over to her side, "Let's just get him someone normal; we don't want to scar the girls for life!"

"How is a nice set of Spartan armor going to scar them?!"

"Hmm, that could be interesting," said Aphrodite, giving her counterpart a wink. The embarrassed Naruto was so adorable that Aphrodite couldn't help but tease him.

Smoke was nearly coming out of Naruto's ears.

"Just get him the astronaut costume over there!"

"No, I want to see some skin!"

"You're disgusting!"

"Oh, like you don't want to!"

"Shut up, you dumb pile of foam!"

"Why don't you go weave a basket and leave us alone, Minerva?!"

"I won't let you ruin his image!"

Naruto's arms were starting to hurt, but he was much more concerned about bewildered expressions on his daughters' faces. Lacy had a confused smile on her face; she was obviously too young to really understand the situation, but she was happy about her daddy being so close to the two pretty ladies, especially Dite. Annabeth, on the other hand, clearly had a much more calculative stare. Her grey eyes were hiding her thoughts, but Naruto could tell that his daughter was running her amazing brain as fast as she could to deduce the situation, and it was very unnerving.

He knew he had to stop the struggle, but it was near impossible. There was no good outcome – if he told Aphrodite to stop first, she would be mad, and the same would happen if he had told Athena. Therefore, Naruto did the only possible good course of action: he looked over at Lady Hestia and Lady Rhea for help.

"Okay, that's enough!" Surprisingly, it was Artemis who stopped the bickering Goddesses. "We are in the middle of a store, and the two of you are embarrassing us!" She glared at the other two Goddesses and held her plastic bow tighter, "So shut up and just let the man choose his own costume!"

Naruto chuckled at the expression of embarrassment on Athena's face as she looked away; clearly she had expected to act in such a way in public. Aphrodite, on the other hand, just huffed and glared back at Artemis.

"It's okay, daddy!" Lacy ran up to her daddy and pulled him along by the hand. "I'll choose a costume for you!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Annabeth just knew her sister would choose something ridiculous for their dad and she didn't need that extra embarrassment. "I'm going to choose one for dad!"

"No, you're too boring!" cried Lacy as she pulled her daddy along.

Annabeth pulled him back and tried to kick Lacy away, "I'm not going to let you embarrass us again!"

Rhea giggled and shook her head. "The girls are just adorable. And so much like their mothers."

Artemis groaned and rubbed her temples, "This is going to take a while."

Rhea was laughing as Hestia kept shooting her stern stares; it had been a very long time since the Mother of the Gods had so much fun. It was utterly adorable to see the interactions between the Goddesses and their daughters, especially when it comes to Naruto. That young man certainly made their eternally fighting family, very interesting and entertaining. Rhea had half a mind to record the scene for Apollo – she had a feeling that it'd be very successful as a sitcom.

Apollo held up a note pad, "Already underway, Grandma!"

Rhea smiled radiantly, "Thank you, sweetie."

All the while, Percy looked at his favorite male role-model and shook his head with a terrified look on his face – girlfriends were scary and like to push people around.

'The other boys at school may be right; girls are just so troublesome.'

Percy had a quip at that but held his tongue when in front of his pseudo-father in law.

It had been perhaps the longest day Naruto had ever experienced. When night had finally arrived, Naruto felt as if a whole year had passed. His body was aching and his mind was exhausted; trying to remain neutral between Aphrodite and Athena had thoroughly rendered his brain into a dried heap.

"Oh really," muttered Thea.

"You know you could just ignore her if you want," added Dite.

Naruto looked like he wanted to be swallowed by the sofa.

Even at dinner, the two Goddesses had been glaring at each other with him in between them, and Naruto actually felt sparks on energy shooting from their eyes. Even with a bowl of steaming ramen in front of him, he had a hard time eating with his nerves being constantly plucked. It was perhaps even worse after dinner, when the Goddesses all came back to his home to watch a Halloween movie. Percy and Sally, along with Annabeth and Lacy were fine and oblivious, but it was a little hard for Naruto to enjoy the movie when Athena was busy glaring at him for hugging Aphrodite around her waist the whole time.

"Jealousy is bad for your complexion, Athena." Dite smirked as she leaned against Naruto, "Just accept it."

Thea scoffed, "As if you're still ahead of me."

But finally, after an entire day of silent politics, he was back into his bedroom – his original bedroom – alone.

It would appear that without Aphrodite present, Naruto's bedroom would revert back to its original form. He was a little delighted; he loved having his room transformed into a romantic candle-lit haven, but without his lover present, it was a little redundant. Nonetheless, he could finally have a moment to himself inside his personal fortress of solitude…

Naruto looked down at his lap as Dite gave him a look. "This is way too personal…"

"Daddy!"

Naruto eyes snapped open as he was just about to succumb to Hypnos' domain. "Yes, princess?" he asked, rubbing his eyes trying to stay awake; his silk pajamas felt amazingly warm against the crisp and soft sheets.

Lacy opened his door and wasted no time before she jumped onto his bed. "I'm scared…" she muttered as she bit her lip, hugging her favorite teddy bear close. "I can't sleep in my room; the shadow of the tree outside looks scary."

Naruto gave a small chuckle; he knew The Poltergeist was too frightening of a movie to watch. "It's okay, sweetie, you can sleep here tonight."

The girl smiled and quickly hugged her daddy, "Thanks daddy, I love you."

Through the corner of his eyes, Naruto saw the older counterpart of Lacy looking at him, but the moment to turned to smile at her, she looked away. He wondered what his daughters were like if he weren't their father; it was rattling him beyond reason.

"We'll all have a chance to talk later," whispered Dite who saw the exchange.

Naruto smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

"Love you too, sweetie…" mumbled the father as he closed his eyes and fell back onto his pillow.

Lacy snuggled up next to her daddy and rested her head on his shoulder, her loose blonde hair slightly tickling his face, making him adjust her position. He opened his arms and pulled his baby girl close, holding her protectively in his arms; the blanket fell warmly on the father and daughter. Naruto kissed the top of Lacy's head with his eyes closed, making sure to make his baby girl feel as safe and secure as possible – a task he had never failed to do ever since his daughters had been born. After all, making the children feel safe was the sole most important responsibility of any parent.

Lacy hid from Naruto and snuggled deeper against her mother, trying her hardest to not cry in front of everyone.

Lacy smiled and rubbed her face against her daddy's arm, "Good night daddy."

"Good night, my little prin-"

"Dad…" came the small voice of Annabeth.

Naruto smiled and looked up to see his eldest peeking through the door, the light of the hallway seeping inside the room, enough for him to see Annabeth biting her lips. The one thing that his eldest was different from his youngest: Annabeth was prideful, even to her father, a trait of her that Naruto had grown used to. But he would never fail making sure that Annabeth knew that she would never have to be prideful to him and that he would always see her as the perfect daughter.

Annabeth had no such luck as Lacy and was seen wiping away a few tears from her cheek. Percy held her closer and kissed the side of her head. This was all seen by Naruto, who grew increasingly afraid of finding out what his daughters' lives were like in this world. He wondered who replaced him as the father, as much as that thought angered him to no ends.

His hand tightened around Annie's and arm pulled Lace closer.

He sat up a little with a smile, "What is it, princess?"

"I-I found a spider in my room." She sounded shaky, and Naruto sat up fully to look at her, "It was c-crawling on my bed and almost touched my arm."

"Come here, Annie." He opened his arms and Annabeth wasted no time to jump onto the bed, finding comfort in her parent's embrace. Naruto hugged his daughter closer and kissed the top of her head, rubbing her back to sooth her fears as much as possible. "You can sleep here tonight too; no spiders will come in here." He smiled and ruffled her princess curls, "I will squash every single one of them before they can scare my little princess."

Lacy smiled and hugged her sister's arm, "I will help daddy squash those things!"

Hestia smiled at the closeness of the sisters, reminding her of her own two younger sisters.

"Thanks, Lace," said Annabeth with a smile to her baby sister.

"Here, Lucky will help you sleep," said the youngest Namikaze as she handed her sister the teddy bear in her arms. "I'm not scared anymore; you can use Lucky now."

Annabeth hugged Lacy and kissed her cheek, "Okay, I'll use Lucky."

"Aww, that's so cute!" Demeter giggled, "Hera was never that cute."

Hera shot her sister a look, but Hestia laughed, "She did have her moments."

Naruto smiled at his two little babies and patted both their heads. "Okay, it's late and we have a fun day ahead of us tomorrow, so let's get some sleep." He lifted Lacy and placed her on the left side of the bed; Annabeth remained on the right side. He patted down his spare pillows for them and rested down himself, allowing his daughters to snuggle up to his sides. He held both of them with his arms and pulled them close, relived to know that he could still keep them safe and secure. That was his job as their father: to keep them feeling safe and happy.

As much as Zeus hated the man who corrupted his pure baby girl, he could appreciate the way he loved his children. The God King glanced at the man who managed to stop his attack with wonder, and pondered if it was that terrible to have him as a son in law.

"Good night, girls," he whispered as he closed his eyes, "I love you."

"Love you too, daddy."

"Love you, dad."

Rhea smiled beautifully at the end of her dinner table as she watched her family enjoy dinner together. Artemis was the most adorable; the huntress had a perpetual smile on her face as she continued to refill her plate with Hestia's Shepard's Pie and Rhea's calamari.

Artemis turned away from Apollo's teasing smile with a golden flush.

"Aww, don't be embarrassed, Artemis." Rhea giggled at her granddaughter, "I'll make you some calamari later."

The young Goddess turned even more golden.

It was endearing for Rhea to see her little granddaughter enjoy her food so much; Artemis may act very mature and serious at most times, but she was still a little Goddess at heart; Rhea loved Artemis even more for it.

Hestia sipped on her glass of nectar as she smiled at her little niece, "Good thing I made several more portions tonight."

Artemis blushed a little, but smiled at her aunt, "It's really good, Aunt Hestia."

"I should make more than I usually do later," muttered Hestia, unintentionally teasing her niece.

Rhea smiled again at her daughter and granddaughter, but then turned her attention to the other two Goddesses at the table. The Mother of the Gods couldn't help but sigh at the sight of Athena and Aphrodite, both silent and in a daze. Ever since morning, Love and War had been going for each other's throats and it only made sense that they were finally tired.

"Athena, are you sure you don't want seconds?" asked Hestia with a loving smile, "Artemis is going to finish everything soon."

Artemis huffed as Athena shook her head, "I'm fine, thank you, Aunt Hestia."

Rhea pursed her lips, "Are you feeling okay, Athena?"

"Yes, I'm just a little tired."

Dite smirked, "Sure…"

Thea glared at her, but continued to read.

The Goddess of Wisdom rested back fully on her chair and crossed her arms, her grey eyes as bright and intimidating as ever. Her grandmother's and aunt's delicious food aside, she had more important issues to think about. Based on the past twelve hours she had spent with Naruto and Annabeth, she had deduced that Aphrodite was clearly ahead in their competition for Naruto's affection.

"At least you're not in denial," whispered Dite, making Thea's brow twitch in annoyance.

From when they were cooking, to carving pumpkins, to the costume shopping, and during the movie, Naruto would always pay much more attention to Aphrodite. Whether it be a simple smile or a gently touch to their arm, Naruto would always be focused on the Love Goddess, and Athena was getting seriously angry.

'Is she winning purely because she is sleeping with him, or is there some other reason?'

Naruto groaned again, hiding his face in his hands.

Aphrodite, on the other hand, was also having similar thoughts.

'So far so good; Naruto is still much more affectionate with me even when Athena is around.' Aphrodite closed her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek, 'But I still have to be careful; I can clearly tell that Naruto is attracted to Athena and she was still the one who met and fell in love with him first. They both bonded before I even met Naruto; no matter what, Athena will be my most serious competition.' The Love Goddess almost scoffed at the thought, 'Who would have thought that the owl-virgin would be my biggest competition?'

"Aphrodite?"

"Huh?" asked the Love Goddess as she was broken out of her stupor. "Sorry, what was that, Hestia?"

The Goddess of the Hearth smiled, "I asked if you wanted more nectar."

"No, thanks," replied Aphrodite, standing from her seat. "I'm going to put away my things before turning in for the night." She smiled at Rhea and Hestia as she walked away, "Thanks for the awesome dinner, Hestia, Mother Rhea."

"You're very welcome, sweetie." Rhea smiled knowingly as the Goddess walked away, wondering if Athena would catch on soon.

"I must turn in as well; have a good night, everyone," said Athena as she too walked away.

'Hmm, she's more attentive than I thought,' inwardly mused Rhea.

Aphrodite crossed her arms with a nod, "Hmm, I didn't expect her to see that."

"I know, right?" Dite shrugged as she gave the Goddesses of Wisdom a side glance, "I guess she thinks of more than just war in private."

Athena remained in stony and stoic silence, but Thea just sighed and continued.

Rhea's new home was built almost exactly like Naruto's home next door, but was a little bigger. It had one master bedroom and three secondary bedrooms. Aphrodite and Athena had both called dibs on two of them for themselves – they needed a base of operations for their plans. Athena may be the Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategy, but Aphrodite, with eons of experience in love, wasn't exactly less competent when creating plans to steal Naruto's heart. The game was on and War and Love were clashing head on.

Slamming the door to her room, Aphrodite grinned as she snapped her fingers. A skimpy Jessica the Rabbit costume appeared in her hands; she softly laughed as she imagined the look on Naruto's face when she would teleport into their bedroom wearing it.

Dite stared at Naruto, whose face was cherry red with a hint of desire in his eyes and laughed. "I guess I don't have to imagine anymore!" Naruto's face was nearly glowing. "Don't feel bad, honey. I'll wear that more you when we get home tonight."

The man was so embarrassed he couldn't even look up from his lap.

"Oh, you should wear one too, Athena." The reader near choked on her breath as Dite continued, "Yeah, I think Naruto would love that!"

Hestia sighed and snapped her fingers, conjuring eye-masks and earmuffs for the girls again.

Dite clapped her hands as she laughed. "If you two get like this right now, I can't wait until we get to the really steamy parts."

With another snap of her fingers, the costume enveloped her perfect curves and she grinned at the result.

"Perfect!"

"What are you doing?"

Aphrodite glared over at her door, where Athena stood with her arms crossed. The Wisdom Goddess had a stern expression on her face as she glared at her rival, silently threatening her with pain. Athena knew Aphrodite was up to something when she noticed that the pile of foam was the last to leave the store; she'd thought the Love Goddess had bought something in secret, and she found the proof now.

"You can knock, you know?"

Athena scoffed, "Just answer the question."

Aphrodite merely smiled and winked at her rival, "I'm merely keeping my promise."

"And what promise is that?" asked Athena with an edge in her voice, wondering if the slutty costume was of Naruto's request.

"I promised Naruto I'd seduce him every night." Aphrodite smirked and crossed her arms under her impressive breasts, smiling wider as she enjoyed the angered look on Athena's face. "We had an amazing night of passion yesterday, and I can't wait to get into his pants again~"

"Shut up!" cried Athena, "Don't talk about him like he's some boy-toy!"

"Husband, the love of my life, and boy-toy are not necessarily mutually exclusive, Athena." Aphrodite smacked her lips together and fixed some of her makeup as she spoke, "I love Naruto more than anything, and it is precisely why the sex is so amazing." She smiled at the slightly flushed Athena, "Believe me when I say this: sex is infinitely better when your partner is someone you truly love."

Images of Naruto making passionate love to her filled Athena's mind – her brilliant and incredibly descriptive mind – and she couldn't help but blush.

Thea couldn't stop the ichor from rushing to her face as she read those words.

"Well, at least you don't have to imagine anymore~"

"Shut up, you dumb pile of foam!"

"Not that you would ever know."

Feeling particularly competitive, Athena spoke up. "I'll have you know that I am still the woman Naruto fell in love with first; I was the one who gave him is first child." Aphrodite scoffed, but couldn't help but sound a little jealous. "Don't assume that just because of your domain and experience your love for Naruto outclasses mine. I know that I've never fell in love like this before, but it doesn't make it any less powerful!"

"Hmm, interesting," muttered Aphrodite as she stepped closer to Athena. "I've never seen you like this before…what happened between you and Naruto?" Athena stepped back as the Love Goddess narrowed her eyes at her, as if she was peering into her mind. "Simple bonding of the mind doesn't give such powerful emotions, so you must have done something physical together." Athena was backed against the wall and Aphrodite stepped right up to her face, leaving a mere inch between their faces. "What did you do?"

"Hmm, this reminds me of that on-"

Thea slapped a palm over Dite's mouth and glared at her with enough power to scare Medusa to stone. "Last warning! Anymore and I'll shave you bald!"

With her mouth covered, Dite merely winked at her.

Athena refused to be defeated and steeled her gaze, "I gave Naruto my first kiss."

Thea glanced at Dite, who just smiled cheekily at her and remained silent.

"Good."

"That's cute," whispered Aphrodite, her hypnotizing powers on full blast as she stared into Athena's eyes. "But unless you give him your virginity, you will never defeat me. I have absolute control over love and lust, and while as a fellow Goddess, it is much harder for me to affect you, nothing is stopping me from affecting Naruto."

Athena glared at her harshly, "How dare you mess with his mind?!"

"Oh, I didn't mess with his mind at all; I will never betray the trust he has for me by conjuring fake feelings." Aphrodite leaned closer to Athena, making her incredible uncomfortable, "But I will use my powers to connect our feelings together; our mutual love will resonate and amplify infinitely, and with my control over lust and how I am his perfect beauty personified, I will always be his number one."

"No matter what you say, I know for a fact that Naruto loves me." Athena smirked, "And you know that too, don't you?" The Wisdom Goddess stood tall and her grey eyes glowed with incredible power as she glared at her rival, "No matter how hard you try or how much power you use, you will never rid his feelings for me from his heart." Aphrodite glared back as Athena's smirk grew, "With eons of experience with war, I know better than anyone that even with slim chances, victory is possible, and I will not lose to you!"

Aphrodite smiled, "We'll see about that."

"You will see; I promise you, Aphrodite!"

Demeter smirked, "I've never seen the two of you actually clash head on. I look forward to see who comes out on top."

"Okay, well, you have a good night; I'm going to Naruto's and my bedroom and I'm going to bang his brains out," She winked at Athena and snapped her fingers, "See ya!" The Love Goddess vanished in a puff of pink smoke and left behind a trailing scent of perfume.

Athena gritted her teeth and stomped the ground, "Oh, no you don't!"

The Wisdom Goddess wasted no time teleporting herself to the home next door. She couldn't sense Aphrodite's presence, which only meant that the Lady of Doves had masked her power and aura, but it didn't take a genius to figure out where she was. Quickly appearing in the hallway outside of the master bedroom, Athena almost tore the door apart as she stormed into the room, determined to not let Aphrodite take advantage of her future-husband.

"Aphrodit-"

"Shush!" Athena was immediately greeted with the sight of Aphrodite glaring at her with a finger on her lips, but then she saw the scene before her, and she couldn't help but soften greatly at the sight. "They're sleeping."

Annabeth and Lacy were snuggled up to their father's side and were peacefully sleeping the night away. Athena couldn't help but smile at how at peace and calm Annabeth looked with her dad's arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders. Even little Lacy made Athena's heart flutter; the little girl rested on her side and had her legs perched on Naruto's chest, almost sleeping horizontal on the bed, though her head was still resting on Naruto's arm. They looked far too peaceful and Athena didn't have the heart to disturb them.

But Aphrodite didn't mind.

"What in Hades' name are you doing?"

Aphrodite ignored her rival and continued to lift up the blanket on the left side of the bed before climbing in. She had changed back onto a simple silk nightie and she happily rested her head on Naruto's extended left arm as she hugged Lacy to her chest. It felt amazingly cozy and peaceful; never had she thought about cuddling with her baby daughter and her husband like a real family – it felt incredible.

"Goodnight, Athena~"

Athena almost growled at the taunt, but she decided to take the challenge. She snapped her fingers and changed into her usual nightgown; she lifted the blankets on the right side of the bed and climbed in, ignoring the glare Aphrodite was giving her. But her competitiveness was quickly overwhelmed by nervousness. Her head was resting on Naruto's arm – she had never been so close and intimate with him before and her heart was racing. The blush on growing uncontrollably on her face, but she did notice how great it felt. Even though the bed was far too small for five people, having her little daughter so close felt nice. For the first time in her immortal life, Athena held one of her children close like a real mother, and rested against her love like a real wife – it felt really good.

"Goodnight, Aphrodite."

Athena gently wrapped her arms around Annabeth and kissed the top of her head, feeling more motherly than she had ever before. Annabeth was so much like her, it made Athena really proud, and the subtle hint of Naruto's quirks in her daughter made it all the better. The love of family was truly amazing, now Athena could understand why Hera would desire it so much.

'Goodnight, my little Annabeth; goodnight, my love.'

As Athena closed her eyes, thinking that she had proven equal to her rival's challenge, Aphrodite smirked victoriously. Over the years, she had really learnt how to squeeze time in-between lovers, and even though those days were behind her, the tricks she had gathered could still be very useful. With one swift tap on Naruto's forehead, Aphrodite closed her eyes, allowing herself to dwell into Hypnos' domain.

'I was going to save this for the honeymoon, but desperate times call for desperate measures.' The Goddess smiled as she embraced her baby daughter, wondering what her lover was dreaming about, hoping that it was her. 'Let's find out…'

'Whoa, what is this?'

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the image on the screen. "Is that?"

Dite nodded, "Yes, this was when I first see it."

Instead of a sexy hotel suite or fancy restaurant, Aphrodite found herself on the roof of some sort of round building. It was tall – she could tell from the high wind blowing through her hair – and it was overlooking some sort of village. The air was clean and clear – no pollution whatsoever – and there was a sort of energy around the whole place that felt familiar, a sensation that she had felt many thousands of years ago.

"Whoa, what is this?" asked Apollo, leaning forward to see better.

Then she noticed one man standing at the edge of the building. He was wearing some sort of combat vest under a long white jacket with red flames licking the bottom of it – it looked good on the man. Then she finally realized that the man was Naruto, her lover.

Naruto stared at the man he once was in wonder, not knowing what to think.

"Naruto?" she asked out loud.

Naruto turned around and Aphrodite was taken aback. Instead of her lover's usual innocent and loving gaze, she was met with the cold and calculative gaze of a seasoned warrior – one that reminded her of Zeus or Poseidon.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice nothing like the one she was used to.

"It's me, Aphrodite…" The Goddess stepped closer to Naruto and he kept a curious gaze on her, but slightly flinched when she touched his face. "Don't you recognize me, Naruto?" She bit her lip and looked into his oddly intimidating eyes, "You are Naruto, right?"

The man nodded, "Yes, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, the Nanadaime Hokage."

Zeus narrowed his eyes at the sight. "What is that?"

Thea sighed, "You will soon find out."