Silence settled over the garden. The fountain burbled peacefully, indifferent to the tension crackling between us.
Distant sounds of celebration drifted from the manor, but they felt worlds away. I waited, my heart hammering so hard I was sure they could hear it.
They stood there, bathed in moonlight, looking at each other and me. Finally, "We thought about things very carefully that night." Asfi carried the conversation forward, her sharp eyes making me nervous for what was about to come.
Ah… am I going to get rejected, after all…? Dark thoughts clouded over my mind, seeping away at my determination as I looked down at my feet, awaiting the execution called rejection.
"We thought long and hard about... about 'this' and..." Ryuu's voice trembled, her face flushed even in the dim light. "And we want to give it a chance."
My brain stopped functioning.
Wait.
What?
Did I hear it wrong? What does she mean by that? What does a "chance" mean? Slowly, I looked up, my eyes taking in their forms. All of their faces were red, but they kept their gazes fixated on me.
"...What do you… mean by that?" Before I knew it, that question slipped out of my mouth.
"We mean exactly what we said," Riveria spoke up, "we um… we lo…" I could tell how hard it was for her to say those words, as her face became redder and redder, until finally she took a breath and spoke again.
"We... we love you."
The words were barely a whisper. I almost didn't hear them over the pounding of my own heart.
But I did.
I looked at the others—Ryuu with her flushed face and trembling hands, Asfi pushing her glasses up with shaking fingers, Ais staring at me with those impossibly earnest golden eyes.
And they spoke together, voices overlapping:
"We love you too."
The world tilted. Or maybe I did. My knees felt weak, my chest tight. They loved me? All four of them? They actually—
"I..." My voice cracked. "Say it again?"
Riveria's lips curved into the smallest smile despite her embarrassment. "We love you, Arin."
This time, her voice was stronger.
"Eh, no wait, wait!" I said, motioning them to stop with my right hand, while covering my face with the other, I couldn't stop grinning like an idiot despite trying to keep my composure. But some questions still swirled in my mind.
Then why were they avoiding me? No, wait, I thought back on the previous days, how Ais, Asfi, and Ryuu tried to approach me, but I always remained passive in my talks with them, though I still don't understand why Riveria looks disappointed every time our eyes met. Ugh, thinking about things myself isn't going to solve anything. "I just want to confirm, but why were you avoiding me? If you had already made the decision on that night? And why did Riveria look disappointed in me?"
Riveria frowned, hearing that, her face illuminated by the moonlight reflected off the fountain, "While that is true, I was disappointed, but it wasn't you that made me feel that, it was my own inability to mediate things despite being the eldest among us. I failed to communicate properly, so I was disappointed in myself."
Asfi spoke next, "and although we had made the decision, we just didn't know how to say it to you. I swear I never thought I would suffer from indecision ever in my life," she muttered the last part bitterly." She admitted.
Ryuu sighed, her blonde hair fluttering in the night wind. "While things were weird on both sides, there is no denying that we did hurt you by our indecisiveness, and for that we apologize. We knew you were suffering, but we still hesitated to confess."
"Hm, I am sorry, Arin." Ais started with an apology, and the others followed suit after her.
"Stop! Stop! You girls don't need to apologize for anything, okay, I am grateful you even thought about that absurd confession."
"It was not absurd!" all four of the girls spoke together.
"O-Oh, okay," I quickly tried to change the subject, "So... um... are we in a relationship now?" The question came out almost hesitant, like saying it too confidently might break the spell.
They exchanged looks, then nodded.
"I suppose we are," Riveria answered.
"Really?!" Something broke free in my chest—joy, relief, disbelief all at once. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
I closed the distance between us and pulled them all into a hug. A tight, probably too-tight embrace that encompassed all four of them. "I love you. I love you all so much. I'll make sure you never regret this!"
"Slow down," Asfi complained, but she was smiling as they all were, exchanging glances over my shoulder, laughing softly at my enthusiasm as they hugged me back.
For the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe properly.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
"So how long are you going to hug us?" Riveria questioned, but did not attempt to separate herself.
"Hmm… I want to say forever, but I want to do more things with you girls, go on a lot of dates, hold your hands, gift you flowers, sit by the flowerbed while I stare into your eyes, and much much MUCH more! So, for now, I will settle for a full day of hugging."
"What? No, the other will start getting worried if we are not back soon," Asfi protested. They all flushed deeper with each thing I mentioned.
"Nah, pretty sure they are too drunk for that, but fine, just 5 more minutes. I was feeling really lonely for the past few days." They quieted at those words. Oh, shit, did I make them feel guilty? I was worried for a second, but then I felt their arms tighten around me.
"We were also lonely…" Ais muttered, as we all remained like that for a few more minutes—way more than just five.
"Yup, I'm satisfied now." We separated reluctantly, though every part of me wanted to hold on longer.
And I noticed Riveria was the last to let go, and by the looks on their faces, I wasn't the only one who noticed it, as they smiled at her. Riveria, being the center of attention, noticed the stares and quickly backed off, her ears turning slightly pink.
She coughed lightly, "An-Anyways," Riveria's expression shifted to something more serious. "Since we're in a relationship now, we should discuss something important." She paused. "Do you want to hide it?"
"Hide it?" I repeated, not understanding her question.
"Our relationship. It's..." She chose her words carefully. "Both unconventional in its nature and potentially controversial in its particulars. "It vexes me to say it, but a lot of elves won't be pleased about me being in a relationship with you. Add in the... arrangement we have, and—"
I stepped forward, gently cupping her face. Her cheeks were still warm. "Riveria, my feelings for you—for all of you—aren't so fragile that I need to hide them. I love you, and I'm not ashamed of that. If someone has a problem, they can come talk to me directly."
Her jade eyes searched mine for a long moment, then softened. "I was hoping you'd say that."
"Did you doubt I would?"
"No." A small smile. "But it's good to hear anyway." She paused. "Now, we should get back inside."
As we started walking back toward the manor, Ais suddenly stopped.
"Wait," she said, looking at me with those intense golden eyes. "One… more thing…"
"What is it?"
She stepped closer, rising slightly on her toes, and pressed a soft, brief kiss to my cheek. Then stepped back, her face crimson but her expression satisfied. She gave a small nod, as if proud of her decisiveness.
The other three stared at her in shock.
"Ais!" Riveria's face turned scarlet. "You can't just—"
"Why not…?" Ais tilted her head. "We're in a… relationship now. That's what people do, right?"
"Well, yes, but—" Riveria started, then stopped, realizing there was nothing actually wrong with Ais's logic.
Ryuu just shook her head with a smile on her face. "You're not wrong, Ais."
And then, as if a dam had broken, Ryuu quickly leaned in and kissed my other cheek, her face practically glowing.
Asfi followed with a quick peck to my other cheek, muttering something about "fairness" and "proper distribution" while carefully avoiding eye contact.
Riveria was last, her kiss soft and deliberate, her jade eyes meeting mine with a warmth that made my heart stutter, while her composure cracked.
I stood there, completely stunned, my face burning hotter than the sun that had yet to rise.
"Now we're even," Riveria said primly, though the pink on her cheeks betrayed her composure.
"I... you... we..." I couldn't form a coherent sentence and then…
"Yes!" The word came out louder than I intended, echoing off the garden walls.
"Shh!" They all moved to quiet me, fingers to lips, faces still crimson with embarrassment.
Riveria pressed a hand to her forehead. "I really can't understand how you can be both mature and childish at the same time."
"Well, you chose me," I grinned, crossing my arms. "So you're stuck dealing with it now."
"Yeah, I am starting to regret it already," Riveria smiled as well, a rare, teasing kind.
"Hey, that's harsh!" I pressed a hand to my chest in mock pain.
They all laughed—genuine, warm laughter that wrapped around my heart.
"Come on," Ryuu said, tugging gently on my hand. "Let's get back before someone comes looking for us.
As we walked back toward the manor, hands linked, faces flushed, hearts full, I couldn't stop smiling.