Chapter 40: The Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival (Part 2/3)
"I knew it was takoyaki! You really can't help yourself, huh?" Polt asks.
"You know I can't turn it down if I see it," I stuff a couple of them in my mouth. "Mmm! So delicious!"
"Don't go trying to eat them all. Let me have one at least!" She demands.
"Coming right up!" I stab a doughy ball with my toothpick and feed it to her.
"Mmmm! That is really good!" She happily comments as she picks up a toothpick to get a few more, her wagging tail brushing against me all the while.
"These guys seriously know their stuff! Still have nothing on you, of course, Sweetheart," Draco compliments.
"You flatter me too much, Draco," I chuckle.
"Only 'cause it's true!" she shouts. At the edge of my vision, Smith walks up to Polt's side.
"Oh. Hey, Smith. Did you forget to say something?" Polt inquires.
"As a matter of fact, I did. It's for your ears though," Smith says.
"Is it now? Do tell," Polt curiously leans her ear closer to Smith. Despite me being beside Polt, I can't hear whatever Smith is whispering to her. "Oh my! We'll definitely make use of that later!" Polt exclaims.
"Anyway, that's it from me for now," Smith says, leaving again.
"What was that about?" I inquire.
"Just some girl stuff. Nothing to worry your head about," Polt glosses over it.
"So you say. I believe you three have now surpassed me in doing surprises," I call them out.
"Yeah. So what?" Draco and Lilith respond.
"Are you implying that you don't like what our surprises bring, Sweetheart?" Polt mutters in my ear, drastically tightening her hold on my arm. Her voice is hitting that exact same borderline obsessive tone that Nekuta uses sometimes. It makes my skin crawl… in both bad and good ways.
"N-Not at all!" I stammer, blushing despite my efforts not to.
"That's good then!" Her voice instantly goes back to normal. "I know you more than enough that you'll be happy about it since I'm sure you have a few sappy things to say tonight." It's unsettling how good her intuition always is with my intentions. Is she secretly a psychic?
"Polt, please stop doing that," I sigh.
"Doing what, Sweetheart?" She inquires, seemingly clueless.
"Reading my mind is what you're doing! If you already basically know what I intend to say, then what purpose does it serve to say it out loud?" I question, my voice accidentally showing that I'm a bit annoyed by it.
"Well, it lets me know that you actually feel the way I think you feel. Plus it's not like Draco and Lilith read you like I do so you would still be making sure your emotions are felt," she reasons. "But I understand that you still might feel it makes it redundant or lose the spark behind it towards me so I'll try to not do it anymore. Does that sound good, Sweetheart?" She rubs her cheek against mine. Just like that, my minor annoyance vanishes but I attempt to keep it going.
"Being cute isn't enough," I pout, trying to be stubborn as I pull my arm out of her grasp to put it around her instead.
"It isn't? How about being sexy then?" She moves from her seat and sits sideways on my lap, pressing her wonderful breasts against my chest while her left hand sensually rubs my left inner thigh.
"Hate to admit it but it's working," I chuckle, kissing her cheek while giving her ass a firm squeeze.
"That's what I like to hear," she smirks as her lips get closer to mine.
"Save that energy for later unless you two really wanna give the people on the sidewalks a show that badly," Draco snickers.
"W-Wait, they can actually see us from that distance?!" I inquire.
"We're not exactly as far away as it might look from our perspective," Draco answers. Blood rushes to my face as every fantasy I've thought about indulging on the deck of a ship sinks into the ocean of uncertainty. Well, I might've only done one of them but that's off the table now. Another day, another time.
"O-On that note, that's enough, Polt," I say.
"Aww, don't you wanna flaunt your obsessive love for me to everyone who can see?" Polt teases.
"Certainly not like this! And what do you mean obsessive love? I love you a lot but I'm not obsessed!" I refute.
"That's rich coming from the guy who originally set this whole festival thing up with the intention to propose to us," she snickers, piercing straight through me with her verbal arrow.
"HUH?!" Draco and Lilith yell together, blindsided by the casual revelation.
"Y-yeah. That was the initial plan," I admit sheepishly.
"But I had stopped our dear Sweetheart from buying the engagement rings when we were at the mall," Polt elaborates as she gets off of my lap and back into her seat.
"Seriously? I would've totally said yes too despite it being a little soon, especially with all the extra effort put in to make this special," Lilith sighs.
"Y-You've known me for even less time than Polt and Lilith at this point. O-On top of that, our relationship practically just began too and yet you are already certain of putting a ring on my finger despite our thorny start?!" Draco cutely stammers and blushes.
"Polt's right! You really are obsessed!" Draco and Lilith point an accusing finger at me.
"B-Both of you too?! I swear I'm—," I attempt to refute.
"Attention! The fireworks are starting soon!" Smith suddenly shouts into a megaphone, startling me and Polt out of our seats. Looking behind us, Smith is standing just a couple feet from behind our chairs.
"What the… Smith?!" Polt exclaims.
"Was that necessary?!" I ask.
"Plenty necessary since I'm sure you wanted a heads up. Blame Draco and Lilith for not saying anything when they clearly saw me approaching," Smith replies with a cheeky smile on her face.
"We thought it would be funny," Lilith giggles along with Draco. And clearly it was!
"Anyway, is there some kinda special viewing spot on the ship that you gotta blindfold us again for?" I inquire.
"Nope. You're pretty much already at it. Nothing beats the bow of the ship," Smith answers.
"Then let's go ahead and get our exclusive front row view, shall we?" Polt takes my hand.
"We shall," I nod as Polt and I walk off. "C'mon, you two unless you want to take the literal backseat in this case!"
"No way!" Draco and Lilith exclaim, scarfing down what little food they have left before catching up to us. Standing at the bow, we look to the starry night sky.
"I don't really look at the sky like this often. It's beautiful even though the fireworks haven't started yet," I comment.
"We can go stargazing then. Another little fun activity for us to do," Polt replies.
"Definitely," I agree. As if on cue, fireworks loudly whizz as they fly into the blanket of stars, exploding into a sparkly rainbow of colors. Weirdly reminds me of when Kimihito and I used to play with sparklers when we were kids. Always concerned that I was gonna burn myself… or burn him. Wait… Kimihito! Is he actually here on the sidewalks somewhere?! No! Forget about him! A more important thing is happening right now!
"Ooh! That blue one had a really big explosion! Didja see it, Sweetheart?" Lilith excitedly points.
"Sure did! It was pretty cool!" I affirm.
"That one almost looks like a pair of wings!" Draco calls out.
"And that one resembles… a dumbbell?" Polt questions with uncertainty.
"Oh wow! It actually does, doesn't it?" I say, astonished. We break into laughter at the absurdity of fireworks managing to form oddly specific shapes.
"Everything turning out like you hoped for?" Smith asks, suddenly standing behind us. She didn't catch us by surprise this time.
"Like you wouldn't believe," I answer while looking over my shoulder only to notice that MON is standing with her as well. They're still wearing their normal MON attire as well. "You guys are here too? I thought it was just Zombina and Smith."
"We're a package deal more often than not," Zombina responds.
"Not like we'd turn down the opportunity to go to any festive event in the first place," Doppel comments.
"I wish we didn't have to wear our field suits though," Manako softly complains.
"I agree but the free yummy food makes it worth it!" Tionishia exclaims.
"Ahem," Polt lightly bumps me with her elbow. "Don't get sidetracked."
"O-Oh, right," I stutter. Well, everyone who needs to hear this is here. So uh… here goes nothing. "It's fantastic that all of you are present because… there's something I feel is worth saying." Damn it! I can feel the lump in my throat already.
"What's that, Sweetheart?" Smith asks.
"It's… I-It's… Shit! My m-mind's blanking," I stammer while my hands tremble. T-This shouldn't be that hard to verbalize!
"Look at the fireworks and breathe," Polt advises, turning me around to face the mesmerizing display of explosions. Following her instructions, my mind slows down. "Now let it out, Sweetheart."
"It's… weird to think about how I knew none of you before this year and vice versa. I used to be… so shy around liminals and I can't even remember why. Maybe I felt that I was somehow undeserving to socialize with them. Even with the host stuff, it felt like I couldn't handle that responsibility… and yet here I am now with three girlfriends, two of which are also my homestays along with new friends. I-It's a-amazing how… quickly l-life changes… and… proves you w-wrong," I try to maintain my composure but it's crumbling fast. My lips tremble and my eyes flicker. Polt, Draco, and Lilith hug me as tight as possible, letting their warm embrace hold me together enough to finish. "I-I'm… so very grateful for this! For all of this!" I raise my voice as tears manage to escape the corners of my eyes. "T-T-Thank you! T-Thank all of you! Thank you for coming into my life! I couldn't imagine how it would be without any of you!" I allow the tears to flow freely down my face and sob. "S-Sorry, I tried my best to not cry!"
"Don't be. It's perfectly fine to do so," Polt consoles me, rubbing my back.
"Much better to release it than suppress it," Draco says.
"So please cry as much as you need to," Lilith adds. Footsteps quickly run over to us, revealing them to be Smith's when she hugs me head on.
"Damn it, Ryuta! Warn a woman before getting emotional like that!" Smith tries to joke despite tears running down from her shades.
"No kiddin'! You almost got me with my guard down!" Zombina chuckles, agreeing with Smith. "Rest assured, we're more than happy to be here for you!" She places a hand on my head and tenderly ruffles my hair.
"How… touching!" Manako sniffles.
"Yuyu needs the biggest hug he can get!" Tionishia adds. Manako and Tio rush over and join in.
"This might be a tad bit excessive but if it makes you feel better, then I don't mind," Doppel finally attaches herself to the group hug. If only he was here to truly complete it but he's sadly not. Even so, I let my friends and lovers wring out the rest of my tears.