At the same time as the camping exercise…
Michelle
“Are you ready?” Amber mouthed.
“Yes,” Michelle mouthed resolutely.
Something had been on their minds lately, and today was the perfect opportunity for it. Though unplanned, Sarah and the girls being gone for the night meant they could focus entirely on tonight.
The couple walked to the living area, where their goddess friend and fellow parent was reading a book.
“Roumazi, want to go out with us tonight?” Amber asked.
“You don’t want to make tonight a date night for just the two of you?” she responded.
“We want to spend time with you,” Michelle replied.
She smiled and shut her book. “Alright. What do you have in mind?”
“Last time Senava was here, she recommended a place with good music and food. And they have games for people to play as they eat.”
Senava and Nipha had come over twice more since their first visit, and they also got to meet one of Senava's wives, who had a more serious attitude than her, though wasn’t unfriendly.
“Ah, that’s right,” Roumazi recalled. “That sounds fun.”
“Great!” the two elves said.
The three women walked to a restaurant that was busy, though they didn’t have to wait for too long to get a table. The food here was mostly fish dishes, which made sense, considering its proximity to the large river running through the middle of the city. The smell of spices filled the air, as this region had a wide variety to choose from.
Multicolored crystals lit the whole place in a kaleidoscopic rainbow pattern, and a band was performing in the corner. The music sounded somewhat modern, though none of the instruments were electronic. The band was using some prerecorded elements from a music crystal, though, as well as some enchantments to distort the sounds in interesting ways.
“Missing your flute?” Roumazi asked, noticing Michelle looking at the band.
Michelle chuckled. “No. It was fun, but I prefer what I’m doing now.”
“I still wish I could’ve heard it. Luna told me it was an excellent monster deterrent.”
Amber said, “It wasn’t that bad. We were just playing around one day making horrible noises out of boredom and Luna latched onto that.”
Michelle said, “I prefer the sounds of metal, anyway. Like, blacksmithing stuff, I mean.”
“Hm?” the foxkin tilted her head.
Amber explained, “Metal was also a type of music where we came from. Uh, I can't think of anything to compare it to, so I don’t really know how to describe it other than that there were a lot of intense sounds. A lot of yelling, too, I think? Wasn’t really my thing.”
“Wasn’t mine either,” Michelle agreed.
I miss music streaming.
“I see,” Roumazi said. “Well, shall we play a game? It looks like there are plenty to choose from.”
There was a list of games and their rules in a well-worn book next to them. To play one, they had to activate an enchantment on the table, and the crystal above them would project the board below. There were also gems set into the book that could be removed which acted as pieces, along with some dice.
None of them knew any of the games, so they chose one solely on the basis of how interesting it looked at a glance. They weren’t here to seriously play a game, so that was fine. They took their turns casually, mostly talking instead of playing as they waited for their food.
Amber and Roumazi both got some mildly alcoholic drinks, while Michelle went with a kind of slightly spicy juice.
After their food arrived, the game board was deactivated while saving their locations on the board, and the lighting above them went back to the rainbow pattern from earlier. It had been laid out so that people could keep playing even with food and drinks on the table, but they weren’t interested in that tonight.
Maybe we should get some more games for at home, though.
“Should we establish a game night or something?” Michelle asked.
Amber smiled. “I like the sound of that. There’s a part of my brain that still hasn’t adjusted to not having video games available. Board and card games and stuff aren’t quite the same, but that’s fine.”
Roumazi already knew what video games were, both from the things she’d heard after moving in, and from back at the research base when meeting the thousands of players.
After eating, they did resume their game, but it was often several minutes between them taking turns. They were more interested in just talking, after all.
Eventually, Roumazi smiled at both of them and asked, “So, are you ever going to ask me, or will I be the one to do it?”
The two elves at the table shared a look and laughed exasperatedly. Amber spoke, “We were planning on doing it after we left here, but I guess we already know the answer.
“Roumazi, I don’t know how it would work between gods and mortals, but we’ve already discussed it, and we would both like to go out with you.”
“It would work just like any other relationship, and I get the feeling that’s what you’re hoping for.”
“That’s right,” Michelle said, as she and Amber both nodded.
We even know from her that the gods don’t really get involved with each other. We’re unlikely to ever see them again, even after they find out about Diamond.
She smiled widely, “Then my answer is yes.” Grabbing both their hands, she asked them, “So shall we continue our date?”
She said yes! Somehow, we way overthought how to ask out a literal goddess.
The new throuple left the restaurant and went for what Michelle and Amber had decided on for the next stop if Roumazi had said yes. They boarded one of the small carriages that only transported people to other parts of the city and set off.
The building they were heading for was massive, but because it was on the other end of the city, they hadn’t visited it yet. It was a giant mechanical model of Torneltha’s solar system, an orrery so large that they could walk around inside of it, and even take slow rides inside the planetary bodies themselves. Large windows to the outside provided great views of the city as well, with the castle and arena standing out the most among the skyline.
Even with the gentle recorded music playing in the background, it was still a much quieter destination than the restaurant had been with its live music.
“We’ll have to come back here with the girls,” Amber commented.
“For sure,” Michelle agreed. “Diamond especially will love this.”
Their new foxkin girlfriend asked, “Did you ever do anything like this with Luna?”
“I suppose this is like a combination of a planetarium and a ferris wheel; a planetarium being a big building that they would project astronomical images onto the inside of, and a ferris wheel being a large, slow-moving ride that went up quite high.
“We never did the former, but we did do the latter. I’m glad there are places like this in this world, too. Can’t wait to see more new things.”
After sharing their first kisses with Roumazi, they remained in the orrery until the stars were visible before eventually heading home. It would be several hours before they finally went to sleep, however.
———
The three of them were awoken the following morning by the sound of the front door opening. After stretching and some quick morning kisses, they got dressed.
Their two daughters ran up to them and they all shared hugs.
Seeing the three all leaving the same bedroom, Sarah smirked. “Looks like it went well, then.”
They all smiled.
“Yep!” Amber said.
Though Sarah was smiling, she looked a little sad.
“Is something wrong, Sarah?” Michelle asked.
The tigerkin sighed. “I had a couple people on Earth I could get close to without them expecting any romance or anything from me, but I haven’t had that since then. Seeing all of you get together has just made me miss them again.”
Michelle looked at her girlfriends. “You just mean like snuggling and stuff?”
“Basically, yeah. I still like physical contact and closeness with other people, just nothing beyond that.”
Amber provided, “You could’ve just asked us, though?”
“But you’re in a relationship.”
“Yeah, but we know you wouldn’t want the same thing that we have.”
“What, so it’s just… fine?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Roumazi asked.
“I… Wait. So, cuddling and snuggling and stuff with me would be fine. And you’re all okay with that? Even knowing I’m aroace and don’t want anything besides close friendship? No romance or anything beyond that?”
“Yes?” Roumazi looked at the other two Earthlings to see if she was missing something, but she wasn’t.
“You mean… All this time, I could’ve…” Sarah vigorously facepalmed and groaned. Seeing that everyone was confused, she explained, “I’m used to people always wanting more from me or no longer being okay with that level of closeness with me once they enter a relationship with someone. It never occurred to me just how amazing you three are that you would still be fine with me.”
Michelle said, “Well, I think the only answer to that is for all of us to share a big hug.”
All of them, including Luna and Diamond, got together in a hug for Sarah, who was feeling overwhelmed, but incredibly happy.
After parting, Roumazi asked Sarah, “So how’d our girls do?”
The now much happier tigerkin replied, “They had no problems setting up camp. They froze up at first during the simulated attack, but still did okay in the end. Nipha responded right away, and Izara only just managed something right at the last moment.”
She nodded. “That’s good. A lot of kids at that age wouldn’t even be at that level yet.”
“Are you thinking of training them more?” Michelle asked.
She shook her head. “No. They’re already at a good point, and the school can handle most of it going forward. It will be a while before the next event like that. They’re free to just be kids.
“Well, I still want to do weapon and magic practice with them, and the occasional slaying job like we’ve already been doing, but I don’t want to push them excessively.”
Amber agreed, “Yeah, even with what happened before we arrived in Efrinteu, they were doing well, all things considered. I’m glad they were able to do something.”
Michelle interjected, “Anyway, I’m starving. What do you want for breakfast? We can talk about any training stuff after.”
Sarah, Luna, and Diamond had already eaten back at the camp, so the remaining three all shared the kitchen together to make their food.
From left to right, the characters are sitting in this order: Luna, Sarah, Michelle, Roumazi, Amber, Diamond.
Coming together indeed
ah, but I do worry / wonder at the ageing difference
I LOVE FOUND FAMILY! SO wholesomeeeee aaaaaahhhhhh