Vol.5 Ch.30.2 – Future Plans And Caring Goddess II
Drying off didn't take us nearly as long as actually getting cleaned up. While Yume's tails took forever to lather up and clean out, drying them after the bath only took her seconds, a carefully applied fire spell drying them out instantly. Combing them out afterwards took a while but between Alisha and me that went quite fast as well. Melinoe tried to help as well but she was clearly not used to it so by the time Alisha and I had done one tail each she was barely halfway through the third.
By the time we were done her fur had regained that luxurious sheen that made you want to just get lost in them and I was looking forward to a good long fluff bath later on. Everyone had put on comfortable clothes, though the loose summer dress Alisha wore almost looked like proper clothing and almost nobody in the entire kingdom would be able to tell that the thin white kimono Yume wore wasn't street attire. If we needed to buy anything to make dinner, the two of them would be able to take a quick shopping trip without raising any eyebrows.
That being said, the comfortable clothes the others wore were much more eye-catching.
Selene wore a thin dark tunic and a short pair of dark pants. The outfit didn't just fail to hide the scars all over her arms and legs, it seemed to actively draw attention to them. And it looked gorgeous, the contrast between the pale scars and her tanned skin heightened by the dark fabric. Melinoe kept looking at them, though nobody would be able to construe her looks as anything negative. She found the sight just as intriguing as I did.
Melinoe, for her part, didn't bring any comfortable clothes with her and so she wore nothing but an old tunic of mine and a pair of undergarments. And though it looked adorable on her I couldn't help thinking that we would need to make a quick trip back to her town for her to collect some personal belongings. Another thing to think about.
Anna wore essentially the same thing as Melinoe, a tunic and a pair of undergarments, though the tunic was actually sized for her and the undergarments looked more like boyshorts than the lacy smallclothes I so liked to peel her out of. It was an outfit I sometimes saw her huddled up on the sofa in, reading books.
I was about to ask what we wanted to do for dinner when the front door opened and Athena stepped through. Instantly Anna gave me a look, not of annoyance but of shock, instantly realizing that I'd handed Athena my keys. Alisha turned to look at me as well, her expression significantly more smug though not as smug as it would usually have been. Evidently she'd taken my scolding to heart.
“I didn't expect you back so soon,” I admitted.
“Father was still... indisposed, so there was little I could do,” Athena admitted. “The others were still busy liberating the rest of the realm, so I thought I would...”
“Yeees...?” I asked, a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth.
She glared at me. Then her eyes flicked to Melinoe in comfy clothes and when they returned to me her glare was accompanied by a radiant blush. Had she only just realized that Melinoe and I...?
“I realized that you might all be hungry so I brought something,” she said finally.
My smug smile evaporated in an instant as I watched her walk over to the kitchen counter, where she proceeded to pull several items of food from a little bag of holding at her hip. First came several large sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper, then a little container full of olives with herbs and crushed garlic and finally a small cauldron full of soup, miraculously still full. I'd heard of these cauldrons before. They sealed themselves while inside a bag of holding, making sure the contents wouldn't spill. I had never bought one of them because they seemed like a piece of pointless decadence but now, half-starved and nearly salivating from the scent of a proper stew wafting into my nose, I had to admit I saw the appeal.
“I could kiss you, Athena,” I said quietly.
“Then why don't you?” she challenged, hands on her hips, then blushed furiously as she noticed Melinoe's gaze on her.
I smiled as I walked over to her, then wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to me. Her blush grew darker still and she had trouble meeting my eyes until I gave her a kiss. It was a slow kiss, gentle yet intense, demanding without being overbearing. When I broke the kiss I left her enough time to draw a deep breath before I asked:
“Good enough?”
“Y-yeah,” she admitted.
When I turned to look at the others all of them were staring at us. I even heard one of the girls swallowing hard, though I couldn't tell whom the sound had come from. “Shall we eat?” I asked, breaking them out of their trance.
“Yeah,” Selene said, the first to regain her composure.
**
And so we ate. I hadn't even known just how hungry I had been until I'd had a spread of good food in front of me. I was halfway through my bowl of soup and my first sandwich before I even thought to look up in embarrassment for glutting myself in front of my girls, only to find them digging into their food with similar vigor.
Athena had picked out a whole bunch of different sandwiches, some with sliced ham, some with chicken breast, some with smoked fish and some with sliced tomatoes, a sauce of garlic and basil and a soft white cheese that tasted like fresh cream. It was hard to appreciate just how good these were while I'd been gorging myself but with the initial hunger sated it was hard to ignore.
“Where did you find these?” I asked Athena. “I think I'd have noticed a shop that sold sandwiches like these.” Of course I had little need for prepared meals with Alisha in my life but I'd spent years in the capital before I'd met any of my girls and a shop like this would have been a godsend back then.
Athena blushed at the question, but after a moment admitted: “It turns out the power to just know things has a few mundane utilities I'd never considered before.”
I raised my eyebrows. So she hadn't known about the shop. She had consulted that weird power that drew on the knowledge of her believers. It was an ingenious use of the power and I wasn't terribly surprised to find out she'd never used it that way before. But that raised the question of what the power could be used for. Could she use it to find other stores we'd never noticed before? Could she use it to suss out Outsider cults that had remained hidden inside the capital? I shook it off. This was a time to celebrate, not to plan ahead. But, at the same time, there was a lot to plan ahead for.
“When do you think we should go back to Olympus?” I asked.
“Tomorrow,” Athena said. “If Hephaestus says to give him a day, he only needs a day.”
“What about our reward from you?” I asked. “Do you need to clear that with someone?” Like with Zeus, I didn't add aloud. Honestly, after what Zeus had done I wasn't sure reminding the Olympians that they were still beholden to him would be such a good idea.
“I can do that on my own authority,” she said. “And of course you can start looking through our treasury tomorrow, but...”
“But...?” I asked. Was she going to try adding restrictions to the bargain we'd struck? I was about to ask that but she seemed to notice where my mind had wandered because she hastened to explain:
“You've asked for mythic items. You do not choose those lightly. You can start looking tomorrow but I would implore you not to make rash decisions. After what you did for us I can give you two mythic items without anyone holding me accountable but I will not be able to give you any more.”
I started to nod in acknowledgment but before I could she added:
“Also, there is one item I will need to go looking for that I think you will pick.”
I tilted my head. “And what would that be?”
“You'll see,” she said. “I promise you will agree it's perfect.”
“Alright,” I said, then spoke words I never thought would ever leave my mouth: “I trust you, Athena.”
The blush that exploded on her face would have been comical in any other situation.
“Out of curiosity, does Melinoe get anything?” Alisha asked, drawing our attention away from Athena's beet red face.
“What do you mean?” the demigoddess in question asked.
“I mean,” Alisha said, “Felix bartered for two mythic items plus three legendary items for each member of our group...” She left the words hanging and Melinoe blushed in response.
I gave the little elf a look. “You're putting her on the spot,” I said. “Again.”
Alisha winced.
“No,” Melinoe said, drawing our attention. “She's right this time.” She turned towards me, then said very clearly: “I like you, Felix. I want to be with you, with all of you. But only if you'll have me.”
She was putting herself out there, into the most vulnerable position there was. And I didn't answer right away. Not because I didn't want her but to give all of my girls the chance to veto the idea. We were all equal parts of this relationship and if any of them had a problem with Melinoe then now they had the opportunity to make themselves heard.
I looked around the dinner table, at everyone present. I met their gazes, looking to see if they had a problem with the idea but I only saw soft smiles. Athena looked a little more apprehensive but didn't speak up against the idea.
Only when I had checked in with everybody did I turn back to Melinoe and said: “We would love to have you, Meli.”
Before I could get up to give her a hug and a kiss she threw herself at me, lips first. She felt so soft against me and even with the way we'd made out back on Olympus this kiss was the most passionate we'd shared so far, all celebration of the now and longing for the future. And then the passionate kiss turned into a group hug as everyone stormed in to hug us as well. Even Athena joined in, after a moment of hesitation.