Chapter Text
“—non, Anon! Are you listening?!”
“I think it is no use, Stella. He seems to be thinking over something. Let’s give him some space for a bit. He’ll come back eventually.”
What…
What has my life come to.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
Over and over, my mind is replaying that scene from before.
With me and Trish cuddling after the tussling we did.
…And the words she said to me.
‘Anon, I think…Let's get Fang to join us. Join our relationship, I mean.’
That inconceivable—
—That unbelievable—
—Words that I would’ve never thought would come out of her mouth.
Even after so long, I’m still thinking about it.
At the time, I didn’t know what to say.
Trish told me to just think it over and slept beside me.
Does she not realize the amount of emotional turmoil she’s dropped onto me?
I wondered if she was joking or if she thought love and relationships could be that casual.
But I knew Trish.
I knew she meant everything she said, knowing what they meant and understanding what backlash they could have.
Then why?
Why did she propose that to me?
Does she think I’m not satisfied with her?
Or is she not satisfied with me?
No, no, that’s not it…
I just—I don’t know.
For now, I’ll just…take care of these plants.
Yet, in the back of my head, the notion that time was ticking lingered, and eventually, I’d have to decide whether I wanted to add one more person to my heart…or if I’ll stay content with the one I already have.
“AN-ON! COULD YOU HELP US?”
“H-Huh?!”
The sudden scream almost causes me to drop the trowel in my hand, but I manage to grab it before it fell down to the plants below, which would’ve earned me an earful from Rosa.
Speaking of Rosa…
“Looks like you finally can hear us! Can you help over here?”
She was the one that was doing all that screaming.
Judging from what she said, it seems like she was calling to me way before I heard her.
Which means that I was being a brick wall and not paying attention.
Damn.
My bad.
Scratching my bald, shiny head, I offered an apology and went to their side.
“Sorry for not paying attention. I was busy thinking about…I don’t know how to say it.”
“¡Ay! It’s fine, An-on!”
She and Stella flanked me from both sides and began their chattering as I helped them with the gardening.
As I looked at them, I felt this feeling of urgency—to ask them for help for what I should do with the situation I was in.
I don’t know what came over me, but my mouth opened by itself and began to speak.
“Hey, Rosa…what’s your take on polygamy—”
“Absolutely not. It should only be one man and one woman.”
Woah, that was a quick response.
I guess that was obvious considering Rosa is fervently religious.
“Having more than one partner causes strife within the household. It causes jealousy and hatred to fester and causes trouble to inheritance down the line. As La Biblia has said!”
She…makes some good points.
If I decide to take Trish up on her offer, who knows what that’d cause for her and Fang’s relationship?
Keeping it in my mind, I turn to the other side and asked Stella for her own opinion.
“Stella, what about you?”
“I like harems!”
“Dios mio…Stella…”
“What? They’re fun!” Stella chirped, her eyes practically sparkling with the thought of it. “One man, surrounded by a group of ladies who all adore him! It’s the ultimate expression of love and devotion! Plus, it keeps life interesting!”
“Stella, we aren’t talking about fiction, though. I’m talking about real life.”
At the mention of real life, Stella’s weeb speech staggered away from its confidence.
“Oh! U-uhm, I mean…w—who says real life can’t imitate fiction?! If all the girls and the boy love each and understand each other very much, then it can work out!”
That…
That sounds like the most idiotic thing I’ve heard someone say outloud.
Excluding the internet, that is.
Glancing towards Rosa, I was expecting she would be vehemently arguing against what Stella said, but…
“I guess so.”
She…agreed?
Rosa, her?
The most religious person I know?
The one that was so against polygamy just a moment ago?
“R-Rosa? You’re agreeing with her?”
“Hm? Si? If polygamy does not cause strife between the partners and does not upset the harmony of married life, then it is tolerable. Even in the Old Testament, many of the great people like Solo-man the Wise and Cave-id had hundreds of wives and concubines—though, all of them were dinowomen, so I do not know if this applies to human women.”
I was flabbergasted at Rosa’s dead serious tone.
“‘Dinowomen’?”
“The point is, An-on,” Rosa declared, deftly pruning a nearby fern with terrifying precision “The heart is a complicated thing. If the foundation is built on truth and not on engaño, then who am I to judge the architecture? But…”
She paused and looked at me, pointing a sharp finger at my chest.
“If there is even a drop of resentment—a single drop!— the whole building falls.”
“Now that I think about it, Anon, why are you asking this?”
Stella interjected, her eyes curiously looking at me.
Should I tell them?
Looking at the two people who I can consider friends and confidants, I felt a feeling of doubt bubble up.
Should I really tell them?
Two sides inside of me conflicted with one another on whether I should just yield and tell them or try to make up an excuse.
…Ah, screw it.
With their eyes full of interest and attention descending upon me, I prepared to let the flood of information out.
“Well…It’s like this…”
Thus began my long winded explanation (minus the spicy parts) about how I ended up having to choose whether or not I want to be in a relationship with two girls.
After I finished my story, a heavy silence settled. Stella had her mouth agape, while Rosa had a serious, thinking frown.
“Well?” I prompted, my voice cracking slightly. “Say something. Anything. Tell me I’m a moron. Tell me Trish is crazy. Just…give me something.”
Stella was the first to snap out of it. Unleashing a shriek from the depths of moe hell.
“Anon…that is so… PEAK! Do you realize what this is?! This is the ultimate subversion of the love triangle! Usually, one of them has to lose and have a bittersweet ending, but Trish…Trish is suggesting the BEST ENDING THAT NO ONE EVER DOES!!!! Oh my God! This is so…HYPE!”
Groaning at Stella’s constant reflection to fiction, I find my dirt-ridden fingers massaging my nose radix.
“Stella. This. Isn’t. A novel. Fang is…well, she’s Fang. She’s already been through enough drama with us to last a lifetime, and I don’t want to add to that. And Trish…I love her, but she’s possessive. I don't know how she thinks she can just share when she’s…like that.”
“But she’s the one who suggested it, An-on, if Trish—the woman who would fight larger triceratops women to keep you to herself—is willing to try it, then it is not a decision made in haste. It is a decision made from a place of great sacrifice. Or great love.”
“That’s what scares me. Why would she want to sacrifice that? Is it because she thinks I’m not enough? Or that she isn't?”
“No, silly! She’s doing it because she sees the same thing we all see. You and Fang…you guys have this bond that pushes you two together…I mean it! You guys like each other’s company, don’t you?”
…Damn, she’s right.
But just because I like her company doesn’t automatically mean I like her that way, much less love her as much as I do Trish.
“Trish isn’t trying to compensate for anything, Anon. She’s trying to complete the set! It’s like—it’s like…well…having two babes who want to get carried by you! Why would you only carry one when you have two hands?!”
“Because eventually my arms are going to get tired, Stella!”
“Don’t humans have infinite endurance?”
“No, Stella, we don’t…”
“N-no way?! Then, the refractory period of humans…”
What?
As I was going to question Stella about that last remark she said, Rosa stood up and dragged me to a nearby bench, all the while talking to me.
“An-on, listen to me. You are so busy worrying about the ‘how’ that you are ignoring the ‘who’. You are not deciding just for yourself. You are deciding for Trish—who chose you—and for Fang—who chose to stay by your side even when it hurt. If the two of them can find peace in this, why can’t you?”
Sitting on the bench with my hands on my head, I felt a deep sense of confusion well up in me.
Why don’t I feel ready for this?
I searched deep within myself, but I couldn’t find anything.
“I don’t know…what about you, Rosa? If you were put into a situation like mine, what’d you do? You’re averse towards polygamy, right? At least in the modern times.”
Sitting beside me, Rosa looked at the sky thoughtfully.
“Love is wanting the best for the other. I’d argue the ‘best’ for me is knowing they are your only; that they don't have to compete for your time, your love, or your attention. Peace doesn't come from equalizing the love; it comes from the security of the relationship…but love goes both ways…If mi amor had more love to give than just me and confessed to it, then as his amor, I should support him. Though, with some conditions in place. An-on, If you love and believe you can mediate and handle the two of them, then it’s worth a try.”
But that’s the thing—do I like Fang to the point I want to be in a relationship with her and Trish? Can I ensure that I can make both of them happy?
Could I really do it?
I looked at the ground, my thoughts racing, trying to find a way out of this mental sinkhole I’ve been in.
I…I need to talk to more people.
Standing abruptly, I made my way to the garden’s exit.
“Thanks for the talk, Rosa, Stella! I’ll see you guys later!”
Rosa and Stella watched on as the human sprinted out from the garden with renewed vigour.
“When do you think he’ll remember that he still has to help us garden until 6?”
“¿Seis? ¿It’s only until sinco, no?”
“Well, either way, he’s going to have to come back unless he wants Principal Spears to get mad at him again!”
****************************************************
As I walked through the hallways, my mind skipped through the school roster.
Reed? He’d just tell me to feel the vibes and go with the flow.
Naomi? Pfft! As if.
Naser? Hm…Maybe…?
If I don’t mention Fang, then maybe he won’t kill me right away, right?
As I continued my walk, I realized there was only one person left who might give me the reality check I desperately needed.
I headed for the gym, hoping to find the one guy who knew exactly what it was like to be caught between a rock and a hard place.
“Anon? You look like you just saw a ghost.”
I stopped in my tracks. Standing by the equipment locker was Naser, taking a break, it seemed.
Well, here goes nothing.
“Naser, I have a hypothetical for you.”
He raised a brow and crossed his arms.
“Usually when people say ‘hypothetical’ they actually mean ‘I might do something stupid’, or ‘I have done something stupid and I want to know just how dead I am’. Which one is it?”
I swallowed hard, realizing I might be dead before I even get started.
“What would you do…if Naomi asked you to let someone else—namely another girl, who you are also close with and have complicated feelings for—into your relationship?”
…
…
…
“Anon, If you’re suggesting what I think you’re suggesting…and if my sister is involved…you better start running before I forget we’re friends.”