Whatever will be will be.

After having lunch, Leonardo was assaulted by a sense of drowsiness. His eyelids felt heavy and his body lethargic, but not to a level that would make him drop immediately.

“Oh, look,” Reiko said, giggling. “Leo’s getting post-lunch laziness.”

“Is that what this is?” he asked, rubbing his eyes. “I was getting worried it was something else.”

“It’s the most normal thing in the world,” Kaede told him. “And you did have a long hike after waking up early. It’s probably just getting to you now that you’re relaxed.”

“This mean you will finally know the pleasures of an afternoon nap,” Lucia sighed dreamily. “Nothing in this world feels more refreshing.”

“God yes,” Seina nodded in agreement. “To know that there’s nothing more to do for the day; that you can just lay down and sleep for an hour or two… Haah. Bliss.”

“Sounds like wasted hours to me,” he said, yet was unable to top a yawn. Damn, even that was new. “Still, I think I’ll go lie down for a while.”

“Take your time,” Angela said, standing up with the collected dishes on hand.

“And don’t worry about dinner tonight. I’m covering it. I shouldn’t need to clarify that I’m already considering your attendance,” Lucia told Reiko and Victoria.

Leo left the lively chatter of the dining room and went back to his bedroom. He spread the futon and laid down on his back. He closed his eyes, and the events of the day began to play in his mind.

The girls said they discarded their Gifts as a way to show him that they were committed to the relationship. And yet, as Angela had pointed out, it didn’t prove anything other than that, their commitment. Leo’s chest tightened. He didn’t expect them to go that far, but he did believe they would try to reassure him in some way. Like he had thought, none of them would leave him just because he didn’t have the ability to be a monster in bed anymore. Not now. That would come later, when problems began to arise. When he was too tired to spend the night with one of them; when he had sex with three but could do it with a fourth one; when they realized that even the few instances of sex weren’t worth the wait. He could only hope they didn’t regret their choice or come to blame him for it. That would hurt.

Leo started to notice his body was growing heavier. Kaede had put it well. So this was what normal exhaustion looked like, huh? He didn’t like it. He’d done too little to feel like this. And so, hoping this was just a result of being unaccustomed to it, his eyelids closed and he drifted off to sleep.

When he woke up, an hour and a half had passed. He sat up and shook his head. How could Lucia and Seina call this bliss? He felt sluggish and his head was hazy, and that was on top of losing a little under two hours of the day. Even like this, he probably wouldn’t grow to enjoy naps.

He got up, stretched his arms and legs and went to the bathroom to wash his face. He then went outside for some fresh air, catching Victoria overlooking a light spar between Angela and Valerie. The two girls were fighting without contact, punches and kicks stopping just before they hit or being light enough to do nothing.

“How are they doing?” he asked the coach.

“Better than anticipated.” She smiled proudly. “They don’t have their Gifts, but their bodies remember every punch and every kick I had them learn. On top of that, they’ve built the muscles to support that. Valerie, especially, used to have very flexible muscles that could practically do anything without practice. She doesn’t have that now, but the muscles she’s trained are still in top shape.”

“You were correct then.” Leo sighed with relief.

Victoria then moved behind him and started touching his arms. He let her, even as she moved to his shoulders, to his abs, and his legs. “You haven’t changed much, either. You’re as in good shape as you were before. I should know. I touched you everywhere last night,” she teased, kissing his cheek. Then, she whispered in his ear. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? Stay the sweet, diligent man you are and we’ll get along just as perfectly as ever.”

He held her hand and gave it a firm, loving squeeze. “That you’re willing to give me a shot is more than I could ask. Thanks.”

“How are you feeling, though?”

“Lightheaded from the nap, but otherwise well enough. My legs no longer feel tired.”

“See? The squats were worth it for more than just the nice butt,” she laughed and gave him a soft slap on the butt cheeks.

He returned to dining room, mostly out of habit, and saw Kaede there, sitting at the table looking at her phone.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Oh. Um… Reading a paper on neurobiology,” she answered with a shy smile. “Trying to see how much I can understand.”

He sat next to her. “And?”

“It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I could read stuff like this when I was twelve. The academic language never threw me off. Maybe because I got used to it I can still understand most of it. However, where my mind once made connections between concepts on its own, now I find myself having to remember where I read about them before. It’s not impossible, just a lot harder. I think it’s starting to hurt my head,” she laughed sheepishly.

“How much did you read?”

She checked. “16 pages so far.”

“How long have you been at it?”

“Um… ten minutes or so? I lost track.”

Leo smiled and kissed Kaede on the forehead, taking the younger girl by surprise. Sixteen pages in ten minutes? And she understood what she read about an academic paper on a complex subject? The girl had definitely not become dumb. Leo certainly couldn’t do what she did.

“Where’s Reiko?” he asked.

“Her, Lucia and Seina just went out to buy dinner,” Kaede answered, smiling eagerly. “We’re having sushi!”

“I know we ate later than usual, but we had lunch not too long ago,” Leo said, but then his stomach grumbled.

“Welcome to the land of the eternally hungry,” she laughed. “You spend energy and regain it by eating nutritious meals. With how active you usually are, you’ll need to eat a lot if you hope to keep that up.”

“I suppose,” he admitted.

“It makes me wonder though. You didn’t eat much before, nor are you picky about food. Why did you learn to cook? And so well?”

“Hm? Why indeed…” he mused. “I guess I just like it when people enjoy what I make. Makes me glad I put in the effort.”

Kaede blushed and smiled. “I… I think I understand that better now. Even if there were people saying mean things about the manga Reiko and I made, that doesn’t erase all of those who enjoyed it, right? I want to do that again. I want to make more things that people can enjoy.”

“Happy to hear it,” he said. “Give it your best. I’ll be here whenever you need me.”

She giggled. “Thanks. It gives me confidence. Truly.”

Forty minutes later, Lucia, Seina and Reiko arrived carrying three big, covered trays of sushi each.

“…Isn’t that a bit much?” Leo asked.

“Lucia went overboard,” Seina nodded.

“This is a CELEBRATION, remember? You don’t half ass important celebrations. You’re both just way too scared to spend money.”

“Just wait until you run out,” Seina warned. “You won’t be making a fraction of whatever you have left even as a full-time teacher, you know?”

“I’ll manage somehow.”

“…Some of us are just hoping to make enough to get by,” Reiko said, laughing nervously.

They called everyone to dinner and sat around the table to enjoy a magnificent spread of sushi. Quality, quantity, variety… Lucia spared not a yen. The food on the table looked more like jewels than fish and rice.

“We barely ever get to eat sushi,” Angela said, taking a piece of fatty tuna to her mouth.

“Yeah, why don’t you make it, Leo?” Valerie asked.

“Because sushi is an art,” Seina answered for him. “You can’t make something of this quality on a whim. The man we bought this from has been doing it for forty years and is training his son to keep up the tradition.”

“Pretty much that,” Leo nodded. “It’s the same as ramen. If we want good ramen there are a couple of good shops in town. I prefer making home meals or stuff we can’t get anywhere else.”

The dinner table was lively. Trivial questions were asked, jokes were thrown, and laughter filled the room. Some loosened up and started drinking. Lucia, Seina, Victoria and Angela, specifically, though they only drank beer. Valerie said she hated ****, Kaede tried it but found it too bitter, while Leo and Reiko simply abstained. But even though they stuck to beer only, before half the sushi was gone, they each had about four or five cans.

“Alright, sspill it out,” Angela spoke. The light slur and reddened cheeks gave away that she was already a little tipsy. “How many of you are disappointed Leo can no longer fuck us all night every night?”

Leo’s body went rigid. He closed his eyes and swallowed the food he had in his mouth. Then kept quiet. Reiko, Kaede and Valerie were as tense as him.

“Dumb question,” Lucia told her. “We all are, of course. Aren’t we?”

“Well, sure,” Seina admitted. “But you two have zero tact.”

“I just wanted to get it out of the way,” Angela said, shaking her head. “It just doesn’t feel right to dress up the words. It sucks that his powers are gone.”

“…Angela,” Valerie groaned beside her.

“BUT I’m glad they are,” the blonde continued. “Now if you stay with him it’ll be because you really like… nah, because you love him. No need for wishy-washy feelings here!”

“Exactly!” Lucia wiggled her finger at Angela in agreement. “I mean, we always knew nothing was set in stone, right? Just because the sex was good it didn’t guarantee we’d live a happily ever after.”

“Alright, if you put it that way, then yeah,” Seina said. “Just have to see where this goes, like everything else in life.”

“You never know until you try,” Victoria said, taking another sip of beer. “Been saying that since yesterday. Just make sure you’re committed to this, or you’re going to break my boyfriend’s heart!”

“Hey, I’m the most committed here!” Lucia said, her voice getting louder. “I almost bought a ring to propose, but then you’d all think I was trying to get ahead. And well, I love this man, but I don’t want to get into fights with the people I care about over him, either.”

“Seriously? Propose?” Seina asked, narrowing her eyes in thought. “He can’t marry us all, though.”

“What do we need that for, anyway?” Angela shrugged. “That’s just some dumb paper”

“Not like I ever saw myself wearing a wedding dress,” Victoria nodded.

“And what are you all so quiet for?” Angela asked the rest. “You’re leaving us to talk alone here.”

Now visibly more relaxed, Valerie smacked Angela on the back of the head.

“Ack!”

“Seriously, no fucking tact,” the redhead groaned. “At least you said something good in the end.”

“I got so scared.” Kaede let out the breath she’d been apparently holding. “I thought you’d start fighting!”

“Hm? Why?” Lucia asked, tilting her head.

“…And she’s usually the perceptive one,” Reiko muttered.

“God, we need to keep her from drinking too much,” Victoria said. “Someone take that beer away from her.”

Leo threw himself back, laying on the floor, looking at the ceiling, and smiling.

Nothing was set in stone. There was nothing that guaranteed their happiness. Not even divine intervention could do that. He thought he knew that, but only then did it finally flipped a switch in his mindset.

Whatever will be will be. All one can ever really do is give it a shot and play every card at their disposal. After all, the truly smart people are those who can use their talents to find happiness in life, and Leo still had cards to play. They all did.

He sat up, an easy smile adorning his face.

“You all keep talking as if I’m impotent all of a sudden. At least let me give it try first.”

“There we go!” Angela cheered.

Then they all watched as Kaede lifted her t-shirt, threw it aside and threw herself at Leo. “Dibs!”

“Ah! Cheater!” Valerie said, quickly standing up and undressing in all haste.

That was the official start to the night.

Author's note: This chapter was supposed to just start with a setup for an orgy and get to it really quickly. But as I wrote it it ended up doing what I wanted last chapter to do better than it, so I kept it.

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