Back home.

I got home at around noon and found no one inside. Mom’s car wasn’t parked outside, so my guess was that she and Isabelle went out. Cake was the only one to greet me, and she really made sure I went back to smelling like her and not other girls.

She ran to me when she heard me opening the front door, sat down while glancing up, swayed her butt in preparation and leaped into my arms without warning.

“Woah there! Sheesh, I wasn’t gone THAT long…” I told her. She rubbed her head against my cheek, purring loudly as I held her. “And they say cats are independent… Maybe I babied you too much when you were growing up.”

I mean, I did feed her directly with a syringe during her first two or three months. I guess I can’t blame her for being attached. I chuckled and carried her as I went back to my room.

With how eventful last night was, it was extremely comforting being back in my own space. My room was small and a little cramped with my desk, my computer, my bed and my guitar, but it was nice to be there. It felt safe. Can’t be the only one who feels that way about their own room.

I tried to leave Cake on the bed but she didn’t want to get down. She meowed loudly and rubbed her whole body against me, leaving my shirt full of white hair.

“Ugh… I just had this washed, Cake.”

She didn’t care.

I sat down with her on my lap. That she didn’t mind. She curled up into a call and continued purring as I scratched around her neck. Even annoying as this little ball of fur could be, I’m really glad we took her in. Watching her made me wonder if I would’ve grown up sooner if I’d had a pet earlier, if I’d have done things differently.

“You… Who will you rather stay with after I move?” I asked. “Would you stay with mom and Isabelle? They’ll really miss you if you leave, but…”

For better or worse, Cake was really attached to me. Would she be fine if I left her with mom and Isabelle? I’d miss her for sure, but how would she adapt to moving to a new place? And a house that big at that.

“I’m gonna have to take you with me, won’t I? Alice and Noelle will be there, but so will Mila, Grace and Sarah. Diana, too. You’re not as aggressive as you used to be, thankfully, but you’ll just have to get used to them all. Oh, and Diana has Red.”

A cat and a dog. If I believe old cartoons, that can’t go well. If I believe internet videos, they’ll be best friends. I’d rather not leave it up to chance if I can. Better introduce them soon, little by little.

I threw myself back on the bed, eyes looking up at the ceiling. Cake walked on top of me and laid down on my stomach.

“There’s so much to consider when moving, huh?”

It was still months away, but I was basically starting a new life. A new place to live in, not to mention new people. There’s a chance it could go wrong and all these plans and investments could go to waste. We were making important choices all around the idea of staying together. It was hard to believe it was wise, but it was what we wanted.

I was starting to feel a bit of fear. Fear of leaving this old comfortable life behind, fear that living together with the girls might actually be a mistake. So many little quirks and annoying habits that could make us a pain to be with day to day. I think that if I was doing something that annoyed any of them I’d try to fix it if I could, but what I feared even more was them getting on each other’s nerves. Like, we all knew Mila wasn’t the most organized person, and maybe the noise of Alice working on her car would bother the others. Hell, maybe my own music could be a bother, and that was something I wasn’t willing to give up on.

“I really hope this isn’t a mistake…”

Choices were already made, however, and plans were already on their way. Luke had said the architect would have plans ready for us to review soon, even.

But even before we had our house there was summer vacation. Ah, and graduation too, I suppose.

So many things passed through my mind at such a rapid pace that I almost didn’t notice myself falling asleep. All the excitement and fun of last night finally caught up to me, and before I knew it I was meeting Frey once more.

***

I was once again in the dream space, in the perfect replica of my bedroom, and yet I didn’t immediately see Frey when I opened my eyes. I looked left and right, but no sight of her until I felt her embrace me from behind.

Frey wrapped her shadowy arms around my neck and I even felt breasts on my back. She rested her chin on my shoulder and let out a heavy sigh of relief.

“Man, that was a good night… I admit those were some rough couple weeks, but this almost made it worth it. Almost. Let’s try not to do that again,” she said.

“Yeah.”

Frey stayed there for a while, hugging me without saying a word. It felt strange, but… it was comforting. After a while, she kissed the top of my head and let go of me, flying over me before floating in front of me like usual.

“I have news,” she said. “But before that, sorry to meddle with your fun last night.”

“So it WAS you, huh?”

“Obviously. It was a perfect opportunity to test some things, but it seems the girls aren’t big fans of me doing it out of nowhere.”

“Oh good, so I don’t have to tell you everything.”

“I’ll try to give you a heads up, but with us only talking when you’re asleep, communication is delayed, you know?”

“Can't we figure out another way?”

“We could, but I’ve told you before, I don’t want to get in the way of your everyday life. What we’re doing now is a bit inconvenient but it’s good enough. Besides, I spend most of my time here running experiments and simulations on runes and magic. I don’t want to get interrupted, either.”

I suppose that things were working well so far. If Frey was comfortable with the arrangements, then better not fix what isn’t broken. I don’t know how much I’d like to, say, have to talk to a voice in my head all the time.

“So? What news do you have?” I asked her.

She smiled. “I confirmed it last night. You’ve really awakened to your own power, meaning now we have two sources of energy. And just like I can manifest my power through you, I can tap into your energy and use it myself. Basically, we have two fuel canisters to fill instead of just one, and that gives us more gas to work with.”

The implications weren’t lost on me. More power meant stronger magic, and one of Frey’s ideas to fix the Normality runes was to pump more power into them. So since I understood that, I had another question.

“Okay, but… Why did you have to test things by making me orgasm earlier?”

Frey frowned. “Not earlier! On command! Don’t tell me you don’t see the value in having a skill like that?”

“Huh? Obviously lasting longer is better, right?” Then I frowned, myself, only I questioned my own answer. “Right?”

“Maybe when you have one or two shots in you at most,” Frey said, shrugging. “But when you have unlimited stamina? The girls have practically been playing Russian roulette with your orgasms. Why not give everyone what they want? Or at least have the ability to. Playing sex Russian roulette sounds like fun, too.”

…Alright, I saw her point.

“So what’s the plan now?”

“So you have your own source of power now, but… I don’t mean to brag, but if my energy capacity is like a 20 liter gas cylinder, yours is like one of those small cans in camping kits. We need to stretch your new muscles, so to speak. Or work them, rather. From now on I’ll be mainly using your own energy to fuel our magic and only use mine when needed. It’s kind of like muscle training. The more you use it, the more it grows.”

I nodded. “So I can expect to feel more tired for a while?”

“Hah. You’re really getting it now. Still, you good with that?”

“I’m no stranger to working out by now. I can take it.”

“That’s my boy. We’re still not quite where we want to be yet, but we’ll get there.”

“Yep. Slow and steady. I’m in no hurry.”

Frey smiled. “Okay, now rest for real. Sex last night gave us back all the energy we needed and you were riding the high, but it’s still no substitute for actual sleep. I’ll make sure you have a dreamless sleep.”

“Thanks.”

We didn’t say goodbye. Even if we didn’t actually see each other every day, Frey was always with me.

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