~Aether's POV~

Curtains close.

Everyone breaks out in a well-deserved applause.

I haven't seen something this beautiful in years if not in my whole life.

The way Lyney and Lynette performed, so calm, confident, and yet so passionate, couldn't not captivate everyone in this hall.

No one could tear their eyes from the magicians, and still no one was able to figure out how on earth they pulled these tricks.

How can you possibly make things so big appear or disappear? Turn flowers into fog? Or a human into flower petals?

It all seemed impossible, but the siblings not only performed it, they mastered it.

After about ten minutes, the applause calms down, and everyone slowly stands up and gets ready to leave.

Suddenly, I feel a small tap on my shoulder.

Looking back, I see Lyney with a big smile.

"Soooo... what do you think?"

"It's..."

I think about how to describe it.

"...amazing, a masterpiece, the best thing I've ever seen. I really don't think I could describe it in words, but it was great! Both you and Lynette did a great job!"

"Hehe... thank you!"

He's so cute when he smiles.

"Oh, I haven't introduced you to my family yet! But I do think that you already know my little brother, Freminet, with Pers. These are my mothers: Arlecchino, my biological mother..."

He points at the tall woman in a suit, who nods.

She gives off a pretty scary vibe...

"...she may look scary, but she's pretty nice, especially to children. This is my adopted mother, Furina, and I love her as much as Arlecchino."

He points at a smaller woman who smiles at me brightly.

"Family, this is Aether, a good friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you all!" I smile.

"Nice to meet you too!" Furina exclaims, while Arlecchino just shakes my hand.

Lynette joins in too now, and while their parents praise their show, my mind can't help to wander off, recapping the show and how wonderful Lyney looked.

I wonder what he felt during the performance.

"Hey, Lyney, weren't you nervous, performing in front of so many people?"

"Oh, yes, I was, but only at the beginning!"

He smiled at me.

The thing about him is that I can't figure out if he's telling the truth.

That's a magician for you, I guess.

Still, I act like I would trust him completely on this one. "That's great then!"

Lyney's parents say bye and head to their home with Freminet, and Lyney, Lynette, and me start to walk to our dorms.

We chat about random things until the dormitory-topic comes on.

"With who do you guys hope to get into a room for the next quarter? The swap is already in two days." I ask.

"Hm... I think my friends would be nice, but I'm always open to meeting new people!"

As expected from Lyney.

"Lumine, of course." Damn, they're so sweet as a couple.

"You?" She adds.

Lyney. But I don't think I can say that.

"Well, I do have someone, but I wouldn't want to tell... I think my friends too, or just a nice person in general..."

Huh, what was that expression on Lyney's face? I wasn't able to recognise it, but now he's smiling again...

"It's alright, you don't need to tell us!" He says.

I feel like something is wrong... but maybe it's just my imagination.

Soon enough, we are in the elevator to get on our floors. Lynette leaves with a "Bye" on the second, Lyney and me leave on the fourth.

I stop in front of my door and want to say goodbye, but Lyney stops me.

"Wait, I have another magic trick for you!"

Huh, for me? What could it be?

He pulls his wand, swings it a bit, and suddenly, there's a bouquet of very pretty flowers in my hands.

I'm still surprised when he says, "Good night, sleep well!" And disappears into his room.

"Good night..." I mutter.

Looking at the flowers, I notice that they have a very unique colour... their head is pastel pink, some petals have yellow, some blue edges. Very beautiful indeed.

Still lost in thought, I open the door.

The second I enter the room, I get jumped by both Heizou and Venti.

"How was it?" They ask in chorus.

And then, "JINXED!", pointing at each other.

Venti pulls a face. "That manhwa gave me ptsd..."

Heizou does the same. "Yeah... I feel you, bestie."

I take out a glass, pour water in it, and place the flowers on the table.

"WHO?"

Goodness, they are pretty loud for an evening.

"Calm down, guys, Lyney summoned them for me."

They exchange looks as if there was more to it.

"Aether, do you know what these flowers are?" Heizou asks me.

"Uhh... no? Sould I?"

"These are Rainbow Roses." Venti explains.

Roses? They look more like Lilies than like Roses...

"Do you know what they mean?"

"No... should I?"

Instead of answering my question, Venti asks, "Hey Paimon, what are Rainbow Roses?"

Their phone answers:
"A delicate and tender pink flower. Despite the name, Rainbow Roses are essentially more akin to Lilies.
It is said to represent passion and romantic encounters.
According to ancient recor-"

"Okay, that's enough." Heizou cuts it off.

Umm... huh?

I feel heat creeping up my neck.

No... surely Lyney doesn't know the language of flowers, right?

"Surely he doesn't know it..." I mutter.

"Oh, I'm sure he does! These flowers are so rare that you have to actively search for them." Heizou explains.

Well... shit.

My brain has too much new information.

"I'm... going to sleep."

Yeah, that's a good plan. Just sleep over it.

I quickly change and flop on my bed, immediately falling asleep.

~~~~~~~~♡
Meanwhile, at Lyney's

~Lyney's POV~

Because my roommate Gaming already went to sleep, I get ready and do the same.

With one exception: I couldn't sleep.

What did I think about, giving Aether Rainbow Roses!

I don't even know what he was thinking, I ran away too early for that.

If he doesn't know what it means, then the others may know!

And he even said that he had someone!

Stupid, I'm so stupid!

If he knows, how can I face him tomorrow?

Questions and doubts flood my mind, but some time later, maybe minutes, maybe hours, my mind gets tired and I drift to sleep.

~~~~~~~~♡