My Last Dive [Made in Abyss Fanfiction]

24| Overflowing Blessings

"Wait, you got together with Llyr?" Aedia's question hung in the air, and I knew I couldn't let it hang there forever. I gave her my answer, and she looked confused for a moment before smiling and hugging me tightly. "Congratulations, Len!"

Admittedly, when I decided to tell Aedia about what had happened, I was expecting more confusion from her. "I didn't think you'd be so happy for me right away," I said with a sheepish laugh.

"You were pretty tense yesterday, and I figured something was up, but I didn't wanna press since you've been working harder recently." Her smile became more knowing then. "Also, Melva was telling me recently about how Llyr liked you, so I was wondering if you would feel the same."

I had to stop my jaw from dropping as embarrassment and a bit of irritation burned in me. "You knew something was going on as well? Why didn't you tell me?"

Aedia became a bit more straight-faced at that. "I didn't wanna guess wrong in case Llyr didn't actually like you. Imagine if he didn't, and then you'd end up havin' incorrect information. That would've been a mess." Of course, that made sense. "But still, I'm really happy for you, Len. I was hoping you'd find somebody someday. I still want you to slow down and not be so stressed about working."

"I can't stop delving outright," I said with a small laugh. "Imagine if I did? You'd want me to start again."

Aedia was briefly pensive before nodding. "I would." I was the one able to give her a self-satisfied smile that time. "But let me know how Melva reacts, I need to know," Aedia said, and I agreed.

When it came to Melva, I didn't quite know what to expect when I told her the next day. It just made me realize how bad I was at reading people sometimes, but I was ready for a more explosive reaction. Instead, all I got was a self-satisfied smirk from her.

"Oh, I knew it, but I wasn't gonna say anythin'. I wanted ya to figure things out for yourself," she said, and I held in a sigh.

"I wish you did, but it probably was for the better I came to that conclusion myself," I said. Melva just laughed at that.

"But I didn't think ya were like me, likin' someone the same gender as ya. It definitely wasn't somethin' ya saw in my home country, at least nobody showed it. But..." She shook her head. "Forget my ramblin'. Hopefully your parents wouldn't've minded."

"I'm sure they wouldn't have minded who it was, so long as I was happy," I said. "I'm sure they thought what I loved was the Abyss, which it was."

"'Was?'" she said with emphasis, and I smiled sheepishly. I didn't need to explain.

The following couple of months were nothing short of bliss for myself and Llyr. I had no clue if I was supposed to be doing anything specific for him, but he was more than happy with my weekly visits sometimes turning into twice a week, and Aedia was more eager to invite him to dinner at our home than I was. I suppose she was just happy to see I was so happy myself. That, and she wanted more excuses to see Llyr so she could grill him about his flora research for her own notes. It meant I could be with Llyr more, so I wasn't complaining.