"Wait, what?! Really?!" She exclaimed, startling me.

That was loud...

"W-Well, you have to guess the lie first," I responded, before cringing at myself as my voice cracked.

That was so stupid!

"Huh? U-Uh, right...I mean, it has to be your hair-...unless...," She frowned, narrowing her eyes as she reached over and pushed my hair back from my forehead, staring at my roots.

"Uh...seriously?" I blurted out in bemusement.

"I-I just wanted to make sure! S-So, then...the lie is that your hair is blonde, right?"

"Yeah...that's the lie."

"Which means...the other two things you said are true? Both of them? More specifically, um...the third one?" She asked me, a cautious look of disbelief on her face.

"Yeah. I, uh...I didn't expect you to be so surprised though."

"H-Hold on, I need a second, I-I need to make sure this is really happening...ow," She frowned as she pinched her arm, before taking a breath and adding, "S-So, um, just so we're clear...when you said that you, um, l-love me, did you mean that as in, like, 'I love you as a best friend' kinda thing? O-Or...?"

"I mean, yeah, you are my best friend...but no, that isn't what I meant. I meant it more in the...romantic sense," I muttered awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head as I averted my gaze.

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, really...were you that convinced that I'd respond differently?"

"Well, I-...you know, the whole lust part of your Sinner thing, I thought that, like, you wouldn't be interested in romance. So, I...I was fully prepared to get rejected.

I figured I'd give it my best shot regardless, but I honestly thought you'd be against being in a relationship with someone...," She responded, nervously meeting my gaze.

"I-...yeah, that was my original intention. I didn't think that I wanted anything serious, I'd never fallen in love with anyone before, so I...I didn't immediately recognize the signs when I...when I fell for you."

"H-Hey, this isn't a dream, right?" She asked me, her gaze trembling.

"I sure hope not. At first, when I started to realize what my feelings towards you might be, I was afraid...I was wary of getting too emotionally attached to another person, I fully intended on keeping everyone around me at arms length.

I thought I had to, to protect myself...but the more time I spent with you, the more I forgot about all that. I'd come up with ways to justify it to myself and avoid facing my feelings head on, but eventually, it got to the point where I couldn't do that anymore.

And once I finally accepted my feelings, I felt a different fear...I didn't want to do anything that could potentially jeopardize our friendship.

If you didn't feel the same way, if you'd rejected me, we probably wouldn't have continued hanging out with each other, at least not as much as we currently do.

But it was only a matter of time before I realized that I couldn't keep ignoring my feelings...I knew I had to do something sooner rather than later, but the fear I felt led to me putting it off. And in the end, you beat me to it," I smiled sheepishly.

Aria was quiet for a moment, while I nervously waited for her response. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity but wasn't any longer than a few seconds, she broke the silence...

"Everything you just said, that's...that's exactly how I felt. I didn't understand my feelings at first, and by the time I did, I was too afraid of losing you.

But...the more time we spent together, the harder it became to ignore my feelings. So, I decided to face it head-on...I decided I'd be bolder and get closer and more clingy with you.

It was really embarrassing, and I felt like I was being kinda calculating and manipulative, but I just...I had to do something. And it all culminated to tonight, I put my all into making the best meal I possibly could, to set the stage for me to finally confess my feelings.

But I never expected you to reciprocate. I know that you, um, you know, h-hook up with a lot of women, so I assumed you'd rather keep things casual than get into a serious relationship with anyone, I figured that you would prioritize lust over love.

Also, um...the fact that you never made a move on me, I thought that meant you weren't interested in or attracted to me," She admitted, before meeting my gaze as I took hold of her hand.

"That's isn't why I never made a move. I'm very much attracted to you, I've been attracted to you from the start. But I couldn't bring myself to act on it...you're so important to me, anything that'd risk hurting you or result in you looking at me differently, it scared me.

I didn't want you to think that I was just acting on lust or something. So I held back and opted to maintain the status quo. Guess I was being cowardly, huh?" I smiled apologetically.

"N-No, I wouldn't say that. I-I still can't believe this is really happening...are you really okay with this? Being with me?" She asked me hesitantly.

"Yeah, more than okay with it...in fact, there's no one else I'd rather be with," I assured her, giving her hand a light squeeze.

"J-Just so you know, um...I'm not okay with, like, sharing you or anything like that," She muttered awkwardly.

"Huh? I mean, yeah...wasn't expecting you to, I thought that went without saying in relationships."

"I mean, some people have those open relationships and polyamory and stuff. Which is fine, I'm not one to judge, but...that's not the kind of relationship I want."

"Don't worry, I have no intention of asking for anything like that. If anyone hits me up or whatever, I'll just respectfully decline. I'll never do anything to hurt you, I promise," I smiled, as I gently placed my hand on her head, stroking her hair.

"Alright, I'll hold you to that," She responded, before a giddy smile spread out across her lips, startling me as she suddenly lunged towards me and embraced me tightly, adding as I hugged her back in bemusement, "Sorry, I...I'm just so happy right now!"

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