Tsukishima Rin hugged him happily. "Chikage, I'm so glad that after Nanase, Suzune, Aoi, and Sana confessed to you, you still chose me!"
Natsume Chikage froze. "They told you about their confessions?"
"Yes. We see each other all the time, after all. It came up while we were talking," Tsukishima Rin explained.
"I see..." Chikage's expression turned strange. In the scenario he had first imagined, he had thought they wouldn't tell her. Apparently, he had been too optimistic.
Still, it wasn't a big problem. It wouldn't affect his plans for tonight.
"Chikage..." Tsukishima Rin looked at him shyly.
"What is it?" Chikage asked.
Tsukishima Rin blushed. "I want... a kiss."
"Didn't we just kiss?" Chikage gave her an odd look.
"That wasn't enough!" Tsukishima Rin pouted, her voice equal parts playful and aggrieved. "You have no idea how long I've waited. Now that we're finally dating, you have to make up for all the kisses I missed."
"Is that how it works?" Chikage nearly laughed.
Tsukishima Rin turned scarlet. She stood on tiptoe and said, "Just bend down a little. I can't reach you." Chikage didn't object. He even took the initiative, drawing her into his arms and kissing her.
After they kissed for a while, Tsukishima Rin leaned against him, breathless and a little weak. Joy and relief shone in her eyes as she softly told Chikage about all the tangled feelings she had endured while waiting.
"I was always worried you wouldn't choose me in the end, especially when I saw so many girls around you.
Whenever I thought about them going out with you, laughing and playing with you, or even doing things I didn't know about, my heart would ache a little. I'd get anxious, too.
You'd already turned me down once, so I was scared