Dragon Harem Quest - Or: Saying You Were Gay Wasn't The Conversation-Ender You Hoped For

"Alright, let's start somewhere small," you say. "What can I do for your room here? What kinds of fabric feel comfortable? I don't know the first thing about how you soft and squishy types like your living arrangements but I won't have you putting up with discomfort."

"That's... not really what I had in mind," he says, almost a touch confused that you'd bother to inquire about his comfort.

"Yeah well it's in the spirit so... mneh."

He chuckles, a smile lingering on his lips. "You've got me there." He exhales slowly, resting his hands on his hips and letting his eyes wander while he thinks. "Let's see let's see... silk, I know that one's definitely safe, tangled in many a silk sheet in my higher-profile days. Cotton's good too, basically anything with a higher thread count so the fibres don't start chafing too much."

"Clothes?" you ask.

"Hm? Oh, ah- no I'm fine," he replies after a moment's hesitation. "If you're worried about the climate it hasn't bothered me yet, I'm meant to be walking around in basically nothing by design so my insane core temp keeps me comfortable in pretty much anything but an active snowstorm." You actually hadn't thought about the climate, never noticing it yourself, but thankfully Belial keeps talking to cover your misstep. "Besides, making up whatever outfit you feel like flaunting at the time is another pretty basic incubus trick."

He brandishes his tar-gloved hand for emphasis again.

"Sounds like a pretty nifty trick," you observe. "But... if your food is what fuels your magic, isn't that pretty wasteful?"

Belial grimaces slightly. "Pretty much, yeah. A lot of stuff that seems sexy and fun in the spur of the moment winds up turning into a profit-loss value assessment once you've got some years under your belt which uh... can kill the mood a bit. I've pretty much stopped bothering for obvious reasons." He shrugs. "And I don't really feel like fucking everyone else one by one just for the sake of recharging my batteries."

"I wasn't... expecting you to," you say haltingly, furrowing your brow. "I'm confused, do you want me to pick you up some clothes along with whatever else next time I'm in town or don't you?"

"I'm saying I don't mind either way!" Belial reassures you, patting at the air with one hand as if to calm you. "Really, I'm sanguine. I'm sure you'll have enough high-maintenance work cut out for you with Makram once you cut him in on this, you don't need to worry about me adding to that."

"Excuse you! I am Eldingar, The Azure Bolt That Splits The Sky and master of this spire, and I shall decide what I do or don't concern myself with!" you proclaim with a grumpy frown. "Naught for you but the finest silks and softest cottons for bedspreads and maybe a few throw pillows and a reading nook and- and I should actually ask, what do you want for your room, I need to know for when I bring the contractors back for another pass."

Belial makes an ambiguous noise, the corners of his mouth stretching down towards his jaw as he sucks his teeth. "That's a hard one. I've never really had my own space like this before, it's a bit overwhelming." He taps his talons against his jaw, no doubt bringing up a mental map of the room he recently left. "Probably... what kind of budget are we talking?"

"Nothing but the absolute finest for my abode!" you declare.

"Haha, alright alright Mister Showoff," he teases. "I waaaaant... a room that's just soft in general, I think. You joked about throw pillows but that's a great idea, just carpets and throw pillows festooned about the place so there's no end to places for people to lie down. And yeah the nook idea doesn't sound too bad, somewhere cosy to hole up in and hobby an afternoon away."

"Oh?" you ask. "Already have things in mind?"

"Ah, yes, I ah..." he plays with his ponytail as if needing something to do with his hands. "I've dabbled in art, on and off. Very useful to have in my line of work, like dance - picked things up from frustrated artists needing a muse, that sort of thing. And reading of course."

Clothes, art supplies, books, the mental list gets longer but you aren't worried. Material gifts? Easy-peasy, even if all seven of your boyfriends asked for three or four things you'd be able to keep it straight no problem.

"Oh and a window," he adds, practically blurting it out.

"... we're underground."

He reaches over and raps his knuckles against your forehead again, bonk bonk. "A magic window, silly. The kind I'm sure Abzu could whip up no problem. I didn't just forget we're a couple metres underground."

"I knew you knew that," you grumble, wiggling your hand to ward away his. "But you should probably specify, a window or a portal? Because the former doesn't come with any fresh air and the latter may cause a few security problems."

"Oh no, no just a window is fine," he replies. He scratches the back of his neck, averting his eyes for a moment as if deep in thought. "Just being able to look is all I want. I really like this plane. I'd just like to see more of it, is all."

"Got it. All entirely doable! Anything is possible with a dragon of my refinement and resources on your side." You turn side-on and 'idly' inspect your talons, subtly flexing as you do. You glance out of the corner of your eye to check if Belial is suitably impressed. He's not swooning to quite the degree you would have liked, but he is smiling which is more than enough because honestly the way Belial smiles makes you feel funny deep in your stomach and your knees go all week and a-ahem

"Hey, Eldingar?" he asks.

"Mm?" You lean over slightly to listen.

Belial leans in and kisses you. It's similar to your first but not quite - you realise what he's doing a few instants before contact and you let it happen, your body instinctively relaxing at the prospect of feeling the warmth of his soft black lips against yours again. You let out a soft "(mmf)" into the kiss, eyelids fluttering as he cradles your angular jaw in one hand. There's a rather louder scccrape of talons on stone as you find yourself popping one foot up behind you, but thankfully Belial manages to ignore it. He lets it go on a few blissful moments more before gently breaking it, letting his claws linger beneath your chin as holds you gaze almost nose-to-nose.

"You can be a real sweetheart, you know," he says with a smile.

"I-I will hear no such slander!" you protest.

"You're a sweeetheeeeart~" he singsongs.

"mnnooooohhh" you eloquently argue.

"Alright alright, you're a viciously covetous bastard with a heart of stone that loves only gold~" he croons.

"That's better."

He snickers, finally releasing you and rocking his weight back onto his clawed heels. "I'll let you go now, if that's okay. I think we said a lot of stuff that was important to say and... thank you, too. I'm really glad we talked."

"I'm... glad we spoke als- wait one more thing," you say suddenly, cutting yourself off. "Just one more very last thing about the ah, the polyamory. As I'm expecting two more people to arrive in the next few days, do you think it would be best to get everyone up to speed on the idea first and then bring Lyrros and Datu into it as they come, or just wait and do it all at once?"

Belial scritches his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. I think... in general wait until everyone's here and lay it all out to the whole group, but if it naturally comes up in conversation one-on-one you shouldn't talk around it. Just tell whoever it is, explain everything we've discussed. Sound good?"

"Exquisite!" you agree, flashing a double thumbs-up. Then you realise what you've done and tuck your damn thumb-talons away immediately, hands snapping to your sides. Your eyes dart left and right as you realise in a panic you ruined your first chance to naturally exit the conversation. "I will ah... see you around then?"

"See you around," Belial replies casually, letting you off the hook for your weird trip and stumble. You head through the door and into the hall again, pausing halfway through shutting the door again to leave it open for Belial to pass. He smiles at you over his shoulder and strolls down the corridor back to his room, slender arrowhead-tipped tail coquettishly swishing back and forth over a rear that is, to be frank, completely on display. You have to clear your throat and look at the ceiling just to keep from staring - honestly every time his heels strike the ground the shock runs all the way up his legs to make his ass pop up, right-left right-left in a hypnotic rhythm, and you know that's no accident.

When you finally lower your gaze you notice Belial paused at the end of the hall, one foot through his door and one hand resting on the frame. He's smiling, not at you but to himself. And then he's gone, disappearing into the room and shutting the door behind him.

You're smiling a little too. It's shameful and you're exceedingly glad nobody's around to witness your shame.

In any case, you should still have plenty of time. Whom else should you grace with your presence and company?

[ ] Jun-ho. He might be a bit more up for company now that you've let him sleep in.
[ ] Makram. Technically the very first, and you've finally replaced what he made you lose - maybe it's the right time to reconcile? Even if he is an irredeemable bastard.
[ ] Issachar. He said he has a farm in the countryside not far from here so he probably won't be in his room - but then again he'll probably just materialise out of thin air behind you once you decide to look for him.
[ ] Abzu. Probably the most overtly interested in a relationship with you besides Belial, they might be just the kind of low-risk practice you need. But then again who knows what goes through that weird wizard's head.
[ ] Group bonding (cooking class). Now that you've resolved to make this polyamorous, this idea has even more utility beyond just getting to see Makram try to put his money where his mouth is about the feastmaking thing.