Chapter Forty-Six: Okay So Maybe There's A Few Dangerous Wobbles But On The Whole Things Seem On Track Right?
ZerbanDaGreat
Daemon Noble of D E M O G R A P H I C S
- Pronouns
- They/them
"I wish I had the map back."
Waves break against the rocks far below, white foam and white noise washing over time-worn spars. It's still not raining yet, barely enough water falling to collect across your scales in little beads of moisture, only a few heavy enough to begin sluggishly rolling down through the cracks and crevices between. The world's quiet here, or quiet enough. Quiet enough that you begin to wonder how Makram teleported away without you even noticing the heat-wave that usually comes with it. You glance back over your shoulder.
Makram's still right there.
You whip your head back around almost guiltily and stare at the sea. The silence stretches on a moment longer.
"W-well?" you ask. "What are you waiting for? Do you want it in writing?"
"Why do you want the map back?" he asks.
"Does it really matter? Is there something wrong with the wish, is that why you haven't left yet?"
"I can delay the granting of a wish as long as I have to in order to seek clarification," he explains. "Surely you've heard stories of poorly-worded wishes going wrong, yes? 'I want to be the most attractive man in town' so every other man in town is killed in the night, that sort of thing?"
"... is that really necessary? I mean you were there when-"
"Look am I the djinn here or not?" he snaps. "Just tell me."
Lightning flashes far in the distance, just close enough for the thunder to roll through a few seconds later. The whole tower seems to rumble and thrum beneath you, shaking more beads of moisture free from their stasis and sending them trickling down your bright blue body. You tighten your grip on your knees a fraction.
"I want the map back because... it made things easy," you say. "You were right there with me when Abzu told us what it does. It points me to what I want. What I need. Right there in big glowing markers. It was exciting and yes there was a novelty factor to seeing who each new one would turn out to be and I told myself losing it to Takara really didn't matter since I already had so much but I-"
You pause, closing your throat to prevent your voice from wavering treacherously.
"I miss knowing what to do. Always having that to fall back on, y'know? It always had another goal and n-now I've got this polyamory thing I told you about and Belial made it sound so nice and it's probably the only way this can end without hurting someone's feelings but now that I finally have to tell everyone about it and make it real I don't- don't know if I can make it work without falling apart and- and there's Nana Illvithri's fucking birthday to worry about that was the other half of starting this whole mess and I need-"
Your head bows. You stare at the wet iron between your feet, at the subtle rivulets of water flowing down over the edge.
"I need help," you say in a small voice.
Silence. Deep, oppressive, heavy silence. Thunder booms in the distance once more as the first few drops of real rain begin to fall, tiny pinprick splashes on the roof either side of you. You glance up at the clouds, or as close as you can - it feels like someone snapped a woven lead collar around your neck, holding your head down. You wish Makram would just teleport away and do the damn wish already. This silence is killing you.
Bare feet on wet iron. One step, two, three. Makram sits on the edge of the roof beside you, legs tattooed in molten gold dangling freely over the circular balcony below. Raindrops vanish as they strike his bare shoulders, turning to tiny puffs of steam from the inhuman heat of his body. His waistwrap doesn't quite seem to be faring so well, holding the water just enough to remain uncomfortably damp.
"I fail to see why you should be concerned," he says, looking out at the miserably rainy, grey ocean. "Your handling of things has been adequate at minimum thus far. Even in the face of... unexpected complications, things which might have actually caused this to 'fall apart'."
He glances at you out of the corner of his eye, as if to check if you're even listening. He turns his gaze back seaward, apparently satisfied. "You've been candid," he goes on. "Courteous, after a fashion. Even courageous. I never expected you to be so brave as to even consider this web of relationships yet here we stand, on the cusp of making it a reality."
You shoot him a suspicious look. "I dunno if you mean that or if I just can't tell when you're mocking me any more," you say.
"I would hardly be voluntarily giving myself a wet ass if I were not sincere, would I?" he says irritably, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as the rain slowly intensifies. "Things have changed a great deal since you opened my lamp. I would advise you to let them change further. It's suited you well thus far."
The corners of your mouth quirk up, just a little, despite yourself. That slight smile crumbles away again as you think on your wish, the scuffle with Takara to try and prevent the theft and the second scuffle no doubt to follow. Makram failed the first time but surely with a wish backing it this time...?
"I don't blame you," you say. "Any of you. For Takara taking the map I mean. They're obviously powerful and full of surprises, and they took you all off-guard. I know you did everything you could."
Makram grimaces. "You are correct that they caught me off-guard," he replies. "Not a mistake that I will be repeating. That field fox has gone gallivanting around looking for lovers with your property for long enough."
"Then you'll do it?"
"Consider your wish granted." Makram hoists himself back up onto the roof, straightening up and taking a few steps back. The rain rises from his bare skin in yet more visible puffs of steam, clinging to the slicked-back gold-brown spikes of his hair - he looks like he'd rather be absolutely anywhere else. "I will stop in the spire to inform the others that unexpected obligations have kept you and depart - take as long to return as you like."
A strange feeling seizes your heart, like a half-ghostly hand thrust through your chest. A sudden stab of anxiety knowing that Makram is about to vanish and you don't know when exactly he'll be back. You struggle to find something to say and find only one.
"(Thank you,)" you murmur, half-embarrassed.
Makram pauses, middle finger and thumb pressed tightly together as if frozen a split second before the snap. He says nothing, scarcely breathes, doesn't turn to look at you. The light in his markings flickers.
And then he's gone. The crisp snap echoes through the air and he vanishes in a column of golden flame and a burst of heat that dries the lighthouse roof, and you besides. You look at the spot where he stood only a moment ago and smile slightly, scrubbing at one prickling eye with a scaly knuckle as you stand.
Makram gave you more time and you use it. You stay out to enjoy the rain and wind up diving into the sea for a snack, emerging on the shore a little ways south down the coast dragging what was formerly a very surprised shark by the tail. You sit alone in the stormsoaked sands and slowly strip the shark down one bite at a time, rubbery cartilage and all. They don't have the same satisfying snack-y crunch of bone, but the chewy texture has its own appeal. You take your time working your way through your fresh-caught breakfast, take longer still sitting on the beach waiting for the storm to tire itself out. You lean back on your hands, tip your head skywards and sit there, eyes closed, feeling the dull impacts of heavier droplets through your scales.
You feel... okay.
At last the great tap in the sky is tightened a few turns again, the oppressive blanket of dark grey cloud lightening and thinning. No blue, no sun, but that's just fine by you. You crick your neck and stand, brushing off the wet sand as best you can before you take off, riding the chill sea breeze skyward to the spire.
You return to find Datu working out in the middle of the cavern.
"Uh???" you say.
More specifically someone appears to have looted a high-class gymnasium, scattering the weights and other equipment haphazardly about the available space, and Datu is availing himself of the opportunity to show off for Jun-ho, the black blob familiar perched on Jun-ho's shoulder, Lyrros and Belial. It's some sort of... ladder-shaped contraption which Datu, armed with a wide steel bar, is ascending and descending through breathtaking gymnastic contortions that seem to be working every single muscle in his body from the waist up. His audience is too captive to even notice you shifting down to land, and in all honesty once you focus on the way his muscles ripple and flex between the rough, tattooed hide you see where they're coming from. It doesn't hurt that he's still wearing nothing but that scandalous swimsuit.
"-and... there!" Datu alights with a satisfied puff, setting one end of the bar down like a staff. "It probably looks pretty insane but I promise it's not as hard as it looks. How about- hey, Bel, wanna give it a go?"
"O-oh, no that's fine," Belial says, startled out of his trance. "I'd rather not embarrass myself in front of everyone first thing, hah."
"Nah nah, nothing embarrassing about learning!" Datu slots the bar home on one of the middle sets of rungs and gestures at Belial. "Look at the size of you! You can do chin-ups easy, and that's all you really need."
"I'm sure you understand why I'm a little skeptical," Belial replies, half jovial and half self-effacing all mixed in with an undercurrent of 'please drop this i beg of you' energies that you're so familiar with.
"I don't!" Jun-ho interjects. Belial glances at him, uncertain how to take that for a moment before settling on a slight smile.
The distraction is enough for him to finally notice your arrival over Datu's very muscular shoulder, raising a hand to wave as the aquean starts explaining the exercise's demand of technique and muscular coordination over sheer lifting strength. Datu and Jun-ho turn in kind to greet you. Lyrros stares at Datu's ass instead. You don't blame him.
"Eldingar, good to see you!" Datu says enthusiastically. He glances around. "Uh, sorry about the mess. I was talking to the ifrit about our mutual shirtlessness and when I mentioned it actually wasn't a bad idea to get a gym in here for everyone he teleported all this crap in to prove a point."
"Yes Makram is pretty much like that," you reply. "Apologies for my lateness, I was waylaid during a morning outing. I hope your trip was smooth? And I... heard something about you climbing up here?"
He shrugs. "It was quicker. And hey no worries! I got to hang out with these guys a while, get to chatting."
"Well... good! Good, good." You trail off awkwardly as you rack your brain for a way to segue into 'so have you all heard the good news about polyamory?'. You nervously scratch beneath your chin, mind whirling until you decide to leap ahead and rip the bandage off before you have time to work yourself into a fit too badly. "Jun-ho could you please contact Abzu via the familiar? I'm calling a meeting of sorts and they should be present."
"I'll just uh, get all this crap out the way in the meantime," Datu says. "Put it with the rest of my stuff."
"Much obliged," you reply. "Now I'm not sure how to get in contact with Issachar beyond checking his house, albeit I haven't been there yet so that may-"
"Good day, are we having a meeting?" Issachar asks from right behind you. You give a little start and whirl around to face him, eyes narrowed. He wasn't in the room with you. He wasn't even walking up to the front door while you flew in. You swear he's just rubbing it in at this point, and the ambiguous smile of amusement he returns your look removes all doubt.
"... excellent timing," you say, refusing to give him the satisfaction.
"I strive to be punctual," he replies.
A few minutes pass, everyone introducing themselves to everyone else and you explaining Makram's absence with a simple 'he's away doing something' as you wait for Abzu to finish up at the tower. Soon enough they stride through a portal, [Hello, nice to meet you all!] sign ready in hand - then catch sight of Datu and immediately begin fanning themselves with it. Datu chuckles good-naturedly while Lyrros shoots them a decidedly unwholesome look over the half-curled fist covering his smirking mouth. The situation appears seconds from becoming extremely lewd and you clear your throat to put a stop to it immediately.
"I, ah, don't want this to come across as overly formal but I felt it best to get you all in one room and make this as clear as possible," you say. "Some of you are aware I went seeking you out in search of boyfriends - and other. Some of you are already aware of my intentions. Some of you weren't 'sought out' necessarily but, well - Jun-ho, Belial, Issachar, I'd like to make sure you know that I'm just as glad to see you here as everyone else."
They smile, warmly and sincerely, and the little flutter in your chest in response emboldens you for the next part. You clasp your claws together to keep them from fiddling nervously.
"I'd like this to be polyamorous," you say, only a hairline fracture of hesitation before the final word. "For my home to be your home, and for none of us to have any greater- er, claim? No-" you furrow your brow and forge on ahead as quick as possible "-what I mean to say is that I'm not the centre of this universe. I wholeheartedly encourage each and every one of you to socialise and form your own relationships with each other independent of how you feel about me. I feel... feel something for each of you, equally, and based on some very insightful advice I'm convinced that this is the only way forward. Or at least, the way with the best chance to make all of you happy."
There's a pregnant pause. You panic almost instantly and fill the silence before anyone has a chance to talk.
"S-so you don't have to agree with me necessarily," you say, scratching behind your ear. "If this isn't what you want, or you need time to think, please feel free. I'm sure there'll have to be an adjustment period as we all ah, settle into things and get comfortable, so there's no rush at all. And, well... yeah."
Your big speech ends with all the grandeur of the sad squeak of air leaving a balloon. You suppose you should count your blessings - you already know Abzu and Belial are fine with it, and the Makram problem you both disarmed and sent away before the pivotal moment. Now it's just down to Jun-ho, Issachar, Lyrros and Datu. Jun-ho slowly raises his hand as you watch, and you turn your full attention to him.
"Sorry I um, I'd just like some clarification?" he asks. "I don't know if I really understand what you mean." Not upset, thank any and all gods. Not upset yet. Just confused and maybe a little worried.
"It means, well..." You glance at everyone else in turn, as if reminding yourself they're even there. "It means that it's not just me that's your boyfriend. Everyone here is your boyfriend -and Abzu- and you're all their boyfriend too. I suppose... I suppose what it means more is that while one person can't always be there for you, there'll always be someone there for you? If that makes sense?"
Jun-ho smiles. "Yeah, I think it does."
"And the rest of you?" you ask, part of you hoping impossibly that they have absolutely nothing to add and everything is fine right from the word 'go'.
"Sounds like a fun time!" Datu says, clapping his webbed claws together. "You all seem cool but I should mention I can't be here all the time. I live on the other side of the world and I have a job, and all. I'm cool to hang here for a while but that's something I'm gonna have to deal with sooner or later."
"Noted, thank you, we can talk about that later."
"My dear, if you knew me better you'd know full well by now that the prospect of having more lovers to fawn over me and praise my every breath is hardly one I'm opposed to~" Lyrros says languidly. You notice he's still refusing to cover his chest. "But there is certainly more adjusting to be done."
"Good to hear." Your gaze alights on Issachar, that ostensibly-human man of mystery that's striven all this time to be as much of a cipher as possible. "And Issachar? Do you have anything to add?"
His expression is curious. At first glance he seems as unaffected and in-control as ever, but closer inspection betrays a flicker of concern across his eyes, a crease in his brow.
"I... should admit that I'm a little surprised," he says at last. "There's been some miscommunication - for which I'll readily accept fault. You've lumped me in as one of your boyfriends, and admittedly in hindsight you treated me like them too, but romance hadn't yet crossed my mind. I've been here with you for my own reasons and my, ah, unique situation would require some more in-depth explanation before I committed to anything. Especially anything like this."
"Oh."
And it's strange. All this time you've been fuming internally about Issachar and his constant obfuscation, wishing he'd just pack it in and tell you everything, but you really didn't indicate very clearly that you felt that way about him did you? Fuck did you even get around to telling him he'd started showing up on the map? You must've just assumed he knew that the way he seemed to know everything else. You take a deep breath and look back at him with a furrowed brow.
"I'm sorry," you say. "You showed up on the map back when I had it I just... never mentioned it. I think I assumed you already knew somehow. But either way I guess I just had so much on my mind it slipped through. You um, you're allowed to say 'no' if you want. That doesn't mean I just turn around and kick you out. I still enjoyed having you around and I'm willing to bet everyone else has too."
"Yeah!" Jun-ho adds enthusiastically. "I mean you live pretty close by, right? You don't even have to bunk here if that'd feel weird. You can still visit or we can go visit you."
"Is this 'unique situation' something you feel comfortable talking about, or what?" Belial asks, gently yet frankly. "Trust me, I've come across a few so you probably won't be surprising me."
"I appreciate that," Issachar replies, "but I hope you in turn appreciate it's not so simple as blurting it out the minute I'm questioned."
"Mm," Belial agrees immediately. Datu and Lyrros seem to be staying out of this for now, the former appreciating that he doesn't know a damn thing about him and the latter presumably not very good at this part. Jun-ho's doing his best to shoot supportive looks his way and Abzu's holding up an [It doesn't have to be right now!] sign. You should probably weigh in on this too. It's... honestly strange to see Issachar like this. You wouldn't go so far as to call him vulnerable but there's definitely something here, something with some history.
[ ] Try to be supportive. Repeat what Belial told you about how communication is important, and reassure him that given the diverse pack of extremely weird people around him his 'unique situation' can't be all that shocking.
[ ] Give him an out. Offer to hear what his 'unique situation' is tonight, in private, where you can discuss this properly and make up for the prior miscommunication. Show Datu and Lyrros around their new home in the meantime.
Waves break against the rocks far below, white foam and white noise washing over time-worn spars. It's still not raining yet, barely enough water falling to collect across your scales in little beads of moisture, only a few heavy enough to begin sluggishly rolling down through the cracks and crevices between. The world's quiet here, or quiet enough. Quiet enough that you begin to wonder how Makram teleported away without you even noticing the heat-wave that usually comes with it. You glance back over your shoulder.
Makram's still right there.
You whip your head back around almost guiltily and stare at the sea. The silence stretches on a moment longer.
"W-well?" you ask. "What are you waiting for? Do you want it in writing?"
"Why do you want the map back?" he asks.
"Does it really matter? Is there something wrong with the wish, is that why you haven't left yet?"
"I can delay the granting of a wish as long as I have to in order to seek clarification," he explains. "Surely you've heard stories of poorly-worded wishes going wrong, yes? 'I want to be the most attractive man in town' so every other man in town is killed in the night, that sort of thing?"
"... is that really necessary? I mean you were there when-"
"Look am I the djinn here or not?" he snaps. "Just tell me."
Lightning flashes far in the distance, just close enough for the thunder to roll through a few seconds later. The whole tower seems to rumble and thrum beneath you, shaking more beads of moisture free from their stasis and sending them trickling down your bright blue body. You tighten your grip on your knees a fraction.
"I want the map back because... it made things easy," you say. "You were right there with me when Abzu told us what it does. It points me to what I want. What I need. Right there in big glowing markers. It was exciting and yes there was a novelty factor to seeing who each new one would turn out to be and I told myself losing it to Takara really didn't matter since I already had so much but I-"
You pause, closing your throat to prevent your voice from wavering treacherously.
"I miss knowing what to do. Always having that to fall back on, y'know? It always had another goal and n-now I've got this polyamory thing I told you about and Belial made it sound so nice and it's probably the only way this can end without hurting someone's feelings but now that I finally have to tell everyone about it and make it real I don't- don't know if I can make it work without falling apart and- and there's Nana Illvithri's fucking birthday to worry about that was the other half of starting this whole mess and I need-"
Your head bows. You stare at the wet iron between your feet, at the subtle rivulets of water flowing down over the edge.
"I need help," you say in a small voice.
Silence. Deep, oppressive, heavy silence. Thunder booms in the distance once more as the first few drops of real rain begin to fall, tiny pinprick splashes on the roof either side of you. You glance up at the clouds, or as close as you can - it feels like someone snapped a woven lead collar around your neck, holding your head down. You wish Makram would just teleport away and do the damn wish already. This silence is killing you.
Bare feet on wet iron. One step, two, three. Makram sits on the edge of the roof beside you, legs tattooed in molten gold dangling freely over the circular balcony below. Raindrops vanish as they strike his bare shoulders, turning to tiny puffs of steam from the inhuman heat of his body. His waistwrap doesn't quite seem to be faring so well, holding the water just enough to remain uncomfortably damp.
"I fail to see why you should be concerned," he says, looking out at the miserably rainy, grey ocean. "Your handling of things has been adequate at minimum thus far. Even in the face of... unexpected complications, things which might have actually caused this to 'fall apart'."
He glances at you out of the corner of his eye, as if to check if you're even listening. He turns his gaze back seaward, apparently satisfied. "You've been candid," he goes on. "Courteous, after a fashion. Even courageous. I never expected you to be so brave as to even consider this web of relationships yet here we stand, on the cusp of making it a reality."
You shoot him a suspicious look. "I dunno if you mean that or if I just can't tell when you're mocking me any more," you say.
"I would hardly be voluntarily giving myself a wet ass if I were not sincere, would I?" he says irritably, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as the rain slowly intensifies. "Things have changed a great deal since you opened my lamp. I would advise you to let them change further. It's suited you well thus far."
The corners of your mouth quirk up, just a little, despite yourself. That slight smile crumbles away again as you think on your wish, the scuffle with Takara to try and prevent the theft and the second scuffle no doubt to follow. Makram failed the first time but surely with a wish backing it this time...?
"I don't blame you," you say. "Any of you. For Takara taking the map I mean. They're obviously powerful and full of surprises, and they took you all off-guard. I know you did everything you could."
Makram grimaces. "You are correct that they caught me off-guard," he replies. "Not a mistake that I will be repeating. That field fox has gone gallivanting around looking for lovers with your property for long enough."
"Then you'll do it?"
"Consider your wish granted." Makram hoists himself back up onto the roof, straightening up and taking a few steps back. The rain rises from his bare skin in yet more visible puffs of steam, clinging to the slicked-back gold-brown spikes of his hair - he looks like he'd rather be absolutely anywhere else. "I will stop in the spire to inform the others that unexpected obligations have kept you and depart - take as long to return as you like."
A strange feeling seizes your heart, like a half-ghostly hand thrust through your chest. A sudden stab of anxiety knowing that Makram is about to vanish and you don't know when exactly he'll be back. You struggle to find something to say and find only one.
"(Thank you,)" you murmur, half-embarrassed.
Makram pauses, middle finger and thumb pressed tightly together as if frozen a split second before the snap. He says nothing, scarcely breathes, doesn't turn to look at you. The light in his markings flickers.
And then he's gone. The crisp snap echoes through the air and he vanishes in a column of golden flame and a burst of heat that dries the lighthouse roof, and you besides. You look at the spot where he stood only a moment ago and smile slightly, scrubbing at one prickling eye with a scaly knuckle as you stand.
Makram gave you more time and you use it. You stay out to enjoy the rain and wind up diving into the sea for a snack, emerging on the shore a little ways south down the coast dragging what was formerly a very surprised shark by the tail. You sit alone in the stormsoaked sands and slowly strip the shark down one bite at a time, rubbery cartilage and all. They don't have the same satisfying snack-y crunch of bone, but the chewy texture has its own appeal. You take your time working your way through your fresh-caught breakfast, take longer still sitting on the beach waiting for the storm to tire itself out. You lean back on your hands, tip your head skywards and sit there, eyes closed, feeling the dull impacts of heavier droplets through your scales.
You feel... okay.
At last the great tap in the sky is tightened a few turns again, the oppressive blanket of dark grey cloud lightening and thinning. No blue, no sun, but that's just fine by you. You crick your neck and stand, brushing off the wet sand as best you can before you take off, riding the chill sea breeze skyward to the spire.
You return to find Datu working out in the middle of the cavern.
"Uh???" you say.
More specifically someone appears to have looted a high-class gymnasium, scattering the weights and other equipment haphazardly about the available space, and Datu is availing himself of the opportunity to show off for Jun-ho, the black blob familiar perched on Jun-ho's shoulder, Lyrros and Belial. It's some sort of... ladder-shaped contraption which Datu, armed with a wide steel bar, is ascending and descending through breathtaking gymnastic contortions that seem to be working every single muscle in his body from the waist up. His audience is too captive to even notice you shifting down to land, and in all honesty once you focus on the way his muscles ripple and flex between the rough, tattooed hide you see where they're coming from. It doesn't hurt that he's still wearing nothing but that scandalous swimsuit.
"-and... there!" Datu alights with a satisfied puff, setting one end of the bar down like a staff. "It probably looks pretty insane but I promise it's not as hard as it looks. How about- hey, Bel, wanna give it a go?"
"O-oh, no that's fine," Belial says, startled out of his trance. "I'd rather not embarrass myself in front of everyone first thing, hah."
"Nah nah, nothing embarrassing about learning!" Datu slots the bar home on one of the middle sets of rungs and gestures at Belial. "Look at the size of you! You can do chin-ups easy, and that's all you really need."
"I'm sure you understand why I'm a little skeptical," Belial replies, half jovial and half self-effacing all mixed in with an undercurrent of 'please drop this i beg of you' energies that you're so familiar with.
"I don't!" Jun-ho interjects. Belial glances at him, uncertain how to take that for a moment before settling on a slight smile.
The distraction is enough for him to finally notice your arrival over Datu's very muscular shoulder, raising a hand to wave as the aquean starts explaining the exercise's demand of technique and muscular coordination over sheer lifting strength. Datu and Jun-ho turn in kind to greet you. Lyrros stares at Datu's ass instead. You don't blame him.
"Eldingar, good to see you!" Datu says enthusiastically. He glances around. "Uh, sorry about the mess. I was talking to the ifrit about our mutual shirtlessness and when I mentioned it actually wasn't a bad idea to get a gym in here for everyone he teleported all this crap in to prove a point."
"Yes Makram is pretty much like that," you reply. "Apologies for my lateness, I was waylaid during a morning outing. I hope your trip was smooth? And I... heard something about you climbing up here?"
He shrugs. "It was quicker. And hey no worries! I got to hang out with these guys a while, get to chatting."
"Well... good! Good, good." You trail off awkwardly as you rack your brain for a way to segue into 'so have you all heard the good news about polyamory?'. You nervously scratch beneath your chin, mind whirling until you decide to leap ahead and rip the bandage off before you have time to work yourself into a fit too badly. "Jun-ho could you please contact Abzu via the familiar? I'm calling a meeting of sorts and they should be present."
"I'll just uh, get all this crap out the way in the meantime," Datu says. "Put it with the rest of my stuff."
"Much obliged," you reply. "Now I'm not sure how to get in contact with Issachar beyond checking his house, albeit I haven't been there yet so that may-"
"Good day, are we having a meeting?" Issachar asks from right behind you. You give a little start and whirl around to face him, eyes narrowed. He wasn't in the room with you. He wasn't even walking up to the front door while you flew in. You swear he's just rubbing it in at this point, and the ambiguous smile of amusement he returns your look removes all doubt.
"... excellent timing," you say, refusing to give him the satisfaction.
"I strive to be punctual," he replies.
A few minutes pass, everyone introducing themselves to everyone else and you explaining Makram's absence with a simple 'he's away doing something' as you wait for Abzu to finish up at the tower. Soon enough they stride through a portal, [Hello, nice to meet you all!] sign ready in hand - then catch sight of Datu and immediately begin fanning themselves with it. Datu chuckles good-naturedly while Lyrros shoots them a decidedly unwholesome look over the half-curled fist covering his smirking mouth. The situation appears seconds from becoming extremely lewd and you clear your throat to put a stop to it immediately.
"I, ah, don't want this to come across as overly formal but I felt it best to get you all in one room and make this as clear as possible," you say. "Some of you are aware I went seeking you out in search of boyfriends - and other. Some of you are already aware of my intentions. Some of you weren't 'sought out' necessarily but, well - Jun-ho, Belial, Issachar, I'd like to make sure you know that I'm just as glad to see you here as everyone else."
They smile, warmly and sincerely, and the little flutter in your chest in response emboldens you for the next part. You clasp your claws together to keep them from fiddling nervously.
"I'd like this to be polyamorous," you say, only a hairline fracture of hesitation before the final word. "For my home to be your home, and for none of us to have any greater- er, claim? No-" you furrow your brow and forge on ahead as quick as possible "-what I mean to say is that I'm not the centre of this universe. I wholeheartedly encourage each and every one of you to socialise and form your own relationships with each other independent of how you feel about me. I feel... feel something for each of you, equally, and based on some very insightful advice I'm convinced that this is the only way forward. Or at least, the way with the best chance to make all of you happy."
There's a pregnant pause. You panic almost instantly and fill the silence before anyone has a chance to talk.
"S-so you don't have to agree with me necessarily," you say, scratching behind your ear. "If this isn't what you want, or you need time to think, please feel free. I'm sure there'll have to be an adjustment period as we all ah, settle into things and get comfortable, so there's no rush at all. And, well... yeah."
Your big speech ends with all the grandeur of the sad squeak of air leaving a balloon. You suppose you should count your blessings - you already know Abzu and Belial are fine with it, and the Makram problem you both disarmed and sent away before the pivotal moment. Now it's just down to Jun-ho, Issachar, Lyrros and Datu. Jun-ho slowly raises his hand as you watch, and you turn your full attention to him.
"Sorry I um, I'd just like some clarification?" he asks. "I don't know if I really understand what you mean." Not upset, thank any and all gods. Not upset yet. Just confused and maybe a little worried.
"It means, well..." You glance at everyone else in turn, as if reminding yourself they're even there. "It means that it's not just me that's your boyfriend. Everyone here is your boyfriend -and Abzu- and you're all their boyfriend too. I suppose... I suppose what it means more is that while one person can't always be there for you, there'll always be someone there for you? If that makes sense?"
Jun-ho smiles. "Yeah, I think it does."
"And the rest of you?" you ask, part of you hoping impossibly that they have absolutely nothing to add and everything is fine right from the word 'go'.
"Sounds like a fun time!" Datu says, clapping his webbed claws together. "You all seem cool but I should mention I can't be here all the time. I live on the other side of the world and I have a job, and all. I'm cool to hang here for a while but that's something I'm gonna have to deal with sooner or later."
"Noted, thank you, we can talk about that later."
"My dear, if you knew me better you'd know full well by now that the prospect of having more lovers to fawn over me and praise my every breath is hardly one I'm opposed to~" Lyrros says languidly. You notice he's still refusing to cover his chest. "But there is certainly more adjusting to be done."
"Good to hear." Your gaze alights on Issachar, that ostensibly-human man of mystery that's striven all this time to be as much of a cipher as possible. "And Issachar? Do you have anything to add?"
His expression is curious. At first glance he seems as unaffected and in-control as ever, but closer inspection betrays a flicker of concern across his eyes, a crease in his brow.
"I... should admit that I'm a little surprised," he says at last. "There's been some miscommunication - for which I'll readily accept fault. You've lumped me in as one of your boyfriends, and admittedly in hindsight you treated me like them too, but romance hadn't yet crossed my mind. I've been here with you for my own reasons and my, ah, unique situation would require some more in-depth explanation before I committed to anything. Especially anything like this."
"Oh."
And it's strange. All this time you've been fuming internally about Issachar and his constant obfuscation, wishing he'd just pack it in and tell you everything, but you really didn't indicate very clearly that you felt that way about him did you? Fuck did you even get around to telling him he'd started showing up on the map? You must've just assumed he knew that the way he seemed to know everything else. You take a deep breath and look back at him with a furrowed brow.
"I'm sorry," you say. "You showed up on the map back when I had it I just... never mentioned it. I think I assumed you already knew somehow. But either way I guess I just had so much on my mind it slipped through. You um, you're allowed to say 'no' if you want. That doesn't mean I just turn around and kick you out. I still enjoyed having you around and I'm willing to bet everyone else has too."
"Yeah!" Jun-ho adds enthusiastically. "I mean you live pretty close by, right? You don't even have to bunk here if that'd feel weird. You can still visit or we can go visit you."
"Is this 'unique situation' something you feel comfortable talking about, or what?" Belial asks, gently yet frankly. "Trust me, I've come across a few so you probably won't be surprising me."
"I appreciate that," Issachar replies, "but I hope you in turn appreciate it's not so simple as blurting it out the minute I'm questioned."
"Mm," Belial agrees immediately. Datu and Lyrros seem to be staying out of this for now, the former appreciating that he doesn't know a damn thing about him and the latter presumably not very good at this part. Jun-ho's doing his best to shoot supportive looks his way and Abzu's holding up an [It doesn't have to be right now!] sign. You should probably weigh in on this too. It's... honestly strange to see Issachar like this. You wouldn't go so far as to call him vulnerable but there's definitely something here, something with some history.
[ ] Try to be supportive. Repeat what Belial told you about how communication is important, and reassure him that given the diverse pack of extremely weird people around him his 'unique situation' can't be all that shocking.
[ ] Give him an out. Offer to hear what his 'unique situation' is tonight, in private, where you can discuss this properly and make up for the prior miscommunication. Show Datu and Lyrros around their new home in the meantime.
