#Polycule: Come Kiss Me Sweet and Twenty

[starsandauras]

Prompt 23: Suit

FFXIV 30 Day Writing Challenge Prompt 23: Suit

“And here I thought I left situations like this behind in Sharlayan,” Thancred complained lightly, doing up the buttons on his newly purchased justaucorps as he watched himself in the mirror. It was almost strange to see himself in such formal wear, he was certain the last time he’d worn something like this in sincerity was at one of the formal parties the Leveilleurs would sometimes hold.

He certainly hoped he would enjoy this more than he ever had those oppressive things. Not that Lady Ameliance set out to host such parties, but she was fighting against the shadow Fourchenault would always cast on such events.

Urianger came up behind him, and their eyes matched in the mirror as the Elezen straightened Thancred’s lapels, smoothing the fabric down before draping his arms over his shoulders. He too was in a justaucorps, and Brigid had managed to get him into a dark shade of green instead of the grays he had started to favor of late. It contrasted nicely with the storm blue of his own. “You’re certain you don’t wish to remain with the children?” Thancred asked, looking up at him as a hand settled on Urianger’s arm.

Cred was no longer the darling accessory, to be draped along Brigid’s chest and fawned over by Ishgardian ladies, and so he, alongside Ryne and Gaia, was relegated to the nursery of House Fortemps. The girls were able to beg off under pretense of watching over the five year old, and Ryne especially seemed relived to not have to spend an evening rubbing elbows with Ishgardian nobility.

Urianger shrugged, leaning down to nose at Thancred’s hair. “We need only remain long enough to satisfy standards of propriety,” he said. “I am well versed in timely exits, after so many years.”

Thancred hummed softly, thinking about it. As one of Louisoix’s primary students, Urianger would have been required to put in appearances at formal events held very early on. “Yes, of course.”

“Well now look at them, pretty thing,” came a drawl from the doorway, and the two men smiled as they looked over, Thancred making a point to lean even more into the taller man. “A cozy pair they are.” Hilda crossed her arms, her justaucorps in a soot black (second hand from the looks of it as well, barely visible patches and overdyed to escape the inevitable fading, only noticeable to someone who had personal experiences with such things), legs in the same dark trousers Thancred and Urianger were wearing. She was grinning widely, hair tied back with a scarlet ribbon, matching her eyes perfectly.

At her side stood Brigid, giggling behind a hand. She was corseted quite happily into one of the high house gowns, the Rhotano blue shade perfectly setting off her hair and eyes, while matching well with the blue and green Urianger wore. Peeking out from under her hem, which nearly brushed the ground, were her practical boots. They all knew there were quite the number of peticoats and slips hiding under that dress, as well as a couple of fire crystal shards sewn into the lining, in an attempt to keep Brigid toasty warm. “Aye, quite cozy,” she agreed, pecking a kiss to Hilda’s cheek before almost gliding over to her husbands, a faint rustle attending her.

“Hello, Spitfire,” Thancred greeted her warmly, reaching out for her hand and brushing his fingers over the rings settled on it.

“My desert rose,” Urianger said softly, reaching for her other and threading their fingers together. “Thou art as lovely as always.”

Hilda rolled her eyes fondly. “Honeymooners,” she teased. “Now c’mon, it’s the first ball of the season and that little wedding of yours is still the talk of the town.” Despite that it had been nearly six moons ago.

“Aye,” Thancred said on a sigh, putting an arm around Brigid’s waist, the trio walking over to Hilda. “Let’s go put in our first appearance in Ishgardian high society as properly married.” He wrapped his other arm around Hilda’s waist, tugging her close and earning another eye roll.

“And scandalize the lot of them, already with a mistress on your arm, and in front of your lady wife and lord husband at that,” she joked, but relaxed against him anyway.

Brigid laughed brightly, her hand still holding tightly to Urianger’s. “And ‘twill be such fun,” she agreed, winking in her girlfriend’s direction. “Cannae be waitin’ to be readin’ ‘bout it in the society papers!”

[johannstutt413]

(requested by calligomiles; continuing from this post)

“Hey, Zima?” Gummy called from the kitchen. “Should they be here by now?”

“I dunno what the Doctor’s hours are. They’ll get here when they get here.” The general was reclined on their double-wide futon, a book balanced in her lap and one earbud blasting Ursan rock music.

She shrugged, busying herself with casing sausages. “As long as you’re okay, I’m okay.”

“Do you think she’ll share better than I do?” Zima closed her book and got off the futon. “Or do you think she’ll like the Doctor more than us?”

“Why do you say that?” The master chef wiped her hands on a towel to get the worst of the meat residue off and met the general as she was walking into the kitchen.

Once she was in grappling range, Zima wrapped both arms around her and sighed. “You saw how happy she was with the Doctor’s attention. I’ve never seen her like that.”

“I haven’t either,” Gummy admitted, squeezing her closer, “but I’m sure she’s happy for us, not just herself. Don’t worry about it too much, dear; they’ll come home, we’ll have a nice dinner, and then we’ll show the Doctor we play as hard as we work. It’s all gonna be fine, ‘kay?”

“You really are a teddy bear...Thanks.” The general honestly didn’t want to let go, but she was hopeless as a cook and dinner wasn’t that long from now, so she reluctantly left Gummy to it after a drawn-out kiss.

She’d always worried about Gum feeling left out, since at first Istina had paid Zima substantially more attention, but now she wondered if she’d overdone it and accidentally left Istina feeling left out. Since they’d made it to Rhodes Island, their doting defender had done her best to make them all feel at home with the organization and keep their spirits up, but much like her own tough shell, the general knew their time in Chernobog had taken its toll, and on top of that, she still had her parents to fret for. The girl was a ball of all of the USG’s anxieties wrapped up in kitchen grease and grins, barely keeping it together on especially hard days but never cracking. Hopefully, having the Doctor around would give her a chance to let go of some of that...for all she did for them, she deserved all the love she could stand.

And then there was Istina. There’d been a real fire there before, a passion Zima now tied to the fact that she’d been their rescuer during their first meeting, but as time passed, for one reason or another, that passion had smoldered into something more complicated. Istina was self-contained, thoughtful, concerned with questions of philosophy that sometimes got in the way of the fiery revolutionary spirit that dwelled in the general’s very bones. Whereas all Zima cared about was getting rid of the corrupt government that controlled Ursus’ settlements, Istina wanted to be sure they could replace it properly and swiftly after crushing their opposition, which meant having discussions about topics she’d rather not have to think about...But she was the Winter General, after all. Nothing should be impossible for her, and so she read everything she could that could make her the leader her friends - no, her nation - needed her to be. It was a lot of pressure, and oftentimes it was the two people she loved most dearly that were the victims of that pressure, something Gummy simply shrugged off while Istina fanned the flames with contrarian argumentation meant to “make her a better debater.” If only she could do a better job at timing.

Speaking of timing.

“And we’re here.” Istina walked through the door, the Doctor behind her. Was it Zima’s imagination, or did they both seem a little less put together than when they’d gone to the Doctor’s office? “Gummy’s cooking - that’s the amazing smells in the air right now - and Zima- well, there she is.”

“Evening. Make yourself at home.” The general’s mask fell into place as she went back to her book, tilted on the futon so she could watch the pair go about things.

The first thing to happen was that Istina walked over to her for a welcome-home embrace. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Well, that was disarming. Zima rested her head on her right-hand’s shoulder. “How’s the new job?”

“We um...we didn’t get a lot of work done.” The heat from her blush said as much. “I was going to wait until we all could together, but one thing led to another, and-”

The general sighed. “You don’t have to explain, it’s fine. Gummy, how long do you think dinner’ll be?”

“Twenty minutes, give or take?”

“Thanks!” She held her gaze for a dragged-out second. “After we eat, the four of us need to have a talk.”

Istina nodded. “I thought as much. In the meantime, I want to try and finish Gyle’s Pauldron before dinner.”

“Um, hey, where should I put my jacket? And my shoes, while I’m at it. This carpet looks soft.”

“I’ll show you.” Zima’s left hand lingered for a shoulder squeeze before she went to help the Doctor settle in. “Shoes can go wherever so long as we aren’t going to trip. Jacket can go on one of those hooks or on the back of a chair. We don’t care much about keeping the place neat outside of meetings with our backers.”

The Doctor’s brow furrowed. “Backers? As in the people supporting the revolution?”

“Revolution isn’t the best word for it,” Istina mentioned from her perch on the futon. “Ursus’ governing body lost its right to rule some time ago, so we don’t recognize its current facade of governance as anything but a surface-level deception while those in ‘power’ enjoy its privileges.”

“...Basically, you’re right, but like she said, they sucked way too much at their job by the time we were born for us to give them a modicum of recognition beyond threat analysis. Speaking of, Doctor, I need you to tell me something, and be completely honest with me when I do.”

She nodded. “I’d never dream of anything but.”

“Did you join this polycule for a relationship with all three of us?” It stung, but she had to know. “Or just for Istina?”

“General!” Her right-hand looked up from her book, stunned.

The person with the unenviable task of answering that question thought for a moment. “I don’t know, Zima. She convinced me with her rhetoric, and I may find myself drawn more to her than you or Gummy, but I haven’t spent enough time with you all to know for sure.”

“Spoken like a politician.” Zima nodded to herself. “Or even a general.”

“Hey, Doctor, can you come here for a second? I want you to try something!” Gummy called from the kitchen, presumably for a taste test.

She took a step towards the kitchen, hesitated, and then turned back to Zima. “I’ll be right there, Gummy. Just one thing before I do...”

“Hmm? Why are you loo-” She’d closed the gap and, with a twinkle in her eye, kissed her cheek. “Ah...huh?”

“Hehe.” The Doctor booped Zima’s nose with a triumphant grin and went to the kitchen to join Gummy.

Istina giggled. “She turns on a dime when she wants to. One minute she’s shy, the next she’s tricksy, and right after she’s sweet and tender...If she’d said she was only here for me, what would you have done?”

“...I don’t know.” She sunk into the couch next to her. “I don’t wanna think about it now that it’s resolved.”

“You would’ve missed me that much?”

Zima managed a nod, but nothing further for a minute or so, before giving in and sitting next to Istina, pulling her into her lap and kissing her cheek. “More, even.”

“I see.” Istina leaned back, smiling as her head met the general’s shoulder. “Hey, um...I’m sorry if-”

“Shush. No think, just cuddle.”

“...Okay.”

A few minutes later, the Doctor carried Gummy out of the kitchen. “Dinner’s ready! Aww...Hey, Gum, can we join the cuddle pile before we eat?”

“Yeah, but just for a minute!” She kept talking as her courier tried running with an entire Ursan in her arms. “It’ll cool down really quickly-”

“Incoming!” She turned her forward dash into a backward stumble, landing next to the other pair with a smile on her face.

Istina and Zima shared a glance before nodding to themselves. “Gum?”

“On it!” Gummy shifted her weight and knocked the Doctor on her back before making space. “Ready!”

“Wait, did you three plan this out?”

They joined the pile, the general kissing the Doctor’s cheek as she settled in. “We wanted to be ready. Just a couple minutes, Gum?”

“...Maybe longer.” Her head was quite comfortable against the Doc’s chest. “I can reheat it if we need to...Zima, you have to try this. She’s like a pillow.”

“Alright, scoot over, then...Istina, I’m guessing you knew about this?”

She smiled, content with an arm each from the Doctor and Gummy around her, hers around the Doctor’s neck. “Mmhmm.”

“...I’ll reheat food later.” Gummy yawned. “You’re so comfy~”

“And you’re all so warm. I’ll never have to worry about the AC ever again. Ahh...Hey, Zima? Wasn’t there something you wanted us all to talk about?”

Zima shook her head, giggling under her breath at the resulting jiggle. “Not anymore.”

“Good, because my brain is fried.” She sighed. “Wake me up when we’re ready to eat, okay?”

“Aye~” They chorused, each with something entirely different on their minds...