general open post

[ofstarlight]

GENERAL OPEN POST ° Drop off a starter, texting or leave a prompt of some sort, whether text based, quotes or images. AUs welcomed. Please, make sure to link to all pictures.

° Include the character in the subject line or be surprised!

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° Prose and brackets are both welcomed.

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code by photosynthesis

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[osmic]

Neve's stunned expression doesn't fade, not when Kai kisses his cheek and Dash is touching his hand like that. It makes his heart feel like it's going to burst right out of his chest. He feels like air is running out in the room around them.

This is amazing and nothing short of miraculous. Being aware that some people do have romantic entanglements with more than one person is not the same as experiencing it, and then again not the same as having those same entangled feelings returned.

Neve hardly knows how to navigate these sort of feelings within himself. Now he has to navigate them with two others.

He can tell they want to soothe him, in the midst of their nervous energy about what's coming to light between them. He wants that too, feeling like his own trepidation is causing some of their own. He wants them to be happy.

So very badly. He hopes he can. He's terrified he won't know how. He's never done this before, in any capacity.

"I've never... I've never been with anyone, you know. Not like I'd want to be with you," he admits quietly, staring down between them. It's not shyness, not really. He's not a shy person. But he's reserved, and guarded, and the walls have been ripped down. "I don't know how to be like that. Is that... Is that okay?"

[seafoamed]

The teasing delighted Kai, evident on his face and the happy way he squeezed both of the hands within his own. Hand holding just so happened to be one of his favorite thing along with what he imagined kissing would be like. He'd only been kissed once in his life and with it being a dare he never counted it. He tended to not count many things from his past and how difficult the school experience had been for him.

"So bad works on my end too," Kai answered back, making kissy lips as he tried to push any other thoughts from his mind. He only wanted to focus on the new emotions twisting around inside of them all. There were so many possibilities and did he ever want to explore them all.

Being used as a pillow seemed to suit Kai just fine and like Dash a lot of the tension worked out of him and slipped away. There were still some nerves but there were lesser compared to the excitement and thrill of something so wonderful.

His eyes drifted over to Neve and his look softened considerably. "We can take this very slow, Neve. It's perfectly okay. It means even more you want to attempt things with us." After a beat, he added, "I haven't either. Uh been in a relationship." A little surprising maybe? Maybe some with his attitude and how teasing he could be bit he tended to just think of it as instincts.

Selkies were very coy by nature, especially dancing.

He squeezed both of their hands again. "We could do - a low-key date? First date. See how things go between us."

[hapertas]

To muffle the giggle that works its way from his lips when Kai affirms the degree to which he wants them to kiss, Dash has to bury his face against the other's shoulder again. He stays there a little longer than strictly necessary, thoughts running through his head. There's a lot to consider, after all. With one person, there's a lot, but with two?

It's clear Neve and Kai have different outlooks, which is part of the reason he fell for them in the first place. He likes the way they both look at the world and how it fits into place with his own perspective. There's maybe a little fidgeting in his thoughts. A little squirming and wiggling and making things settle into place. A little getting accustomed to the idea that, yes, they all like one another.

And maybe they'd like to keep exploring this. Dash shifts his head enough that he can look at their entwined hands. Neve's in his, his in Kai's, Kai's in Neve's. It's nice. It looks right somehow.

When Kai speaks again, Dash suddenly sits up a bit straighter, looking over at the other. Then to Neve. Then back to Kai. "Neither of you..." He trails off, shaking his head, as if to clear some thoughts out. "I have. Not anything serious! Not really. But a couple of people, you know, in the past."

His fingers fidget over Neve's, eyes briefly averted. "I think a date sounds nice. I'd like to go out with you both."

[osmic]

For the first time since this conversation went this way, Neve cracks a little smile.

"I've never been on a date." Which is not what's making him smile. What's making him smile is the thought of his very first date in his life being with these two people. They're his best friends. He'd never really even had friends before them, and now they're who he thinks of when his mind strays, who he pictures touching him late at night when he lies in bed alone.

He squeezes both of their hands.

"If it's with you two, it sounds nice." It would be scary otherwise. Out of his element, too vulnerable, too hard to open up to someone with that fear of not being good enough for them. The latter is still there even here, but currently being silenced by their warm hands, the looks they keep exchanging, the way they look at him. How could he reject this?

"Dash can tell us if we get things wrong," he says, looking over at Kai, then at Dash. He trusts them both. It seems crazy to accept, to give this a chance when he wonders if they'd still like him if they knew what he's done. He swallows back his fears, his doubts. He wants the chance to kiss them for the first time. To feel Dash's hand on his face and Kai's fingers in his hair. He wants to see them smile and laugh and know he's making them feel as warm as they make him feel.

[seafoamed]

Level of experience honestly mattered so little to Kai and he made sure to keep the soft smile on his face to show it. They were with each other and wanted to try something new and different, everything else just faded away with the rest of the past. Living in the present and all of that, a state of being his father tried to direct him to often, away from all the ghosts haunting him. There were just so many things out of a person's control. But this they could explore and find more out about who they were in the process.

"I - was kissed once," Kai confessed, the smile sliding off his face for only a split second before it returned like nothing happened or bothered him. "But yes, Dash you're the expert now between us."

His eyes fell onto Neve again, squeezing his hand. "Have you ever pictured a first date? Something you might like?" He wanted to make sure Neve enjoyed the date and wanted plenty of others.

Eyes moving back towards Dash, he asked, "Anything you've been wanting to do?" Dash seemed very easy to please, though, and he found it adorable. Still, suggestions and options were good!

"I could plan the first - then we could trade off!" Kai suggested, smile genuinely brighter. The idea would have something to do with water, of course.

[hapertas]

Making a note of that expression on Kai's face, but not immediately pressing the issue, Dash looks between the two from his current perch. "If I'm the expert, you might be in trouble!" he says, chuckling sweetly, but also with the slightest hint of sheepishness. Is he confident that he'd do everything in his power to make Kai and Neve feel comfortable and happy?

Yes, of that he's sure. He's been sure of that for some time. But if it means relying on his experience, that is admittedly somewhat limited. And none of what he's experienced in the past feels quite like this. In several ways and on several levels.

He scoots a little closer to Kai, so he can better use his shoulder as a pillow without straining to cross the distance between them. "We could have three first dates," he offers, and he'd hold up three fingers to tick off their names, but he's holding onto both of their hands with no sign of letting go. He's still paying special attention to Neve's hand, maybe because he's giving more attention to his pillow- that is, to Kai's shoulder.

"I can think of a couple of things that might be fun." There's a light in his eye when he looks up at Kai, then across to Neve. Yes, he probably has an idea or two rattling around in that head of his.

It is perhaps entirely possible that he's spent his fair share of time mulling this over. Possibly imagining scenarios where they get to go on dates together. He's an optimist, what can he say!

[osmic]

"You've only kissed?" Neve blinks at Kai, a bit surprised. It was shocking to him, when Kai was such a special person to him, and so handsome, too.

Neve looked sheepish. He should clarify, maybe? He wasn't sure if it was understood this didn't mean he had no experience at all. It didn't matter, but he would hate it if they later learned he'd had more than they'd understood and felt strange about it.

"I'm not... completely lacking in experience."

That was a delicate way to say that, right?

"I've just never dated or been in a relationship."

It was important to Neve to be clear about this. Not to guilt them, or change the way they treated him, but to make it evident that any missteps might come from lack of experience and uncertainty and hesitation, and not a place of ill-intent. To explain they may have to be patient with him, and to be sure they were aware of this before jumping into this with him. Not everyone has the patience, and that would be okay.

Though the thought of Kai and Dash getting together without him filled him with sickening jealousy. So he hoped it wouldn't matter, and wouldn't ever come between them.

"I like that. Three dates." He smile gratefully at both of them, a bit shy still. "When I think about dates I think of listening to someone. The place doesn't really matter as long as we get to talk."

[seafoamed]

Three dates, he really enjoyed the thought of it, his mind swirling with possibilities. There were so many fun things to do outside of the typical and usual first dates. While traditional could be fun, they were going to be anything but typical. It meant they needed dates to match the outside of the norm. He wondered how many others around them had similar types of relationships. With more opened eyes would he see them now? He knew sometimes he never noticed something until he really knew of it. Giving a nod of his head, he squeezed Dash's hand. "I love the idea of three first dates. Then we'll all get a chance and focus." It would also show the different shades of their personalities.

Eyes moving over to Neve, he blushed a little. "My dad always used to say people just didn't understand me in school," he explained with a tiny shrug of his shoulder. "The selkie thing didn't make it much easier to try and hide. I probably seemed really odd back then." Not at all now but he liked to think of himself as unique, creative.

Not lacking in experience? What did that - oh! "Oh! Neve. Of course that isn't an issue if you think it might be. That'll probably be helpful to not have to watch - uh - things to try and figure it all out." Clearly, he meant adult videos but just didn't say it more clearly. "If someone was with you and didn't want to be with you, they really weren't thinking clearly."

Experience level did not mean much at all to Kai. "Does it - bother either of you I don't ....have much experience?" Now being a virgin could turn off some and if it did, well, he understood. "I mean I've tried plenty of my own!" Probably not an important revelation to actually share but still.

"Talking dates. That sounds perfect to me too." He might be blushing really vividly.

[hapertas]

Kai isn't the only one with a head full of thoughts about dates. Dash has daydreamed enough to be a veritable expert on the subject. Even before he was daydreaming vaguely about dates with Neve and Kai, he often got a little lost in thought about the idea of spoiling someone. And there was a point when he was thinking about what it'd be like to go on a date with two people at once, but he hadn't quite cottoned onto the fact that his brain was already thinking of two specific people.

Surely the little imaginary figures in his mind looked like Neve and Kai because they were dear to him, not because he was actually thinking of dating his dearest friends!

Joke's on you, past Dash. You were already head over heels.

"Everything's equal that way," he affirms, nodding. His thoughts were going to wander in another direction, perhaps. Were. And then Kai speaks again, addressing both of them.

He bites his lip, maybe trying to hold back a smile. Trying and failing. "I think it's okay to have a little trial and error! This isn't the same as dating one person at a time, so we're all bound to be a little unsteady on our feet." His smile shows itself now, turning soft. "It's okay to have questions. Let's just promise to do our best to be patient with each other, all right?"

Here, he looks at Neve, then Kai. "Whatever experiences we have had in the past, they can only help us now, don't you think? If we call work together, I bet we'll be able to fill in some of the gaps."

If that means "gaps" in intimate experience in Kai's case and in relationship experience in Neve's, and maybe a little of both for Dash, then so be it.

[osmic]

It's true, this way, they all get to spend time together in a way of their choosing. It's a good way to start — simply re-contextualizing things a little and putting their feet in the water to test it. They can keep talking about this and take it slow.

It's almost hard to, because Neve likes them both so much and wants things he's never wanted before. He doesn't feel like waiting, he wants to grab them both and kiss them and lose himself in them for a few days. When they're in their little world, he feels safe and happy. Like right now, most of his concerns from earlier having faded to nothing.

"That sounds good. Three dates and patience." They would need it, but it wouldn't be a problem for Neve to give it. His impatience was only about wanting to be closer to them, not about being patient with them. He would never rush them into something they were uncomfortable with, or be frustrated with them for needing time.

"I think Dash is right," he says, nudging Kai with his shoulder. "It can only help us. It doesn't bother me at all." A beat. "But I might want to know what kind of things you've liked."

Okay, that isn't entirely necessary, actually, at least not yet, but the words escape him before he can think. "I mean, eventually." His cheeks get a little pink, flustered that he let his thoughts escape his mind so easily.

He clears his throat, squeezing their hands.

"Do we... want to talk about more things?" Like what their boundaries were, if it was okay for two of them to spend romantic time together without the third, things like that.

[seafoamed]

Equality, trial and error, patience - he nodded his head about all of it, easily agreeing. They would need to slowly find their footing with how to have a relationship with two others rather than just one. It excited him more than worried him because he could already tell there were a lot of emotions to contend with. They also had already developed a significant relationship between the three of them. It would help more than anything else because a strong foundation mattered.

Neve and Dash mattered to him.

"All of that sounds great but we probably need to figure out the dating aspect to this. Are we only going to do romantic things as a trio or will it be as a duo sometimes too?" he offered, squeezing both of their hands. The mechanics of things would need to be discussed to not have anyone slighted or feeling badly. Communication mattered more here than in typical relationships.

"As for things I enjoyed or do enjoy...." His voice drifted off as he looked at Neve, a smile filling his face again. "Do you want to know now or later?" A tease? Maybe, just maybe but he couldn't help himself.

"We will need to talk about that too. What we think with preferences and uh desires." Again, only as a trio or sometimes as a duo? Another important point to figure out.

Unable to help himself, he pressed a kiss to the back of Neve and Dash's hands. Affection starved and all of that.

[hapertas]

Dash lights up at the kiss to his hand. He is sort of a sucker for sweet gestures and that one made his heart leap a little bit. Tiny bit. There was a second there where it jumped a little and threatened to try and make a leap into his throat. He smiles, ducking his head.

"You're cute," he says quietly. He then nods in Neve's direction and Kai's right after. "Both of you. Very, very cute." Kai, with a kind of softness to him that makes Dash want to curl up in his arms for hours and Neve, with a warmth that isn't immediately evident, but so very often makes Dash feel short of breath. They're both beautiful in their own ways and Dash knows he has a very special affection for either of them.

Both of them. At the same time. It gives him some pause over Kai's question.

"It's all right with me, you know. If you both want to spend time together, just the two of you." He raises his head from Kai's shoulder and relocates to Neve's, doing so slowly and cautiously. He wants to broadcast his intent and his eyes silently ask if it's okay. Before he lowers his head, he'll wait for an affirmative reply of some kind. "If it's about things that are, ah, more physical? I think we should let things happen naturally. There's no reason it has to be planned out too much ahead of time, right?"

Here, he hugs both of their hands to his chest. "But it's okay if we want to, too, I think. I don't mind telling you now." He bites his lip, holding back a little smile "I guess it'd be good to know before we actually get there, right?"

Maybe it'd be... prudent. "There's some... logistical stuff, I guess, that we'd want to talk about. I may have experience, but," he coughs softly. "Not like this."