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Officially, Ivy Alexandria was the navigator of the starship Aurora, in addition to her duties as the crew's archivist. More often than not, however, she shared in her duties with Drumbot Brian, the pilot. Many an artificially cycled day found them curled up in the pilot's chair, pouring over star charts, sharing kisses and debating potential routes.
This day was no different, at least at the start. Ashes and Tim had once again had a little too much fun on their last planet and the Mechs needed to find somewhere else to sing their stories. Ivy, with her arms full of books, had barely made it onto the Aurora before the planet blew up under her feet. Now she was wedged beside Brian in the too-small seat, holding one half of a large map of their current sector of space.
"If we take this route, there is an 87.6 percent chance of being launched off course by the radiation from the Crab nebula."
"Yes, but if we factor that in, Aurora can adjust her sails and we can reach the Circinus galaxy in a fraction of the time!"
"Why would we go there? There's nothing interesting, last time we went the only inhabited systems had been entirely taken over by bees."
"Ivy, that will have been thousands of years in the future by the time we arrive. Aren't you curious to know how it got to that state?"
"Well..." She looked up from the lines she was tracing on the chart. Brian was looking at her, undeniable fondness in his eyes. She couldn't help stealing a quick kiss before she continued. "I suppose that would be useful information for my archive."
"And it would be funny to watch Jonny try to shoot a bee with a handgun again, if nothing else."
"And also that." She planted another kiss on his metal nose before folding up the chart.
The thing was unwieldy, though, and even though she knew how to fold it properly her hands didn't quite cooperate. Soon, Brian was trying to help her, and between the two of them and the very close space they found themselves tangled up on the floor, laughing, the map fallen off to the side.
It was only when they paused to catch their breath that they heard someone clear their throat from the other side of the room. Ivy scrambled up into the chair, peering over the back to see who it was. Nastya or Jonny most likely; the others would as soon join in on the floor.
Oh.
It was Inspector Lyfrassir.
Not that that there was anything wrong with that! But they had seemed a bit uncomfortable ever since they boarded the Aurora, especially when witnessing displays of affection, and the current moment was no exception. Their legs were close together and stiff, and they were clutching one elbow with their other hand. Ivy could practically see the tension they were holding in their jaw. Before she could speak, Brian stood up behind her.
"Oh, Lyfrassir, hello. Sorry about that, we were just, ah, plotting our next course." Not technically a lie, Ivy noted.
Lyf shifted their weight onto one foot and opened their mouth. "You're fine, I didn't... I'm not... I was just checking in. I wanted to make sure everything was okay, and it is, so I'll just be going."
A thought struck Ivy just as they turned to go. Quickly, she scanned her internal database of recent events; it was just as she suspected.
"Wait, Lyf!"
They stopped in their tracks, and slowly turned back around to face her, confusion in their expression.
"Did anyone explain to you the romantic situation on board the Aurora?"
They flushed slightly at this, but shook their head no. That made sense, most of the crew were less than open about their emotions.
"Would you like someone to do that?"
A moment of hesitation, then a nod yes.
"Come over here and sit down."
As they did so, Ivy took her own seat, cross-legged on the floor. Beside her, Brian sat down as well, leaning his back against the pilot's chair.
"Now," Ivy began, "the interpersonal relationships of our crew can get a bit, well, messy. I have determined the main factor to be the sheer amount of trauma, angst, and violent energy concentrated in so small a space, but there are the standard emotional concerns as well."
Lyf nodded in what Ivy presumed was understanding. She pressed on.
"However, in general, what is happening could best be described as a semi-open polyamorous relationship. With the exception of Nastya and Aurora, of course, they have their own thing going on."
As if to illustrate her point, Brian shifted his position so that he was lying with his head in Ivy's lap. She ran her hands through his (surprisingly soft) metal hair as she continued to talk.
"Essentially, we all love each other, in our own ways. Some of us are more physical, and some of us are what Jonny would call 'sappy motherfuckers.'" She thought of Jonny and Tim, with their violent gunfights, coming to breakfast covered in bruises that neither would discuss; and of Marius, bringing Raphaella breakfast in her lab when she had accidentally stayed up all night (again).
Lyf seemed to be taking this well. They were nodding along slowly, as if lost in thought. She paused in her explanation, waiting to see if they had any questions. Lyf was usually very good at asking questions.
"That makes sense, actually. But," they began after a moment, "you mentioned that the relationship was semi-open? What does that mean, exactly?"
This time, Brian spoke up. "We may all be in a relationship with each other, but we're not exclusive. Again, except for Nastya. Each of us are free to pursue romantic relationships outside of the polycule. Not that we usually do, given the whole immortality thing." He looked up at Ivy, who was still playing with his hair. "Do you remember that thing Jonny had with the Marquis d'Alltheknives?"
"Of course I do, though I rather wish I didn't." She punctuated her remark with an affectionate ruffle of his hair. "There are some things that you're better off not knowing."
"Bold words from our resident beholder," he replied with a smile.
Ivy was about to reply when Lyf spoke up again. "So if, hypothetically, I wanted to kiss a member of the crew..."
"You would talk to them as an individual, but yes, they would hypothetically be available for kisses." Brian replied.
Lyf nodded again, deep in thought. "And if I wanted to kiss... multiple crew members?"
"Again, it depends on the individuals, but in theory it's perfectly possible."
Another nod. They were taking this surprisingly well. Ivy was about to push Brian off her lap and stand up when Lyf started talking again.
"So, um, if I wanted to kiss you, Ivy, I would just have to ask?"
She smiled. "It's that easy. As long as I said yes, of course."
"And if I wanted to kiss Brian..."
"The same situation."
Now Brian spoke up, a hint of teasing in his voice. "Former Inspector Edda, would you like to kiss us?"
Their cheeks flushed in the most adorable way. "Possibly."
Brian sat up and leaned forward, taking one of Lyf's hands in his own. "Because I certainly wouldn't mind kissing you."
Ivy hadn't realized it was possible for Lyf to blush that shade. She noted the hexadecimal code of the color in her memory banks for later, to cross correlate with other situations. Currently, however, their face was mostly obscured by the Drumbot's golden curls as they shared an intimate kiss. When they broke off, Lyf was still flushed, and panting slightly.
"That is not what I expected that to feel like."
Brian laughed softly. "What can I say? I'm full of surprises."
Lyf was still holding Brian's hand, but they turned to face Ivy. "Would you... also be interested in kissing me?"
She just laughed and leaned in for a kiss of her own. It was short and chaste, but their lips were soft and warm and tasted just a little bit like gingerbread. Ashes must have given them some chapstick from their personal supply.
Overall, it was very enjoyable. Ivy hoped she would get to experience it again sometime.
"Well, Lyf? Are you going to test this new information on the rest of the crew? I know Marius would be more than happy to see you." Lyf blushed again at Brian's comment, but shook their head no.
"I think I'd like to hang out here with you guys for a bit? This is all still a lot to process."
"Of course," Ivy replied as she stood up and grabbed the long-forgotten star chart. "Would you like to see where we're going next?"
She laid it out on the console, and she and Brian stood to either side of them as they pointed out their route and the things they would see along the way. They were more relaxed than they had been in months, Ivy noticed, as they leaned almost imperceptibly into Brian's solid form. She smiled. It was good to have them back.