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“Do you think-” Hardwon started, then stopped, and Moonshine lifted her head from the wood she had been carving, giving him a curious look to prod him into finishing his thought.
She couldn’t help but melt a bit at the sight of him, the Green Teens piled around him like a bunch of sleeping puppies. Actually, Moonshine wasn’t even pretending that that wasn’t her immediate reaction, she wore it openly. Hardwon flushed red, raising a hand as if to shove Derlin from his side. The boy let out a snuffle and Hardwon sighed, patting his shoulder instead.
“Do you think, um,” Hardwon said again, gesturing his head at where Beverly had curled up in his own sleeping bag. Erlin was closest to him, his back pressed against Derlin’s but facing out towards Beverly. “Bev likes men, right? That’s not just me?”
“Not just you that likes men? No, Hardwon, I also like men,” Moonshine joked and he hit her with a deadpan look. She let out a cackling laugh and clapped a hand over her mouth when Cran shifted, stifling the noise before the young teen could wake up. Hardwon waited until her laughter subsided, still wearing that same flat expression until she recovered. “Hoo, Melora, I crack myself up. What were you saying?”
“Do you think Bev likes men?” Hardwon’s hand fell to Cran’s head, pushing back some of the hair that had fallen across her face when she moved. Despite how rough he was with his words, he was gentle with the teens as they slept. It was adorable. Hardwon avoided looking at the bright cheesy grin that Moonshine wore.
“I mean, yeah,” Moonshine replied easily, looking back down at her hunk of wood. She didn’t have much of an idea in mind for the end result, just slicing off slivers of wood in an abstract pattern. “It’s pretty normal to be gay in the Crick, so I haven’t thought much about it, but Beverly has that vibe about him.”
“Is it normal for halflings, in Galaderon?” Hardwon asked and Moonshine shrugged.
“I dunno, I’ve never been there!” She grinned, waving her knife towards him. “Watch out, Hardwon, it’s starting to sound like you’re worrying after him like a mama.”
“Not like a mama,” he responded, rolling his eyes at her. “I dunno. I just wanna make sure he’s alright.”
“Is it normal in Irondeep?”
Hardwon was quiet a moment, thinking. “I’d say so. It feels like a recent development, I guess, kids are still pretty cruel about it but it wasn’t like any of the people running the dwarphanage said we couldn’t be. Jaina never had any trouble either.”
“Jaina?” Moonshine asked and Hardwon’s eyes fell on the Green Teens, shaking his head.
“An old friend.”
“I see.” Moonshine turned the wood she held back and forth in her hands, humming under her breath as she waited for words to come to her. “Well. No offense to young Bev, but he’s not exactly subtle, so if anyone had issues with it, I think he’d know by now. He’s not the brightest, but I don’t think he’d be so obvious if he thought it’d be an issue.”
“That’s true.” Hardwon rested his hands in his lap, turning to look at Beverly again. He was never good at sitting still, but with the scouts piled around him, he didn’t have many options. His fingers twitched.
“I bet Cran would love to wake up with a cute braid,” Moonshine suggested and Hardwon lit up before he covered the expression with a gruff cough.
“I don’t do cute braids, I do dwarven war braids,” he informed her as he started rubbing his fingers through Cran’s hair again, dividing it into sections. “Do you think Bev’s hair will grow out enough to braid eventually?”
“How long are you planning on keeping Beverly for, mister scoutmaster?” Moonshine grinned, putting her wood and knife down for the moment so she could prop her chin on the heel of her hand. Hardwon huffed even as he started a loose braid in Cran’s hair, fingers moving in well-practiced movements.
“Well, I’m sure as hell not letting Denny take him once we’re back,” Hardwon said, not even hiding the protective rumble in his voice. Moonshine nodded fast enough to make her head hurt. “Besides, being a scoutmaster is fun so far. I like hanging out with you and Bev, it’s a lot better than anything else I’ve been getting up to. It’s worth at least keeping in touch.”
“Awww,” she cooed, wiggling her fingers at him, and he scrunched up his face at her. “I shouldn’t make fun of you, I feel the same way. I mean, if Denny is supposed to be a good scoutmaster, then we’re blowing it out of the fucking water!”
“Craven bastard,” Hardwon agreed solemnly. He reached the end of the braid and pinched the end with one hand, leaning back just enough to reach his bag with his other. He hooked an elastic around his finger, dragging it over. “It’d be pretty boring without you as my co-lead.”
“You and Beverly would die without me around,” she said, chipper as she could make her voice, and Hardwon laughed as he tied off the braid. Without a word, he started on another one. “Lucky for you, I’m as clingy as a maytick on a possum. You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon!”
“A may… tick,” Hardwon repeated and Moonshine blinked before nodding.
“That’s what I said! You don’t know what a maytick is?!”
“Is it like a mayfly?”
“Melora, they are not teaching enough entomology up in those mountains!”
As she launched into a long unhelpful explanation of mayticks and what separates them from normal ticks, Hardwon continued braiding Cran’s hair, a small smile gracing his face. Hardwon was far from quiet about his emotions, but the genuine serenity was touching and Moonshine beamed back as she gestures with her hands.
She wasn’t sure how much longer their little band of boobs would be together, but she hoped that it was a while. She liked being with her boys.