Work Text:
"I've never seen you break a bow this bad," the ebony winged bowyer sat inspecting the Falcon Bow, shattered and splintered up the limb, "It's worse than that time you were showing off for Saki, and blew it up with a stray bomb arrow."
Teba was practicing his archery, his friend had guessed correctly about the stray bomb arrow he fired at his own bow. His mind was wandering at the time to a place he was all too familiar with. Teba's mind has been dominated by thoughts of Harth, his friend since he could remember has always owned a place in his mind, but recently its taken up a strange quantity. It's getting on his nerves.
He used to have a simple life, they both did, they would work or train all day and then they would go home and have dinner with their wives. Ever since Harth lost his wife life has been anything but simple for either of them.
Saki took up the initiative, she would invite him and Molly over to have dinner, this became a daily occurrence for both families. Harth would look so tired, when he arrived he would take a seat and play with the kids, Tulin loves to play with his godfather, and it would put a smile on Harth's beak, a rare sight that would bring joy to Teba's heart.
"I'll get to work immediately, you just sit right there while I fix it." Teba could only give a soft grunt. That's when his lovely wife walked in on the two of them,
"I'm making steamed salmon for dinner, should I expect to see you, Harth?" Saki steps into the bowyer's roost and takes a seat in Teba's lap. He wraps a wing around his wife, as they both sit watching their child's godfather work.
Harth sits at his desk working on the bow as his two spectators watch him, unknowingly staring daggers into his head. He stands to reach for a tool in his rafters, and their eyes follow him up and back down into his seat, bobbing their heads as they follow his every move.
"How did you break your bow this time?" His wife asks him, staring at Harth instead of him. He turns to look down at her and taps her on the shoulder, and her eyes flick straight to his. He sees something in her that makes his heart glow a fire he hasn't felt since Tulin hatched, he sees passion in her eyes. She puts a wing on his cheek and nothing besides his warrior instinct can stop him from collapsing into her touch. She is beautiful.
"Looks like Black Powder, did you actually blow it up?"
Momentarily knocked from his trance, "No- Yes- It was an Accident."
"Looks like a pretty big accident if it nearly reduced this bow to splinters, I don't know if I can salvage it."
He looks back down at Saki to see her looking back at Harth, but as soon as the bowyer is back to their work her gaze shifts back up to lock with Teba's. Her face is so gentle and soft, he feels like a kid again, experiencing love for the first time. She must feel it too because she pulls them together into a kiss. He would usually object when they had an audience but he didn't care who saw them in this moment, especially when it was Harth, who he knew would not chide him for baring his heart in front of him.
Harth looks up at his two guests embracing each other. His eyes stick like glue on the happy couple, and the envy is visible to anyone with half a brain. It's clear he is thinking about his wife, and how he used to love her just the same way.
That solemn look he carried stung, seeing his friend mourn felt like an arrow was shot through his heart. He couldn't stand watching him sulk.
"I think I am going to begin preparing dinner. Teba, would you join me?" She gets up and offers him a wing, and he takes it without a second thought.
"You two lovebirds can go, you'll see me in half an hour. I'll get the bow done for you tomorrow." Harth says, "And don't worry about the pay."
"Thanks Harth, I'll see you for dinner." He takes his leave, holding Saki by her hips and walking them the ways up to their roost.
Once they make it under their own roof, an uncomfortable silence fills them both, as they keep looking behind their backs at where the lone bowyer now sits.
"Saki?" He is the first to break their silence, asking for her attention with an unsure voice.
"Teba." She answers him with as much strength as she can muster.
"Harth." He breathes out his name like he is letting out a burden. "I'm worried about him. Molly too, she is too young to be without her mother."
"She has us." She says, "They both have a home with us."
"But with Tulin, can we care for them both?"
"He isnt weak, he is a good father, Teba. The three of us together can handle two chicks."
"Saki what are you saying?"
"I think we need to talk to Harth about this." Her face falls into that hard set brow he knows too well. The face of a mother who won't let anything get between her and her care.
"Fine. You'd better know what you are doing, Saki." He sits down at the table and watches his wife get to work on dinner. He doesn't have his head wrapped around everything Saki had said, in just a scant few sentences Saki had suggested they add two new members to their family.
And Teba is okay with the idea. It scares him in a way he didn't expect to feel ever again, he is scared that the people close to him, like Saki and Harth, what if they aren't ready to take up those big responsibilities. And what about the kids?
The thoughts are eating at him, but it's almost like he doesn't care how bad it'll turn out, because he knows he will put his whole heart into making this work.
"I'm not late, am I? Teba did a number on that bow." Teba jumps out of his thoughts as the object of his mind enters the room. Teba feels like his feathers are standing on end. Harth must have noticed the tension in the room because he pauses in the doorway.
"Why don't you sit down right next to Teba, we need to talk."
He pulls the chair up and leans back into it, preparing for a long night. "So, are you done handing out free dinners?"
Saki plates the food she has been cooking and sets the table. Teba is sitting up, ramrod straight, anxious about the tenderness in the room. Taking the seat across from both of the men, Saki speaks up.
"Quite the opposite. Teba and I decided that we wanted to help take care of your family."
"What do you mean Saki?"
"What I mean is," She pauses and thinks her words through "-what I'm asking is if you and Molly would like to join our family?"
"Oh Saki- Teba," He feels Harth's feathers griping against him, and he knows he needs to give comfort to him. So he pulls the ebony Rito into a crushing hug, and hopes it gets the message across. He feels the gentle sobs against his chest, the rising and falling with each breath. Teba realizes that he cares deeply about Harth, more than just a friend he would bare his whole soul to Harth just to keep the other man happy, he would do the same for Saki, and he knows that Saki would do the same for them both.
As the two men embrace each other, Teba realizes just how madly in love he is with Harth, and he acts on it. He pulls the other Rito away, just enough that he can bring his beak to the others, and kisses him.
"Teba-" Harth is crumbling in his hands, stumbling to find his words. "Just when I thought I was doing well not to cry."
Saki comes up behind the two men, and embraces them both. The couple sits huddled together long enough that their food probably goes cold, but they don't care. What matters now is that they are together, and that's all they need to stop their tears.
Harth sucks in his breath, willing strength into himself. "Yes- Absolutely we would. Thank you-" He chokes out his thanks.
They sit in comfortable silence for a while longer, Harth barely succeeding in taming his tears. Saki is the first to break the silence, "Now I think you should eat something, we will figure out how this works later."
"Saki, do you intend to mother me like a lost chick?"
"Get in line, she did it to me and Tulin first."
"Because you're as reckless as they go, Teba. Am I not allowed to worry about my husband?"
It's not worth arguing when even he agrees, but ever since they brought Tulin into the world he's gotten much better about his behavior. Instead he gets to the meal that's been sitting in the wind for almost half an hour, it's cold.
"Family..." He says it like he is testing the taste of the word on his tongue. He looks over and sees Teba's eyes on him, "I don't suppose I can call you my friend anymore, can I?"
"I don't think this changes much about how we already treated each other."
"Teba, you kissed me."
"Harth. Friends can kiss."
Harth stares him dead in the eyes, "Kiss me again and see what happens."
Teba is taken aback. Harth was unwavering in his face, much different to what he was a few minutes ago crying in his embrace. He looks across the table at Saki, who is pretending like she isn't watching the two intently.
"Is that a challenge?"
"It's a request."
Teba couldn't deny him, so he brought their faces close together again, Harth's breath warm against his cheek. Having someone he has known for so long this close to him, someone he has loved for so long, it burns a hole in his heart. Their beaks click together and he feels as soft as a young teen again, when he had kissed Saki for the first time.
They must have sat there, with their beaks connected for the rest of the day's light, because when they finally break apart Saki has already hung two new hammocks for their new family.
"Saki, I still have my own house."
"Now you have two. Be grateful."
"I'm very grateful, thank you Saki."
"Now you should go to bed, you look tired hun. You too Teba."
"Right." Teba gets up, before Harth can object. All these emotions in one day is a lot for the aging Rito, he needs his sleep or else his sleep will claim him.
He undresses and climbs into his own hammock, raising his eyes over the lip to watch his family filter through their nightly routine. Saki is the next to go after she puts the children to bed, she has a technique he could never imitate that lets her put a kid to bed in minutes.
That leaves Harth, who sits in the dark for a while, sitting over his daughter's hammock. In all the years Teba has known Harth, he always knew he was a night owl.
"You'll have to bow out eventually, Harth." He has to whisper so he doesn't wake up the kids.
"I know, I'm just thinking about her."
"Your wife wouldn't mind-"
"Saki."
Teba wasn't expecting that.
"I'm just wondering how she can mother my child for me."
"She just wants to see you both ok, I do too."
Harth walks up to where he lay, so they can whisper to each other much closer. "I don't know if i can keep thanking you for this."
"You don't have to. If there's one thing I want you to know, it's that we will never ask for anything back."
"You just want to love us."
"Yeah. Something like that."
They sit in amicable silence. They threaded their fingers together, Teba felt like he couldn't look him in the eyes without burning up. "How long do you think this has been between us?" He looks up at Harth, who has been avoiding his gaze as well.
"How long have we been Dads?"
"Yeah, that's probably when."
Harth tries to pull his hand away, but Teba holds him there. "You know I don't like being sappy."
"Even when there's no witnesses?"
"Especially when it's you, Harth."
"Fine." Harth undressed, the unspoken request sitting still where they had been holding each other's hands. The snow white and the ebony black Rito climb into their hammock together, and hold each other as close as they dare. It felt right for them to finally embrace each other, and to feel sleep take them as they're in each other's arms.
"I love you, Teba."
"I love you too."
…
"I thought you don't like being sappy."
"I like you more than I care for appearances."
"Mhmm-" Harth shuts his eyes, and nuzzles his beak into Teba's neck. Neither of them can seem to keep their eyes open for very long, so they filter off to sleep before they can wake each other again.