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Gryffon often felt like he was very well-prepared. He had a gun for an arm, a crew to protect him, and a ship possessed by a robot that would defend him no matter what.
Yet he still managed to find a situation—no, people—who made him nervous for the first time in a long time. One would think that was negative, but it came with all sorts of swirling emotions.
Long story short him and Queen, one of the newer members of the Riptide crew, had found oddly close company in each other since they joined their peculiar band of people. One thing led to another, and they were exchanging kisses in the medbay when no one was watching.
They’d developed a pattern of affection with each other, holding hands and holding each other close at night. There were two problems that came with this:
Number one was that he and they had yet to discuss or address anything about the exchange of cuddles and kisses. Not once had either of them mentioned or brought it up, and Gryffon felt it was necessary to define the parameters of their relationship. Mainly due to reason two.
Reason two was he seemed to be developing some kind of intimate bond with Drey. It started with the two of them sharing cigars on watches together on late nights, the shorter man's head falling onto his chest when he’d get sleepy, teasing each other and holding each other close when the ship rocked back and forth particularly violently.
Therefore Gryffon had asked to speak to the two together in private and discuss their relationship. He’d purposefully pulled back a bit with both of them, a sense of guilt nagging at him that they at least deserved to be aware of each other so they didn’t feel like they were being led on.
That’s all that brought Gryffon to his current moment, below deck at their kitchen table anxiously after most of the crew had gone to bed wiping down the metallics attached to his shorter arm whilst he waited for Drey and Queen to both show up.
He’d been subconsciously working at his lip the entire time he waited, not realizing that’s how nervous he was until he tasted the vague metallic taste of blood on his tongue. He swiped it over his lip, ordering himself to take a deep breath and get his shit together.
It didn’t take long for Queen to show up, the musician was always a bit of an early bird. He pulled his head up when he heard footsteps and soon after saw her enter the kitchen with her long hair placed in a meticulous braid down her back and wearing a tank top with music note prints on it and matching pyjama shorts.
“Ah, hello Gryff!” They chirped cheerily; their hat was off so their long rabbit ears visibly twitched happily when they spoke.
“Hello,” he said gruff as ever, inviting them to sit down next to him at the table. They did, resting one hand sleepily against their face and the other placed over Gryffon’s large paw.
It amazed him how he never, ever imagined himself as an affectionate man until the rabbit hybrid in front of him opened up his world. They showed him that it was okay to want to fall asleep at someone’s side, something he’d been repressing for years as he isolated himself in his own sorrow.
It made him look at her fondly, setting his cleaning gear down to look at her soft sleepy features.
“There was something you wanted to talk about?” They asked, looking back at him with the same fondness.
“Yeah there is, I’m just waiting on—“ They heard the distinct thump of bare feet against the wooden floor, and Drey emerged from the other hallway connecting the kitchen. The man looked around and spotted the two of them, raising an eyebrow. “—waiting on Drey.”
“Well, I’m here now.” The man grumbled, his voice rough but they both knew that was just the natural inflection of his sarcastic voice.
Gryffon tapped his paw against the table, drawing in a breath to gather his words. “I’m not gonna beat around the bush, I called you two to talk to me tonight because I want to-” he paused, the words feeling so unnatural coming out of his mouth. He stammered a little, like they were resisting coming out into the open. “-talk about our, uh, relationships.”
Something on Queen’s face shifted minutely, a twitch different then their usual tics that he barely caught. Oh no, was it hesitation? Disgust?
“-Because I want to be transparent with you both, we’re all adults, I really fuckin’ like you both. But I don’t want either of you to feel like I’m favouring or hiding you guys from each other.” He tried not to grimace, reading their neutral expressions carefully as he spoke and feeling his heart race uncomfortably in his chest. Was this the right way to do this? Should he just have chosen one of them?
Queen was the first to speak, his hand slipping out from below his paw and setting itself on top of it to calm his anxious tapping. “I’m proud of you for talking to both of us, I know emotions aren’t an easy thing for you to process.” Their words were kind, but Gryffon picked up a minute strain to them that made his ear twitch in panic.
Drey looked down at the two stumps remaining of his arms like he would’ve loved to hold Gryffon’s paw and instead chose to scoot his chair closer so that it felt more personal. “What ae said, you're practically shakin’ in your seat. Neither of us are mad, there’s nothin’ wrong with bein’ into more then one person.”
The words reassured him, but he’d noticed that they’d both carefully avoided actually stating whether they wanted to continue the relationship or not, which is what he immediately expected to hear. Yes or No. He didn’t want to pull away from the touch, but his paw involuntarily tensed as his anxiety set in. “Shit—is it a no? It’s okay if it is, I’ve probably been reading this all wrong-”
The panda growled at himself, moving his head to break eye contact and internally shove himself for believing that a relationship with not one but two of the people he cared most for was ever in his cards. He moved to stand up but a hand caught his wrist, pulling him gently back down.
Queen was looking up at him with her large, bunny-like eyes filled with concern and confliction. “Gryffon, wait! Wait, you haven’t been reading it wrong at all, it’s just—can you hear me out?”
Next to them Drey looked similarly, like he had something on the tip of his tongue he needed to say. He read Queen’s panic though and motioned towards her. “You speak first Queen, then me.”
Queen scooted their chair close enough so them and the taller man’s knees were touching, the height difference prevalent even when they were sitting. They gave a thankful nod to Drey, and quickly turned to the anxious panda.
“You haven’t been misreading my signs,” He sighed with relief. “I can say-brrrr-I’ve really, really enjoyed all the cuddle sessions and the closeness. I can say with full confidance-brrrrr-that with the kind of life we live I’m ready to say it at any moment; I love you.” Before Gryffon could react, their words making unfamiliar sparks fly in his chest, they continued quickly. “But there’s also….another part of me that I haven’t shared with you that I should have sooner. I’m on the aromantic spectrum, I love you deeply, maybe more then as a platonic friend, but not romantically.”
He knew her tics littered her speech when she was nervous, her tone gentle as if she was trying to soften a blow of some sort. Gryffon wasn’t fully sure of what all those words meant but he…….understood it. He’d always felt like an outsider looking in when it came to romances, like he could execute the motions and hit all the cues but he could name very few instances where he felt like he’d held that kind of affection in the palm of his paw.
“Oh.” He said ineloquently, his thoughts culminating in a single sound.
“Are you….disappointed? I’d understand if you are, I should’ve told you sooner so you knew what you were getting into.” The white-haired hybrid had a hint of sadness to their eyes, the thought of Gryffon’s disappointment or their relationship changing completely making her heart squeeze harshly in her chest.
“No, no, not at all. I’d be honoured to have your lovin’ in any way you want to give to me, romantic or not.” He spoke slowly, his gruff voice turning out the words almost inquisitively.
Queen look surprised, their mouth parting slightly in awe. “Really? Would you be interested in something like….a platonic partnership?”
“What do you do in those?” He tilted his head, paying close attention to their words.
“I haven’t been in one myself yet, but I’ve heard of them! They can sometimes look similarly to romantic relationships with the hugging and the kissing and lovey stuff, but the people in them don’t feel romantic feelings towards each other but still feel like their feelings are strong enough to want a partnership.”
Gryffon’s heart gave an excited jump at the thought of that kind of relationship, with either Queen or Drey. Being able to share the comfort of typically “romantic” activities with his closest friends was exactly what he wished he could have.
“There’s nothin’ I’d love more then that, Queenie.” The soft nickname sounded a little odd coming from his deep and rumbling voice, but it was sweet as sugar to Queen.
She rocked back and forth excitedly, hitting their thighs with their fists in a burst of positive emotion. “Partners! Partners,” they repeated, enjoying how the word rolled off their mouth.
Drey cleared his throat, just enough to get their attention. He had a tiny smile on his face, a noticeable difference from his usual neutral scowl-leaning expression.
“I like being an active part of talks when I’m in the room but I sensed that if Queen didn’t speak first ae would explode, actually.” He chuckled, making Queen hide her blushing face behind their hands.
Drey looked down at the table, biting his lip. “I, uh, I don’t really know how to go about these kinda things….I’ve never felt a strong interest but, fuck, Gryffon, you’ve made me feel some new stuff.”
He laughed in the way people do when they’re uncomfortable, trying to navigate a situation he never thought he’d be in again after the death of his Captain Rose.
“It’s fuckin’ scary, isn’t it?” Gryffon chuckled with him, hopefully reassuring the man beside him.
“Gods, yeah.” He took a deep breath in, leaning back in his chair and keeping his gaze close to the two of them but not quite on them. “I think I might be something like Queen, myself. ‘Cause I’ll be honest, I think I’m into you too. The problem is that it takes me…..a really long time of knowing someone before I want to be affectionate with them.”
Drey said the words like he was presenting a burden to them, some kind of personal downfall or flaw he was admitting. Gryffon tilted his head, producing a low rumble in his chest which was a long-lost instinct to comfort. “That’s fine with me, nothing has to change from what we’ve been doing.”
“Are you sure? Not to be depressing, but I’m already a crippled old man. My back hurts and on a good day I can barely get a shirt on myself, I’m not the most ideal partner or even a good hookup.”
Gryffon’s chest tightened with understanding, it was easy to forget that Drey had lost both his arms less then three years ago and had very little time to mourn for himself. Gryffon had lost only one arm many years ago, and the anger at himself and his body carried through with him over nearly a decade.
Queen was looking at him with the same eyes they gave to all their companion’s troubles, wide and full of empathy. They weren’t full of pity, instead understanding even from their limited perspective.
“Drey,” Gryffons voice was softer then how he usually spoke, a silent request for the other man to look at him. Drey brought his functional eye to his fluffy face, a guarded look on his. “Whatever you want to share, I’ll take. If it takes you years to get comfortable with cuddling that doesn't matter to me, I don’t want to be with you to do whatever partners are supposed to do. I want to do with you what we’ve been doing and as long as you want.”
It was the most vulnerable Gryffon had been in a very long time, and he knew the same for Drey. The two of them weren’t as emotionally competent as Queen who wore their heart on their sleeve, he knew Drey had iron walls to guard himself because he’d built the same ones.
Drey thought for a long moment, complex emotions crossing across his face before he finally spoke again quietly. “Can we be platonic partners too? And you’ll keep watching the sunset with me during my watch?”
“I’ll even ask the Captains if I can switch mine around so that if I take mine after yours we can watch it for longer together.”
Drey got up suddenly, moving himself to almost crash into Gryffon with an awkward hug. Gryffon put his large paw on the man’s back, copying what Queen did for him and rubbing his back.
“Can I join the hug?” Queen asked quietly from her seat. Drey turned his head and gave her a ‘c’mere’ motion and Gryffon opened his arm so there was space for her.
In an instant they were also under his arm, hugging both the panda and the shorter man. It felt so unreal, like the deep-rooted belief that pirates like him didn’t get good things like this had begun to crack.
“I didn’t think I’d ever get to love the way I wanted to.” Drey mumbled into his chest, making Queen squeeze him tighter.
“We’re pirates, if they don’t make room for us we’ll make it ourselves.” Gryffon grumbled contently into the tops of their heads, debating whether he should reach down and kiss them.
Queen beat him to it, wiggling her arms above the hug and grabbing Gryffon’s wide face, and planting a kiss on to his furry cheek.
Gryffon tried to hold back the deep rumble of happiness in his chest, knowing the two of them would never let him live it down if they knew he could release a purr-like noise. He nestled his nose in the space between the base of her ears, breathing in her scent.
“Dreyyyyyy?” Queen asked with the tone of a small child asking for candy, making the black-haired man raise an eyebrow at him.
“Yeah?”
“Can I give you a kiss on the cheek? A quick one?” Her eyes were wide and pleading playfully, but polite.
Drey rolled his single eye dramatically, huffing out a long sigh and giving her a small nod.
They grabbed his face, planting a careful kiss to the side of his stubble-covered cheek.
None of them were quite sure how it was all supposed to work, but it was never too late to figure it out.