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Polyamory was a new concept to Martyn.
Well, not new like he didn’t know what it meant, but new in the way that he was now a part of one. He had never been in a polyamorous relationship before! It was different– strange, even– but not in a bad way? Ugh, it was hard to explain.
Martyn wasn’t sure why it surprised him so much or why he still struggled to wrap his head around it sometimes. He supposed it was because, when he imagined his life, he never thought having multiple partners was an option for him. Other people, sure, but not him, not doesn’t-get-tied-down-anywhere Martyn!
He had always assumed he worldhopped too much for monogamy to work out, let alone polyamory, and, yet, here he was: climbing up cherry wood stairs during a death game to see his boyfriends. Granted, they were on break from the game, but still!
Martyn smiled warmly at the thought, instantly feeling like such a sap. His boyfriends.
He may be the newest addition to the polycule, but he’s known each of them for quite some time. He’s known Jimmy the longest, of course, but Tango and Scott were long-term friends as well. He and Jimmy had a bit of a thing before– several times, actually– but it never went anywhere, though Martyn knew he had most of the blame for that one.
None of them ever managed to take the first step to change their relationship status to romantic until things got a little steamy between him and Scott on the Coral Isles. Martyn still remembered the way he felt when Scott confessed his attraction and told him that his boyfriends consented to their relationship. He also remembered the way Scott’s scales felt against his skin and the way his unusually sharp teeth broke through the fragile skin of his lips…
Nothing happened right after Limited Life ended, though that was typical. Most life members took a week or so off to recover and “do nothing” for a bit. Martyn thought he more than deserved the little holiday, especially because he was the winner that time around! They (being Martyn and his boyfriends) did find time for the four of them to meet up on Hermitcraft at Tango’s base, though. They spent hours talking through everything– through boundaries and expectations– and the rest was history.
Martyn heard Scott shuffling even before he entered through the gate to Gem and the Scotts’ base, though his sense of hearing has always been strangely enhanced compared to the average Player. He didn’t hear Scott’s teammates, but that was to be expected. Martyn knew that Gem was planning to spend the break at the Mounders’, well, mounds with her girlfriend, Pearl, and he had seen Impulse heading towards The Heart Foundation to visit Skizz. Even if he hadn’t seen him make his way over, Martyn recalled Tango telling him all about it, dramatically complaining that Skizz hadn’t stopped talking about getting alone time with Impulse all week.
Martyn surveyed the area, soon spotting Scott setting up a little area among the cherry blossom leaves outside of the three individual cottages. Scott must have noticed him because he perked up, a grin widening on his face. “Martyn!”
“Hey fins,” Martyn greeted, using the pet name he had given Scott during Limited Life. What else was he supposed to do? Scott gradually turning all fishy as the clock ticked down opened up a world of ocean-y themed nicknames! “Where’s Tim? Or Tango, for that matter.”
“Not here yet,” Scott answered with a shrug. “Though neither he nor Tango are known for being very punctual. You get used to it.”
Martyn furrowed his brow as he settled down beside Scott. “Huh, that’s strange. He left before me. Ran off before I could ask why he was leaving so early.”
“That is peculiar.” Scott hummed, tilting his head down to sniff a flower he had picked. “I’m not too bothered though. We’re so high up and the map is so small that I don’t think he’ll get too lost. He’ll find us”
“Eh, you’re right. He
is
a Big Dog, after all, ruff ruff!” Martyn carried on the barking he and Jimmy had been doing most of the game, leaning into their theming hard. It was sort of difficult not to when the server had literally given them dog ears and a tail. Their new appendages were far more expressive than he liked though, giving him away when he otherwise may have gotten away with whatever it was that time. “He’ll be fine.”
Scott sucked in his lips, graciously attempting to hold in his giggles. It only lasted a second before Scott started laughing fondly. He leaned forward and reached out his hand to ruffle Martyn’s blonde hair between his ears. “You’re so cute.”
“Nah, mate,
intimidating,”
Martyn corrected, but, admittedly, his tail wagged happily at the affection. “Not cute. I’m very scary.”
“Mhm, sure.” Scott didn’t bother arguing, giving him one last scratch behind the ear before pulling his arm away. He laid down on the grass and petals, but he used Martyn’s thigh as a pillow. “Whatever you say, pirate.”
Martyn rolled his eyes, but he didn’t comment, content to run his fingers through Scott’s cyan locks as Scott sang various tunes for him. “Pirate” was Scott’s “revenge” for calling him “fins”, and both names stuck, mostly because they were both known to be stubborn when they wanted to be.
Scott sat up at the distant sound of competitive screaming quickly moving closer. It didn’t take a genius to guess that Tango and Jimmy were racing each other up the stairs, only confirmed when the voices got closer.
“Oi!” Jimmy protested something Martyn didn’t see occur. “That’s not fair!”
“You snooze, you lose, bucker-oo!” Tango forced himself through the gate, throwing his arms up in celebration. “Yeah, baby! Let’s go!”
“Holy moly, man!” Jimmy was all out of breath by the time he passed through the gate. “You are way too fast for someone so short.”
Tango’s thin tail stuck straight up, the puff of hair at the end promptly engulfed in flame. “I am five foot two! That’s not
that
short.”
"Rancher, I love you, but are you sure about that?” Jimmy rested his elbow on Tango’s shoulder to prove a point, and Tango playfully shoved him away. They both burst into a fit of giggles, no bad blood between them.
While they were messing around, Martyn noticed they were both holding hand-picked bouquets of various flowers. Shit, was I supposed to bring flowers? He shifted uncomfortably, suddenly feeling very empty-handed. Martyn stole a glance in Scott’s direction, who looked particularly pleased with what they brought.
“What kind of flowers did you get?” Scott asked as the two left their play fighting behind to sit with him and Martyn. “I see some tulips, ooh, and some cornflowers.”
“Uhh, I’m not sure of all their names,” Tango admitted, twisting the bunch of flowers around every which way to get a good look at them. “I know these ones are alliums. They mean good luck and prosperity.”
“And I got some poppies, of course,” Jimmy added, pointing out the red flower. Poppies had a more personal value to his and Scott’s relationship so of course he brought some, even though poppies appeared already alongside dandelions and cherry blossoms in the cherry grove biome. “And some lilacs! Magenta ones, meaning love and passion.”
Martyn’s ears pressed back against his hair, feeling embarrassed. Was the bringing of flowers an established thing? Why were they reciting the flowers’ meanings like Scott was some sort of floristry teacher? How the fuck did he not get the memo? Scott hadn’t mentioned anything to him! “Were we supposed to bring flowers? I didn’t– Tim! Why did you never tell me? Your fellow Big Dog?”
“Oh, right.” Jimmy averted his gaze, tail pressing against the back of his legs as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, babe. I forgot that you didn’t know.”
“It’s okay, Martyn,” Scott reassured him, taking his hand and raising it to his lips. He pressed a kiss against Martyn’s hand before pressing his cheek against Martyn’s palm. “You wouldn’t have known, but I appreciate that you would have brought me some if you did know.”
“Well, of course I would!” Martyn was almost offended. Almost. “I can’t be the only one not bringing you flowers! I may not always act like it, but I am a gentleman.”
Scott raised an eyebrow, amused. “And you think they are?”
“Hey!” Jimmy protested before Tango poked his side, instantly grabbing his attention away from Scott and Martyn’s conversation.
“They’re mostly doing it because I was trying to teach them flower meanings one night forever ago, before Limited Life. I assume so, anyway.” Scott sorted through the colorful plants, organizing them so he could easily access the kinds he wanted to make patterned crowns. “We’ve just been so busy that I haven’t hosted another flower lesson. I honestly forgot about it; it doesn’t come up too often.”
“Impulse wore one of the cherry blossom flower crowns you made him and Gem when he was visiting us.” Tango entered their conversation once more as he picked at the grass and cherry blossom petals that had fallen from the trees. “That opened the topic to the other beautiful ones you did in Third Life with Jimmy when you had access to more colors, so I brought it up to Jimmy, we planned to gather more types just before heading to see you for quality assurance, and here we are.”
Martyn scrunched his nose, though he otherwise tried to hide the feeling of being left out, of being useless, of being less. He knew that line of thinking was irrational, and he wasn’t mad at his boyfriends, but it did sting a bit. Their relationship was still all so new and he was trying to find his rhythm!
He discreetly pulled up his inventory, searching through it as he racked his brain for a gift of his own. If he couldn’t do flowers, he could do that next best thing. “Scott, do you mind if I use your furnace to boil water real quick?”
“You’re free to use whatever you like, as long as we aren’t in session,” Scott gave his permission, though his face creased with curiosity. “Why though?”
“Well,” Martyn started, placing his hands on his knees and pushing himself up to his feet, “I may not have brought different kinds of flowers, but I believe I can make something better.”
“Oh?” Scott was clearly intrigued by what he meant, but Martyn didn’t stick around long enough for his boyfriends to ask questions.
Martyn snatched some cherry blossoms off a nearby tree as he darted over to Scott’s cottage. He had visited many times before so he knew exactly which one was Scott’s. It would have been awkward if he entered Gem or Impulse’s instead.
Fortunately, Martyn had some water in his inventory already, so he didn’t have to run back down the mountain (or jump off of Gem’s diving board) to retrieve some. Now he wouldn’t normally do this, but he let the petals seep in the water before it came to a full boil to help save time. He didn’t want to spend too much of his break standing in front of a furnace instead of spending time with the three waiting for him outside.
Once Martyn deemed the tea finished enough, he exited the cottage to find his boyfriends each wearing a crown on their head. They were likely made by Scott considering that Jimmy and Tango seemed to be struggling making new ones.
“No, lovebug, like this,” Scott instructed Tango both verbally and by demonstration. “There you go! You got it.”
Jimmy noticed Martyn’s return first, eyes brightening, ears perking up, and tail wagging joyfully. “Martyn! You’re back! What did you make?”
“Cherry blossom tea,” Martyn announced proudly, pouring the tea into a cup. He gave the first to Scott, seeing that he was the host, before dividing the rest of the tea between himself, Jimmy, and Tango. Once everyone had their tea, he claimed his spot beside Scott again. “It’s pretty simple to make from scratch. I actually know how to make a few different types of tea with what I find foraging and some hot water.”
Tango let out a low whistle as Scott plopped a flower crown on Martyn’s head. “That’s crazy impressive! You gotta show me how to do that later.”
“Just come up to Baxter sometime,” Martyn started, referencing the Dog House he and Jimmy affectionately named, “when I’m around and I’ll show you. Or message me on the comms and I’ll visit you on Hermitcraft.”
“Excellent.” Tango grinned, excited at the prospect of learning something new. “I’ll take you up on that, don’t you worry.”
Scott took a sip of the tea, and then paused for a long moment to properly consider what he was tasting before exclaiming, “Mm, Martyn! This is good!”
“Oi, don’t sound so surprised!” Martyn reprimanded in faux defensiveness, one hand on his chest and the other making a playful smacking motion in Scott’s direction.
“That isn’t what I meant!” Scott squeaked, promptly backpedaling. “I’m just impressed with your quick thinking and resourcefulness.”
Now that compliment meant a lot and filled Martyn with a sense of pride, though he attempted to not let it show. Codeword:
attempted.
Damn his dog-like appendages. “Eh, you don’t survive this long without picking up a thing or two.”
“Well, I think it’s hot,” Scott commented as if he were sharing the day of the week, taking a long sip of his tea as he kept eye contact with Martyn.
“I’m always hot.” Martyn snorted, amused. He set his tea aside and scooted closer to Scott.. “Now get over ‘ere.”
Scott bounced up to his knees with a giggle, taking two “steps” towards Martyn until he was close enough for Martyn to pull him onto his lap. Their lips met and all feelings of being inadequate left Martyn’s mind. In fact, all intelligent thoughts saw themselves out the door, leaving Martyn only with bliss and pleasure, merrily content with how their group date had gone. Void knows that they needed this after how stressful Secret Life has been with the whole “no regeneration” rule, and Martyn planned to use every second of free time with his boyfriends.