Work Text:
“Blue is mine, the green ones are Jaal’s,” Cein explained for a third time with a remorseful sigh as he gently peeled the old patch of gauze off Evfra’s arm to replace it with a fresh set.
The awful rash as a result of the angara accidentally spreading the wrong lotion onto his skin last night was still raw, and Lexi had said to keep the more severe area on his arm covered for now to prevent further irritation. Cein had abruptly woken up long before his morning alarm to the angara at his side grumbling and rubbing quite aggressively at his arms and legs. Splotchy, white and deep blue bumps all along Evfra's skin met his eyes when he turned the lights on, and his heart rate significantly jumped when he saw the torn bits of skin and blood caught on the tips of Evfra's fingers from when he'd dug particularly deep into himself in a futile effort to find relief.
Cein had fallen off the bed while struggling to dress himself while also shouting for SAM to call Lexi as he ran to rummage through the first aid kit on the wall. This wasn't the first time he'd seen an allergic reaction on an angara, but this was much worse than when Jaal had accidentally used toothpaste in one of his projects, thinking it was a lubricant meant for use with sanding down metal, and some of it had gotten onto his cheek.
Evfra shifted in his seat on Cein’s bed, his face maintaining its usual frown as his arm was dressed.
“Why bother having two different types in the first place?” he grumbled, “Jaal’s smells more pleasant and you've been able to use it without issue.”
“Why didn’t you just use his then?"
“I did not think that one of those bottles would contain a cream meant to strip the skin from my very bones.”
“Oh, stop, now you're being dramatic."
Cein secured the gauze in place and then cleared away the wrappers while Evfra flexed his arm to test the tightness of the makeshift bandage. Lexi had advised him to either go sleeveless or wear something looser than his armor. The angara had proceeded to go shirtless while aboard the ship, which was why Cein was keeping him confined mostly to his room. The looks he got at breakfast when the half-naked commander of the Angaran Resistance wandered out of his room in search of the other angara onboard had made him want to stick his face in the cold milk of his cereal bowl.
He hadn’t outright told the crew that Evfra would be staying the night and, oh, he now had two angara he shared his bed and heart with as of a week or three ago. Maybe a few of them had guessed by now, considering on Aya he always bee-lined straight to Resistance Headquarters upon disembarkation and didn’t hold back from physical affection with its leader during their breaks in public spaces. If he wasn’t wrapped up in Jaal’s arms while looking out at the landscape then he was sitting halfway on Evfra’s lap while they had a drink in the Tavetaan. It was easy enough to ignore the whispering angara who he might never see again, but a crew that he spent almost all his time with on a ship or in a six-wheeler tin can or on a newly scanned planet?
Oh well, the mental preparation for the endless teasing to come was well worth it when he remembered how tightly Evfra had held him to his chest last night, whispering praises in his ear while Jaal reverently kissed his knee before setting his leg down from where he'd hiked it onto his shoulder, smiling at them both.
Cein moved to his work desk to check his emails for anything that might have come in while he’d been tending to the other man. He read through a message from one of the researchers on Eos thanking him for facilitating a cross-planetary topography exchange group, a soft smile playing on his lips at the excitement he could feel from the researcher’s words. He began to type out a reply and made a note to himself to visit Eos soon to see the various projects being worked on by the science teams.
He gave a slight jump when he felt a pair of arms slip around him from behind and his other angara lover, smelling of flowers and giving off that familiar slight tingle from his bioelectrics, pressed close to his back. He’d been so engrossed he hadn’t heard the doors open.
“You finally finished with that project that’s kept you away from us all morning?” Cein teased and gave one of the thick arms a pat before trailing the calloused pads of his fingertips up and down the dips and curves.
Jaal chuckled, the rumble from his chest a comforting vibration against Cein’s back, and pressed kiss after kiss to his neck and shoulders.
“For now. I did hope to take a break and spend lunch together.”
Evfra snorted from the bed where he’d been silently going through his own messages.
“If I knew when I was invited to come onto your ship that all we’d be doing was having a picnic and lazing about, I would’ve stayed at headquarters. I have my own work to do.”
Jaal hummed in amusement and began to rock their shared human subconsciously, much to said human’s enjoyment. “It was Cein’s wish to spend time together. I did warn you that I’d be in the midst of a project, and yet it was you who waved me off and agreed to come anyway.”
“And Jaal was going to feel left out if I stayed on Aya with you instead. He hates being left alone,” Cein responded cheekily, earning a gentle pinch to his hip and a playful growl from Jaal. He gave him another pat on the arm, “I really can’t win with you two.”
“You chose to be stuck with us,” Jaal murmured before turning him around to pull him into a kiss. Cein smiled against his lips, returning the kiss eagerly while running his hands up and down the back of Jaal’s mane.
“Indeed, I did,” he whispered with a shine in his eyes.
When he pulled away from Jaal’s embrace it was to move to sit on the bed beside Evfra who, even with his complaints, had not made a move to get up and leave. If anything, he seemed to be getting quite cozy leaning back against the stacked pillows Cein had scrounged up last night from around the ship. It didn’t seem the Resistance had any time-sensitive matters to attend to, and Aya was right outside anyway if Evfra really had to attend to his duties. The Tempest was grounded for the time being while Gil collaborated with a Resistance engineer on some engine upgrades, and everyone onboard had been more than happy to take advantage of the temporary shore leave.
The Pathfinder leaned against Evfra’s non-bandaged arm that immediately moved to wrap around him and bring him closer. He brushed a gentle kiss to the scar lines on Evfra’s cheek, not bothered that the other man didn’t move to meet his lips the way Jaal might have. While Jaal was the poster boy for unabashed skinship, Evfra’s horrifying loss at the hands of the Kett had all but muted the usual angara tendency for open physical affections. The allowance of any contact was enough of a message to broadcast his mutual sentiment, and Cein was more than okay with that. Evfra at most leaned into his touch, though his eyes remained focused on reading through a report on his datapad.
Cein really couldn't complain because when he'd made it clear that a piece of his heart also belonged to the tired and worn down commander, there was a noticeable closing of whatever gap Evfra had built between them. He never pushed away Cein’s hugs and kisses in the weeks that followed the confession. Maybe grunted or huffed, but he was a grumpy guy in general, and he was more inclined to use his words when it came to communicating his feelings for the other two. That familiar Angaran directness was something Cein comfortably understood thanks to all the months he'd spent with Jaal, and he readily received whatever words of devotion fell from Evfra's lips.
As Cein and Evfra rested together, Jaal rummaged around in the small bag that he'd left in Cein's room ever since they'd solidified their relationship beyond a stress-induced, wartime fling. He took out a few bottles, rearranging them alongside the light cosmetics Cein kept for himself, and made it a point to look at Evfra as he made a clear separation on the table between the two sets. Evfra narrowed his eyes at him and said what probably was a scathing remark in Shelesh that SAM didn't bother to translate as Jaal made a flourishing motion to the green cases, a teasing smirk on his face. Cein could only laugh and pat at Evfra’s leg, laying his head against his shoulder and sighing with happiness at the two's silent antics.
“You two being stuck together is also a choice you both made on your own,” Cein pointed out, hiding a smile against Evfra’s skin as he received two very different but very expected answers.
“Without regrets.”
“And what a fool I am for it.”
With a smile that made his cheeks ache, Cein reached up to turn Evfra’s head his way so he could properly kiss him on the lips, humming joyfully when the other finally put down his datapad and returned the gesture. Evfra's kisses were more solid and sure than Jaal's and Cein found himself just as hungry for them.
“Our fool," he murmured and let out a surprised gasp when Evfra suddenly tugged him even closer, their bodies pressed flush together.
“Bewitching temptor,” Evfra growled and deepened the kiss.
All Cein could do was surrender to his possessive embrace. When Evfra laid him out on the pile of pillows, he grinned up at him with mischief twinkling in his eyes and chuckled as if the hasty removal of his clothes by his more impatient lover was all a game. He was careful not to accidentally remove the bandage on Evfra's arm as he ran his hands up to his shoulders and locked them behind his head, their kiss deepening as the angara's fingers surfed along his naked skin.
“I told you he was more dangerous than he looked,” Jaal chided as he nonchalantly continued to organize his things before finally joining the other two on the bed at Cein's insistence. He was in for a much longer break than expected, but lunch could wait as he and Evfra prepared to devour their dearest one.