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tapperhet-em · 2 months

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Everyone is together, but tension between them is building....

"Dude, can you maybe NOT try to antagonize Einar?" Elio had barely waited till they were outside of the cabin to address Tieran. "And don't you dare try and play stupid. You have been hot and cold with Meeri for years, and you know something went down back at the garrison with Einar, so you poke the bear by flirting with her right in front of him?"

Lorcan hung back a bit, ready to back Elio up if needed. He had the same thoughts. Something felt off about the whole interaction back in the cabin. They were all too close of friends for this to be going down now. In the coming days they would need to be a team, not at each other's throats. However, if they were all going to function as one, they had to get this one thing that had been hanging over them all for years out in the open. When things between Einar and Meeri had been more obscure, it had not been such a big deal, but now it was becoming more of one. He would have Meeri’s back before anyone else’s, which meant having Einar’s.

"Maybe you don't know all you think you do E." Tieran raised the tailgate and tried to reign in his irritation. Turning around, he sat on the back deck of the SUV and saw Lorcan’s jaw grinding. That was one man he didn’t want to fuck with, not that making Elio pissed was top of his list to do either. "You two want to know why it's been hot and cold? Because I have been trying to respect the fact that me and one of my best friends are in love with the same woman. A woman, might I add, that looks at him like her hero every damn time that he steps in the room. You two might as well be blooded brothers to her, she took a harsh punishment for E, even. Don’t tell me she wouldn’t do the same for you, Lo. I don't know where I fit in here, I haven’t for a long time. I don’t know where I fit in with you guys anymore, and not with the woman that has my heart and I can’t confess it to. I try to play it off as cool, and I fuck it up. I try to get closer to her, and I feel like I’ve got Einar’s crosshairs on my forehead." He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair, knowing he probably made things even more awkward but he'd felt like he had to clear the air.

"Tier, bro, you're our brother, and always have been. You're Einar’s brother. And it is up to you if you want to be close to Meeri as a brother or just a friend. But, what we can't have, is you and Einar at each other’s throats, or Meeri upset because you're hostile again to her, and her not understanding why. All we have are each other now." Lorcan leaned his hip against one side of the rear of the SUV, and looked towards Tieran. He understood his friend’s feelings, but they had to get things settled; or they'd turn on one another at some point. Tieran was the weak link in their chain, a chain they needed to be strong as titanium. Damn, he hated that he was now thinking of his friend like they were soldiers on a battlefield; but Lorcan could not ignore that they had a shit ton of Royal Forces looking for Meeri, and by hiding her they were signing their own death warrants too.

"Lo's right, T. You’ve got to get this settled with Meeri and with Einar. We can’t have constant upset and people on unstable footing. If you don’t think you can, and want to leave and go back to your family, I'll give you my keys. No judgment. If you stay, you've got to get this worked out." Elio hated this. He didn't know if Tieran or Lorcan had noticed the ring on Meeri’s finger back at the garrison, but he had. It didn't take a genius to figure out its meaning; another reason Tieran needed to figure his shit out.

"I'm not walking away, guys. Give me more credit than that. Fuck! I love her, I am IN love with her. I don't know how to change that, but I can at least try to not piss off Einar, or be an ass to her. I’ll figure something out, don’t ask me what. I don't want one of you shooting me, or her." Tieran shrugged and pushed off of the rear of the vehicle to standing. "I guess we need to get this stuff inside, huh?" He didn’t want to talk anymore. At least unpacking the SUV would keep them all moving, and give him something other than the situation for him to think on.

"Damn, you guys are slow." Einar chuckled as he walked up. Then he caught sight of the full postures of his three friends. Something was off, he’d known them all too long not to see the signs. "What did I miss? And do not lie to me and say nothing. I'm too tired to deal with bullshit tonight." His gaze alternated between the three of them as his head tipped back, feeling very uneasy.

“Uh…” Elio stuttered as he tried to think how to handle this without there being an actual fight. Things could even out from here on out, or they could go straight to shit; but it was the watershed moment for the group. It might be a good thing that Meeri was inside, because one member of the group upset at a time was more than enough for him. If she came out, and heard what he was sure Tieran was about to say, then both she AND Einar would be pissed. If she got upset, Lorcan wouldn’t be far behind. Elio’s eyes met Lorcan’s, who also looked unsure how to progress given the current situation.

Tieran held up a hand to his friend. “It’s okay, E, I got it.” Here went nothing. He squared his shoulders as he faced Einar, a man he’d been friends with since they were just kids. A man he respected highly, and loved like a brother. “The guys called me out on something that I should have been called out on a long time ago. I need to stop being an ass to Meeri. I’ve been handling a situation with her wrong, and it is just cuz I have an issue with the fact that she loves you and not me, even though I’m in love with her too.” There he’d said it and the slight look of shock on Einar’s face meant that he might have suspected it, but not really known for sure. For sure it was not what he had expected to hear from any of them.

Feeling like an ass from the way that Einar was looking, Tieran licked his lips, pursed them together, then continued. “Lo and E are like real brothers to her, you’re her hero that she has obviously loved as much as you love her. So where do I fit in, Einar? What is my place when it comes to the group here? Ya know?” He swallowed, looked down, and kicked at the dirt a little with his boot. It was so fucked up that it had gone on so long, and that it was coming out now. “It’s not her fault.” He looked back up. “She loves you, I love her, and I fuck up handling it. The guys are right, I’ve got to stop fucking it up because the stakes are a lot higher now than just some hurt feelings or a quarrel in the group. We all have prices on our heads and we can’t be hurting one another over this shit.” Tieran’s head dropped again and he once more let out a heavy sigh, his hands fisting and relaxing as he fought his feelings. He couldn’t walk away, he couldn’t leave his friends to handle all of this without trying to help them, there was no way he could leave HER, but right now having to be around them, with no escape, felt heavy on him; only his love for all his friends and Meeri kept him rooted in that spot.

For over a full minute Einar stood there trying to come up with something to say, but kept coming up empty. He looked over to Elio and Lorcan in turn, who looked rather grim and they didn’t know what to say either. This was heavy, heavier than he’d anticipated, when he’d demanded an answer. He’d wanted to know, so here it was. “We’ll figure it out, T. We’ll handle it.” His words were stilted. It was clear that he had no idea what to do now, but was trying. His brain was just not absorbing it all at the moment.

Taking a deep breath, “for now we need to get everything inside and get this SUV hidden. This place may not be on the top of everyone’s list, but it will be on a list somewhere. We have to be prepared. We’ll figure the rest out later. It can all be worked out, T. You’re still my brother.” Einar swallowed and still felt a little shell shocked. He was reverting back to handling things as a soldier and nothing more. If he thought on things too much right now, he would lose focus on what was important.

Lorcan clapped Einar on the shoulder. Clearly, this was going over about as well as he expected, and was going to keep going over that way, so they needed to get moving. Using his command voice, he had honed well as an MP and Sargent, he started giving directions in clipped tones that got the others moving. They got the SUV unloaded quickly and everything into what seemed to be the appropriate rooms in the cabin. Once the SUV was clean of everything, Lorcan got the keys from Elio to take it down to the same turnout as the Jeep, only to park it on the other side and throw a ghillie tarp over it that he’d found while he and Meeri had been waiting for the others. He took another one for the Jeep. It wouldn’t pass a close inspection, but would at least help it blend from the air or if they were just driving by and didn’t stop. Thankfully Tieran’s uncle had that damn cabin stocked with anything you’d need to hunt.

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princess-of-thieves-id · 2 months

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It's time for the dinner between Diyan and Inara, it seems everyone's nerves are a bit...on edge...

"Well?" Inara turned in a circle in front of Arik once she had gotten dressed, she had a nervous smile that reflected the tone of her voice. She'd showered and pulled her hair back in a low ponytail, then gotten dressed in the shirts she'd been given. It was far from the dresses she’d worn in the palace, but she didn’t think that she looked too bad. That didn’t mean that she didn’t want Arik to tell her she looked nice. His opinion was the one that mattered to her.

"Truth?" He asked from where he was sitting on the bed with his outstretched legs crossed. Instantly her smile disappeared as she nodded, his voice hadn’t sounded positive. "Shouldn’t you worry about what Noar thinks?" His mouth had worked before his brain did, and he instantly closed his eyes and hated himself when the look of hurt was awash over her face. They has already covered everything and he was fucking it up, because he was jealous and hated the entire situation that was taking place.

Clenching his jaw, Arik got off the bed and walked over to her. When her eyes didn't raise to meet his, he was gutted by his own stupidity. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but he had because he couldn’t contain his own emotions regarding what Diyan was doing. "Inara, the truth is, I'm jealous. You look sexy, and whether you intend for it to be for him or not, it is."

He took her chin between his thumb and two fingers to raise her face to look at him. The unshed tears in her eyes only added to the guilt that he felt. "I said I was jealous earlier, but I'm even more so now that I get to see how you’re going to look for that dinner." He stepped a little closer to her, placing a hand on the small of her back. "My only consolation is you're still mine after dinner. At least I hope I haven't ruined that." His head slowly dropped to bring their lips together ever so softly. Each kiss was savored, each touch relished, he would keep them all fresh in his memory during his time on the bridge. Moreso, he would be looking forward to all of the ones that would take place afterwards, not to mention being able to hold her in his arms for the night.

Inara couldn't help being a little relieved that Arik disliked this as much as she did. The feel of his lips on hers, with that brush of day old stubble he liked to keep, sent chills across her skin. There was just something about the feel of their bodies pressed together, along with his kisses that were always sensual and soft that made her melt. And if he kept kissing her like that, it would help her get through it. "Yes, I'll still be all yours afterwards. He's just borrowing me for a couple hours since it's clear his personality is the reason he's single." Her arms were around his waist and she gazed up at Arik affectionately. How had this man remained single? One look from Arik’s dark eyes and she felt like she wanted to melt into his arms. She’d started to feel that way once she could get a good look at him, in the hold of the ship. Maybe she just had a thing for valiant knights?

It took all of Arik’s strength of composure from serving in the Royal Court for him not to laugh uproariously. Once more he was finding certain parts of the situation hilarious. The reason Diyan was single was because he had been intended to marry Inara, herself. While they'd both run from the wedding to the other, only Diyan was now pursuing Inara. She still wanted nothing to do with him, and it was Diyan’s own fault this time. Diyan would be humiliated and horrified to know the whole situation, which Arik wouldn't do to him, for more than a few reasons. It didn’t mean that Arik couldn’t find the whole situation humorous and ironic secretly. There was also a sense of satisfaction that Inara would once more be in HIS arms at the end of the night.

"If I must share my beautiful Princess, I will make the sacrifice for a short time. Just try to have a good time. He can be a little bit of an ass, but he's not a bad person." Arik kissed the tip of her nose as he pulled her closer. "You're safe with him, even if annoyed." His forehead came to rest against hers as he gazed down into her eyes. She owned him and she didn’t even know it. He doubted even if she did that she would use the power over him. Of all of the Princesses that he’d met while serving alongside Diyan, Inara was definitely an enigma, and that is what drew him so deeply to her. That she looked at him like he was the one that was the Prince and hero only made her more special to him.

A knock came at the door. Time for Arik to go up to the bridge for a while. "See you soon." He kissed her softly, winked, and headed out. He would be counting the minutes till her date with Diyan was over.

***

"Is she ready?" Diyan asked when Arik stepped up on the bridge.

"Yes. And she looks lovely. Be nice, she's nervous." Arik was trying not to grind his teeth. Once more Diyan was going to try to seduce a woman that Arik had realized that he was in love with. It was not the first time Diyan would try and seduce a woman Arik had feelings for, but this time was different. The feelings were different. Inara was different.

"How far will not get me hit?" Diyan asked suddenly, catching Arik off guard.

"Excuse me?" What the actual fuck was Diyan asking and why did he suddenly was to hit him FOR asking? Did he really want to know what he could do with Inara that wouldn’t upset Arik? Seriously? So he DID know Arik cared for Inara and yet was going ahead with this dinner anyway, AND he wanted to know what he could do and not get hit for it. So much for being brothers and best friends it seemed.

"At what point is she going to slap me? And at what point are you going to try to break my jaw?" Diyan’s brows rose as he looked at his old friend. He still had no clue what their relationship was, and he preferred not to have a repeat of the previous interactions. He did however want to seduce the alluring Renisa into his bed for at least the duration of this voyage, and maybe for the foreseeable future. She was beautiful, smart, had a backbone, and could hold her own, these were all things he craved.

"I won't speak for her. However," Arik looked at the floor for a second before his eyes met Diyan’s again with a change in them making him appear much more threatening, "don't make her cry, upset, have to run from you, or slap you and I won't hit you. I trust her. She trusts me. I will know if something happens." There was something dark and sinister about his grin that made Diyan clear his throat once Arik had stopped speaking. He was on the cusp of breaking a cheekbone if not his jaw currently.

That spoke loud and clear. "I intend to avoid all of those." Diyan nodded towards Arik. "You are awfully protective of her, Arik."

"I am." Arik replied evenly. "I care about her, and she about me. She's been through a lot, and I won’t have that added to. I have promised more than once to always keep her safe. The more important she becomes to me, the more that promise means to me. And she is quite impotant."

"But there's nothing officially? You’re not engaged, or otherwise committed?" Diyan wanted to be clear. No intended status, no betrothal, and he already knew no marriage.

"Not yet. Yet." Arik wouldn't pull punches with him. They'd known each other too long. "I assume you will try to change her mind about the possibility of there ever being. As I said, we care deeply about one another, Diyan, and we are progressing. I trust her to do the right thing in regards to our relationship." What he wasn’t going to be able to do much longer was control his temper. Maybe he'd never realized how entitled Diyan was before. Arik couldn't imagine asking the same things of Diyan that he was asking currently, if the roles were reversed.

"It's just dinner. She seems to have made that clear." And Diyan couldn't help but show his annoyance at this. There was a bite to his words, making them clipped and short.

"What the fuck did you expect?" Now there was an edge to Arik's voice, his jaw tightening, and the volume of his words rising slightly; he saw Diyan’s eyes widen from it. "We got on this boat together. There was something starting even then, a binding trust, and we've only grown closer since. Did you expect her to just tell me to fuck off, to be with you? I’m not sure whether that idea is an insult to me or her more. Maybe you should think on it as well. She tried to make it clear last night that she didn’t even want the dinner, but of course you don’t care what anyone else wants, because YOU want her, regardless of whether she’s with me or not. Go to your fucking dinner." Arik’s arms crossed over his chest as he stared at Diyan with a highly irritated look. There was a tick starting in his jar and his molars were grinding.

"Arik…no…that’s not what…" Diyan sighed. He was going to end up with both of them pissed soon. It was coming out wrong or something.

"Really? Have you listened to yourself? I get it, we joked last night about things that we shouldn’t have, but I was NOT serious. I've felt guilty ever since and you're asking now how serious we are and how far you can go with her. What the fuck? I TRUST HER. That is how serious things are." Arik was actually becoming hurt, which in turn pissed him off. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. He was really looking forward to Diyan returning to the bridge after this dinner so he could go down and relax, because there would be no doing so till it was over.

"Damn it, I don't know what to say. Maybe it's because she has no interest in me, hell can barely stand me. There's just something pulling me towards her. I was trying to avoid this right here, but I failed." Diyan sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I'm not trying to steal her from you."

"You should go, NOW." Arik was done with the conversation. He was about to lose his temper, which he didn't want to do. Inara already did not want this dinner, Diyan arriving with a black eye wouldn’t help.

"Alright, we'll talk later." Diyan sighed and headed off to get ready.

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