Snogging at the Theatre

He felt like a tutorling, sitting in the back of the theatre. In the dark of the night-time amphitheatre Eulfred sat up the back as the bards performed the ballad of some king or some consort or some trash. The what was unimportant, just that everyone around was concentrating on the adventure up front.

Up the back with Eulfred, Jeckard and Tammithy were trying to very quietly profess their love for each other. This pair of two, two thirds of the completely fine friendship group that did not need this distraction at all. He was supposed to be gossiping with them about the upcoming ceremony, not watching them make professions of bond-ship while leaving him sitting on the eggs of friendship, likely to be abandoned when they realise both their goals take them from this town all the way to Whencis.

So, to the disappointment of Eulfred's heart, he decided the night was one of sabotage. The first act was to complain about the height of the hair of the hair of the woman in front of Eulfred, distracting the pair in an attempt to sit between them; which had worked until Tammithy realised she could sit in the middle and Eulfred on the far side, opposite of Jeckard.

The next 'trick' Eulfred had, was pushing his leg right up against Tammithy's thigh. Eulfred had always found it difficult to concentrate, especially when Tammithy or Jeckard got in his personal space, it was what made that first year at the Gracetown academy hard, before they'd moved here, in an effort to follow Tammithy's dream with the healing magery - until she'd realised that the healing arts around here were cornered by the creature-kin and their House of the Arcane outpost.

The problem with this trick was that Tammithy just pressed her thigh back, even reaching to grasp Eulfred by the wrist, to calm his nerves. Whatever she thought he needed calming about other than the pair of them, he had no clue though, and it just reminded him of the friends he would lose to this love fiasco.

"Jeckard has something to say, can you stop fidgeting?" Tammithy says, way too calmly for the intense way she's been gearing up when it was just the two of them earlier this week. She WANTS Jeckard to tell her he loves her.

"Relax, Eulfred just wants to see the same show we always go to this time of the month. He was like this back in Sentis last year." Last year Tammithy had been talking about wanting to move and Eulfred had thought the entire show that she was going to tell the boys that she was moving on without them. 4 towns in 3 years was too much change for Eulfred to handle, but unless they abandoned him here, he would go with his friends to the very North if need be.

Jeckard reaches over them both to grip Eulfred by the shoulder. "We can get some air if you need it. You know all the lines to this one and your ears are looking peaked." Even if he believes his own lie about the show, Jeckard knows what Eulfred distressed looks like and despite touching him, his friend knows instinctively what to do. It is why he cares so deeply for them. Why trying to stop them being in love hurts so much.

They shuffle over just enough people that makes escape awkward and slip into the deep-pink night.

Eulfred catches his breath with his hands on his knees while the couple, for that's what they are in all but official name, stand to one side, whispering their prized secrets. They grip each other's wrists, cheek to cheek, ear to ear and Eulfred wants to let out a keening cry for them to stop, but just has to breathe and listen to their quiet talking, not hearing their sounds but knowing they are building to declarations he can't make them take back.

Eventually they come over, placing hands on his shoulders and helping him up. "Are you ok? You haven't freaked out that hard since you thought we were joining a different friends group. And that was when we were tutorlings." Tammithy has struck right at the core of things, without knowing, or maybe just without care. He leans back, pressing their hands deeper, even if being touched made him sudden, them doing the touching this last time feels like an act of rebellion.

"How do we stop the future? I'm so scared of what comes next." Eulfred trembles at the thought of losing them, air driven from his lungs as the anxiety takes over again and they push his head down to encourage him to calm.

"You're not going to lose us, I don't know how or why you think you are, but we're not going anywhere. We are a triad." Jeckard catches Eulfred by the wrist again, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the pulse point. He slows his breathing at this, still hating being touched - but forgiving Jeckard because it is him.

He looks relieved that they are saying they know his problem, but fear still grips his heart if they tell each other they are in love. Mated means more than... "You are our community Eulfred, that's what tonight is, being with our community." Tammithy is looking at him strangely. "Though I was hoping for some jealousy, some sign you wanted to stay with us."

"I keep telling you, Eulfred is not into that. Our man barely likes touch." Jeckard is looking to Tammithy with love and warmth and something clicks that the warmth has been there between them for a bit now.

"Was this a test?" He asks, feeling played and a little sad. "Or a joke at my expense?" He moves away from them, turning to face them, hoping to read something in their faces that say this is an accident, that they were not experimenting with his emotions and reactions while they dated in secret.

Eulfred thinks they look guilty, but most of that is drowned behind a deep fear that he can't work out the why of, except that they think they might lose him in return. A tired laugh leaves his lips, knowing they don't quite get the joke that is seeing them fear what he has feared for so very long.

"It wasn't a test, it was working up to ask you to be our mate too. You're important to us in a way that's been forever." Tammithy says, looking on the verge of her own tears. He wants to move, to stand beside her and offer his brand of awkward support, but that would send the wrong message.

"There will never be romance if you had me. And intimacy that way is just gross. Could you have that, just for me?" His voice is forced to be strong, to set the boundary into the seed base of whatever they are offering, and whatever he is wanting to accept. "And we'd have to talk about this secrets thing. That is going to sting for a bit. You understand that?"

"If you understand we can't lose you." Jeckard says, taking a hesitant step forwards, into the gap between Tammithy and Eulfred.

"Three thirds make a whole." Eulfred says, turning and heading back to the theatre, he knows where the show is up to and plans to hate-watch the rest of it beside his mates. "Come along." He says, beckoning them with the smallest of smiles.