Chapter Thirty-nine

 

Waking to the sound of voices, Stern rubbed at his eyes. “Good morning?”

 

“Good morning,” Cyra said brightly.

 

“It was a good night, too,” Trish snickered, causing the other two to blush.

 

“It was,” Cyra said, her face heating more at the admission.

 

“It was,” Stern agreed. “I recall a certain redhead helping us in that regard.”

 

“Guilty,” Trish smiled.

 

“Surprised you’re both up already,” Stern said, shifting to his side to watch them dress.

 

“He forgot,” Trish smirked.

 

“Maybe we broke him?” Cyra asked. Her face was still red, but she was clearly trying to join in.

 

He frowned for a second until he remembered. “Oh, right.”

 

“Yes. Since we’re taking the day off, we’re taking Cammie shopping,” Trish said, seeing recognition sink in, “including the stop at Garton’s.”

 

Stern coughed— he remembered all too well Cammie telling the other two at dinner that detail. Vulk had started to get upset, but when he saw Stern’s panic, he’d calmed down. “Yeah. Emma is going with you, too?”

 

“She is,” Trish nodded. “A full girls’ day out.” Her lips twisted into an evil smirk. “Did you want to go with us? To see us try on outfits?”

 

He blushed again as the image of Cyra and Trish in the outfits he’d picked for them filled his mind. The burning intensified when Cammie joined them in his mind’s eye. He thought it was funny that Emma didn’t, but the other three were enough to cause him a bit of distress. “Uh…”

 

“You’re so bad,” Cyra gently chided Trish. “She’s not serious.”

 

Stern exhaled, his face still radiating heat. “Thank the Goddess.”

 

“Did you think about us in the outfits?” Trish asked with a wicked smile. “Did you think about the other two, as well?”

 

Stern froze, his eyes darting from her to Cyra, then back. “Yes to the first.” He looked away before adding, “Cammie.” The single word was a whisper.

 

Cyra blinked. There was a faint hint of pain coming from her, and Stern lowered his head further. That hurt faded quickly, replaced with curiosity. “Just Cammie?”

 

Stern nodded, trying to understand why neither of them were angry with him. He glanced up to see his two lovers exchanging a silent look. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I couldn’t lie, though. When Trish asked, the image just popped in.”

 

“You did say she could get an outfit or two,” Trish said, moving over to sit on the edge of the bed. “You did that for the cover, right?”

 

Again, Stern felt a bit ashamed, but he answered honestly, “Mostly.”

 

“Mostly?” Cyra asked, joining Trish on the bed beside him.

 

“You’ve been wanting to make her feel wanted. That was part of it. I also caught her emotions and looks at a couple of the outfits. I would like her to stay on the crew with us, too. So... I thought giving her the chance was okay.”

 

“Do you find her attractive?” Trish asked bluntly, but with no anger.

 

“Yes,” Stern admitted. “I try not to look at her that way, though. She’s a friend and a crewmate.”

 

Cyra took his hand in hers. “Thank you for being honest with us, Stern. It hurts a little, but the fact that you’re committed to our relationship and the pledge we made to be honest to each other... that makes the hurt vanish.”

 

“Not many women could handle that level of honesty,” Trish said. “Luckily, we’re just as committed as you are.”

 

Stern swallowed hard as the love from his lovers redoubled. He accepted the soft kiss from each and felt better for doing what he said he would do. “Thank you.”

 

“Now you have a good portion of today to do things with Vulk,” Trish said, getting off the bed to finish dressing. “I doubt you’ll do anything improper with him.”

 

Stern blanched a little. “Not interested.”

 

Cyra giggled. “We didn’t think you would.”

 

“But we might with Cammie,” Trish said, glancing back at Stern.

 

Stern flushed again. “You’re just trying to get a rise out of me.”

 

“And I succeeded, it looks like,” Trish murmured, her eyes not on his face.

 

“You’re terrible,” Cyra snickered.

 

“And we wouldn’t trade her for the world,” Stern said as he got out of bed. “She’s not wrong. She had a rise out of me when I thought about you in outfits from Garton’s.”

 

Cyra flushed and touched one of her ears. “You really picked an outfit out for me?”

 

“And for Trish,” Stern said. “When I saw them, I thought of each of you and how it would suit you. You don’t have to accept it, but I hope you do.”

 

“As if we’d refuse a gift from you,” Trish scoffed. “We might not wear them often, but we’ll wear them at least once. To see your brain melt, if nothing else.”

 

“We will,” Cyra said. She wasn’t looking at him as she stroked one of her ears. “I want to be as beautiful as you think I am.”

 

“Impossible,” Trish said. “You can never be as beautiful as I think you are, just as I’ll never be as beautiful as you think I am. But we can try to be as beautiful as we can for each other and our dear Stern.”

 

Cyra nodded, letting go of her ear to turn and hug Trish. Burying her face into Trish’s chest, she spoke, muffled, “Okay.”

 

Stern walked up behind Cyra and hugged her, making a Cyra sandwich with Trish. “I’ll never feel as good-looking as you two see me, but I try to be even a small part of that for you both.”

 

Cyra smiled, her voice still muffled. “I like this. Safe with you both.”

 

“Even if he’s poking you?” Trish asked.

 

“Yes, that doesn’t make me twinge at all anymore… well, not like it used to.”

 

“I feel that,” Stern chuckled.

 

“She feels it,” Trish corrected.

 

That got all of them laughing. After a minute, they broke the hug and finished dressing for the day.

 

~*~*~

 

The smell of food filled the kitchen and dining room. Stern was hard at work, finishing up the meal and wondering if he should be ready to keep the food warm, instead.

 

“That smells delicious,” Trish said as she came into the room.

 

“Thanks,” Stern said. “Vulk, grab the wine and glasses. I’ll have this done in a few minutes.”

 

“You’re done with it?”

 

“Yup. Glad I was already getting the last sear on the steaks. Who wants onions with their steaks?”

 

Everyone said they did, so Stern just nodded and focused on cooking.

 

“How was your day?” Vulk asked Emma as he seated her at the table before getting the wine.

 

“Good,” Emma beamed. “Your sister shared a few stories with us.”

 

Vulk froze, the bottle a scant inch off the counter. “Oh?”

 

“You called it,” Trish laughed. “He’s worried.”

 

Coughing, Vulk snagged the glasses and carried them and the bottle to the table. “I’m sure Cammie didn’t say anything bad.”

 

“I told them about how you always pouted if you weren’t allowed to go shopping with me and Mom,” Cammie said.

 

Vulk exhaled, giving Cammie a disapproving frown. “Of course you did.”

 

“I thought it was sweet,” Emma said, touching Vulk’s hand when he set an empty glass in front of her. “I won’t ask you to stay with me, not when it’s her you’re trying to get powerful enough to save.”

 

Vulk swallowed hard as he stared into Emma’s eyes. “I would if you asked. Cammie would pull her out... they’d help her. If you want me here with you, I’ll stop and stay by your side.”

 

The room was quiet as everyone watched the couple.

 

Emma exhaled. “No. You might regret that later, so I can’t ask you to do that. I never want you looking back, questioning if I was the right choice.”

 

Vulk inhaled slowly. “You will never be the wrong choice to me, Emma. If you want me to continue for my mother, then I will keep running... but once she’s revived, I will stop and come back here to you, if you’ll have me.”

 

Emma pulled him to her, hugging him. “Vulk, I didn’t cry over you to lose you. You’re what I want. So yes, once your mother is safe, please, come back to me? I’ll be waiting.”

 

Bending forward, Vulk kissed Emma softly, getting soft awws from the other three women at the table. Vulk ignored them as he kissed Emma with all the love he felt.

 

“Well, Vulk will be joining us for training over the next two weeks,” Stern said as he pulled the steaks off the stove. “We have rooms saved for us to train in, including specialized courses for each of us. Though I’m the problematic one there, they’ll take me through a tamer course to help me and Zasha understand each other better in combat.”

 

Pawly meowed from her seat.

 

“And you, too,” Stern laughed.

 

The others laughed with him as Pawly chuffed.

 

“Okay, steak and potatoes for dinner,” Stern said as he brought the plates over to the table two at a time. “I have onions for the steaks, since you all wanted some. They were cooked in the pan after the first cook on the meat, using the wine to deglaze the pan and season the onions. It let me sear the steaks with the pan so they would have hints of wine and onions to it. I hope you enjoy it.”

 

Pawly watched Stern serving everyone else first and huffed.

 

Laughing, Stern gave her a small plate of steak after he’d served Trish and just before he grabbed his own. “So dramatic.”

 

They fell silent for a few minutes as everyone started eating.

 

Cyra complimented him at the end of the meal. “The onions had a good contrast to the steak. It adds a nice flavor. The gravy has a hint of wine, too. I like it. It gives me an idea for trying something next time I make a similar dish.”

 

“I can’t wait to try it,” Trish said. “Stern, it’s good, but we both know she’s going to top you.”

 

“And I’m fine with that,” Stern replied.

 

“We know,” Trish deadpanned, taking another bite.

 

Both Cyra and Stern flushed, and the others laughed.

 

“Sorry, sorry,” Trish giggled. “I’ll make it up to you later. We have outfits from Garton’s.”

 

Stern’s face heated further, and even Vulk pinked slightly.

 

“They both blushed, just as you thought,” Emma giggled. “I guess we have to, then.”

 

“Have to?” Vulk croaked.

 

“I’ll put on my new outfit tonight… for you,” Emma said, her own face heating slightly.

 

Now, Vulk’s face turned redder than Stern’s.

 

Stern chuckled.

 

“We’ll both be wearing ours, too,” Cyra said.

 

Stern flushed more, but didn’t best Vulk. That might have been because he felt the pang of loneliness from Cammie, who looked down at her plate.

 

“A bet is a bet,” Trish said. “All of us have to wear them tonight.”

 

Cyra’s face burned hotter than Vulk’s, and Cammie’s wasn’t far behind her. Emma’s was a deep pink as all of them mumbled acceptance.

 

“Huh?” Stern asked, trying to piece together the tangled emotions that were flooding the room.

 

“After dinner, we’ll be putting on our outfits and showing them off to both of you,” Trish said.

 

Vulk’s face burned hotter. “Emma?”

 

“We bet her you wouldn’t blush as much as Stern,” Emma sighed. “If you object, we don’t have to.”

 

“Can Emma and I skip that?” Vulk asked.

 

“Yes,” Trish said. “We don’t want to upset either of you.”

 

“Thanks,” Vulk said as he stood up and offered his hand to Emma. “Ready for bed?”

 

Emma took his hand, rising to her feet. “I still want to show you the outfit.”

 

“I’m looking forward to it, Em.”

 

The couple left the room, and Stern smiled after them. “I’m glad you agreed. Vulk’s head might have exploded, otherwise.”

 

“I’m sure it still will,” Trish snickered. “Just the other head.”

 

Stern rolled his eyes. “Okay. Dishes, then bed.”

 

“Yes,” Trish said. “Can I ask you to do them tonight?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“We’ll be waiting for you, so don’t take too long,” Trish said as Stern collected the dishes.