He sighed in contentment. "I love him more than anything in the world." He bit his lip with a slight frown. "But I don't know, for the longest time I've just felt like something was missing. It's not that Fen didn't satisfy me, that wasn't it. It was just…it felt like I was forgetting something. And then we met you. And then you saved Fen. And I realized just what I was missing."
Archer looked up at Ori with a smile. "Fen takes care of me but I guess I never really felt like I was enough to take care of Fen. But you are. And I feel like I'm good enough to take care of you. So it all comes full circle and now my heart is the calmest it's been in years."
Ori flushed a little as he listened, unable to keep the smile off his face. "You're so sweet," he said, and his voice was so warm. It hadn't even registered in his head, when he'd saved Fen. They were all hopped up on adrenaline and one of the werewolves had lunged and he had gone off without thinking. Even afterwards, it hadn't seemed like a big deal.
"And you do a fine job taking care of Fen, you just do it differently than he does. It's… it's like you said,." He gave Archer's hand a soft squeeze, turning his smile towards the bard this time, instead of just aiming it at the ground. "He does the physical care, and you do the emotional stuff, and… I guess I'll be there too, when the two of you need me."
"Oh come on, you're selling yourself short." Archer nudged his side. "You help keep us sane. You do all the mental stuff. Fen does what he can but he's no expert and I'm the last person you should go to for something like that. But you. You're steady. You're calming. Like a rock in a violent sea. And I think it's just what we needed."
Ori's laugh was a little bit strained as he nudged Archer back. "You can't possibly know that," he protested, but it was weak even to his own ears. "We've only been travelling together for a few weeks. I've barely had time to steady myself, let alone both of you. And just because I'm better at the brainy stuff doesn't mean the two of you aren't good. You did perfectly well without me there."
Archer huffed, his nose scrunching as he thought before he leaned up and kissed Ori's cheek softly. "That's why we want you here. With us. Then maybe we have a chance at steadying each other just a bit more."
The kiss had Ori flushing all over again, leaning into the touch even as Archer pulled away. "You can't just kiss me every time you want to be right," he complained, frowning down at the bard even though he felt all warm and fuzzy inside. "I can't even remember what we were talking about now, it's not fair."
Archer stuck his tongue out childishly before giggling. "What, are you going to stop me? It works on Fen too, it's my secret weapon."
"Well… I won't do anything to stop you, obviously, but that doesn't mean I won't complain about it!" He tugged Archer in a little closer, pouting by this point. "It's rude, Archer."
"It's not rude if you like it~" He teased. "Archer! Ori! Where are you?!" A far off voice yelled. Archer looked up at Ori. "See? I told you he'd be back for us."
Ori had just enough time to roll his eyes before Fen started calling for them. "We're back here, Fen!" He dragged Archer towards the sound of Fen's voice, sticking to the trail to make sure they didn't get lost too. "You outpaced us a little, just stay where you are and we'll catch up."
"Don't get lost!" Fen called back and Archer shook his head with a smile. "He's the one who left us behind and yet he tells us not to get lost."
Ori laughed quietly, leaning over to peck Archer on the cheek. "He's just worried because you have a habit of wandering off, now c'mon. We're gonna get ourselves in another werewolf fight situation if we don't hurry up."
"Yeah yeah, I'm coming." He kept up with Ori until Fen came into view by the edge of the forest right next to the town, pacing back and forth and chewing on his lip.
Ori let Archer go first, still not quite willing to get between the two of them, but he smiled over at Fen. "We're fine, just so you know. I didn't let your boyfriend run us off the path or anything while you were gone."
Fen looked up at Ori's voice and Archer bounced over and squished his boyfriend in a hug. "I missed you!" Fen rolled his eyes with a smile. "I'm sure you did. By the time I realized you two weren't behind me, I was already at the inn. So I got our room and dinner is on the way so let's get going."
Ori reached over to ruffle Archer's hair as he latched onto Fen, laughing quietly. "That's what we've been trying to do, but somebody got lost in thought and left us behind. What were you even mumbling about anyways?"
Fen fell quiet, his cheeks turning pink as he chewed on his lip. "Nothing important." Archer gave Ori a knowing look but said nothing. "Well, come on, let's go." Fen took Archer's hand and started towards the inn.
Ori seemed a little flustered as he smiled back, but it was nice to know that Fen was thinking about them being more than just… friends. "We're coming, we're coming, no need to be so pushy. It's not our fault you decided to leave us behind."
"I'm sorry, you know I get in my own head sometimes." "Don't apologize, Ori and I had a lovely conversation while you were gone." "Oh? What about?" "You'll find out later, don't worry."
Ori laughed quietly as Archer brought up their conversation, unable to keep his cheeks from growing hotter. "I'm sure we'll have time to talk about it later tonight, Fen, as long as you're willing to share what you were thinking about. If we don't get to keep secrets then neither do you."
Fen contemplated it for a second before sighing. "Alright fine." Archer smiled at Ori before turning back to Fen, gushing about their time in the woods until they reached the inn. Fen led them upstairs to their room and Archer excused himself to get a bath, leaving Ori and Fen alone.
Ori had settled himself on the bed by the time Archer left, picking idly at the sheets. "So, um…" He glanced up just long enough to give Fen a nervous smile. "… what were you thinking about out there? It must have been pretty serious, you were caught up in your head for quite a while."
Fen settled on the floor, pulling his hood down. "If I tell you, do you swear not to tell Archer? I…I don't know how he'll react." Fen rolled his staff on his lap, his stomach twisting with nerves.
Ori fiddled with the hem of his tunic himself, just as nervous as Fen was. "Of course I do, Fen. I'll keep your secrets for as long as you want me to, just… get on with it already, yeah? All this suspense is going to give me a heart attack."
"Well I…it's just that…I think I like you. Like, more than a person likes a travelling companion." He couldn't even look at Ori. "And before you say anything, I know it's weird. I'm already in a committed relationship and I'm crushing on someone else." Fen sighed, dropping his head into his hands. "I'm a disgrace. You're free to leave if you're disgusted with me."
Ori couldn't help but smile at the admission, slipping off the bed so he could settle by Fen's side. "Well first of all, you don't need to be worried about Archer thinking your weird because he told me the same thing this morning—minus the disgusted part. And… um… second," he reached over to take Fen's hands in his, lacing their fingers together, "I like you too. Very much."
"Wait, seriously? Was that what you two were talking about earlier?" Fen still couldn't bring himself to look at Ori, convinced this was some kind of sick joke and that he was about to be rejected.
Ori nodded, reaching over to tilt up Fen's chin gently. "It was. I like you, Fen, and Archer likes me and you like both of us and it's okay. Nobody thinks you're disgusting. We're all okay with this."
Fen flinched at his touch at first, still scared. There were tears in his eyes, years of emotional suppression all threatening to spill out. "I just…is this really okay? For me to want both of you?"
Ori reached up slowly, clearly projecting his movements, and cupped Fen's face in his hands. "It is," he said firmly, though he could scarcely believe it himself. The only thing that gave him the courage to speak this way was Archer, the way he'd lit up when he'd let this weight off his chest. "This is good. This is something you deserve, and you shouldn't be ashamed of it."
