Mollymauk is the first one to notice, of course.
They notice the pretty obvious crush Fjord harbours for Caleb, his curiosity and admiration towards this seemingly meek man, and how his feelings are – pretty obviously again – returned by the wizard.
That isn’t the only thing they notice though: they notice Fjord’s interest in them, and even though that may be exclusively to learn their story – something even they aren’t entirely sure about – they have felt his gaze on them a lot of times, and not with the only purpose of keeping an eye on them. They’ve also noticed Caleb silent curiosity.
It’s more subtle, that’s for sure, but it’s there. Maybe he feels comfort in the fact that he isn’t the only “weird one” in this group made up exclusively of “weird ones”.
Of course they’re interested in both of them; they are curious people and Molly wants to get inside them – both figuratively and literally – and well, they already feel some sort of companionship towards them, so why shouldn’t they take a step further?
The things is, and they’re quite ashamed to admit it… they don’t know where to begin.
It isn’t a problem of shyness of course – how could they ever be shy about something like this – but they don’t know how the other two would react to their advances. They don’t even know if they know that there’s a whole world outside monogamy for starters.
Actually Fjord seems really conflicted by the fact that he might like both them and Caleb.
They have to do something about this before Fjord and Caleb get together, or else they feel like there wouldn’t be a place for them anymore, and they’re a greedy tiefling, they want both.
Maybe with time they can manage to open their eyes.
They start very simple. They’re all at a tavern and, after some drinks, Molly starts to ramble about the circus.
They’ve waited until the only one remaining are them, Fjord and Caleb. Caleb doesn’t seem to sleep much, so of course he’d still be up even if it’s very late and Fjord, being himself, is waiting for everyone else to get upstairs to their room in case something happens. Always the gentleman.
They let them talk without interruptions. Maybe they think it’s the alcohol speaking, or maybe they think Molly needs this after what happened to the circus, to their life, which isn’t true… mostly. Ok, maybe they needed that. A bit.
Molly then starts to talk about some peculiar people they’ve met along their journey and about their “arrangements”, and maybe they make some things up to get their point across, but it’s nothing too big.
They see clear stupor on Fjord and Caleb’s faces, and they can’t help but to smirk. It’s very amusing.
- And they were… good? -, Fjord asks, with his typical gravelly voice, and Molly wonders how it would feel to hear him saying some other kind of stuff with that voice of his, but this isn’t the right time to wonder things like this. For now they’ll just store that thought for another time.
They nod.
- Of course -, they say then, - As long as there’s communication, you don’t have to have only one partner -.
Caleb doesn’t say anything, but his gaze continues to dart from Fjord to them.
Molly’s temped to wink at him but they refrain. At least for once they want to try to be subtle.
They all fall in a brief silence, then Fjord speaks again:
- And are there any chances you’re… like this too? -.
Molly doesn’t reply straight, but they start to get up and they lean closer to the half-orc.
- Wouldn’t you like to know -, they say with a smirk on their face and then, without adding anything, they start walking upstairs to the room they share with Fjord.
Oh yeah, they were supposed to be subtle… Ops.
Sorry not sorry.
They’re still awake when Fjord gets inside as well, but they pretend to sleep and Fjord doesn’t seem to notice, or if he does he doesn’t say anything about it.
Molly suddenly feels a couple of arms – they must be Fjord’s – gently picking them up, and for a moment they panic. What is he doing? Where is he taking them?
They’re about to drop their act when Fjord drops them – always with such care and gentleness – onto the bed, which is too small for both of them – and that’s why Molly usually takes the floor.
They hear Fjord mumbling something that they can’t quite catch, then they hear the sound of Fjord stripping of his armour and making himself comfortable on the ground.
That’s… very very sweet.
Molly is touched.
When they wake up, Fjord’s not there. He must’ve gotten downstairs.
Molly gets ready and gets down as well and they were right. He’s at the table at the corner with the others. When Molly joins in Jester’s in the middle of narrating the strange dream she had – something about unicorns made of donuts or something similar – when Fjord subtly leans towards the purple tiefling and he asks if they’ve slept well.
- I did, actually -, they reply, - … I guess I should thank you -.
Fjord shrugs.
- Figured you could use some sleep on an actual bed once in a while -.
At that Molly smirks.
- That’s really touching, but next time you should hop on there too. We’ll make it work -.
Fjord’s face becomes a darker shade of green and Molly decides to let it go for now, turning their attention to the others.
They count that as a small victory.
From that moment Molly slowly – at least for their standards – and gradually – again, at least for their standards – starts to drop their subtlety.
They start to compliment both Fjord and Caleb whenever they have the occasion, they start to tag along with Caleb when he goes book shopping – they can’t help it, he’s too adorable during those moments – and they’ve even started to open up with Fjord a bit more about their past – still putting some lie here and there though.
It feels… nice, to have someone they can rely on, someone they can entertain a friendly relationship with.
They don’t remember how long it’s been since they’ve felt this way with someone.
It’s… it’s scary.
Once they catch Fjord staring at them.
- What? -, they say, and Fjord finally shakes himself, like he’s been in some sort of trance until now.
He reaches with his hand a lock of hair that has gotten out of place and he pushes it aside.
- Much better -, he says then, and Molly still likes to pretend that it didn’t take all day for them to recover from that.
They’ve learned that with Caleb silence is more valuable than words.
Sometimes they offer to keep him company while he reads some new book he’s found, just in case something happens or they need to go.
Caleb looked reluctant at first – something about not being very good with people – but Molly reassured him that if it would get too much, they would’ve left him alone, and Caleb was grateful for that.
Turns out there’s a reason as to why Caleb’s familiar is a cat. He really acts like one.
Especially when he’s cold he would curl on Molly, seeking some warmth, and who’s Molly to refuse him.
They’ve come to appreciate these silent times spent together.
It helps them think, clear their minds. It’s the perfect break for all the nonsense they have to put through.
Molly’s chilling on the bed when they hear the sound of the door opening. They look up and they see Fjord and Caleb walking inside.
- Gentlemen -, the tiefling says as a greeting and Caleb nods in acknowledgement.
- We need to talk -, Fjord says, always straight to the point, and Molly tilts their head, curious and intrigued.
- Oh? And about what? -, they say, even though from the looks Caleb’s giving them they can kinda figure out what it will be about, but they still want to hear him saying it.
- So… uhm… -, Fjord starts as he sits on the edge on the bed, while Caleb leans on the wall, but he doesn’t seem to know where to start so Caleb steps in.
- Is it right to assume that the story you told us and your resulting behaviour have a purpose, right? -.
Molly’s smirk gets even bigger as they reply:
- Mmmmh… Maybe, why? -.
Caleb and Fjord look at each other, then Fjord speaks:
- We… we talked. We talked about having an… arrangement -.
He makes a pause, clearing his throat.
- With you, we talked about having an arrangement with you -.
Yes.
- Ah, it seems I’ve been rubbing off of you -, Molly says, barely capable to hide their excitement, and in fact Caleb sees right through them. Maybe it’s because of the way their tail has started to wag like they were a child in front of candy.
- As if you weren’t doing this on purpose -, he says, but there’s a fond tone in his voice.
- You got me there -, Molly admits, and they feel so proud of themselves.
They did it. They really did it.
- So, uh… how would it work? -, Fjord asks then, so innocent, and Molly can barely hold their voice together as they reply, making motions to both of them to come closer.
- Why don’t you two come here and let me show you? -