________________________________________
Val pipes up, "So.... We've still got a decent amount of the day left, what do we want to do?"
You and Lena look at each other, then both shrug.
"I don't know," you say in unison.
"Exactly! That's the problem," Val laughs.
"Well...." Lena rests her chin between her fingers, then she brightens with excitement.
"I remember you guys were pretty big into that dungeon crawl video game, right?" Lena asks.
You and Val exchange excited looks, and you say, "Yeah! We haven't played in a while, but it's really fun."
"So.... Does it support a third player?”
"Yeah, it does." You grin.
"Perfect! I always wanted to try it," Lena beams, "But I was always kind of weirdly nervous about playing by myself. RPGs always intimidate me a bit with all the stats and builds and items and stuff."
You get up from the bed, and Val and Lena both roll to their feet. Val wraps an arm around Lena's hip and says, "Well don't be, you won't be playing alone, and we'll get you up to speed with the game!"
The three of you walk out of the room and descend down the stairs. You turn on the console and the TV, and Lena and Val sit on the couch as you do so. They leave a spot between them on the couch, and pat it with smiles as you approach. You sit down, with them on either side, and the console promptly boots up.
A moment later, you feel dumb after realizing that nobody has their controllers. You get up to retrieve them for the girls, but decide first to ask, "Hey, anybody want any snacks or drinks?"
"Yeah, can you get me some chocolate milk?" Val asks.
"Just water for me," Lena says.
You nod, and dip into the kitchen to fetch the drinks. You also pour yourself some cold water. A moment later, you return to the living room and place the drinks on the center table, then grab a trio of controllers and hand them out. As you return to your spot between the girls, Lena speaks up, "Fair warning, I'm probably going to be really bad. I haven't played 'real' videogames in years, it's only been mobile and crappy little web games since college."
"You're a smart girl, you'll figure it out," Val reassures her. "These games aren't as complex as they look."
You laugh, "Hey, if worse comes to worse, Val and I can just play while massively stoned. Should keep us even."
Lena purses her lips and mutters, "Glad you're so convinced I'm automatically gonna suck..."
You turn to look at her, "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. It's supposed to be co-operative, and for fun."
Val jabs you in the ribs with a finger and you stifle a yelp. Lena snickers and cracks a smile, "Well what if I want to play while hella high?"
Val looks around you at Lena, "Then we're all getting blitzed. It's only fair."
Lena giggles a bit and replies, "Maybe for a future session, but not today. I should give my system a break after yesterday."
"Alright," Val says, "Are we ready to get started?"
"Yeah!" Lena exclaims.
Val hits a button on her controller, and the game boots up in a few seconds. Soon, you're looking at the character creation screen, and Lena is deciding what class to play as.
You explain, "Val's playing a warrior, and I'm playing as a mage. Don't worry about picking something 'optimal', just find something that sounds fun!"
Lena scrolls through the various class options, apparently struggling to decide. Val offers, "Lena, what sort of style sounds fun to you?”
She replies, "I'm not sure..."
Her eyes light up as she reads something on the screen. You turn to read the class description that grabbed Lena's attention. "The summoner," she says with an air of excitement.
"Yeah? You're liking that class?" Val asks with a smile.
"I think so," Lena replies.
"Lots of health, which I'm probably gonna need, and apparently the various things I can summon will be useful in and out of combat."
"Sounds good to me," you say, "Having a swiss army knife character would be really helpful."
Lena smiles at you and proceeds to the character customization. Out of courtesy she sticks with some preset options, and you mention she can change her look later. Lena's character winds up looking like a mischievous tomboy with cat ears, and she's grinning as you all start the game proper. Lena opts to go through a quick tutorial level to learn the basics.
She fumbles with the controller a bit, but after a few minutes she's got it figured out. A robed mentor character guides her through the basic skills for her character. By the end of the simple tutorial cave, Lena is passably juggling her various minion spirits for attacking and defending.
She smiles proudly. "I think I'm getting it," she says with a grin. "I'm putting my manager skills to use with all my little critters, ha!”
"Nice, glad you're having fun," you say back.
Lena leans forward as Val says, "Ready to join up with us in the main game?”
"Sure!" she says, leaning back.
Val adds, "Oh, and don't worry about being lower level. We've got a game setting that will give you a boost until you catch up."
"Great!" Lena says, taking a sip of her water. You log in as your mage, and Val logs in as her warrior.
It's been a little while since you last played, and you're slightly surprised to see your characters appear in an acid-scarred wasteland of black stone.
"Oh right," Val exclaims, "The last level we played was the Acid Crags."
She pauses for a moment, before looking at the map. "Right, I think we should head East from here to the ruins of Gnome's Home."
You agree, "Yeah, that sounds like a plan. We can regroup there, and get Lena's character some gear."
You all start walking along the road. While you're re-exploring the old areas, you don't encounter too much trouble.
Eventually, you reach the outskirts of Gnome's Home. Much of the city is rubble, but a few tenacious shanty towns have sprung up. Your party heads towards the district with the best markets, such as they are. Although the roads are lined with tents and shacks, you don't run into much trouble as the guards seem to have everything in hand. The low level of Lena's summoner means that she isn't strong enough to use a lot of equipment, but after a little shopping, you've found some trinkets to boost her stats. In particular, you buy her a high-quality arcane crystal that imbues most of her powers with random extra effects.
Lena grins with excitement as her character stats surge with every new item. With the boring work finally done, you press some buttons, and your mage opens a portal. Your party steps through, and finds themselves near a ruined fortress. An eerie glow emanates from within.
"This is it," you say.
"But what is it?" Lena asks. "A ruin, a fortress...a tomb?"
You shrug, "All of those things at once."
Val takes the lead as you approach the entrance, and adds, "More importantly, it's out quest objective. We need to get in there, and take out whatever monsters we find."
"Let's get to it, then," you say.
You make your way into the fortress, and immediately you're assailed by the stench of death and the howls of beasts. You work your way to a defensible room and prepare as best you can. Lena conjures a protector spirit, you begin readying a litany of spells including a force barrier, and Val simply activates her warrior's battle trance.
The door is destroyed in a moment, and six abominations enter. A ghoul-lord and some skeletal warriors. Three wear the armor of knights, and the others, little more than rags. Val's warrior charges forward to meet the creatures. Lena summons a host of spectral hands to grab at the monsters, and you start hurling a barrage of enchanted icicles. The skeletal warriors prove to be little trouble, as their brittle bones break beneath your spells. The knights prove to be a challenge, however. Their armor absorbs most of the blunt force trauma from your ice bolts, and when Val lands a few glancing hits, they simply increase their speed to keep up, or worse, become intangible to dodge her attacks.
You try a new tactic. You step in front of Lena and begin channeling a surge of radiant energy. A moment later, you unleash the power into a searing beam, sweeping it across the room. You smirk as the beam passes harmlessly though Val's character, as you recall her immunity to friendly-fire. The undead, however, are not so lucky. Your spell outright incinerates one of the undead knights, and horribly damages another by burning off its leg and setting it ablaze.
The ghoul-lord keeps his shield in the path of your beam and is managing to parry Val's attacks with his rusted blade. Unfortunately for him, Lena conjures another mass of spectral hands that grab at the monster all over and pin it in place. It struggles to move, but the mass of ghostly hands wrestle it still, and the ghoul-lord's movements are restricted. Val calmly steps forward, raises her broadsword above her head, then cleaves the ghoul-lord from the skull down. The force of the blow shatters the ghoul-lord's skull, killing it instantly. But more enemies arrive, these ones a little more capable than the last.
It's another squad of skeletal knights, and you catch the unmistakable glimmer of a spellcasting lich in the distance. Lena's character has leveled up several times from this fight, and she ducks into a corner to quickly assign stat points and pick some new skills. "I just need a second!" Lena says nervously as she feverishly works the controller.
You and Val nod at each other, and assume a posture to cover Lena as she updates her character. Val begins cutting down the low-tier fodder monsters that charge forward, and you keep a force shield up, anticipating a deadly spell from the lich sorcerer in the back line. Sure enough, you see a surge of sick purple energy, and you barely manage to deflect a death ray. A moment later, a horde of cackling imps rushes past you and Val, tearing into the undead army.
"I picked up a new skill," Lena giggles.
"Nice," you reply, as you and Val continue pushing back the monsters with blades and magic.
Lena's summoner strides up to the front line with you and Val, shadowed by a crackling blue spirit. You recognize the spirit as a lightning elemental, and its movements track Lena's. She raises her hand, the elemental does the same, then she unleashes a pulse of lightning into the monster horde. The ghoul-lords and their knights go up in columns of blue flame, and the undead soldiers are set alight, but the lich manipulates its remaining minions with unnatural tactical acumen.
The lich charges another death ray, and this time you notice it too late. The unwholesome bolt is directed at Lena, but her lightning elemental lurches forward to intercept the ray. The elemental explodes in a corsucating light show, and the death beam scatters. You've all lost some HP from the attack, but your full attention is now directed on the undead spellcaster. Laughter like broken glass emanates from the lich, as his minions clump around him in a defensive posture.
You grin maliciously as you realize your foe has made a mistake.
You furiously mash buttons on you controller and begin casting an empowered fireball at the horde. The ghoul-lords are incinerated in a single blast, and the remainder of the horde goes up in a spectacular inferno.
Burning chunks of undead bits plop to the stone floor, and the lich glares at your party from behind an energy shield. Lena conjures another horde of imps, Val refreshes her battle trance, and the three of you charge forward. The lich raises a hand, and a long row of stone spikes lance up from the ground. Val dodges around them, you take the hit on your magic barrier, and Lena takes the hit directly but stays on her feet, down some HP. Val reaches the barrier, empowers her sword, and begins smashing against the energy barrier.
The spike row continually expands, stabbing up repeatedly from the ground. You run forward, not even bothering to dodge around them, and begin hacking at the energy barrier with a force blade. The barrier crumples in a shower of sparks, and Lena's imps dive forward to harass the lich. Its concentration on another spell is broken, and it resorts to swatting weakly at Lena's minions. Val sweeps her sword back and forth, cutting into the lich's defenses.
The three of you watch with excitement as the lich's health bar steadily shrinks.
Finally, with only a sliver of health left, Lena goes for the killing blow. She conjures a shimmering portal, and an enormous spectral hand emerges. It clenches into a car-sized fist and hammers forward, crushing the lich to splinters. The lich's body disintegrates, and its head thumps to the ground, before crumbling to dust too.
"Bout time," Val says.
A hollow laughter seems to head deeper into the fortress, and you see an objective update on the screen.
"Right. We need to destroy the lich's soul before it can regenerate," you read.
The three of you take a moment to recover your health and energy, and let Lena take the pick of the dropped loot. She equips a few new trinkets and a rare armored robe, then levels up yet again. Back on the couch, Lena turns to look at you and Val, "I don't know what I was ever worried about," she says, "This is way easier than I thought it would be."
Val smiles at her, "Yeah, the game's pretty easy once you learn the ropes."
Lena grins back, "I didn't just mean the game. I meant this poly relationship stuff." Val looks away, and Lena turns to you, "What do you think about us?" she asks.
You think for a moment then say, "Well, it hasn't been very long, but I feel like we already have a great bond and this thing is very natural."
She smiles, "How about you, Val? How do you feel about our relationship?"
Val's mouth quirks into the beginnings of a smile, "I feel really good about it. It's all happened so quickly, but it's almost like we had a head start."
Lena beams, then quickly glances at the screen to ensure the game is paused. She glances back at Val, then reaches across you, pulling you all into a three-way embrace. A warm happiness spreads through you all. Greedy lips nip at earlobes or other lips as the three of you kiss and cuddle for some time.
"This is great, guys," Lena says finally, "I really like you both. I'm so happy."
"I'm really glad to hear that," says Val, "And I really respect your courage for telling us that story about your family."
You add, "It should go without saying, but your story is safe with us."
"Thanks," Lena says, "I do have one request though."
"What?" you ask.
Lena looks to Val, then back to you, worry on her face, "So.... It's probably about time I came out to my parents, for better or for worse. I know it's way too early to introduce you guys as my lovers - plural! - to my family, but I think I'd rather drop both bombs at once. Eventually. When the time is right, I'll be a lot more comfortable doing it if you two are with me."
"Of course, I'll be there," Val says.
"I will too," you add.
Lena bites her lip and blushes. "Thanks," she whispers, then looks up at you, "My parents don't live too far from here, and I visit them pretty regularly. I'm not going to tell them everything, but I'd like to at least tell them I met ...somebody special, even if I have to leave it at that for now."
"Fine with me," you reply, then shoot a glance at Val. She looks at you and nods. You maintain eye contact for a moment too long and her expression shifts to gentle confusion. You say "stocks".
Val's mouth forms an "o" shape, then she says, "Yeah, you should say it."
Lena leans back and asks, "Say what?"
You and Val stare at each other for a moment, then you take a breath.
"Lena," you start, "You know how Val and I have been trading stocks on the side?"
"Uh huh," Lena says.
"In the interest of openness, you deserve to know this. Last week, Val and I made a shitload of money on some lucky trades."
"You did?" Lena says, glancing from you to Val and then back again.
"Like.... About how much is a shitload?" She asks.
"It's enough profit that I don't have to work anymore. In fact, I'm in the process of retiring from my job right now," you explain.
Lena smiles, genuinely and warmly, taking in your heady revelation. She looks to you and says, "I'm glad to hear that. A little jealous, but mainly glad. Why did you hold off on telling me?”
"I guess I worried that there might be resentment," Val says.
"You're my friends, my partners," Lena corrects herself, "I want you to do well. Yeah, I'd like to have the option to retire, but honestly I enjoy my job."
She turns to you with a grin, "Plus, I think I'd get bored."
Val laughs, "Psh, that's what videogames are for!"
"Right!" Lena grins, then unpauses the game. You push further into the ruined fortress, until Lena says, "Hey are you guys getting hungry?"
You check your phone, and with a shock see that it's already 5 in the evening. You also become aware that you're quite hungry too.
Val speaks up, "I just realized I've basically eaten nothing since brunch. I'm trying to get bigger, Lena! You can't let me go hungry!" she laughs.
Lena smirks, "Hehe. Be careful what you ask for. Anyways, what sounds good?”
You say, "Somehow I don't think we want to be going out tonight."
Val and Lena both nod. You continue, "Pizza is pretty much never the wrong answer, am I right?"
After a short discussion about toppings, Val uses an app to place a sizable order at her favorite pizza joint. Val smiles with anticipation and confirms the order.
"Okay, we've got about half an hour before we eat," she announces, "More games, or just chill for now?"
"We'll have plenty of time for games later. Let's just veg," you say.
"Yeah," Lena agrees.
Val nods, switches off the console, then flips over to the TV and starts scrolling channels. After a moment, she stops on a science documentary and begins to watch, and you all find yourselves zoning out. Soon enough, there's a knock at the door. You all pause, then Val stands and goes to open it. A young man, no older than twenty, stands in the doorway. He's short, probably just a little above five feet.
"Got your delivery," he says in a monotone voice and holding up a stack of boxes.
Val thanks the delivery guy and brings the pizzas to the dining table. You and Lena move over to the table as Val starts pouring some drinks.
"Got any more tea?” Lena asks, and Val replies affirmative.
You ask for some water, and Val pours herself some soda, then sits at the table. You and Lena fetch your drinks, then dig in to your pizzas.
"This is really good," Lena says between bites of cheese-smothered mushroom pie.
"You've never ordered from here?" Val asks.
Lena giggles, and wrangling an errant string of cheese, replies, "No! Guess I'll add this to the list of novel experiences for this weekend."
Val grins and wipes a blob of sauce off of Lena's cheek. "Glad to provide," Val says.
Lena laughs and playfully pushes Val's hand away, then reverses course, catches it, and holds it against her own cheek. Their eyes meet, and for a moment, they're completely immersed in each other's gaze. Val picks up a slice of Lena's mushroom pizza and holds it up to Lena's mouth. "You want this?"
"Please," Lena says, her eyes never leaving Val's.
"I thought so," Val smiles slyly, and slowly slides the slice into Lena's mouth. Your eyes catch their intertwined hands, resting on the table. Lena takes a big bite and chews with a goofy grin. Val keeps her position leaned in, and continues feeding the slice to Lena. Val eventually hands off the crust, and sits back, turning her attention back to her own pizza. Lena titters at her treatment, "Trying to fatten me up, Val?"
Val smirks and gives a shrug, "Why not? You looked... like you didn't mind."
Lena laughs and wipes her lips with a napkin, before going for another piece. The meal progresses with small talk and the return of some flirty tension, and soon, everybody has tapped out.
"Welp, stuffed myself silly again," Lena groans with mock irritation, regarding her empty pizza box.
"Glad to see you two care so much about me," Val retorts with a playful pout.
"I've gotta set your mind at ease," Lena smiles, "Re-assure you that your new girlfriend isn't going to waste away!”
Val giggles and pats her full belly, "Guess I'm doing the same thing then."
Lena and Val both turn to look at you, an odd excitement in their eyes. Val says, "So Anon. Think you can handle plumping up two cute girls at once now?"
"I can DEFINITELY handle it," you laugh, leaning across the kitchen table to kiss them both. You pull back and settle into your chairs and you continue, "I can't think of anything better."
Lena regards you and Val with a tired smile, "I had a great weekend, guys. Better than great. Thanks for taking a chance by asking me last week. I never imagined this would feel so right, and now I don't think I can imagine things being any other way."
Val takes your hand, "I have the same feeling. Anon, thanks for... happening. And Lena, thank you for taking a chance on us. I promise I'll be the best partner I can be, for both of you."
"And I already know your best is damn good," you reply, "The best, even."
Val beams at this exchange, as does Lena. A moment later, Lena yawns. "Oh, hey, sorry guys. I'm feeling all of this weekend and this gut full of pizza, and I need to get my car so I can work tomorrow."
"Right," Val grunts and slowly rises to her feet, "We can go now, if you're ready."
Lena nods with a "mhm", then looks to you. You nod back, and retrieve your keys. The girls get their shoes on and Lena grabs her bag, and the three of you share one last group embrace for the night. Shortly later, you're pulling your car out of the garage with Lena and Val in tow. The drive back to Jen's parents' place is uneventful, and the three of you make happy small talk. You make good time, and pull up to the handsome brick house in a matter of minutes. Lena's SUV is right where she left it on Saturday morning. "Thanks for the lift," she says, then exits your car.
Lena pauses, and says through the open car door, "So when will I get to see the two of you again?"
"Whenever you want," Val smiles.
"Lord knows our schedule is plenty open now," you add, "I don't want to speak for Val, but how about you swing by for dinner tomorrow after work?”
"Sounds good to me! I'm already looking forward to it." With that, Lena straightens up, closes the car door, and blows a kiss to you and Val.
The two of you wave back, and Lena gets into her SUV and starts it up. You feel slightly deflated as you put your car in gear and start making your way back to Val's place. Val's hand rests on your thigh and she says, "Is it weird that I'm already missing her?"
Eyes focused on the road, you sigh and reply, "No, not at all. And I don't think it's just from the novelty of being a polycule."
"You know, that's what I thought. I mean there's something about Lena that just plain.... clicks."
"Yeah... I know what you mean. I think it's why we've been friends for so long."
Val laughs quickly, then frowns.
"Are you nervous about meeting Lena's parents?" She asks.
You reply, "I was hoping you wouldn't ask, and yes. I'm not looking forward to probably getting dragged again for that one party I got blamed for."
Val makes a sympathetic face then continues, "I didn't even think about that. I kinda meant, do you think her parents are genuinely homophobic?”
"I don't know them that well, so I can't really say," you reply, "But if they are, I'd imagine we'll find out the hard way."
Val looks out the window and quietly says, "Yeah... I hope Lena's emotionally ready for whatever may happen."
You spot a red light and roll to a halt in compliance. You steal a moment to hold Val's hand and look her in the eye.
She smiles back and says, "Actually, you know, I'd bet she's close to ready right now to even be thinking about it. I totally get wanting to wait until the relationship settles into a groove first though."
"Yeah," you reply, "She's tougher than she looks. Maybe we don't actually need to worry about Lena so much."
"Well I'm going to worry about her until she gives me reason to stop."
You both smile and steal a quick kiss.
"So much doting to go around," you quip, "And I love every bit of it."
Val grins, and points towards the lights, which now glow green. You accelerate, and resume your drive.
The remainder of your drive back to Val's condo is uneventful, and before long you're both flopped out on the plush living room couch. Val makes a giggling show of demanding the leftover brownies from dinner, and soon the tin is propped on her stomach and you're feeding her the fudgey treats. You tease her, holding a brownie just out of her reach, "Careful Val, you keep eating like this, you're gonna get fat!"
Val bites into it and makes a gleeful "Mmm hmmm!" sound.
After devouring the last one with a happy sigh she says, "I'm so full. Thanks for the treat, love."
You smile and caress her hair. "You're very welcome, my darling."
Val moves closer to you and snuggles under your arm. You flip on the TV to whatever for some background noise, then you notice your phone buzz. Val extracts her own phone as well, and you both notice that Lena has created a group chat for the three of you. You and Val grin at each other, and start exchanging cutsey and flirty messages with Lena. Feeling saucy, Val pulls up her shirt to show off her stomach. She takes a selfie, angled to show off her bloated gut and the chocolate on her face, and posts it into the group chat.
Lena is delighted, and promptly sends back a sexy picture of her own. She's stripped off her shirt, showing off her tits and wears an enticing expression on her face. You and Val trade a few more pics back and forth with Lena, mostly flirty selfies. The lusty energy eventually cools off, and the group chat moves towards more mundane topics. You lean comfortably on Val, and the two of you while away the evening, reading junk on your phones, playing mobile games, and texting with Lena.
Eventually, Lena announces that she needs to get some sleep, so you and Val decide to give her some peace. You put down your phones and look at each other. "It's been a crazy weekend, huh?" You say to Val.
She smiles. "You could say that."
Her expression turns dreamy as she rubs her stomach.
"Mmm, got a belly full of good greasy food, a sexy new girlfriend to flirt with, and my sexy man here to cuddle with me."
You chuckle and snuggle up to her. "I'm your man, ever since you fell from heaven."
Val gently kisses you on the lips, and you savor the gentle scent of her hair.
"I love you, Val," you mumble into her forehead.
"And I love you too, Anon," she whispers into your neck.
A few moments pass, and Val yawns. Her eyes flutter open and she stares into your eyes.
"You ready for bed?”
"Yeah..." She says lazily.
You help Val to her feet and you both make your way to her bedroom. A few minutes later, you're both cleaned up for bed and snuggling into the blankets. Val sleepily wraps her arms around your body and pulls you tightly against her chest. There's a certain tension in her body though.
"Anon...?" She starts.
"Hm?"
"Can we talk about something?"
"Of course."
Val's face is buried into your bare shoulder, but you can hear her clearly.
"Do.... Do you love Lena?" val asks quietly.
A serious question, and one that you aren't exactly surprised to hear.
"I.... Can't really say yes." You start, "We've only been dating her for two days. That's not nearly enough time to decide something like that."
"Well...." Val says, "what about... pleasant feelings? Does that count?"
You think for a moment. "I suppose so."
"Then.... Maybe?"
"Val..."
You shift so that you can look Val in the eyes.
"It's not that I don't like Lena, it's just...."
You struggle to find the right words, "It just plain hasn't been very long. You and I have a lot of history together, and we clearly have a bond that constitutes love."
You stare into Val's eyes and hold her, hoping to provide some reassurance.
"She makes you happy. She makes me happy. And we both make her happy. Does it matter what we call it if we're all enjoying the ride?" You ask.
Val's expression softens and she hugs you tightly.
"I'm sorry..." She says, "I just... Somehow I got it in my head that we weren't on the same page regarding her."
"It's fine." You reply.
"Still," She continues, "I'm glad you said something."
You chuckle, "I think all three of us are going to feel a lot of new things. They might make us uncomfortable or upset, but we'll be fine so long as we can say what's on our mind, ok?”
Val nods, "I feel like my head is going to float off."
"Same," you reply, "It's been a rollercoaster of a weekend."
"It's all been for a good cause though," Val murmurs.
"C'mon, let's get some sleep. All of this will make more sense in the morning," you reply.
"Goodnight." Val says.
"Goodnight."
You and Val kiss briefly, then cuddle into each other and drift off to sleep.