It was different this time. He woke to a smell, it was familiar… squid boiling in brine, vegetables, and various spices in the air. The door to the bedroom was open, faint humming coming from outside the door.
Wilheim got dressed to the barest bones of his outfit, just trousers and his shirt, somehow crisp, without tucking it in, and naturally his hat, and headed out and up the stairs to the kitchen, apprehensive of whatever horrors would await him today. But no, it was just Emissary cooking, tail moving with a mind of its own as he hummed and stirred pans, not hearing Wilheim behind him until he cleared his throat.
Emissary spun, his tail accidentally hitting some stacked pans, the clatter of them falling making him jump. “Oh- you’re up!!” He exclaimed happily, reaching for him, and also turning to pick up the pans, and repeating this action twice, his brain not quite able to decide which task to do, so Wilheim came up and helped him pick up and restack the pans, their hands brushing more than once. Their eyes met, almost shyly over the final one, and Wilheim fully saw the spread of colour that spread across Emissary’s face, and for the first time in what seemed like years, he smiled, and giggled, and despite not having seen him for however long it had been, he could still fluster him with those red eyes. Emissary clumsily rose to his feet, tucking his short hair behind his ear, not because it needed it, more out of a force of habit, and with a minor hesitation of confidence, he grabbed Wilheim and hugged him tightly- or as tightly as his light, delicate body could. Wilheim was startled, and was surprised to find his eyes brimming with tears. This type of contact- Emissary wouldn’t have done this in the valley… right? Wilheim hugged him back, lifting his short stature up, and they remain there for a minute or two, and Emissary grips him with everything he has. Eventually, Wilheim put him down, and even just separating like that felt like goodbye. He sniffed, and smiled, to hide the pain of missing him. Emissary frowned. “What’s wrong?” He took Wilheim’s hands, and kissed his fingers, the tender action wrenching at Wilheim’s heart even more. “N-nothing- its just- I- I missed you.”
Emissary smiled a playful smile. “We only woke up an hour ago. I wanted to make you breakfast, and Matern took Strawberry out to get some fruit and cook some prep meals at the Tower. They should be back soon.”
While he cooked, Emissary told WIlheim about what people had been up to around the Valley, and he pulled a chair up from the sitting room to listen. Ghost and Andor decided it would be a good idea to start a diner, with Blossom as chef, and Teivel as their waitress- called Gossip n’ Chip. Their speciality was loaded nachos, since they needed to adhere to the name somewhat, but also did pizzas, burgers and various other foods. Allegedly, their clientele was all due to something about Gummy saying something off-handed as a joke, but no one wanted to test it, since no one wanted mushrooms growing from inside their throat. Kai, Elijah, Uly and Mia had all made Shining manor a more homely place, and the last that Emissary had heard of them all, Kai was expanding his bedroom to fill out most of underneath the mountain. Uy had been doing well, and was comfortably researching in his workshop, and had unsurprisingly adopted more animals, but was working on a large sanctuary for them all to stay. Toto had been Gossip n’ Chip’s top customer, just because he loved the decor of the place and that he was able to convince them to make a huge pot of beef and vegetable stew, that he would come back for, breakfast, lunch- and dinner. He’d been doing well. He was kept safe, and was happy, and his usual bouncy self. Dill and Esme had been quietly working on an armada. Apparently people had forgotten they’d existed, and when Matern accidentally warped to their ship, she thought that an invasion was happening, and nearly passed out. This made Wiheim full-on laugh, and it felt like everything was normal.
By this time, Emissary had finished cooking, and each plate was served up, so Wilheim helped carry it up, where on the sand was a table laid out with four seats. They laid the food out, and while waiting for Strawberry and Matern, Emissary ended up snuggling up with Wilheim, both leaned up against the barrels by the Enchanter, and Emissary was just leaning on his chest, his own chest and throat faintly vibrating as his contentment showed. Wilheim held him for as long as he could. He tilted his hat back, so it was on the crown of his head rather than around his forehead. Emissary sighed, the most pure smile on his face. “You know, I’ve never felt more at ease than now.” He shuffled a bit, and looked up at Wilheim, and gently stroked his thumb over Wilheim’s jawbone, feeling the slight roughness, and gazed at his eyes, head laying on his shoulder. “Your eyes are some of the most entrancing and beautiful I’ve ever seen.” Wilheim murmured, their faces oh so close, the tips of their noses just touching. “Everything about you- is just so special.” The redness grew across Emissary’s face again, but he didn’t look away. They stared at each other, and Wilheim’s single fingernail traced a line down the back of Emissary’s bare neck, causing him to shiver, disrupting the solid tension between them, only for it to freeze right back over. Wilheim didn’t even register them drawing closer to each other, until their foreheads bumped softly. His eyes were so locked on Emissary’s until they dropped down to his lips, just for a fleeting second, and back to his eyes, only to see him do the same.
The sound of Matern and Strawberry warping in tore them out of their mist of lovestruck desire, and it was like waking up all over again.
Himself and Emissary stood up, by no means sheepishly, and Wilheim ran to Matern, everything slowing down, and she jumped just in time, colliding with him and wrapping her legs around his waist, and arms around his neck. Her smell… Gods, just that was enough to show him home. Despite the fact she was holding him, Wilheim clung to her, wanting to never let her go again. His hand cradled the back of her head, as his eyes silently wept tears that would never leave her shoulder. Matern leaned slightly back to look at him, with a bemused yet affectionate smile at him. “Did you wake up on the right side of bed this morning or something?” Wilheim nodded furiously, and buried his head in her shoulder. “Mhm-” his voice was muffled. Matern laughed, and gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head, lifting his hat to do so. Wilheim reddened, and turned around, putting her down, and finally went to Strawberry.
He was already sitting at the table, waiting to dig into the fresh meal that Emissary had made, still warm from the sun of the day, and was half paying attention to what Wilheim was doing. He strode over, and lifted Strawberry out of his seat, and hugged him tightly, and with this it was too much. Wilheim’s tears flowed, and both Matern and Emissary came behind him, a comforting hand on his back, and Strawberry, albeit confused, showed him similar support. Matern and Emissary exchanged a glance. “Wilheim…? What’s wrong?” Matern asked uncertainly. Wilheim just shook his head, and continued holding Strawberry, until he felt ok enough to let him go. He took a deep, shaky breath, and looked up at Emissary and Matern with teary eyes still. “I just-” his voice caught in his throat, and he swallowed, and tried again. “I just love you so much-” He almost lost his composure again, but he held it- just. “Did you have a bad dream?” Emissary asked, his tail flicking slightly, as he crouched down alongside Wilheim and Strawberry. Wilheim looked down, and then back at them, a sad smile coming to his face, along with his teary eyes. He nodded. “Yes it was just- just a bad dream. That’s all.”
After eating, Emissary took Strawberry out into the ocean for some treasure hunting, which left WIlheim and Matern alone on the sand, to tidy up. It was a voiceless job, and they spoke not once, but everything was said in the glances they exchanged, the way she took plates from him, the way they’d stack chairs on each other’s piles, the smiles that they shared, the way they brushed up against each other… everything spoke to them.
In the end, they sat together, in the same way Wilheim and Emissary had, except Matern was curled up, just a ball of perfection on his lap, drifting off to sleep. Wilheim looked at her, properly. At her purple eyes, her pointed ears, her hair, her tail, clothes, mouth, lips- Goddamn it He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss both of them. But it was a dream, it wasn’t real. But it would feel real.
In the end, it would just always be a dream, and no matter how close they got with him, and how close he got with them, they wouldn’t kiss a killer like him, not properly.
Matern drifted off into a light doze, holding fistfuls of his shirt, occasionally making the softest squeak or pur, and Wilheim switched into alert mode, before remembering- his house was safe. “W-Wilheim?” Matern mumbled, shuffling a little bit. “Mhm?” He responded. “You need to remember- I love you.” She continued. “You and Emissary- you’re both my loves.” She shuffled just a little more, before being comfy. “I’d do just about anything for you both. Anything.” Wilheim looked down to her, and squeezed her a little. “I’d defy impossible to make you happy.” Matern giggled, and sighed, opening her eyes a little. “Again with the cringy lines?” Wilheim huffed and pretended to push her off, which made her laugh. “I mean it, I would find a way.” Wilheim stubbornly stood his ground while Matern giggled at remembering all the lines he’d pulled in the past.
The sun had since lowered in the sky, and Emissary and Strawberry had returned with some new treasures. Strawberry excitedly showed Wilheim his loot, and after telling them both about his and Emissary’s adventure, put himself to bed.
And it was just the three of them. There was a blanket, on the sand, which was a brilliant place to watch the sunset, and they just leaned against the small mound, both of his lovers laying on his chest, and it was like nothing had ever gone wrong. All the pain he’d seen, all of the death, torture, was worth it, for a moment like this. A time where he could sit, with the people that meant the most to him in the world, and just love them.
He wished he could pause that moment. Just freeze himself in time, feel this forever, but this was not the case. The only thing that mattered, is that they all loved each other, and would endure. Forever.