Finding out before fucking around

Dustin blinked at his comms officer’s words, and for a moment he thought about letting go of the woman in his arms. Naera, for her part had other ideas - despite her cheeks flushing a deep green, she kept her arms wrapped around his neck as if the thought of letting go right now terrified her. Her eyes were wide, and she said nothing as he met her gaze; Emely meanwhile was still stood by the doorway smiling at the pair of them. Dustin opted to deal with the Feliax first - this whole situation needed some careful handling. “Kitten?” He called past Naera’s shoulder; Emely practically snapped to attention at the mention of her pet name.

“Yes sir?” She said, tails twitching with excitement. “I think we should talk. I also think our chef should probably let go of me so that we can talk properly about what exactly is going on.” From just in front of him, Naera whimpered as she let go - setting her down carefully on the edge of the desk Dustin took a moment to look directly at her and smile. “I’m not saying I don’t like the affection - however given Emely’s little outburst I think we should all be clear on where we stand?” The green-skinned woman did her best to smile hopefully at that comment, although it was clear her emotions were all over the place.

Pausing only to get a jug of water and some glasses, Dustin looked from one woman to another and gently shook his head. “So, which of you would like to tell me what’s going on? Naera, you were rather forward in your excitement about being allowed to stay, but I know the two of you have been scheming something for a while now and judging by Emely’s comments that something has to do with me.” Emely winced, before nodding. “Sorry sir. Naera asked me to help her with her feelings for you…” The Caenii interrupted quickly, words spilling over each other in her haste. “I wanted to make sure you didn’t think it was to help me stay on the ship, it’s not and I couldn’t figure out a way to do things on my own.” Then, pausing for breath she glanced between Dustin and Emely. “Please don’t be mad at Emmz for helping me out.”

Dustin sighed and shook his head once more. “I’m not angry at either of you. For starters, we need to unpack what exactly your feelings are Naera. I’ll work out what I need to say to Emely in a bit. In the meantime, who else knows?” Emely shrugged. “I don’t think anyone does. Meli probably suspects something, but I doubt any of the others do.” Naera nodded thoughtfully. “Meli’a is the head girl as far as harem dynamics go. If anyone’s figured it out she has. Rye’s adorable but clueless about these things, and we worked hard to keep Trea’k in the dark so that she could assess me fairly without any relationship questions coming into it.”

The shortstack fidgeted on the table a moment, staring at her feet before looking up at Dustin. “I’ve tried to be myself ‘cos that’s what Emmz said would be the best. I just don’t know if that’s enough; you’ve got all these talented multi-skilled people around you and I’m just a great cook. Hell, Emmz and Trea’k are actual, literal royalty and I’m only a girl from a backwater colony that ended up here by chance.” She sighed and looked back down again. “You want to talk about my feelings. You picked me up and carried me back on that station, do you remember?” Dustin nodded as she continued “That doesn’t happen. Not to Caenii. Our menfolk aren’t tall enough, and other species generally don’t look at plants that way. It surprised me, and since then… well, I couldn’t see myself not trying to get something more than just serving as your chef.”

Dustin took a deep breath and then laughed. He couldn’t help it - Naera’s eyes flew to his face, the first signs of heartache showing in them as he wheezed and waved a hand frantically. “It’s not you… gods, it’s not you Naera. It’s just I can’t believe I’ve been this much of an idiot twice.” That removed the sorrow - the chef’s expression turning into one of confusion. Taking a drink of water to get his attack of the giggles under control, Dustin straightened back up. “Sorry. It’s just… when Meli first came into my life, we both really fancied each other but I was terrified of acting improperly by voicing my attraction to her. I mean, she was after all my subordinate, and the first member of my crew.”

Naera took a moment to realize what it was he’d just implied, before her eyes opened wide. “You mean…” her voice was a whisper, almost not daring to hope that she’d interpreted his words correctly. Dustin nodded. “Yea, I want to get to know you better too.” Emely clapped her hands at that confession, but stopped instantly when Dustin pointed a finger at her. “Emely, you two just told me nobody else knows, which means nobody else has agreed to anything happening between me and her. Sorry about this Naera, but I want to make sure everyone else is okay with the idea of you and I seeing where this goes before I take any further steps.”

The two women sighed, more for dramatic effect Dustin was pretty sure than anything else before Emely sent a quick message from the nearest console out of the multiple that were built into the desk. The green-skinned woman looked nervously at Dustin as she waited - but she didn’t have to wait long as Dustin’s communicator pinged almost instantly. Tapping it, he heard the rustle of the engine bay first before Rye’s voice cut across the hum of the reactors. “Dusty, I swear to god if you fuck things up with that hottie I will make you re-grease the shuttlebay doors with a toothbrush. She’s seriously fucking fine… wait, you’ve got me on speaker haven’t you, and she’s probably right there. Oh cogs…” The Rabyth’s voice cut out with a suddenness that made Dustin smile at her sudden attack of bashfulness right as the communicator pinged again.

This time, Trea’k and Bleu were on the other end - the pair having apparently met to continue going over the medical and mental health records of those crew that were to be offloaded to the wider human fleet once they reached Earth. “I have no strong objections to the situation, although Naera, if you can hear this - for the purposes of ensuring your own safety I will have to ask Meli to sit in on some of your sessions to ensure any intimacy between you and the rest of us doesn’t interfere with my providing you support. Ideally, I’d transfer your case to someone else, but I’m currently the only counsellor on the ship so that’s best alternative at the moment.” Trea’k’s concerns were met with a grateful word of agreement from the shortstack, before Bleu got a chance to speak. “Captain, I trusted your judgement enough to become intimate with you, knowing you are an ambassador. Please don’t bother me with stupid questions like this again, unless it’s because there’s something interestingly medical about a potential partner. If you encounter a new partner you like, then act as you wish - I’ll get an update from Meli’a regardless.”

The fact that the doctor was still using Meli’s full name saddened Dustin - he knew Bleu wanted to be a full part of their polycule, but it seemed she was still struggling with letting go and getting fully involved. The thought of the Velca seemed to act like magic as his communicator crackled for a final time. Meli was on the bridge he was pretty sure, and so he wasn’t expecting any great level of detail in her reply. Even so, her comment was shorter than he’d expected. “Yes, li’ah’a. Go for it - just remember what we talked about with the doctor the other day this time though, please.”

That got a quizzical look from Emely and Naera, and Dustin chuckled to himself as he responded that he would make sure of it right away. At that point, he cut the call and turned back to the two women in the room with him. “Very well, it seems you’ve gotten the all clear from the ladies. So, Naera, before we go any further there’s something you need to do for me.” Brushing her silver hair away from her eyes, the shortstack nodded eagerly. “What?” Dustin walked over to the automat and after a moment tossed her a medspray. Glancing at it, she blinked, then giggled to herself. “Captain - Dustin, there’s no need for a contraceptive. I’m a Caenii, we’re plants, and you’re a mammal. It’s virtually impossible…” Emely cut in before Dustin could, resting one hand on the other woman’s shoulder. “Humans are a bit special, Naera. Like, really special. You really, really need that spray. I’ll get Meli to explain it to you later - she’s better at the science of it than either me or sir, but trust us when we say that there’s a reason Dustin’s made it a requirement.” Dustin nodded thoughtfully, his words mostly to himself but making the fox girl’s ears prick up. “It is a requirement - for now, at least.”