Submission check

Dustin walked slowly back through the gardens towards the rest of the ship, turning the discussion over in his mind. Jaisyl had been acting out for quite some time, clearly wrestling with her emotions regarding the rest of his inner circle. If the arrogant princess had finally decided to discuss things, that could only be good. Equally, Aricia’s sudden promotion to press officer combined with Yaerwen working part-time in engineering left the Tho’unn as the sole person on the ship without a role or even a way to help out. It was equally possible that she just wanted him to help her figure out a task she could do to feel like less of a passenger as it was that she wanted to join the others in the bedroom.

Sighing as the door to the gardens closed behind him, Dustin shook his head. It didn’t matter either way - he’d hear her out and then go from there. He did however need to make sure that the situation didn’t cause any issues for his lovers… pulling out his tablet, he fired off a quick message to Meli. His first wife was in charge of date night scheduling after all - she’d be able to find space somewhere for him to take his time with whatever issue the princess might be about to cause.

The response came quicker than he’d expected. *”Husband, we had a date scheduled during the weave-jump tomorrow that I was going to ask if you minded postponing until Sammie’s next date night - your other wife asked if we could have a joint one as she’s plotting something. I’ll contact Jaisyl and let her know you’ll be free in about a day or so, depending on the traffic jam we’re stuck in as I assume you’ll want to be on the bridge for the transition into the weave.”

Dustin was glad he was alone in the turbolift as he read the first part of his wife’s message. Despite all the debauchery he got up to with his assorted lovers, simple messages giving hints that one or more of his partners were plotting intimacy always tinted his cheeks in a manner most unbecoming for the captain of a starship.

By the time the lift slid to a halt he’d regained his composure. Arriving in the ready room a short time later, he found the last of his ladies curled up in a nest of blankets and pillows that she’d dragged through from the bedchamber and added to one of the larger chairs. “Don’t say anything,” Emely grumbled as he entered. “We are not talking about Bleu being right about my nesting drive kicking in as I got closer to term, and we are certainly not talking about it kicking in with months still to go. Come and kiss me please, sir.”

All too happy to oblige, Dustin crossed the room and did his best to navigate the soft, fuzzy pile that housed his redheaded lover. Somehow managing to do so without doing himself or her an injury he straightened up, moved a chair closer to the pile and sat down, smiling at the way his submissive was trying to both pout in annoyance at her biology and beam with delight at his attention at the same time.

“Meli messaged us all about her royal stubbornness.” Emely said abruptly, causing Dustin’s eyes to flick up in concern. “Oh, don’t worry - we’re pretty sure she’s harmless and if she isn’t Sola has plenty of airlocks,” the redhead continued in a tone that suggested she wasn’t entirely joking. “I asked the people she spends most of her time with. Yaerwen thinks she’s confused and lonely, Aricia thinks she’s stressed out not contributing to the mission, and Defia said something like ‘statement, she doesn’t realize how great our master’s dick is and should be enlightened’… Okay, so I may have paraphrased that last one rather heavily, but Fi-oh was clear that she thinks the princess has the hots for you but is struggling to admit it.”

Dustin shrugged and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Firstly, because I’m not here to talk about the princess, I’m here to spend time with my comms officer. And secondly, because if she needs help with her place on the ship she’ll get it - and if she wants to talk so that she can confess some not-very-well-concealed attraction then I’ll tell her the same thing we told the trio when they joined. Unless everyone in our relationship agrees, it’s a no.”

Emely wriggled out of her pile of soft furnishings with some difficulty, the weight of her pregnancy hampering the fox woman’s movement as she slid far enough over to kiss Dustin on the nose. “I know you will handle it, sir. And I do want her to be happy, it’s just…” the submissive slid back, returning to her burrow as she huffed “…she was so rude about you when she first arrived. It’ll take a lot for me to say yes, is all I’ll say. But…” Dustin smiled, the clear conflict in his lover’s tone apparent as she rummaged through her nest before producing an empty water bottle, “…but you know I want you to have what you want, sir. If you decide she’s worthy of you, then I’ll give her a chance. In the meantime tho, mind topping my drink up? Someone decided to make it so that his kitten can’t move easily, and not in the fun tied up way.”

Chuckling to himself at the way Emely was flittering between topics, her hormones clearly messing with her badly this late in her pregnancy, he stood and took the offered bottle. “I seem to recall this whole situation being something you were quite eager about too… but of course I can get you a drink, kitten. Water? Or juice?” he asked, heading to the automat to get a jug of whatever she wanted as a refill.

“Just water, thanks sir. I’m still working for the next hour or so before dinner, and too much sugar makes me jittery at the moment,” Emely replied, the glow of a tablet lighting her face as she wriggled around to get comfortable again. “Although…” she paused, tapping the device and grinning “…I’m gonna take a break in a minute once I’ve finished sending off this report to the new council about the Arof. If you’re not busy…”

Dustin turned back, refilled bottle in hand and caught her expression. “Kitten. You are extremely noticeably and heavily pregnant. I’m more than happy to give you some attention, but we are not in the position we were a half-year ago where we could have a quicky on your break without a second thought. I’m happy to make sure you’re satisfied after work though, I can grab Naera tonight and the three of us can…”

Emely shook her head and cut him off. “I didn’t mean sex, sir. Well… I mean, I kinda did, but also I know that I’m not exactly ‘throw me on a bed and make me squeal’ shaped at the moment. What I was actually thinking was maybe after all your hard work visiting everyone today my sir would like to relax before dinner. And if you just stand right here…” a hand emerged from the nest, pointing to a spot in between some of the blankets as the redhead continued “…I could get a pre-dinner snack without having to move at all, really. And you’d be relaxed, and I’d feel all cared for and…”

Dusting rolled his eyes. “You can just say you want to blow me, love. I get that your idea of a good time can involve just pleasuring me, the same way Rye can have fun being left alone all trussed up in a corner. I have been with all of you for quite some time now.” As he spoke, he crossed the distance between them, handing her the water bottle. “Put that somewhere safe and finish up your work, kitten,” he added, his voice dropping into a commanding low tone. “Then I can take good care of you, by letting you take care of me.”

The pregnant redhead’s tails twitched frantically as she stowed the bottle somewhere in her nest, her hands moving frantically across the tablet. “Yes, sir…” she mumbled, biting her lip as she tried to concentrate. “Almost done…”