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Aftermath	By : singvogel Category: A through F > Forgotten Realms Views: 3056 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The Forgotten Realms/recognisable characters appearing in this story are Wizards of the Coast, Inc., all rights reserved. They are used without permission and for entertainment purposes only. No profit is being made by the autor.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
A/N: It has been a long time since I last updated, but I was finally able to find time to bring this story to a resolution. I have no idea if everybody will agree with the way I chose to end this, but it honestly was the only thing I could picture in my mind. Anything else would have felt off to me.

Resolution

“What!?”
Sinnafein shrugs unyielding and waves her hand in a gesture which probably implies something like: What I just said.
“But…”
“No”, she interrupts Jaellien calmly. “That is not negotiable. You both will abide by it or we stop this all right here.”
“You are biased! How…”
This time it is Tos’un who interrupts Jaellien.
“Let it be Hralien then”, he suggests, but this is not met with any more calm acceptance than Sinnafeins earlier words.
“Hralien hates me!” Jaellien spits at him angrily.
“And not without reason”, Sinnafein interjects. “You committed a disgusting crime, when you should have known better and whatever mitigating circumstances lie in your past are not a fitting argument to allow you to continue now.” She shakes her head. “Hralien does not hate you. He just wants to protect Tos’un. He will manage to be impartial though. Actually he is probably a far better choice than me, because right now I still want to wring your neck over it.”
“And you are just going to let her rule your life like this?” Jaellien tries a different angle, targeting Tos’un now, but this time the drow merely grins at him.
“Don’t try to manipulate me by playing my wife against me”, he says, but still seems oddly amused by the attempt. “I actually think it is a very valid point. There is so much wrong between us, that it would probably be a good idea to try and build a new basis in the present first, before we touch anything to do with what lies behind us. You cannot deny that it has caused us both pain during the last years. Maybe it would have gone better if we had had someone to interfere.”
His words leave Jaellien silent for a long moment, but the mage appears to be thinking about it now at least.
“I’m still not used to you being so constructive, but maybe you are right. It’s not like we’ll get anywhere if I don’t agree.” He sighs. ”Fine then, let Hralien be our referee, if he is willing to do it. He seems to like you at least.” Another sigh, a bit more regretful this time. “But I will miss touching you.”
His fingers glide along the table as he says it, as if caressing and Tos’un cannot help but shiver a tiny little bit as he sees it. Perversely the fact that Sinnafein is watching him makes it even more enticing.
“You will survive”, he says with a deceptive lightness which almost succeeds in hiding how conflicted he is about all of this.
Tos’un’s own feelings are mixed, as much as he thinks he understands where Sinnafein is coming from, when she demands that they do not spend time alone with each other until both of them and apparently also Hralien are sure that they will not repeat the mistakes of the past. His own wants stand in the way of an easy acceptance, now that he has finally given in and acknowledged them. That is also what warns him though, because he is aware that his desires are selfish in large parts and Hralien’s early lesson about trust rests in the front of his mind right now. He is also not entirely sure that he will be able to justify the trust Jaellien is apparently willing to show him. The fact that Sinnafein is willing to do this at all amazes him and makes him only more grateful to be blessed with a companion like her. He would never have made it this far without her loving support.
“Undoubtedly”, Jaellien agrees drily. “But I would like to make it clear, that I do not want for this to be an indefinite thing. I want to have sex with you again at some point and the fact that Sinnafein has not mentioned this makes me feel that she is not really happy about it.”
“I do not see how you could ever expect me to happy about something like that.”
“I don’t”, Jaellien says to her, “but I do expect you to be realistic when dealing with it, or we can just stop this all right now.”
“You say that as if you think you have a right to it”, Sinnafein frowns back at him.
“And what if I do?”
“Then I would like to point out that whatever debatable right you might have had to demand anything of Tos’un, as far as I am concerned you lost it right when you dropped right down to the level of a common rapist five years ago. And I don’t care if he says you didn’t. You cannot defend him one moment and claim that I abuse my gender and then turn around and demand that I should hand him over to you like a piece of meat!”
Jaellien is just about to give an angry answer, when they both notice the amused smile on Tos’uns face.
“What on earth could be so funny about this that it makes you laugh?” Sinnafein questions him sceptically, still looking angry.
“I just thought how happy I am, that you still care enough to fight over my virtue.” He smiles and Sinnafein’s gaze softens despite everything. “That said though”, Tos’un continues, still smiling, “if you are open to sharing at all, maybe you should just let me decide who gets to have sex with me and who doesn’t. As I will do for you.”
“Me?” Sinnafein is clearly thrown off track by the last sentence, but Tos’un merely shrugs.
“As you said, we are supposed to be equals. I would not demand that you limit yourself if I do not.”
“Of course not… what makes you think I want that though?”
“Currently? Nothing. But that does not mean it will always stay that way, does it? Maybe you will want for a bit of variety at some point.”
“That… I… well.” Sinnafein falls silent, not quite knowing how to react.
Tos’un uses her momentary confusion to turn his attention to Jaellien.
“I hope that you know what you are asking for”, he tells him, “for if we ever do have sex again, then I will not just lie back and let you take what you want.”
Jaellien’s smile is an open invitation.
“I most certainly hope so.”
“And it will only happen if Sinnafein agrees”, Tos’un adds, making the smile turn into a more sarcastic curl of the lips. It is clear that Jaellien expects objections as he turns to Sinnafein with a questioning gaze.
“I promise I will think about it”, she says uncomfortably, her fingers twitching restlessly as if she wants to grip something, but is making an effort to keep them flat on the table. In her head she is still wrestling with the concept of how Tos’un granted her the freedom to choose so easily, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Maybe for him it is, she thinks. As far as she knows the women in his life have mostly been able to do whatever they liked to him, without Tos’un having much power to stop them. Naturally they would not have cared about consulting him before turning their attentions elsewhere either. She has never considered it quite from this angle though.
“Maybe you should stop pushing now”, Tos’un says calmly when Jaellien opens his mouth again, with a less than satisfied expression on his face. “Give her time to get used to the concept.”
“If you think it best.”
Sinnafein, who knows very well how stubborn Jaellien can be at times, is quite impressed with his quick acquiescence. She also knows that it will not be the last time they have talked about this. But at least they are talking now, she decides, wondering how Hralien will react to this strange arrangement they are planning.

______________
Epilogue

“Soon you will be too old to wear such braids”, Jaellien is telling Doumi as he fixes the last strands of her elaborate hairstyle, but she just laughs.
“I will never be too old to let you play with my hair Li! Nobody can do it as well as you!”
Sinnafein watches the door, because after witnessing this kind of scene repeatedly during the last months she is sure that Tos’un must be coming in any moment. She has no idea how Jaellien manages to time it so that Tos’un never arrives before he can finish Doumi’s hair, but also never very much later. She is increasingly sure though, that it is part of some elaborate game the two are playing.
It is all in the details, she decides. The way Jaellien just bows his head a tiny bit and smiles when Tos’un comes in just in time to see Doumi leave with her hair done up into these special braids. The way her husband focuses on him for just a split second too long, before giving her his usual greeting, bowing down to kiss her lightly on the cheek.
She already knows what is coming when Tos’un smiles at the blond mage a little too sweetly and asks: “Would you like to help me prepare tonights meal?”
The only time when Jaellien will bow gracefully to such a request is after he has done something to challenge Tos’un first. At least that is what Sinnafein has deduced after watching them go through this several times now in several variations of the same theme. She is well aware that Jaellien hates cooking with a passion. They seem to flow around each other seamlessly in this little dance of small barbs and inconsequential little punishments.
It is all very subtle, but by now she is almost certain that they want her to notice.
When she goes to talk to Hralien about it later he just sighs in answer.
“I think it is time”, he says.
“Time for what?” Sinnafein asks, although she can easily guess.
“For you to decide.”
She looks down into her lap. Three years have passed since their Talk and privately she is very much impressed by the progress the two men have made during that time. The way forward has not always been easy, but nowadays they have settled into an understanding of each others strengths and weaknesses that seems to run surprisingly deep. Neither of them has ever mentioned the topic of sex again since that day, but that does not mean it has not been there in the background. It is often present in small things, in the way she can sometimes see Tos’un’s eyes follow the curve of Jaellien’s lips while he talks or the way Jaellien will sometimes fall silent and curl his fingers into fists in his lap, while they are all sitting at the table over a meal, as if he needs to consciously control himself keep them where they are.
“Would you think me terribly selfish if I said that I almost wish they had not come so far in such a short time?”
Hralien shrugs.
“It is probably normal to feel this way.”
As much as Sinnafein admires him for his ability to be impartial, right now she also wishes he would just tell her what to do, so she would not have to decide for herself. She sighs heavily.
“It would be cruel to deny them, when I can see they both want this”, she admits as much to herself as to Hralien, “especially after they have been so willing to wait, without pressuring me. But it is so hard to let go of something I have always thought should be mine alone.”
“If you cannot then Tos’un will respect that.”
Sinnafein smiles wistfully.
“Yes, he would, but I would always feel as if I was denying him something or taking too much from him.” She shakes her head. “I know how he looks when he wants me and it is very similar to the way he watches Jaellien sometimes, even though he has been trying very hard not to be obvious about it.” Another sigh passes her lips. “I do not want him to resent me.”
“I do not think he would, even if you decided you could not do this.”
“No”, she agrees, still unhappy. “But I probably would.”
“Well”, Hralien says. “It seems you have your answer then.”
- 7
- 8
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Aftermath