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I took another bite of my pastry, watching these two dance around each other, both of them trying to give the other a chance. It made me realize just how isolating Talin's childhood must've been. I'd always thought that mine was bad, but his was "perfect" in a way that sounded like misery.
Talin finally gave in and reached for another pastry. "I'd really rather you didn't fuck Nari."
I had to fight my urge to smile, but my eyes jumped over to Thiemo.
"Then I never will," he said. "Are you still ok with Ela?"
"I actually am," Talin admitted. "In all honesty, I'd prefer not to watch, but I won't be upset if it happens."
Thiemo just nodded. "Ok. Because if you're sure, I'll put in a request when I leave here." Then he paused. "And I might even have an idea for Nari. No promises yet, but if her last session was bad, and all of the nobility knows she's in the initiate class, I can't help but wonder if they'd take a session to make problems."
I was the one who groaned at that. "Yeah, we definitely need to talk to Saval."
"Migard," Talin countered. "He'll put in extra effort to make sure they're safe for her."
"Or both," I decided. "I also like you more when you're bad, Talin. Believe it or not, we don't want you to be perfect. It's your flaws that made us all fall in love with you." And I lifted my brow to make sure he realized I was basically giving his own advice back to him.
"I'm trying," Talin assured me. "I really am. It's just that it's easy when we're all alone. My problem is when - "
"No," I said, cutting him off. "You fall back into your habits even when we're alone. The first time I met you, you were trying to pick a fight. The next, you were pushing your way into our happy little threesome. Then you dragged Anver back, not bothering to ask. Those are the things we notice. Not when you remind people of who you're related to. We likeyou,Talin, not your title." Then I looked over at Thiemo. "And the exact same is true for you. Do you know why I let you in this morning?"
"Not really," Thiemo admitted. "Because I'm Talin's brother?"
"Because you're willing to pick a fight to make Yamina's life easier, and that girl is someone I'm willing to call a friend. It's a short list, Thiemo. Keep it up, and you'll be added to it."
"So basically fuck up, fuck around, and tell everyone else to fuck off?" Thiemo asked.
I just smiled. "Yeah. Oh, and love hard while you're at it. The unapologetic kind. You owe nothing to anyone but yourself and the ones you offer yourself to."
"I like that," Thiemo said.
So I turned to look at Talin. His eyes were on the table, but he was bobbing his head as if something in all of that had just made sense to him. Unfortunately, I knew it wouldn't be that easy - it never was. But I actually loved him more for realizing what he'd been doing.
Chapter 31
Nariana
Thiemo stayed over for a good portion of the day. He didn't want anything special - simply to hang around and talk. Interestingly, the more I was around him, the more I found I liked the guy. He was a lot more like Talin than I'd suspected. He was also very curious about how Wraythe could be so comfortable with the other guys when he wasn't attracted to them.
Wraythe's answer was shockingly simple. "If Nari and Maela can hug each other and it's not weird, then why does having a dick mean that I can't? Fuck that. I happen to like cuddling, and I dare anyone to have a problem with it."
Considering that Wraythe was easily the largest man I knew, that wasn't an empty threat. Still, Thiemo reacted like that was some kind of epiphany, and I had a funny feeling he was going to start yet another scandal because of it. I also didn't think his scandals were bad things.
Thiemo simply refused to blindly accept the rules of society. He questioned the parts that didn't make sense, and refused the traditions that he felt shouldn't apply to him. Plus, with Tath hiding away from everyone, there was no one to tell Thiemo to stop. He was keeping the household running, helping Maela as much as he could, and protecting his little sister. In other words, he was a surprisingly decent man.
Unfortunately, the weekend didn't last nearly long enough, and we returned to classes all too soon. In our Advanced Sexuality class, Saval assured me again that my session would not be graded. Talin, however, received a "good" for performing his duties as a guardian without excessive force. He could've tried to de-escalate more, but his reaction was considered to be justified. Our instructors used what had happened as an example of when a session should be declined, making it clear just how quickly a situation like that could turn deadly.
Then the rest of the day was amazingly tedious. The Bondage and Rope Tying class I had with Ela gave us a pop quiz on the names of specific knots. I was pretty sure I'd passed that, but there had been one knot I didn't recognize. Ela explained that he didn't use that one because it was too time-consuming to release, so we'd never discussed it.
And my day ended with another class session for First Aid. Like always, I claimed my chair beside Wen, and we discussed the last practical session in the infirmary until Farik finally made his way in. The man had a tendency to be late, usually saying he'd been delayed in the infirmary, but today was different.
He came in carrying a collection of small plants in pots. Seedlings, I wanted to say, since the pots were so small, but I wasn't honestly sure. One by one, he lined the plants up on the front of the desk, making them all easy to see. Only when that was done did he set down his other things in the chair. The entire class had fallen silent by the time he was done.
"Herbs," Farik said, gesturing to the plants. "These are all easy things to grow, common in most gardens, and often end up as weeds in fancy flowerbeds."
"What do plants have to do with first aid?" someone asked on the other side of the room.
Farik grinned. "I was hoping someone would ask that!" He chuckled. "Well, so you know, these plants are all from the Path of Action's greenhouse. We grow them here at the temple, and Obligation helps us. Why? Because this one..." He pointed to the first. "...Is called Red Windroot. Its roots can be crushed into a paste that makes a useful treatment for panic or anxiety conditions. No, it's not a cure, but it dulls the stress response just enough to help patients cope with a fear-inducing situation. I use it most often for surgical patients, as a way to calm them down before the procedure."
