A home for three

[god_of_the_arena]

Gannicus stepped out of the car they hired and stretched. It wasn't a long trip from the city proper, but he was used to walking everywhere. It occurred to him that if they were going to make a go at living out here, at least one of them might need to learn to drive.

If he was honest with himself, the prospect was promising.

They'd all been speaking with realtors and searching for properties that would suit them: the house had to be large enough so that the three of them did not feel on top of each other, unless they wanted to be, and enough to accommodate guests. Land for growing and for animals, and preferably at least one out building already existing. Gannicus was certain they could build other things as they needed to, but having a place to start would help.

This was one of the more promising properties, as it already had at least one fenced pasture and a barn.

Gannicus stood at the edge of the driveway, waiting for his partners. They had permission to go exploring, as the house was unoccupied at the moment.

Comments

[krempuff]

The day was cool and a little dreary, but that didn't stop the bounding of joy in his chest as they all piled out of the car and took a look at the house from the driveway. The way up had been lovely, green and blooming the whole way, and even though Krem was bundled against the breeze and little pockets of rain, he could see how the place might look under brilliant summer light.

He smiled, hooking his arm around Hild's waist and smiling at Gannicus.

[light_of_the_world]

Hild would have preferred to walk, but the weather wasn't promising. She had to admit, too, that her saunters through the early morning, sun barely risen, to gather herbs from the wild places was different than a daily commute, as they called it, into the city for her shop. There was a downfall to being so far out, but they would find a way to overcome it.

She stretched her arms above her head, then let one fall around Krem's shoulders, her gaze fixed, judicious, on the house. It was quaint looking from the front, but she knew it spread out in the back, hiding a good deal of space.

"I've seen this one before, on my walks," she said. "I always thought it looked pretty."

[god_of_the_arena]

"Now's your chance to see the inside." Gannicus tugged both of them toward the house. They could explore the rest of the outside after that, but the interior seemed particularly important.

"I like the porch," he said as they climbed up the stairs. If he was honest, a part of him was excited just to have the outdoor space. His apartment had a small balcony, but it was hardly the same.

[krempuff]

Krem followed along, still holding onto Hild. Gannicus had been practically effusive about the project of finding a home, and Krem was more than happy to let him take point on it. The homes they'd looked at so far had been lovely things, but this one was near the top of the list, for the size of it and the property, the cost in comparison to those things.

"What do you think about shutters?" he asked, sort of absentmindedly. "Functional ones, in case Darrow gets strange again."

[light_of_the_world]

"Sturdy ones," Hild said, immediately agreeable to the idea. Her mind immediately clicked over, shifting from considering the beauty and quaintness of the house to how defensible it was. In the country, she imagined they would have less disturbance than, say, the middle of town, but they had to be prepared.

"And dogs." Her lips curved in amusement at the idea. "Big ones." She could see them running madly in the large fenced off space, helping round the sheep, defending their humans. "Though we can think of that later."

[god_of_the_arena]

"They would not be difficult to put up," Gannicus mused. He brightened at the mention of dogs, remembering the ones that lived with, used to guard and to help with livestock, and some that even joined their masters in battle. He would not be opposed to having a few large beasts like that around their home. "I would welcome dogs into the house."

He headed inside, impressed by the space hidden by the cozy exterior. The kitchen was promising.

[krempuff]

As soon as they were inside, Krem was prepared to roam. He'd looked over what the house had to offer numerous times, but pictures and descriptions didn't do it justice. Seeing, putting his hands on the walls and the fixtures, that was much more.

He separated from Hild and Gannicus to explore the kitchen, and into the dining room beyond, taking in the natural light of each of the spaces, and what would be needed for interior lighting during the darker hours.

[light_of_the_world]

"It's certainly big enough," Hild remarked with a faint giggle as she strolled around the kitchen island. Compared to the apartments that Darrow doled out to them, this was luxurious. It helped that there were three of them pitching in on the cost.

She skipped ahead of both of them to check out the upstairs, the bedrooms and the baths. "When can we christen it?" she called over her shoulder.

[god_of_the_arena]

Gannicus trailed after each of them, content to see them happy and excited. He felt the warmth of it spreading through him, the promise of this place. He laughed when he heard Hild call down from upstairs.

He squeezed Krem's shoulder in passing and went to the foot of the stairs.

"As soon as we agree on it," he called up to her. He wondered if that was even a question now, when all three of them seemed to like it.

[krempuff]

Krem rolled his eyes a little, but full of charm and affection for his lovers. He looked around the space again, letting Gannicus go ahead for a moment. He didn't think the two of them would get up to anything in a home they did not own. Then again, if they did, there was a bit of an thrill in that.

He shook his head, passing into the dining room, and then the great room, before he headed upstairs as well. There was staging furniture in the rooms downstairs, to show how the space could be filled, but the bedrooms were empty.

"We're not christening anything until we've bought the place," Krem said with a little smile. "At least, not in the main house. We've still a barn to look at."

[light_of_the_world]

"Spoilsport," Hild said, playfully pouting, warm fondness in her voice despite the choice of word. The dream was, step by step, becoming reality, and this step brought them so close that her blood was singing for them to run ahead, claim what was theirs and let the rest sort itself out afterward.

Fuck escrow.

She took a spin around the master bedroom, reveling in the open space, thinking of a large bed and lazy mornings and sun streaming through open windows, the scent of flowers and earth and life on the wind.

"Okay, let's give Krem his roll in the hay."

[god_of_the_arena]

Gannicus just laughed and shook his head at the pair of them; furniture, or a lack of it, had never stopped him before. But Krem had a point; if they wanted this place, perhaps they should endear themselves to whoever owned it now.

He saw potential in the house; he saw potential in a lot of things where he had never looked for it before, either from fear of hopelessness.

It was a nice feeling to have.

His fingers loosely caught Hild's, tugging lightly before he let go again; his hand squeezed Krem's shoulder, his excitement barely hidden.

"The barn is far less likely to be interrupted," he quipped on his way down the stairs.

[krempuff]

Before they could, any of them, get too far away from the bedroom, Krem kissed them, first Gannicus as he was just there at the shoulder, and then Hild when she was near enough as well. He lingered in that, relishing the closeness and the quiet moment, the comfort that came with the three of them in any combination together.

And then they were away, heading out of the house--it was spacious, there were extra rooms that could be made into studies or work rooms for now, an attic space in this one that Krem already thought could be made up for Aggie to come and go as she liked--and out the back porch.

The property was expansive, and currently only maintained for grass, but it was maintained at least. Krem thought of goats and sheep, thought of gardens, and he headed toward the barn, which was easily large enough for horses if they wanted them.

"I'm a bit impressed," he admitted. "I knew it was in good repair, but it's probably better than anything I might have known back home."

[light_of_the_world]

She paused long enough to allow and to share in that moment with her lovers, to let her heartbeat steady to a rhythm slower than the excited patter like a hummingbird's wings. This was a moment that would never come again, she was sure. One day, she might return home, forget all this, become wife to a man she should not have, become lady to a castle that she would have to care for. Out of love, yes, but also duty. This was something freely given and received. This was a choice made by a meeting of minds and hearts. She could never have this again.

"It's almost a shame," Hild said in an amiable tone as she investigated the barn. "Cold stone, some leaks, an overgrown old garden make a place like home." She was only joking however. A sturdy, well-built place of their own was more than she could hope for. "We'll have little trouble making this place function again."

[god_of_the_arena]

"There is another shed yet that is in disrepair," Gannicus mused. They could easily fix that up. "And space for more out buildings as we desire." He knew Hild wasn't being entirely serious in her longing for something more overgrown or challenging, but the property had more potential than what lay before their eyes.

He could already imagine: a growing house for Hild, pens and fences for sheep, horses, maybe chickens. Whatever any of them desired and had the will to care for.

He smiled and pulled Hild close to lightly spin her. "And we do not yet know if anything leaks," he teased her, lightly touching their brows together before he let her go to resume exploring.

Gannicus looked at Krem, just as excited and fond and hopeful. "What would you see here, cariad?"

[krempuff]

"I'll surely break something at some point," Krem put in mildly. He checked the strength of one of the stall doors and then lifted himself up onto it, sitting on the edge and smiling at both of his lovers. Their happiness, excitement over this settled any existing worries he had left, and there were not many of those left to settle. "It will help add character."

Krem watched Gannicus hold onto Hild like that, and swelled with such a happiness he could hardly explain. His smile was slow and lazy, absolutely adoring. He leaned over his knees a little, sat on the gate, and let this whole moment just soak in. This could be theirs--this home, this place, and they could make it however they wanted.

"I don't know yet," he said, and laughed a little. "I grew up in a city, I never lived with this much space in my life, really."

[light_of_the_world]

Hild made a playfully dismissive noise in Krem's direction when he mentioned a breaking, even though it was true. But Hild would likely not do the fixing of it. That duty would belong to her men. Her duty would be to direct. Even so, she would work hard, in the garden, with the animals. Maybe keep bees, brew mead. The possibilities felt endless, spreading out before them like the shimmering sea. She had never felt so free, so in control.

"Sheep," Hild chirped. She strolled towards Krem, a dancing step, one foot before the other with a bounce in between. "Flax. Make fine linen and wool for your clothes. Anything you wanted, we could make. Make it ours."

[god_of_the_arena]

"My people kept sheep," he said as he leaned over a stall door to look at the space inside. "I can tend and shear while you two do whatever you want with the wool."

Gannicus wasn't sure how much skill he had to offer in this household, but he knew he could tend livestock, tend crops, and tend them well. It was a life he would have been happen to have before the Romans came. His mind wandered with other things they could plant and grow, other stock they could keep. Goats, horses, a cow or two--

He let his mind wandered as he stood straight, watching his lovers fondly.

[krempuff]

Krem slid down off gate and wrapped his arms around Hild. He held her a moment, and then took one hand and led her in a jaunty, spinning reel around the main aisle of the barn.

The thought of it, livestock and farming and making their own fabrics, it all inspired a riot in his chest. Love and tenderness and a joy that he barely knew how to describe. He looked over his shoulder as he worked his and Hild's dance in circles, and smiled at Gannicus.

It was more than he'd ever dreamt he might have. And it could be theirs.

[light_of_the_world]

Hild laughed, high and open and delighted, as Krem lead her into a spinning, wheeling dance. Her hair whipped into her face, obsuring her view, but the world spun around her: solid wooden walls and peeks of sunlight through the open door and Gannicus and Krem. The scent of earth and hay and home. The sound of her own laughter in the relative quiet of the countryside.

When she stopped them, a little unsteady on her feet, Hild threw her arms around Krem's shoulders as though holding on. "So?" She looked between them both. "Are we settled then?"

[god_of_the_arena]

"I think we are well satisfied," Gannicus said warmly. "Should we make offer?"

He assumed that was the part that came next; they liked it, so they would offer what they thought was fair. He also assumed the real estate agent that had been showing them properties would take care of them. He hoped so, anyway. Of the three of them, he had the least experience in gaining property.

They were going to have a home.

[krempuff]

Krem nodded his own agreement. He took Hild's draping hug and smiled, reaching out a hand to draw Gannicus near as well so they could make a knot of the three of them.

"The realtor is open a while yet. We could make an offer today even."

The whole idea of it suddenly came on: this was real, as real as the three of them. They would have a home--quite possibly this one. They would share a bed, share meals and space and run a little homestead out in this countryside outside of a city none of them had intended to end up in.

He let out a soft, almost startled sort of laugh. Of course it was real. But this was real now.

"If we make an offer soon, maybe we could have the place by my birthday. What a way to celebrate."

[light_of_the_world]

Catching onto Krem's intent, Hild released him with one arm and slug it around Gannicus' shoulders instead, drawing him close and closing their circle. A perfect one.

"Let's do it," she said, enthusiastic but her voice something of a hushed whisper, keeping this moment and all its promise between them.

"We can have a party. Invite everyone into our home."