22+52+76 Pericles/Ricky/Fred Sr
HMMMMMMMMMM
for this fic i would say that sr, pericles, and ricky are looking for the disk pieces (as per usual for them in any given au), and are tenuously working together for the time being; on one of the planets they visit to chase a lead, it becomes clear that the only way to get into the area they’re investigating is to be married in the eyes of the local law.
since none of them trust each other (rightly), they all choose to be in on it despite the baggage between the three of them. talk about testing their dedication to their search lmao
they proceed to get engaged, trick their way into finding the piece--which is in a crystal box they’re not sure how to open--and get the local authorities on their tail in the process of trying to escape with it. whoops!
then they manage to get away from them, only to crashland on a desert island on a planet they’re not even sure is inhabited. double whoops!
then it turns out that the process of being bonded by that planet’s marriage ceremony involves being actually bonded during the engagement, so that the engaged are better able to evaluate whether they really want to be married by the end of it. they have to stay within short range of each other, share injuries, and may or may not have a psychic link of some sort or another.
guess which planet, the only known source of the rites to undo the bonding, they're now on the run from?
W h o o p s
Hilarity Ensues, Most of It Very Dark, as they try to open the box, outmaneuver the others to end up with the piece, and not to kill each other in the meantime (which none of them would have issues with if not for the bond, don’t get me wrong).
or: They All Fucking Deserve Each Other, the Fic