a/n: finally adding Crescent City to my masterlist! written for day 3 of @polysjmweek
Movie night was supposed to be relaxing. A nice, quiet evening with your three boyfriends, a ridiculous amount of snacks, and at least one action movie that Ithan would pretend he wasn’t totally invested in.
That was the plan, anyway. But leave it to your boyfriends to take up all the space with none left for you.
You couldn’t blame them entirely, though. After a few years of dating the boys, you had moved into Ruhn’s house with them. A house that was already begging for more space after Ithan moved in, claiming the fourth and final bedroom. That meant you didn’t get your own room but cycled through sleeping with one of the boys each night instead. It worked great for you. You were never alone, and even if one of them had been busy all day, you could still snuggle with them all night to make up for it. It was a perfect situation, except for times like these.
You stared at the sectional couch in front of you. Ruhn had already claimed the left side, his legs stretched out, one arm draped over the back like the prince he was. Ithan had taken the middle, lounging like he wasn’t built like a damn tank, feet propped up on the coffee table. And Flynn was sprawled on the right, legs wide, arms stretched across the cushions like he was trying to take up as much space as possible.
You eyed the tiny open spaces between them, your bottom lip sticking out in a small pout. “You didn’t leave enough room for me.”
Ithan glanced at you and immediately read the situation, shifting slightly—barely enough to make a difference.
“You can fit,” he said, but you weren’t convinced.
Flynn patted his lap. “Or,” he drawled, “You could sit here.”
Ruhn shot him a glare. “You don’t get to hog her tonight, Flynn.”
Flynn feigned offense, gasping and placing a hand over his heart. “I don’t hog her. I just love and appreciate her more than you assholes.”
Ithan shoved him hard enough to make an audible oof.
You sighed dramatically. “Guess I’ll just sit on the floor like some kind of peasant.”
Immediately, three different voices spoke at once.
“Like Hel, you will.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Just sit on me.”
Ruhn rolled his eyes but grabbed your wrist, tugging you onto his lap before you could even argue. You yelped at the sudden movement, but he was warm, solid, and—okay, this wasn’t the worst seat in the world.
Ithan smirked. “Guess that settles it.”
But Flynn took one look at the situation and groaned. “Oh, come on. Ruhn gets lap privileges? That’s favoritism.”
Ruhn smirked. “You snooze, you lose.”
Flynn grumbled, but instead of moving over to make space, he flopped sideways so his head ended up right in your lap, his long legs draped over Ithan.
“There,” he said with a satisfied sigh. “Problem solved.”
You raised an eyebrow. “You just managed to take up even more room.”
Flynn grinned up at you. “But now I’m comfortable, and my lovely girlfriend can play with my hair.”
Ithan looked like he was about to strangle him, but you just laughed as he scooted to the other end of the couch. Ruhn’s arms tightened around your waist, and as the movie finally started, you ran your fingers through Flynn’s hair. Ithan stretched his arm toward you so he could twirl the ends of your hair.
“We need a bigger couch,” you said.
Ruhn craned his neck so he could meet your eyes. “How much bigger can it get? We already have a large couch.”
You hummed, shimmying to burrow deeper into Ruhn’s arms. “We could get a couch meant for the angels. They make them extra wide and long.”
“I know what else is extra wide and long,” Flynn chimed in, his voice slightly muffled by your thighs.
You smacked him in the head at the same time Ithan pinched his leg.
“Ow!”
Ruhn chuckled. “Told you that dirty mouth was going to get you in trouble.”
You blushed furiously, burying your face into Ruhn’s neck. “No comment,” you mumbled.
All three boys laughed.
“A bigger couch isn’t a bad idea,” Ithan said. “But where would we put it?”
You removed your face from Ruhn’s neck to respond. “We move the pool table, and then we’d have plenty of room.”
“Not the pool table,” Ruhn whined.
“Don’t tell me you’d choose a pool table over your girlfriend,” you deadpanned while side-eyeing him.
“Of course not,” he said, his tattooed hand running up and down your side. “But why do I have to choose? If my memory serves me correctly, we’ve had lots of fun on that pool table.”
“Would you stop it with the innuendos?” you said, smacking his chest. “I swear it’s like I live with a bunch of animals. Except you, Ithan. You’re tame.”
Ithan grinned. “Come over here, sweetheart. I’ll protect you from their vulgarity.”
“Don’t you dare,” Ruhn warned, but it was too late.
You crawled out of Ruhn’s lap and across Flynn, who groaned when your knee dug into his stomach. Ithan grabbed you by the hips and placed you across his lap, your back to the arm of the couch.
“That’s better,” Ithan said, placing a kiss on your temple. “No more corrupting our girlfriend.”
“Too late for that,” Flynn laughed. “She was corrupted when we had sex in the—“
You interrupted him with a throw pillow to the face. “Stop it,” you scolded. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“Aw, don’t be embarrassed, baby,” Ruhn said, his tone empathetic. “You’re just so cute when you blush. And you can hardly blame us for looking back on those times fondly. We’re some lucky bastards for finding such a beautiful girl who puts up with our shit.”
“I don’t put up with anything,” you retorted. “I made Flynn clean up his pigsty of a room just two days ago.”
“It was not a pigsty! It was just a little messy.”
“It was a pigsty. Smelt like one too.”
“Now you’re just being mean,” Flynn pouted.
“Oh, my poor baby,” you cooed. “Should I call your mommy?”
“I didn’t know you had a mommy kink,” Flynn smirked.
“You asshole!”
You launch out of Ithan’s lap and land on Flynn, tickling that spot under his ribs.
The sound of Ithan and Ruhn’s laughter, and Flynn’s pleas for mercy drowned out the movie.
“Ok! Ok, I’m sorry! Please!”
“Promise you’ll behave!”
“I will, I will,” Flynn swore between fits of laughter.
You relented, settling down between Flynn and Ithan. You were squished, your shoulders caved inward to make room for their massive biceps but you were so warm and cozy you didn’t mind.
Ruhn leaned toward the coffee table and grabbed two bowls of popcorn, handing one off to you to share with Ithan. All four of you finally relaxed comfortably on the couch, joking about the characters’ poor decisions in the movie.
You sighed, leaning your head on Ithan’s shoulder and curling your legs to lay in Flynn’s lap. Flynn grabbed one of your socked feet and squeezed gently.
Your couch might not be big enough for the four of you, but your hearts certainly were.
warnings: none, reader just thinks the love is unrequited. miscommunication trope i suppose (more like lack thereof)
a/n: written for day 6 of @polysjmweek
Love was never easy.
Not for Bryce Quinlan, whose heart had been broken in the most violent, unforgiving ways. Not for Hunt Athalar, who had spent centuries chained, watching the people he cared for be taken from him again and again.
And not for you—not when you had fallen for two people who had suffered more than you could ever understand and find solace in each other but…not in you.
You had known Bryce before Danika had been taken from her. Before her world had shattered into pieces that no one—not even Hunt—had been able to completely put back together. You had met Hunt when he was still nothing more than the Shadow of Death, a slave to the Asteri, to Micah, to whatever master had the power to control him.
And somewhere in the years between all the loss and the war, somewhere in the quiet moments when they both let you in, you had fallen for them. Both of them. The problem was, they didn’t reciprocate it.
You almost let yourself hope sometimes, that maybe they did feel the same way. When Bryce would smirk at you when you grabbed her hand to cross the street or drag her onto the dance floor.
And when you occasionally crashed on the couch of their shared apartment, Hunt would brush his fingers over your skin in a way that lingered a little too long.
But beyond that, it was never anything more. Never acknowledged outright. To everyone else, it would just seem you were really close with them. Maybe another one of their strays they’d taken in under their wings like Ithan.
It was gut-wrenching. You felt like a lost puppy, following them around everywhere they went, desperate for affection. But you kept going, taking whatever scraps they’d give you. Convincing yourself it was fine. That you could be happy just being their friend. As long as they were still in your life, you would survive.
Eventually, things hit a wall. Hunt was the first to pull away. First, it was just avoiding eye contact when the three of you went out. Then he started leaving the room whenever you came over to their apartment.
You tried not to let it affect you. It was fine. He was a grown male and he didn’t owe you anything. But then Bryce started to pull away too. She invited you over less and less. And when you saw her out and about, she’d keep it brief, giving an excuse as to why she needed to hurry. Not to mention the fact your messages to them had been left on read for weeks now.
The last time you saw her was a week ago, and once you got home after her once again blowing you off, you cried in your bed for hours.
You couldn’t explain why it hurt so bad. How you had even gotten it in your mind that you could possibly have both of them. They were in a multiple-years-long committed relationship for Cthona’s sake. They didn’t need you. And who were you to try to squeeze your way in?
You had convinced yourself that maybe they entertained you for a while, wanted to see how far you would go. How desperate you were. They must have gotten bored or uncomfortable with it at some point. And when they realized you wouldn’t back off despite their obvious change, they had to take it a step further to really hammer the nail in the coffin.
You wished they would have just said something. Told you that they weren’t interested or needed some more space. Though, you suppose that’s asking for a lot from two people who had never been the best at communicating.
But then this afternoon you were on your bed in your apartment, stuffing your face with ice cream when you got a text from Bryce asking you to come over.
You had stared at your phone in disbelief. Then you scoffed and tossed it to the side. No. You weren’t falling for it again. And maybe they weren’t the people you thought they were if they got bored without you and decided to lure you back for more entertainment.
Then she sent you another text, saying it was urgent and that she needed to talk to you. You had groaned into your pillow and laid there for a while contemplating your decision. You decided that if they were just toying with you, then this would be your chance to end it.
So that’s where you were now, sitting on the couch in Bryce and Hunt’s apartment.
Hunt was leaning with his hip against the island counter, wings splayed behind him, and Bryce sat a few inches away from you on the couch.
Bryce released a deep breath, shared a look you couldn’t decipher with Hunt, and pivoted her body toward you. “We need to talk.”
“I gathered that,” you said, your tone sharp. You didn’t plan to sound so mean, but if you weren’t angry, you were hurt. And the last thing you wanted to do was let them see how much it broke your heart.
Bryce flinched at your tone, and it was then you noticed the emotions on her face. Fear. Sadness. Regret.
“We haven’t seen you in a while,” she said softly.
“I’ve been busy.”
Bryce sighed again and looked at Hunt.
He moved from the counter to come sit next to her, taking her hand in his. “We want to apologize.”
You tilted your head, eyes flicking over their tense posture. “For what?”
Bryce made eye contact with Hunt again and he gave her a subtle nod. “For pushing you away,” she said. “We just—we didn’t know what else to do and we freaked out.”
You scoffed. “What else to do? You tell me I’m too much or bothering you, you don’t just ignore me,” you snapped.
“Wait what?” Bryce asked.
“You shut me out,” you said flatly. “Both of you. If you wanted me to back off or give you guys space you should’ve just said something. Instead, you tossed me aside like trash. I thought I… meant something to you.”
“You do,” Bryce whispered. “You do. That’s the problem.”
You blinked. “What kind of messed-up logic is that?”
“We were scared,” Hunt said, voice rough with emotion. “Of how much you meant to us. Of what it would do to us if we let you in completely and then lost you.”
Bryce nodded. “After everything we’ve lost, the idea of loving someone else, really loving someone, it felt like opening a wound that might never heal.”
Your breath hitched. You hated how much that made sense. How it mirrored your own fears. But it didn’t excuse what they did.
“You could’ve told me that. Instead, you made me feel like I was nothing.”
Bryce’s voice cracked. “I know. And I hate that we did that to you. You deserve better.”
“We thought pushing you away would protect us,” Hunt said. “But all it did was hurt you. And now… we just want the chance to fix it. To show you how we really feel.”
Bryce scooted closer. “We love you. Both of us. I love you.”
“And I love you,” Hunt echoed.
Your lip trembled. You looked at the two of them, pain and hope bleeding into every inch of their faces. And despite the ache in your chest, your heart beat just a little faster.
Bryce’s hand reached for yours, not grabbing it yet but leaving her palm open for you to take. “Can we start over?” she asked. “Together?”
You exhaled shakily, your heart cracking open again, piece by piece. “Okay,” you whispered, slowly placing your hand on top of hers. “But you better mean it.”
“We do. With everything we are,” Hunt said.
And when they pulled you into their arms, you let them. Not because everything was fixed—but because they were finally brave enough to be honest with you. To let you in. And this time, you weren’t letting go.
You know it, you love it. But have you ever played a version with the possibility for multiple partners across the Maasverse? Now you can!
Your number is your month and day of birth added together (01/02 = 1+2). If you don't want to use your birthday for privacy reasons, feel free to use this random number generator to get a number from 1-30.
To play, start at the first numbered option and count each of the category options until you reach your number. Cross off the option you land on. Play through the first block to discover your story, leaving one option per category. If you have mates, play through the second, stopping when the number of options left equals the number of mates from part 1. Unlike part 1, it does not matter what column the results are in, just cross them off until you're left with your mates!
Post your story and finished board using the hashtag: #poly+sjmweekMASH.
We can't wait to see where this adventure takes you! You could even use it as inspiration for a fic. 👀
And we can't wait to see what you share for the event in JUST TWO WEEKS!
This can go so many ways! What was your groups courtship like? Who courted who? Are they from different courts, and if so how does that affect their relationship?
Day 2 - 4/7: Reveal
Who, or what is being revealed? Is it a flirtatious move or a serious conversation? You tell us!
Day 3 - 4/8: Will there be enough room?
Many of our favorite tropes are written with a pairing of two: grumpy/sunshine, golden retriever/black cat, enemies to lovers, the other male/female. How do they change when there’s more than two? How does your group of four or five fit in that inn’s only one bed? Take these tropes and flip them on their heads, or expand them for a larger group!
Day 4 - 4/9: Alternate Universe
Maybe it’s an alternate world, or a retelling of how canon would change if there were a larger romantic group. Perhaps your group is reminiscing on what could have been. What world will your group travel to?
Day 5 - 4/10: Memories and History
What is your group remembering and why? Maybe it’s a memory of a favorite experience, or a painful one. Is it a former partner, the day they chose to get together?
Day 6 - 4/11: Courage
What does courage mean to you, or to your group? Courage to live freely, courage to go on an adventure, courage to try something new? The world is your oyster!
Day 7 - 4/12: Why Choose?
Welcome to free day! Pick your favorite prompt ideas or tropes and mash them together, or take it literally and create a why choose scenario for your group.
We can't wait to celebrate with you this April! Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
