I NEED the details on the houseboat AU Hornblower polycule
Okay SO *cracks knuckles* I am going to tag @brainyraccoons and @kindofdistracting for this because they are my co conspirators for this AU!
I like to call the situation a polycule but it is not really explicitly defined as such. It's a sort of mix of found family, relationships and relationship anarchy, and whatever the heck Hornblower has going on in general.
As for the history of the 'cule, it is not that fleshed out yet. But: Archie and Horatio are longtime friends-slash-casual-lovers who have escaped from their previous, horrible job, decided to just upend their lives, buy an old sailing barge, fix it up and live on it. That is... about as far as their plan goes. Horatio works remotely and earns some money extra with online poker and such. Archie helps out at a community theatre and does various small remote jobs as a creative. That is how they keep afloat (literally).
One day as they anchor at a small dockyard for some much needed repairs, Edward Pellew marches aboard with a bucket of paint and an attitude: he will NOT have any barge in that state here! With their befuddled help, their barge gets a much needed glow-up. Edward is retired ex-navy, now runs a sailing trust, and has a gruff charme that Horatio is very weak to. There is a kind of fling between them, Edward being an old guard bisexual and Horatio eager for his attention. They do not consider anything serious at the time, and part on amicable terms: Archie and Horatio return for repairs or a chat on a semi-regular basis. Think of it as the kind of mentorship-friendship-sexuality dynamic you'll find in queer history.
William Bush is a stranger Archie and Horatio meet while anchoring at Canary Wharf one day; Bush is stuck in a corporate job that he excels at but that has been slowly but surely eating him alive without him truly noticing. Yes he runs on coffee and barely sleeps and has to step into verbal fights at work... but he is earning good money and Having A Carreer... that is good, right? ...Right?
When that stranger on a rickety barge calls over to him and asks him to catch the line, he does. Not long after, William Bush takes a lunch break he never returns from. He does not know how long he will stay with these two strangers. At first he thinks he must be going crazy to do this, but the more they talk about their own past and their new life...
Well, he ends up falling for them. Both of them. He is smart enough to realize it, but he also sees how at ease they are with one another, and he sees how they love each other, and initially he decides to let it be: he does not want to come between them.
Now, as clear as it is to William that Archie and Horatio are A Thing? It is not as clear to them. You see, they live together, they cuddle and bicker and blow each other kisses and they do get intimate from time to time. But they have never actually defined what they are. They would, in all honesty, describe themselves as friends.
And that is where it gets complicated for all involved. William confessing to them is not even as hard as making them talk to one another about what they are. In a way, Will is who brings them all together.
Of course, the next time after that that they anchor at that one dockyard, things get complicated for Horatio. Edward is pleased to see his lads happy: Horatio has a crisis about faithfulness and societal norms. William feels temporarily insecure. They figure it all out eventually, but I do not quite know the details yet.
But next comes this: Archie and Horatio laughing at their own jokes as they run about on deck. Edward and Will bonding over quiet mornings spent in silent company, watching the water. Archie blinking into the stage lights of every premiere of the small theatre to find Edward sitting in the audience. Will bringing Horatio coffee; Archie making the eggs just how William likes them. Horatio keeping still for hours because Will fell asleep on his shoulder. Archie wearing through his beloved 80s windbreaker; Edward digging in his wardrobe for another jacket for him.
And one day, Edward packs his few possessions and moves in.
Other honourable mentions:
Maria went to school with Horatio and they were paired up for prom and all. She loves him dearly and he awkwardly loves her back in a friend way. She likes how William looks at him, and she likes how William looks at her. Maybe something will come of it sometime.
Kitty runs the community theatre. She gets needlessly flirty with Edward, who never fails to be flustered.
Matthews & Styles have been married for ages. These two are the reason Archie and Horatio did not fail spectacularly within the first year of their houseboat adventure. They're usually anchored in the same spots in the general 'neighbourhood'.
Susan is Edward's ex wife. They're on good terms again and he calls her at least once a week.
Edrington comes by occasionally on his little sailing yacht. Archie antagonizes him almost immediately. They're fast friends soon, and there may be snogging involved.
Côtard is an acquaintance from the barge sailing races that Horatio and Archie like to partake in. He has a spoiled little pomeranian named Madeleine. Madeleine and Bush are not the best of friends.