"No, no, no," Zasen grumbled. "We need to start before that."
"And I really wouldn't mind sitting," Kanik said.
"Here," I told him, moving in to wrap my arm around his waist. "Holly, get your ball!"
"Come," Rymar said. I didn't know if he was talking to us or the dog, but he headed to the table the men kept back here for cookouts. "Lie." And he pointed to the ground. "Sit." This time, he pulled out the closest chair, clearly meaning that for Kanik.
"Do you feel okay?" I asked as I helped him into it. "Still sore?"
"Yeah," he admitted, "but I wanted to stand for this."
"And you sit beside him," Zasen said, claiming the chair across the table.
Rymar took the one beside me. "Okay, so where do we start, Zasen?"
"Tokens," Zasen said, pointing at the thing I held. "That is a torc. It's a type of necklace that's meant to be nearly permanent. You can take them off, but you don't need to. The metal can be worn when bathing, fighting, hunting, and more. It's just a necklace, though. What makes something a token is when it's intended to mark a relationship, Ayla."
"Okay?"
Rymar opened his mouth, but Zasen lifted a hand, stopping Rymar so he could finish. "Ayla, Dragons don't always get married. We do have partnerships. We can also change our minds. From a divorce like Meri got to simply breaking up because it's not working, we always have options. And yet, from meeting to spending our lives together, there has to be some way to mark the difference in intentions, right?"
"That makes sense," I agreed, feeling like I was missing something obvious.
"And," Rymar said, ignoring Zasen's best attempt to make him wait, "I told them about our discussion. You wanted to know how to date, and I said I'd check to see what they thought about it, right?"
My face immediately began to heat up. I didn't even know if that was something to be embarrassed about, and yet I was. I felt overly exposed and was sure I'd done something stupid again.
"And this is my answer," Kanik told me. "Ayla, my dragonfly on there means this is my way of asking you to not just date, but to be my partner. I want to have a relationship with you. One of friends, and maybe some kissing. Definitely hand-holding and hugs. I like you, and I like you enough that I don't want it to be casual or meaningless."
"Yeah?" I asked.
"I don't want to make you feel pressured," Rymar said, "but you have no idea how hard it was to not just say yes when you talked to me about it. Ayla, I want to be more than merely a safe friend. I want to be silly with you, and take risks, and make mistakes. I want to think I might be able to kiss you again."
So I looked at Zasen, aware his sign was stamped on the gold as well.
He glanced down, a smile twisting his lips. "I thought you'd pick Kanik. We all tried to make your options clear." And he chuckled. "When I was trying to explain families to you, I said you could have three boyfriends because I was thinking about us. The four of us work, Ayla. I'd like to think we've proven we can be trusted, and you set the pace of this, but you're beautiful, strong, and brilliant. I already think of you as my partner. This would do nothing more than declare to others that we are a family."
"I still don't want children," I reminded them.
"I'm good with that," Rymar said.
"We all are," Kanik promised while Zasen nodded.
"But if you want to try this with us," Zasen said, "You just have to stamp your phoenix on the empty space. But!" He glanced up, catching my eyes with his orange ones. "Doing that is like telling us it's okay to touch you."
"Like holding hands or putting an arm around you," Rymar hurried to clarify.
So I looked at Kanik. "And kissing?"
"I have no problem with kissing," he assured me.
"Kissing too," Zasen said, but the glint in his eyes felt like a dare.
"But you get to set the pace," Rymar said, shooting Zasen a warning glare. "Ayla, we like intimacy, but there's a lot between holding hands and sex. Now, I think all of those things are great, but you're the one who gets to decide how much you want, and how far you'll go with someone."
"Us," Kanik clarified. "Accepting a token means you're agreeing to just be with us. If you find yourself interested in someone else, you'd talk to us first."
"Or it'd be..." I paused, trying to remember the word. "The thing Lessa said. The not-right thing."
