[SOLO] Girl Talk (Menahem + Tirzah)[FIN]

[Menelie]

It was a rare moment when Tirzah and Menahem were home by themselves without Rho. It was rare because they were at Rho's alcove. It had been several weeks since they'd returned from Las Venus and both Tirzah and Menahem were beginning to look a bit round.

Menahem had just finished tidying up from the afternoon meal, and Tirzah was sitting on the sofa with her hooves up. She motioned for Mena to join her. "Come rest a while, darling," she said, patting the seat next to her.
Mena, who was feeling undeniably tired after both cooking and cleaning, gratefully sat down next to Tirzah, who immediately cuddled up to him. This wasn't unusual, and especially not since they had been pregnant. Tirzah was even more emotional than usual, flying into a rage or bursting into tears at the slightest provocation. But she had also been even more affectionate than usual. If that were possible. Mena put his arm around her.

"How are you feeling?" asked Tirzah.


Mena made a face, but then shrugged casually. "It's been okay. I've mostly gotten used to the nausea and the aches. I can't complain, really. How about you?" In truth, he felt awful. Any sort of weird smell turned his stomach, his chest ached, his hooves were killing him pretty much constantly, and he was always tired.

Tirzah made an anguished noise. "I hate this," she confessed. "I feel okay in my body, and I feel guilty because you seem like you're really going through it, but in my head I feel like I can never rest. Like there's always something, I'm either pissed off, or something has made me so sad or sentimental, or I'm anxious. I'm tired of having emotions."  

[Menelie]

Mena nodded and stroked her hair as she spoke. "That sounds rough," he agreed. "I'm sure it'll calm down soon." He had no way of knowing this, but it sounded reassuring.

"I hope so," said Tirzah, starting to feel weepy. "I just feel like it's always something, y'know? And I feel like someone always has to take care of me? And Rho has done so much already, and he has to take care of you too? And I know he isn't great with big emotions and I don't want to be a burden?" The tears were really coming now.

Mena gathered her into his arms. "Hey, shh, it's okay, alright? You're always telling us not to bottle up or hide how we're feeling. So now it's you turn. Okay?" Somehow having someone other than himself to take care of helped him feel better.

Tirzah snorted a laugh. "Thanks..." She cuddled into Mena, who didn't typically get snuggly with her. Usually Rho was between them.  

[Menelie]

Mena continued to stroke her hair and make comforting noises. He did understand what she was talking about. He didn't have it as bad, of course, but he had felt his emotions were...heightened, somehow. And Tirzah was already so in tune with her own feelings that it must be terrible to feel everything so deeply, all the time.

Tirzah sniffled a little and smiled. The gesture was comforting, him petting her hair like this. He didn't normally...he must've seen Rho doing it and picked it up? Huh. She sat up a little. "You're being so sweet..." she let the statement hang in the air.

Mena shrugged a little, and blushed. He'd spent probably more time than was warranted thinking about what Tirzah had said about them, when they were defending themselves (or notably weren't defending themselves, in his own case) against Rho's parents' line of questioning. A trio. Did she really think of him that way? And what did he think of her? "Just trying to be kind..." he said weakly. No way she was buying that.

Tirzah cocked an eyebrow. "Uh-huh..." she said, unconvinced. If there was one thing she was good at, it was prying her loved ones' true feelings out into the open. She put her head on his shoulder. "I'm not gonna make you say anything you don't want to," she said simply. "But just know that I know there's more there than what you are saying. Nobody here but us, darling. You don't have to be bashful."

Mena groaned internally. Called it. She said she wasn't going to make him talk but she'd find a way to wheedle it out of him eventually, so he might as well be frank now, especially while Rho wasn't around. This conversation seemed like it'd be...harder? More embarrassing? With Rho participating. He shifted a little, gently, so as not to dislodge Tirzah. "I was just wondering what you meant, exactly, when you called us a trio," he began, bravely passing the task of really starting the conversation over to her. "Did you really mean that? Or was it a way to sort of...placate Rho's parents?"

Tirzah snorted. "Well if it was a way to placate Rho's parents it certainly didn't work," she giggled. She sat up and looked at Mena. Is that what he was anxious about? "Of course I meant it," she said, taking one of his hands in both of hers. "I know we don't know each other as well as we know Rho, and especially you having known him so long, but I care for you, Mena." She rubbed her thumbs over the back of his hand, starting to get misty-eyed again. "I do love you."  

[Menelie]

Mena looked stunned temporarily but quickly reined it in. He shouldn't be surprised. Her heart was so big that of course she had room for everyone. But did he? If he were being honest, he'd mostly thought of their arrangement as both of them being in a relationship with Rho. He'd never given a thought to their relationship with each other. But now? When they were planning to raise children communally? That relationship needed some thought. It seemed like Tirzah had already done that thinking and come to a conclusion. But what of himself?

Realizing he'd let her "I love you" hang in the air for too long, he squeezed her hands with a small smile. "Tirzah...I..." He couldn't find the words.

Tirzah shook her head and smiled. "You don't have to say anything, darling," she said, squeezing his hand back. "I just want you to know how I feel is all."

Well, now, that didn't sit particularly well with Mena. It wasn't fair for her to bare her heart for him and for him to not do the same. He shook his head back. "I do need to say something," he countered. "I'm just...still figuring out what it is."

"I can be patient," said Tirzah, cuddling into him again.

Mena nodded, making a bit of a face. Guess he was sorting his thoughts out now. Did he love her? And if not, could he? He'd never contemplated loving a woman before. And he'd been focused on Rho for like, ever. But he did feel a definite fondness for Tirzah. Her cheeky sense of humor, the way she could hear what wasn't being said, her buoyant cheerfulness....he'd come to enjoy when she was around more than when she was absent. This amounted to..what? Friendship? He thought about how his relationship with Rho had changed after they'd become intimate. And...it mostly hadn't. They were still best bros. So what did that mean for him and Tirzah? Friends who were intimate? They'd never done so just by themselves, but...he could hardly say they hadn't been involved.  

[Menelie]

After a few minutes, Tirzah couldn't help but giggle. "Your hair is beginning to smoke from all that thinking," she teased gently.

Mena snorted and gave her a gentle elbow. "Hush you," he admonished good-naturedly. He then sighed. She might as well know his thoughts. "I care for you a great deal too," he began. "I was just trying to decide if that meant I loved you also....and then I got started thinking about the nature of love...which is probably when you started smelling smoke," he joked. When she giggled in response, he continued. "Honestly...I never imagined being in a relationship with a woman, no offense...but then again, I'm sure Rho never imagined being in a relationship with a guy, so..." He chuckled lightly as he let that thought hang for a moment. "And, as we've discovered, gender is somewhat, uh, mutable anyway."

Tirzah looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you're trying to talk yourself into something," she observed.

Mena shrugged a little. "I...I probably need more time before I'm ready to say that L-word," he said apologetically. "But," he added. "I'm...I'm open to spending that time. I'd like to...explore, I guess, what our relationship is."