[PLOT] I need a favor (Beltan, Quetzal, Xoana)[FIN]

[Menelie]

Elros Namasi

It was well passed second high tide (or late evening as land pae would put it) and Beltan was treading water in front of Xoana's apartment door with his barely awake son half draped across his shoulder. He'd already been through all his emergency contacts, which was an admittedly short list, so this was his last chance at finding somepae to watch Quetzal (who was just slightly too young to be left home alone).
Frazzled, and already running late for the mandatory meeting, Beltan very carefully knocked, working to keep it a polite tapping. Assuming Xoana was even home, he didn't want to frighten her by frantically banging on her door.

Menelie

Xoana, curious about who could be calling at this hour, swam to her door and opened it. At first she was pleased to see Beltan, thinking perhaps was making a ~social call~. "Beltan!" she said brightly with a smile. Then she spotted Quetzal and frowned. "Is everything alright?" A tone of concern came into her voice, reading Beltan's body language--he looked anxious.

Elros Namasi

Even though she hadn't taken very long to answer, Beltan still had himself half convinced that she wasn't in and jumped when she opened the door. "Oh, oh good you're here," he sputtered before launching into a rambling, barely intelligible, explanation. " I have a thing...have to be there...she might have questions..." Finally, realizing that he was being anything but clear, Beltan forced himself to slow down and carefully articulate, "I hate to bother you, and I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, but can you watch Quetzal for me tonight? I'll owe you."

Menelie

"Of course," said Xoana without hesitation, already reaching for the little guy. "When d'you think you'll be back? I can keep him until morning if you need." She tucked Quetzal onto her shoulder the way Beltan had been holding him and patted his back gently.

Elros Namasi

Visibly relieved, Beltan dipped so Quetzal, who didn't so much as stir, could more easily change hands. "I'm not sure, honestly. I guess it depends on how things go," he answered, unaware that his vague answers might sound evasive to an overactive imagination. "I suppose bank on morning, just in case? You're a life saver." Then, with a flash of his tail and a burst of bubbles, he was gone.

 

[Menelie]

Menelie

"....Bye," said Xoana with a little wave at Beltan's retreating form. How odd. He wasn't usually quite so frazzled. Awkward, sure, but this was new for her. "Hm. Well, I guess it's you and me for a minute, little man," she said softly to the sleeping Quetzal. She chuckled to herself. "If my current job doesn't work out I could always be a childminder. Wonder what your father's up to." She carefully laid Quetzal down on her own bed, patting his back gently so he'd stay asleep. She focused on his sleepy little face for a while, which tugged at her heartstrings. She'd been the family babysitter for seasons upon seasons. And she'd never minded. She loved children.

But usually it was arranged beforehand.

Xoana frowned and sat up. What in the depths is he doing in such a hurry late at night? And without any kind of explanation? A ball began forming in the pit of her stomach. Was there some kind of emergency? She knew his work could put him in danger. Should she be worried? Chewing on her bottom lip, she carefully replayed their brief conversation in her head.

"She might have questions."

Oh hell no. He wouldn't. Would he? A hot, jealous blush covered Xoana's face and neck. He wouldn't. One of the things she loved about Beltan was that he was so honorable. And yet...they'd never really talked about their relationship in so many words. Xoana had no real expectation that she'd be the only woman in his life unless and until they made that explicit. But to show up so late and ask her to watch his son? That was on a different level.

She pushed the thought away. There was no way that was it. That would be....completely out of character for Beltan.

And did she even want to be exclusive? Didn't she want to keep her own options open? She pursed her lips and folded her arms over her chest. What options? She was never going to find a better man than Beltan. He was perfect.

Well, except when he dropped his kid off without any explanation. She grumbled audibly under her breath, then took a deep breath. Okay. Let's not let things get out of hand. Let's look at the facts. Beltan had something urgent come up late at night. It could be a work thing. It could be catching some tail. Which of those was more likely? The work thing, for sure. But then again, she'd seen how other girls looked at him. Xoana knew what she had, even if he had no clue. But what if he had gotten a clue? Had some other girl snapped him up? But surely he would have said something. Wouldn't he?

Xoana noticed her own tense posture, sudden heartache, and the jealous blush which wasn't going away. "Okay, so signs are pointing to I do want to be exclusive," she said to herself. Gods and little fishes, he'd certainly gotten under her scales tonight.

She took a fortifying breath and tried to relax, lifting one of Quetzal's curls out of his face. "I'll talk to him," she said softly. She was going to clear the water one way or the other, and make a few things clear to her man about her intentions for their relationship.

Now she just had to wait for him to get back.

Elros Namasi

Beltan, being a genuinely good guy, wasn't up to anything so sordid as Xoana feared. No, he hadn't suddenly realized he was super hot and decided he needed to go speed dating. Instead, he was stuck in a meeting, a meeting that turned out to have been wholely unnecessary and could have easily been a memo.

He'd been led to believe that this meeting was both "important" and "integral to the search for the missing princesses". Maybe it was a mistake to assume, but he rather thought that Her Royal Highness would be there, as well as her Consort, Captain Turin. Instead, it was all low-level peons like himself, led by one middling clerk with a complex who was campaigning to form a committee to have future meetings on where had been checked before.

He escaped as quickly as he could, only sticking around long enough to confirm that this venture had been pointless. Even so, it had wasted a fair bit of time and it was well and truly night by the time Beltan returned to Xoana's place.

Menelie

Xoana opened her door to admit Beltan, and at the sight of him it was difficult not to go all weak in the tail. "Everything okay?" she asked, keeping her back straight and her head high. "Quetzal, obviously, was no trouble at all." She gestured to where Quetzal was still sleeping, in more-or-less the same position she'd set him down in. "But I was........." she hesitated for a moment. "...worried." Her blush would be visible even against her rosy-colored skin as she searched his face. "And I'd very much like to know what brought you to my door so late and sent you off without much of an explanation." She put her hands on her hips and tried to look calm and in-control, but it wouldn't take very much at all to fray her emotions. It was late, and she was tired, and she'd been thinking nonstop about Beltan for the last several hours, and now that he was in front of her all she wanted to do was make out.

Elros Namasi

She opened the door and his face split into the first smile he'd worn for what felt like an entire lunar day, but was more likely just an especially irritating hour spent in the company of pencil urchin pushers.

Following her gesture, he turned his head to look at his sleeping son, pondering the value in waking him just to go home and sleep, before he returned his attention to Xoana.

Sure, he was dumb sometimes, but he wasn't blind. Noting the high color in her face and arms akimbo stance, Beltan steered her to one of the rock shelf seats and sat down with her, explaining everything from thinking he had a meeting with his liege, panicking when the daycare said they couldn't watch Quetzal after hours, asking her to watch his son, feeling terrible about it, and finally the agony of sitting through a non-meeting.

"I'm sorry for not explaining better in the first place; I didn't think I had time. I'm grateful you were willing to help, despite the hour and my bad manners. Thank you," he said, gently squeezing her shoulders. "Soo.. you were worried, huh?"

Menelie

Beltan's candid explanation did much to diffuse Xoana's tension, and she blew out a sigh as he finished, bubbles rising from her lips. She touched her forehead to his briefly, closing her eyes. "I'm not afraid to admit my imagination got away from me," she admitted. "But I was worried. I know your work can take you to dangerous places, and that you wouldn't show up like this unless it was urgent." She looked askance and shrugged a bit, uncomfortable to admit the next bit. "And then I wondered if I might not have been the only lady in your life." She paused a moment to gauge his reaction, then continued, straightening her spine a little, remembering that she was here to make her intentions clear. "Beltan, I want to be the only lady in your life."

Putting it out in the open like that made her feel like her whole body would melt, and the next few sentences came tumbling out without much thought or permission. "I think about you all the time when we aren't together, and I just want to be with you all the time. And I feel so proud that you'd trust me with your precious pearl, and I'd like to think I'd make a good mother someday. And I know you could have your pick of any girl in the Lake, and probably some of the guys honestly, but I really think that I'm the right one for you. I know you're right for me. I love you."

Elros Namasi

Beltan had to admit, she had a fair point. It wasn't all bureaucracy and standing around looking intimidating; sometimes the intimidation had to be backed up with force and the protocols established in endless meetings had to be implemented with some semblance of efficiency. He didn't wanna think about that part too much, though. Xoana's various admissions were far and away more interesting.

Beltan very briefly considered pointing out that the Queen certainly was a lady and technically in his life, but his sense of self-preservation prevented it. Good call, no matter how pretty she was all fired up. He wanted to live. So he mostly just listened, scoffing once at the 'pick of the Lake' comment.

When she'd finished speaking, he let the silence draw out for a little while, taking the time to really think about how he felt about her and what she'd said. Truthfully, he hadn't looked twice at anyone before or since meeting her. The only hesitation he'd felt in leaving his most precious treasure with her was that watching Quetzal might be inconvenient for her. And he smiled whenever he saw her, regardless of how whale s**t his day had been going beforehand..

"You know, I think you may be right. I love you, too."

 

[Menelie]

Menelie

Whatever had been holding Xoana together dissolved and she abruptly shot forward, functionally into Beltan's lap, embracing him with a kiss. She touched her forehead to his again, grinning from earfin to earfin. "I love you," she repeated. It felt so good to say. She couldn't help but giggle, as if her heart was bubbling over. "You make me so happy!"

She threaded her hands up into his hair and kissed him again. "You should stay," she said. "It's so late anyway."

Elros Namasi

Beltan let out a little oof sound as she effectively threw herself at him with surprising force. Smiling in between her affectionate smooches and returning them with enthusiasm, he looped his arms around her and held her there to his chest. "It is late and I should stay," he agreed, punctuating the statement with a quick kiss on her forehead. Not like he had the heart to resist her invitation, let alone risk waking his kid~~