Background: Systems 1 and 2 are at war for territory. System 1 is monogamous and is a 'Republic' (elected officials but from nobles, so nothing ever changes), while System 2 has a more loose relationship system and is ruled by Planetary Adminstor Mawtash Shadowbell. He's married to Nozilk Sparkseeker and Dokosh Bronzeheel. The three of them are in a political *arrangement* with Elacan, Quinnan and Vajeon Goldstar. Mawtash gets fond of an enemy commander, who has defeated him in several skirmishes, Sadril Azuregaze. His husband's notice.
"Explain."
Nozilk had a great deal of patience for his husband. Like many from their home moon, Dokosh shared a lack of understanding of emotional responses. For most, like Nozilk, it was partly due to the strict rules that the Republic imposed on their existence. Even free from the Republic governors, old habits broke hard.
For Dokosh, it went deeper. It wasn't his fault. The Republic wanted to ensure the people's obedience. They'd experimented on Dokosh with tech and drugs and left damage that would take the rest of their lives to recover from. It made it so much harder for Dokosh to understand people. Luckily, Dokosh understood this and typically cross-checked his plan with Nozilk before engaging with them.
Normally he did. Not this time. Behind Nozilk's eyes started to ache.
"Our love has been complaining about a lack of Republic insight in our discussions. I'm seeking to remedy this by providing a potential new consort," Dokosh said, hand running along the chained-up captives thigh as he fought against his bindings.
"Mawtash doesn't like forced partners," Nozilk said, taking in the man in front of him. Strong-shouldered, attractive features with eyes burning in rage at his situation. Nozilk wasn't opposed to the man himself, but the method didn't feel right. Everything about this situation listed as a red flag for how not to enter into a healthy relationship. "We should be courting him, not whatever this is. Who is this, and where did you acquire him?"
"Sadril Azuregaze, one of the council's better Generals. Mawtash showed signs of infatuation with Azuregace multiple times. He got that look." Dokosh attempted to mimic Mawtash's look of starry-eyed lust. "Our enforcers located his cell attempting to infiltrate one of our mining bases recently."
The name did ring bells, a lot of them though Nozilk hadn't seen the man in person until now. He'd need to check the mission reports again. Another thing in that statement also rang bells.
"What happened to the rest of his cell?" Nozilk asked, pulling his husband from the captive before Sadril could get the wrong idea of Dokosh's intentions. Dokosh's hands hovered too close to intimate regions, and Sadril wouldn't know Dokosh had a sex drive that registered when discussed bluntly. Another side effect of those damn experiments. The man wasn't asexual, but his mind didn't register it unless it was the topic of discussion. Inneduoes didn't work either. "We don't need any surprises."
"Alive. I remembered that much," Dokosh gave an offended look but moved away from Sadril. "Killing them wouldn't be conducive to a relationship."
"You brought a chained captive into our bedroom without telling me or him what your plans for him are," Nozilk said, trying to reframe the situation in a way which would give Dokosh some light on his errors here.
The offended look faded, and the man turned nervous, looking back over at Sadril uncertainly. "His cell is captured, and I have strict orders to the Regent for them to be treated well and to be alive when I send for them. I figured once the General is broken in, he'd like having his friends in reach."
"Reasonable," Nozilk said, not about to burst his husband's bubble that such a thing would be most likely be to try for a jailbreak. It was an almost naive observation for Dokosh. "Have them transferred to our local colony. The boundary regent is known for overstepping his role." And sadly was too useful to have vanished.
A yell from Sadril drew their attention back to him.
"Sorry, is there something you want to say?" Nozilk lifted an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes. The man shouted muffled curses.
Despite the curses, the man had stopped fighting his chains. He looked a little calmer now that Dokosh wasn't unintentionally molesting him, either. The chains suited him, the gold going well with his skin tone but keeping him locked up like this was not a good way to form a good relationship. There was also no other way to ensure his behaviour. That was a bit of a pickle.
"Do you know when he was fed last?" Go back to basics. They needed to make sure his basic needs were satisfied. Best to rely on the hierarchy of needs. Food, water and sleep were the most pressing from the state of the soldier. Maybe a shower, too, but that would require some careful planning and more trust than either side would be willing to allow. He didn't look too dirty, so someone must have hosed him off recently.
Nozilk crouched down to the man's level, out of reach but entering his space. He kept his movements slow to keep Sadril calm, or rather not startle him.
"They didn't say," Dokosh said, looking at a digital pad as more messages came through. "I need to deal with this." His husband turned and sat at the desk, leaving Nozilk to deal with their captive. In Dokosh's mind, the message was a high priority over the situation he'd put them in.
That headache pulsed again, and Nozilk shared an exasperated look with Sadril. Sadril didn't curse at him this time, a bewildered look in his eyes. That wasn't uncommon when people met Dokosh.
"So Azuregaze," It was always polite to call people by their surnames until they got permission for the person, "Do you think that you can behave long enough for me to remove your gag and feed you some food and water?" Nozilk tapped the gag to emphasise his point.
"Inadvisable. We aren't likely to get it back on without force," Dokosh pointed out.
"We are required to take care of him," Nozilk said, not missing how Dokosh shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Dokosh's fingers tapped over the desk unrelated to the message, and his foot tapped on the group. Sadril's action once the gag was off was to most likely scream insults at them. Dokosh hated people yelling. When Elacan shrieked, it left Dokosh rattled for days. Sometimes the man made up for it, often not. "Dokosh."
"I'll go work in the living room," Dokosh fled the room, leaving the chair spinning in his haste.
Nozilk rubbed his brow. "You'll have to forgive Dokosh. He likes to forget his manners when faced with things he doesn't like," he said, offering his hand to Sadril. "I'm sure you're capable of being reasonable enough to have a conversation about this rather than screaming your head off. Of course, if you insist on that, we can devise alternative arrangements. I think you'd prefer to be fed and watered, however."
Sadril glared at him but leaned forward enough to put his chin in Nozilk's hand as permission. It didn't take much to remove the thing. Sadril stretched open his jaw, grimacing as it clicked. Nozilk let him and moved over to the dispenser to get some water and some easy things to feed him.
"Sparkseeker, you don't intend to go along with your husband's plan?" Sadril demanded, voice low despite the edge to it.
"He is very good at coming up with them, and Mawtosh likes you. I see no issue in proceeding with it," Nozilk lied. There were plenty of issues with it.
Sadril hissed but didn't scream or yell. He ate and drank what Sadril gave him quietly. The rest of the evening went awkwardly as Sadril refused to talk. Nozilk checked him over and healed some of his bruises. Afterwards, he moved on to his personal projects, leaving Sadril ungagged but chained at the base of their bed.
As Dokosh reappeared and the two husbands began their nightly routines before bed that Sadril decided to speak again. Nozilk gave him a mint ball to chew to brush his teeth since he couldn't do it manually. Sadril chomped on it, eyes watching them change into sleeping clothes and brush their own teeth. "I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you."
"Sleep well on the floor," Dokosh said, flopping onto the bed and cuddling into the blankets.
Nozilk counted to ten. "I need to remove some of your outer clothes. Would you like me to do it out here or in the bathroom?"
"Why the bathroom?" Dokosh asked.
"Because he properly needs the bathroom, and sleeping in those clothes isn't going to be comfortable," Nozilk said, waiting for Sadril to decide. Several emotions crossed over Sadril's face.
"Bathroom, please," Sadril settled on.