All For Love [Reth x OC x Jel]

The Three of Us

"I brought the canape ingredients." Azu smiled as she ran back into the inn of the kitchen, around 4PM; she had spent a good few hours trying to angle for a golden salmon.

"Sweet!" Reth glanced up from what he was doing, chuckling as she brought them over to him; admiring her for a moment before he turned to start cooking. "Let me whip those right up.."

Azu giggled to herself, leaning against the wall as she watched him work; raising a brow at the way he mumbled to himself about the steps as he did them. He was so cute when he was focused; flitting around the kitchen until they were finished, and grinning to himself as he went.

"And...boom! Instant deliciousness!" He chuckled to himself as he set the plate into a basket for Jel to take wherever he needed them, before pausing at the realization that Azu had just been standing there the whole time, watching and listening. "Wait...did I just accidentally give you all the steps to my top secret recipe?" he turned to squint at her, knoiwng just by the grin on her face that she had absolutely caught all of that. "Ooops. Just dont tell anybody!" he laughed a little as he walked over to hand her the basket, "Or better yet, forget you heard anything."

"Dont worry babe~" Azu laughed along as she took the basket, tilting her head to give him a quick kiss as she did. "Your secrets are safe with me~"

"Good, because you've got like, all of them at this point." Reth laughed, shaking his head at the thought. It was true; there really wasnt much she didnt know about him, at this point..

"Want me to help you clean up for the day, before we head over to have dinner with Jel and Tish?"

The chef met her eyes just to roll them at her, shaking his head and playfully taking her by the shoulders to lightly push her toward the door as he spoke. "No, its my job and I can do it myself~ Besides, if you keep helping me all the time Ashura is going to lecture me about it."

"Ah, yes, dont want him to use the dad voice, do we?" Azu giggled as she let him steer her out of the kitchen, before starting to walk around to the bar to sit and wait for him.

"Not really, so you~" Reth paused to tug her back by the hand, stealing a kiss from her before she could get too far. He grinned as she giggled against his lips, lacing his fingers with hers for a second as he let himself enjoy the way the moment made his stomach fill with butterflies. "Can just head over to Jel's, okay? I'll be there in a few, Sweet Tooth. Go check on our boyfriend~" he grinned, calling back to that morning.

Azu felt so much lighter, letting him sweep her up in the playful romantic vibes; smiling lovingly at him as she squeezed his hand. "Okay~" she laughed, leaning up to kiss his cheek before they finally parted. She heard him sigh as she went; a contented little breath that gave her hope that maybe, he was starting to get comfortable with the idea that she wasnt going to leave him; and Jel wasnt going to, either. A thought still fresh on her mind, when she walked in and smiled at the tailor, holding up the basket to him. "Here are your canapes~"

Jel smiled brightly at her, coming over to take the basket and peek inside; sighing in relief at the sight of the perfect little appetizers. He was so lucky to have the two of them, he never would have managed anything that nice on his own. "Oh my goodness, these are beautiful." he chuckles, turning to face her again and letting the basket shut. "If they taste anything like they look these will be the hit of the party. My stuffy sister is going to rue the day she tried to humiliate me. Rue it, I tell you~" he let himself laugh with her, watching the way she smiled at his dramatics. His heart felt so at ease with her; with both of them. It brought a dreamy smile to his face, thinking for the first time in ages, that he didnt feel so lonely, anymore.. "I cant thank you enough, Azu. No one's ever done anything like this for me before. It makes me feel...well, for once I'm at a loss for words.."

"Awe, sweet heart~" Azu smiled up at him, her brow upturned in the middle as she giggled. "It wasnt any trouble at all. You're supposed to be able to come to your partners for help~" she hummed, reaching out to cup his cheek with one of her hands, and pushing up onto her toes to give him a quick peck. "I'm sure Reth feels the same way, but you can thank him for yourself when he gets here~ Why dont you go take those upstairs for now, hm?"

Jel sighed and smiled at her, letting himself lean into her touch for a moment before he nodded, stepping away from her to run the basket upstairs. He set it on his desk, before turning and coming right back downstairs; his smile widening to a grin as he saw Reth had just come into the shop. "Reth!"

The chef turned to look up from setting their food down just in time to see Jel coming around the banister of the stairs to jog over to him, but it didnt make him any less stunned when the tailor wrapped his arms around him; giving him a warm hug even as Reth stumbled a bit and took a second to realize what was happening. As soon as he did, though, the man blushed and wrapped his arms around Jel's waist, chuckling shyly as he rested his head against the taller majiri's shoulder, and trying to calm the butterflies that rioted in his stomach. "Good to see you too..?"

Jel's cheeks turned a little dark, too, but it didnt stop him from relaxing into Reth's arms, and pressing a soft kiss onto his forehead. "It's always good to see you. I wanted to thank you for helping out with the canapes, darling. It means the world to me that the two of you were so willing to lend me a hand."

His cheeks darkened at the wholehearted way Jel showed his appreciation; or maybe it was just that he wasnt used to getting forehead kisses; but either way, it took him a second to work up some sort of reply, even if his arms tightened a little around the taller man. "It really wasnt a big deal.." he laughed awkwardly, biting his lip for a second. "You're welcome, though.."

"See, I told you~" Azu giggled as she came to join them, resting her hands on each of their lower backs as she eyed their blushing faces with a little grin. "We're suppose to be able to come to each other for help. That's part of being together~"

"Yes." Jel chuckled breathlessly as he shifted, letting one of his arms move to wrap around Azu and pull her into their hug as well; smiling when Reth did the same, letting Azu come to rest against their sides. "The two of you mean so much to me. I simply couldnt bear to be without you, anymore.."

"Awe, Jel~" Azu giggled softly, resting her head on his shoulder and shutting her eyes. "You wont have to, babe. You two are stuck with me~"

Reth let out a grumbly little whine at both of the confessions, his face so warm his ears were turning red as he tried to keep himself from just melting in their arms. "Dragon, both of you.." he furrowed his brow, squeezing them a little as he failed to stop himself from smiling like an idiot. He couldnt find anything to say even if he wanted to, his emotions overwhelming him as they both giggled; he wanted to hear the sound of it every day. He could only pray that if he even went down, he didnt take them with him..

"It's okay Trouble~" Azu giggled, shifting over to give the chef a kiss. "We'll always be here to bail you out. Someday you're gonna believe me."

Jel gave the two of them a knowing look, before meeting Reth's eyes; smiling at the swirling emotions in those blue pools before he nodded, leaning in to take his turn to kiss him. "We arent going anywhere without you." he whispered, chuckling softly when Reth let out a choked whine and started to tear up.

Reth let out a shaking breath as he shut his eyes and leaned on Jel's shoulder, taking in the feeling of the two of them rubbing his back while he worked through his feelings. He had to take a few deep breaths to keep from falling apart; he'd barely started to get used to Azu drowning him with affection and reassurance, and now having both of them talk to him like that...if not for the feeling of their bodies so close, he would have been sure it was a dream. "You guys mean everything to me...you two, and Tish, you're my whole damn world.." he finally breathed, echoing their earlier sentiments as he left a kiss on Jel's shoulder.

Azu and Jel shared a knowing glance, sighing softly at their tired, beautifully broken lover; smiling lovingly at one another, before they both focused back onto him. "We know."

Reth nearly short circuited when they both kissed him at the same time; Jel's lips resting against the top of his head while Azu's planted against his cheek; his ears burning with how intensely he blushed. He could get used to this...he wanted to get used to this..

To get used to it being the three of them, together..