Chapter 695: The Band
Despite saying that they needed to talk, Bekka didn't actually say anything for a long while.
Her first action was to flop onto Sif with the back of her head sandwiched between her breasts.
Together the two of them ended up staring at the ceiling while they basked in the silence.
This might've been fine for Bekka, but Sif felt like she was dying!
For Bekka to put on such a serious expression and tone so suddenly and then declare their need to talk, it was like she was being called in for some kind of parent-teacher conference!
The frost giant was riddled with anxiety!
"Zzzz..."
"...Bitch, are you sleeping!?"
"H-Hwa?!" Bekka jolted awake and wiped away the drool running down her jaw.
"I can't believe this! You got me this worked up just for you to fall asleep in like a minute!?"
"I couldn't help ittt..!" Bekka whined. "Carrying a baby is hard work and your boobs are super soft.."
Sif had no idea how she hadn't predicted this when they both ended up horizontal for this conversation, but now she felt a bit blind for not seeing it coming.
Bekka pulled her cheeks a bit in order to make more of an effort not to fall asleep a second time.
"What was I talking to you about again...?"
"T-That's what I wanted to know!" Sif could physically feel herself growing an ulcer in her brain.
It didn't matter if it was for thirty seconds, or thirty hours. Bekka's brain always underwent a cold reboot after she went to sleep.
After taking a moment, Bekka remembered the issue that was bothering her so.
"You've been a little distant with all of us lately. I was wondering if we'd done something to earn your ire."
"N-No more than usual..."
Sif felt Bekka shift her head.
When she looked down, Bekka's bright orange eyes were staring into hers patiently, not saying a word.
Sif felt cornered.
"...I just... I guess I'm feeling a bit like the odd man out." She finally admitted. "It feels like you all get closer everyday and I am slowly being left behind."
Perhaps it was all in her head.
Though she was happy with her current relationship, certain things still served to keep her up at night.
Even after getting back into Abaddon's good graces and having her love reciprocated, Sif's marking had yet to regain it's color and benefits.
She couldn't read his mind, or feel his emotions. She couldn't do it with any of the girls either.
It made her feel as though their relationships with her were lacking a certain level of intimacy.
Maybe it was a silly little thing, and one she shouldn't have even let cross her mind.
But apparently she wasn't very good at hiding how she felt either, because Bekka had already sniffed it out.
Bekka thought about what to say for a long time, and it looked like she was having difficulty getting the words out.
...Or she could have just fallen asleep with her eyes open this time.
"..." Sif tugged lightly on one of Bekka's horns.
"H-Hey, what are you doing?"
"Nothing, just checking..."
Bekka pursed her lips and sat up on the sofa.
Ignoring Sif's odd behavior, she traced her finger along the outline of her robe.
"Have you ever considered... maybe you are the one who is still holding back from us?"
"Eh?"
"Even when we're all together, you kind of wait to be spoken to, and you never really initiate anything with us. It's almost like you're still unsure whether or not you are in a position to do anything to us openly and freely."
Now that Sif thought about it, she couldn't really dispute that fact even if she tried.
Watching Abaddon and his wives in their natural communal element was a bit like watching some kind of choreographed play.
Everyone seemed to just flow together in harmony as if they were all a part of one little ecosystem.
She sometimes felt she might disrupt that balance with any minor action.
Bekka looked into her eyes sincerely.
"If you ask it of us, we will do whatever you need to make you feel comfortable. But you have to be willing to meet us halfway at least. All of us are doing this for the very first time, and we're learning it all as we go."
Bekka peeled back the bathrobe covering Sif's pale body and revealed her form to the dark room. She placed her palm over the wedding mark that had already lost it's color long ago.
"Whether or not this old thing ever lights up again doesn't matter to me, Abaddon, the children, or even our pets.
Our family already sees you as our wife, mother, and soft-hearted master. And nothing is going to change that."
Sif looked embarrassed, and not because she was naked. "...You know that I've been slipping them extra treats, huh?"
"Camazotz isn't a very tight-lipped bat, sweetheart. And Bayle is the only Komodo dragon I've ever seen who can eat double his bodyweight."
'Damn it..'
Suddenly, the girls heard the door open quietly down the hallway.
A moment later, Abaddon and Lisa emerged with grogginess still in their eyes.
When Bekka saw her husband, she couldn't help but smile.
"You came looking for me."
"Of course I did… I thought you may have been in here ransacking the kitchen though."
Lisa yawned. "I also thought that you might be feeding yourself, and by extension our youngest, something that may be debilitating for you both."
"Y-You think so little of me. I know this is my first time carrying, but I can atleast make sure I'm getting proper nutritional…" Bekka's words trailed off as her eyes lit up.
"Okay hear me out, I suddenly have a craving for cheese grits drizzled over a deep fried pork chop… with pickles."
Apophis would label his mother as a sheer genius at this moment if he were here.
Lisa gave her husband a small nudge and an 'I told you so' look.
"Do you see why I insisted on getting up with you now?"
"I fear I do, my love."
Lisa soon grabbed Bekka by the wrist and led her to the kitchen.
She considered it a vitally important task to feed her sister something that wouldn't result in their baby being born with high blood pressure and cholesterol.
Once they were gone, Abaddon went to Sif and flopped on top of her in nearly the same manner as Bekka.
"Oof…! You know this was a lot easier back when you were still short and sickly."
"You whine a lot for a frost giant." He mocked.
Sif felt her face get warm, and she tried to stick her thumbs in his eyes, but to no avail.
Eventually, Sif stopped trying to blind him and simply began touching his face like it was a work of art.
Bekka's earlier words played back in her memory as she memorized every small, intricate detail.
"…Abaddon."
"Hm?"
"If.. someone were to ask you to introduce me to them, then what would you tell them about us?"
Abaddon opened one eye and stared at Sif patiently.
"J-Just answer my question, it's important..!" She demanded.
"I would say that you're my wife and the mother of my children." He answered.
An unusual amount of warmth spread on Sif's face. "O-Oh, really..?"
"And that you only beat me sometimes when you've had to much to drink or you're stressed about work."
Sif's expression started to crack.
"I-I don't beat you! You can't tell people that about me, you bastard!"
Abaddon pointed up.
Sif didn't even realize that she had raised her fist to strike him over the head.
"By Ymir, I've become like Ike.."
Abaddon devolved into a full fit of laughter as he sat up and pulled the jotunn into his lap.
"Why are you asking me about first impressions anyway? It isn't as if you particularly like meeting new people in the first place."
Sif could not argue that such a thing wasn't true. She hated getting to know people.
"I suppose I just wanted to be sure of something is all… Here."
Sif pulled something out of the fabric of thin air.
It was a plain necklace done with simple material as a string, but hanging on it was a black wedding band with icy runes along it.
Abaddon felt as if he'd just been punched in the stomach, and not in a domestic violence sort of way.
"I… thought you would have thrown that away." He admitted.
Sif shook her head.
"At first I told myself that I was keeping it because it would've been something Thruddie might like to have to know her father by. But really I was just making excuses because I wanted to hold onto as much of you as I could."
Sif placed the necklace over his head and let the wedding band rest against his chest.
"There. I think it looks much better here than tucked away in some old box." She smiled.
Abaddon was looking for the right words to say, but they escaped him.
He was always the type of dragon who was better about acting out how he felt than saying it, and now wasn't really any different.
Sif's robe was already hanging open, so Abaddon simply pulled it off of her and let it fall to the floor.
"Damnit..!"
Abaddon and Sif both paused and slowly turned their gazes to the floor.
There, they found a head sticking halfway out of the shadows on the ground and trying to prevent Sif's robe from obscuring her vision.
When Nyx realized that she had been caught, her face understandably went pale.
But since she was already busted, she decided that she might as well go for broke.
"…Well don't let me stop your good time. Keep going!"
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