A month-long event for creating queer LU content

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It wasn’t often that they were close enough to home for Warriors to take the group to his house to rest but when they close enough, the mood was almost celebratory. They all got along with Vivienne, they all loved Penelope, and since Warriors married into a rich family, there was more than enough room for everybody. It wasn’t as cozy as the ranch was, since there were reminders of nobility everywhere, but it was still a lot better and cheaper for them to use than an inn was.

As soon as he stepped through the front door though, he could tell something was wrong. The atmosphere felt cold and Penelope didn’t come to greet him with a meow at the door like she usually did. “Everybody stay by the door,” he mumbled as he took off his boots and went looking for Vivienne. He found her in what Warriors called the “hosting room”, a room with a fireplace, a low table, and a few sofas. Sometimes, the other utilized the room to relax and get a little bit of alone time, but Warriors saw it get used the most when the in-laws were over. In fact, it was being used for that right now.

“Vivienne, the cat is lovely but she isn’t a child.”

“To me, she is. She might not be a human child but she’s fills the same roll in our lives.”

Warriors recognized his mother-in-law. She always dressed well, keeping her grey-streaked blonde hair pinned up into the perfect bun, wearing jewellery with the large, embedded gemstones, and long dresses with lace. Today, she was wearing ruby earrings and a maroon coloured dress. At best, they just tolerated each other. They exchanged pleasantries and didn’t insult each other but Warriors didn’t feel as though she actually liked him. There wasn’t any warmth in any of their interactions. Whenever she was around, he just let Vivienne do all the talking.

He didn’t know the other person though. She was looked to be just a bit older than his mother-in-law and dressed just as well, though she wore her grey hair loose and she was wearing a navy coloured dress.

“Don’t you want more grandchildren, Marlene?” the other woman asked.

“I have plenty from my other children to enjoy. The Arlett family is still strong. If Vivienne and her husband can’t have a child of their own, I will enjoy the cat. Speaking of her husband, I see that he’s back for now. Hello, Link.”

“...hello,” he said, once he realized that he was being addressed. The other woman turned away from him to look at Vivienne.

“You and that man would have beautiful children.” Vivienne rolled her eyes.

“Oh, leave them alone, Cynthia. They’ve tried,” her mother said.

“They could try more often. He’s really good looking, Vivienne.”

“Stop,” Warriors said, rolling his eyes. Cynthia didn’t even look at him.

“Who is inherit your estate if you don’t have children, Vivienne? The cat? There are lot of reasons to have children, so you two should keep trying,” she continued, either unaware of the fact that they wanted her to shut up, or she just didn’t care. Warriors had no idea who she even was – probably some sort of noble too, knowing Vivienne’s family – but who came into somebody’s house and kept talking over them? Irritation bubbled up in his chest but he took a deep breath, trying to get his emotions under control.

“Look,” Warriors started, looking at Vivienne and then looking at Cynthia. “I’m not actually attracted to her, romantically or otherwise, so we’re not having children. We got married for politic reasons.”

“Perhaps you’re interested in men? I’ve got a son I have suspicions about.”

Warriors threw his hands up. “I’m not attracted anybody!”

He knew he should be more careful with his attitude around nobles but his patience was beginning to wear quite thin. He was used to dancing around the topic but Cynthia, whoever she was, was a stranger and also insufferable. He felt bad for her poor son who may or may not interested in men but either way, Warriors had the feeling that he didn’t trust her enough to say one way or another. She could only speculate because her son wasn't telling her anything.

“Truly? How do you even know? Perhaps Vivienne wasn’t the right person for you but regardless-”

“Cynthia, leave them alone. It’s none of your business, at any rate,” his mother-in-law stated.

“Hi, couldn’t help but to overhear,” Legend said suddenly, squeezing between Warriors and the door frame. “War- Link already explained himself. You don’t have to understand his feelings, but you need to shut the fuck up and leave him alone. It’s really fucking strange to be so invested somebody else’s sex life, especially when it has nothing to do with you. You’re not his partner.”

“Legend,” Warriors hissed through clenched teeth as his cheeks burned. He wasn’t wrong but it wasn’t Legend who had to deal with the nobility when they all went home for real. It was him and Vivienne! Legend glared at him, then glared at Cynthia. Cynthia’s face turned red, Vivienne was hiding her smirk behind her hand, and his mother-in-law looked... surprisingly unbothered. She stood up.

“Vivienne, I’ll talk to you later tonight. Cynthia, I suggest we leave. I think you’ve caused enough damage today,” she said simply, motion for Cynthia to follow her out. Legend and Warriors moved to let the two of them through.

“All clear!” Twilight called out after a couple of minutes.

Vivienne relaxed instantly. “Thank you, Legend. You have quite the way with words.”

“But what about-”

“Warriors, don’t worry about it. If Vivienne doesn’t look that bothered about the potential consequences, then I think you can afford to relax a little,” Legend said. “Besides, I wasn’t going to standby while that woman just walked all over you and your feelings. You might be good at standing up for us, but you don’t really stand up for yourself. Let us help you sometimes.”

Warriors couldn’t really argue against that. His mother-in-law seemed sympathetic to them too, or at least she didn’t seem upset or angry. Also, Legend was right about the fact that he tried to avoid discussion about his asexuality and lack of romantic interest, so he had a hard time shutting it down when the conversation went somewhere he didn’t want it to go. Granted, he kind of turned the direction of the conversation that way, but that was because he was tired of being questioned on why they only had Penelope. He knew he didn’t have to say anything but for some reason, people always felt the need to push. They needed a specific reason when there was none and they couldn’t just leave it be.

Suddenly, Vivienne stood up.

“Let’s all relax and get some tea, alright?”

-

Warriors was more relaxed after having something warm to drink and being in the company of the others, who were busy talking about animals. It was mostly Twilight leading the conversation, the man who talk anybody’s ear off when it came to animals, but the others were able to jump in too. Vivienne also explained who the other woman was – her aunt from her father’s side. That also made him a feel a bit better because that meant it was mostly a family matter, so Legend telling her to fuck off could be dealt with internally. Penelope must have been aware that he was upset because she was sticking to him, which made Twilight stick to him so he can stay with her. Wild managed to squeeze in a quick dinner as well.

When her mother did come back, Link sent them all to their rooms while the three of them went to the living room.

“Vivienne, Link, I’m sorry that Cynthia acted the way she did. I should have stepped in sooner. Your father is talking to her right now because he isn’t happy with her behaviour either.”

Warriors wasn’t exactly shocked by that. His father-in-law asked about children more in the beginning of their marriage and then seemed have to stopped caring about it. He didn’t bring it up the last couple of times when he dragged him to some event or another.

“Do you have the similar feelings as Link?”

She nodded. “Truthfully, I was happy to marry Link because he made it clear when we first met that he wasn’t going to pressure me to anything I didn’t want to do. Neither one of us are interested in sex or romance, so our marriage works for us. We became really good friends, so we’re happy.”

Warriors nodded.

“Your father and I figured out that you weren’t going to have children when you introduced Penelope to us. We hoped you might change your mind but we also made peace with it.”

Vivienne shook her head. “This would have been nice to know earlier.”

“I just didn’t know how to bring it up.”

Warriors understood, at least a little bit. On his part, he knew he wasn’t exactly open to conversation about his asexuality. It took a lot for him to speak up and he usually only spoke about it because something bothered him. Warriors knew it was probably not healthy, but that wasn’t something he had the time to address. The best he had were the others, who were always willing to lend an ear, and Vivienne, for obvious reasons.

He honestly wasn’t sure if that was the case for Vivienne. She didn’t tell her parents, so maybe she would have only said something if there was an indication that they were indifferent to it.

“I guess I can’t really blame you... And about what Cynthia said, who is getting this villa?” Vivienne asked. “Link and I were going to suggest that we put Penelope in our will.”

“I thought you weren’t going to tell your parents about that.”

Nonetheless, his mother in law laughed.

“If you died before Penelope, we would take her in, but she’s not getting the villa. Either you can adopt children, or it will simply stay in the family and one your nieces or nephews can have it. I wouldn’t worry about the villa,” her mother said gently. “However... I think this place is too big for a single cat. Perhaps you should get consider getting Penelope a friend, especially since Link has been gone so often lately.”

Vivienne lit up.

“Do I get to pick the cat this time?” Link asked.

“We could have three cats, we can both pick one.”

Link nodded. “Three cats sound good.”

When Link and a few of the younger heroes returned to the ranch from their outing, Malon didn’t miss how her wife’s face was practically glowing with happiness. That had been a rare sight, as their journey grew more perilous every time they were pulled away, and Malon savored her Link’s smile every time she got to see it. She grabbed Link’s arm and pulled him close, touching that face for herself.

“I just got back, Malon, what is it?” Link laughed, putting her hand over Malon’s.

“You look happy,” Malon said. “Did something exciting happen while you were out?”

Link frowned a little. “Um. I don’t think so…?”

“Is it because that one person called you ma’am?” Sky suggested.

“Oh! I suppose it is,” Link agreed.

“Aw, did that surprise you?” Malon asked.

Link blushed. “Well, yes, but in a good way. I’m used to answering to sir so I didn’t acknowledge them at first, but they were trying to talk to me. They thought they were mistaken to use that word when they saw my face, but… it felt nice to hear it, and know it was for me.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Malon exclaimed, and reached to brush her fingers through Link’s hair. It was getting longer again, not enough to braid like before but she could at least pull it back properly. “Maybe it’s because a certain smart group convinced you to grow this out again.”

“Do you think so?” Link wondered. “I only cut it because I thought it would be more practical.”

“Yes, well, it’s not exactly the fashion for men to wear their hair long. Or for women to cut it short. And yes, there are exceptions,” Malon added, knowing that Link was about to protest, “But it was easier for that person to see your longer hair and assume that you were a woman without you having to prove it.”

“But that’s so stupid,” Link whined. “I still don’t understand why there have to be so many complicated rules.”