Love Nest
by Cyberchao X

Hisao came home from work to a most unexpected sight. Emi's usual prosthetics had been replaced by crude wooden ones, and she was also wearing a completely unnecessary eyepatch. She'd also fitted hooks over Rin's stumps. "I take it you're in the mood for roleplaying?"

Emi grinned. "You didn't forget about me becoming a pirate, did you?"

Hisao sighed. "I thought that was just because, as you put it, you already had the legs for it. And, though in a rare display of modesty on your part you neglected to say it…the booty."

"I don't like these," Rin said of her hooks. "They look like they could actually hurt someone." She thought for a moment and then sat down at Emi's…well, near where Emi was standing, anyway.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Emi asked.

"Whittling," Rin replied. "Captain Emi's peg legs will be the finest in the world, the envy of every pirate to sail the seven seas. Except for the ones that still have both of their original legs."

"Does this ruin your plans?" Hisao asked.

"Nah. Yeah. I was kind of looking forward to the two of us taking you hostage—hey, someone's gotta be the one getting looted in this roleplay, and you're the only one who isn't missing any limbs—but at least she's gotten into the idea of being a pirate now. Sort of."

"Ah, but you can't really go anywhere with her working on your legs. So this humble merchant has you at a disadvantage, dread captain." Hisao smirked.

"Y-you wouldn't." The top half of her pirate costume quickly found its way to the floor. "If you make me flinch, it'll mess up Rin's work! You don't want to interfere with Rin when she's making art, do you?"

"Rin? Can you stop for just a moment?" Rin did so, and Hisao removed the wooden prostheses from Emi—or more accurately, removed Emi from the prostheses, carrying her off. "Carry on."

"Hee-hee-hee-Hisao!" The light touches of Hisao's tongue on her bare breasts and torso as he carried her caused her to giggle uncontrollably.

"Oh dear. I do believe the captain is ticklish. So, shall I carry on with this treasure chest, or move on to other forms of pirate booty?"

"I don't think I like this roleplaying anymore…"

Hisao sighed. "…Me either, I guess. The sexy pirate costume was nice, but your real jewels are a lovely pair of emeralds and you're covering one of them up." He removed her eyepatch.

"So poetic."

CCX: Special thanks to Mountaineer, whose fic "Ascent: An Emilogue" (on the Katawa Shoujo forums, not here) reminded me of Emi's dreams of being a pirate.

"Hisao, not that we're not glad that you're on your own, but why haven't you invited us out to see your home?"

Hisao sighed at his father's question. "My current situation is…complicated."

"Something that you can't even tell your parents about?"

"It regards my living situation."

"That's the other thing. You make it clear that you're not alone, but you've never brought your girlfriend home to meet your parents."

"That's…kind of a problem. For more reasons than one."

"…Is it because you're worried that we wouldn't approve of you dating someone from that high school? Because we're fine with it."

"…That's one of the reasons."

"You're not two-timing, are you?"

"That's when you're seeing two girls behind each other's backs, right? No, I'm not doing that."

"Hisao?"

Hisao sighed again. "But you're not far off the mark. What the three of us have goes against every societal norm in the world. Were there a country that would marry three people together, we'd go to it, but…"

"…So they know about each other. That's not much better."

"Like I said, they wouldn't have it any other way. I couldn't shut one of them out if I wanted to. Which I don't. It was actually Rin that first invited Emi into our relationship…I was a bit stunned when it happened, but Emi had already confessed to me as well, and I couldn't say I was disappointed."

"…I'm confused."

"They knew each other—were very close friends—before I met either of them. Rin's feelings for Emi turned out to go beyond friendship, though. As for Emi…I don't even know anymore. She swears that she isn't physically attracted to women, but whether or not that's true is irrelevant because on an emotional level she definitely loves Rin unconditionally and would do just about anything to make her happy. Also I think it might be more convenient for her because she's very energetic and I have a heart condition." He laughed, trying to make a joke out of it. "Though my heart's a lot stronger thanks to her."

"It sounds like you're happy. But now that you've told me all this, you no longer have an excuse not to bring your girlfriends home to meet us."

"I'll…see what I can do. I'll call you back." He hung up.

"See what you can do about what?" Emi asked accusingly.

"You…heard that?"

"Yeah. You told your parents about the three of us?"

"I had to. I don't think they're judging me. But they still want to meet the girlfriends, even though there are two of them. We should probably visit them. Besides, your mother knows about the three of us."

"…I'd rather if they came here."

"Why?"

"You haven't noticed? Rin's going through one of her moody phases again."

"That'll never do. We're going to have to wait until Rin's mood improves. I want their first impression to be of the dreamer who makes me—who makes us happy, not of the brooding girl who just makes us want to protect her from herself."

"Agreed. Come on, let's try to snap her out of it."

Rin sighed. "Your legs are ready, my captain."

Emi giggled. "You're still on about that?" She took the carved legs. "They're lovely. A bit…interesting, but they look like they should still be functional, so that's good. But I can tell that you're not alright. Artist's block again?"

"Maybe if we were actually sailing the seven seas. It could give me inspiration."

"Always the dreamer. I told my parents about the two of you. They want to meet you."

"…I need to paint something. You should go now."

"…Okay."

"'Okay?'" Emi was a bit more concerned as Hisao led her away.

"Trust her. I think she wants to paint something to give to my parents. We'll check on her when it comes time for another meal. She'll be fine in there, and it's not like either of us has anywhere to be today."

"Don't be so sure. She does still have the pirate hooks in there with her."

Hisao kissed Emi. "If it will make you feel more comfortable, we'll go confiscate them."

"Thanks. You're absolutely right, you know."

"About?"

"About my feelings towards Rin. She's every bit as important to me as you are, maybe even more so. And the attraction isn't physical…it's just there. I love her. I may not understand her…but I couldn't live without her. I never realized how much I loved her until you came into our lives. I wonder, would she ever have confessed to me without you around?"

"Yes," Hisao interrupted.

"Hm. But would I have recognized it for what it was? After all, I loved her, too, but not in a romantic way. Even now, I'm not sure if what I feel for her is romantic love."

"Doesn't matter. You love her, just as I love her."

Emi nodded. "It is a shame that the only countries that would allow polygamy are backwater countries where same-sex marriages are taboo and women are considered to be their husbands' property. I mean, we could go to one of those countries because it's not like we need a country where they'd allow one woman to have multiple husbands, but…"

"…But there's no way we'd do that. Yeah." Hisao paused. "You know where we wouldn't have to conform to any societal norms?"

"Where?"

"On the seven seas. Your 'pirate' plan never looked so attractive, Emi."

"You know that was all a joke, right?"

"Yeah. But if we were pirates, we could live like this and not be tied to any country that could tell us that what we were doing was wrong."

"…You're something else, Hisao."