It didn't take much work to set up the double pale date. Porrim, it had turned out, had been very enthusiastic about the idea and had even agreed to host it at her hive. This didn't help with Cronus' nerves, but at least he wouldn't have to worry about being the one to play host.

Rufioh had agreed to come over to Cronus' hive beforehand to help him get ready, and it turned out to be a good thing that he did. He came over early, just as the sun was beginning to set. Cronus was dressed and presentable, and at least physically if not mentally prepared. He'd rushed to get ready as soon as he'd woken up so as to distract himself from his own nerves. But because of this he'd been ready several hours before he had to leave, and was left with nothing to do but pace and worry.

Cronus jumped a little when Rufioh knocked. He answered the door promptly, telling himself that there was no need to be so tense.

"Hey Cronus." Rufioh said, flashing Cronus a timid smile. Cronus gave Rufioh a beaming grin in return and ushered him inside, taking a seat on the couch. Rufioh sat down in one of the armchairs across from him, looking even more anxious than usual.

"How's it going, cheif?" Cronus asked, giving Rufioh a long, searching look.

Rufioh didn't respond for a moment. He was staring at the patch of floor between his feet, lips pursed. Just as Cronus was beginning to worry again Rufioh raised his head and flashed the seadweller his old winning smile. "Good! Real good."

There was another moment of silence before Rufioh spoke again. "I tried to break up with Horuss again." Okay, so maybe there was more cause for concern than Cronus had thought there was. Still, he could handle relationship drama. Probably. He hadn't really had much of his own, but he could at least be there for Rufioh if he wanted to talk. And considering that Rufioh wasn't usually too hesitant about airing out the dirty laundry of his relationships with pretty much anyone who would listen, why wouldn't he talk to Cronus about it?

"Tried?" Cronus asked, trying to sound supportive rather than disappointed. Mostly he was just worried about Rufioh. He could see that his relationship with Horuss was weighing a lot on him, and he knew it would probably be a lot better from him to just end it. But judging from his romantic history, ending flushed relationships wasn't exactly Rufioh's strong suit.

"Well, I made a little progress at least. I was gonna just cut it off, but then I guess I backed out. But I still felt like I had to do something so I suggesting we sort of, uh, maybe take a break?" Rufioh said with a shrug. "I mean, I guess I didn't even really say that. I just told him I needed some space for a while. But he didn't react the way I expected him to. He wasn't angry at all. He didn't try to talk over me or change the subject- I mean, he did when I first tried to talk about our relationship, but once he heard that he sort of, I dunno... Gave up I guess?"

"Wvell, that's a start." Cronus said, trying to sound encouraging. "Maybe if you leavwe him alone for a wvhile he'll realize that you're not really interested in continuing your relationship on his owvn."

"I guess so. But isn't that just taking the easy way out? I mean, I don't see the point in making anything too hard on yourself, but I've never actually taken the trouble to end a relationship properly before." Rufioh whined desperately. "Plus, that almost seem worse. I mean, just straight up disappearing on him? How is that better than getting dumped?"

"Wvell, I wvasn't suggesting that you run out on him or anything!" Cronus replied, trying not to come off as defensive but not entirely succeeding. "Just tell him you need some of your owvn space for a wvhile."

"Yeah, I guess that could work." Rufioh agreed with a small sigh. "Hey, aren't I supposed to be the one giving you a pep talk?" He added with a slightly forced-sounding chuckle.

"Wvell I think your need is greater than mine at the moment. Besides, wvhy can't it just go both wvays?" Cronus added, though Rufioh's words had reminded him how nervous he was. "Mostly I just wvanted you here in case Porrim decides to rip me to to shreds. I'm not too concerned about making a good impression, I mean, she's already pretty much seen me at my wvorst."

"Haha, okay. Well... I guess that is pretty good advice. So I guess I'll just try that?" Rufioh said with a shrug. "Anyways, we should probably get going, if we don't wanna be late. You ready?"

Cronus swallowed. The answer to Rufioh's question was no, he was not ready, and he would probably never be. But he knew he had to suck it up and do it anyways, so he took a couple of deep breaths and flashed Rufioh a shaky smile.

"Yeah. Lets go."

The walk to Porrim's hive was quiet and uneventful. Cronus walked up to her doorstep with Rufioh in tow, hoping that Kankri was already there. Rufioh kept quiet, and not having anyone to talk to was not helping with his nerves. Cronus was really starting to worry, but for now they had to focus on the task at hand. After the date they could go back to his hive, curl up on the bed and have a nice long feelings jam.

Cronus hesitated on Porrim's doorstep. He took a couple of deep breaths and smoothed his fingers over his hair, trying his best to calm down. He was starting to feel a little silly. He could flirt with pretty much anyone regardless of their level of interest, but when it came to a casual interaction with his matesprit's best friend he was sweating bullets. After another moment he knocked.

Porrim answered the door. She was dressed in her usual style of attire- tight and low cut- and Cronus had to remind himself not to let his gaze wander. He caught her eye and she gave him a brittle smile which he returned somewhat hesitantly.

"Come on in. Kanny's already here." Porrim said, waving them in briskly without any further form of greeting. The cold reception wasn't a good sign, but Cronus had known that winning Porrim's approval was going to be an uphill battle. She led them into a tasteful but sparsely decorated room with two curved couches facing one another around a circular table. Kankri was already seated on one of the couches, and he flashed Cronus a timidly excited smile as Porrim led him and Rufioh into the room.

Porrim claimed the seat next to Kankri, kicking off her shoes and tucking her feet up under her, forcing Cronus and Rufioh to take the couch across from them. Cronus met Kankri's gaze and smiled, trying to avoid looking at Porrim altogether.

"Welcome to my hive. I made a pot of tea if either of you would like some, it's just there." Porrim said, gesturing to a small table to the side of the couch she and Kankri were on. Cronus declined, but Rufioh got up to fix himself a cup with a quiet 'thank you,' in Porrim's direction.

"So, of course Kankri told me everything when the two of you got together, but how long have you and Rufioh been moirails? I'm a little surprised that I didn't hear about this sooner." Cronus smiled, relived that the topic of conversation wasn't currently him and Kankri. He wasn't surprised that Porrim had brought this up considering her love of gossip.

"Er-" Cronus wasn't one hunded percent sure how to answer that question.

"I guess it been what- a couple weeks? We only, uh, made it official recently though." Rufioh answered for him, glancing anxiously back and forth between Cronus and Porrim.

"Well, I suppose it's a little late then, but nonetheless, congratulations to you both." Porrim said with a warm smile, though it appeared to be mostly directed at Rufioh.

"Uh, yeah..." Rufioh added.

There was an awkward moment of silence before Porrim's attention veered away from Rufioh.

"Cronus." She said, looking him directly in the eyes as she addressed him. Cronus couldn't read her face at all. "Would you mind helping me a moment? I've made some biscuits to go with the tea, and I was wondering if you'd help me bring them in."

"Um, of course," Cronus said, getting up and following her into the consumption block.

"Since wvhen do you bake?" He asked, unfortunately sounding a little more incredulous than merely surprised.

"It's not a hobby of mine or anything. I just figured I'd make a little something seeing I was going to have company." Porrim said defensively, opening the oven and pulling out a tray of biscuits. They looked a little scorched, but Cronus wasn't about to say anything.

"You can stop tiptoeing around me, Cronus. I won't bite you." Porrim said abruptly, before tuning away from him and pulling out a plate, carefully arranging the biscuits on it.

"I wvasn't-" Cronus stopped, knowing that if he denied it Porrim was sure to call his bluff. He sighed, unsure what he should say next.

"Look Cronus. The fact is, I don't really like you. And I sure as hell don't trust you." Porrim began. Cronus was about to interject, but Porrim cut him off with a venomous glare. "But I do trust Kankri. Maybe we don't always see eye to eye on everything, but I know he has his head on straight, and his pusher is in the right place. So if you're okay by Kankri, you're okay by me."

Cronus breathed a sigh of relief, but evidently Porrim wasn't finished. "What I'm trying to say is merely that I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. I know that Kankri can be rather... tenacious, so for the most part I'm not worried, but I still feel it's my duty to look out for him to some extent. So I'd better not find out that your intentions towards him are less that one hundred percent pure and honest."

Cronus laughed awkwardly. He knew he would never do anything to intentionally hurt Kankri, but this certainly wasn't helping him be any less nervous around Porrim.

"Of course. I care about Kan just as much as you do, you knowv." He countered.

"Yes, well. I trust Kankri to be able to take care of himself and make good decisions." Porrim said, gabbing the plate of buiscuts and heading out of the consumption block. Cronus followed her, quickly resuming his seat next to Kankri and mulling over what Porrim had said. A lot of it seemed a little contrary. If Porrim trusted Kankri's judgement, than why didn't she trust him? Still, it probably wouldn't be an issue so long as he didn't screw up. And Cronus certainly wasn't intending to do any wrong by Kankri.

The rest of the evening went off without a hitch. Things were still a bit uncomfortable between Cronus and Porrim, but Cronus did let it get to him too badly. He wasn't too concerned with what she thought of his so long as she didn't want to kick his ass. Rufioh ended up heading out early, and he and Kankri left shortly afterwards. As they were heading back in the direction of Cronus' hive the seadweller started to worry again. He really should go make sure everything was okay with him. It sounded like Rufioh was in need of a proper feelings jam.

But he didn't want to ditch Kankri. As they walked along Kankri ducked under his arm. This was the closest Kankri had ever allowed them to get in public, and Cronus was happy that he seemed okay with that. Things were working out better than he ever could have dreamed. And maybe Rufioh was in sort of a bad place right now, but that was what moirails were for right? Cronus made up his mind that tomorrow he'd go see Rufioh and sort everything out. For now though, he was perfectly happy to bask in his matesprit's presence.


AN: Sorry for the lack of updates; this chapter took me forever to write. Mostly because I have no fucking clue how to write Porrim. Ugh. Also sorry the title kind of sucks, I couldn't think of anything better :I.

Anyways, I hope you like the story so far! I'd really appreciate it if you'd write a review to know what you think :3. (Also- shame on Cronus for not being such a great moirail at the end of the chapter, haha)