Nihlus sat on one side of Sonya on the sofa in the Loft, while Garrus sat on the other. The Normandy was hiding inside an asteroid until the FTL drives had time to cool. The path to the Council and Alliance base was a convoluted mess in order to make it difficult to be tracked or followed. It was one of many. With the Council and the Alliance underground, hope for survival of all the races was kept alive. Nihlus had just introduced the idea that Dr. Chakwas had inspired. Another hope for survival of a sorts. He felt much more uncomfortable than the doctor had seemed to with his friends staring at him the way they were now. Garrus looked especially put off by the notion. Sonya appeared to be shocked, but considering it. He figured she would be the easiest to convince. She did none of the sharing and would receive twice the love. Win/win for her. It was still difficult to look at her without thinking of her being intimate with Garrus and Thane and feeling negatively about it, but in his heart he had found a way to forgive her. Forgetting would take time, but he could understand. He had been with many more, but he had not loved them. Perhaps that is what hurt him, but it didn't matter now. And if they both agreed to the arrangement and he and Garrus didn't kill each other for dominance or monogamy, then it could be a good thing. He clutched his talons together to keep from fidgeting nervously as he waited for their reply, even if it was 'let us think about it' or 'no'. After sitting there for nearly two hours of silence under Garrus' hard glare and Sonya's flabbergasted stair, any answer would have been better than to continue in that mannar. Finally the quiet was broken, but it wasn't the person he'd expected to speak first, nor was the answer what he'd assumed would come out of their mouth.
"Okay. We can try it, if it's alright with my mate."
Garrus look happy about the decision, but at least he was willing to try. They both looked to Sonya who seemed both relieved and worried.
"I don't know. I don't want you two ready to kill each other over this."
"It's part of the arrangement. Neither of us can hold a grudge against the other for any reason pertaining to this bonding. That has to be foremost or this will never work." Nihlus stated.
"I want you both to know that I don't love one of you more or less than the other. No jealousy or it's over for everybody. Got it?" Sonya said firmly, looking both of them in the eye in turn.
"Got it." Garrus said.
Nihlus nodded.
"I will shower between... well, you know..." Sonya blushed. "You both get to mark me and no one else joins. It's just us three."
"What about another woman?" Garrus asked. "I mean, it's only fair. I have to share, why shouldn't you have to?"
"Garrus!" Sonya gasped, hurt, but she understood where he was coming from.
"That's not fair. You know why we're doing this. It's not about sharing for the hell of it. We both love the same woman." Nihlus pointed out.
"I know. But I don't have to like it." Garrus grunted.
"Technically I was first, so I'm sharing with you! You should be grateful." Nihlus sneered.
"Technically," Garrus glared at the white faced turian, "you were dead! So I'm the one who's sharing!"
Nihlus bared his teeth and growled. Sonya immediately stood up between them before they could jump at each other's throats.
"Boys! Boys! Please! No fighting, no arguing. You're both sharing, okay? It doesn't matter who was first. That's not what this is about anyway! This should be about how we feel. You both love me, and I love each of you, but don't you also love each other? It's not the in the same way, of course, but you're friends! We've been together since the beginning of all this. Can't this be about that?"
"Next you're going to tell us you have red sand or marijuana in your dresser." Garrus scoffed.
"If that's what it takes we can do that." Sonya stated flatly. "As far as another woman, if either of you find someone else that you truly are in love with, we can talk about inclusion or you can exclude yourself and the parties involved will become two separate couples."
"Aren't you afraid you could end up alone if both of us find someone else?" Garrus asked, eyeing Nihlus.
"No. I'm more afraid of having to mourn the deaths of two wonderful lovers and bond mates. If one of you left, I think the other would be happy to have me to themselves again."
There was a brief silence as the two turians looked up at her with mandibles slowly spreading in comical grins.
"That's not as vain as it sounds." Sonya said, blushing, and sat back down.
"How do we decide who and when and where do we sleep?" Garrus asked.
"I guess it's up to Sonya." Nihlus answered.
"Well, the easiest way to do it would for you both to have your own beds. Some times I'll sleep with one of you and sometimes the other. Sometimes I'll sleep alone. I'm not about to assign dates and times. No competition for my favor either. No form of fighting, period."
They each agreed and Sonya sent them both to their quarters. When they'd left she collapsed on her bed with a sigh. This was going to be interesting. She grabbed a data pad of the ship's reports and started reading.