Winter Wanderings }{ [Raiden]

[Rinestta Leone Du'Cal]

For some odd reason or another, Rinestta couldn't recall the last time she had spent any quality time with Raiden- or Roxie really for that matter. School subjects and projects just kept springing to life around every corner, and when that wasn't an issue, then there was the abundance of nosy brothers to deal with. It was bad enough that Rin had to put up with so many of them all at once at home, but to have the two who were most like her lingering around every corner? Well that was just sheer torture. Especially when it came to the subject of relationships. True enough, her brothers knew nothing about her special relationship with Raiden and Roxie, but that only made her twins more curious, and far too much so for their own good.

So needless to say, it had been forever since Rin had, had the time to really enjoy either of her partner's company. Luckily, she'd finally managed to get ahead of her school work, and her brothers had been ditched early on in the morning. Now she was quite content- if a bit chilled due to the weather- wandering about with Raiden, hand in hand as the two of them simply strolled about in the snow. Occasionally new topics of conversation would flutter to life, though mostly their topic remained on the future. What was going to happen, what either of them thought was going to happen. What they wanted to do after school, where they'd want to be, and so on and so forth. The topic that kept getting the most attention, however, was of course where their relationship was going.

"I'm not sure what's going to happen between the lot of us." the brunette admitted with a shrug. She'd taken to watching the spot just in front of her feet as they walked, obviously deep in thought over the matter. "I certainly don't want the three of us to drift apart or separate." she added as an after thought. The idea of losing Roxie or Raiden either one was something that made her head hurt, and just the thought alone made her both sick to her stomach and made her chest feel empty. "We'll just have to come up with something, right?" Her head turned so that she could look at the boy beside her now, and a smile automatically lifted the corners of her mouth. "Any ideas right off hand?"

[Raiden Phoenix]

Nothing could put Raiden into a bad mood right now. It had been a very long time since he'd gotten to spend any proper amount of time with Rin, assignments keeping him busy. He knew that Rin had the same assignments, and he'd also seen her with her brothers from time to time, and knew that interrupting them to steal Rin would not go over well. But now here they were, walking hand-in-hand through the snowy grounds, so none of that mattered. Life was good.

They'd been talking about a lot of things over the entire time they'd been walking. But somehow, the other topics always managed to find their way back to the future. "I'm not sure what's going to happen either. Hell, I don't even know what kind of job I'd like to have. But I'm sure we'll think of something that will let us all be together. After all, we've got three heads thinking about it, most everyone else only has two." It had been a rather feeble attempt at a joke, Raiden knew this, but if it made Rin smile then it was worth it.

A vague idea popped into Raiden's head. "Maybe.." As soon as the thought had come into his head, he had thought of a counter-point. "Nevermind, that won't work."

[Rinestta Leone Du'Cal]

It was never typically like Raiden to come up with an idea, then squash it so quickly without at least telling Rin about it. So naturally the brunette was immediately curious and wanted to know just what had been cooking inside that head of his. She arched an eyebrow and simply observed the boy for a moment before shaking her head. "Alright, that won't do." she stated with a matter of fact like air, "What were you thinking? And why wouldn't it work?" Her head canted a bit to one side as she waited for him to answer.

Hopefully the response wasn't something Raiden would think was silly and not want to explain. Naturally, Rin could get the information out of him one way or another, but it would simply be easier for him to tell her whatever it was he had been thinking. So, with the idea that she may have to take drastic measures in mind, Rinestta simply continued to walk along next to the male corner of her love triangle, head still canted and her eyes still on Raiden in curiosity.

[Raiden Phoenix]

He knew right away that he wouldn't be able to get away with bringing up a topic and dismissing it without explaining fully. Rin was far to curious to ever allow that, and she was determined enough to persist until she knew exactly what you didn't offer to begin with. Raiden was well aware of this. Luckily for him, this time the dismissal had truly been because he realised that it was flawed, not because he was embarrassed over it.

"I was going to say that maybe we should get married. Then no one could complain about us being together. But then I remembered that there are three of us, and you can't have three people in a marriage. If you and me got married, that would leave Roxie out. I don't know of anywhere that will let three people marry each other, and even then Roxie and I aren't interested in each other, we just both want to be with you." Raiden spoke facing foreword, keeping his eyes on the area so he wouldn't fall over something.

"Well, I did hear something when I was little about polygamists in America... My parents always did underestimate how much I understood of what they said... They live in communities where a man can take as many wives as he chooses. But that wouldn't work for us, since I don't want to take Roxie as my wife, and they'd probably kick us out anyway for the two of you being together. Strict bunch, that lot..." Raiden trailed off, back to trying to think of a way for all three of them to be together.

[Rinestta Leone Du'Cal]

A soft sound of understanding was made in the back of Rin's throat as Raiden explained himself without hesitation. In fact, it took several more steps in silence before what had just been said to the brunette caught up with her brain and fired correctly. Then of course, a whole other sound was made, one of both question and surprise, and Rinestta's even stride was abruptly cut short as her feet decided to tangle together. This sent her without much hesitation to the ground, and for several moments, she didn't move.

Finally, her body shifted and Rin turned herself around so that she could look at Raiden once again. Now, however, instead of the calm, collective nature she'd possessed just moments before, her eyes were slightly wide and her expression was unsure. "Marriage?" Unfortunately, that was the only word her vocals could come up with at the time being. Her brow creased slowly as she thought about this option. Naturally she'd wanted a solution to stay with Raiden and Roxie, but somehow marriage had escaped her mind completely. Perhaps that was because of the reasons Rai had already listed. She couldn't marry them both, and somewhere, her brain apparently knew that and subconsciously eliminated the suggestion from her mind. But to actually have the subject brought up in conversation? Well...it was highly appealing, if impossible to pull off.

"Marriage..." she repeated, though now her eyes were cast onto the snow and were no longer focusing on anything in general. Maybe there would be some way to make something like marriage work. It was definitely something to look into and discuss with both her partners. Though, first thing was first...she'd have to get her brain working correctly again and wrapped around and settled on the idea before she started poking around for solutions.

[Raiden Phoenix]

Raiden heard Rin make a soft sound when he told her his idea, like she acknowledged it's existence and subsequent elimination. Then it appeared that what he'd said actually sunk in, and after another more surprised sound, Rin tripped over her own feet. Raiden instinctively reached to catch her, which he did, but as he held Rin securely in his arms he realised that his own feet weren't stable anymore either. So, with Rin tucked in his arms, Raiden twisted so that he would land on bottom. Rin might get mad at him for the chivalry - she wasn't one to let other people protect her - but Raiden couldn't help it. He was used to getting hurt, he fell all the time. He didn't want Rin hurt.

After they landed, Rin twisted around and looked at him. She didn't look cam anymore, not like she'd been while they walked. Raiden heard her say the word 'marriage,' almost like she was testing it out. He could see her face change as she thought it over. She repeated the word again, sounding more sure of herself this time.

"Yes, marriage. That's what people who love each other do, isn't it? Get married? But I can't think of a way for both Roxie and I to marry you, and we won't make you choose." Bringing his hand up, Raiden brushed away some hair that had fallen across Rin's face. "But just because we can't get married doesn't mean we're entirely different. We can still get a flat together after we graduate, have jobs. It would even save us on rent, having three people living in it. We could even have kids, if you want." Leaning in, Raiden kissed Rin softly. "We don't need a certificate to prove to people that we love each other. It just a silly piece of paper. Maybe it's me being weird again, but I've always thought of marriage as a way to show other people you're seriously in love with the person you marry. But that doesn't mean that living together means any less without that paper. You're still around each other all the time, you still support each other. You're there when they need you, when you fight, when you laugh, when you cry. Through good times, and bad. 'Till death do us part. We don't need a paper to love."

Raiden knew he'd gone off rambling again. But laying here in the snow with Rin in his arms, he couldn't care less. However, he still figured it would be a good time to shut himself up, so he kissed Rin again and waited for her reaction. He'd thrown a lot at her that she probably hadn't thought of.

[Rinestta Leone Du'Cal]

The twisting of their bodies had been noticed as soon as Rin had been caught, but somehow she had missed landing atop of Raiden entirely. Perhaps that had been the point when her brain stopped processing more then one thought at a time. Honestly she wasn't entirely sure, and even now it had barely registered in her mind that she was laid on top of Rai. The kisses had been registered, and Rin had even managed to return one of them, though she was more interested in what had been said then the affectionate gesture that had been bestowed upon her- for now.

The three of them could be married. Raiden and Roxie could both be Rin's forever. Granted, there'd be no formal document saying such a thing, but who needed that kind of proof? And really, if they got crazy- or desperate enough- they could make their own little marriage certificate. Who would question it, really? Their friends, of course, would know, and her family, but other then that, who would really know the difference? Rin loved her partners, and they her, and that was all that mattered. If they told people they were married, ten to one odds said they'd be believed. Not that it honestly mattered. Just so long as Rinestta could keep them both, it didn't matter how such a thing took place.

So finally, a smile touched the corners of the brunette's lips and she gave a simple nod in response to the ideas that had been thrown her way. "I think the lot of us could be together without having to be married. And besides, we could always just decide at some point that we're all hitched, get some costume jewelry rings, make our own certificates, and be done with it." Her smile broadened into a grin and she placed a much more responsive kiss to Raiden's lips before continuing. "Just so long as I don't have to lose either of you in the long run, I'm fine with whatever we decide as a whole for the future."

[Raiden Phoenix]

Raiden could practically see the cogs turning in Rin's head as she processed everything he'd thrown at her. Finally, after Raiden started to actually get a little nervous that he'd broken her brain, Rin smiled. "We could easily be together without being married. It wouldn't be too much different from how we are now, except that we'd live together and actually go different places. If we get rings, though, I'd vote for proper rings, not just costume ones..." Raiden happily returned Rin's kiss, grinning into it. "Oh, no worries there. There's no hope for you, you're stuck with us."

Pushing with what little leverage he had, Raiden turned so that he was on top of Rin. He may not want Rin to land on bottom, but that doesn't mean he should be the only one laying in the snow. "So, Ms. Du'Cal, do you have any other serious topics to bring up, should we continue our walk, or should we just keep on here and have a romp in the snow?" Still grinning, Raiden leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Rin's lips before pulling back and quirking his ehad, waiting for her response.

[Rinestta Leone Du'Cal]

Rin rolled her eyes at Raiden's response to her suggestion about the rings. While the idea of being with her partners forever was highly appealing, she had been completely kidding about fake, costume jewelry. Never in her life would she settle for something as gaudy as fake jewelry for the two most important people in her life. No, if they all ended up with rings, Rinestta would make sure the ones Raiden and Roxie got were as real as they got- without being too gaudy or showy. After all, as far as she knew, none of them- Rin included- were fond of big, fancy jewelry. "It all sounds good to me." was all she said in response to the matter, however.

When she was flipped over, a gasp left Rin's lips due to the cold that penetrated her robes. A shudder wracked her body, and she made a face due to the instant numbness that she now felt- or the lack there of- in her back. Yet somehow the snow seemed to reengage her brain completely and her shoulders shrugged in response to the question asked. "I don't think there's anything else of dire importance to discuss. As for physical activity, I imagine continuing our walk would be best, as I don't particularly want to freeze my arse off while having a romp in the snow."

[Roxie Quintelle]

Roxie made her way through the castle until she found a path to the outside. She had seen Roxie and Raiden walking through the courtyard earlier when she's passed a window, and she hadn't been able to see Rin in ages. Well, she wanted to see Raiden too, the boy was her friend as well as the other spoke to the triangle she'd found herself in, but the urge to see Rin was more pressing. It seemed like she only got to see Rin anymore when she was getting ready for bed, and one of them was usually too tired to stay up and chat, or was already asleep by the time the other got there. It was .... frustrating, to say the least.

Finally finding herself in the courtyard, Roxie followed the footprints that could only be made my a couple walking together. Soon enough Roxie turned a corner which should have revealed the pair she was searching for, but instead showed a blank spans of snow. She did hear voices, though, and last she checked she hadn't gone crazy, so they must be here somewhere. Roxie kept walking and soon discovered a dark-colored lump in the snow that upon closer inspection became Raiden laying on top of Rin, with the both of them tucked close together.

Roxie heard Rin mention something about a romp in the snow. "Hey now, you two wouldn't be trying to have a go without me, now would you?" Roxie grin showed them that she wasn't being jealous, or really serious about her question, but rather that she was teasing them. Flopping down in the snow next to the two, Roxie curled herself up against Rin's exposed side. Cold temperatures had never bothered her. Leaning up on her side, Roxie kissed Rin softly, but in a way that clearly showed she'd missed the other girl. "I've missed you two. We haven't hung out in ages."

[Raiden Phoenix]

Raiden saw Rin roll her eyes at him, but this wasn't anything new. He said silly things all the time that made her roll her eyes at him, he was used to it by now. He just wasn't quite sure what he'd said to deserve it this time. The shudder that went through Rin's body as her back was pressed against the snow triggered a similar response in Raiden, though to a smaller extent and for a different reason entirely. Her shudder had pressed her body closer to Raiden's, which he was already more aware of thanks to the chill spreading through his skin. "Rest assured that I'd take every precaution to preserve your arse. I happen to be quite fond of it." Raiden trailed his hand down Rin's side, hugging every curve until his hand rested on the outside of her upper thigh.

And then there was someone next to them.

Twisting his torso, Raiden turned to properly look to the person who had so suddenly joined them, and was quickly calmed from the mild panic he'd gone into. He wasn't used to girls appearing from nowhere. "Hullo, Roxie."

When Roxie leaned in to kiss Rin, Raiden bent his own torso backwards some (probably pushing Rin's hips further into the snow), giving the girls more room and allowing himself a better view. He didn't have the same affection for Roxie that he did for Rin, but that didn't mean he enjoyed the sight of the two kissing each other any less. "Missed you too, Rox. It's been a while."

[Rinestta Leone Du'Cal]

Rinestta had just been about to open her mouth with quite the ornery reply when out of the blue another body appeared. For a brief moment, the brunette thought about beating Raiden off of her so that they could get up and move on- Brother Induced Panic Syndrome, she'd come to call it, had kicked in. Fortunately enough for her and Raiden, the third portion of their triangle had been the disturbance (not that it was really such a thing) and that caused Rin to simply smile and relax under the weight of the body on top of her. "'Lo there, Roxie." she very nearly chirped in her excitement to see the other girl. True enough, she and Roxie shared a dorm, but the three of them had all been so busy with school work and the like, there was barely time to acknowledge the other girl in their room more then a mumbled goodnight, good morning, and a see you later. So needless to say, the fact that both Raiden and Roxie were present and available now put Rin in quite high spirits. The kiss of greeting had especially been a nice treat.

"Its about time the three of us finally manage to locate one another with free time, eh?" A faint noise had been made when Raiden leaned himself to get a better view of the girls. The combination of the pressure from the boy's hips against her own, and the cold from the snow had been a fairly odd sensation. Not entirely unpleasant, but odd none-the-less. Still, Rin didn't dwell on the oddness of the situation and instead shifted herself just enough beneath Raiden so that she could look at Roxie more properly- yet still see the boy positioned atop of her. "You have good timing, Rox, we were discussing the future and all that, that entails."

((Short, but helps move the plot along! ^__^))

[Roxie Quintelle]

Roxie nodded, agreeing with Rin's agreement. "It's been absolutely ages. All I've seen of you is your arse as you run out of the dorm. Not that I mind seeing your arse, but I like seeing your face on occasion, too. Bonus points if there's speaking involved." As Rin shifted so she wouldn't have to bend awkwardly to see both Roxie and Raiden, Roxie leaned over to kiss her lover again. "This encounter is going quite well. Seeing face, talking, and even kissing. Quite good indeed." Thinking quickly and not checking her thought-to-speech process, she turned to Raiden.

"D'you think we should start keeping a point tally? Keep a running count of how much each of us sees her, and another for how much we both see her? I think it'll keep her on her toes." Grinning, Roxie glanced back away from the boy she shared her lover with to the girl she loved. "We'll go easy on you to start, but after a preliminary period we'll start not being so generous." Roxie leaned in for another quick kiss before settling down in the snow, curled around her lover's side.

[Raiden Phoenix]

Raiden barely restrained himself from squeaking in a decidedly unmanly manner as Rin shiften beneath him in order to get Roxie into her line of sight. The movement itself wasn't large, but with Raiden's weight resting almost completely on his, and thus Rin's, hips, the slight movement was very noticeable. His attention was brought back to the girls when he heard mention of Rin's arse, and he laughed as Roxie gave him a run for his money on rambling abilities. At her suggestion, though, Raiden couldn't help but grin.

"Sounds smashing to me. We'll establish a set relation - eye contact is one point, talking is two, talking in more than two full sentences is five, and a kiss is ten, or something like that. We can have levels, or something, and after she reaches a specific amount - fifty, maybe? - all the points get shifted around."

Roxie leaning in to steal another kiss from Rin prompted Raiden to copy her. It was brief, but still focused enough to be satisfying. Quickly, though, Raiden was coming to the conclusion that laying with his full weight pressing his hips against Rin's was not the best idea he'd ever had. Not for the sake of conversation. So, again copying Roxie, Raiden shifted off of Rin's hips to curl around Rin's other side.

The sudden cold against his side - somehow still not having been exposed to the snow yet - brought Raiden to another point. "What's say you ladies about continuing this inside? I do like the snow, but it's starting to get a bit too foreword with me, and I'm afraid that soon it will tarnish my virtue. That, and, I think I hear a few mugs of hot chocolate calling us from the kitchens." Kissing Rin's cheek, Raiden stood up and extended his hands, one to each girl. Probably, neither of the girls would take his offer of assistance, and he might even be putting himself in danger of being pulled back to the ground, but he was ok with both those options.

[Rinestta Leone Du'Cal]

The idea of making a point system earned a pout from Rin. "Oh c'mon now...its not my fault we haven't gotten to see much of each other lately. All of the end of term stuff is eating me alive." it was only after she'd said it that Rin realized this was not the pair to phrase things in such a way around. Dirty minds, and all that. Still, she didn't take her words back and continued to pout, even when her sides were snuggled up against. This didn't last too long, however, and Raiden was back up on his feet.

The idea of hot chocolate was appealing, especially since Rin could no longer feel her back or her arse. "Sounds good to me." she replied, pout long gone and forgotten for the most part of now. The hand that was offered down to her earned a raised brow, though the brunette took it without much fuss and used her free hand to add in to getting her weight up off the cold ground. "Oi, I'm going to need dry clothes after cocoa..." she muttered, more to herself then the pair accompanying her.