“Yes, I heard you.”
“I said what I want in amarriage, and it’s a pretty common expectation. Plenty only want them and their spouse. Nobody else. You’re just-” Riju flapped a hand. “I’m supposed to simply accept it if you want a slave later even though I said I don’t want it. We live like a married couple, but marriage is different. You might not see it that way, but I do. We’d be going to the Temple, mixing our future, and bonding. I think you heard me, but you weren’t truly listening.”
Trig sighed. “I was.”
“No, you weren’t. There wasn't even a suggestion for any form of a compromise-”
Trig smacked the arm of his chair. “It sounds like you’re not willing to compromise! Don’t come at me with that.”
“With your attitude on thirds, I think it’s obvious we won’t fit together for marriage,” said Riju.
“Am I supposed to say I’m sorry, and I don’t want to marry you anymore?”
“If a slave to fully dominate is a thing you have to have at times, then it’s not going to work out in the future,” said Riju. “How is that not obvious? This is now. Just because I’m happy with what we do now doesn’t mean I want it later because marriage is different no matter how you word it. I’m not going to marry you and be fine with you bringing another man in.”
“How is that fucking fair to me?”
Riju’s throat tightened. “Fucking fair?! You don’t want me to live on my own and start my own business. You want to marry me and have others later when I just fucking said I do not want a poly or open marriage even for a night. No thirds, Trig. How is it fucking fair to me if you’re screwing another guy when you know I don’t-”
“For fuck’s sake.”
“It’s all what you want. I’m supposed to do everything you expect and forget about what’s important to me.”
Trig made a frustrated noise. “You damn near make me want to rip out my hair. Would you be willing to shift our relationship so you’re a slave?”
“You know that’s not going to work for me. You’ve even said so.”
“It looks like I’m not the only one unwilling to compromise.” Trig stood to go around the counter.
How did this turn into Riju feeling like he’d done wrong?
“I just did!” Riju practically shouted at him. “You know I like dominating too. Did you hear me demand that of you? No, because I know you’re not into submitting at all, and I said I’d be the submissive. I wasn’t asking you to be a switch or to completely flip our roles for good because I know you wouldn’t like it.”
“Don’t yell at me,” snapped Trig.
“You’re being mean and completely putting down every single thing I say, but how dare I yell at you.”
“I’m not being mean. It sounds childish when you say that. Pfft. You expect to go out on your own.”
“Because I don’t think marriage would work out for us since you’re so insistent on having another at times, and I also want to do something on my own. I bet you wouldn’t let me start my own business if we married.”
“Why would we have two businesses?” Trig smacked his fist into his open palm as he stood by the window and turned. “We have this one and don’t need another.”
“Because I don’t want to make sex toys for my whole life! Two people can get married and have separate jobs too.”
“Well, I’m saying no.”
“A compromise would be me leaving after Kit’s contract is done. I start my own business and live in my own home. We can see how things go later.” With the way the conversation was going so far, it wouldn’t get better, and Riju would end up leaving him for good after a time. He could already see it now.
Trig groaned and turned back to look out the window.
“We could still see each other, and I’d even come to do classes with you when you teach one. If you get a slave, we could spend time together and share him.” As long as Trig didn’t pull the same shit. “If Kit wanted, maybe we could start our own relationship and work things out.”
“With Kit?” Trig turned. “Are you fucking serious?”
“While I’m out, maybe I’d like to have a relationship of my own too since we’re not married. What’s wrong with Kit?”
“Do you realize what you’re asking? There’s a difference between you and me being together with a third at times. That, plus you and him having a relationship…What if he gets jealous?”
