They shared everything

[intriguess]

Meals, equipment, work, a home. Life on the frontier was hard enough, and the two men had developed more than a good working relationship as the years went past. They finally had enough set aside to finish out their home. Suddenly a few weeks later they struck a little gold and suddenly had a little surplus.

After a long and heated argument over whether to buy animals, equipment, or running water. They agreed on the one thing they both wanted.

A woman. Now they didn't have enough for two wives, and they considered how they might share a woman. It didn't enter into their thoughts that the woman might not want to be shared, just how it would work for them. Of course seeing as they shared a home she would cook and clean for both of them. It was bunk time they were arguing over, would they alternate nights? or weeks?

This argument was still going on upto the moment she arrived. They pondered over whether she'd be homely, or frigid, and finally they agreed that like everything else, they would share her in one bed, every night.

OOC so prefer one person to play both male parts, they could be relatives, please PM your character thoughts before posting.

 

[intriguess]

Now Closed

Kara was smart, and there were a lot of pretty women out East, so unlike her brothers she didn't have her pick of suitors. In fact most of the men due to her brothers saw her as a sister figure. After a rather nasty run in with one of them when he was drunk, well her reputation was ruined and he was already married and influential so her family didn't press the issue. She fell into a depression and when she had her period and they decided she wasn't pregnant she was shipped out west as a bride.

Kara was tough enough, good with a blade, and sewing. She was a fair cook, and had done plenty of housekeeping, she also had her grandmother's green thumb. Pretty, well that had never been said about her, she had a square build, with full hips and breasts, shapely might be the best description for her. Her green eyes were framed by dark lashes, her dark brown hair swept back in a thick braid.

The final train station seemed, well anything seemed better than home. The entire place seemed dusty, as she patiently waited for her future husband.

 

[sombrablanca]

The two arrived, as always, together. They are right on time, parking the wagon just where it should be. The two split up, one to the general store across the street, the other to pick up the woman they are here for.

Looking at them one would think they're hallucinating, seeing double. People always just call them the O'Sheas when they're together, or O'Shea when they're apart. It saves some confusion. Those who know them well remember the difference between them, and call them by the right name, but until they speak it is very disconcerting.

The reason for this? They are identical twins. Living on the frontier breeds large, burly men. Their red hair and beards cover most of their faces when they come in. The blue and grey eyes sparkle when they laugh. They wear the same buckskin clothing and moccasins. They carry the same Bowie Knives, Winchester repeating rifles, and other survival gear wherever they go. The only differences are the eyes and a few scars. Billy O'Shea's left eye is a vibrant blue, his right a darker, shadier stormy bluish grey. His brother Connor's eyes are reversed.

Billy moves to the General store, carrying with him a stack of pelts, some gold dust and nuggets, as well as a few small wooden toys he and his brother carve in their spare time for the sake of amusement. He enters the store, getting several hellos. He nods, returning the greetings, opening the door and slipping inside.

"Morning Tom!" is the greeting he gives with a jolly smile. The friendly old store owner returns the smile. "Morning Billy boy, what brings you to town? You and Connor usually don't come in for at least another few weeks."

Billy sets the trade goods on the counter, untying the furs from arund the bundle he has made. "Well, Connor and I decided we had enough to send for a wife from back East. Her train just came in. It seems to have been early for a change."

The old man has known the brothers for years, watched them grow up working with their parents in Pennsylvania. They've been alone for years since their parents died on the trail as so many do. The only time they've been apart being when their mother sent Billy off for more schooling. They didn't have the funding to send Connor as well, but Connor's interests never lay in that direction anyway. He wished to stay near his brother though. The old man wonders if they've wondered about the ramifications. He doubts it. Most young men do not.

They continue to talk, getting the new, haggling over prices til they come to an agreement. Billy is pleased when he finds out they are higher in the black than they had hoped. He notes the final tallies in as small a print as he can, offering a toy kept in his pocket for the old man's youngest grandson before going to the feed and tack stores, arranging to pick up his order when all is said and done.

In the mean time Connor approaches the train station. The usual laborers are there, and the train hands. He looks about, trying to find the woman they've been waiting for. He swallows, slightly nervous. Billy is the people person, but he is also the better haggler and numbers man so Connor is assigned this duty by unspoken accord.

Connor is usually more of a loner. Too many people in one place can make him uncomfortable. This is the woman that could make or break things. He sort of has an idea of what she should look like through letters sent over the last year or so. He has a small idea of what she should be like, but who knows what the reality will be.

Connor rounds the train as it starts to pull away, and there she is. Not a classic beauty but any means but she seems sturdy. She has nice features, a shapely body with firm breasts, nice hips, not too skinny, not too plump. It is rather what he and his brother had been expecting and hoping for. He heaves a sigh of relief. She has a very no nonsense solid air about her. He can read people well, and half the time doesn't like what he finds.

He hopes her demeanor is as pleasing as her form. He approaches slowly, unthreateningly. "Afternoon Maam, the name's Connor. Connor O'Shea. Me brother Billy has been writing to you about becoming our wife. He's out picking up supplies while you and I meet and get your luggage in the wagon so we can get back home before darkness comes to far down. Traveling out here is rather more dangerous than back East. Speaking of it is this all there is? We half expected a lady to come with chests and chests of clothes."

Connor doesn't know all the details of the correspondence. He didn't think he needed to. He trusts his brother to tell the important bits. He realizes something might be a bit off when he sees the look she gives him at the introduction and his speech. He can't quite place it so clams up, waiting for her reaction, hand still held out in greeting. He knows he isn't as good at this as Billy, half cursing under his breath. His brother probably should have been with him for the first meeting.

 

[intriguess]

She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but OUR wife leapt out at her, she was speechless as they gathered her one chest and she was still feeling shock, Connor, who was this Connor where was Bill? She felt even more shock upon seeing Bill who was a mirror image. She listened to them ramble on trying to decipher what OUR meant, who would she be legally married to, it sounded as if they were sharing her wifely duties as they lived together, but she wasn't sure about the intimate details.

Upon being showed around the house she was dismayed, a little discouraged, and seeing the one big bed very nervous. She took a deep breath, surely they couldn't mean...could they? They seemed like two very healthy young men and she wondered about how it would work, would she have any say in it? would they swap her back and forth every night? Both at the same time?

Her thoughts spun, but luckily it was afternoon and as she set to cleaning up. The kitchen was a mess, and well she found clean sheets to put on the bed. This was not how she envisioned things but, she would make the best of things.

"So when will we be getting married?" She was still thinking about whether they would all be sleeping together, not that a wedding night really mattered, she wasn't a virgin or much to stand on ceremony.

She just wondered how this was going to work, she had to make this work. There was nothing for her back home, and she knew what happened to brides who didn't work out, they ended up working in brothels.

 

[sombrablanca]

Billy and Connor have a very in depth, rather long conversation while Kara does some cleaning. They only realize just how bad the small house has become when they see her reaction. They still think she's over reacting but with women, who knows? Connor is pissed that Billy left her clueless as to the situation, but kind of understands. They deal with the various issues around the small spread, fixing some fencing, butchering and smoking the carcass of a deer shot the night before.

After they get things sorted out amongst themselves, they go in for dinner. They ravenously eat the food she has prepared, not even hearing the question the first time it is asked. They haven't eaten anything this good in years. The smell alone has their moths watering. The second time they look up, then at each other, before turning back to her. They even swallow at the same time.

Their responses flows, oddly, from both of them. One starting a sentence, or a few, the other finishing. Connor's argument is they paid for her to come out. Most likely she'd not be able to get back from what she said in the correspondence. Connor insists they lay it out on the table first. If they absolutely have to try something tricky he is willing. He hopes they will not though.

Billy starts. "We're twins as you can see. Since we were born we've shared everything." He takes a bite of biscuit with obvious relish, Connor picking up. "Toys. Pets. A room. Even a girlfriend. Everything."

Both take a drink before continuing in the same manner. "Like this spread. We each have the jobs we prefer to do. We are different, but in ways similar. One thing we both agreed upon is a desire for a woman.We have enough set aside we can take care of a woman even if she can't contribute much at first."

They continue to eat and drink, devouring everything in sight ravenously. They wrestle food back and forth absentmindedly, not totally realizing theyre doing it. They just pick up anything spilled on the table and eat it too. "We couldn't afford two. We figure share and share alike like we always have. We aren't city folk. We know we're a bit rough. We know maybe the thought isn't exactly settled.

Connor clears his throat " So I said we should lay it out, let you get used to the idea. We'll all sleep in the same bed of course but you can have a week or two to get used to us, the situation. We decided today amongst ourselves that it'd probably be best to wait a few months for the ceremony. We had not thought that part out. If you're to be with us long term your opinion and desires will matter just as much though so what do you think?" They finish the meal, wondering what she will say and do.

 

[intriguess]

She didn't want to think how they shared a girlfriend. She was sure Bill had mentioned going to school, but Connor seemed a little rougher around the edges. Kara couldn't tell them apart when they talked at the same time, but when one spoke long enough she could sense a difference in their speach patterns. At the moment they were pretty much dressed alike, and she figured they shared what clothes she had found.

Their manners left something to be desired, both often speaking with their mouths half full. It slowly sank in that they intended to all sleep in the same bed, and that she would in some way choose which would be her technical husband. Her head was spinning, she was trying to remember is Bill had ever mentioned a brother, surely at some point.

It was a lot to digest. She didn't know what to say, "Why don't the two of you clean up yourselves and I'll deal with the dishes." There were no leftovers, and she was still feeling shock, it wasn't her worst case scenario, hell it wasn't any of her scenarios.

A week or two before she would be expected to make her choice, two weeks were they would be, what, woeing her? courting her? seducing her? She had three nightgowns, a warm one, a summer one, and because her mother had insisted, one that was not meant to be worn long enough to sleep in.

She had only glanced in the direction of the bathroom, she shuddered at the memory, perhaps she'd find something that could make the bath tub usable. Until then she would have to find a wash basin and acquire a new sponge.

Bed time, and she was still trying to find a bright side. Two men to work the land, share the work, twice as many injuries? twice as much trouble? twice as much effort? she hoped they had similiar tastes, it would be impossible to try and please them both with her cooking. Not that they had much to say about her cooking so far. They'd been too busy eating and ambushing her with their shared life style.

At least they were used to sharing, their seemed to be no jealousy issues, that sort of thing. She managed to change into her warm winter nightgown without being seen. She looked at bed, wondering if she was to sleep in the middle, or at their feet, and she wasn't sure how to feel about either of those. She had her chest sitting at end of bed and she set to brushing her hair.

Her long brown hair tumbled to her waist in soft waves. She brushed it slowly thinking as she ran her brush down through hair. Kara was still trying to pick a golden lining, and just couldn't find one.

"I'll give it two weeks," she admitted as they entered the bedroom.