POV Grian
"What do you mean, you're not mad?" Grian's chest contracted and he suddenly felt cold. How could Iskall be so calm? It's not like he wanted him to be mad, but... shouldn't he? He was his boyfriend, boyfriends were jealous, weren't they?
Iskall hadn't answered yet.

Grian noticed that he had been staring at his feet ever since he dropped off the rockets for Iskall. He jerked up his head only to see Iskall sitting on a block of dirt, biting his lip in thought. A chuckle hushed over Grian's lips. Iskall was still bumbofied and this moustache really didn't suit him. Pictures of these past days flashed through his mind. Him and Iskall building the G-Team base, making silly jokes as they raised the walls. Iskall staying the night in Grian's place, cuddling with him as he fell asleep. His chest eased up. This was Iskall, not just anyone. Whatever this was, that man had asked him, he wanted Grian to be his boyfriend.

Boyfriend... The cold was replaced by a fluttering warmth. So many feelings!

"Look, Grian," Iskall started again.
"I am looking. I am marvelling at your bootiful facial hair."
Iskall rolled his eyes, smiling.
"I'm going to ignore that. Grian, I'm not scared of losing you to Mumbo. It's not as... as if you liked me less because you like his butt. And I knew before we got together that you are good friends. And even if... you know," his voice faltered, "you didn't like me after all... I guess I'd still prefer for you to be with someone who makes you smile. Though I'm pretty certain that you like me."

"I do like you." Grian said quickly.

His ears felt hot. 'Like' didn't really capture it.
"I mean LIKE like you. Like a lot. Like..."
"If you say 'like' one more time, I'll come over to you and shut you up myself!"
He had almost said the L-word! Grian, you stupid block of diorite, the two of you got barely together! You can't just proclaim your love, he scolded himself. He barely even knew what love was. Was that love? So many new feelings and sensations. So full of wonders. But so full of riddles. A knot formed in his stomach. He still definitely found Mumbo desirable. What did that say about him? About his feelings for Iskall?

POV Iskall
Grian wasn't reacting to his teasing. He was biting his lower lip, his widened eyes avoiding Iskall's gaze. Shoot! He had hoped he would say 'like' once more. It was very unusual for him not to tease back. Iskall frowned. His excuse to just kiss Grian and make him forget this awkward situation had gone unnoticed. Well, there was no going back, he had already started on the topic. How could he ease Grian's doubts now? He considered his own past. What would have helped him, when he felt so insecure? What would he have wanted Åke to say to him?

"Grian?" The man in the red shirt flinched. He looked worried.
"There's nothing wrong with you. And I won't leave you or any such thing."
The other seemed less tense at these words, but still tense. Iskall sighed in his head. Grian was straining his nerves and reliving the feelings from his past didn't help.

"I've never really understood that part of relationships," he said heavily. He felt a strange emptiness beneath his bellybutton, as if he was supposed to be closer to the other. He got up and scraped the dirt of his pants. "Why do I have to be mad at you, if you find someone else beautiful as well?" He said, more to himself, than to Grian. "What does that have to do with me, I don't own you, do I?"
The image of Grian, draped over a coat hanger in his closet, came to his mind. He was just hanging there between Iskall's pants and shirts. Just something he owned, empty and dull without the contagious vigour that Iskall adored so much.

Shaking the eerie image from his thoughts, he crossed the short distance between them and enclosed Grian in his arms. The blond just fit there perfectly, his head resting on Iskall's shoulder. He seemed to be out of words, but as Iskall took a deep breath and let his body relax, he could feel Grian's breathing becoming steadier on his neck.
"Besides, I'm still gorgeous, even if Mumbo is, too. There's enough gorgeousness in the world for all of us." Iskall spoke confidently.

He felt warm arms wrap around his waist and the last bit of emptiness left his gut as he closed his eyes. Grian might be overwhelmed, but Iskall felt calm. They would be fine.

Indeed, he opened his eyes, grinning excitedly, there might just be awesome adventures waiting for them...

A/N:

That closet metaphor is very weird, I admit. It touches on something that I find very interesting:

'Ownership' of people in relationships.

Saying a partner is 'mine' can express a sense of togetherness, of belonging. But it can also be very scary. And ownership as in controlling the other person can be an unhealthy or upright dangerous thing if boundaries are not well-established.

In my opinion the first panel in this comic displays this distinction very nicely:

Source and full comic: http://kimchicuddles.com/post/166748476540/what-have-been-your-experiences-with-reclaiming

Even though I feel like everyone should first and foremost own themselves, I can't help but express the wanting-to-be-there-for-someone feeling of responsibility and the sense of belonging together, through words of ownership.

These bits of conversation usually end up in jokes, but the feeling is real. I've even joked around with my partners about the concept of shared ownership, which is actually very well defined in a legal context.

That aside, I think in some monogamous relationships there's an unhealthy amount of dependence. Partners restricting each other, making rules*. There are jokes about this like

"I'm the boss in this house! My wife gave me permission to say so."

Which play on the power imbalances in relationships.

I don't think that partners should be in a position to demand things from each other or have to ask permission for things that don't include their partner (outside of certain kink play, where everyone has a safeword). I don't mean asking for consent, that is a different thing, but asking for permission.

More comics!

Source: http://kimchicuddles.com/post/167453617480/i-can-has-magic-portal-to-escape-such

(RA is short for Relationship Anarchy)

I understand if someone asks their partner to do things / voices their wishes or people mutually agree on behaviours (e.g. being monogamous). But a grown-up person seriously having to ask if they can do something with friends is a creepy thing in my opinion.

What about you? Do you understand the feeling of a partner being "yours"? How do you express the sense of togetherness?

The next chapter will be about this as well. It's short, but it has heavy stuff in it (TW will be provided), so I want it to stand on its own.

*I'm going to ramble about the difference between rules and boundaries some other time ^^