"This is her?" Samantha asked as Nathan took Cyrus from his girlfriend.

"Who?" Nathan asked, having already forgotten the presence of everyone else.

"Isabelle," Samantha said.

"I am," Isabelle stepped up to Samantha and held out a hand. "Isabelle Jackson. It's a pleasure to meet you, Samantha."

"You said you already checked her out?" Samantha looked at Keith.

"Both in mind and electronically," Keith nodded. "Nathan, where the hell did you get that?"

Everyone turned to face Nathan, who was currently putting a toy knife into Cyrus's hand.

"I bought it yesterday morning," he answered. "Best to teach him early."

"Nathan!" Samantha exclaimed, then gently took the toy from their son and poked the demigod with it in the cheek, eliciting a giggle from Cyrus and a grin from Nathan.

Samantha and Keith both groaned upon seeing the grin. It meant Nathan was just teasing them, and Cyrus's giggle told them that despite being only a few days old, he was in on it, too. The infant was just too different from normal infants to compare to them properly.

"He needs his diaper changed," Nathan said suddenly, before walking off.

"A man who changes a baby's diaper?" Isabelle asked. "Where did you find him?"

"Depends on which time you ask," Samantha said. "And plenty of men change diapers. Nathan tends to do it unless you ask for Cyrus as the little guy goes or is about to go. Then he lets you know as he hands him off."

"What was that comment about white orbs of light about?" Isabelle asked. "They were both acting like Cyrus could use magic, but he's only a few days old, so-"

"Cyrus isn't a normal baby," Samantha shook her head. "And if you ever show any hostile or otherwise ill intent towards him, Nathan will kill you without a second thought."

"Wasn't planning on it," Isabelle said. "I've never heard of a baby who could use magic, though."

"As she said," Keith said, his eyes glowing for a moment. "Cyrus isn't a normal baby. Samantha, Nathan's is speed-changing Cyrus again."

Samantha sighed, then quickly moved to her boyfriend in his room. It had been enchanted by the enchanters to protect from eavesdropping, which was probably why Nathan had chosen to speed-change their son in there. It made it easier to get away with it when everyone told him not to.

The demigod had his son on the floor, the baby already stripped out of his clothes and diaper and laying on a changing pad.

"Nathan, don't speed-wipe him," she said as she held a hand up to her nose. "No matter how smelly he may be."

"Too late!" Nathan quickly cleaned his son. "Now for the diaper!"

"What if you give him friction burn!"

Cyrus shot an orb of white light at his mother, who groaned.

"You're with your father," she said. "Cyrus, we need to work on your communication skills, and I can't believe I just said that to someone who was just born a few days ago."

"That one means," Nathan said. "'Daddy is cool and awesome and can do speed-changing whenever he wants, because it's awesome and I don't get hurt because I'm just as tough as him!' So don't worry, he likes it."

"I think you're making that up," Samantha said as Nathan finished putting clothes back on his son. "Nathan, why did you put him in an outfit to match yours rather than the cute one I put him in?"

"He's not cute like this?" Nathan looked at his son, who kicked his socked feet and giggled.

"He's adorable," Samantha told him as their son held his hands up and clenched his fingers a few times. Nathan picked him up. "I feel like his mental age may accelerate past the norm for a baby. His… unique state doesn't give us much to go on."

"Whatever it is," Nathan said. "We can handle him. Icthvar said that blood parents always possess the ability to handle their children. It's an innate law in almost every universe. Until he's around fifteen or so, anyway. 'Near adulthood', the birdie said. Where's Katie?"

"She, Michael, and William went to the store," Samantha told him. "And I think the boys are going to show her around town a little bit."

"Okay," Nathan said, rocking his son a little bit as the infant began shooting orbs of purple and green light at his face.

"What do you think of her?"

"She's nice," Nathan answered. "Halfway decent with some training, though could use a bit more. I'm sure with two or three more years' worth of regular training, she'd be able to spar with some of the top mages on Earth."

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"I meant Isabelle, not Katie."

"Who?" Nathan asked.

"The chick you brought home?" Samantha asked.

"Oh, right, her," Nathan said as Cyrus's attack stopped, the infant drifting off to sleep. "She's… a woman."

"A beautiful woman."

"I didn't fuck her, if that's what you're wondering."

"I know you didn't," Samantha said. "Keith texted me updates on her. Father ran the Black Orb, she's a fledgling necromancer, and you just met her. You're the kind of guy who wants to know someone at least a little before sex, and I know you wanted to make sure I was okay with it, especially after Keith told you what I'd mentioned."

"How did that even come up?" Nathan asked.

"He'd asked me how I really felt," she answered. "Since he knew a lot of women had issues with their man sleeping with someone else. But honestly? It's a part of you, and while I'd like to be exclusive, it doesn't bother me. As I told both him and you. In the end, I know I'm the only one you have real feelings for. I know you'll always put me first, and you'll always take into consideration my feelings over the others. That's why it doesn't bother me, Nathan. Because no matter what anyone else you put in your harem does, they'll never manage to insert themselves above me."

"What if I told you that you weren't the only one I have real feelings of love for?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, really?" Samantha snorted. "Who else would you have feelings for, Nathan? Even if the Well of Souls forged our souls, it didn't force you to be attracted only to me. You can have feelings for others, yet you don't."

"What if I had feelings for Keith?" He asked. "The Well of Souls designed us to be attracted to the other two forged souls. Keith isn't attracted to you because he's gay."

"And you're straight," Samantha said. "And he has feelings for other guys, too. Further proof that you could have feelings for other women."

"I'm the reason Keith has the permanent blessing."

Samantha went silent at that, staring at Nathan in shock and disbelief. His tone was plain, unemotional, yet his expression was honest. It was hard for her to gauge whether or not he was telling the truth, and she had Lie Detector off. She always turned it off when it was just the two of them or them and Keith, trusting them to speak the truth.

"Nathan," she said. "I know I joke about seeing you two together, but-"

"After I… didn't step in with the Evala incident," Nathan told her. "I offered to let Keith fuck me as a makeup. Or to suck him. I didn't want to, but I didn't want him to stay upset with me. He rejected it."

"Uh-"

"He said," Nathan continued. "That while he was attracted to me, and did prefer to top, he'd rather bottom for me, and knew I'd prefer that. It was weird. Felt strange. Nothing like sleeping with a woman. I imagined it was you I was fucking, which made it easier. We decided not to talk about it again.

"When we were in the extended Survival Challenges," he continued before Samantha could say something. "Just Keith and me, we were in the showers together one time. I was horny and jacking off, and Keith offered to let me use his ass. That was all it was – me getting off in a way that got me off better than using my hand. At first, I thought Keith had used some mind spell on me. But he spoke the truth when he said he didn't do any magic. It became a regular thing. Keith got fucked by the man of his dreams, and I got to get off in a way that felt better than just jacking it, even if it involved another man. It's part of why I was impatient to get back with you. To me, I was just getting off in a tight ass. Nothing romantic there. No interest.

"But I've been thinking…" Nathan trailed off for a moment as he looked into Samantha's eyes, admiring their green. "What if I didn't have an issue with it because I'm bisexual? I mean, I didn't think anything of it because I was just getting off, and had no attraction to him. Or at least, didn't think I did. But what if-"

"Nathan," she cut him off. "Tell me, right now: if Keith and I were both naked in front of you, wanting a good fucking, who would you fuck?"

"You."

"And if I wasn't here?"

"I'd wait for you to get back, then see if you wanted a good fucking."

"And if I didn't?"

"I'd either wait for you to, or see if Katie did."

"In other words," Samantha said. "It's as you said, Nathan. You were just using him to get off, and nothing further. Plus, plenty of straight guys experiment with a close male friend."

"I fucked him enough times for him to get the permanent blessing."

"You took what was available to you, Nathan," Samantha snorted. "Were I alone in the game with Katie for a year and a half, we'd probably end up having sex every day. We would no doubt take what we could for better pleasure, just as you did with Keith."

"Maybe," Nathan muttered. "Maybe that's all it was. Besides, women doing it with women seems to be better accepted than men doing it with men."

"Depends on which sex you're talking about," Samantha nudged him in the arms. "Trust me, plenty of women ship men together. I've been shipping you and Keith together for a few years. And hearing that you actually have pounded his ass, Nathan? I kind of want to see it."

"Not happening," Nathan immediately responded. "Sex is a private thing, no one should watch others doing it."

Samantha snorted.

"Nathan," she said. "That is what you objected to, not you and Keith doing it. When we were in the Tower of Magic Dungeon, did you and Keith ever-"

"No," Nathan answered. "We just worked on enchantments together, and he'd use me as a table while I slept."

"See?" She asked. "Nothing happened, even though you two had plenty of chances to. Nathan, it's as you said, so get that look of doubt out of your eyes. Unless, of course, you have reason to doubt. In that case, let's call Keith up here and see how you kiss."

"No!" Nathan managed to refrain from roaring that word, aware of the sleeping baby in his arms and not wishing to wake him. "Ew! No kissing Keith!"

"You're like a little kid, there," Samantha chuckled. "'Kissing is gross! I don't wanna!'"

"Shut up," Nathan's face flushed. "I guess you're right, Samantha. That said, if Keith and I end up in an extended Challenge Survival alone together, it might happen again. Because fucking his tight hole definitely felt better than just jacking it alone."

He thought for a moments.

"Maybe there's room for doubt," he told her. "But I'm not adding him to my harem. It is exclusively for women. I'm going to pass Cyrus off to Keith, and when I get back, we can either talk some more, or we can have sex. It depends on if you're clothed when I return."

Nathan hurried out of the room without waiting for a response from his girlfriend, and found Keith watching TV in the living room with Isabelle, the two on separate seats.

"Here," Nathan told Keith. "He fell asleep after I changed him, and I don't want to wake him up with any noise we might make."

Nathan returned to his room without waiting for a response. When he returned to his room, Samantha was naked and on his bed, and he wasted no time in stripping and joining her.