I hovered over Bastion, brushing the hair out of his face, but his eyes were unfocused, and he had a sheen of sweat covering his skin.

“Emma?” He whispered. “You came for me?”

“Of course I did, you idiot,” I whispered. “I’m going to pull out the shrapnel now, and then I’ll try to heal you. It might hurt a bit.”

“You should go. The necromancer will get you,” Bastion whispered desperately, grasping at my breastplate. “Leave me, Emma. Save yourself, please. I couldn’t bear it if you died for me.”

“Dave is dead, Bastion. You’ve got nothing to worry about except yourself,” I peeled his fingers off me and tore the armour off. It was decidedly uncomfortable to crouch in. I thrashed my tail about a couple times as soon as it was free, then returned to Bastion’s side to remove the shards of metal that were still wedged into his body.

“What about the others? Brick?”

“They’re safe. Back at James’ base, recovering from the poison. Brick will be fine, I promise.”

I’d healed Bastion so many times, but this was the worst injury I’d seen since the day I met him. I started to sing gently over him, watching the wounds close. He was still covered in dried blood and looked severely anemic, but he sighed in relief, his condition much improved.

I fished in my bag and found a blood replenisher, which he struggled to drink, but I kept it to his lips and massaged his throat, helping him swallow.

“Ok, Bast, I’ve taken care of the cuts and the blood loss, but you’re still poisoned,” I told him, still holding his head gently to keep him looking at me. “I gave my last antidote potion to the guys. The only way I can think to cure you of this is with slime.”

“So, I’m doomed,” Bastion said weakly. “That’s gone, isn’t it?”

“It’s back. James must have been able to restore it,” I said. “You… You know where it comes from, right? Are you okay with that?”

He gave me a pained expression. “I saw you mention to… Well, yeah, I figured it out. What did you have in mind?”

I blushed, embarrassed despite everything we’d been through. It was just… this was Bastion. Things felt different with him.

“I mean, I can try harvest it myself and then feed it to you, or it might be faster and more efficient if you wanted to… you know… drink it direct from the source.”

Bastion gave me a long, silent look and I felt my heart twisting. I didn’t want him to die out of stubbornness because an AI robot had decided that the only lifesaving potion was something that was too intimate for the two of us.

“I won’t make you do that,” Bastion said finally. “But if you could harvest it, I’d be grateful.”

“Oh, okay,” I blushed again, and found an empty bottle in my bag. “Just give me a minute.”

I arranged myself next to his bed and held the bottle in place as I stimulated my glands and felt the secretion drip in.

“I wish that bloody robot had used my saliva instead,” I muttered. “This is so unbelievably awkward.”

Bastion lay back, staring at the ceiling so we didn’t have to look at each other. “It’s strange to think a machine decided so much of our fate. A machine and that strange coward of a man.”

“Yeah,” I said, then swore as I spilled some slime. “Here, have what I’ve made so far, and I’ll keep going making more. I don’t know how much you’ll need, so just tell me when to stop.”

He took the bottle off me and drank the contents, licking the rim.

“Brick’s done that. Tasted you… In that dungeon we went to for Kira. Didn’t he?”

I nodded shyly. “I dropped one of my bottles down a mineshaft, so I was kind of out of options. Lily had mentioned doing something like it once, otherwise I might not have even thought of it. It’s why I always had such a big backup supply in my bag, but that didn’t account for the risk of them being deleted.”

“She did that too, huh?” Bastion said thoughtfully.

“Sorry to bring her up. I know you don’t like it.”

“No… It’s okay. You are very different from her, you know that?”

I handed him the second bottle, which was also only about a third full and a bit messy.

“She never would have done that for me. She never would have risked anything for me.” Bastion turned his head to watch me. “No one other than you or Brick would have risked facing down a necromancer for me.”

“You’re going to find it a bit harder to hate me now, aren’t you?” I gave him a half smile, glad to see him feeling well enough to talk.

“I don’t hate you,” he said quietly. “I never did. I was… afraid of you a bit. Of what you might do. Afraid of your powers over me, your pheromones and what… what you did to Dave.”

“I…” I didn’t know what to say to that. I knew it was unethical, what I’d done to him, but murder was kind of unethical as well, and that had been the overarching goal of the day. “I’m sorry.”

Bastion winced.

“That poison is nasty, isn’t it?” I said. “I won’t ask you again, and I’m specifically trying not to actually ask you, because I don’t want my Persuasion or Seduction skills to kick in or whatever, but if you want to try this the other way, the offer is still on the table. I just want you healthy again. But it’s got to be your idea, not mine. I’m not asking you.”

“You won’t mind?” Bastion asked. “And… and Brick wouldn’t mind?”

I snorted. “Brick has given me his blessing for us to do a lot more than just this, so considering it’s an act that’s got your life on the line, he wouldn’t even blink.”

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“He did?”

“He just wants you to be happy,” I shrugged. “They all do.”

“And you? Do you feel… like that… about me?”

His hopeful tone surprised me, and I gave him a considering look. I cared about him so deeply, even when I found him annoying. But I’d never considered it a possibility. He’d had such a bad run with Lily, and he’d always been so defensive around me. But part of that had been built into his code.

“You know what I am,” I said finally. “And I care a great deal about you. Doing this now doesn’t have to mean anything for us, though. It’s just like… like CPR or something. First aid.”

“You’re not using your pheromones on me now, are you?” Bastion asked, blushing. “It’s so hard to know what’s real with you. I thought you… you were just affecting me, like Lily did. But… when you were gone, in the university, the feelings should have faded. My feelings for Lily fade when I’m not with her. You weren’t anywhere near me then, and I still felt the same. It’s different with you, but I don’t know why.”

I looked at him in alarm. “Bastion, you know I got control of my pheromones when you and Brick were off getting your treasure stash, right? Anything you’ve felt since then has been totally you.”

“I… oh.”

“I’ve tried really hard not to accidentally flirt or use Persuasion or anything on you, and um… I think, if hypothetically anything was to ever happen between us, it would need to be your idea. Until I can get rid of these abilities, I can’t use them first or… I want to know my relationships are real too.”

“You’d get rid of them?” he asked in surprise.

“Of course. It’s a huge imposition on someone’s free will, to have math make the call on whether they obey you or not. I wouldn’t expect an AI robot to understand that concept, but we’re going to have to figure out how to train it if we want this world fixed. Machines like that only run on what information you put into them, and this one clearly has no understanding of ethics.”

“It’s why you did the clay thing. With Brick. He told me,” Bastion said thoughtfully. “And… when you gave Jackal those glasses and explained things to him… You’ve been trying to get around your abilities the whole time, haven’t you? With everyone. The only time you’ve used them since you got control of them has been when you’re attacking.”

“Yeah. And to be perfectly honest, that’s kind of mortifying too, but I’m not a warrior or a ranger or anything. I can’t go up and clobber something like Brick and Bruiser can.”

“You can pelt them with cinnamon rolls, though,” Bastion laughed. “Or throw sharks at them.”

I laughed, and we shared a grin. “You’re not so bad with the cinnamon projectiles yourself, you know.”

“You’re pretty amazing.” It felt more than a whispered compliment. It felt like he was confessing something. My stomach twisted, and I reached a hand out to brush a strand of hair away that had fallen back in his eyes.

“I think you’re pretty amazing too, Bastion.”

“If you’re okay with it, I’d like to try the other way,” Bastion said meekly. “So long as you know that… I… I’ve had a crush on you for a while now.”

“Okay,” I said. “Here, shift over a bit.”

I arranged him on the concrete slab of a cot and placed my knees on either side of his face, much like I’d done with Brick in the dungeon so long ago.

“Just let me know when you want me to get up, okay? Take as much as you need.”

I lowered myself so he could reach me and guided him to where my glands were.

I looked straight ahead at the dirty cave wall so he wouldn’t feel self-conscious about being observed. I dropped my hands to his shoulders, stroking my thumbs over the torn fabric of his shirt in what I hoped would be an encouraging motion.

He gained confidence and drank deeply, but I tried to clear my mind and remain perfectly still. I didn’t want to betray the trust he had placed in me, or risk shattering our newly formed truce.

It felt freeing to have the truth out in the open though, and I felt like the worst would surely be behind us.

Dave was dead, James was found, and several more pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place. Our whole team was alive and recovering. Things were looking okay. More than okay.

I had to bite my lip to stop myself from moaning out loud. Bastion’s tongue was wreaking havoc on my nerves, waves of lightning pleasure jolting through me with every pass.

“Bas… Bastion…” His name was torn from my throat somewhere between a gasp and a sigh.

“Emma,” his voice was heady, and I could feel his breath on my skin in the most delightful way. “I’m recovered enough to travel. Can I continue? Or should I stop?”

“I…” I didn’t know what to say. My heart was pounding in my ears, and I knew my body didn’t want him to stop. I just didn’t want him to do anything he was going to regret. “It’s up to you. I won’t ask but… you can keep going as long as you like. The decision is yours.”

The lust softened in his eyes, and I saw an affection I couldn’t doubt.

My body felt like it was melting under his touch as he teased my most erogenous zones.

“Oh, Bast… Bastion,” I moaned, and he gripped me tighter, lighting an inferno inside me.

“Hey!” I heard Jackal’s voice in the distance and as Bastion removed his mouth from me, we both came slowly back down to earth. “Hey guys, you almost done yet?”

“Sorry,” Bastion said, clearing his throat. “I got a bit carried away. I… You have that effect on me.”

“Same,” I said, sliding off his torso and sitting up. “I suppose a dungeon isn’t the best spot for this, is it? Skeletons, wights, and all.”

Bastion snorted, then gave me a shy look. “It feels odd. To have done that with you when I haven’t even kissed you.”

“Do you want to kiss me?” I asked. “I don’t want you to do something in the moment that you’ll regret later.”

He gave me a lopsided smile and stroked my knuckles with his thumb. “You’re incredible, Emma. And I know my whole experience with Lily was scripted by an asshole, but with her… she kissed me, seduced me, and manipulated me. She made me feel things that were totally against my nature, and I felt the contradiction pulling me into pieces. She reeled me into her tangled web of lovers, but I never felt valued by her. I never felt like she’d put my wants or my wellbeing first – or even beyond an inconvenience for her…”

“Bastion…”

He reached his arms around me and pulled me into a gentle hug that somehow felt more intimate than what we’d just done.

“But you came here for me. You fought for me. No one would have blamed you if you’d left me to rot. You’re not a warrior, and taking on a necromancer… Emma, I love you. No one has ever loved me as well as you. My only regret is not kissing you sooner, not pulling my head out of the sand and facing up to how I felt about you back in the Citadel.”

“Bastion,” I whispered, and wrapped my arms around him as well. I felt like glass, so fragile and ready to break. “I don’t…”

He pulled away when I trailed off, searching my expression with a raw vulnerability that took my breath away.

“You don’t what? You don’t love me?”

“Quite the opposite,” I shook my head. “But I don’t want to hurt you. What happened to the whole wood elves are monogamous and succubi are polyamorous thing?”

“I’m not a normal elf, and you’re not a normal succubi,” Bastion said firmly. “I… I know I can come across as possessive and jealous, but with Lily it was because I knew she didn’t care about me. I wanted someone who… who felt something real. And now I know why that was. It was never real, and it was never what I wanted. I want you. I know I’ll have to share you, but I still want you. And you… you have me already.”

I stared at him in amazement. He was so much more than he’d been before. More confident, more self-aware. It was like he’d been written in a code he’d finally cracked, and everything was suddenly laid out plain and simple.

“I love you, Bastion,” I told him. “I know I sort of… implied it before. But I want to say the words. I love you too.”

His smile was as bright as the sun. “Does that mean I can kiss you now?”

I nodded, and he swooped in, claiming my lips with his own. Tasting me, plundering me with his tongue. I opened my mouth and allowed him in, letting him control the kiss. It was like learning another language, one that consisted of affection and heat and secret carnal desires. One that spoke of promises, adoration, and devotion. A language that was entirely Bastion.

When he finally retreated, my lips were still parted, and I breathed shallow, gradually coming out of the trance-like state he had induced.

“We should probably go,” Bastion whispered. “The others are waiting. Although I kind of judge Brick less now, knowing how tempting it is to forget the time and just be late.”

“I didn’t expect it to end up like this,” I confessed, savouring his satisfied expression.

“It’s not an end though, is it?” Bastion said, claiming my hands between his and looking at me imploringly. “Don’t call this the end.”

“No,” I breathed, kissing him again. “I feel like it’s more of a beginning.”