“I told you she’d do this to you, didn’t I?”

I could hear Bastion’s muttering the entire time they set up camp, and I felt close to tears. Brick stayed grimly silent until the tent was fully erected, the chest safely inside and out of view, and their gear laid out in an orderly manner.

I’d always loved his tidy streak. It seemed to be another one of those subtle ways he subverted orcish expectations, but after living with my slob of a boyfriend in my old life, I found it incredibly sexy. That is, until today, when I felt it was just a delaying tactic before an inevitably uncomfortable conversation.

Bruiser had said a quick goodbye to me and was fishing under the shade of the bridge, catching enough for the four of us to eat for dinner – his way of offering an olive branch. I didn’t know if there were enough fish in the river to patch this up, though, from how sullen Brick looked.

“Bastion, go,” he said finally, having run out of things to do.

“Are you sure?” the wood elf asked, shooting glares as sharp as daggers in my direction.

“Yes. Go.”

Bastion let out a puff of air, clapped his brother on the shoulder and stomped off in the opposite direction from Bruiser. I looked at Brick, wringing my hands in anxiety.

“Come, let’s talk in the tent.”

He held the flap open for me and I entered, taking a seat on his bedroll. He kneeled next to me, placing his hands on his knees, and looked at me with a mix of emotions I couldn’t identify.

“I should not have left you so soon into our relationship,” he said finally, his eyes not quite meeting mine.

“No,” I said, wanting to reach out to him, but then hesitating. I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to touch him or not.

“You look nice. In your new clothes.”

“Bruiser got them for me,” I chewed on my lip, not exactly wanting to explain that Bruiser had literally ripped my only set of clothing off me. I didn’t want to hide it, exactly, but it didn’t seem like a good thing to lead with. I felt totally lost, unsure how to proceed.

“Is that what you wanted me to do?” he asked quietly. “To stay with you and buy you things?”

“Ugh, you make it sound terrible. He bought them as an apology. He sort of… thought I was a thief and attacked me when he first saw me.”

“He what?” Brick inhaled sharply. “Didn’t Kira tell him you were there?”

“He said he assumed I was an orc. Kira didn’t mention my race,” I clenched my hands into fists. “Anyway, he apologized, and we made up.”

“And do you prefer him now?” Brick asked. He looked like he was confirming a dreaded but inevitable truth.

“No! No, Brick I…” I took a deep breath. “I don’t know what you assume is happening between Bruiser and I, but… there is attraction there, and there are a lot of feelings I can’t seem to help, and I don’t really know what half of them are, but I know I love you, Brick. My feelings haven’t changed for you in the slightest.”

A sliver of hope seemed to shine in his eyes, and that sparked a twin shred of hope in my chest as well.

“Tell me,” he requested, as calm as ever. “Tell me what has happened since I left.”

Equally elated and relieved he was ready to listen to me, I told him everything from the moment he had left until the moment we’d found him. The air began to cool, and the light dimmed outside. Eventually, I could tell by the flickering firelight that Bruiser and Bastion had given up on us coming out and had started roasting Bruiser’s catch.

When I finished, I felt exhausted but unburdened. Whether Brick wanted to continue with me or not was now out of my hands. He knew all, and the rest was up to him.

“I really am sorry,” I whispered. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

Brick let out a gruff huff of air. “Do I look hurt?”

“Not physically,” I said. “But I… I remember what you said about succubi being polyamorous and elves being monogamous and I… I really wanted it to just be you.”

“Do I look like an elf to you?” Brick snorted.

“But you were raised in their culture. You said so yourself, that you have shared values with them because of your upbringing.”

“Orcs are not known for their good relationships,” Brick said, frowning deeply. “Familial ties are complex. It’s not unusual for an orc to not know who their father is. It’s not unusual for mothers to abandon their children at a young age either. My own mother, Uzra, left me with Septimius when I was a few weeks old. They’d adventured together in the past, and Uzra wasn’t the mothering type. She left me with her axe and then went off and got herself killed trying to fight a dragon.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

I felt my heart break for him. Even my own dysfunctional family wasn’t that bad.

“When I say I have shared values, I value relationships, Emma. When I tell you I love you, I mean it as a solemn oath. I love you, Emma, and I knew you were a succubus when I fell in love with you. I’ve also seen myself in a mirror. I always knew there was a probability that you might fall in love with someone more worthy.”

“Don’t talk about yourself that way,” I said, launching myself at him and wrapping him in a tight hug. “I’m so sorry I caused you to doubt yourself. It took me by surprise, is all. I’m not used to being a succubus either, really. Just tell me what I need to do to make everything okay between us.”

“Just keep me,” Brick said, holding me closely. “Keep loving me, and we’ll be okay.”

“I don’t think there’s a single thing in this world that could stop that.”

“But to think you’ve been struggling against your own nature all this time…” Brick said, his voice sounding heavy and grieved.

“That’s… that’s racist,” I sniffled, hurt that after all of this it came back to me being a succubus.

“No, you don’t understand,” Brick pulled me even closer. “It’s not a criticism. This would have been easier on you if you weren’t dealing with sexual frustration at the same time. I was so charmed by the idea of having a home with you that I neglected you. I shouldn’t have left."

“But the house in Market Town…”

“It’s just a house, Emma. You’re my home,” Brick said, planting a gentle kiss on my cheek. “Besides, it sounds like you want to go to university anyway. We should put our gold towards that.”

“Bastion might not be happy.”

“I’ve put up with a lot from Bastion over the last year,” Brick replied with a grunt. “He can put up with me, or he can leave. I never thought I’d get a chance at love, and now that I have you, I’m not letting you go. Even if that means I have to share you.”

“You’re… You’re giving me permission to see Bruiser as well?” I sat up in surprise.

“I wouldn’t call it permission,” Brick frowned. “You don’t need my permission to do anything. You’re not property. But I value the communication, and the fact you’ve talked to me about it first.”

“You’re amazing,” I whispered. “I mean… I never exactly set out to have multiple boyfriends, but my boyfriend from my old world… He used to get ridiculously jealous, right up until the last few months and then he was too distracted to pay any attention to me at all.”

“This is the boyfriend you mentioned when we met. The one you wanted to dump,” Brick gave me a searching look. “Tell me about him.”

“Why?” I said, taken aback.

“I want to know what he did wrong, so I don’t repeat his mistakes,” Brick said, brushing a lock of hair off my forehead. “I don’t want to ever push you away.”

I gave him a watery smile and promised to tell him everything another time. My voice was getting hoarse as it was.

“I still need to speak with Bruiser about what he did to you. Attacking you and making you cry,” Brick said grimly. “But once it’s done, it will be done. I also have one request for you.”

“Yes?” I asked.

“I want you to wait before you make a decision about whether to pursue him until morning,” he said, planting a gentle kiss on my lips. “I want you thoroughly sated without the cloud of frustration influencing you. It was negligent of me, and I wish to make this right with you. When you have a clear head, decide what you will, but I will still be at your side.”

“Brick,” I whispered, my skin tingling with anticipation already. I’d missed him, missed being with him, for two weeks already. And now I knew within the hour I’d have him. It was almost too much to bear.

But our stomachs were rumbling, and the smell of roasted fish was too tempting to ignore.

We stepped out of the tent and approached Bastion and Bruiser. Bastion was still glaring heatedly at me, while Bruiser looked apprehensive.

I sat down and claimed a skewered fish while Brick stood above Bruiser and invited him to accompany him to talk by the bridge. The tone of his invitation made it clear that he didn’t have a choice in the matter. I watched as they left.

“I can’t believe you’d do this to him,” Bastion hissed at me, when they were a decent distance away. “You should have seen him these last two weeks, dreaming of you, being so sickeningly optimistic.”

“We’re still together,” I said, giving him a sharp look. “And I intend to keep it that way.”

“You can’t make him happy.”

“I don’t think you know him as well as you think you do,” I spat back at him.

“You’ve barely known him a month!”

“He really loves you, you know that?” I said, starting to feel real anger. “And the way you’ve been moping around about Lily has been a real drag for him. It didn’t work out, but it’s been a year. Move on already.”

“What, with you?” Bastion asked, his eyes narrowed. “I hope you’re not planning on adding a wood elf to your collection, because I’m on to you and your succubus tricks.”

I snorted. “Hell no, I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

CRACK!

I gasped, realizing the sound had come from Brick and Bruiser. Both Bastion and I leaped to our feet in alarm. Bruiser was holding his face while Brick was standing in an aggressive pose, clearly having just decked him.

“Look at what you’ve done now!” Bastion exclaimed. “Those two were friends until you came along!”

It seemed they were still friends, as they spoke a few more words together, then walked back towards the campfire as though nothing had happened. Brick sat and picked up a skewered fish and ate it in silence.

Bruiser’s cheek looked red and swollen, but he waved me away when I approached him to heal it.

“Leave it,” Brick grunted. “He needs to know he can’t make you cry without consequences."

“But…”

“He’s right,” Bruiser agreed. “I know it doesn’t make sense to you but… You’re his girlfriend, and I did wrong by both of you. I shouldn’t have attacked you that first night. There are a lot of things I shouldn’t have done.”

I sat on my hands, realizing this was something they needed to work out between the two of them, even if I didn’t like it. They were Warriors and friends and had a longer relationship than I’d been privy to.

“Ready for bed?” Brick asked me after polishing off a fifth fish.

Bastion groaned, realizing I’d be sharing their small tent, and announced he would be removing his bedroll and sleeping under the stars. He traipsed off into the night with it under his arm. Bruiser likewise disappeared into the darkness without so much as a ‘goodnight’.

Finally alone again, I led him into the tent.