For humans, growth and self improvement is perhaps one of the most important driving factors of their existence.

And there are many ways to grow quickly. Many of which had been explored, from the most common and normal, that of simply working hard towards a specific goal with diligence, regularity and dedication, to the most unsavory and dark.

Among the unsavory ways, one of the most well known was the making of deals with beings of ill repute.

From the most benevolent of divine entities to the fiends of the darkest and deepest pits of hell, to the most dangerous and insane deals of them all, those made with the fickle fae.

To grow, to develop, to become better and greater than one was, there were those willing to give up everything. Whether it be a possession of great value, or a metaphysical conceptual possession like a bond with someone they cared about, many had sacrificed it in a quest for power and to further their goals in life.

Thus, in that sense, Garret making a deal with a demon was not in the least bit unusual.

The choice of demon, however, was.

Succubi were very, very popular kinds of demons. The best adapted to life in the world dominated by humans, in fact, by a very long shot. Enough so that they raised no eyebrows and nobody really thought it weird to see them walking around, even if seeing one in bright daylight was a bit of a shocker and a surprise.

But there she was. Her name was, apparently, a really really long demonic phrase that was an entire poem about flowers, as Demons were wont to be named with poemos, but she answered to Camilla and that was good enough for everyone, including all of Garret's friends. She was a really lovely woman, not just because she was supernaturally hot, with her immaculate red skin, the tiny bat wings erupting from her waist, the horns, the tail tipped with a big red heart, and of course, the shockingly wonderful shape of her tits and ass, stretching the bikini she was wearing.

While succubi in skimpy clothes were really the norm, she was actually dressed the most conservatively of everyone gathered for Garret's birthday party, celebrated at the couple's private beach home.

Camilla offered the tray she was carrying, loaded with fresh food to be shared among all the attendees.

Everyone was wearing swimsuits, though some were also wearing additional covers, hats and accessories, making it clear who intended and who didn't intend to take a dip in the ocean, which provided a nice bit of white noise to fill the air while the bard of the group and his two fellow musicians were enjoying the food rather than performing.

Not too far from where the people were gathered, a large fire pit was dug into the sand and lined with different contraptions, some of which were empty and others were loaded with different chunks of meat and even some vegetables. Garret himself, a large and lean but well muscled individual, was poking the burning fire with a stick, making sure that everything was in place.

Quite unlike Camilla, Garret was the least dressed person present, wearing a small pair of swimming trunks that left little to the imagination and revealed a physique that most if not all would envy. They were a bit of an odd couple, and not the least reason of which was that nobody would've expected Garret to make a deal with a demon, and nobody would've expected a succubus of all things.

The reason why?

Deals with them kinda sucked. Badly.

Garret wiped the sweat from his brow, the heat of the fire and the heat of the sun were clearly making a number on him, but he drew the ladies' eyes as he got back up and stretched, his muscles rippling as he did so, glistening in the sun thanks to the light layer of sweat covering him. He had always been popular with women, and many wondered if it was perhaps the reason why he'd sought the succubus, Camilla, out... to make him popular with women.

The reality of the matter was there just wasn't much you could get out of deals with them, being desirable to women was perhaps the most common empowerment that people got.

Garret approached the group of people sitting on the beach umbrella, where everyone else was, and where his wife was moving back to the large table to put down the now empty tray of snacks.

He threw his hand over her shoulder and gave her a half hug, pulling her against his body. "Hey there beautiful," he said, a bright smile on his face.

"Hey there handsome," she said.

His tanned skin, nearly brown, contrasted nicely to the bright red of hers, and his massive musculature, overwhelming masculinity and traditionally manly appearance, especially with his trimmed beard and short cropped hair.

"Cheers for your birthday mate!" the bard called, raising a tankard of ale.

They had an entire tavern's worth of cutlery, utensils and containers for all sorts of drinks, but everyone had defaulted to the tankards except for the one dude that was drinking straight from the keg.

"Cheers!" everyone called, and someone passed Garret and Camilla a drink for each.

Everyone drank, as it was bad luck not to.

"Say G," the Bard called, "not that I don't understand the reason why, I mean just look at Camie," he said, gesturing with his drink towards Camilla, "and not that I'm not appreciating it, you know I don't swing that way but if I would, you'd be my first choice," the man said.

"Oi I thought I was your first choice!" a squat bearded man, with a ridiculously overpronounced musculature, called out, yelling with false anger.

"I said you'd be my first choice if I had bad taste, Wallabee!"

"It's Wellerby, you lil' turd!"

Everyone laughed at the usual byplay between the blacksmith and the bard, who had always had something of a rivalry.

"I mean, he's got a point, you've never even talked about getting married before, yet all of a sudden," someone else mentioned, "here we are, you've got a succubus girlfriend!"

It was a woman who had spoken, she was a particularly attractive young lady herself, though of course she paled in comparison to the beauty of a supernaturally good looking succubus.

She also had more than once attempted to seduce Garret for a night of fun, no strings attached, and failed.

"Well, you know how it is, sometimes you do what you gotta do right?" he said, looking at his wife for a moment, "and I've gotta say, this little partnership of ours has definitely been super fruitful, isn't that right Camilla?"

"Oh that's an understatement if I've ever heard one," Camilla agreed. "I'm the envy of all succubi back home, I mean look at me," she said, taking a step into the middle of the circle formed by the friend group opening her arms and striking a pose, doing a little jig, "I can even dance under the sunlight and I don't even feel the burn! In fact, the sun even feels great on my skin!"

"Hells yeah babe!" the Bard called, only to be struck in the back of the head.

"What's the secret? I mean, no offense, but you guys' main deal is like, every dude's dream," the blacksmith mentioned. "So last I heard, you guys pretty much never do deals with humans, and can basically do nothing for us either..."

"C'mon man, if we just told everyone, then it wouldn't be a secret right?" Garret mentioned.

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"Right! And I can't put it past my brethren back at home to try everything in their power to try to figure it out themselves," she said, shaking her tankard, "for now let's just enjoy our success and good fortune!"

Indeed, the success and good fortune that had been a byproduct of their little deal.

"Hells yeah, if it gets you to come back safe and sane, hale and hearthy and with enough booty to keep me drunk and my instruments tuned, I couldn't care less about how you guys did it, I'll just say, if you ever feel the need to share the burden," he said with a wink.

"Yeah, right, that's totally what you've got in mind, Horndog," the woman who'd spoken before pointed out.

"'s true! You know I'm a man of integrity, honor and respect, I could never even imply anything like that towards a friend's wife!" he said, "you know me, G, you know I'd never so much as look at your wife! Every other succubus though..."

Camilla laughed. "Oh I wouldn't worry, you see, I really don't have interest in any man other than Garret," she said.

"Lucky!"

The party continued, food was checked on, drinks were had, and more fun was had until the sun began to set in the distance. The bard and his musician friends took over the party, putting on a performance that would've been worthy of a festival despite having had so much mead, ale and beer that he measured it by the amount of blood in his alcohol rather than the other way around.

Beach games were also played, a swimming competition, a friendly round of inexplicable sumo wrestling was had, and much more stupidity was performed.

They danced, they drank, they ate, they danced and they drank some more, then they swam, someone had too much to drink and everyone made fun of that person for the rest of the night, all in all, it was a glorious party of a successful group of friends who worked together, traveled together, and celebrated together.

Finally, everyone went home, parting towards their own dwellings, though it was around the time the bard had to go to work at the tavern he was performing at. During downtime between their adventures, the group all had regular jobs that they worked at, or in the case of Garret and Camilla, they now had an estate to attend to.

Because thanks to their deal, Garret's situation had improved so much that his once fallen noble family had come back into prominence and he was reinstated as the feudal lord of the region, so they went back to a manor that was even now very much new to them, as Garret's family had lost access to it several generations ago and he himself had never lived in it, and even if he had, it had been completely renovated with his and Camilla's efforts.

Together, they walked, hand in hand, passing the entrance and being greeted by the butler, who reported everything that happened while the master of the house was gone, which was nothing, and then the two retired to their room for the night.

At which point they finally dropped the charade, locking the door to the master bedroom behind each other and separating.

"Good job out there," Garret said, nodding.

Camilla nodded as well, giving him a thumbs up. "Thanks, you too, you're getting better at this," she said.

"You too, you didn't glance at Ruvelia even once that I could tell," he said.

Nodding, Camilla moved towards the bed, and sitting on it. "Bit of a shame we can't really be ourselves openly like before."

"But at least nobody suspects anything out of the ordinary," Garret said.

Their shared marital room was the biggest in the house and had many advantages to it, many of which were magical artifacts courtesy of wedding gifts from the demons that were part of Camilla's own family, including the ice box that never needed to be recharged and was bigger on the inside, which matched the style of the dresser and vanity, allowing it to be incorporated seamlessly into the room's furniture.

A lot of noble houses frequently had separate bedrooms for the master and the mistress, but Garret's family wasn't that wealthy, so they had to cram a lot of things into their one room.

But at least they could hide stuff there, which included some potions that would help them both sober up and relax after the party, so Garret pulled a bandolier of vials filled with liquid, some green, some yellow and a handful empty, and a clay pitcher of water.

Nodding at him, Camilla scooted closer to the nightstand and opened the door on it, revealing a hidden set of cups, which she put on top of the nightstand to allow Garret to pour her some water, taking a green vial that he offered her.

Garret took another green vial and stuffed the bandolier back into the icebox, closing and sealing it again.

The two looked at each other, and drank the green vial, following it with the cup of water, swallowing it down and making a terrible face. The potions they drank were not just bad, they were horrible, but unfortunately, they were necessary.

Garret stumbled for a moment and nearly gagged, but then he took in a deep breath. "You'd think that a potion that sobers you up wouldn't make you feel even drunker," he said, laughing.

"Yeah," Camilla agreed, "but I guess it's like it runs through the alcohol at once? This is all new to me," she said.

Indeed, the apothecary was an expert at his trade and a good friend and business partner, so they got to test some of his new products, the sobriety potion among them.

"Do you want to try it tonight?" Camilla asked. "I have a good feeling, I can close my eyes and just think of Ruvelia."

"Lie down and think of the homeland huh?" Garret asked, laughing. "Have you been squatting like I asked?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup, buns of steel," Camilla said, standing up and rapping her knuckles against her butt cheeks. "I don't think it's working out the way we thought. Apparently there's no changing this body of mine."

"It's probably for the best," Garret said, sitting beside her on the bed. "I don't think I'll be able to get it up tonight."

Nothing to do with the alcohol, after all.

Camilla patted his shoulder. "I'm not gonna cry a river about it, and besides, we have until the next full moon, you don't need to force yourself," she soothed him. "You know this isn't any easier on me."

"Yeah, yeah," he agreed. "We had a good time today though didn't we?" he asked. "Are you sure it's okay for me to visit the demon world for your birthday? Last time I nearly got into a fistfight with your cousin because he thought I was eyeing his contract partner."

"Yeah it's fine, he got a right scolding for that," Camilla said, giving him a thumbs up. "He doesn't really understand humans don't really think like that in the first place but he will, I promise! And if he doesn't get it, then I'll show him that you weren't the one he should've been worried about regarding his contract partner," she said, lewdly and lasciviously licking her lips.

"Thanks Camilla, I'm glad I can count on you," Garret replied with a chuckle.

"Hey, what else is a best friend good for, if not to stand by your side when you need'em? You're the one who taught me that, remember?"

"Maybe, but you're the one who showed me that I wasn't wrong to trust people like that," Garret said.

The two relaxed briefly, before both undressed, laying down on the bed. Both had worn their swimsuits all day, and peeling them off after having had to put their regular clothes back on over their swimsuits actually was quite relaxing.

Both of them were magnificently gifted in the looks department, to the point that others on both ends would be shocked that they didn't have the slightest reaction to each other, not a twitch nor a blush nor even a single furtive glance.

"I wonder how long we're gonna have to hide this relationship of ours," Camilla muttered. "I don't know if I can keep lying to all my friends and family about our marriage."

"Hey now, technically you're not lying, you're just not correcting their wrong assumptions. And if nothing else, at least legally speaking we are married!" Garret said, turning his head towards her.

In the heat of summer, they didn't need to cover up, so both of them laid naked next to each other over the top of the covers, but there was no awkward sexual tension at all.

"And it was your idea to keep the secret of our deal hidden after all. Most people wouldn't be able to put up with it or bear it like we can," Garret said. "And we just happened to be the exact right combination to get what we wanted."

"I think it's important for my own race's own health that we never tell them how we're getting so much out of a deal that's so incredibly simple. Most would get nothing, or even less than nothing, they'd get penalized for what we're doing," Camilla muttered.

"Hey, it's good for us that nobody ever read the fine print," Garret said, laughing. "Who would've thought that three years of law school would actually come in handy in my adventuring career?"

Indeed, the regular job that Garret held when he wasn't out adventuring was that of a lawyer, as silly as it sounded, he was actually a successful defense attorney in town and had now become the most respected judge as he had ascended to his position as feudal lord. It was thanks to that knowledge that by sheer dumb luck he had stumbled on the loophole that he and Camilla were exploited.

"Still, are you sure this wouldn't work for anyone else?" Garret asked. "This feels like an exploit that more people would be able to take advantage of."

"Perhaps," Camilla finally said, "but you and I both know what someone less scrupulous would do with the amount of power we're getting out of this."

Garret nodded, not having any argument to reply to that.

Succubi deals were usually pathetically weak, because it was not a deal that required a lot of sacrifice from either party, succubi straight up couldn't request much in payment, and that meant they couldn't offer much in return. The tales of them taking souls had always been the rumors spread by jealous people whose partners were stolen from them.

But then, that opened up the loophole they were exploiting.

"It's kind of hilarious in a mundane way, isn't it?" Camilla asked.

"What is, my wife?" Garret asked cheekily.

"That nobody ever thought that pairing a lesbian succubus and a gay human would create enough sacrifice in a deal to break the system completely and give us this much power," she said, raising a hand and making it sparkle with her magic. "It feels so simple, yet..."

Garret chuckled. "Everything we're doing is perfectly legal," he said, "so all that's left is for us to reap the benefits of our hard work."

She looked at his crotch. "Hard?"

Laughing harder, Garret rolled his eyes. "Very hard work!" he responded.

"Turns out this deal really was very punishing after all," Camilla said, closing her eyes and allowing herself her own pun.

Thus, two best friends lay in bed, six inches apart, because they were both gay.