We both puttered around in the kitchen, finding stuff to eat that didn’t require much effort. Thankfully, I always kept ramen on hand. I hadn’t always been able to afford my little home on my own, of course. Lean times had taught me the valuable lesson of keeping simple foods on hand, and my history in the restaurants had taught me the easiest and most cost-effective ways to take those simple foods to the next level.

Take ramen, for example. Before I made the noodles, I soft-boiled a couple of eggs and thinly sliced them, then seared some leftover roast beef I had. It gave me a nice meal with protein and carbs. Both of which I was certain to need with Gruldia around.

She was simply overjoyed to have someone cook for her. Especially when that someone wanted to cook for her.

“This looks amazing, Ivor. What is it?” she asked, staring at the bowl of noodles.

“Just a simple ramen dish. It’s got a lot of what we’re probably going to need in the next few hours. Carbs and protein for energy,” I replied, taking a forkful of noodles and slurping them down.

“And you just…know how to make this?” she continued.

“Well, yeah. I worked in restaurants for years as a cook. It’s second nature for me to want to cook, now. Especially when someone enjoys my food. Gotta tell ya, that’s one of the best feelings in the world when someone genuinely enjoys my cooking,” I said.

“Wow. I never thought I could be this lucky. Someone that wants to treat me like a person, and they also want to cook for me. There has to be a catch. This kind of stuff just doesn’t happen to females,” she said wonderingly.

“Gruldia. Sweetheart. There is no catch,” I said, taking her hand in mine. “As long as you treat me well, I’ll treat you the same. I’ve had poor relationships in my past, I’m not gonna lie. And yes, they’ve left me with some emotional scars. I’m not perfect by a long shot,” I said, giving her hand a little squeeze. “What I definitely am though, is loyal.”

“Meaning….?” she prompted.

“Meaning that once we are both certain that we want to pursue this as a relationship; an honest to gods relationship, I’ll never step outside the boundaries of you and I.” Her eyes widened. “You’ll be the one I want to come home to. You’ll be the one I want in my bed.” Her mouth opened, forming an “O”. “While I may be a casual, friendly flirt, I’ll never take it beyond that. I won’t touch anyone sexually, nor will I allow anyone to touch me.” She closed her mouth, her lower lip quivering. “The only way I’ll ever be sexually intimate with anyone else is if you brought her home, or we decide to go after a potential partner.” A silent tear fell from her eye. “That’s what loyalty means to me. And I’d expect the same to come from you, too,” I finished, smiling softly.

“I…I don’t know what to say to that, Ivor,” she said, sniffling. “Nobody has ever wanted that from a female Goblin to my knowledge. Or promised the same to her. I don’t know how such a thing is even possible, to tell you the truth. When my breeding instinct takes over, I…I can’t remember anything. It’s entirely possible that I would betray your loyalty and trust unintentionally. I don’t know if I can promise such a thing, Ivor,” she said, her ears drooping.

“Well, That’s something I can learn to live with, if we can’t find a way to circumvent it. As it is, I don’t like that fact, but if there’s nothing to do about it, then there’s nothing to do about it.” She started crying quietly. “Hey, now. None of that. You’re not going to lose me that easily, Little Lady. I am positively smitten with you. And not just that luscious body of yours. This woman that I’m learning about is making my heart sing. Nothing and nobody is perfect. We all have room for improvement. We just have to keep” -I squeezed her hand again, reassuringly- “reaching for it. I can safely say that I’m going to keep reaching for my own improvement,” I said.

“You mean all that, don’t you?” she asked, sniffling.

“Yep.”

“Okay, then. I’ll do my best to be a good girl for you,” she said impishly.

“No. You should be a good girl for yourself, first. I will come later,” I said.

She giggled through the tears. “Yes. Yes you will. Over and over, if I have my way about it,” she said, biting her lower lip.

“Heh,” I laughed, shaking my head. “I think we will be just fine, darlin’. Think about it this way: If you can resist the urge to breed until you come home to me, you get to unleash all that pent up lust on a willing, reciprocating, and extremely eager partner.” I said, taking another bite of my ramen.

Gruldia giggled again, and started eating her ramen as well.

We sat there, chit-chatting for the better part of an hour before we both got tired and decided to go to bed.

“So, do you think you’ll ever actually, um…” -she stood there, wringing her hands, staring at the floor as a blush crept up her chest and neck- “well, uh…l..love me?” she asked.

I halted mid-stride. I turned to face her, seeing her head down, her hands fidgeting and the look of uncertainty she had whenever her eyes darted up to look at me. I knelt down in front of her, cupping her chin. I gently raised her face to meet my eyes. Her eyes darted between my eyes, and I could feel her trembling.

“Why would you ever ask a thing like that, Gruldia? Here I am, having you in my home for a week, feeding you and getting to know you, and all for what? What do you think is my goal for all this? I actually want to know what you think. Don’t worry, you literally cannot give me a wrong answer here,” I said with a smile.

“Well, I don’t know,” she said in a small voice. “Nobody’s ever taken this much of an interest in me. I’m just an old Goblin Cleric. I know nothing of love, really. Not…not in a romantic way, anyway. In the back of my head there’s this nagging feeling of doubt, that you just want me for a week so you can do anything you wanted with me. It wasn’t unheard of back home. I’d be taken by this male or that and a week or a month, sometimes, would just be… gone. Old habits, you know? Old memories stir the mind. Or, the lack of memories, I guess,” she added somberly.

“The answer to your question is an easy, resounding ‘Yes’, Gruldia. Yes, I am pretty confident that I’ll come to not only love you, but to be in love with you.” Her eyes locked to mine, her long ears began to vibrate. “And to be perfectly honest, I think that’ll happen sooner, rather than later. You see, if I call you ‘friend’, then I already love you. That’s the kind of person I am.” She let out a small laugh of bewilderment.

“You…you mean you already love me?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.

“Well, yeah. You are, at the very least, my friend. Just like Mil’Grash, Bel’Chazz, Starene and Doc. My friends are my family. I’m just developing deeper feelings for this beautiful Goblin in front of me. That love I feel for you, that you seem to be so amazed by, will likely become a romantic love, in time,” I said, running my fingers through her soft, wavy maroon hair.

Her eyes fluttered closed and she wobbled slightly. I put my other hand behind her back, bracing her. She leaned into the hand on her scalp, placing both her hands on my forearm.

“I never thought I’d ever get to feel this, Ivor. Ever,” she said quietly.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Feel what, darlin’?” I asked her.

“Contentment,” she said.

“Let me make it that much better for you, then,” I said, hoisting her up in a princess carry and planting a soft kiss on her plump lips. “Come to bed with me. We will see where the night goes, but I’d like to see if we can just be at peace with each other,” I said.

“Okay. I think I’d like that. I’ve never had it before, but it sure sounds nice,” she said, giggling.

I lay her down in the bed, and shut off the light. Undressing, I curled up behind her, and wrapped an arm around her midsection, holding her close to me. She interlaced our fingers together.

“Good night, Gruldia,” I whispered into her ear, feeling her shiver.

“Good night, Ivor,” she said, squeezing my arm.

As it turns out, we could simply sleep together as we enjoyed the simple comfort and peace another loving soul could bring.

The morning, however, was a completely different story.

*********

After we had had our fun, and were both delightfully full of milk and cum, we got up, and got a shower. I made breakfast afterwards, and we sat down on the couch to watch another movie.

About halfway through the film, I got a text from my best friend. It read:

Hey Fucker. I’m worried about you. You’ve not checked in in four days. That ain’t like you. I’m almost to your house, and I expect answers, Mister. Love you, Bubbs.

“Oh shit,” I said, pausing the movie.

“What? What’s wrong, Ivor?” she asked, fear filling her voice.

“My best friend is on her way here. This is not good,” I said.

“What? Why? If she’s your best friend, shouldn’t it be a good thing that she’s on her way?” she asked, thoroughly confused.

“You’re not to be seen, remember? And Chan isn’t the kind of person you can brush off, either. It’s one of the reasons I love her so much. She’s a force of nature, that one. Also, she will know you’re here. Once she steps foot in this house, she’ll know there’s another person. Don’t ask me how, it’s just one of the many gifts that she has,” I said.

“Huh? Gifts? I don’t understand,” Gruldia said.

“For starters, Chandra is psychic. She is what we Humans call a medium. I’ll explain the concept later. Suffice it to say, she will know you’re here no matter how quiet you were, or how normal I acted. She might even call out to you,” I said.

“Wow. I didn’t think Humans were capable of that. That’s pretty high-level stuff,” she said.

“Yeah. Most Humans are capable, but we’ve also logic-ed our minds out of it, for the most part. I’m gonna have to put on my comfy pants. The massive weight loss will be noticeable no matter what, so I’m not even going to worry about it,” I said, racking my brain. And then, an idea hit me. “I got a good idea,” I said, hopping up, and running to the backpack that I took to the Council. I rummaged in it until I found the boar figurine, and focused on my Patron.

“Ivor! So you can actually contact me! Awesome. What’s up, son?” He asked.

“Okay, look. My best friend is on her way here, and no matter what I do, she will know Gruldia’s here. She’s psychic, and can sense the presence of others. This is my fault, really. I’ll explain later. What was it the Multiversal Entity said? Not to let Gruldia be seen, right?” I asked, marveling at how I didn’t need to open my mouth.

“Correct. What are you getting at, Son?” He countered.

“It never said anything about being heard. Chandra will probably call out to Gruldia if I’m correct. I was thinking of having her answer from behind my closed bedroom door. I know it’s playing fast and loose with the rules, but this could be disastrous, otherwise,” I said.

“HAH! Already finding loopholes. Nah. It’s fine. If it wanted to make that distinction, Son, it would have. Your idea will be just fine. Also, I guess she could talk to me, too. I’m a god of your world, remember? No restrictions there. Sound good?” he asked.

“Excellent. I need to put on pants, as I think she may be pulling up right now. Gotta run!” I said

“Good-” I didn’t hear the rest, as I had snatched up my lovely goblin, and ran to my room.

“So. The plan is” -I started tugging on my fisherman’s trousers- “for you to stay in here until she leaves. She’ll probably call out to you. Go ahead and answer. I’m sending you a small file with my language on it. This way, you can talk to her. Trust me. She’s an amazing woman, and as close to me as a sister. Okay?” I said as I prepped the file containing my language, so she could speak it.

Gruldia nodded and reached up for my arm as I stood. She pulled me back down, and kissed me deeply. “I trust you, Ivor,” she said.

I smiled and closed the bedroom door as my front door began to unlock. I prepared to receive a good fussing once my door opened.

Which I absolutely got. As Chandra walked in, she immediately fixed me with an intense glare. “What have you been doing, asshole? I’ve been worried sick about you. I get a last-minute message that you’ve gone on a “business trip”, and then nothing for days. Are you okay? What happened? Come here and give me a hug,” she said.

I walked over and wrapped her up in a tight hug. “I’ve missed you too, darlin. I’m sorry. I will explain everything. None of it will sound real, but I swear to you, it’s all true. Come sit down,” I said, taking her by the hand, leading her to the kitchen table.

I set a pot of coffee to brew, and sat in front of her. “It’s like this. A few nights ago-” I started, but she cut me off.

“Who is she? Who’s here? You know you can’t hide shit from me, dude. Something has changed in you, and not just the incredible weight loss. Talk to me,” she said, arching an eyebrow.

“Heh. Got it in one. Yes, there is someone else here, but she cannot be seen right now. There are rules that have been put in place regarding her. It will all make sense, as long as you let me tell you the tale in its entirety with no interruptions. Okay?” I asked.

“I’ll try not to interrupt you,” is all she said.

“First, let me get you some coffee,” I said, standing up. She nodded, and then stared at my bedroom door. I fixed her a mug, and brought it over, along with some cream and sugar. I then went and retrieved the figurine from the couch, and sat in front of her.

“So. Here’s what happened before I sent that message. Someone was banging on my door, and…” I began, and continued to weave the entire story for her. She looked completely dismissive until I told her who and what was in my room.

“...and that’s why I can’t let you meet her. Not in the flesh. Not yet, and she has to go back in five days, at night where nobody can see her. I have to build a communication device, somehow. But. What I can do, however, is let you talk to Freyr. So, how about it?” I asked.

“In a moment, okay? Gruldia?” she called out, “I’m Chandra. I’m not mad at you, but I am a little upset at Bubbs here. He’s not checked in in a few days, and I’ve been worried. Please tell me you’re not going to hurt him. Please tell me you’re not going to break his heart just like the rest,” she said aloud.

“Chan, that’s a little harsh don’t you think?” I said softly.

“Of course not! I’ll never hurt him. He defied a god for me, and that makes him better than any other male I’ve met in my nearly four hundred years. I’m sticking to him like glue and nobody will ever take him from me!” Gruldia nearly yelled through the door.

Chan got up and walked over to my door and sat down in front of it. “I believe you, Gruldia. I’m not going to take him from you. Far from it. As long as you treat him like the gold I know he is, you and I will have no problems. I love him to death, and I don’t want to see him hurt again. He’s come a long way since I met him a few years ago. I just don’t wanna see that messed up. Okay?” she said gently.

I could hear Gruldia sniffling. “Okay. He just means a lot to me, and it happened so fast. I’ve never felt like this before, and I don’t want it to end. Ever.” she said, obviously crying.

“As long as you are good to him, it won’t. I know him too well,” Chan replied. “I’m going to let you be, let you compose yourself and calm down, honey. Everything is okay. I promise.”

“O…okay,” came Gruldia’s soft reply.

Chan got up and came back to the table. “Poor thing. She has a mountain of hurt inside, Bubbs. I hope you’re aware of what you’re getting yourself into,” she said quietly.

“Yeah. Freyr told me all about it. Speaking of…” I proffered the little boar figurine.

Chan sighed and took it gently, recoiling slightly from it. “I’ve dealt with gods before, but this feels immense. How do I do it?” she asked.

“Focus on him and say Hi. The rest will come naturally, I promise,” I said.

“Okay, then.” She sat still for a moment, eyes closed, and then opened them with a gasp. “Dude. What the fuck?”

I smiled softly. “Keep going. I’m sure he’d like to talk to you, too,” I said.