It took more than a little while for Eres and Freya to come out of the afterglow. They managed to climb out of the seductive clutches of the mattress for long enough to clean up before they fell back into it, pulling the blankets up around them. The beds in the Lanced Wyvern were high-quality, with feather pillows and soft sheets. After their previous exertion, it felt damn close to heaven as far as Eres was concerned. It was as he was luxuriating in the softness that he had a sudden realisation.

  “Oh, fuck,” he said suddenly, eyes shooting wide. “I finished inside you. Shit, do we need to worry about-”

  He was interrupted by a strangled snort coming from Freya, followed by her attempting, and failing, to stifle her laughter. Once she managed to get to grips with herself, she finally reached over and almost condescendingly patted him on the cheek. “Eres, I wouldn’t have asked you to do that if I didn’t have it handled. That was wonderful, but I wasn’t that out of it that I wasn’t thinking about potential consequences.”

  “Shit. Thanks, Freya. I think I assumed it was fine cause of the fact that you did ask, but I started overthinking now we aren't actually…” A grin spread across his face remembering everything that had happened. He reached out across the bed and pulled her closer to nestle in against his chest, kissing the top of her head. “So, how does it work? Is it a tea here? Or a medicine?”

  “Huh? Oh, right. It’s a miracle, actually. It is one of the first ones that most girls who can use Divine Power learn, cause it helps control their monthly bleeding. It lasts for a full cycle or longer, so as long as you remember to apply it once a month, no worries about pregnancy,” Freya explained, snuggling deeper into his embrace. “So it was a medicine? In your other life, I mean.”

  “Yeah, there were a few options but a medicine you could take was the most common. You had to take it every day, though, from what I remember,” Eres said, closing his eyes as he tried to remember the details of his last lifetime. “It was only for women, though, and it had some pretty rough side effects. I like this way better, as long as it doesn't make you feel sick or anything.”

  “Nope, if anything, it just feels a little warm for a minute or two. I make sure to cast it a little more regularly than I need to, just to make sure I am covered. Cramping up and bleeding would suck if we were on the road, or hell, even in a dungeon, so I am extra careful.”

  “Huh, interesting. Guess it isn’t something I have had to think about as a guy. Just let me know if you guys need a break or anything, even if the miracle stops all the issues, I don’t want you to think you can’t tell me if you need a break or to slow down,” Eres murmured, looking down and saw Freya smiling up at him. “What? What did I say?”

  “Nothing, really.” She shrugged and pulled him tight against her, squeezing him in a hug. “You just care about us so much, and it is obvious, and I appreciate it. I know Myla does too.”

  At the mention of Myla, Eres felt his stomach lurch. How were they going to explain this? And how was he going to deal with still being attracted to her while he was with Freya? Was he even with Freya, or was this a one-time thing? He felt his mind begin to spiral, and he shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to think about it, he had to concentrate on Freya and-

  “What are you thinking about so deeply?” Freya’s soft voice cut through the panic and thoughts whirling around in his head and pulled him back into the present.

  He debated brushing it off for a second but decided against it. He would want Freya to talk to him, he should give her the same treatment. “Just wondering how we are going to explain this to Myla, is all. Don’t want to make things awkward between the three of us. I’m also wondering where we are after this, I guess. The two of us, I mean. Like, are we together now? Sorry, I guess I worry in my head a lot. I do my best not to let on, but it gets pretty loud up here.”

  Freya pursed her lips in thought. “I mean, Myla already knows how I feel about you. We have talked about it a lot over the years, so honestly, I doubt this will come as a shock if I just don’t go back to the other room tonight. I doubt it will be awkward. As for us, I mean… Do you want us to be together?”

  “Of course I do,” Eres said quickly, craning his head back so he could look at Freya’s face properly. “I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t want you in my life long term, love. That isn’t how I am.”

  “Okay, good,” Freya whispered, letting out a sigh of relief, then gave out a giddy little giggle. “Then yes, we are together. I’m yours, and considering I am yours, I should probably help out with that other problem you are having.”

  “What other problem?”

  “The little blonde one in the other room,” Freya laughed, smiling slyly. “Eres, it's fine. I swear I can actually hear your heart trying to pound out of your chest. Yes, I have seen how you look at her and no, I’m not about to try and claw your eyes out. Just breathe, okay?”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Eres slowly let out the breath he had been holding, still feeling a little uncomfortable. “Sorry, just didn’t expect this turn in conversation for pillow talk. Yeah, I guess you are right, I will try to rein that in now that I am with you.”

  Freya cocked an eyebrow at him. “Why?”

  “Huh? Isn’t that what you were saying?” Eres stumbled at Freya’s confusion.

  “What? No!” Freya laughed, her expression clearing. “When I said help, I meant it. I want to help you and her get together too. Or get with us, I guess, if I am being honest, though I don’t know if she is interested in girls.”

  Eres felt the exact moment his brain short-circuited and started to struggle through a reboot procedure. He was pretty sure he had mumbled out some unintelligible nonsense, and judging by the look on Freya’s face, she didn’t have a clue what it was he had tried to say either. He looked down at her wide-eyed and willed the fuzz to clear from his brain and his heavy tongue to start making sounds.

  “You are going to have to run that by me again,” he managed to get out. He tried to sound neutral, but even he heard the excitement and hope creep into his voice.

  “Eres, I have known you a long time, and sure I didn’t know a lot about you with this past life and everything, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know you,” Freya said, softly, her hand coming up to cup his face as she gently kissed him. “I have been around you nearly every day since we were kids, and that includes seeing which romance books you were sneaking back to your room when you thought I wasn’t looking, and even the most cursory amount of snooping led to the pretty obvious conclusion that they all had multiple love interests. Am I wrong?”

  “No, not exactly,” Eres said, letting out a long sigh. She had been paying that much attention for that long? He really had made her wait. “I don’t know if it is a coincidence or if it is the same because of it, but I was this way in my past life too. They called it polyamorous, basically loving and being committed to more than one person. I didn’t know how to bring it up, and since we were already… I just figured it would be something that I didn’t explore.

  “And I want to make clear that I can do that. If this isn’t something you want to do or try, I don’t need to. I didn’t in one life and I wouldn’t have to in this one, unless you are fully on board with it, which judging by how you were talking about Myla, you are.”

  It was Freya’s turn to blush and let out a frustrated sigh now. “Well, obviously. Have you seen her? She's gorgeous. I mean, I don’t know, I like the idea of you being with her even if she isn’t interested in me. I don’t fully know what it all means, but yes, I am on board with it.”

  “Does Myla even like me?”

  “Eres, don’t be dense,” Freya said sharply, glaring a little. “You think she would be that nervous around you if she wasn’t interested?”

  “O-okay, that's fair,” he stuttered out. “And you think she would be okay with, what, sharing me?”

  “I might have brought it up once or twice,” Freya snuggled into him again as she spoke. They were both lying on their side, facing each other. It was a moment of quiet intimacy that Eres was enjoying a lot more than he thought he would, even if they were talking about another girl. “She is shy about it, obviously, but she seems willing enough. You will just have to take it slow and see how she reacts.

  “Your instinct with the gifts was good, though. No matter what we do, if we are together she is probably going to feel a little left out at first. Getting her something to show you value her and really want her around will probably go a long way to help with that if I had to guess.”

  “Hmm, okay,” Eres was interrupted by a long yawn forcing its way out of his mouth. “Gods, that snuck up on me. We should sleep. I agree about the gift, though. I want to make it something special. Hopefully, I can find something good for both of you at the market tomorrow.”

  Freya blushed again. “You already have me, Eres, you don’t need to-”

  “Nope, not happening,” he cut her off. “I’m not going to ignore you just because you are with me now. You aren’t a prize to be won and then ignored, Freya. This is a partnership, and even if Myla does end up with me, or even with us, that won’t detract from how much I care about you and the things I want to do for you. I was going to get you something before we slept together, so I am going to do the same now because I think you deserve a gift for how amazing you are to me. Alright?”

  “Ah… alright. Thank you,” Freya breathed out slowly, her fingers running in small circles on Eres’ chest. “I appreciate that. I just didn’t know if- no, you know what, it's fine. I understand, and I don’t know if I have the words to explain how happy it makes me. For now, thank you will have to do.”

  Eres laughed softly at that and gently pulled her into a long, slow kiss. He enjoyed every second of it, the feeling and taste of her against his mouth and the knowledge that he could do this frequently now that they were going to be together. It put a giddy smile on his face.

  “Alright, we should sleep,” he finally said as he pulled back from the kiss, trying not to laugh at Freya’s pouting face. “We have the market and we need to get everything sorted at the Guildhall tomorrow, so it will be a busy day.”

  “Eurgh, fine,” Freya said, before sneaking one more quick kiss in. “Plus, the faster we go to sleep, the faster we wake up, and I can have a proper bath.”

  It didn’t take long for her breathing to deepen as she curled against Eres’ chest. He fought off sleep himself for just a minute, looking up towards the ceiling.

  Gods, if you are listening… thanks for a second chance at life, Eres thought, sending a prayer skyward for the first time in either of his lifetimes. I hope you aren’t always watching or anything, but I appreciate what I have been given, and I am going to fight like hell to keep it.

  As Eres’ eyes began to slip closed, he could almost swear he heard the sound of laughter echoing out from a far distance, but sleep claimed him before he could be sure if it was real.