“Alright, you two are doing well but there is more to being Gods than just power alone.” Dad said as Harlow and I were sitting in a small classroom. It was different than our usual set ups before.
“I suppose this is where we get into the metaphorical paperwork of Godhood?” I inquired.
“Physical, actually.” Dad said, snapping his fingers at stacks of notebooks, text books and folders of paper appeared on Harlow’s and I’s desks. “With great power comes great responsibility… and paperwork.”
“... That’s bullshit…” Harlow said, looking up at our towering stacks on the desk… that I swear were creaking.
“Yeah…this is bullshit…” I said carefully…”Seriously…what the fuck?”
“Back in the old days Gods and other reality bending entities and beings ran without any means of checking and keeping them in line. This resulted in too much unchecked power, entitlement and pride that made many gods before very… difficult. So, when our family rewrote reality itself, a new system was in place to insure Gods and similar entities never stepped out of line illegally. This mainly refers to infringing on another god's territory, be it on a shared planet, different planets, realities or even titles.” Dad said.
“Right…but at this point it looks more like we’re going to be stuck doing paperwork for all eternity before we can even think of doing so much as ordering a pizza.” I frowned.
“Most of this is rules and regulations actually. You’ll just need to sign them to ensure you understand the rules and agree not to break them.”
“What happens if we do?” Harlow asked.
“Then the Time Walkers are called in and you are arrested, tried, trialed and depending on what you did depends on your punishment.”
“Huh… Suddenly Godhood seems so much less awesome than it should be…”
“Heh, that’s kind of the point. Can’t let irresponsible beings become gods just because they have the power to be ones.”
“Great…bureaucracy…” I rolled my eyes. “So, this is all the rules and law’s we have to follow? This looks more like we’re not allowed to do anything with our Godhood by the amount of papers here.”
“Technically you can’t but you’re also allowed to do everything you want, within reason. Like, ninety percent of all that is just what you can’t do within another gods domain.”
“So basically, all this sums up to be a good guest in another gods territory or house and play nice?” Harlow asked.
“More or less.” Dad nodded.
“So why so much when it all sums up to common sense stuff?”
“The head of the Time Walkers, Pecator, wrote these with Grand Master Lord when we reconstructed everything. It comes off as excessive, and is, but you need to remember that these laws and rules exist in great detail for a reason. Too many beings would otherwise use loopholes and try to twist the meanings of the laws to suit their desires. This was one of many problems that we had to deal with cleaning up even before the war broke out. After all, there is no greater enemy than one who can use the rules and laws to their own selfish and personal desires to get away with what otherwise is an illegal act.”
“Well…that’s fair I suppose.” I admitted.
“And we have to read and sign all of this?” Harlow asked.
“Yes, and yes there is a test after the fact.” Dad said.
Harlow and I both groaned.
“Can we not and say we did?”
“If you want to become Gods, then Elder and Eldritch Gods, then All Makers, this is mandatory.” Dad stated firmly. “The fastest anyone in the Family has ever gotten through the process from God to All Maker is ten thousand years.”
“Ick…” I said with a frown. “That's…that’s a long time…”
“That’s the fastest anyone has done it. The average is anywhere from thirty to sixty million.”
“Thank… something we’re immortal…” Harlow groaned.
“Well…y-yeah…we’re immortal so we’re going to have all this time to do things.”
“Alright then, you two get to studying, I’ll be back in a few hours to give you both a break.” Dad said, leaving the room.
“Fuck…” Harlow groaned, getting out of their chair, standing onto it, and grabbing the first bunch of papers from the top and a pen from the supplies nearby.
“Yeah…this is going to be a nightmare…” I said, grabbing some supplies and starting my first batch of bullshit. “All this cause someone wanted to be extra thorough in their laws…”
“This is probably gonna take us years to read through alone…” Harlow sighed.
“Yes…it’s going to take us forever, and then we’re going to be tested on this which is doubly stupid.”
“Well, guess it can’t all be fun and fighting…”
“Fair…” I sighed. “Not going to like this but we have to…”
With that we got to reading. This felt like high school finals and mid terms crashing… but worse. I imagine college classes might not even be this bad…
I finished the first of the bunches of books and such, putting it aside and looked at Harlow… who had three on the side already, and was speed reading his fourth.
“Yeesh, you’re in a hurry.” I admitted, wondering if he’s actually reading reading or just kinda skimming.
“Speed reading is something I’ve just always been able to do.” He shrugged. “Used to piss off my English teachers, betting I could read and write a report on long books like King Arthur and Mobey Dick in under a month. I’d turn it in to them after a week. Some would swear I was cheating.”
“That’s cool.” I nodded.
“It was alright. Mostly just left me free time to do what I wanted.”
“Fair.” I nodded. “I’m just taking my time cause I’d rather not fuck this up…”
“Fair enough.”
I sighed, knowing I’m going to have to pick up the pace but there is…so much of this bullshit. “Didn’t think we’d be doing all this paperwork…”
“Hm, what were you expecting then?”
“A bit more ‘on the job’ stuff, dealing with ‘worshipers’, how to grant blessings, and a lot of other things that come with the job not…this.”
“Probably comes later.” Harlow shrugged, still reading through the papers and writing where I imagine he needed to sign.
“Probably.” I admitted, starting to get a bit faster with my reading as I didn’t want this to take even longer. “Jeez, they are thorough…” I thought to myself, seeing every single thing taken into account.
We continued to read, study, and sign where needed as we went along…
“So… you dead?” Brandy asked, poking me with what I think is a stick.
“No…I’m not dead…” I answered weakly. “So…much…paperwork…”
“And you Harlow?” Brandy asked.
“...Possibly…” Harlow replied.
“Who in god’s name would even think of doing half of the thing’s listed on that list?” I asked. “Some are horrible…some are just…did someone just ask a child to throw darts at a board to do something random?”
“Well, Pecator and Grand Master Lord made them so I doubt it…” Brandy said.
"Still…" I groaned. "That's…just a lot of laws to think about…"
“And memorize…” Harlow added.
"That to…" I sighed.
“So… how far’d you get?” Brandy asked.
“I finished nine of the booklets. Think Mike finished six or seven…” Harlow sighed.
"Yeah…just got a few hundred more…" I sighed. "So how goes your job Brandy?"
“Alright. I’m gonna work in a casino that gambles more in dual based card games rather than normal card games.” She said.
“Sounds like a good way to lose your money.” Harlow said.
"And also sounds like a good way to really piss people off by being a rules lawyer about it." I admitted. "Especially if Yugioh is involved cause the rules for that game is absolute dogshit."
“Well, it’s got good hours, good benefits, free breakfast, lunch, and dinner depending on hours, nice place really.”
"Lucky…while you're having fun, we're stuck reading a god damn dictionary worth of legal jargon…"
“Perks of not wanting to be one of the All Makers, I get to have fun with my life while you two toil away in legal work and trials. But at least try and have a few quickies during your breaks alright?”
“Excuse me what?!” Harlow yelped.
"Excuse me, we are not turning into your sudden gay fanfic choices." I said quickly, blushing brightly at this.
“Why not?” Brandy asked.
“Look, Mike here is cute, I’ll admit that but he probably ain’t even into that.” Harlow said.
… Wait what?!
"I'm cute? Also, who said I wasn't possibly bi?" I asked.
“Are you?” Brandy and Harlow asked me.
Oh… Well I walked myself into this corner…
"I mean…maybe?" I asked sheepishly. "I'd have thought I was into more feminine boys but…well I have a fluffy boy right here." I said while putting my hand on Harlow's shoulder. "I'm still into women…even after…things happened I still have a crush on you Brandy…" I sighed, even though I'm sure it wasn't ever going to happen my heart still wanted something on that front.
“Hmmm… I don’t buy it.” Harlow said.
“You can see if it’s the case with a kiss~” Brandy teased.
“Doubt he can go through with it.” Harlow said with an eye roll.
"If you think that's the case I get to kiss you Brandy right after." I stated, not believing I'm going to do this but I have to prove a point here.
“You’re not gonna do it.” Harlow said.
"Are the terms good for you Brandy?" I asked sternly, seeing Harlow:s eyes widen a bit at me being actually serious here.
"Make your kiss passionate and I'll kiss you." Brandy said. "Now make out with your goat boy."
“I am not his goat boy.” Harlow huffed. “Besides, he’s talking out his tail hole.”
I grabbed Harlow by his cheeks and made him face me. "You should know our rivalry at this point my guy." I admitted, as I planted a kiss onto his lips, while I do have a lot of experience in it with a muzzle, a wolf muzzle is different from a pony muzzle so I was doing my best to be passionate while not making it awkward.
Harlow’s lips were… soft… different from kissing a pony muzzle but not by much and… It wasn’t bad. I felt… different. Not like it was bad… actually it felt… natural? That weird natural feeling again? Like when we cuddled before he got his Blade-
CLICK!
The flash and noise snapped my eyes open. I turned to see Brandy had a camera. “That is going online.” She smirked.
"Oi! No pictures!" I said quickly. "Don't you dare post it online!"
Image Sent.
I heard that and looked up at her Cartoon Cat familiar who was laughing like a loon.
"W-well you still owe me a kiss." I managed as I was now so turbo embarrassed here.
“Hmm, I dunno, that didn’t really look so pass-”
Brandy stopped, seeing as Harlow tackled me, was now pinning me down and glaring at me, looking rather red…
"Bring me the passion you silly goat." I teased with an eyebrow wiggle.
“...First off, you kiss like shit… second… don’t ever do that eyebrow thing again… that’s just trashy… third… this is how you kiss with passion!”
–
“So… should I ask why you kids are posting amatere gay porn online?” Mom asked.
“To be fair, it was just Harlow and Mike making out with lots of tongue.” Brandy said.
“Yeah… we saw…”
"You still owe me a kiss, Brandy." I tried to get some of my faculties back after our weird wrestling make out session. "And told you I was top."
“Psst, then why’d it take you ten minutes to get on top of me?” Harlow asked, still rather red and grumbling.
“Look, you kids can and are free to explore interests but maybe try not to traumatize your siblings?” Mom asked.
“Fine. I’ll just print and sell them in a magazine then.” Brandy said.
"First, cause your fat Harlow," I fired back in jest. "And two, the whole posting that online was purely Brandy weirdly getting off to her OTP here."
“Right… Uh, Brandy, Harlow, you two head home alright?” Mom said, Brandy shrugging as she got up and left, Harlow following her and keeping their head down…
Once they were gone, mom sighed. “So…”
"Brandy offered me a kiss in response to her wanting to 'test' if I'm bi and have feelings for Harlow…" I tried to defend myself. "Harlow can't kiss for crap…but can I go jump into an exploding star please? I'd rather not talk more about this."
“Mike.” She said.
"Hey, dying by supernova is preferable to this." I admitted weakly, fidgeting a bit in my seat as I was just beyond embarrassed.
Mom kneeled down, looking me in the eyes as she put a hand on my shoulder. “Be honest… do you actually like Harlow, or is it just your Divine Link?”
… what?
"Uh…what now?" I asked. "What 'Divine Link'? And why would it make me want to do that with him?"
Mom sighed. “Mike, you are in training to be a God of Order and Harlow a God of Chaos. Because of this, you remember that little ceremony you two had to do when your training started a little after you met?” I nodded. “That ceremony not only implanted you two with the Divine Essence needed to become Gods but also linked you two as gods of opposing forces. The Divine Link. It’s a safeguard that over time makes it harder and harder for you two to want to… kill one another to absorb the others power and claim your or their domaines. As a result, it’s easy for the gods in these situations to end up feeling… attached, to one another. Like being with them is as natural as anything else in life.”
"Well…it felt…natural." I admitted. "The cuddles were nice and…all that felt natural and nice…for whatever reason now."
Mom nodded. “Divine Links can help bring two people closer, and it can lead to romantic relations if both gods are open to the idea. It’s not like it’s brainwashing you, it just helps being around the other person feel less deterring, since usually opposing forces gods can’t stand being around one another by their very nature. The DIvine Link counters this and, well, I just want to make sure you might not be mistaking attraction for something it might not be.”
"Well, I don't know how to fully feel until I try it with Brandy…I know Harlow is special cause of our Link but…if it's attraction then I can tell with her…if it's the Link than fuck if I know…"
Mom sighed. “Alright… Just be careful alright.”
"I always try to mom." I nodded. "My two deaths notwithstanding…"
–
“So… ran ran all the way to my house at ten at night just to claim that kiss?” Brandy asked. I was admittedly panting a bit from run.
"Listen…this is both because you owe me for posting my make out session with Harlow…and two, I want to do this cause…I need to know if I'm actually attracted to Harlow or if this is some Divine Link nonsense…"
“Fine.” She said, pulling me by the chest fur and planting a kiss on my lips.
I felt, happy, excited and… and… empty?
Brandy then broke the kiss. “Well, was it worth it?”
"Yes…and…no…" I said, my shoulders slumping. "Damn it…" I shook my head.
“So, what’s up?”
"I felt happy, excited to finally kiss you…but I felt empty…" I said bitterly.
“Hm, well that’s interesting.”
"Just…interesting?" I asked. "And…I doubt you felt anything from this…"
“I told you already Mike… I don’t feel that way about you… maybe not yet, or maybe… not. Did you think a kiss was going to change that suddenly?”
"No…just wanted to test something…" I shook my head. "Sorry for wasting your time…"
“...I’m sorry for not being what you wanted.” She said, closing the door.
…
I ran off to a secluded area, far enough from everyone that nothing would get damaged…as I equipped Axe of Despair and started to cut down the tree’s around me in a fit of sadness and rage…as all I could now think about was…if I ever loved anyone in my life…if all of it was just some fake bullshit, and the only reason I’m in love now is because of some dumbass contract, feeling like even all my relationship’s back home could just be fake, some empty feeling that never mattered as the only way I could care is by divine fucking intervention…I hurt my friend…this link is making my rival into something I didn’t know if I really did care about, even if I was told it wasn’t brainwashing or some crap like that…”God fucking damn it!” I howled in rage.
I kept it up for some time, just hacking trees and venting my sadness, rage and confusion.
Eventually, my exhaustion got to me, and I dropped laying down on the ground next to a small river…
“Sounds to me like you’ve gotten waist deep in life's biggest contradiction.” I managed to move an eye, seeing Nitch standing over me. “Love. Heh, not even I’m crazy enough to get involved in that contradictory emotion.”
“Go to hell…” I growled. “I’m too tired for your nonsense right now…”
“Now now, no need to be so rude. After all, I’m not the one mad over their own life choices now am I?”
“What do you want?” I asked carefully. “Cause I’m not in the mood cause now I have to wonder if everything that I’ve experienced was just some bullshit lie or if I’m going insane…” I said carefully, cause I don’t know if my own feelings were being fucked with since I got to Nitch’s world or if I never cared at all…
“As the inheritor of my reality and all my work, I keep a closer eye on you than you might believe.” Niche said, crouching down next to me. “So tell me, what did you used to believe love was, and what do you think it is now?”
“I believed that Love was special, a deep feeling of affection for one another…a bond of trust and care between each individual, a step beyond just normal friendship by that logic and…the closeness between both or multiple parties to share…and now? It’s probably only the ‘well, if it’s natural and feels right, there ya go’, that the actual hard work, effort, trust, ups and downs in the relationship’s don’t mean jack when it’s now a ‘gotta find the one or else you’re just feeling hollow and empty’ unless being alone is what you really want in life.”
“Hmm. You got half of it.” Niche said. “Love is all that, plus, pain, sadness, misery, desperation and above all else vulnerability. Love is a contradiction that even I don’t mess with, too messy. For some people, despite the chaos of it all, it can come as naturally as rain or the sunlight, or feel like it never shows up, or takes a long time, or sometimes it’s there and they don’t even know it. Love is complicated and all the complicated things in life are worth the effort, that’s just my take at least.”
“Then why would it feel empty?” I asked. “What’s to say that all the love I had for Sunset was just empty platitudes because we were both alone in a world we didn’t know?” I asked weakly. “Just like with Brandy…I…do want to love her, genuinely but…it felt empty even when I was happy about it…”
“... Did you know that when a person knows another person likes them, either emotionally, or physically, it’s easier to have a romantic attraction with them? A person can have feelings for another, a crush if you will, but if the feelings aren’t mutual, something crazy happens if the two kiss. Sometimes, as long as the one with the emotions isn’t some crazy, they can feel the lack of romantic interest.” Niche said. “She likes you Mike, but she doesn’t like you how you wanted, and that hurts you both. She’s upset to hurt your feelings and lose a friend, and you for not having your feelings reciprocated, and potentially hurting the relationship you two have.”
“I…I don’t want to force this…I don’t want to hurt her…this just sucks so god damn much…” I groaned, putting my palms over my eyes. “And ‘potentially’? I most definitely hurt this relationship and I doubt she wants to see me after this…I know Pegasus is probably throwing a party…”
“Maybe. Pegasus is an ass, but from what I’ve seen, well, maybe keep some distance for a while. This is a fresh wound, and time will tell if what heals after can be salvageable. What comes after, well, that’s up to you two. Is your friendship worth moving on past a childish mistake? That’s what you two need to ask each other after some time. But enough about Brandy, let’s talk about the one you have felt something with. Harlow. The unexpected variable in your romantic endeavors.”
“Yes, the one that throws a wrench into everything because I just learned what a Divine Link is.” I rolled my eyes. “Is it infatuation or is it because we have some divine contract that I care so much? I was told it’s not Brainwashing but considering it’s something that binds us together so that we don’t immediately try to murder each other at every waking moment because we’re opposites, how the hell am I supposed to know if my feelings of love have been real up until now or if it’s just been fake and I needed literal god magic to gain some form of it?”
“... Did you know, when your parents first met, long, long ago, your mother tried to kill your uncle? Your father to, a time or two.” Niche said. “Her family was brought to take out some enemies they had, your father and uncle being them. Your uncle didn’t kill her, in fact, he more or less saved her. Love didn’t come easily to your mother, she came from a family where people hunted them down like animals just for their bloodline. Trust, love, it was almost alien to her, yet, she warmed up to your father. Time, my boy, decides things. Maybe your interest in Harlow is starting because of your Divine Link, but it’s you two who can decide of that becomes genuine love, or not. Give it time, give it effort, and see what it becomes.”
“Hell if I know.” I shook my head. “This is just a giant mess that I made…”
“True. So, get up, dust yourself off, and take your time cleaning and sorting it out. After all, a mess might look like too much when it happens, but take time, and that daunting mess becomes manageable when you deal with it, one day at a time.”
I sighed. “Yeah…I’ll try…” I said, already knowing I’m going to feel a lot lonelier without Brandy…even if she’d never love me…she was still my best friend…”It’s the best I can do.”
“Right oh kid. Now go run into some arms that are more than willing to hold that sad fluffy face. After all, he did love you before.”
I looked back up, seeing Nitch was gone… what the?
“Don’t like that he can just disappear and…what?” I blinked, confused on what he meant by ‘he did love you before’...sure we cuddled but I don’t think it was like that…right?
Now more confused over something else, I went to Harlow’s.
I appeared at the base of his tree, seeing him up in the hammock.
“Hey Harlow.” I said.
“Hm?” He said, looking over his hammock. At seeing me, he dropped to the ground before me. “Hey. What brings you here?”
“To get some answers to see if I’m not going completely insane…” I said carefully. “Do you actually care about me? Or is this some Divine Link nonsense?” I asked, cause right now I just…need to know if I’m going truly crazy or not.
Harlow turned red again. "I uh…. Heh… a bit on the spot… um… before I answer that, you remember when we talked that one time and I told you why I wanted to get strong to find that guy I wanted to confess to?" I nodded. "and do you remember telling me about that guy you would sometimes duel with back on earth who was always rather arrogant and messed with you all the time?" I nodded again. "Well…" Harlow said… motioning to himself.
… "Jackson?!" I yelped in shock.
"Heh… yeah… but please just call me Harlow."
"Why didn't you say anything sooner ya jackass!?" I asked incredulously. "Either you being Jackson or…you wanting to confess."
“Well… I only found you were Mike, the one I knew when you went on about some things during our training before and… well, I couldn't confess back then because at the time I… well, I knew but… my family wasn’t what you’d call… accepting, of my likes… they didn’t know and I had to keep it that way… I was scared of them…”
"My family could have kept you safe, god knows my mom would have had a field day teasing the both of us about…these feelings." I sighed.
“DId you even have feelings back then?” Harlow asked. “For all my teasing and messing with you Mike, I watched you all the time and while you’d give a girl a passing look you never acting on anything, I never even saw you look at people or flirt or anything. I thought maybe you were just not interested in others or maybe you just didn’t care so… You just put all your efforts into studying and your card games. Hell I learned how to play just to have an excuse to be around you when you weren’t studying for some finals or some other thing. Then you show up here, new body but talk about having multiple wives and your ever so obvious crush on Brandy… I figured you just didn’t like guys so… why bother telling anything when everything I’ve seen from you tells me you weren’t interested…”
"If I were being completely honest…I uh…" I blushed, trying to find the right words here. "Well…Imma be real here…, if it wasn’t for the fact that I truly believed you were hanging out with me was more out of pure spite and anger towards me for some reason, I did…fantasize a bit about your ass on occasion…and let’s be real, if you did have tits you would have had a pair bigger than my head and I would have been very happy about that.”
“Heh… see, talk like that is what makes me think you don’t actually like me… you like girls, or things about me you find feminine. I ain’t any of that…”
“I mean, let’s get down to the real question here of why me?” I asked. “I mean…come on, I know you hung out with me but have you looked at me? Not really the greatest of the bunch here if you were…and are rather attractive.”
“... Do you remember freshman year back on earth? We both were in the same class at the beginning and I was still a very confused and frustrated kid… I saw you back then, figured your distant personality was just how you were. Then those seniors, hot shot honor rolls that were smarter and better than everyone. They tried to make all the new honor roll students feel inadequate, and you were in mostly honors classes… That first test I heard they all got B’s, but you got an A. There was a mix up and some topics were on the test that weren’t supposed to be there. You remember that?”
“Yes, I do remember that.” I nodded. “I was rather annoyed when they threw me questions that weren’t supposed to be on there, but I wasn’t raised a quitter and did my best anyways.” I shrugged.
“Yeah, it pissed those seniors off. It amazed me that the random quiet, distant kid proved themselves smarter than the experienced seniors and it was incredible… I remember hearing when you joined a card games club, they joined just to beat you at what you liked and you still beat them each game. Growing up, I was always told a fight is won with fists and grit, that anything else wasn’t a victory, it was just cowardice… but there you were, winning battles using just that head of yours… I envied that… You were smart, clever, You were everything my folks told me a failure of a man was supposed to be but everything about you I saw proved them wrong…”
“Well your parents were fucking stupid if they thought muscles and strength were the only thing people were supposed to have.” I admitted. “Well…that explains all that…but even if your parents wouldn’t have liked it, why didn’t you tell me? I would have tried to make it work given practically nobody gave me the time of day…”
“... I wanted to, after graduation, after I could leave that house and cut them out of my life… but you just vanished…” He said.
… Right… Voodoo.
“Yeah…about that…” I sighed..
“I already know. Your game with Voodoo and all that…” He sighed. “It hurt. Part of me wondered if you graduated early but shortly after missing persons reports went up and… No one knew what happened to you. Theories about being abducted for human trafficking to you just running away or having killed yourself in an isolated place… no one knew. Weeks turned to months and years… you were just gone. I tried to move on, moved out, cut ties with my parents, then, ya know… blood cancer so… I didn’t even let my folks know. Preferred to die alone than around them. Still, now, here you are, here I am, and for all the time we were around one another, you’d go one and on about your ladies back on Equis or your feelings for Brandy… let me guess, she didn’t like the kiss?”
I… looked down…
“It felt…empty…” I said. “I was happy, excited about it…but…it felt empty, while with you it…felt natural and nice.”
“... I was surprised you actually kissed me…, a part of me from back then and even now is really happy, hell that whole session we did was like something out of my old daydreams… but is it just because of this Link we now have? Can you even like me that way, love me?”
“That is why I’m here.” I started. “To learn if this isn’t some Link bullshit but if I do actually care…if I do love you for real.”
“... Well, I guess maybe some dates would be nice…” Harlow said, looking a bit red again. “Just… remember, I ain’t a girl, so don’t be disappointed that what’s under this fur is totally flat.”
“What may be flat in the front doesn’t necessarily mean flat in the back my guy.” I admitted. “So…just gotta figure all this out fully…one more kiss to prove that this isn’t some link nonsense, that this might actually be genuine feelings.” I said carefully.
“Uh… Alright.” Harlow said.
With a nod I took a step forward, once again planting a kiss on Harlow.
The initial embarrassment was there but it went away, there was that Natural feeling again… and something… Want? Hope? A hint of confusion and… happiness.
When I broke the kiss, Harlow was still red, their ears down and eyes wide. “Heh… wow. That felt… different, from earlier…”
“Want…Hope…Happiness…” I said carefully. “It’s…not the link…”
“Heh… that… actually feels really nice to hear…” Harlow said, giving me a smile… I’ve never seen them smile so… genuinely before…
"And…that's a genuine smile I've…never seen before." I said honestly. "So…we do love each other genuinely."
“Heh, well, this makes us both each others first boyfriends so… Guess we should take this slow since this is basically new to the both of us?”
"I mean…that's fair." I nodded…"This is…gonna be something…hopefully good."
“Yeah… So… It’s a little late… gonna head home or…” Harlow said, motioning to his tree. “Not like we haven’t before… Plus you still look… really bad.”
"I'm exhausted cause I cut down half a forest in sadness and rage…and uh…whole cuddles would be nice I might do…something lewd…" I blushed.
“Heh, easy there horn dog… let’s leave that for later down the line alright? Besides, the way your brothers tease you, you really wanna give them ammunition?”
"Currently they’re still stupidly traumatized at watching us furiously make out…"
“Heh, fair, but for now just some cuddling, maybe some spooning, and we can go from there at a slow pace, alright?”
"Alright…but I'm the big spoon." I said with a smile.
“Considering you are literally also bigger than me, would be hard for you to be the little spoon.” Harlow chuckled.
"That's also true." I chuckled. "So…cuddles for now…then figuring out a date and also when to apologize to Brandy…" I sighed.
To be continued...