Page 26 of Triadic

They got me into a heated bath, and then Marit left me and went to comfort Corbi, who seemed to be cycling down from a panic.

My chest ached, and my belly clenched, watching them.

"You're okay," said Marit, cupping Corbi's face in his hands and kissing him. "Peter's okay."

"Thank you, Marit," said Corbi, pulling him into a hug. "Thank you for bringing him back."

"Now I know how it's done," said Marit. "Hopefully we'll never need it again, but now I know how to do it."

They held each other for a long moment and just breathed. I breathed with them, slowly coming back into my body and grateful the blackness in my vision had receded.

They came back over to me, and as Corbi reached in to place his palm on my forehead, I found the courage to tell them my truth. "I love you, Corbi."

He gasped and froze. Marit beamed at me as Corbi's eyes brimmed with tears.

"You too, Marit," I said. "I love you. I know you miss Wren, but please let me in. Or at least think aboutit? I want to form a triad with you, bond with you and be with you."

I realized I was babbling and shut my mouth with apop.

Marit bent down and kissed my forehead, then kissed his partner. "I love you too, Corbi. If anywhere in this world is willing to bond us, then I want to be your husband."

"You are already my husband in my heart," Corbi replied.

Then they both turned to me, and I swallowed my nerves.

Corbi spoke first. "Our Wren has already moved on. We got a couple of letters in the mail two weeks before we found you in the forest. One letter was from Wren, and another from his new boyfriend, both asking for our blessing. Though we haven't sent a reply because we don't know where the letters came from, we've taken the time to sort through our feelings, and I at least know that I am willing to offer my blessing to Wren, as long as his new partner is a good man. And I want to meet his new partner and confirm who he is."

"Me too," said Marit. "I want to see Wren and hear him explain it face to face, but if he is safe and cared for, then I will offer my blessing. Although it hurt at the time, I am ready to move on. Something about caring for you the last few weeks, Peter, put things in perspective and helped me settle my thoughts. You struggled and fought so hard to return to the land of the living and seize the chance to live out your life…Watching you made it clear to me that I could certainly spend a lot of time being hurt by Wrenleaving and finding someone else, or I could accept it and try to move forward and live my own life."

"If we do this," said Corbi, touching his gaze with his partner before returning it to me, "I want us to take it seriously. We are violating monastery rules already by Marit and I saying that we love each other. There is a very real chance that we could be kicked out and not allowed to return for any significant length of time, just as Awariye and Wren have been. The local economy has been getting better the last few years, yes, and from that logic, it might make sense to urge young monks to reenter the world and seek employment, but I believe the current monastery leadership is foolish to be whittling us down so far that there's barely anyone around to carry on their legacy."

"I want this to be serious, too," I said, then when they seemed to be overthinking things some more, I stretched up at the edge of the bath. "Please, kiss me?"

Marit didn't have to be told twice. He stripped his clothes off in a flash and slid into the bath next to me. Corbi took his time, actually setting his clothes on a bench, but I only had eyes for Marit when he scooted close, his arms open and waiting, eyes eager.

Maybe I should have taken things more slowly, but I slid onto his lap instead, thrilled when his eyes widened in surprise, and he cracked a foolhardy grin. I might be crazy, but he wanted to be crazy, too.

"Come here, baby," he cooed softly as I straddled his hips and gingerly sat on his knees. "I'm so glad you're human."

My lust-addled brain took a minute to process that. "What?"

"He thought you might be an angel, or some other creature temporarily in this form by mistake," said Corbi as he slid into the water. "We half expected you to disappear in the night, with nothing but your clothes and an etheric trace. The circumstances surrounding your appearance were just too otherworldly. But all the vomit convinced me you are very human."

"I'm human!" I exclaimed, then giggled when Marit tugged me close and Corbi reached for me, too.

"Kiss me," Marit ordered softly.

"Then me, Peter," Corbi added.

Marit's lips were demanding, and I loved it. I mewled and tried to squirm closer, squeeze him closer. Marit opened his mouth and touched the tip of his tongue tentatively to my lips, a light tap in question. I slid my tongue into his mouth and devoured him.

Corbi slid close, and I felt his hand caress my thigh. "My turn. Marit, he's not all yours."

Marit growled into my mouth, and I sighed, breaking the kiss and reaching for Corbi. Corbi wrapped his arms around my torso and helped me slide over to his lap. When we kissed, it felt totally different. Where Marit was fire, Corbi was calm and soothing water. He poured so much tenderness into his affection it nearly brought tears to my eyes.

A shiver ran through me, but I pushed it away. We were finally getting intimate—I didn't have time to be cold.

Corbibroke the kiss. "Nein."