Page 27 of Hexes & Heartstrings (Shifters of Bastion Keep #2)

Bruin frowned thoughtfully. No one to socialize with? That wasn't right, nobody should have to be alone.

"I'm sorry to hear that.Well, right now I'm going to check over my outdoor garden and then see about getting the supplies I need to start making charmed salves, but in about an hour or so I'm due to have dinner with Russell.

Do you want to meet up with us in the Great Hall?

Maybe hang out together afterwards? I don't know much about wine, but I do like cheese and crackers.

Do you have the fancy kind that comes in the spray can? "

"Cheese. In a can ." Arthur looked at him aghast, like he'd just asked him if he wanted to join him in fornicating with a rusty sewage pipe.

"My poor heart. You poor soul. Promise me to never utter those words again, and I shall grant you the gift of godly cheese that will leave you forever spoiled to mundane food. "

"Sure, that sounds nice! Let me know if I should bring anything specific."

Out of orcish habit, or perhaps because he thought the other man needed it, Bruin gave him a parting hug before leaving, hearing him titter a temporary farewell.

When he met up with Russell later, his boyfriend seemed accepting of the idea.

Bruin asked about wine, and yes, there were some that he could request from the castle.

He didn't know much about them—he'd had his share of wine-in-a-box, of course, and plenty of mulled versions at home celebrations—so he just asked a kitchen aide for one that would go well with fancy cheeses and was handed a bottle of a pale yellow color.

Shrugging, he set it in his room for after dinner.

Arthur seemed in good spirits when he met them in the Great Hall, and had showered and changed into a cardigan, his hair again neatly parted and slicked down, his chops freshly brushed out. He greeted Bruin with a hug, and seemed eager for company.

After dinner, they followed their host into his room, which had since been decorated in luxurious fall colors.

Arthur's tastes in decor ran to the extravagant, with bold colors and seasonal decorations.

Perhaps unsurprising considering his job, he seemed to prefer shifter-style furniture, and Bruin and Russell took seats on a pair of long cushions beside a squat table decorated in diamond-patterned tablecloths and accented with fake dry-leaves and pinecones.

Apparently there was an art to eating 'godly' cheeses, and Bruin and Russell both did their best to follow the instructions on palate cleansers and such.

The Brie was alright, Bruin decided, but was quietly disappointed at the lack of cheddars. And apparently you weren't supposed to just pick up a whole wedge and take a bite out of it? Bruin thought he'd been giving a compliment.

Two bottles of wine later between the three of them—mostly Bruin's doing—the conversation had turned to romance.

"So yeah, I only really dated two guys before Lux, and neither of them came close to his skill in topping," Bruin said, thrusting his hips in case his words weren't clear enough. "That man knows how to wield a strap-on."

"And now you have yourself two men, goodness me," Arthur said, reddening.

"I have the bestest boyfriends," Bruin gushed, pivoting so that he could lean into Russell, who patted him on the head. "They both do a great job. But what about you! Single? Married?"

"Separated, I suppose," Arthur said. "Never officially married or divorced, so I suppose the finer details are moot."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be! It's been a while. So for now, your gay uncle Arthur is looking ."

Bruin nodded. "There's some good men here in the keep! Both among the guardians and the staff, and I can vouch for both. Or if not, I hear Town has some nice men. I think the arcade's owner is either bi or pan?"

"Trying to play matchmaker? I adore it. Perhaps in a month or two I'll let you introduce me around."

Bruin nodded, then shifted in his seat so that Russell could properly wrap an arm around him.

After a couple of hours talking and still feeling in high spirits, Bruin turned to Russell and was about to suggest that the three of them head for the baths, or maybe take an evening walk around the battlements before the weather got too cold, but saw that his boyfriend had a blank expression.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen or felt his tail wagging in a while, either.

"Welp, I think it's about time for the two of us to head to bed," Bruin said, carefully getting to his feet with the room swaying pleasantly like an ocean. "It's been a long few days for us."

"Well I'm certainly not going to hold you hostage, no matter how scrumptious you both are."

Offering yet another hug to his fellow witch, Bruin and Russell had their offer of helping with the dishes and clean-up politely declined, and then made their farewell.

Russell helped him as they journeyed over to Sergiy's room, having silently agreed that they would stay the night there.

"Are you feeling alright, big guy?" Bruin asked him as he began stripping, getting ready for bed.

"Mm."

Bruin stopped with his cargo shorts around his ankles, working through the tipsy haze to seriously look his boyfriend over.

"You know, I was about to suggest at the end, there, of spending more time with Arthur, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I get the feeling that you would rather we have left sooner than we did. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to talk about it? I would like to know how you feel, so I can adjust plans properly in the future."

Russell shrugged, then put his hands on his hips as he lowered his head. After a moment while Bruin waited, only a touch impatient from the need to hit the bathroom, Russell nodded.

"He smells like the Umbral. I don't like that."

And Russell hadn't had a good time there.

"He's a Hedge witch," Bruin said gently. "I think it's not unusual for him to smell like some of the other realms."

Russell shrugged, but didn't elaborate.

"Alright. Bed time, then? And can I be the big spoon? I kind of want to hold and snuggle something."

Russell laid a hand on his head.

"But you are the teddy bear," his boyfriend said, at last giving an open-mouthed smile. "What you suggest is very silly."

Bruin choked a laugh, then dashed to the bathroom with a hurried apology.

After being reminded by Russell, he put his dirty clothes into the proper clothes hampers, making sure to keep his belongings neat and tidy since they were in Sergiy's room, and their mate liked things pristine.

As he did so, he saw that Russell had already done the chores without even Bruin thinking of it, including getting their cum towels washed from before Sergiy's injury.

As a last stop before climbing beneath the covers, they visited the unique water fountain that Bruin had moved from his room and into Sergiy's living room.

It had originally been an amazing gift from Russell, a babbling fountain with a red wolf, green-painted bear, and golden dragon on it before Bruin had enchanted it with a lasting coven ritual.

Right now, the bear and wolf figures were snuggled up together beneath one of the stone trees, while the dragon lay a short distance away, its wings limp.

The two of them took turns petting the dragon with their fingertips, its metal warm to the touch. Then, after climbing into bed, Bruin took charge of being the big spoon, figuring that Russell could use the added comfort.