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It was a very fine night in Mizuno Harbor. Shiirein culture didn’t observe a winter holiday, but the foreigners in the harbor all gathered together at a favorite pub for their own celebration. The Scovians had traditions about Father Winter, which seemed to involve a lot of booze and singing. Aartans recognized the arrival of winter as a time of peace and reflection, which involved a lot of booze and eating.

As for Bhodhsa, well, Luca’s own people believed in a party. No matter the holiday.

It was festive for sure, but also loud. There were spurts where some drunk would start singing, or someone would tell a joke and laughter burst out, but it was a good atmosphere all around. He’d noted Brahms had taken his daughter home not a half hour ago, as it was likely past her bedtime, but most men were still here and apparently willing to party until dawn.

“O’ Broín!” Sho called to him, gesturing him to come closer. The Shiirein had lost his jacket at some point, white shirt rolled up to his elbows, his waist-length black hair up in a messy bun. He’d clearly enjoyed a glass or three—his cheeks had color to them, but his dark eyes were still clear. Then again, Sho could drink most men under the table. “Let me introduce you to people.”

Luca obeyed the summons, weaving his way between tables, chairs, and people already listing in said chairs. This party was indeed in full swing.

No surprise to anyone, Sho was surrounded by people. How such a people person had married a man who was mortal enemies with words, Luca didn’t know. And they had a solid, healthy marriage, no less. Something Luca envied and wished to have. Not that it was likely at the age of thirty-seven. Still, he wished for it.

Sho put a hand on Luca’s shoulder the second he was within range, pulling him in a little closer. “Everyone, Argyle O’ Broín.”

Immediately, he held up a hand. “Luca, please. Argyle is my father. Nice to meet you all.”

Sho, who didn’t particularly like his own full first name, understood Luca’s abhorrence and kept the introductions to the table of Scovians coming. “Noe Keller you of course already know. These men are also part of our engineering team—Kjell Ruppert, Loan Siebold, Tibo Reinhard, Giric Goodenough, and Rayan Krist.”

Luca had seen some of these faces before but had never been properly introduced to them. What with coming in, getting his people settled, then taking over Sho’s duties while he and Brahms went on that raid, he’d barely gotten his feet wet. Luca certainly hadn’t met everyone.

Keller gestured him toward an empty chair. “Please, sir, sit with us. We’re all like-minded—as in we’re all ready to date and find a husband. I explained a little bit of your intentions, and everyone here wants to hear more.”

Oh, that was why Sho had made this introduction. Luca was now much more invested and promptly sat. He squashed the butterflies trying to flit nervously about in his stomach, immediately and with prejudice. Moving from theory to practice was nerve-racking, true, but he’d never let the unknown stop him before. He wasn’t about to do so now. Someone pushed a tankard toward Luca and he sipped it, only to find it contained ale. Now that was a pleasant surprise. “Good ale.”

“Ordered a keg over,” the man to his immediate right admitted cheerfully. Krist? Luca was pretty sure he had the right name. Krist had a bit of paunch—like he’d stuffed a keg under his shirt—and a happy smile. “Sake’s fine, but sometimes a man needs his ale.”

Luca agreed wholeheartedly and clanked his tankard against Krist’s. “Agreed. So, everyone at this table is looking for a husband, aye? Except Sho.”

Sho shrugged and laughed. “Already got mine. I can’t play matchmaker for all of you, but thought I could at least introduce you guys to each other.”

“We do appreciate it,” Keller assured him. “Makes it easier than spotting an attractive man out in the wild and wondering if he might be interested or not.”

“Better to take the guesswork out of it,” Sho agreed earnestly. “The guesswork is never pleasant.”

Luca absolutely had to agree with that. He’d not even properly entered the dating field with men and already felt uneasy about guessing if a man might be open or not to dating. Which did bring up his first question. “How do you know, anyway?”

“You don’t,” Siebold answered bluntly, a gusty sigh shifting the hairs of his bushy mustache. “Hence, guess. Now, sometimes a man who’s truly out and in tune with himself will dress in a more flamboyant way or act in a way that makes it easier to guess, but no one from Scovia’s going to be like that.”

Too many years of them having to repress their natures and instincts. It made sense, sad as it was.

“Sir, if you don’t mind my saying, I’m surprised to hear you’re open to this?” Siebold weighed Luca with his eyes. “Having a husband, I mean.”

Considering Bhodhsa had the same opinions about things that the Scovians did? Not surprising. It felt a bit like gearing up for battle, answering his question, but Luca answered as plainly as he could. “There’s two things going into this for me. One is, after meeting Sho in the war, I realized everything I’d been taught growing up was so much bunk. I think there always comes a time when a person hits their thirties, and they realize much of what they were taught as a child had no real basis. Or was just a parent’s opinion, and that parent was wrong. I’ve spent a good portion of my thirties unlearning things, and this is one of them. It’s opened my mind to possibilities I didn’t even consider before.”

When he got understanding nods, Luca felt heartened and continued without feeling like his nerves were squeezing his throat.

“Second thing is, I can’t stomach marrying any of the women in my country. I’ve met most of them, or it feels like I have at this point, and none of them are the spouse I need. They’re trained to be submissive too well. Unfortunately, my culture thinks that’s a good idea. I need someone with a spine of steel, who’s smart and quick on their feet, and someone I can trust. I’ve got a fortress to defend once I inherit it. I must have a spouse I can depend upon.”

“Ho.” Reinhard leaned in a little, those dark blue eyes penetrating. “Now that I didn’t see coming. So you’re looking for a spouse to help you run a fortress? Not because you’re attracted to men?”

“I’m not particularly attracted to men,” Luca admitted sheepishly. It might be the wrong thing to say here. “But I’m not against it, either. My main goal is to marry a friend—someone I can rely upon. I’m not blind to the fact it is a marriage, so there will need to be some kind of understanding when it comes to sex. I’m so new to this idea that I honestly don’t know what I’ll be comfortable with and what I won’t be.”

“That’s fair,” Sho said, backing him up. “I mean, we have people who don’t like sex whatsoever. They work out agreements with their partners so they still have a healthy marriage. I don’t see how this is much different.”

Thank you, Sho. Luca sent silent blessings winging in his direction.

Keller piped up, panning his head to include everyone as he spoke. “He’s talked this over with me before. I think it’s wonderful what he’s trying to do, but I realize not everyone will be up for it. Some of us want a romantic relationship. But personally? Being openly married to a man who respects and supports me sounds amazing in and of itself.”

Keller was also being extremely supportive. Luca appreciated it beyond words. He knew Keller was from a very conservative country, so seeing him loosen up and speak so frankly felt like an unexpected boon. It made Luca want to respond in kind.

It wasn’t that he was trying to sweet talk the men here, specifically, but he did want to gauge how his proposal would be taken. They seemed a prime audience to use as a sounding board.

“What I need seems clear enough, but what I offer is just as important. I’m offering an equal partnership, a home to raise children in, a relationship based on respect and loyalty. Affection, too, hopefully. I do want to like my spouse. I realize it’s a tall order, moving to a different country that doesn’t openly accept this orientation and taking on a full fortress with all of its duties. Is it too much, what I’m asking?”

There was a ruminative pause.

Siebold was the first to break the silence, staring hard into his cup as if it held all the answers. “Are you at least open to having sex with your husband? In some form or fashion?”

“I am.” Luca had no idea what that would look like in practice. He might not enjoy it, but if his spouse needed such intercourse, Luca would, of course, oblige. It seemed a small act to carry out for a person he entrusted everything to. And it wasn’t as if the idea repulsed him. He just wasn’t strongly drawn to it. Who knew? With some experience in the matter, he might change his mind altogether and enjoy it.

“Honestly,” Ruppert said with a sigh, sitting back and looking Luca straight in the eye, “it’s a bit much, what you’re asking. But it’s also an amazing offer. I think there’s some men who will turn you down because like Keller said, they’re looking for a romantic connection. But for some of us—and I do speak for myself as well—the idea of having a husband, and children, and a home of our own out in the open? Well, that sounds like a fine deal indeed.”

Phew, so this wild idea of his did stand a chance. Also, noted, Ruppert might be a good option.

Sho’s head turned as his name was called, and he waved back before talking to the table at large. “I’m being called over there, but I want to say one thing. O’ Broín, I think you need to go on some dates. I realize you’re looking more for a friend than a romantic partner right now, but date anyway. I’d narrow your list of candidates first by asking if they’re even willing to move to Bhodhsa so you won’t waste your time or theirs.”

“I will.” Luca felt that an obvious first step but…dates? Really? Well, perhaps Sho meant more like man dates. Luca would need to spend a lot of time with a person to figure out whether or not they were compatible.

Fortunately, he had two years here in Shiirei. Maybe three. He had time, if nothing else.

Sho took himself off. Everyone at the table started discussing who might be willing to immigrate. Most of the men at the table weren’t, which was fair. Leaving kin and country behind to marry was a tall request to make of someone. Not everyone was up for it, and Luca respected their feelings.

While they spoke, they threw out names of men who might be open to the idea. Usually because of a bad home life in Scovia, or they didn’t have strong ties keeping them in the country. Luca made careful note of those names so he could follow up on possible leads.

The night wore on. People got up and left at different points, either too drunk to continue or wanting their beds. It was well past midnight when Luca decided he’d had enough as well. His bed called to him.

Before he left, though, it looked like he’d need to assist Keller to his room. The lithe blond was leaning against the table as if his head was too heavy to support, his fair hair brushing his glasses. The engineer listed to the right, and he didn’t look at all focused.

“Keller?”

Keller blinked up at him from behind those glasses, hazel eyes bright, then grinned. “Hi, handsome.”

Luca felt a bit taken aback. He’d never had a man flirt with him, but he found it rather nice. Amusing, too, because he’d never seen Keller this relaxed. “Hi. How about I take you back to your room?”

“Yeah. You should. The floor keeps movin’ on me.”

“That bad, huh?” Shaking his head, Luca stood, then scooped Keller up with one arm, pulling him free of the chair. “Can you walk?”

“Hold on.” Keller poked his leg. “You. You operational?”

Luca choked back a chuckle. Keller was an entertaining drunk. Noted. “Is it?”

“Says it is.” Keller frowned at his leg suspiciously. “Dunno if I trust it. Let’s try.”

“All right.” Luca took a few steps, and Keller did sway a bit, but he kept his feet.

“Ha! I can do dis.” Keller leaned against him heavily as they made their way slowly outside. “You. I have a question. May we be friends?”

“I would love to.”

“Oh good. I wanna be friends.”

A charming drunk, this one. Which Luca was thankful for, as a bad drunk was a pain in the ass to deal with. Also, he had to agree with the sentiment. Everything he’d seen of Keller suggested he was a good man and would make a good friend—if they knew each other a little better.

“Then let’s be friends. You can start with telling me where your room is.”

“Oh.” Keller stopped on the sidewalk and peered around for a second. “I’m at that ryo—ryo, uh, whatchamacallit.”

“The ryokan?”

“That’s it! The one off the main street.”

There were two ryokans there, both filled to capacity with foreigners right now, so that did and didn’t help, but Luca could get clarification when they got closer.

“Let’s move, then.”

Keller stumbled along at his side, huddled in close. “Why’s it so cold here? Shiirei’s not ’sposed to have cold winters, right? Aren’t you cold?”

“They do have snow and ice storms, though.” Luca had learned the hard way. War was a shit fest in winter. “And no, I’m not cold. Where my home is, it’s up in the mountains, and it gets far colder than this.”

“Oh. Is that why you’re warm?”

“I suppose? I’m built for this kind of weather.”

Personally, Luca felt like Keller was cold because he had no fat on his body. The younger man was slim and a little on the short side—he likely felt the cold right to the bone.

It was fortunately a short walk to the main street, and Luca waited until they were close to ask, “This ryokan or the other one?”

“This one!” Keller pointed decisively to the left. “You can come home with me. It’s fine.”

Luca’s ryokan was six streets over—the same place where Brahms and Sho stayed—and hardly much of a walk. “I’ll see you in and then go.”

“Booo. I want you to stay the night.”

Keller was somehow ridiculously cute in this state. Also somehow giving the impression he meant more than a simple sleepover with his statement. Surely Luca’s hindbrain was just reading too much into it.

“Ha, no chance of that tonight. I’m meant to be at my office early in the morning, and you’re not in a fit enough state to keep drinking.” Besides, with Keller this drunk, he’d be asleep before his head properly hit the pillow.

The ryokan’s staff were in bed asleep by the time Luca and Keller walked into the foyer. Keller managed to kick off his shoes in the direction of the shoe cubbies, but that was as much coordination as he could muster.

“Can you find your room from here?”

This was a serious question.

“Sure!” Keller waved toward the left side. “It’s right there. You reeaally gonna start askin’ men on dates?”

Keller’s question came out of nowhere, but Luca had no problem answering. “I really am.”

“Ooh. Okay. Then I should do this now.”

For a man unsteady on his feet, Keller could move like lightning. He had both hands around Luca’s face and was up on tiptoes before Luca could even properly process what was happening.

Soft, soft lips touched his own, moving with confidence and sending a warm, tingling awareness throughout his body.

Then Keller was gone, grinning like he’d just pulled a prank.

“You’re fuuun to kiss,” Keller informed him cheerfully. “G’night!”

“Good…night?”

Luca watched with bemusement as Keller went down the hallway and into his room. Luca brought his fingers toward his mouth, but he didn’t touch his lips. Strange, how the sensation of the kiss lingered. Like his whole body had become attuned to it for a moment.

He hadn’t…hated that. The kiss had been too short for him to properly analyze how he felt about it, but he hadn’t hated it. Hadn’t been turned off by it. Luca wasn’t sure if he’d liked it, particularly, but he’d not had a chance to even consider kissing back, so…

Huh. Definitely something he’d need to explore more. It was already on his agenda to figure out what he was comfortable doing with a man.

Why had Keller kissed him, though? Was he attracted? He’d never hinted at it before. Or had Keller just been drunk?

A little bemused but strangely heartened, Luca turned around and headed for his own ryokan. Hopefully Keller didn’t wake up tomorrow kicking himself over the kiss. All told, he might have done Luca a favor.