Zeev POV
The Bond between Ash and I had changed fundamentally when we lost Harlee. Both of us having suddenly lost our Master, desperate for her comfort, and clinging to the only piece of her that remained in each other, we grew closer. Ash was irresistibly drawn to her remaining soul fragment within me, and used the opportunity to enhance the Bond forged between that piece and themself. And I reciprocated as the time she was gone from us grew longer, desperate to have a connection, any connection, that would make me feel less 'alone', less Fallen part two. In essence, it drove us together. Now we had Harlee back, and I could feel us both sighing in relief, relaxing a bit. The Master had returned.
Instead of vying for her attention as usual, we were simply able to open our Bond back up, to let her take the lead again, to fall at her feet and worship her the way we were always meant to. It was going to be strange having two people pop in and out of my head all day, but it was definitely worth every moment. I gripped Ash's shoulder around Harlee's sleeping form.
'Thank you, my Kin.' I murmured in Ash's mind again. 'Now I'm going to open the link between us to Harlee. The Corruption from Samael is heavy, it will be up to you and I to bear this burden.' Ash's expression grew grim, but I saw Ash nod once. I slowly dropped the barricade and let the onslaught through.
Harlee's flitting dreams rushed through first. They were mostly nightmares of what Samael put her through. I winced, baring my teeth and fighting back a growl. Then the Corruption eased through like a poison. Ash flinched slightly.
'That is.. intense.' Ash remarked. I could feel Ash steeling themselves for more. 'Have you always shared this much with the Mistress?' Ash asked softly.
'The Corruption is new. It's leaking over from her new Bond with Samael, but the rest, yes.' I answered, letting Ash slowly refamiliarize themself with what it was like to be human.
Harlee POV
Something was different. Ash had me tucked against their chest, Zeev had his arms around my ribcage. I could feel Zeev's gentle gaze on me. He began stroking my back. Ash's hand was curled protectively around my head, tucking it against their cool chest, their chin on my head. There was a flurry of anxious thought and I jerked slightly. It had passed between the two of them, but I had overheard it.
'But what if she doesn't like me in her head all the time?' Ash worried. I felt the hand clutching the back of my head tighten slightly.
"Good morning Harlee." Zeev murmured. Ash trembled slightly. My soul felt lighter this morning, freer.
"It is." Sniped a voice from the window. Sam. I twitched. "These two idiots decided to help share the Bond with you. 'Zeev' as you call him would have had no choice about it, but the other one..." He made a disgusted sound. I pulled back from Ash slightly and looked into their slightly terrified eyes.
"Is that true?" I asked softly. Ash gulped and nodded. My heart nearly exploded with emotion and I threw my arm around Ash's neck. "Thank you so much, both of you." I felt Zeev's chuckle as he nuzzled into my shoulder and Ash's surprise through the new link forged between us. There was a new strength radiating in the Bond between Ash, Zeev and I, and I clung to it tightly, desperate to keep myself from losing my sanity any further. There was a gentle knock at the door.
"I hate to interrupt," Called Sands "But in the interests of not tempting an Angel, can you three please get dressed." Sands sounded exasperated. I looked down and realized we were all still nude, then squealed at Sam to get out so I could get dressed. He scoffed.
"As if I hadn't seen such things before." He said witheringly.
"Consent!" I yelled, throwing a pillow, rage suddenly stoked. "You spent weeks.."
'Months' came Zeev's heartbroken voice in my head. I choked.
"Months torturing me, trying to break me and mold me into the pet you desired." My voice grew stronger and I crawled out of the bed, advancing on Sam. "Well guess who holds the leash now?" I growled, stroking the gold band. "OUT!" Sam's eyes grew wide and then slitted, but his body seemed to move without his control. I stood there, heaving by the window as he went, before blushing furiously as I realized I had done all that naked.
"No, no, it was a glorious display." Ash gushed. "Like a goddess or an Amazonian warrior facing down an opponent. Beautiful." Ash's eyes were glassy and admiring.
"Definitely the warrior one." Zeev laughed. "Our Harlee's to fierce and independent to be a goddess." I heard a swift conversation zoom between them in my head about me not being the kind to not ever lift a finger for myself or make people worship me either.
"Hey! Standing right here!" I griped. Zeev slipped from the bed.
"That we can see. And if you keep doing so, nude, lit from behind by the window like that, tempting not only one, but two Demons, and one an Incubus no less, we may never make it out of this room today." Zeev purred and I blushed.
Zeev POV
I plated the omelette as Harlee looked at herself in the mirror. She came out of the restroom with a sigh.
"There's no hope for it-I'll have to cut it off." She said gesturing at her mess of honey brown hair. She rubbed the tiny mound of her stomach absently as she sat down. I was trying to give her her privacy, but her mind was screaming about the health of herself and the child. Mainly, the child. Two months in Hell, malnourished, beaten constantly to the point of death, the Nephilim having to return her to health again and again, she wasn't sure if only her mind was broken. And who was to say about the baby's health? She couldn't exactly go to a clinic for a check up. I found myself in front of her, clutching her hands tightly, suppressing my own tears.
"Sands checked. You're both physically as healthy as he could restore you. Expect the next few weeks to be a catch-up period for you as far as putting some more meat back on your bones." I chuckled lightly. "Mentally, he could only offer you both comfort, as is his way. That healing, you have to do on your own. When the Nephilim is ready, it'll let you know. But Harlee, it's half me. It has my memories. We've seen many horrible things, it's the human side that will need your comfort. So just do what mothers do best and love him and be there for him when he needs you ok?" I kissed her hands softly. She chewed her bottom lip, but nodded once, slowly. Ash sauntered into the room to hold Harlee from behind as well. I could feel Ash's adoration pouring into the link. Ash was on cloud nine with the way Harlee was now treating them. But it also made Ash want to be even better for Harlee, so every action was calculated carefully, sometimes double checked with me.
"Mistress, you will have no problems with that." Ash murmured against her temple. "There is so much love in you already, that you even share it with me. Now I know this seems crass, but you really need to eat. You and the Nephilim need the strength." I flashed Ash an appreciative glance as Harlee pulled one of her hands from my grasp and picked up her fork.
'Nicely done, my Kin.' I praised, leaving her under Ash's care as I got up to wash the dishes.
"You two are awfully chummy lately. I kind of feel like I'm getting double-teamed by Demons." Harlee said through a mouthful of food. I tried to stem the tide of memories from us both during the time of her absence. The panic, fear, heartache. "Oh." She gasped and her fork dropped. "It was almost as bad for you, wasn't it?" I turned to see her eyes brimming with tears. Ash hurried to wipe them away.
"It's ok Mistress, we had each other, and Sands." The words rang hollow as Ash said them. The fear of losing our Master, of being cut loose from the the one thing that seemed to tie us to the world was terrifying to a Bonded. Worse, sharing Harlee's soul meant I was waiting to experience her death every second she was apart from me. Harlee sobbed. I dropped the pan back into the sudsy water and was by Harlee's side in an instant. Ash was looking at me over Harlee's head in a panic. Her emotions bled through the link, and having once been human, it was very easy for Ash to sympathize. I rubbed my hand in soothing circles on Harlee's back and gripped Ash in a one-armed hug. We would just have to weather the storms as they came.