After our "passionate" bath, Victor and I found ourselves cuddled up together in my bed, chest to chest, still completely naked.
If anyone walked in on us, they'd probably laugh at the absurdity of a grown man being dwarfed by his partner, with the roles seemingly reversed. But to me, it felt perfect.
Victor's soft warmth against my body brought a sense of peace I hadn't realized I needed.
We lay there in the comfortable silence, basking in the afterglow of our closeness. The room was still, the only sound being our synchronized breathing, and the feeling of his heartbeat against my chest was oddly soothing.
I could feel the gentle rise and fall of Victor's chest against mine, his breath warm on my skin. His golden curls were splayed out across the pillow, tickling my neck. Eventually, though, I broke the silence.
"I think I'm going to go to college, Vic," I said, casually dropping the news.
"Oh really? Where?" he asked, his eyes widening in surprise as he lifted his head to look at me.
"Andosa," I replied.
"WHAT?!" Victor's eyes were now as wide as saucers. "That's the best college in the world! You know they even deny royalty if they're not up to their standards."
I shrugged, grinning at his astonished expression. "It'll be fine. I'll just have to prove I have what it takes."
Victor blinked, processing my words. "How strong are you, anyway?" he asked, curiosity evident in his voice.
"Hmm, I don't know," I said, smirking. "I can push my mom to use her bonded form, if that says anything."
Victor's jaw dropped. "Lyra, that says a lot. You know she's a sword saint, right? The kingdom calls her 'The Calamity of the West.'"
I blinked, a bit taken aback. "Oh, I never heard that before."
Victor let out an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes. "You probably just didn't listen. You've got muscle for brains sometimes," he teased, his voice tinged with fondness.
"Well, if I had to guess, you're probably an advanced swordsman approaching enlightenment," Victor continued, his tone softening as he spoke seriously.
"Enlightenment? What's that?" I asked, furrowing my brow.
"You're hopeless," Victor said with a chuckle. "Basically, it means manifesting your sword aura, but I don't know much more than that. Either way, I'm pretty sure you'll get into Andosa easily."
"Interesting," I said thoughtfully. "Mother never said anything about it. I bet she has her reasons." I looked back at Victor, giving him a lopsided smile. "Enough about me, though. How's your magic going?"
"It's been going well, but I've hit a bit of a roadblock," he admitted, a small frown crossing his features. "I've been stuck as a fifth-circle mage for a couple of months now. But it's alright—I'm already very advanced, even for an elf."
"Sounds like you're strong enough to come with me, then?" I asked, a smile forming on my lips.
Victor arched an eyebrow, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. "Is this you asking me to move out with you?"
"What if it is?" I said, my gaze softening. "You know, you can't find a man like you just anywhere."
His cheeks flushed a bright pink, his lips parting in surprise. "Well, I'd love to, but…" He paused, placing a finger to my lips before I could say anything else. "We have to talk to my parents. I'm still 'Victoria', after all."
"I'm sure we can figure something out. That's good enough for me," I said, smiling back at him.
The conversation paused there, and a comfortable silence settled between us again. Victor rested his head back on my chest, his fingers lightly tracing patterns along my arm. After a while, Victor spoke up. "How many monsters do you want to bond with?"
"I don't know, at least two," I mused. "I'd like to have some versatility with my powers. How many do people usually bond with?"
"Well, there's no real limit to how many you can bond with, but the maximum number of traits you can implement at one time is four," he explained. "So I guess four is the average if you're looking for strength."
"Makes sense," I said. "Seems like we're going to have quite the harem." I gave him a teasing grin.
"We? Who says we'll be together?" Victor teased back, raising an eyebrow.
"Says the one looking up through my chest," I retorted with a smirk.
Victor let out an exasperated sigh. "Feels like you're kneading dough the way you're groping my ass," he said, unable to hide the playful smile.
"Do you want me to stop?" I asked, my voice lowering a bit.
Victor shook his head, content. He rested his head back down against my chest, eyes closed, completely at ease. After a moment, though, his voice turned quieter—almost vulnerable. "But why do you want me? I'm not even… manly." He mumbled under his breath, thinking I couldn't hear.
"It's because you're you, Vic," I replied without hesitation, my voice soft. "I don't need some 'manly man.' I'm manly enough for both of us—I don't need more of that. What I want is you, Vic. Just you."
Victor blinked up at me, stunned into silence for a moment. His emerald eyes shimmered with something unreadable—a mix of emotions that left me breathless for a heartbeat.
"How about this?" I continued, brushing a lock of his golden hair from his forehead. "To make you believe me, I promise—you'll be the only man I love."
"What about futas?" he whispered, a teasing glint in his eye.
I rolled my eyes. "You're pushing it. Futas have the best of both worlds. I can't promise that."
Victor giggled, then took a playful nip at one of my nipples.
"Hey, you cheeky little shit," I said, rubbing the spot where he bit. "Don't make me take it back, we still haven't done 'it'." I emphasized it while winking
"No take-backs," he retorted with a grin. "You already promised."
"Alright, alright," I sighed. "I think it's time for bed now. Let's settle down." It was already late into the night, and exhaustion had finally started to catch up to me.
Victor nodded, his expression softening as he nestled against me. His breathing soon evened out, and I could feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest against mine. The warmth of his body and the steady rhythm of his breaths lulled me into a sense of contentment.
That night, as we fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms, I knew something had changed between us. Our bond had taken on a new form—one built not on lust or a desire for power, but on years of friendship, trust, and a love that had grown steadily along the way.
~~~~
It felt surreal waking up with someone beside me after fifteen years of sleeping alone in this bed. The morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow over Victor's sleeping face.
His golden curls caught the sunlight, shimmering like strands of spun gold. He looked so peaceful, his lips slightly parted as he breathed in slow, even breaths. I didn't want to move, afraid that I'd wake him and shatter this perfect moment. But I didn't mind it—not when it was Victor, the one person who deserved to be here more than anyone else.
"Morning, sleepyhead," Vic said, his voice groggy but playful as he looked down at me, perched on my stomach with a grin.
"Morning," I replied, my own voice still thick with sleep. I had never been much of a morning person. But the appearance of Vic in my arms made waking up early all but worth it.
Victor's gaze shifted downward, his grin widening. "Someone's happy to see me," he teased, lightly touching the tip of my morning wood, resting just below his backside.
I rolled my eyes. "You know damn well that happens every morning," I grumbled. "I can feel how hard your situation is, idiot," I added, referring to his own excitement pressed against my stomach.
"Alright, time to get up. Big day ahead of us." With a laugh, he hopped off of me, giving his butt a playful wiggle as he walked away.
'Tch, what a tease. Seems he's not so shy anymore. But I'm glad he's finally comfortable with me.'
I got up and began getting ready. I put on a pair of black pants, a white long-sleeve tunic with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows, and my usual training boots. Vic, on the other hand, slipped into his familiar white dress, as he didn't have anything new to wear.
His Petite body glistened in the morning sun, his subtle curves making me salivate at the thought of them
"Looking cute as always, Victoria," I said, smirking.
"Very funny. You know I don't have anything else to wear. And besides, nothing of yours would fit me."
"Well, time to go greet my parents. Fair warning—they're both going to give us some grief."
"I know," Vic said, smiling. "I wouldn't expect anything less from them."