in the hands of the workers?” Benji asked, blinking up at him. “Because that’s what I’ve been saying this whole time!”
Calarian rolled his eyes. “No, you idiot!”
“It’s that we love you,” Lars said.
“Oh!” All those bubbles in Benji’s blood exploded at once, flooding him with a rush of warmth that made everything from the ends of his toes to the tips of his pointed ears tingle. “I, um, I love you too. Both of you.” He felt suddenly shy. “I mean, you know, I suppose.”
Calarian crooked a brow. “I suppose I love you too.”
They fist bumped.
“You two are ridiculous,” Lars decided, but he smiled at them both anyway as though he didn’t really mind that much.
Benji stole another kiss from him, and then, just to be fair, one from Calarian too. “This might be my favourite way of redistributing the wealth.”
Calarian grinned. “It might be my favourite reward for successfully completing a quest.”
They looked at Lars expectantly.
“Ah,” he said, and wrinkled his nose. “Wait... No, I can think of one. Um... I like this more than cows?”
“Good enough,” Benji said, curling his fingers around Lars’s suspenders. “I like these. They’re very handy. They mean I can do this.”
He used the suspenders to drag a laughing Lars over to the bed and shove him lightly backwards so he hit the mattress. Then he swung back and tangled his fingers in Calarian’s suspenders, and Calarian grinned, clearly expecting the same treatment.
Instead though, Benji stretched them out and then let go. They slapped Calarian’s chest with a resounding thwack and Calarian yelped. “What was that for?”
Benji shrugged. “It’s fun.”
“My nipples hurt,” Calarian said with a pout.
Benji grinned. “I guess we’ll just have to kiss them better, then.” And with that, he slipped the suspenders down Calarian’s shoulders, helped him peel his ridiculous shorts down, and ran his hands over his arse while he leaned in for another kiss, one that made his heart sing. He couldn’t believe he’d spent so many years mastering the art of fucking, learning every imaginable position, and yet all that time he’d been missing out on the simple pleasures of kissing. He almost wanted to get mad about it, except Calarian was pulling away and peeling his shirt off, and Benji liked where this was going.
“Keep kissing,” Lars said, “it’s really hot. And then come over here and kiss me as well.”
“And do other things?” Benji asked hopefully.
“Lots of other things,” Lars said, waggling his giant blond eyebrows in what was definitely a promise.
Benji took Calarian’s hand and they hurried to join Lars on the giant bed, Benji shedding his clothes on the way. Once they got there they shared the work of removing Lars’s clothing, because they were still, at heart, collectivists who believed in the equal division of labour.
Benji ran his hands appreciatively over Lars’s muscled torso, and then, as promised, leaned over and kissed Calarian’s nipples softly. “What shall we do first?” he asked. Not that he cared—he was in bed with an unfairly attractive elf and a human who was a work of art and they loved him, and he loved them, and he’d gotten to tell them after all. The sex was just a bonus.
Huh.
Apparently emotions were better than sex. He had to stop for a second just to get his head around that.
“Maybe we could do the goat thing again,” Calarian suggested, grinning, “and see if we can get Benji to make the noise.”
And that did sound good, but it wasn’t exactly what Benji wanted right now. He’d thought he wanted to ride Lars like Calarian had ridden that dick cow, but it turned out that wasn’t true. He’d nearly died, killed a villain with what was possibly the luckiest knife throw ever, and he was coming down from a sugar rush. Now that he’d stopped to take a breath, he was feeling distinctly fragile. Luckily his favourite human was not only soft and sweet, but he was also an amazing cuddler, and Benji decided to take advantage of that. “You know what? I think I’d just like you both to hold me for a bit while I enjoy not being dead.”
Beefy arms wrapped around him and pulled him close. “I think I’d like to enjoy you not being dead for a bit, too,” Lars said.
Calarian sighed. “I must be going soft, because that sounds really nice.” He curled round Benji’s other side, and Benji let himself glory in being the centre of attention for a little while, his head resting on