"…Vex." His voice softened. "Talk to me. What happened?"

"No! You'll laugh and then scold me!"

Quinlan smiled gently. "You know I won't do that."

But she just pouted and then her eyes squeezed shut as she turned her head away with a defiant huff.

"..."

Quinlan stood there silently. He knew her well enough by now. Pushing at this point would only make her double down.

This 200-year-old Hexwitch could battle horrible monsters without blinking… yet one emotional hiccup, and she turned into a sulking 13-year-old girl in love.

Arguably, she was the most emotionally unstable lover of his.

So he waited.

After several long seconds, Vex cracked open one eyelid, sneaking a glance at him. "… You promise?"

"Yeah."

"..." She began fidgeting then, and her lips twitched as if she was trying to hold something back. Then, in a rush of embarrassment, she blurted, "I was listening!"

"Huh?"

"I was listening!" she repeated, louder this time, stamping her foot while confessing her crime.

"Listening to what…?" he asked, though deep down, he already knew.

Her eyes snapped fully open, and her head turned to face him.

"To your mating session with Jasmine and Serika! I heard how you deflowered Jasmine, and how Serika also got ahead of me! So I… I spent hours crying in front of the door while listening to their moans and your grunts! It was the worst time of my life!"

"…"

Quinlan just stared at her, utterly speechless. He loved this woman far too much, but even he had to admit that her mood swings could be quite… strong.

She was a slightly crazy lady.

And he was all for it.

Quinlan stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. His hand cradled her head, and fingers brushed through her lush white hair as he pressed a soft kiss atop it.

"I appreciate you not barging in on Jasmine's first time," he murmured.

Vex scoffed against his chest. "And ruin the mood? She's a friend and a nice girl, I couldn't do that to her."

Her voice softened, muffled by his shirt. "Besides, I know you wouldn't like it if I did. There's the kind of needy you find adorable, even if it gives you headaches sometimes, and then there's the annoyingly clingy kind that men run away from as if their lives depend on it."

Vex looked up at him, somehow looking proud for whatever reason as she declared, "I refuse to be one of those unwanted women!"

Quinlan chuckled in response. "So you just cried and cried and cried?"

Vex's body relaxed against him as she burrowed deeper into his chest, her voice shrinking to a whisper.

"Truthfully… if I didn't like my sisters, and if I didn't love you too much to hurt you… blood might've been shed."

Her tone softened even further as she sighed,

"… Today has been a rough day for me, Hubby."

"Yeah, I could tell."

Quinlan's voice carried a tinge of guilt. "But Vex… you know I like to make everyone's first time special. I'm overjoyed to spend my time with you, but for those moments, I need to make an exception."

"I know…" she admitted quietly. "And I accept it. I also know Jasmine isn't the last woman you'll make feel special, either. But the thought…" she pressed a trembling hand to her chest "… the thought makes my heart twist. I can't force the bad thoughts away. I keep imagining that one day, you'll find someone you love more than me…"

Quinlan's features hardened.

He realized, painfully, that he was at fault here. He had expected his women to simply accept the fact that he loved more than one person, that he'd share himself with others.

But of course, that would cause insecurity.

They were human… or close enough.

Most of them had learned to manage those feelings. But Vex… she'd always been more emotionally raw and unstable, more honest with her desires. And he couldn't fault her for that.

If their roles were reversed, he'd be a total wreck. Even using the word 'wreck' felt like it was doing a disservice to the horrible feelings he'd be forced to face.

Just because they were women didn't mean they were genetically engineered to like sharing their man. They were not created to naturally thrive in harems.

He sighed softly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Vex shook her head faintly. "No… I don't know what came over me today. I normally control my emotions better."

That only made his heart sink deeper. He looked around the courtyard, searching for something to shift the heaviness. "You got the sauna started."

"I did," she said softly.

"Did you plan to go in alone?"

That finally got a giggle out of her. "You think I called you here just to watch me sweat from outside? No, silly. I called you so we could sweat together, and then I'd replace the scent of those women on you with my own."

"…" Quinlan smiled, shaking his head. "Let's go then. I could go for a sauna with a hot babe, and I just happen to hold one in my arms."

Vex snickered at that. "Are you not mad?"

"Mad?" He exhaled through his nose, finding the question weird. How could he be mad? No, instead, he… "I just feel guilty. If it were any other man, they'd be thrilled to have someone like you as their only wife. You'd never have to fight such emotions in your heart. I think you drew the short end of the stick with me, Vex."

That hit her like a rough, physical slap.

Her expression changed instantly. Gone was the pout, gone was the teasing smile.

She pushed herself out of his arms, rising onto her toes and cupping his face in both hands. Her crimson eyes flared, with the pentagram pattern inside them igniting.

"Don't you dare say such a thing to me ever again."

Her serious demand made Quinlan pause. He was taken aback by the abrupt shift. From a needy teenager, Vex went full throttle into her current, angry state.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Quinlan," she declared. "And I won't let you think otherwise."

He was quick to nod, realizing he said something he shouldn't have. "Right. I take it back. We were meant for each other, not one person could replace you, nor me, in this relationship."

Hearing his immediate acceptance, Vex smiled a beautiful one. "Good."

Vex's voice softened again as she gazed up at him. The anger had melted, replaced by affection.

Then she leaned in.

Their lips met, forming a kiss that was warm, unhurried, and full of apology as well as understanding.

It wasn't a kiss of pure passion, not yet. It was grounding; a reminder that they'd always find each other again, no matter how messy things got.

When they parted, Quinlan rested his chin on her silky hair for a moment, simply marveling in the kiss silently, before whispering, "Let's go sweat it out."

Vex smiled beautifully. "Mhm."

They began to undress, slow and comfortable in each other's presence. Boots off. Belts undone. Cloth falling soundlessly.

Just as Quinlan reached for the sauna's door…

"Here! This is the place Master built! He's a genius! Blossom wanted to show it to you!"

The familiar voice cut through the silence.

Vex froze mid-motion, towel in hand.

Quinlan turned his head in the direction of the voice.

Blossom.

A second voice followed, calm yet sharp.

"He commissioned it, not built it with his own hands…" Ayame's tone carried her usual amusement when it came to telling the curvaceous dogkin that her master wasn't quite as amazing as she set him up to be - alas, that never worked. No matter how Ayame spun it, Blossom refused to accept any sort of flaw in Quinlan. Even though the dogkin knew very well that he wasn't some omnipresent omnipotent entity… Sometimes, even she herself accused Quinlan of bad things. But when others said something bad about him, she simply refused to listen.

Knowing she failed once again, Ayame added with a defeated sigh, "But I must admit, this is a nice building."

The footsteps drew closer.

Then something shifted in the shadows, next to the two approaching girls.

His instincts tightened instantly. The air grew heavier.

Out of the dark, two eyes glowed. The light inside them pulsed, like unnaturally bright. Then came the rest: gleaming tattoos crawling down a neck, shoulder, and arm. Marks he knew too well from when they fought together, and she lost quite a bit of apparel just today.

Black Fang.

The purple fire in her eyes flickered once, catching the reflection of the sauna's orange glow, and her voice, low and velvety, rolled through the courtyard.

"It appears your curious building is occupied," she told Blossom with an amused tone.

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