Stories about Eros Astarael and my co-lore writer DB's character Frederick Makalt. Others owned either by myself or DB may also appear.

Please note that the following document may contain potentially triggering content. This is not Ao3 and I will not be tagging everything but this content could range from sexual assault, sexual situations in general, lots and lots of kinks, talk of killing people or dead people such as family members, and more. If you are triggered by these things to a point that reading them would be detrimental to your physical and/or mental health I suggest you skip reading anything I have written in this document or others for your own safety. If you are the sort who reads something you disagree with/that offends you/whatever and you feel the need become the Purity Brigade please don't bother - I've been down that road enough to know not to engage, so you will get nothing out of me except a block and a report for harassment.

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Connor was in shock. He stood, unable to let go of his mother’s hand even as one of the chirurgeons tried to shake him out of it.

“I’m sorry, she’s gone.” The voice echoed in his ears, and after some gentle coaxing he finally took a step back before screaming. Loss, pain, grief, all in one sound that rang out as he collapsed to his knees and buried his head in his hands.

Someone eventually led the Viera back to his room, making sure he was situated before leaving to see to other business. Because that’s how it always was in that house; no time for anything that wasn’t either life threatening or keeping the business going.

Not knowing what else to do he simply sat for a long while, staring out the window into the street with a blank expression while the shock set in. When the door finally opened Connor didn’t even turn around, and it wasn’t until the owner came into his field of view that he even registered there was someone present.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” The Lalafell seemed genuine, but Connor knew there was something else in the way he said those words. “Your mother wanted you to have this.” The owner held out his hand, and Connor looked down before shakily reaching for the silver locket. His name and nameday were engraved on the back, and he knew inside was a picture of his mother holding him the day he was born. It was the only possession that had meant anything to her, she always wore it and now...now it was his.

“Thank you.” Connor mumbled, carefully putting the necklace on. “So...what happens now?” The reality of his situation settled in, overriding everything else for now.

“Well, now you keep working. Or start working, I should say.” The shorter man didn’t seem surprised at the question, nor at the expression Connor gave him. “Look, your mother still owed us quite a debt and by the law that debt is now yours. Since we legally owned her when you were born and your father has not ever stepped up to try and claim you we also legally own you as well. Which means that you need to start doing the real work around here.”

“You promised mom that would never happen!” Connor snapped, a chill of fear racing up his spine. “You told her I would never have to do the work she did. You fucking liar!” He screamed, somehow finding the courage he’d never had to stand up to the man.

“I told her as long as she kept working you would never have to. And since she can’t work anymore, I have no obligation to exempt you.” The words were cold, and the smirk on the owner’s face even colder. “We’re going to auction your first time, as there are many who would pay quite well for such an honor. The next tenday is yours as a period of morning, and the auction is set for the day after. Take the time to process and get ready.”

Connor found himself unable to do anything else as the owner left, save for falling into another fit of tears as soon as the door was shut. He’d grown up in the house, he’d heard the horror stories. He’d been there when his mother had to go see the chirurgeons, when she was recovering for a day or two after a client had gone too far. More than just the physical abuse, he saw the mental toll it all took on her over the years too, how exhausted she was all the time. Not just her but everyone else who worked too. And now…that was to be his future, and there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t run away, he couldn’t bargain, he couldn’t pay the house back for his mother’s debts.

In the days leading up to the auction Connor found himself unable to sit still. He had the time off but sitting around doing nothing was driving him insane so he went back to his usual work of helping clean up the place; washing and changing sheets, cleaning up messes in rooms, things like that. It kept his hands and mind busy so things didn’t wander in a bad direction, and gave him the focus to think a little more clearly. On auction day he sought out the owner in the hours before, trying to gather his courage as the Lalafell looked up at him.

“I know that...some workers take on a false name for their own safety and things like that. I would like to do the same.” He’d had so much time to think about it, and to realize that if he didn’t separate his identity from the work it was likely going to do a lot of damage to him mentally speaking.

“Fair enough. You have a name in mind then, I take it?” The owner asked, looking up with a curious expression.

“I do. Eros.”

“Well, I’m glad to see you’re already embracing the life.” The owner smirked in a way Eros didn’t like, nodding his head approvingly. “Eros it is, then. I’ll go make sure the name is updated for the auction and for later bookings. You should go clean up.”

Eros said nothing, turning to walk back to his room. Into the shower, letting the warm water rush over his body as he stood there for a long while before starting to wash off. He knew what was coming, and that if he didn’t look presentable the consequences would not be worth the defiance shown by the act, so he tried his best to play along for now.

At the auction the room was packed, and Eros could hear the murmuring of the crowd even from behind the stage. The bath robe he wore gave him little confidence, especially as it would be removed before he walked out there; naked on display in front of hundreds of strangers, all of them bidding to see who would have the ‘honor’ of being the first one to have sex with him. It was disgusting and barbaric.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for taking the time to come out here tonight!” The owner beamed as he walked out onto the stage from the opposite side, giving a bow as the crowd clapped. “As I’m sure you know there are many, many treats on the menu for this evening’s auction. And while I debated saving the best for last, I also feel that for many being able to bid on what might just be the most expensive piece should come first.” He made a motion to the side, and Eros took a deep breath before dropping the robe and walking out onto the stage. Under the bright lights he couldn’t clearly see much of the details in the crowd, and he tried to keep his focus on the wall in the back to avoid appearing too nervous.

“This is Eros, and tonight will be the first night he works for this house. We’ll start the bidding at 1 million, shall we?”

Eros tuned the crowd out, staying oddly calm as numbers were rattled off. He vaguely heard 10 million, then 20, then 30.

“50 million gil going once, going twice, sold!” The banging of the gavel seemed to snap him out of it, and Eros heard the final number with a sigh of relief. That was a lot of money, and surely it more than covered his mother’s debts. Just one night, play along with what the client wanted and then leave.

Eros walked back off stage, letting the Miqo’te woman behind him step on as the rest of the auction continued. A handler was there as he put the robe back on, leading him through the hallways of the house and up to one of the working rooms.

“The client should be along shortly, wait inside.” The handler was curt, opening the door and letting Eros in before closing it again.

The room itself was nothing overly spectacular. A bed big enough for two, the head and base boards outfitted with the equipment to hook restraints into. A chest at the foot of the bed would contain some basic toys and restraints, and one night stand would be filled with candles and matches while the other would contain sharp instruments. The same small bathroom as most of the rooms had as well, a tub with a shower head and a toilet. All in all, nothing special.

Eros took the robe off and folded it neatly, sliding it under the bed where it would be out of the way. He knew the trick from cleaning a few too many rooms where the robes were still there after the worker had to be dragged to the chirurgeons by their handler or some similar incident. It was a smart thing to do, because if the night didn’t end horribly then the robe was clean and easy to access before leaving and it was also easy to find and wash otherwise.

Eventually the door opened again and Eros turned to see the Elezen man that would be his client for the night. He wasn’t bad looking, though from the lighter tone in his skin and the way he carried himself Eros was willing to bet he was either from Ishgard or descended from Ishgardian parents, probably some sort of minor nobility.

“My my, you’ve already undressed. And I must say that up close you look even more beautiful than you did on that stage.” The man mused, eyeing Eros up like a predator about to pounce upon unsuspecting prey.

Eros said nothing, mostly because he wasn’t sure what the right response was and didn’t want to give the wrong response. This seemed fine enough as the man set about undressing himself, folding his clothes on the table by the door that was meant for that purpose.

“On the bed, then. Hands and knees.” His words were swift and he clearly expected to be obeyed, and Eros put up no resistance as he positioned himself as requested. Honestly he preferred it that way, knowing he could hide his emotions better if the client couldn’t see his face.

Firm hands caressed his butt, one sliding between his legs and drawing out a startled moan as fingers brushed against his shaft. Despite everything going on Eros was already half hard, and the touch caused his hips to jerk back out of some base instinct.

“Needy little bitch, aren’t you?” The client purred, his hand continuing to tease Eros. “If you want it so bad, beg. Beg me to fuck you like the slut you really are.”

Eros felt his face flush red with embarrassment. No way could he say that, even if he wasn’t being teased. Then he felt the first slap, the pain rippling out from his butt and into his spine.

“I said beg you worthless cunt.” The man’s words were more harsh, and before Eros could process what he was being told to do he was slapped on the other side as well, leaning forward into a pillow and trying to stifle the scream of pain.

“Fine. Roll over, arms above your head.” The man ordered, getting up off the bed. With a moment to realize what was happening Eros was more than happy to comply, and before long his arms were cuffed to the headboard and his feet to the baseboard, leaving him completely at the mercy of his client.

A blindfold was slipped over his eyes, and a gag in his mouth, and Eros knew this was going to get bad. He couldn’t see, but he heard the client moving around and felt something metallic press against the tip of his dick. Then it pressed inside, a sensation that was strange and unpleasant, but not painful. Some part of it was strapped outside, much like a chastity cage, and as the straps pulled around his balls as well while Eros tried to remain still. That was oddly easy for him, even as the client stepped back to admire his handiwork.

Then Eros’ legs were unbound and spread, his hips lifted as the tip of the client’s dick pressed against his ass. No preparation and no lubrication, just the rock hard shaft forcing its way inside as Eros screamed in pain. His back arched and he pulled against the restraints but that was useless, and he could do nothing as the client pulled out before starting to work himself into a painfully slow rhythm. Eros couldn’t even enjoy the random sparks of pleasure that ran up his spine when his prostate was brushed, and he didn’t notice just how hard he was until his body tried to orgasm and failed thanks to the cage around his dick.

He tried to beg, but the gag prevented him from forming cohesive words and all he could do was moan and scream and buck his hips in a futile attempt to cum. Even as the client sped his pace, shifting to better angle himself inside of Eros, there was little for the Viera to do. Eventually with one final slam to the hilt the man came hard, his seed pulsing through Eros’ body with a warmth like liquid lava.

But that would not be the end of it. Once he pulled out the client retrieved a plug from where he’d set it on the nightstand, wiggling it in to Eros’ ass and making sure it was secure. Eros was left with the uncomfortable full feeling, the inability to reach his own orgasm, and a loud gasp as the plug began to vibrate right against his prostate while his legs were re-bound to the baseboard. Another vibrating device was attached to his dick, causing the whole cage to pulse around his already sensitive spots and drawing out plenty of sounds as Eros struggled to get free despite knowing it was useless.

He was left like that for some time, body shaking until his energy had run out and his mind was starting to go blank. Then suddenly everything stopped and he collapsed back onto the bed, sweating and panting as the gag was pulled out of his mouth.

“Beg.” The word came out in a harsh growl, and Eros took a deep breath just to get air in his lungs so he could speak.

“P-Please...” A pathetic word that barely slipped out, followed by a moan as a hand started to caress his dick.

“Please what? What do you want slut?”

“Please...please let me cum...” Eros bucked his hips up into the hand, desperately willing those teasing fingers to remove the cage.

“I’ll let it slide for now, but in the future that’s ‘master’ to you.” The straps were undone, and the cage pulled off, but without further stimulation Eros was stuck right on the edge of an orgasm. At least until he found his legs unbound again and his body flipped over so he was on his knees with his arms still bound to the headboard.

The plug was pulled out of his ass, but there was little relief as the client’s dick replaced it almost immediately. Eros felt his whole body shudder as he came just from that, his breathing ragged as the client wasted no time in roughly fucking him again. He lost track of his own orgasm count, mind blank until he felt that warmth rushing through him again and reached one final orgasm when the client pulled out.

“You know, for someone who’s never had sex before you’re a damn good lay.” The Elezen teased, sitting back for a moment before Eros heard him go into the bathroom to start cleaning off.

Eros was just left there, bound and blindfolded, as the client redressed and left the room. He didn’t know how much time passed before someone else came in and undid the restraints, pulling the blindfold off as well. Eros stared at the Miqo’te for a moment before collapsing, exhausted and in pain.

He was taken to see the chirurgeons to get patched up, mostly the chafed skin around his wrists, and given the rest of the night off to recover. The Miqo’te was his handler now, basically a safety system designed to cover the house in case clients did what had happened to Eros. If a client checked out and a worker failed to report in for a new job or see the chirurgeons and get the night off the handler would go check on them, usually free them from restraints, and carry them down to the chirurgeons to get looked after. For now Eros slept, knowing that he would need that strength to talk to the owner about the auction amount covering his debts and getting out of the business before he could get too stuck in it.

******

The brothel was well equipped to handle just about anything physical that could happen to the workers, which really came in handy when Eros had clients who were into inflicting physical pain. But of course one in particular was always worse than the others; a Garlean commander who stopped in now and again, disguising himself in the streets of Ul’dah but always welcome in the brothel so long as he had coin to spend. He abused those under him, and had taken a liking to abusing Eros in recent months as well when he managed to stop in the city for one reason or another. Eros always found himself dreading those nights, but he knew that his complaints would get him nowhere and might even incur some further wrath from the man so it was better to simply stay quiet and do as he was told.

Better to close the door, pulling at the tie on his robe so that it fell away to reveal the slim figure underneath. To lay down and not resist the cold metal of the cuffs that bound him to the frame of the bed. To relax and open his mouth for the gag so he had something to bite down on. The pain he would never really be used to, made worse by the blindfold tied over his eyes so he couldn’t see anything. All he could do was wait with labored breaths until he felt the knife begin digging into his skin.

Eros screamed, the sound barely muffled by the gag. The blade traced along his back, slicing open his skin with a practiced, agonizing slowness. It started at the top near his shoulders, working down from there. Not at random, no this was a sort of intricate patterning that likely would have been beautiful if the chirurgeon allowed the wounds to heal and scar over.

Down and down and down, covering his back and sides and even his butt. The restraints were tight enough that Eros knew he was being stretched to his limit, barely able to move and trying not to anyway because he knew if he wiggled too much and ruined the ‘art’ that was being created with his flesh the client would make it worse. He just bit the gag, trying to keep his breathing even and not scream too loud and also invoke the ire of his client.

Then came a cut that sent Eros’ eyes rolling back in his head, the pain almost enough to make him pass out and far too close to his balls for his liking. Not that it wasn’t inevitable; the client pushed a little further every time, always trying to find that next limit to put Eros over the edge. Someday he would probably go too far, but even if he did there was nothing Eros could do about it – the chirurgeon would have to declare that the client had hurt him too badly to be allowed back, but that was a limit reserved for those that nearly killed people and while painful this was far from being deadly.

“Ah, so there it is little one.” The man chuckled, enjoying the renewed screaming as he cut further and further into Eros’ inner thighs. “But look at you, all hard. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you like this, you dirty little boy.” He reached down, grabbing at Eros’ cock and smirking as the action immediately resulted in Eros moaning and burying his face further in the pillow.

Eros couldn’t help it, though. Every time the pain faded it just resulted in pleasure, and feeling the rough hands stroking at his dick was too much. He wanted to cum so bad, but he also knew better than to do so without permission and he was at least skilled enough to be able to hold back for a good long while. Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long, the client deciding he was done with the knife and moving on to sex.

This was the part Eros could just zone out for. His body was used to being fucked, and this client wasn’t particularly impressive as far as that went. Average sized, maybe even a bit below, and completely uncreative about the whole thing. Eros let his mind wander, letting his body moan and scream and function on instinct while he thought instead of what kind of life he might have if he could ever manage to buy his freedom.

Not that such a thing was likely, he knew, but he could always dream. Dream of being an adventurer, perhaps, of learning to fight monsters and help people. Of people knowing his actual name instead of calling him a whore.

When the warmth began to flow through his body Eros let himself come back into the present, falling still on the bed with his own cock still hard and throbbing while the client pulled out and sat there for a moment to breathe and gather himself. After that he was done, cleaning himself up and dressing before undoing the cuffs that kept Eros in place.

“I’ll see you again soon, my darling canvas.” He mused, staring once more at the art he had created with his knife across the skin of Eros’ back before departing.

Once he was gone Eros sighed and sat up, knowing the sheets were already stained with the blood that had trickled off him so it was pointless to be careful. He headed for the shower, letting the sting of the hot water reignite the pain as he finished himself off. After that it was wrapping a towel around himself and heading down to see the chirurgeon to get patched up, feeling the healing magic stitching his skin back together until it was perfectly smooth as if he had never been cut up to begin with.

But the night was still young, and Eros knew there were yet clients to see, so he wandered off to tell his handler he was done and ready for another.

******

“Beg and I might just let you cum, slave.” The woman smirked as she pulled on the leash connected to Eros’ collar, forcing him to come closer to her.

“Please mistress.” Eros put on his best pleading voice, not bothering to try to hide the slight moan as her hand fondled the cage that currently held his dick. “Please let me cum.” He lowered his eyes, playing the submissive for her just like she wanted.

“Hmm…..Not good enough, you little slut. How about we try again after I fuck you?” She pushed Eros onto the bed on his back, knowing he wouldn’t move as she turned to get what she needed out of the box by the bed.

There was a nice sleeve that went over the cage, making Eros’ dick bigger than it normally would have been but also squeezing in such a way he found himself shuddering even before she began to ride him. The tightness of the cage, the sleeve, and her vagina pushing in on him was almost unbearable and he found himself knowing that without those things even all of his training likely wouldn’t have stopped him from having an orgasm.

But they were there, and with everything pressed in so tight no matter how much he felt there was no way he could. The client’s own moans of pleasure were not helping as she bounced on top of him just to get things going before pulling Eros up to swap their positions. He knew what she wanted and he gave it to her, pinning her to the bed and fucking her with all the pent up tension he had until she screamed out her own orgasm while his remained denied.

“Please mistress...” Eros panted as he pulled out, the pleasure so overwhelming he felt his head spinning.

“That’s a little better, but still not good enough. Lay down.” She snarled at him, watching as he complied and laid himself on the bed once she got up. “On your back, I don’t need you rutting yourself into the sheets to try and get some pleasure out of this.”

Eros rolled over to stare at the ceiling, feeling the familiar cold metal of the cuffs binding him. He didn’t fight having a blindfold put on, but there was a bit of a surprised gasp as the cage was removed with the sleeve. That was his mistake in getting a bit comfortable thinking she might let him finally have an orgasm, for what replaced the cage was simply another one. A worse one, he knew from the moment the tip of metal rod touched the end of his dick. It was tapered too, growing larger the more of it she pushed in until he felt for sure he had been stretched to his limit and then larger still until it reached the end where it went from very large to much smaller not unlike the shape of a butt plug.

It was all Eros could do to keep himself from cursing as the straps draped over the outside of his dick, tightening around his balls and holding them while also holding the rod in place in case the shape wasn’t enough to keep him from pushing it out. Those same straps were tethered to a rather short but thick plug the client inserted into his ass, finally looping around his waist to make the whole little contraption complete.

“There now, don’t you just look darling. And now, no matter how badly you want to, there will be nothing you can do to cum. I’m going to enjoy watching you squirm.” The words rang out and Eros barely had time to register them before his mind went blank.

Electricity flowed through the rod in his dick, lighting up every nerve in the already overstimulated and overly sensitive area. It also flowed to the plug, passing right over his prostate in the process and causing that to receive an extra flow of pleasure.

Eros squirmed as much as the restraints would let him, screaming out in a mixture of pleasure and the pain that was settling in as his body was overstimulated and pushed to the limits. He had no idea how long that went on for, and it was possibly worse when the sensations stopped. Which they seemed to do at what to his overloaded mind was completely random intervals. Stop and start, stop and start, on and on until all he could do was lay there twitching involuntarily because everything else was burnt out.

“Awe, did I break you? That’s no fun.” The client mused, and Eros felt the rod and plug being pulled out. He was panting, sweaty, and so worked up that the second she wrapped her hand around his dick after the rod was gone he exploded in a mess of cum and moaning and shuddering before collapsing.

“I’ll be back, little rabbit.” She purred, reaching up to begin uncuffing him. “You only lasted ten minutes before you broke. So I’ll make regular appointments, and we’ll see if we can’t get that up to an hour hm?” The amusement in her voice was obvious, but Eros didn’t care.

Ten minutes had felt like a lifetime, he could only imagine the torture of an hour. But he also couldn’t complain or it would just get worse, and as long as the chirurgeons didn’t deem it to be a threat to his health or life the clients could do whatever they wanted. When she left he rolled over and curled up on instinct, unsure how long he was there before the door opened. A gentle hand pressed on his shoulder, passing just enough healing magic into his battered body to let his mind come back without being overloaded.

“Damn, she did a number on you huh?” The familiar voice of his handler broke through the haze, and all Eros could do was groan in agreement. “I’ll get her barred. Playing with the elements is one thing, but this is overboard.” The man leaned over, helping Eros sit up but not pushing him for the moment.

Eros vaguely heard a bit more conversation, he presumed over a linkpearl, and after that he didn’t remember anything for a bit. He was never told the extent of his injuries, but he knew that had to be bad as much to his relief the client never came back like she promised.

******

Eros tried to never judge his clients, but this was a new one even for him. The clients were brother and sister, twins in fact, and there was some level of whiplash looking between them as they undressed and stood before him.

“What do you desire of me?” Eros asked, having never worked with the pair before.

“Come here, I’m going to see how much that ass of yours can take.” The brother smirked, seating himself in a nearby chair.

Eros tried not to stare as he wandered over, the man’s dick already intimidating enough. Then again that was the Roegadyn, they were large in stature and everything else scaled to match. For the women that was something Eros found himself enjoying, most of them had breasts he could use as pillows and weren’t interested in much aside from simply having a good time. For the men not so much, it was bad enough that they were lengthy enough to put Eros’ skill in fellatio to the test but they tended to be plenty girthy to match as well.

At least he took direction well, turning around as the brother motioned and letting out a slight breath at the feeling of the hands clenching his hips. What he didn’t expect was the feeling of a thick finger prodding at his ass until it wiggled inside, which was a relief as a wave of ecstasy washed over him. At least the brother had the good sense to do some foreplay and prep work, Eros was almost worried he’d have to go without in this instance.

His eyes wandered over to the sister, who had poised herself on the bed and looked back at him with a smirk. She was already playing with herself, one hand caressing her pussy while the other fondled with one of her ample breasts. That combined with a second finger in his ass and Eros felt himself getting hard, his moans already starting to echo in the room.

“I think you’re ready.” The brother practically purred, pulling his fingers out and pulling Eros back and down in one swift movement.

So swift that Eros barely had time to register the words, let alone what was happening, and he rather unprofessionally let out a yelp of pain. The fingers had done next to nothing to prepare him for the sheer girth of the cock that pressed into his ass, stretching the orifice beyond anything Eros was used to. Still he tried to settle himself, breathing deep to put his head back into the right space for his clients.

“Almost, brother. If I had to say by that look on his face I’d say this one is as close as you’ve come to really breaking someone. Outside of that virgin from a few weeks back.” The sister giggled, getting up off the bed and approaching slowly.

“Good. It was no fun having them pass out just because I stuck it in. I want to have some enjoyment.” The brother grunted.

Eros knew he was in for a long night after that. The worst part was that the brother was nowhere near full hardness when he’d forced himself in, though had he been Eros knew the penetration would have been enough to make him pass out. He wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing that the pair seemed to have learned the ways of keeping their ‘toys’ awake and aware while they played.

It meant he got to experience everything; the mixed pain and pleasure as the brother tilted him forward and started pounding into him. The joy of getting to eat out the sister and show her what a skilled tongue and hands could do, listening to her moans outweigh his own as he brought her to orgasm again and again and again until she told him to stop. Feeling the brother flare inside of him, that action alone causing Eros into another orgasm (he had lost count of his own by that point) before the white-hot liquid rushed into him. So much that he felt his stomach distending a little bit, completely filling everything. He was pulled back to the chair to sit, realizing only at that moment the brother was nowhere near done as the minutes dragged on and he continued pumping his seed into Eros.

Even when he was done, though, he was still rock hard and Eros braced himself for another round. He tried to keep count but that turned out to be impossible, though after what had to be at least four orgasms that left Eros so full it almost looked like he was pregnant the brother finally pulled out and left Eros discarded on the floor while he fucked his sister. How she put up with his sheer size was beyond anything Eros could comprehend given that his mind was swimming with hazy pleasure to try and block out the pain. Easier given the sister’s moans as she was clearly enjoying her brother’s length inside of her, at least, until the last of his strength gave out and Eros blacked out on the floor.

He woke up in the shower, propped up by his handler under the warm stream. It took a few minutes before he was able to brace himself and stand on his own, which he knew was a relief to the other man.

“Once we empty you we’re going to the infirmary.” The handler said in a firm voice.

“I don’t need to.” Eros grunted, pressing on his stomach in an attempt to get rid of some of the bloating caused by the sheer amount of seed that had been forced into him.

“I’m not asking.” The handler glared at Eros, stepping out of the water for the moment. “I’m going to get a change of clothes, and when I get back we’re going.” He was soaked, having pulled Eros into the shower as soon as he found the Viera passed out on the floor.

Eros rolled his eyes but knew better than to argue past that point. He just focused on trying to empty himself out and let the water wash it all down the drain before stepping out and drying off, wrapping the towel around his waist. When his handler came back they headed down, one of the usual chirurgeons checking him over before shaking her head.

“A little internal bleeding, probably from the tearing, but it’s nothing we can’t fix. I know it’s close to close but I’m going to write you off for the night anyway.” Eros appreciated that she was being safe about it, settling in as her healing magic washed over him and fixed everything as it always did.

Afterwards he headed back to his room, still a bit sore but knowing there was nothing to be done for that. He fell asleep with some hope that he’d feel better by that evening before he had to start seeing clients again.

******

Eros was well used to people being able to manipulate the aetheric flow to change their bodies, but he’d never had a client request to do it to him. Not that he could say no even if he disliked the idea, even if he did find himself wildly uncomfortable with this particular idea.

“Just hold still, it won’t hurt.” The man reached out a hand, focusing on Eros.

There was a light that came with it, emanating from the man’s hand and enveloping Eros completely before dying down. Eros blinked for a moment, having felt nothing at all and looking over his body with some curiosity.

“All he changed is what’s important. Right here.” The second man stepped up behind Eros, slipping a hand between his thighs.

Eros had to take a moment to realize what he was feeling, fingers sliding over something sensitive and making him shiver slightly. He still had his dick, but below that the other had changed his body to accommodate a vagina as well.

“Mostly functional, in the ways that matter.” The first man nodded. “You can’t get pregnant. But you’ll certainly feel everything.”

Eros didn’t know how to respond to that so he just stayed quiet aside from a slight moan as the second man continued to touch his newly formed genitals. That was an entirely different sensation from what he was used to, and though Eros knew the female body quite well in order to please his clients having a vagina for himself was a whole set of new feelings. Worse, it was starting to overwhelm him quickly and that was a bad sign.

Things only got worse from there. Eros found himself pulled onto the bed, the first man behind him and the second man in front of him. Before he could get a handle on what was happening he felt both dicks pressing into his body and a long, loud moan escaped his lips at the sensation.

Two in his ass wasn’t an unusual thing, in fact it was more common than he liked. But one in his ass and one in his newly formed vagina was enough to set his head spinning and his body shuddering with the waves of pleasure.

“Look at that, he came just from me sticking it in.” The second man boasted, pushing himself a little further and smirking as that action elicited another moan from Eros.

“Well, I did make him extra sensitive when I….manipulated his aether.” The first settled himself hilted in Eros, content with that for the moment.

“Right, I forgot you can do that. Your little pain is pleasure trick.”

“And just making him more sensitive in general. When you get whores like this they’re often pretty desensitized, this resets them almost like virgins all over again.”

Eros registered the words and cursed internally. These two knew what they were doing far beyond what they had first appeared, and that was enough to cause him some concern. Furthered by the fact that he knew they were right; all his training and experience was useless in this situation, the dick in his ass felt like the first time all over again and while there should have been some level of pain from being stretched so far it was just wave after wave of pleasure making its way through his body.

There wasn’t even time to adjust before both men started moving. Even at first, but settling into a rhythm of odds; one pulled out just as the other slammed into him, and the competing sensations drove him to an orgasm very shortly. Which was another odd sensation, for though he still had his dick and there was no denying how hard he was Eros wasn’t feeling much there and it all seemed to be coming from internally. Probably another trick of the manipulated aether, but he didn’t have time to ponder that as his mind started to spiral into the familiar bliss.

Would that the pair had been content with that, but instead after the first round of orgasms from them the first pulled out of his ass and Eros threw his head back with a yelp of surprise when he felt both dicks in his vagina. While the genitals were meant to expand to fit a baby when a woman gave birth, as Eros had heard it said such a thing was not the norm and thus it wasn’t meant to be comfortable. Women who often had to deal with larger partners who tried to use the baby logic said that quite a bit, and now Eros knew why.

Thanks to the way his body had been manipulated there wasn’t any pain even though he knew logically there should have been some, but the feeling of two dicks inside the same hole was starting to fray the limits of that particular enchantment and he could feel some small level of discomfort setting in. Of course the pair were not done, and Eros had to fight the urge to move too much as a rather long, thick plug was shoved into his ass where the first man’s dick had previously been.

“Damn, he gets even tighter when you do that.” The first man commented.

“It’ll get better when I turn it on and we both start fucking him.” The second breathed those words directly into Eros’ ear, though they were lost the second the plug started vibrating and wiggling around inside of him.

Eros moaned loudly, unashamed of the sound as he felt the men starting to move. Again in that odd rhythm, one pulling out as the other pushed in, manipulating him from two sides while the plug wiggled and pulsed erratically inside of him.

From that point Eros lost track of what happened. He remembered feeling the pair cumming inside of him at least twice, coming to himself not once they were gone but rather once there was a knock on his door before his handler stepped into the room to check on him. He could still feel the plug in his ass and a similar vibrating sensation in his vagina, almost whining when his handler pulled them out and made Eros sit up on his own for a moment.

“You in there?” The man asked, sighing when Eros didn’t really answer him. He picked the Viera up and hauled him into the shower, letting the cold water do the job of bringing Eros back.

“That’s fucking cold.” Eros complained, his voice weak as his body shivered.

“It’s supposed to be dumbass.” The handler sighed, getting Eros out of the shower and toweling him off. “And we’re going to see the chirurgeons. I don’t like this.” He growled, picking Eros up still wrapped in the towel and heading for the infirmary.

One of the chirurgeons was quick to look Eros over, though after determining he was conscious and uninjured she quickly disappeared before coming back with a sour look on her face.

“Boss says to leave you like this.” The chirurgeon shook her head, offering Eros a change of clothes instead. “He says it might make some of the clients like you more, and that you’ll get used to it in time.”

Eros grumbled, but he knew better than to take it out on her. She was under the control of the head of the house same as everyone else, and he could tell by the tone of her voice that she’d probably tried to protest only to get threatened with doing as she was told lest she become another sexual plaything like those she treated every night. Eros knew what he alone had suffered was enough to scare most people, he couldn’t imagine the dozens she saw every night in similar states and how that must have frightened her.

“Oh, but I did write you off for the rest of the night. I told the boss that you needed rest to adjust to the manipulation of your aether and another client tonight wouldn’t be a good idea. He took the recommendation and said you can rest.” She gave Eros a soft smile.

“Thanks. I really….don’t think I could have taken another client tonight.” Eros hated to admit that, he knew what he had to do and he was usually very proud of doing it well.

“I could tell, especially with how they left you. Go get some sleep.” She opened the door, waiting for Eros to leave before shutting it and following him down the hallway before disappearing through another door to see someone else as Eros kept going back into the house proper and then to his room, too exhausted to feel anything else for now.

Sleep did not come easy, and for the first time in a long time Eros cried. His hands wrapped around the little silver pendant his mother had left to him, tears soaking into the stuffed animal in his arms – the only thing Lorelei had left behind when she was sold off years ago. He missed them both, and this only made things so much worse. Freedom would never be his, and now the clients had a new way to abuse him. Eros truly did not know how much more he could take, and he fell asleep as his body was simply too tired to stay awake any longer, praying to any deity listening that some day he could get away from this life.

******

A job he had once loved was now despised, though Eros always had problems with the sensory deprivation crowd like his latest client. He was tied to a chair, aside from a frame holding the seat together there was nothing there which left him rather exposed. His wrists rubbed uncomfortably against one another and the rope that had been used to bind him, and he could feel that his ankles were going to hurt after this was said and done. A blindfold kept him from seeing anything, a gag kept him from doing much except biting into it and trying not to drool too much, and the music that echoed in the air muddled his hearing enough that he couldn’t actually tell where the client was or what they were doing.

It also screwed with his sense of time, leaving him with no idea of how long he had been there. He tried to judge based on how sore his body felt but that wasn’t very accurate and all Eros could do was sit and wait.

He tried to put his mind on the music, following along with the melody playing from the Orchestrion in the corner. Which of course left him at the mercy of his client, who seemingly out of nowhere shoved a rather large dildo into his vagina. Unlubricated, though that mattered little given Eros was already wet from the anticipation of it all. It was worse for the one that got shoved into his ass, and he felt the straps tighten which meant both devices were connected almost like a pair of underwear and they weren’t going to go anywhere once everything was clipped in place.

A little vibrator was placed against the underside of his dick, held in place with some cord, and Eros barely had time to process before all three instruments began to vibrate. He arched his back, feeling how badly the rope dug in but unable to stop himself as the waves of pleasure began to wash over him. Even if he was trying now he wouldn’t have been able to tell where the client was, and he didn’t care. Every sensitive part was being assaulted with the pleasurable vibrations and he just let himself get carried away in it while it was still something nice, because after about his third or fourth orgasm with no indication that the client was going to untie him or make the vibrators stop it just became frustrating.

Thanks to the manipulation of his aether Eros didn’t feel pain anymore. He’d tried, cutting into his forearm with a knife just afterwards, but all that did was convert into pleasure that made things rather awkward when he had to go back to the chirurgeons to get patched up. His body just converted any pain or discomfort into more pleasure, which was all well and good until it lead to over stimulation and his nerves started to fray.

At that point all he could do was fall limp, the little twitches of his body entirely involuntary between the forced orgasms and his mind blank until he felt it stop. Or at least the vibrators stopped, soaking wet as they were pulled out of his body, and Eros thought the client was done with him.

He was very wrong, however, as he was untied and then thrown rather roughly onto the nearby bed. Rolled onto his stomach, his hips pulled into the air, and a thick cock shoved into his still pulsing vagina. Eros managed a small moan at that one, the feeling of his hole being stretched more than the vibrator had done was at least something different. But he was too exhausted to be anything more than passive as the client fucked him and came inside of him before leaving him there still blindfolded and gagged.

It was only after Eros heard the door shut that he got up, removing the gag first so he could breathe a little easier and leaving both gag and blindfold on the bed while he cleaned himself up before going to see if he could take on another client for the night. Not that he wanted to, especially with how unsteady his legs were, but that was the life and he knew he’d be in trouble if he didn’t given how many operating hours the house still had and knowing he wouldn’t get a write off for the night from the chirurgeons just for being tired.

******

Fire was dangerous, most knew, and Eros had his fair share of burns from brands and candles held to his flesh to hear him scream. But this was different, for it wasn’t the fire he had to look out for now; it was the wax.

Wax dripped off of a burning candle onto his skin, the sensation of the heat only temporary before the contact with his much cooler by comparison body forced it to harden. But with his modified aether it just sent ripples of pleasure through him instead of being painful – something the client was taking full advantage of. The wax was already dripping over his hardened dick, making things difficult and constricting as the pleasure built up and he knew that this was going to be a long, frustrating night.

The wax soon covered his chest and nipples, and had been dripped back down over his thighs as well when the client wasn’t busy pooling it on his dick until the organ was almost completely encased in what had to be several candles worth of wax.

“You know, they said short of killing you and cutting off body parts I can do whatever I want to you.” The client crooned softly, her hand gently running over Eros’ chest and idly picking at the bits of wax. “I think later I’ll turn your dick into a nice candle. How does that sound?” She teased, smirking as Eros started to pull at his restraints.

He couldn’t really answer her thanks to the gag in his mouth, but he knew what she was planning and his mind went into panic mode. Not that he could stop her, of course; just like he couldn’t stop the fingers that wiggled into his vagina and began stroking all his sensitive areas, forcing him into an orgasm that tried to ripple through his dick only to be denied when it came into contact with the thick coat of wax obstructing everything. There was simply nowhere for the fluid to go, so it sat backed up inside of him while the pleasure continued to wash over him.

“I see you’re ready. Let’s get this party started, then.” The client teased, pulling her hand back and leaving Eros on the bed to try and catch his breath while she fetched what she needed.

A metal sounding rod, heated already so it easily melted away the wax around his tip before being harshly shoved into his dick. The heat should have hurt such sensitive areas but all it did was make him want to cum again. Despite the tube being hollow it had a capped bottom to block him off, and he could only watch as she dropped a small length of rope inside and dripped a bit of oil from one of the lanterns in the room before lighting it up. The wick burned in the tube, quickly heating up and setting him on fire from the inside out.

The wax began to melt from the increased heat as Eros tried not to squirm too much; doing so might spill the oil, and with it the fire. While the chirurgeons could fix him from even the worst burns, with the way his body was now that pain would only bring him increased pleasure and Eros did not want his brain conditioned to respond to pain as pleasure any more than he had to.

“Huh, normally guys are screaming in pain right about now. Guess they were right about you, I can do anything I like and it’s going to just make you all hot and bothered.” The client mused, sitting back to watch her handiwork.

It didn’t take long for the wax to melt off completely and the oil to burn out, though, and when it was done the client let things cool off before replacing the rod with another one, one that Eros was a little more familiar with. It vibrated inside of him, which added to the frustration of not being able to cum with his dick and was compounded when he felt the familiar warm sensation of a vagina as the client fucked him. Or rather fucked herself on him, but semantics at that point and extra frustrating for Eros as he bucked up into her, desperate to cum but knowing full well he wouldn’t be able to.

She rode him for a while, edging herself into a few orgasms before collapsing on top of Eros with his dick still firmly inside of her just as one last tease. Worse, she untied one of his hands before leaving which left him with the extra long task of extracting himself from the restraints before stumbling into the bathroom and pulling the rod out in the shower. It clattered to the floor followed by a wave of cum, but Eros wasn’t done and forced himself into a handful of orgasms just to clear things out before he leaned against the wall and slid down, too exhausted to even try to turn the water off.

After an hour his handler opened the bathroom door, knowing the client had left and doing his job of checking up on Eros. Finding the Viera collapsed in the shower he sighed and turned the water off, grabbing a towel before wrapping Eros up and hauling him down to the chirurgeons. Eros remained unconscious and unaware as he was patched up by healing magic, written off for the night and returned to his room by his handler to sleep it off.

Eros woke up at some point, rolling over and finding the note left by his handler. It was well past when the house was closed anyway, so he settled for using the bathroom and going back to bed for the time being. Word was spreading and his clients were growing bolder, and he found himself fearing what future nights might bring.

******

“Well, the good news is you aren’t pregnant. I can’t sense the aether of another inside of you.” The chirurgeon pulled their hand back, giving Eros a nod.

“I think I’d prefer pregnant at this point. If they have you checking that means things are going to be rough tonight.” Eros sighed as he sat up, pulling his shirt down to cover his midriff.

“I’m not at liberty to say. But…..yeah, prepare for things to get rough.” The chirurgeon gave him a look that was almost pity before handing over a sheet of paper that declared he’d been looked over.

“Lovely.” Eros grumbled, knowing better than to try and stall. Whatever was going on the sooner it was over with the better, so he headed to the basement to see what was waiting for him.

What he hadn’t expected was to see a mostly empty room and what looked like a small enclosed cage for an animal along with the client and the house’s owner. Sometimes people had some odd kinks, but whatever this was Eros got the feeling it was something else entirely.

“Ah, there you are. All checked out then?” The boss asked, taking the paper Eros handed over and nodding before slipping it into his pocket. “Good. I’m surprised no one has knocked you up yet, but at least that means you’ll have some use tonight. I’ll let the good professor here explain and set things up, I trust you’ll cooperate.” He put a hand on Eros’ wrist and gripped a bit tightly before walking out the door, leaving just Eros and the client and whatever the little cage held.

“I need you to take off your clothes and lay on the floor.” The man looked at Eros, who simply shrugged and began undressing. “What’s in the cage is a species of morbol, but they’re very rare and nearly extinct. In the wild they would reproduce by hijacking the female of a mammalian species with a special type of pheromone and impregnating her with their eggs, holding her for a few days until the eggs reached maturity and she could begin to lay them.” The man began to explain as he walked over to the cage, holding up a hand to one of the small holes in the metal and almost seeming to revel in the tentacle that poked out to wrap around his fingers. “But for some reason the past few generations have been born without the ability to produce the pheromone. We suspect a disturbance of the aether in their environment after the Calamity, or perhaps with everything else that’s going on at present. So they’re quickly getting wiped out as adventurers mistake them for their more aggressive kin or they get desperate for the chance to reproduce and move closer to habitated areas looking for suitable hosts. Now less than a hundred of their number remain, and those of us looking to study them have to resort to paying for methods like this to get them to have their next generations.” He seemed almost saddened at that, pulling his hand back and shaking his head.

Eros hadn’t said anything, it wasn’t his place. But now he knew why the chirurgeons had given him such a thorough inspection for his health and made extra sure he wasn’t pregnant. He was going to be used as a breeding toy by a monster, and that was a new low even for the house. Yet for what they had put into him for the aether manipulation to allow him to get pregnant they probably had expected he’d pop out a child by now that they could sell off to the highest bidder in order to make up for some of that expense. Eros knew trying to fight was pointless.

After a moment, and seeing that Eros had no response, the professor simply sighed and left. There were no windows, just the harsh lighting from above and the cage that sat in the corner, and Eros could do little but wait as the door was opened remotely and the morbol writhed its way out into the room.

A slimy tentacle snaked over to Eros, then another and another until he had one wrapped around each limb suspending him in the air in front of the creature. It opened its mouth, showing rows of razor sharp teeth that quickly pulled back into the flesh and left nothing but soft gums that quickly wrapped around Eros’ lower half, swallowing him up to his chest while his arms were pulled behind his back and held in place.

It was worse not being able to see what was happening. To just feel the internal tentacles that wrapped around his legs and spread them wide, and the tongue that dragged itself over his dick and then down to his vagina before penetrating him. That was an odd sensation, the morbol’s tongue just wiggling around inside before it bumped up against his cervix. Normally that would have been quite painful, but his modified body instead turned it into a wave of pleasure intense enough to cause an orgasm from the first go which seemed to please the morbol as he felt its entire body vibrate slightly as if it were humming.

Then it pushed its tongue further, exploring directly into his womb and causing confusion for Eros as he wiggled around trying to free himself from the creature. That was a sensation that he did not like, even if his nerves were insisting to his brain that it felt very good. Of course the movement to find anything he could get leverage on and try to pull himself free only added to that, and Eros felt another tentacle slowly beginning to wrap itself around his dick. The appendage opened itself, engulfing him completely in a barrage of sensations that made him cum almost straight away and thwarted any footing he might have gained in terms of an escape attempt.

All Eros could do was lay there limp, letting the creature tongue-fuck his vagina while one tentacle worked his dick and another had slipped into his ass to begin pressing around until it found the right pleasure spots and worked those with an intensity that no client had managed to get down.

As the tongue retreated Eros took a deep breath to center himself, not knowing what was next. Not expecting the already overly large tentacle to press into him with two more accompanying it, the smaller two pushing ahead and spreading his cervix in a manner that made Eros yelp out as some level of pain finally pushed through all the other sensations he was feeling. Then he just felt full as the morbol began to plant its eggs inside of him, causing his stomach to swell to an uncomfortable size. In fact just when Eros thought the morbol was done and his own body felt like it was going to explode there was a flood of warmth that he realized was the creature fertilizing the eggs that now sat in his womb. It plugged him up as it pulled out, ensuring none of its precious seed was lost and then used its tentacles to set Eros on the floor with a surprising softness.

The morbol was running on instinct, Eros guessed. It was expecting to have access to the pheromones that the generations before had enjoyed which likely allowed it to impregnate hosts without struggle and leave them safely while the eggs incubated. Not that he had anywhere to go, the door was shut tight and it was unlikely they were going to let him out until it was done with him.

Days passed. Every few hours someone brought food for Eros and it was slid under a hatch in the door on a tray for him. A small corner of the room had been modified as a bathroom, though calling it that was an insult and really it was more just a place he could do his business without it getting all over the room. They had provided a dirty mattress for him to sleep on which at least was softer than the stone floors, the morbol in its cage but the door open so the creature could come at him any time it wanted. Yet it waited, likely acting on another instinct to sit quietly nearby until he started to lay the eggs and only react if it was clear he was trying to escape.

Eros didn’t know how long it was, but he woke up to a gush of fluid from between his legs and gasped as his body began to feel the contractions. The morbol was quick to act, tentacles wrapping around his arms to pull him into a kneeling position with his legs splayed wide. A tentacle began to work at his vagina, not penetrating but just rubbing the overly sensitive outside bits as the first egg began to descend. It popped out of Eros’ body with a sickening sound, but he couldn’t deny the sensations that came with it as he reached an orgasm, something the morbol saw fit to reward him with by using another tentacle to begin stroking his dick again.

On and on the process went, his body shuddering from orgasm with each egg that squelched its way out of him and the constant sensation of the tentacle sucking on his dick. When he thought he was done the tentacle that had been slowly caressing his vagina and taking the eggs wiggled its way inside, once again pushing through his cervix and exploring around his womb like the morbol’s tongue had done before. It pulled out one more egg, two more, three more…..six in total that would have simply remained behind had the tentacle not seen fit to retrieve them.

Eros lay on the floor exhausted, hearing the morbol retreat back into the cage with its eggs and the metal door grind shut. He didn’t bother to pull himself up as someone opened the door, hearing the disappointed grunt before footsteps approached and he was hauled to his feet. Forcing him to walk worked well for about two steps before he collapsed again, which resulted in his handler having to pick him up to return him to his room.

Later Eros would find out he was allowed almost a week of rest after that, for not only had the researcher paid well but he paid for every egg that came out of the clutch and more yet for each one that turned out to be viable. Apparently not all were, and another factor to the species decline was the generally low fertility rate. Eros had been implanted with almost twenty eggs and all but two were viable, so the researcher was very pleased indeed to find a suitable host for the morbols.

Once he had been allowed to recover Eros would go through that process again for nearly three years, simply being put in a room and pumped full of eggs and morbol sperm and left there for a few days until he laid them, then allowed a week or so of rest before doing it again. Finally less than a quarter of the eggs came back viable, and the professor considered him unfit for breeding after that batch. Eros was ‘rewarded’ with almost a whole month off to prepare for having to go back to regular clients.

Oddly enough, he missed the morbols. For everything they had put him through they were just trying to carry on their species. They weren’t malicious, hurting him because they could or they got off on it like the normal clients. They had been as gentle with him as their size and the process would allow. Mindless animals that showed him more care and compassion than any client he’d ever worked with, which said a lot about the work he did in general.

******

Eros knew he had a long night ahead of him when he found himself standing outside of an unfamiliar room. While most of the time he worked out of the same room, sometimes a different room would be assigned for various reasons but at least they were always on the second or third floor and just the normal rooms. The basement rooms were special, outfitted with gear that wasn’t found in the normal rooms, and Eros found himself in an unusual state of dread as he stared at the basement door. He’d never been the most social with the other workers in the house, preferring not to compare stories of horrible clients and whatever else it was the others idly chatted about in the off hours, so while he knew that people did use the rooms he had no idea what to expect as he took a deep breath and opened the door.

Mirrors. All four walls and the ceiling, even the back of the door, covered in reflective glass. The floor likely wasn’t just because it’d be too easy to get it dirty and cracked, but the white carpet gave Eros very little comfort as he closed the door behind him and looked to his client. She was already waiting, a selection of toys laid out on the bed that she seemed to be looking over before the sound of the door drew her attention.

“Shy, are we?” She teased, easily reading Eros’ body language.

“Yes mistress. I haven’t been in this room before.” Eros was mindful of his words, giving a polite bow to the woman as he spoke.

“A good looking thing like you? Hm, then again I suppose most who take an interest in dominating you aren’t too interested in seeing themselves in a mirror.” She chuckled, walking over and putting a hand under Eros’ chin to force him to look up at her.

Eros didn’t answer as that wasn’t a question, and she seemed satisfied with that as she let him go and wandered back to the bed to study what she’d pulled out. Deciding he didn’t want to know what she would do to him Eros simply undressed, folding his clothes neatly and sliding them under the bed where they wouldn’t be in the way of things.

By the time he was done with that the client had turned around, boasting a rather impressive strap-on that made Eros blink for a moment. But he understood her body language, approaching slowly and submissively before getting down on his knees and nuzzling against the artificial dick. This was rewarded with a hand on his head, gently scratching behind his ears and eliciting a deep purr from his throat.

“Good boy, you know your place. Now why don’t you suck on that, get it nice and lubricated.” She kept scratching behind his ears and Eros complied, gently taking the dick into his mouth.

He was mindful of his teeth as he took the whole thing to the hilt, letting his tongue slither around. Sucking dick wasn’t his favorite thing and he wasn’t asked to do it often but with a strap-on it wasn’t like she would know the difference in his skill level so Eros found himself a little more confident as he worked until he felt her hand pull back on his hair a little bit – the sign she’d had enough and wanted him to stop.

Bright silver eyes looked up at the client as he sat there, not standing yet as she hadn’t commanded him to. She smirked, offering a hand to help him to his feet before spinning him around so that he found himself facing the mirrored wall of the room.

“I want you to watch while I fuck you.” Her voice whispered into his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. “Don’t close your eyes. Just watch.”

The room was considerably smaller than most, barely having space to move around the bed, which meant that Eros was much closer to the mirror than he would have liked to be. He could see every detail of his own body, right down to his own twitching cock which showed just how worked up he got sucking dick and with the simple idea that the strap-on was going to fuck him.

Eros stared for a long moment as the client sat down, forgetting himself until she put her hands on his hips and started to pull him towards her. Which was all well and good until he felt the unexpected sensation of the strap on pushing against his vagina as she spread his legs to either side of her own. In the mirror Eros could see everything, watching the strap-on pushing into him inch by inch and sorting that out with the sensations of it sliding inside of him.

Normally a woman enjoyed pegging him, usually in response to the men in their lives constantly asking for anal sex but refusing to be on the other end of it because that made them ‘gay’ or whatever other emasculating thing they decided it was. But this client had other things in mind, and she pulled Eros’ legs wider as she hilted inside of him.

“Your dick is in the way. Why don’t you stroke it for me?” She smirked over his shoulder, keeping her hands firmly on his thighs to keep his legs spread while Eros obligingly used one hand to start masturbating. He was a bit lost in that, staring at his reflection with a bit of fascination, which caught him off guard when her hands gripped his wrists and pulled both arms harshly behind his shoulder. Rope snaked its way around and tied tight, keeping his hands firmly in place there.

Eros whined a little, frustrated now because he’d worked himself up and the client wasn’t doing anything. She just sat there, the fake dick shoved up inside of him, staring over his shoulder at the mirror for what seemed like an eternity. He whined again, daring to move his hips just a little bit to get something, anything, in terms of stimulation...and then quickly stopped when she reached around and slapped his dick hard enough that were he still able to feel pain he probably would have ended up on the floor in the fetal position. Instead he moaned loudly, feeling himself tighten as the dick inside of him suddenly felt much larger.

“They told me you’d been altered, but I didn’t think to this degree. Or maybe you just get off on pain?” She teased, slapping him again and smirking as he writhed with the pleasure. “Either way, I want you to watch. And if you don’t, I’ll make sure you’re in so much pain that you’ll go crazy.” A bold statement, but Eros didn’t doubt her ability to at least try.

He kept his eyes forward, glad when she laid down and pulled him back with her. From that position he knew what to do, shifting his knees for some leverage and starting to fuck himself on the strap-on. Watching in the mirror was surreal, it almost didn’t feel like he was really there. Having sex was one thing, but watching it was another, and with the position of things he felt it when the client grabbed his ass but didn’t realize her intention to start fingering him until she had already pushed the first one in. Then a second, then a third, stretching his hole in time with his thrusts….until she wasn’t fingering him, she was fisting him. Her fingers stretched out and Eros shuddered as he came the moment she brushed his prostate. Everything clamped down and his legs shook but he didn’t dare stop, staring at the mirror and focusing on his own image. He lost track of time, and lost track of how many times she made him orgasm, stopping only when she finally pulled her hand from his ass and yanked his hips down with a thrust that rammed his cervix, bringing him to another orgasm as she spasmed in a similar manner below him.

Knowing better than to move too much Eros just sat there, all his weight on his shaking legs as his hands were still tied uselessly behind him. He waited until the client untied his hands and shifted, slowly extricating herself from him and leaving him on the bed while she stood up and made a show of pulling the strap-on out of herself.

“You know why I told you to look at the mirror?” She looked back at Eros, tilting her head. “It’s one way glass. We see our reflections, but there’s a nice crowd on the other side that saw how absolutely shameless you were. It’s a bar, the sides look out into the main room so anyone who wants can just watch. And I’ve graciously decided to share tonight, so I hope you liked that.” The client motioned to the door and Eros didn’t have much time to register whoever came in as his mind swirled with the mix of pleasure and embarrassment.

In private, in front of clients, he didn’t mind being lewd. But to have that essentially be broadcast to a room full of strangers he couldn’t even see was a new sense of embarrassment that he struggled to come to terms with. Eros didn’t fight being picked up and pushed against the mirrored surface, his hands free to brace him as someone fucked him from behind without any warning or preparation.

That was the rest of the night, Eros trying to tune out the thought that people were watching as he stared at his own reflection in the mirrored surfaces of the room. He lost track of the number of clients, of how he was fucked, of the words said to him that called him a shameless whore and other names. Even when he thought it was over the original client made him masturbate, laying on the bed with his genitals facing the place where people were watching as he spread his legs and touched himself. Could they hear every moan, the way the bed creaked as he bucked against it, the agony in his voice as he was overstimulated past the point of rational thought? He didn’t know, he just knew that eventually it was done and he could only lay there until his handler came in to get him, hauling him back to his room and into the shower to clean up. After that the handler left Eros on the bed to sleep, not really able to do much else for to help the Viera.

******

Another night, and Eros found himself in the familiar situation of being bound, blindfolded and gagged. Though rather than his arms being tied above him or being tied to a bed he was in the so-called ‘rape stand’, a design that started with animals bred for fighting to hold the females so they wouldn’t turn and bite the males when they were mounted for sex. Rather simple, really, his head in a piece that clamped around his neck to keep him from turning around, his wrists enclosed in the same piece and his legs strapped to the floor spread apart. But the client had done something a little different, shifting the position so Eros was facing up with his front exposed instead of bent forward like he normally would be.

Then came the branding. White-hot iron pressed into his flesh, starting with his shoulders before moving to the sides of his exposed butt, his inner thighs, his lower torso, even his nipples before finally ending when the brand pushed into the flesh of his dick. Eros cried out in a strangled mixture of the pleasure his body was now programmed to convert pain into pleasure and actual pain as the sensations were too much for even that to overcome. His whole body felt hot, and not in the way of sexual arousal but actually hot as if he were running a fever.

Eros thought that might be the end of it, realizing he was mistaken only when he felt a large dildo being shoved into his ass. A completely normal sensation until he realized the sensation of his stomach distending wasn’t because of the way he was positioned; the dildo had a little hole in the tip and it was slowly pushing fluids into his body, filling him up. The pressure got worse when a second dildo was shoved into his vagina, its tip passing the barrier of his cervix and seemingly specially tapered to sit just on the other end of the puckered muscle while filling his womb too. And a tube shoved into his urethra, wide enough to prevent him from achieving orgasm while pressing into his bladder but blocked at the end so he couldn’t do anything about the pressure building there either.

The whole ordeal left Eros in a strange state he wasn’t used to, the pain of the brands and the burnt flesh rubbing into places actually enough to overcome his conditioning, made worse by the pressure of everything inside of him swelling. He screamed, though if it was pleasure or pain or a strangled mix of both he didn’t know at all. All he knew was that his head was swimming and then everything felt numb, and he didn’t care when everything was pulled out all at once. There wasn’t anything left in him to try to hold it in and all the fluids came gushing out, pooling on the floor while Eros shamelessly sagged against his restraints.

Then it happened again. And again, and again, again. Eros lost track of how many times he was filled up, each time a little more than the last, driving him to the brink before the pressure was relieved. There was some hazy thought that he didn’t envy whoever was going to have to clean that up, but that was the last clear thing he remembered.

When the client left his handler eventually found him, still strapped to the stand with a vibrator taped to his dick, left to the pleasure of orgasm until he was freed. His handler undid the restraints, dragged him into the shower to cleanup, then carried him down to see the chirurgeons to fix up the burns and reset his nerves so he wasn’t so overstimulated. All things considered the chirurgeon granted him the night off, allowing him to sleep and recover instead of needing to continue working for the evening. The handler took Eros back to his room, laying him down and letting him sleep, and Eros drifted off into unconsciousness while his body worked to put itself back together and prepare for the next evening.

******

Of all the humiliating things Eros had been subjected to, the glory hole was the worst. There was an element of staying secret during it, of course, because the people on the other side couldn’t actually see him, but that just made it worse. Without the shame of someone watching, someone knowing, he always ended up moaning louder. Clenching tighter, being needier. It broke his mind at least a little bit every time because he felt more ashamed than anything at the end of it all.

But it was his last month on the job. Some wealthy investor had decided to buy him, to ‘rescue’ him from his life as a whore. Probably thought he looked pretty, would try to clean him up and make him presentable in front of public eyes and then abuse him just as bad as the clients did behind the scenes. Only with a master Eros wouldn’t have protections; there was no guarantee he’d be healed at the end of the night, or allowed to rest if it was putting too much strain on his body. Being sold wasn’t the best thing, and being the glory hole for a while was the best money the house was going to make on him before they lost him.

The box was small, just enough space for Eros to be on his hands and knees with his holes positioned perfectly. He would spend the night getting fucked in whatever hole the client wanted, usually with a toy in the other just to make things interesting, while his mouth was kept busy sucking dick. It was a messy, sloppy business and the box would be sticky and stained by the end of the night and even beyond; Eros was now on 72 hour shifts, three days with only a 10 minute break granted every 12 hours. He knew better than to try to eat or drink during that time, though, opting to clean himself up as best he could with a quick cold shower before returning to his duties. Then he was allowed a full day off to rest, which usually resulted in him eating and drinking enough to distend his stomach before sleeping. By the time he got up the food had mostly passed through his system, though he’d rely on liquids until he had to work again for obvious reasons. The whole ordeal was rough on him, 3 days on and 1 day off for the next 32 days until after his final day off he was checked over, cleaned up, and presented to his master.

The man wasn’t quite what Eros was expecting, younger than those that usually bought slaves and even handsome in his own way. Eros bowed, showing his manners, then stood quietly while the house owner and his new master spoke.

“Are you sure? He doesn’t look like he’s worked a day in his life.” The man spoke, giving Eros a raised eyebrow.

“That’s because we have very specially trained chirurgeons that see to him after every night of work. They can fix anything, mend skin like new no matter the wounds. Most of our clients don’t like to see scars on top of scars, or the remnants of someone else’s work. They like the skin fresh and soft to do what they please to it.” The owner had that look about him, like he was trying to weasel his way out of something.

“That makes sense. And I suppose it means his flesh is a blank canvas for me to paint on as well. Were it not for the fact that several of my….acquaintances frequent this establishment and have used your services I would find it hard to believe he is so skilled. But he does match their descriptions, and I trust you know what will happen if I find out he is not as you promised me.” The man looked at the owner, something in his eyes flashing in a dangerous way Eros did not like.

“Of course, of course. I promise you, Eros is one of our best. In fact several clients will be very sad to see him go, but that just gives them the opportunity to find enjoyment in some of our other workers.” The owner seemed to shrink before that gaze, and Eros had to stop himself from whistling. He’d never seen the owner cower away from anyone before, which was both impressive and intimidating...and did not speak well to the future that he was going to have.

“And just to check one more time – he’s never been pregnant?” The man asked, turning his gaze back to Eros.

“He was used for a few years as part of a morbol breeding program, but that isn’t pregnancy in the traditional sense as his body was simply used as an incubator for their eggs. We actually aren’t sure why a pregnancy has never stuck with him, by all accounts he has a clean bill of health – perfect physical shape, no diseases to speak of, that sort of thing. He gets checked every few months, same as the girls, but it always comes back negative and even if our tests were faulty he wouldn’t be able to hide a pregnancy for long around here. He was just tested again yesterday too as a precaution, the chirurgeons found no signs of aether in him like they would with a pregnancy.” The owner was practically sweating now, giving Eros a look as if the whore had ruined him somehow with this exchange.

“Good. And I know you’ve given me his medical files, including a breakdown of how his aether was altered.” The man finally nodded, offering a hand to Eros. “Then we shall be off. I have other places to be this evening.”

Eros stepped forward, taking the hand with some hesitation and not sure what to expect. He wasn’t sure what to do with how warm it felt, how gentle despite the man’s size and obvious ability to intimidate. He wasn’t pulled as he walked, the gait was slowed to wait for him to catch up in his confusion.

Outside waited a carriage, the front pulled by Chocobos and the back fully enclosed. The man opened the door and helped Eros in before climbing in himself, knocking on the wall near where the driver sat and sending the carriage lurching as it started to move.

“They called you Eros. You know what that means, yes?” The man looked at Eros, who blinked in surprise at being addressed and took a moment before nodding.

“Association with passion, physical desire, and fertility.” Eros almost whispered, keeping his head down and his ears back.

“They named you like a whore. But you aren’t that anymore. Do you know what your name was before they called you Eros?”

“C-Conner, sir.” It had been a long, long time since he’d used that name. Eros was the name he had begun calling himself shortly after beginning work in the brothel, a way to separate himself from everything that happened. It helped him cope, kept him sane no matter the abuses he had endured.

“Would you like to be called Conner, or would you prefer I continue to refer to you as Eros?”

Eros had to stop at that, looking up as the tears streamed down his cheeks. He’s never been asked a question like that, never been given the freedom of choice. He had been given choices before, of course, but they were always false ones; he knew what the client wanted and how to respond and did so accordingly, because choosing not to meant punishment. But he could not think of this man as a client, nor could he understand what was wanted of him in that moment.

“I see. This is a bit much for you, but that is fine. I’ll give you some time to think on it, we are headed to Ul’dah for some other business of mine and then we shall be returning to my home in Limsa Lominsa. I saw to it that the house packed up everything that was yours, little though it was, and we have provisions for the trip. Take however long you need to adjust.”

Eros didn’t know how to respond so he simply sat in silence, observing. He watched his master reach for a small section of the carriage wall that folded out like a table, part of the seat pulling up to reveal a storage space from which he pulled some books and a few writing instruments.

In the time that followed Eros said nothing unless he was directly asked a question. He sat, staring out the window of the carriage or down at his own lap, ate when offered food and stopped for breaks as his new master dictated. The whole thing was surreal to him, and after so long his brain just couldn’t quite wrap around it. There was shame when just a day into the trip he found himself hard and wet and trying not to make too much noise as he relieved himself of more than just the necessary waste when they took breaks. If his master noticed the man said nothing of it, seemingly content to write and read and sometimes take calls on a linkpearl – Eros could only hear one side of the conversation, of course, and made great efforts to make it look like he wasn’t listening, but even those short snippets of conversation told him next to nothing about his master. Whatever the future had in store it was uncertain, and Eros found himself dreading that more than his days at the house.

******

Eventually they reached Ul’dah, the shining city in the desert. Home to wealth, and run by the wealthy, or so Eros had heard. He tried not to stare as he stepped out of the carriage, keeping his composure pretty well all things considered.

“I have some business to attend to with the Syndicate, but my driver here will take good care of you.” The master motioned to the Midlander who had been driving the carriage, now returning as the vehicle was parked and the Chocobos stabled and tended to. “Get him some new clothes, whatever he likes, and take him down to see Momodi and get some proper food in him, not just the rations we had for the road. You know how to handle the rest.” The master handed a coin pouch to the driver, who nodded and quickly stashed it before turning to Eros.

“Right then, off we go. There’s a few tailors we’ll see first, we’ll get you changed and dressed up before going to see Miss Momodi at the inn.” The driver motioned for Eros to follow, and he did so compliantly.

The pair walked in silence until they reached the road where most of the exchanging of goods took place. Despite prodding from the driver to pick whatever he liked Eros ended up with simple clothing, nothing flashy or fashion-forward, just bland colors and simple patterns. The only thing he dared ask for that seemed even slightly out of the ordinary was a small hair clip with flowers. As soon as it was purchased Eros clipped it into his hair, using it to hold some of the bangs back a bit with a smile.

After that they headed over to the inn, and Miss Momodi turned out to be a Lalafell. Eros had encountered a few of them, but given their general size they were more likely to be working the house than visiting it as clients.

The little Lalafell stood on a stool behind the bar counter, waving to the driver as the pair entered and ushering them to a nearby table as she hopped down and ran around to greet them. The place wasn’t terribly busy, which did afford her that measure, and Eros again tried not to stare as he wasn’t sure what to make of the woman.

“It’s been a long while Asher. You still working for Galen?” Momodi had an air of casualness about her, something that Eros found comforting.

“Aye, I am. We’re just stopping before heading out to Limsa, Master’s got business with the Syndicate he needs to handle. I can’t imagine we’ll be staying more than the night, but if he hasn’t got reservations with you then that means we’re staying fancy.” Asher, the driver, eyed Eros a moment before sighing. “Or rather, those two are. I’ll probably end up having to sleep in the stables with the Chocobos again.” He grumbled.

“Oh, Galen’s got a new project then?” Momodi also looked at Eros, tilting her head. “Well, best we not speak of such things. Tell me dear, what do you want?”

Eros stared back, blank and blinking, and Momodi had a hard time hiding her discomfort.

“Let’s just get two bowls of your good soup and some bread, eh?” Asher nodded. “Boy doesn’t say much. In fact I don’t think I’ve heard him say anything in the days we’ve been traveling together. Not sure if he’s mute or what.” Asher shrugged, and Momodi nodded before running of to get food.

“I’m….I’m not mute.” Eros looked up at Asher, then quickly back down at his lap.

“Really? Could have fooled me. Not my concern at any rate, master told me to get you some new clothes and food and that’s what I’m doing.” Asher snorted. “I’ll just be glad when we’re back in Limsa. As long as you’re not stupid then you’ll keep the master entertained for a while, and we won’t need to travel.”

“Can….I ask you a question?”

“You just did, but go ahead anyway.”

“If….If he doesn’t want me for what I was trained for, then what does he want?”

Asher stared back at that one, a smirk crossing his face before he laughed.

“Boy, it’s not my place to know that. And even if it were, what makes you think he doesn’t want to pin you up against a wall and make you scream?”

“He asked me…..if I knew what my name meant. And if I wanted a name that disconnected me from my life in the house.”

“Huh. Well, that sounds just like him. Still doesn’t mean he won’t stick ya at some point, but you’re right it’s probably not his main goal. Still, the other part of my answer stands; it’s not my place to know what he wants with you. It’s just my place to drive him and whatever passengers he picks up around and be ready in case there’s danger.”

“Danger?”

“Aye, danger. The beast tribes, rebels and bandits, that sort of thing. I trained as a monk, so I don’t need a weapon. Works really well, most people who would see us as easy targets think twice because they know there’s danger in the things they can’t see and the ones dumb enough to attack usually aren’t much of a threat.”

Eros fell silent after that, back into contemplation until Momodi came back with the food.

“Soup and bread, and a bottle of wine. Consider it a treat.” She gave Eros a smile as she set the plates on the table before heading back behind the counter as the place had filled out a little more in the intervening time and she had much to deal with.

“We’ll stash this, ey? I don’t need the hangover tomorrow, and you don’t need to be drunk when the master comes back to pick you up.” Asher tucked the bottle of wine into his bag and Eros nodded, and the two ate in silence.

After that Eros just wanted to wander, to see the sights of Ul’dah as much as he could. Asher went with him, at least until such time as he reached out and grabbed Eros’ wrist with his other hand held up to his ear.

“Master’s waiting for you, come on.” He tugged Eros back towards where they had met Momodi, the man sure enough waiting just inside.

“Ah, there you two are. Had fun I take it?” He smiled, standing up and gently ruffling Eros’ hair. “Asher, there’s a room here for you tonight and you’ll get breakfast in the morning. We’re going up to the guest quarters, and I want to leave at first dawn tomorrow.”

“Yes sir.” Asher nodded.

“Good. Come on then, let’s go.” The master waited for Eros to follow, through the streets and up towards the palace. The guest room was nice, reminding Eros of the rooms used for special especially wealthy clients. He’d only been in one a few times, but there was similarity in the lavish styles.

“Dinner will be delivered shortly.” The master said as he sat down at a desk in the corner, already laid out with his books.

“Thank you, sir.” Eros responded almost on auto-pilot, taking a moment to sit on the bed. “Sir may I….may I ask you a question?” Eros tried not to flinch as the man’s gaze turned to him, but having not been given a signal for no Eros continued. “Why did you purchase me? Based on the exchange you had with the head of the house I can’t imagine the price was cheap and….I’m only really good at one thing, but so far….” He let himself trail off, feeling suddenly small as the master stood up and walked over, gently putting his hands on Eros’ shoulders.

“Because I believe no one deserves a life lived like yours was. Raised to only know how to pleasure others, and never knowing what you want for yourself. Never having a say in what happens to you, not being able to set a boundary and have it respected. While it wasn’t sex, I was raised in quite a similar manner; my parents were wealthy, and from birth I was expected to be their heir apparent. I was taught how to run and manage a business, manners from a dozen different cultures, languages, all of it. Never mind what I wanted, their vision for my future was all that mattered.” He sighed, taking a seat next to Eros before sprawling himself across the bed and pulling Eros in gently.

“Then they died. Sudden and unexpected, no foul play involved it was just….an accident. And I was thrust into their world, everything they had trained me for. And for a few years I played along, I did what they wanted. I convinced myself that if they were still alive they’d be making me do that anyway, you know? But then….Then I had my own brush with death.” He paused, staring up at the ceiling for a long moment. “As I lay there dying I realized that I never got to do what I wanted. I never found love, or traveled just to see things, or learned how to cook for myself. It sounds silly, but those were just things I never had a choice in; my parents decided who I should date, we traveled only on business and never really took in the sights, and I always had hired help. Even when they passed most of that remained the same, except the dating because I just…..closed myself off. And what I’m really getting at is that while our lives appear to have varied wildly, when you look under all that you’ll see we are much the same. Raised without choice, everything decided for us, unable to say no for fear of what might happen if we did.”

Eros listened, finding himself shifting slightly to get more comfortable and….oddly enjoying the man’s presence. There was some comfort in that, in somehow trusting that he was safe. Finally safe for more than just a few hours while he slept or ate. Truly safe.

“So….what will you do with me, then?” Eros asked, looking up and finding himself feeling almost none of the fear that had been present before.

“I’m going to take you back to my home in Limsa Lominsa, and we’ll figure it out from there. You’ll be expected to work, of course, just to help keep up appearances, but you’ll have a choice and you’ll be treated well. And for the first bit you might get bounced around a little just to see where you fit in, but that’s pretty normal.”

Eros was silent after that, just enjoying the company until there was a knock on the door. The master got up to fetch it, rolling in a tray full of food and a few drink pitchers.

“I didn’t know what you’d like, so I just asked for a variety. Your medical records from the house don’t show any food allergies or sensitivities, so I figured this was safe.” He turned back to Eros, giving a shrug.

“Food was….something else I never had much say in.” Eros pulled himself up, wandering over and staring at the cart blankly.

“Right, unless you had an allergy or something they probably served whatever and expected you to eat it.” The master shook his head, but motioned to the food. “Well, go ahead. I’ve got a bit of work to do yet, so I’ll pick over it when you’re done.” He grabbed a glass and some water before heading back to his desk, leaving Eros there to figure things out.

Eros took his time to try a little of everything, and really try it for a change instead of just eating because he was told to. Not that he could identify half of what was there, but he made note of what he liked and what he didn’t and finally meandered over to the desk when he was done.

“Can I ask what you’re working on?” He almost whispered, afraid of interrupting the work.

“Hm? Oh, this.” The master chuckled, motioning to the pages. “I’m trying to be an author, to have my books published throughout Eorzea and beyond. Most of my wealth now comes from simple smart investing, I took what my parents had left to me and began to make deals with the Syndicate and a few other groups. What I get back on those investments is what keeps me going, what I don’t spend I reinvest to just make more later. And about once a year or so I come out here to Ul’dah to meet with them, see that things are going well, discuss the future, that sort of thing. But I’m otherwise free to pursue my own interests now, and I want to try my hand and being a writer.” He shrugged, turning in his seat before getting up.

Eros took a moment before making sure his movements were noticeable as he went in for a hug. There was no resistance to him wrapping his arms around the man, and the master even hugged him back and Eros had to fight the urge to cry again. He just stood there a long moment before letting go, and being let go in turn, and feeling a gentle hand reach up and ruffle his hair.

“You’re welcome.” Was all he said, leaving his hand there a moment before turning to get some food. Eros settled for laying on the bed while his master worked, eventually falling asleep. The day had been exhausting, full of realizations and revelations and he didn’t know what to do with that except try to sleep and let his mind ponder on things.

******

Eventually the pair returned to Limsa Lominsa, after another day on the road and a few days by ship. Eros worked to find the line between what he was allowed to do with the new freedoms he’d been given and what was too much, though he did quickly learn that when he went too far he was simply given a look and there was no other incoming punishment.

In fact his new master didn’t seem to care much for taking things in that direction. He was more the kind for gentle redirection, and explaining things as if Eros were a child. Which Eros didn’t resent, because he understood in many ways mentally speaking he still was despite his body being fully grown. He couldn’t read or write, the house had no need for him to learn those skills so he was just never taught them. He was navigating an environment he had never been exposed to before, and he was going to make mistakes.

The house in Limsa was a nice one, half a dozen others on staff to manage various aspects of life including the driver. Who really was more about managing the Chocobos most of the time, keeping them healthy and ready to go in case travel had to happen. Of the rest there were two groundskeepers, two cooks, and a housekeeper and Eros quickly learned his way around them. The driver, groundskeepers and cooks kept to themselves and didn’t seem overly thrilled with Eros’ general presence so he avoided them, taking to the housekeeper instead since she seemed to be the only friendly one.

House work was not something Eros had done in quite some time, but he opted to work with the housekeeper anyway and was glad she put up with his mistakes and fumbling and needing to have things explained a few times. Whenever he messed up she just smiled and helped him fix it, and Eros settled into life that way.

As much as he was happy like that, however, his body often showed him just how much he still missed the house. Travel back to Limsa had been the roughest part since there was little in the way of privacy on the ship, but at the house Eros had his own room and whenever he wasn’t working he found himself masturbating. He missed the touches, the stimulation, and while he could take care of himself it just didn’t feel the same.

He thought about his master’s offer. While Eros had made it clear he didn’t intend on changing his name, seeing no need to separate himself from the life he had once lived, he did wonder if another alteration to his aether could fix things. It was with that in mind that Eros approached the door to the master’s study one evening after dinner, knocking gently and waiting to be invited inside.

“Ah, Eros. I trust everything is going well? Stella says you’ve been settling in nicely, getting used to the house work and all.” The man smiled as usual, either oblivious to or ignoring Eros’ discomfort as he closed the door.

“Yes, she’s been….very helpful. It’s different, but I don’t mind.” Eros sighed, shifting his weight nervously before looking back up at his master. “When we first met, you talked a lot about….my name. And I still haven’t decided to change it, but I wondered if that...was the only thing you wanted to change.”

“Eros...” The master stood from behind his desk, walking forward and wrapping his arms around Eros to hold him gently. “I don’t want to change anything about you, I think you’re perfect as you are. I just wanted to give you the chance to change, if you felt like you wanted to. To give you the choice.” He whispered.

“Then….Then could you change me? Take away what they did to my aether, turn me back to normal? I don’t want to but….it seems like everything just….” He stopped, not wanting to say the words as he leaned against his master.

“They made it so that everything painful gave you pleasure, and everything pleasurable was more so.” The master said quietly. “I can’t imagine what that was like for you, or what that is still like. If you want that fixed, I can arrange that.” He felt Eros nodding and closed his eyes for a moment. “I will arrange that, then. It might take a few days depending on where my contact is, but I will reach out to them.”

“Thank you.” Eros took a deep breath, trying not to let his head swim as even just this bit of physical contact was setting him off again.

“Of course. Did you want anything else?” The master asked.

Eros shook his head, but the two stayed there in the embrace for a few more minutes before the master let him go. With a nod Eros returned to his duties and the master to his work, and Eros just had to trust that things would be fine.

Sure enough a few days later he pulled himself out of bed, showered and went to breakfast, sitting next to Stella as always and ignoring the rest of the house workers.

“Master says you have the day off.” Stella looked over at Eros, that same bright smile on her face as always. “He wants to see you in his study as soon as you’re done eating.” She added, finishing her own food and taking the dishes into the kitchen.

That wasn’t like her, but then again Eros knew it was probably a bit of a setback that she had grown used to having some help with her daily chores only to have him take a day off. Eros knew he couldn’t blame her and he could apologize later, eating with some speed before following suit, dropping his dishes off in the kitchen and heading for the study. After knocking on the door and being called in Eros couldn’t help the excitement in his step, his ears perked and a bit of a smile creeping in for the first time in a long time.

“Good morning master.” Eros closed the door, giving the man a proper bow since there was company.

“Good morning Eros. I’d like you to meet Emet, he’s the contact I told you about.” The master motioned to the other man in the room, and Eros in turn bowed to him as well.

“That’s all very well and good, but I’d say judging from his demeanor you neglected to tell him everything.” Emet looked at Eros before looking back to the master.

“I figured that was something best left to you. I know little of how aether manipulation works, or of what this poor boy has been through. I would not know the words to explain to him how this is going to work or what will happen to him.” The master frowned. “And should he hear it all and decide he does not want to take that risk then I will find another way to make your trip all the way out here worth it.”

“Fine, fine.” Emet shook his head, shrugging and looking back at Eros. “I’m also aware you are...sheltered, shall we say, so I will start at the beginning. The aether inside of you determines what you look like and other bodily functions just as much as anything else. For example, if the aether of something more powerful were to take over your body over time your physical appearance would likely warp, slowly resembling more and more the appearance of that creature until your appearance would mirror what its used to be. Many who use magical based healing are actually doing something similar on a much smaller scale; they are manipulating the aether responsible for your physical appearance to close wounds or mend broken bones, or whatever. Do you understand?”

“I...I think so.” Eros nodded. “So the chirurgeons at the house manipulated my aether. But the master said you can undo that, or manipulate it back to how it was, or however this is going to work.”

“Correct, but it is not so simple.” Emet looked back at the master before continuing. “I would be manipulating your aether back to the state it originally was. But that will have consequences on your mind. You haven’t felt pain in years, or true pain anyway. If I were to break your finger the way you are now translates that into a sensation you enjoy, but if I change you back it’s just going to hurt again. More than that, because your mind isn’t used to feeling pain even the smallest thing such as getting a small scratch could become overwhelmingly painful and it could leave you completely crippled.”

“Is there some sort of middle ground? I don’t….I don’t want to stay like this forever.” Eros found a bit of confidence, staring up at Emet.

“To make you feel nothing.” Emet shrugged. “Or, more accurately, dull your sense of feeling so that only the extremes will make you feel anything. Which has its own dangers, but if in time we can use that as a path back to ‘normal’ without making it too much for you to handle.”

“What kind of dangers are we taking about?” Eros asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the idea of feeling next to nothing.

“That in order to feel anything you might decide to go chasing dangerous practices such as hurting yourself. But if you feel confident you can manage that, and if your master feels he can keep an eye on you, I do believe it is the better of the two options.” Emet eyed Eros, then turned back to the master.

“I’ve been there already, I have no desire to return. And I trust my master to help if he says he can.” Eros picked his words carefully, having become all too aware that while his master was casual with those he ‘employed’ not everyone in the outside world would see it the same and he was expected to act a certain way around guests.

“Well then, with your consent and that of your master we can begin.” Emet clapped his hands together, and Eros nodded.

“I consent. As we discussed you will have full use of the basement for whatever you need to do.” The master looked at Eros with something that almost looked like regret lingering in his eyes, but that quickly faded as he waved a hand in dismissal.

“Excellent! Come with me then, and we’ll have you fixed up in no time.” Emet seemed elated, and Eros wasn’t sure what to do other than give a lingering look to his master before following the other man out.

The door to the basement wasn’t too far from the study, though Eros had never been down there. As Stella had put it, the basement was mostly for storage. Some food stuffs that needed to be stored cool like vegetables, a few bottles of wine the master kept, and things of that sort. Heading down the creaking stairs with just the small overhead lights that flipped on Eros could see that she was right; a few barrels clearly stored food stuffs and there were a pair of wine racks that were maybe half full. The rest was just boxes, stark and unlabeled and not his business.

A space had been cleared off to one side, and a table had been placed there with restraints. Eros was familiar with it, as much as he wished he wasn’t, and he looked to Emet waiting for instructions.

“Get on the table while I grab a few things. You don’t have to strip, but if you like those clothes I would suggest you do so and place them on the stairs where they won’t be in the way.” He motioned, and Eros nodded before doing as instructed. Once his clothes were folded neatly and placed aside he climbed up onto the table, laying down and staring at the ceiling with a deep breath.

Soon enough he was strapped in, restrained not just by his wrists and ankles but also his thighs, upper arms, waist, upper torso and head as extra precautions. That’s how Eros knew this was going to get bad, there wouldn’t be a need to restrain him as such if there wasn’t some expectation that he was going to be flailing around and that usually meant pain….or in his case, probably pleasure.

However Eros would remember little past that until he woke up back in his own room some time later. At first he thought the odd events just a dream, but as he rolled over he saw his arm and blinked; had his skin always been that pale? No, not pale…..white. Pure, solid white like snow. He didn’t get much sun working at the house and he hadn’t worked for his master long enough for that to change, but there had been at least some color there before.

Pulling himself up Eros walked to the bathroom and stared into the mirror. Something wasn’t right, but he didn’t know why; his hair, normally a sort of strawberry blonde, was now as white as his skin. His eyes were almost hollow, pitch black spheres in his face that seemed to absorb all the light around them. Even his ears had turned white.

Then he remembered. He remembered the meeting, and the basement and….then nothing. Eros tried to remember but it was as if he had blacked out, and he only pulled himself out of that loop when he heard the door to his room open. Poking his head out of the bathroom he could see it was Stella, who looked surprised he wasn’t in his bed and startled a little as he moved into the room.

“Oh goodness, you’re awake.” She composed herself, looking at the floor rather than at Eros.

“I haven’t been up for long.” Eros didn’t know he could sound so monotone, but he also seemed unable to feel surprised about that fact.

“Well master will want to know anyway. Please excuse me.” Stella turned and left quite quickly, and Eros had nothing to do but sit down on the bed and run his hands through his hair.

Eventually hurried footsteps made him look up as the master came into the room, walking over to Eros and leaning down to hug him. Eros hugged back, but there was no….joy in it. No sense of gratitude or worry or anything else. He just accepted the hug until such time as the man let him go.

“Eros? Please tell me you’re alright.” The master waved a hand in front of his face and Eros looked at him, tilting his head a little.

“I’m fine. I can’t…..feel anything, but I’m fine.” Eros shrugged.

“Oh thank the gods. I was so worried for you, after Emet left you were….” The master stopped, reaching up to wipe away a few tears. “I was worried that you weren’t yourself, but I think you just need a bit of time is all. He said that this would happen, right? That you wouldn’t feel anything.”

“Yes. It is….unusual. I think I am so used to feeling everything so intensely that feeling nothing is strange.” Eros knew there was more to it than that, though, in the back of his mind he knew that not all was as it seemed.

“Good, good. I would say rest but you’ve been asleep for almost a week. But don’t feel that you need to rush, either. Stella has things well in hand until you’re feeling up to work.” The master just gave a sigh of relief, knowing that Eros was okay more than enough for him to just take it one step at a time.

“I think I will be bored if I do nothing.” Eros shook his head. “I should go help. But I promise I will take it easy if I do not feel well.” He didn’t want to sit around and just stare at the ceiling, or wander around the house aimlessly. Even going out into Limsa didn’t quite seem to suit him, but going back to his duties was at least something he knew he could do.

“Alright well, if you need anything let me know.” The master nodded, giving Eros’ hair a ruffle before hesitantly going back to his duties.

******

With each passing day Eros knew something was wrong. Not only could he feel nothing in the way of emotions, but despite eating as he normally would there was still a sense of being hungry...No, starving. In a way that food couldn’t satisfy, though he didn’t know what would.

“Eros, you’re behind.” Stella chided, snapping him out of the latest bout of staring off into the void.

“S-Sorry...” Eros sighed, shaking his head.

“Don’t be sorry, just pick up the pace.” Stella rolled her eyes, picking up the load of towels to head out.

Eros watched her go, feeling that starving sensation again. He tried to ignore it, reaching for the rest of the laundry before he ended up collapsing on the floor. It took him a moment to realize Stella had come back, her hands on his shoulders to steady him as he sat up.

“We need to go see the master.” Stella helped him to his feet, holding on as Eros wobbled.

“I’m fine, he doesn’t need to be bothered with this.” Eros steadied himself on the nearby wall, trying to get Stella away for now.

“This is not fine. You’ve been sick ever since...Well, whatever happened. And it’s only getting worse.” She sounded angry, but Eros knew she was just looking out for him.

“Fine…Fine. You’re right.” He made a move as if he were going to walk out of the laundry room, but instead grabbed Stella swiftly with one hand over her mouth to stifle the scream as he bit into her neck.

The blood that spilled wasn’t what he was after, though. There was an energy there, like her very life force, and as her skin split he found himself feasting on it. Stella didn’t even have time to do anything before she was paralyzed by the sensation. Then she was on the floor...well, what was left of her. A withered husk, almost like she’d been mummified.

Eros stared down at her body before realizing what he had done. The hunger was gone now, sated by Stella’s life energy. There was blood all over what he was wearing, and he wouldn’t be able to hide her absence for long. In a panic Eros changed clothes, burying his bloodied ones in the pile that needed to be washed where they’d at least be hidden for a while. He carefully took what was left of Stella and curled her up in one of the wash tubs, covering it with a towel to look like it was being used as a makeshift drying rack, then with an unusual confidence he headed back for his room.

There Eros grabbed the bag he usually took when going into town with Stella and began to pack. Just some bare essentials; a few changes of clothes, the journal he had been using while the master taught him to write, what little coin he had managed to earn, and a small dagger he had been allowed to arm himself with. Knowing well the routines of the house now Eros was easily able to slip out the back and head into the streets of Limsa. But he knew he couldn’t stay there, so he headed for the docks and found a merchant vessel bound for the Twelveswood. With a bit of convincing Eros was allowed to join them, agreeing to work the ship in exchange for his passage.

Soon he found himself in Gridania, in the heart of the Twelveswood and the Shrouds. There he could blend in a little better, and it was unlikely his master would go to look for him there his business was mostly in Limsa and Ul’dah and he seemed to have no connections to Gridania from what Eros could tell.

There, starving and alone, Eros looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps only to see Emet approaching. His eyes narrowed, a cold look upon his face, and he was surprised that the other man did not seem at all concerned or otherwise emotional about what was happening.

“I knew I would find you.” Emet sat down near Eros, holding out a bowl of something that looked like stew. “Eat. You’re useless to me if you starve.” He added, setting the bowl down.

Eros cautiously sat up, taking the bowl and being mindful to eat slowly. He knew from his time at the house it was better that way no matter how starved he felt, eating too fast would just result in him puking and that would only further aggravate things. He didn’t say anything, though, his ears pinned back against his head as a clear show of distaste for the man sitting next to him.

“Oh come now, I didn’t know this would happen. In fact this is exactly the opposite of what I wanted, honestly. I had hoped you would not need aether to survive, but it seems I was wrong.” Emet shrugged, looking up at the night sky. “You’ll need to eat like normal, but also feed on aether. And unless you want another incident like the maid you will start hunting for it. There’s an adventurer’s guild here, it might serve you to join them. Learn how to hunt monsters, a trade that will take you away from populated areas on your own. While that has its dangers if you are strong enough you will be able to kill creatures and feed on them without endangering anyone or being discovered.”

Eros looked sideways but still said nothing, continuing to eat the soup slowly while Emet rambled on. Still, he couldn’t deny the man had a point; the soup was filling, but he still felt the same ache that had led him to attack Stella. How long before he attacked someone in Gridania too? If joining the guild would really help in the way Emet said, it was possibly not a bad idea despite Eros’ lack of combat training in any respect.

“Who knows, perhaps if this is a path you wish to pursue you might make some very powerful allies. Maybe even someone who can fix you.” Emet shrugged, tilting his head towards Eros slowly.

“Because you can’t, right?” Eros managed, not bothering to hide the seething rage lurking just below his otherwise calm demeanor.

“Oh I can, but I don’t want to. You are an experiment, my dear, and I want to see how this will go. I can help, of course, because as I said I do not wish to see you starve or come to harm, but aside from that I shall simply be watching from the shadows.” Emet stood, giving a slight bow before vanishing into a puff of darkness.

“Bastard.” Eros mumbled, finishing the soup and setting the bowl down. He wasn’t going to sleep anyway, he slept less and less in the days following what had happened and he didn’t know if that was part of the transformation or just something else entirely that was happening but either way if he wasn’t going to sleep then he could at least do something useful.

Bearing no combat skills but a willingness to try, Eros headed down to the adventurer’s guild to see about signing up. He had no idea where that would lead, but now he had one goal in mind; survive, get stronger, and take his revenge against Emet for ruining the one good thing Eros had ever known in his life.

******

Eros woke up bruised and battered from the previous day’s battle, stretching carefully so as not to give away his position behind the boxes where he’d slept. Despite everything that happened he still couldn’t really feel anything, emotionally or physically, and while that had its upsides Eros also knew that it meant he couldn’t feel when his body needed to slow down to recover.

The discoloration stood out against his skin like a sickness, the colors ranging from the fresh and angry red to the faded purple, yellow and even green in some places as things started to heal. As much as he didn’t want to go back he knew that if he spent another night in the streets it might be too much, so he pulled himself together and headed to get a bath and clean himself up as much as possible.

Returning to the house in Ul’dah where Cerreo lived with his wife, Eros quietly climbed the side and managed to sneak back into his room through the open window. He’d left two days before, still not fully trusting the pair, but he had to admit the kindness they had shown him was nice, in a way.

Crawling into bed Eros all but collapsed, exhausted and keeping his guard up but feeling slightly more at ease there. He didn’t know when Cerreo had come in, or how long the Viera had been sitting there, startling slightly as he woke and scooting back against the wall.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” Cerreo said, probably for the hundredth time.

“Yeah well sitting there watching me sleep is creepy.” Eros felt his heart racing as he kept a careful eye on the other Viera.

“Once we realized you were home we wanted to keep an eye on you just in case. You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

Eros jolted as Cerreo reached out, grabbing his arm and pulling him forward. The bruises were so visible in even just what light was shining through the window, and Cerreo’s fingers tracing along them was somehow not as painful as Eros had thought it would be. But then again the bruises always were just a dull ache, and while poking at them or bumping into things was sometimes aggravated that pain they were mostly ignorable.

“You’re not fine.” Cerreo gripped a bit harder, causing the pain of the bruises to flare up a little more.

“And what are you going to do about it?” Eros snapped, trying to pull away.

“Fix it.” Cerreo got up suddenly, letting Eros go and exiting the room.

Eros was left quite confused until finally Cerreo came back holding some sort of recently dead creature. The aether around it was still quite clear, however, and Eros felt the hunger rising as the creature was deposited in his lap. Normally he would have shown restraint, been hesitant to feed in front of someone else, but his body needed the aether to recover and there would not be much time before what was in front of him faded entirely.

Quickly Eros let himself feast, drawing the aether out of the body as it withered to a husk in his grasp. The bruises started to fade a little bit, the oldest ones healing themselves completely, and the little cuts and scrapes were mostly healed too. A benefit to what he was, at least.

“Better?” Cerreo asked, having quietly watched the whole scene.

“Better.” Eros quietly admitted, looking down at the mummified corpse.

“Good. Get some rest, I’ll bring you more later.”

“I am perfectly capable of hunting for myself, you know.”

“I know, but the Adventurer’s Guild is going to be hesitant to give you more jobs when you’re all beaten up.”

Cerreo took the remains and left, and Eros had to grudgingly admit he was right. With the fresh aether coursing through him he did feel better, however, and he laid down to sleep once more so that the energy could do its work. It made his whole body ache, but at least it was a road to recovery.

******

Eros stood in the entrance of the Free Company house, taking a deep breath and feeling accomplished that it was finally, finally done. With a bit of help from Frederick and Kit the house was perfectly outfitted.

The basement had a stage, dance pole, tables and hot tubs for entertainment as well as a giant fish tank containing a particularly large shark Eros had caught on a fishing trip. There was also some extra futon mattresses, blankets, and costume clothing tucked away in the corner by the stairs just in case, hidden away by a curtain. The whole room had a soft atmosphere to it, cool from being underground with stone walls and relatively isolated from the first floor.

Speaking of, that was where Eros had put in the most work as it was what most people would see upon entering the space. A large rug courtesy of Frederick ran the length of the wooden floor, the stairs to the basement off to the left and around the corner from that a long table with space for whatever food anyone felt like cooking and laying out for others. The nearby wall had shelves full of fabric, yarn, alchemy supplies and other things that led into the small kitchen nook, fully outfitted with a stove, dishes and an array of spices as well as a shelf full of alcohol. A dresser sat nearby, though it was full of cleaning supplies for the two hired individuals who currently stood behind a low counter. They were there to greet people who came into the house, help with the cleaning, and one was a trained mender to help with patching up weapons and armor as well. The nook on the other side of the stairs contained the Free Company storage chest and the orchestrion, the soft music echoing out from that space and reverberating through the house. The final touch was the long table by the front door with pots for coffee and tea as well as cups and plates so people could get whatever food and drinks they wanted. It all tied together quite nicely, including the stairs to the house’s second floor.

A fountain sat in one corner, a nearby dresser showing off little cages wisps. A small, currently empty, fish tank sat on a small table near the fountain, and in the center of the room a rug of faux flowers surrounded by a variety of chairs for people to sit and make small talk or work on projects if they wanted. There was even a couch and coffee table nearby, though getting that couch up the stairs had been a right pain in and of itself but for how soft it was absolutely worth it.

On the first floor a door in the back by the food table led into private chambers, and Eros had already set his up. Two large bookshelves pulled away from the wall but braced by upper platforms so they wouldn’t fall over, concealing a futon mattress and hanging basket chair behind them. A tub in one corner sectioned off by curtains, some shelves to contain the various things he collected, and a bunk bed in the back, and his primary bed up front; a bed big enough for two with a frame made of twining branches and faux cherry blossoms. A lamp shaped like a mushroom sat nearby, a dresser was at the foot, and a table orchestrion for playing quiet music when he slept.

Outside the harsh Emperyum ward of Ishgard was cold, but inside the house was cozy and warm. But most importantly, it was his. It was home. It was a place where no matter how hard the days had been or what he had been through Eros could come back and know he was safe. And it was home to his friends too, to Kit and Frederick and Cerreo and everyone else in the Free Company and anyone else who wanted to stop by. Those little touches were what mattered, and Eros smiled as he flopped over in his bed and let himself fall into a quiet slumber for now.

******

Snow fell quietly outside in the darkness as Eros and Frederick sat on the second floor of the house, simply enjoying the silence for now as they each worked on their respective projects. Finally Frederick looked up, tilting his head a little bit.

“I keep meaning to ask – what’s with the necklace?” He motioned to the silver locket Eros always wore, prompting Eros to reach up and gently wrap his fingers around it.

“It’s...the only thing I have left of my mother.” Eros whispered, letting the locket go after a moment. “A long time ago it had my nameday engraved on it, but I’ve rubbed it so much over time the engraving wore off.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Frederick’s ears drooped a bit, but Eros just shook his head as he tucked the necklace into his shirt.

“No, it’s fine. My mom...didn’t have a choice when it came to where she worked, you know? I never knew my dad, he could have been anyone she...worked with.” Eros shrugged. “Her name was Dalla. I remember the others used to make fun of her for being one of the most pale Viera they had ever seen, she was fair skinned and had this beautiful light blonde hair I loved playing with when I was a kid. I remember a few times she let me braid her hair before she went to work, the clients thought it was cute.”

“That had to have been hard, though. Raising a kid while working where she did.” Frederick knew the history there, but he also respected that Eros was using different words to talk about it and tried to do the same.

“It was, but she always did her best to spend time with me and let me know how much she loved me. I feel like I was lucky, in a way, because she very easily could have resented me for being a reminder of the horrible things in her life. Instead she saw me as a blessing, I remember she used to call me a gift from Nophica.” Eros looked back at Frederick, tilting his head. “What about your mom? You were born in the Sharlayan colony out in Dravania, right?”

“Yeah, and I was old enough when the Exodus happened that I remember that too. Mom tried to make me and Clover comfortable, but it was still somewhat rough going after we got back to Old Sharlayan.” Frederick left it at that, and Eros didn’t push it as the silence settled in between them again.

Some weeks later the sound of the front door opening woke Eros as he realized he had fallen asleep on the couch upstairs. He wondered who had come in for a moment before Frederick came up the stairs, a stern expression on his face.

“Good evening, Frederick.” Eros yawned as he stretched out, shaking his head. “You good?” He asked, tilting his head curiously.

“Yeah, just thinking about something from the other day. I was chasing down some evil when I got another reminder of just how much of a scumbag my father was.”

Eros sat up, patting the couch beside him as an invitation for Frederick to sit and continue talking.

“I don’t know if I ever told you, but my mom divorced my dad after she found out he was cheating and patronizing a brothel. I know I’ve told you about the Echo, and while I was dealing with the apparent son of the owner of such an establishment I had a vision of my father and one of the workers.” Frederick sighed and put his head in his hands.

“I’m sorry. It’s one thing to hear about it, but I can’t imagine seeing your father...Well, you know.” Eros always had a casual attitude about sex, but he also knew that was due to how he was raised and not everyone shared that view.

“I don’t know if it’s better or worse that the vision showed your mother too.” Frederick mumbled.

“Wait...your dad slept with my mom?” Eros was completely taken aback at that statement.

“Yeah. And the date I saw in the ledger plus the Echo showing important details means it’s likely we’re half-siblings.”

“Huh. Well, too bad your old man died in the Calamity. If he were still alive I’d be giving him a piece of my mind for sure.” Eros chuckled a little, looking at Frederick and seeing that his attempt to lighten the situation wasn’t working. “You okay? It’s...a lot to take in, huh?”

“Yeah, it is. But mostly I’m sorry. I had Clover growing up, you should have had me. You deserved better.”

“I have you now, don’t I?”

Eros watched as the realization dawned on Frederick’s face, giving a soft smile as the younger Viera finally looked up.

“You do. Can I give you a hug?” Frederick asked, and as soon as Eros nodded in confirmation Frederick wrapped his arms around Eros as tight as he could.

Frederick had seen some parts of what Eros had been through thanks to the Echo, to say nothing of what Eros had to say with his own words about what had happened to him. By some strange twist of fate they had found another, and Frederick vowed then and there he would make up for all the lost time however he could.

******

“You need me to what?” Eros blinked in surprise, wanting to make sure he heard that right.

“This adventuring party is in specific need of a tank for exploring. I know you have some experience as a Paladin so I thought you might want to join them.” The woman at the quest counter handed over the paper detailing the job at hand.

“They just want to explore? That’s…” Eros sighed, shaking his head. “Fine. I’m a little rusty, but I can be there with them. Tell them to meet me here first thing in the morning and we’ll go.” He didn’t wait for the woman to confirm, turning and heading back to the Free Company house to get his Paladin gear.

The outfit wasn’t what most thought of when they envisioned the almost literal knights in shining armor, Eros had never been one for the way such a clunky outfit stifled his natural movement. He was formally trained as a bard first and foremost after all, his instinct to move swiftly on the field away from danger and have the flexibility to do what he needed to. So even when it came to Paladin he wore something that wasn’t going to get in the way; what would to most just appear to be a nice suit with slightly heeled shoes. Tataru had made the whole ensemble though, and Eros knew first hand that she spared no expense in making sure it was just as good as traditional armor.

He grabbed his sword too...and the shield. House Fortemps, in honor of a man who had sacrificed everything to save someone else’s life. While this shield was fresh and did not bear the damage, it bore the same mark. Eros tried not to let his mind wander as he strapped it to his back, made sure the sword was tight at his side, then headed out ahead of the group to stay overnight near their location.

Come the morning three bright-eyed adventurers were waiting. A Bard, a Ninja and an Astrologian all stood ready, chatting amongst themselves at the nearby aetheryte. Eros walked out into the morning sun with them, giving a slight bow as he looked at the trio.

“You’re our tank?” The bard scoffed in disbelief.

“I am.” Eros said sternly, giving the boy a glare. “And if you don’t like it, then you’re free to head out without me. I don’t need the money and I’m doing this as a favor to the guild, not because I enjoy dragging snot-nosed adventurers in over their heads through dangerous territory.”

When there wasn’t a word from them Eros turned and headed towards the aetherite. From there he could teleport them closer to their destination and the trio of Chocobos that awaited them there.

“Astro, you’re riding with me. You two ride the others.” He motioned to the biggest chocobo of the lot and climbed up, glad that at least the group had the mind to listen to someone with more experience. Had he soured whatever fun mood they were in before this? Probably. But he didn’t care about that, he cared about making sure they got out alive.

Once everyone was mounted and the tiny Hyur was holding on to his waist Eros spurred the Chocobo on, knowing the other two would follow unless their riders did something stupid. The few minutes it took them to fly to the shore if the volcanic island seemed like a lifetime, sticking close to the surface of the ocean below to avoid threats from above but also keeping a wary eye out for anything coming up from the deep that would attempt to devour them. Somehow they made it without incident, and as the Chocobos landed Eros got down before helping the Astrologian off and turning to look at the group again.

“The Chocobos are going back, when we’re done here I have a few summon mounts we’ll use to return. And let me make this clear again – I think the lot of you are in over your heads. So stay close.” He turned and began the descent into the open lava tunnel, giving a wave to the Confederate that was watching over the place as the Chocobos began to fly back to the mainland.

Soon enough the fights began, and Eros found himself also well over his head as he pushed back enemy after enemy. A bit of aetheric manipulation meant they were focused on him, the Ninja darting around the back to make strikes at weak spots and the bard shooting with an accuracy he’d have to remember to praise later. The Astrologian stood back with the Bard, casting her shields and using the cards to help give them magical boosts, and Eros felt her healing magic rushing through him every time he took a serious blow.

Finally they found the lava scorpion the group had come in for. The trio had been hoping to defeat it and harvest the pieces from its body to sell, and Eros looked at the group as they all crouched behind a rock to avoid detection for now.

“Listen very carefully; everything we’ve faced up until now is nothing compared to this.” His eyes wandered towards the scorpion, narrowing. “Bard, Astrologian, keep staying back like you have been. Ninja, stay towards the front.”

“But -” The Ninja tried to interject, but Eros held up a hand.

“No buts. I’ve fought one of these, it’ll swing its tail from one side of its body to the other around the back and spew lava. You don’t know the signs that it’s about to do that, so if you stay in the back you’ll get doused in it and that’s probably going to hurt quite a bit. Stay on the sides towards the front and watch the tail.” He was stern, but in a way that said he was just trying to look out for them.

When he was once again met with silence Eros stood up slowly, moving around the rock and waiting for the trio to back him up before he rushed in. They listened; the Bard and Astrologian stuck to the edges of the platform, watching their footing so as not to go into the lava, and the Ninja stayed near the sides and darted to the front when the tail began to swing.

Easy, or so Eros thought. He noticed the Ninja a little too far back but didn’t have time to call out as the scorpion slammed into his shield and knocked him back. The lava spewed out and the Ninja didn’t notice, barely stumbling back enough to keep from getting completely covered in molten lava but still clearly injured as he tripped backwards onto his rear. At the same moment the Astrologian ran forward to tend to him, and Eros saw the tail rise up again.

Gritting his teeth he pushed forward, knocking the creature’s claws off his shield and jumping forward. His feet landed on its back for just a moment, enough to propel him into a somersault so he could land behind it facing the tail as it came slamming down right where the Astrologian was. She screamed and crouched behind him, dropping her weapon as the Bard rushed forward to help pull the Ninja back to safety.

“No. You. Don’t!” Eros roared as the shield flared, pushing the scorpion’s tail back before he stood tall over the Astrologian. The scorpion turned, chittering at what it thought was easy prey before Eros rushed forward and plunged his blade deep between the creature’s eyes.

It screeched, flailing around and trying to get the sword free but Eros dug in and pushed deeper, twisting until the scorpion stopped moving. Only once it was limp on the ground did he pull back, breathing heavily before turning to face the trio. He didn’t see the fear in their eyes as they watched his eyes turn red, his body shrouded by black aether, the monster that he had become unto himself in the course of pulling on every instinct to kill the lava scorpion before it killed him.

He leaned over, picking up the Astrologian’s dropped weapon and walking forward before holding it out to her. She hid behind the Bard, clutching at the boy’s shirt in fear, and as the Bard took it in her stead Eros just shook his head before turning back to the corpse of the scorpion.

“Take what you want, then. I’ll keep an eye on the path, make sure nothing dangerous comes.” He turned and walked away, leaving the group to whatever it was they were doing. Far enough away that he wasn’t eavesdropping on their conversations so long as they weren’t being overly loud, but still close enough to watch the one path that went in or out of the space.

Once he sat down he looked at the shield, finding it a bit battered but otherwise not much worse for wear. Memories came flooding back about that day in the Vault, as much as he tried to put them out of mind, and it took him a long moment to realize the Astrologian was standing nearby.

“What?” He nearly growled, not bothering to catch himself.

“I...I wanted to say thank you.” The Astrologian took a hesitant step forward. “A-and make sure you aren’t hurt.” It was hard to tell with his outfit covered in soot and blood.

“I’m...I’m fine.” Eros murmured, taking a deep breath to center himself. “Truly I am, the blow did not make contact with anything but the shield. My arm might be sore for a while, but I’ll live.” Especially as he wasn’t used to fighting in such a manner.

“I-if you insist...” The Astrologian looked down, shuffling her feet.

“What?” Eros looked at her, trying not to seem as annoyed and grumpy as he was.

“I just...You didn’t have to do that. You could have...”

“What? Let you die?” Eros shrugged. “That’s not what I came in here for, I wouldn’t have come at all if I wasn’t going to put my everything into protecting you.”

She stepped forward and Eros let her hug him, wrapping his arms around her as well. Then he felt the sharp pain in his side, looking down at the dagger that had been driven into him as she stepped back.

“Shame that. But you need to die.” Another dagger came from somewhere and Eros braced as she stepped forward again. Of course he wasn’t fully at a disadvantage, smirking when he saw the fear in her eyes and heard the dagger clatter onto the stone.

“Damn, and here I was just starting to like you.” He stood, feeling the warm embrace of his Voidsent from behind him. “Too bad now you’ll just be another meal.” Eros pulled the dagger out, not minding the blood as he tossed it into the nearby lava.

She didn’t even have time to scream before Rose engulfed her, the Voidsent muffling every cry for help as it pulled the aether from her body. Soon there was nothing left, and Rose vanished just as the other two began to walk up the trail.

“What was that?” The Bard asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Just a small lava creature, nothing I couldn’t handle.” Eros shrugged.

“Alright.” The Bard looked around a moment, then back at Eros. “Have you seen Bella? We didn’t realize she had left.”

“She passed here a few minutes ago, said she was headed topside to get some air and that she’d make her way back to make sure things were sorted out with the guild and whoever you’re going to sell that to.” He motioned to the pack of lava scorpion parts both now carried on their back.

“Huh, that’s not like her. But I guess she might be pretty rattled after that fight.” The Ninja nodded.

“I would imagine so.” Eros agreed, stretching slightly. “Anyway, we should go too before more creatures are attracted to the corpse.” He started walking, then looked back at them with a smile. “Speaking of, I did want to say that you both did great.”

“I nearly got us all killed.” The Ninja hung his head, stopping as he felt the hand on his shoulder

“And up until that point you were doing what I told you. In the heat of battle things can change in an instant, you moved because you saw an opening and it was a combination of bad timing and the smarts of a lava scorpion that you got into that position. Next time you want to take on a foe I trust you’ll be more careful.” Eros actually smiled, then turned to the Bard. “Same goes for you. And I have to say, your aim is impeccable.”

“Oh, thanks.” The Bard blushed a little.

“I have a feeling you’ll make great adventurers if you keep at this. Just be smart about the jobs you take, don’t go rushing into a situation you aren’t prepared for, take your time and learn from those trying to teach you.” Eros nodded, then began to trudge on ahead up the rocky path that would lead them out of the lava tube.

“Eros?” Frederick poked his head into his brother’s room a few days later, knowing he’d find the other Viera there.

“What Frederick?” Eros groaned as he rolled over in bed, having been sleeping soundly for a change.

“You worked a job with some adventurers earlier this week right?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well apparently you told two of them that the third had gone on ahead, but no one has seen her since.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Eros waited, but he could practically feel the way Frederick was glaring at him so he sighed and sat up, rolling his eyes at his brother. “Fine. She tried to kill me and Rose ate her. Happy?”

“With your answer? No. With your honesty? Yes. I take it you don’t want me to tell them any of that?”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t. I get the feeling the other two didn’t know of their friend’s intentions from what conversation we had on the way back, I’d rather they just think she went missing. Maybe was ambushed or attacked trying to return solo, she was a bit battered after the fight.”

Frederick said nothing, closing the door and leaving Eros to sleep. He would have some work to do to convince the guild that the woman was simply missing and Eros knew nothing of it, but he knew he could do it. He just wished Eros would stop eating people.

******

"Eros, there's a letter for you!" Frederick called as he entered the house, having picked up the mail on his way in.

"Who's it from?" Eros asked from the kitchen, not bothering to step out for the time being as he was working on cooking dinner.

"No clue, just has a letter L written on the front in fancy font."

"Huh. Well I'm busy, open it for me will you?"

Frederick sighed, carefully pulling the letter open and giving it a read.

My dearest Eros,

You've been working so hard lately, building a life for yourself and those round you. I'm so proud. I've left a package with the moogles for you, take this letter as proof it's yours and pick it up when you can. Hopefully it'll be enough to help you out.

Always yours, L

“Something about a package left with the postmoogles and to take the letter and pick it up.” Frederick headed for the kitchen, leaning against the door a little bit.

“Great, I’ll pick it up after dinner.” Eros reached for a carrot to start slicing it up and throw into the stew that he was making.

“I have to stop by anyway, I can get it if you want.” Frederick offered.

“That would be great, saves me having to make a trip in the snow.” Eros laughed, nodding.

“Cool. I should be back before you’re done, it’s not far.” Frederick headed out, figuring the sooner he got it done the better.

In the main of Ishgard the postmoogle office wasn’t hard to find, and Frederick walked in with the letter ready to present.

“Picking up for your brother?” The moogle running the office asked as he looked the letter over.

“Yeah, Eros is busy making dinner and you know how he is about the cold.” Frederick chuckled.

“Wait one minute and we’ll get it for you!” The moogle headed off, coming back a few minutes later with two more helping him carry a large package.

“Wow, what’s in there?” Frederick raised an eyebrow as the box was set down with a heavy thud.

“Coin, I think.” The moogle huffed, shaking his head.

“That’s a lot of coin.” Frederick picked the box up, feeling the weight of it for himself.

“Indeed. Whoever L is they must really like Eros.”

“I guess. Well thanks as always, guess I need to get this home to him.” Frederick waved as he headed out, making his way back to the housing ward.

The whole place smelled amazing, the combination of stew and fresh baked bread still lingering in the air as Frederick walked in and set the package down on a nearby table.

“That you Frederick?” Eros called from upstairs.

“Yeah, got your package.” Frederick sighed, looking at his brother as the other Viera came down.

“Thanks again, I really would not have wanted to go pick it up in the dark and cold.” Eros shivered a bit as a joke, but stopped as soon as he saw the expression on Fredericks’ face. “What’s up? You almost never look that serious.”

“The letter was just signed L, like the envelope it came in. And the package appears to be a substantial amount of coin.” Frederick motioned.

Eros walked over, carefully pulling the box open and feeling his jaw drop as he saw that it was indeed quite a sum of gil that had been piled into the box.

“Let me see the letter.” He almost whispered, taking it carefully as Frederick handed it over. He took a long moment to read the words before tears began to form in his eyes and it was all he could do to stop himself from crying.

“Lorelei….” Saying her name again felt almost like a dream as the tears started to stream down his cheeks.

“Lorelei?” Frederick asked, taking a step closer to Eros. He didn’t mind as his brother’s arms wrapped around him, finding comfort in the familiarity of someone he trusted.

“Someone I knew a long time ago. I….I wasn’t even sure if she was still alive.” Eros managed, keeping his voice low. He took a few minutes to be vulnerable with Frederick before composing himself and taking step back, reaching up to wipe the tears away. “When I was little she was my best friend, and my first crush. The house sold her as a domestic servant when we were teenagers, and I haven’t seen her since. But the night before she was to go to her new home she told me that she would find a way to free herself, and some day she would buy my freedom. I think this is her way of acknowledging that I’m free now and trying to keep that promise in her own way.”

Frederick said nothing, processing the situation. Lorelei clearly meant a lot to Eros, and he was sure he could trace the source of the letter and that much coin. Maybe talk to her, write her a letter, something to get her to realize that Eros still clearly loved her so much and would want to see her.

“Well, anyway thank you Frederick. I’ll set this aside and sort it out later, let’s just have dinner yeah?” Eros was hiding his emotions again, pushing away what he didn’t want to deal with as always.

For now Frederick just nodded, keeping quiet so as not to give anything of what he was planning away. Better for it to be a surprise for his big brother, after all.

******

Staring at the workshop, Eros thought back to the first time he had met Lorelei. Her mother started working at the house when he was around ten, and she was the same age. Lorelei did the same work he did, helping out with the various chores like cleaning floors and helping turn over the rooms, and when the house closed and their jobs were done in the early hours of the morning they would always sneak away to hang out. They knew all the secret spaces, and their parents and the other house workers were always too tired to keep track of them as long as they weren’t causing any trouble. Usually they’d fall asleep together, then get up along with everyone else to resume duties for the evening and no one was any the wiser.

As they grew up, however, it was clear that they had feelings for one another and they grew careless. The secret glances they thought no one else noticed, often working together and brushing hands, one time Eros even went so far as to pull Lorelei in for a kiss when they were cleaning a room and the door was shut. Growing up knowing what the building around them was for but not the true cruelty of the world just yet, Eros always thought it was natural that they would have sex at some point. Lorelei had always agreed, but she was so nervous about getting caught and kept pushing it off and Eros agreed every time and wouldn’t bring it up for a bit.

But the house always knew, and when Lorelei was sixteen she was auctioned off. Her mother had passed a few years earlier, the stress of the work too much for her, and the house had retained legal guardianship since they proved they could provide her with income and a place to stay while not forcing her into sex work while she was still under age. So they were free to sell her when she came of age, and did so without any warning.

Eros had been heartbroken after that, and worse yet he blamed himself. If he hadn’t keep pushing Lorelei would she have been able to stay? What had she suffered since being sold? Frederick was able to tell him a little of the history he had uncovered, but it was the broad strokes and Eros was sure that the details were much, much worse.

“Connor?” A familiar voice shook him from his thoughts, and a name that he hadn’t had anyone call him by in a long, long time.

“L-Lorelei...” Eros stared at her, the Elezen woman having emerged from the workshop for one reason or another. She wore a thick leather apron and gloves, the back of her arm wiping sweat from her brow as she stood and stared.

“By the Twelve…Connor!” Lorelei dropped the hammer she was holding, rushing forward and wrapping her arms around him. Tears soaked into his shirt as she buried her face in his shoulder.

Eros didn’t know what else to do except hold her, running his hands down her back. He breathed deeply, taking in the scent of sweat and smoke and metal that was uniquely hers. Others were probably staring a bit, but he closed his eyes and paid them no mind until Lorelei was ready to let go.

“I’m sorry I…I never thought I’d see you again.” Lorelei mumbled before stepping back, reaching up to wipe away what remained of the tears.

“I thought the same thing.” Eros smiled a little, barely containing his own emotions at the moment. “Why…why didn’t you come see me? You knew where I was, you sent money to the Free Company I established.”

“And that’s how I ended up getting tracked down, huh?” Lorelei sniffled, shaking her head. “I did track you down, and I did know that you were running a Free Company. I promised myself that all my life I would save up so I could buy your freedom, only to find out you were already free. But I didn’t...I didn’t know if you remembered me, or if you still loved me. You have a life, a husband, and...”

“Of course I still love you, Lorelei. I never stopped loving you. Never.” Eros reached out, taking her hands in his own and squeezing tightly. “I married Cerreo, yes, and I love him too. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love you just as much.”

When Lorelei started crying again Eros quietly led her off to one side to sit on a bench, wrapping one arm around her and holding her as she let everything out. When she looked up at him, when she kissed him, he didn’t resist. It felt like they were teenagers again, gentle touches and soft kisses and being very much aware of the space they were in for how much they were making out.

“Do you need to go back to work?” Eros asked quietly after a few minutes.

“I do. But I get off in a few hours.” Lorelei almost whispered, holding his hand tighter as if she were afraid he would disappear if he let go.

“I have a room in town, up at Meghaduta. Why don’t you meet me there when you get off work?” Eros offered. “Just ask for Eros.” He almost felt weird saying that, because Lorelei had never known him by that name.

“Right, Eros...” Lorelei sniffled a bit, shaking her head. “I’m sorry if saying Connor earlier was...”

“It’s fine.” Eros reassured her, squeezing her hand. “I’ll explain everything later. But you can keep calling me Connor if you want to.”

“Thank you.” Lorelei finally reluctantly stood up, looking down at Eros.

“You’re welcome. Oh, before I let you go I have a question.” He smirked a little, getting up himself and dusting off his clothes. “What your favorite food?”

“My...what?” Lorelei blinked a bit, clearly taken aback by the question.

“I just...Well, since I have a few hours I was going to cook dinner.”

“O-oh. Well I don’t really have a favorite...I’m not allergic to anything either, or at least not that I know of, so I’m sure whatever you make will be just fine.”

“Deal, and if you don’t like it then we’ll go out somewhere.” Eros chuckled, leaning up and giving Lorelei one more kiss. “Now go back to work, and don’t get in trouble on my account yeah? I’ll see you at dinner.” He gave a wave of his hands and Lorelei turned, picking up the hammer she had dropped along the way and disappearing into the workshop.

Eros sighed, letting his shoulders slump a little once she was out of sight. But he quickly picked himself back up, heading straight for the bazaar. There he could acquire pretty much everything he needed, and his chambers had a kitchen to cook in, and with an arm full of ingredients he made his way back to begin dinner.

Lorelei had originally been from Ishgard, the brothel located in Thanalan, and now she was living in Radz-at-Han. So he took the liberty of combining the elements; some Ishgardian tea to warm the cold night and a traditional Ishgardian dessert, some wine from Radz-at-Han for dinner an incorporating the local spices and fish into a pasta dish that was often served at the brothel because it was cheap and filling, and a few dumplings steamed with a mixture of vegetables inside.

Eros had picked up cooking as a hobby, and he always enjoyed cooking for the Free Company he ran, but this was different. This was special. Pulling it all together put every skill he had to the test, and it really didn’t help when his Voidsent decided to interrupt several times by popping out and asking for coffee. He cursed Kit for teaching Satin about coffee, and for Satin then rubbing off on everyone else’s Voidsent. But still at least he could keep Rose occupied for the time being and get her to go away once Lorelei arrived – she really didn’t need to see the thing staring her down while they tried to have a nice dinner, after all.

Lorelei, on the other hand, found it almost impossible to focus on her work after they had parted ways. Would she really see Conner again? Was he really staying in town? He had come all the way out to Thavnair to find her, but…

“Lorelei, watch what you’re doing!” One of the other smiths chided, the voice breaking into her thoughts and snapping her back to the moment.

“Huh? Oh, sorry!” Lorelei called as the smith passed her, looking down and realizing that the metal she’d been working on was too cool to mold now. With a heavy sigh she put it back into the fire to heat and tried to keep her focus, but it was difficult. Eventually when the piece she was working on was done she put her tools away and walked out.

No one noticed anyway, and if her boss wanted to talk to her later she would just say she had some personal business going on. Working distracted was too dangerous, and she would rather endure the wrath than potentially hurt herself too badly to attend dinner.

So she wandered back home, undressing and taking a quick bath before trying to find some suitable clothes. She didn’t own anything fancy, there wasn’t much point to it, and her work clothes all seemed too dirty or dingy to be appropriate. In the end Lorelei pulled out a dress she hadn’t worn in ages from the back of her closet, hating the way it draped over her body now that she was more lean and muscled. But it looked nice, and as she pulled her hair into a braid and then up into the usual loop around her head she tried to remind herself of that.

Heading up to Meghaduta, Lorelei quickly found the attendant and tried to approach with as much confidence as she could manage.

“I’m looking for Eros. I believe he’s expecting me?” There was a wavering in her voice, but thankfully if the attendant noticed they didn’t say anything. They just pointed at the door and gave a nod.

“Take a right once you’re inside, second door on the left.”

Lorelei nodded in thanks and headed off, finding the door and already able to smell the cooking. A mix of Thavnairian spices and fish, enough to make her mouth water after spending all day down in the forge. She reached out, knocking quietly at the door and stepping back until Eros answered.

Eros heard the knock and quickly shooed the Voidsent away, heading to the door and opening it while trying not to stare. Lorelei looked so amazing in the dress, and he had put on some of the nicer clothes Frederick made as the cooking was dying down so as not to get anything on them. Both just stared for a moment before Eros stepped aside and motioned.

“Well, dinner is ready.” He smirked a bit, shutting the door once Lorelei was inside.

The food had been laid out on the table for them, and Eros pulled the seat out for Lorelei before sitting down across from her.

“You didn’t have to do this, you know.” Lorelei whispered, staring down at her lap.

“I know. But I’ve taken up cooking these past few years, and it was a good way to pass the afternoon while I waited.” Eros motioned to the food. “I don’t know if you drink, but there is wine. And if not I made a fresh pot of Ishgardian tea, it should be just about ready.”

“Wine, please.” Lorelei knew it would help her relax, lifting her head as Eros grabbed her glass and poured a good amount from the bottle into it before filling his own.

“Well then, let’s enjoy. And if you want to talk about work I’m all ears.” He tried to lighten the mood by wiggling said ears a little. “I’ve only done a small bit of smithing, that’s mostly the job of someone else in the Free Company. But I’m always interested to learn.” Because he didn’t want to talk about himself, or the current events of the world, and hoped that maybe Lorelei would take the chance to gush about her work.

“It’s just smithing. I took it up so I could make better arms and armor for those around me, and coming out here allowed me to get away from everything and not be distracted while I honed my skills.” Lorelei shrugged.

“Well I still think it’s amazing. Which reminds me.” Eros gave her a bit of a worried look. “I…wanted to ask if you’d come back with me. To Ishgard, and the Free Company. I think you’d really love to meet everyone else, and we could always use another hand with the smithing projects.”

Lorelei just stared at Eros in silence, blinking as the words processed in her head.

“Just...pack up. Leave Thavnair, and go back to Ishgard?”

“Only if you want to, I mean.” Eros quickly added, worried that he had sprung the question too early and potentially ruined the chances of her saying yes.

“I’ll think about it.” Lorelei said quietly, turning her eyes back to the food.

Eros sighed and nodded, and tried to enjoy dinner though he found himself stealing glances at Lorelei. To him it was as if nothing had changed, even after all he had experienced, but he knew it wasn’t like that for her. Trying to pick up where they had left off all those years ago was clearly not working, and Lorelei seemed more unsure of herself and the situation than Eros wanted.

“Connor.” Lorelei said his name, and Eros tilted his head as he looked at her. “I know you never had a choice, but I...I did. And I never...was with anyone.” Her words were soft, but not from shame. “I always hoped I could find you some day, and that you would be my first.”

“Lorelei...” Eros didn’t know what else to say, reaching across the table and gently taking her hands again.

“I’m sorry, I know that’s a weird thing to say at dinner. I just...This is all so sudden. You being here, and wanting me to come back to Ishgard with you and...I don’t know if I can. You said you love me, but I feel like I’m not good enough. All the failures, all the time it took me to find you. We’re not the same people we were when we were teenagers.”

“You’re right, we aren’t.” Eros shook his head. “And it was wrong of me to treat you as if no time has passed. But I still love you, Lorelei. You’re good enough, you always have been. If you hadn’t been sold, if we had grown up together, been able to escape together, I would have married you in a heartbeat. And despite everything you’ve been through I can tell that you’re still the same woman. A kind, caring woman who is too harsh on herself.”

Lorelei started to cry again, and Eros stood up to go around the table so he could hug her. He pulled her to her feet, leading her away from the table and to the bed to sit down, situating her in his lap so he could just hold her. He didn’t care about anything else in that moment, just about comforting the woman he still loved.

Eventually Lorelei calmed, though she was still holding Eros quite tightly. He let her, running his hands along her back and not saying anything. Finally she pulled back, giving him a measured look before nodding slightly.

“Yes.” She murmured, and before Eros could ask what she meant he found her lips pressed to his own in a ravenous kiss. Behind closed doors, with no one to witness, all she wanted in that moment was to feel him. Eros put up no resistance, his hands resting on her lower back to hold her close while hers tangled in his hair.

“So, you’ll come to Ishgard with me?” Eros said in a half-teasing tone once Lorelei took a moment to breathe.

“I said yes.” Lorelei rolled her eyes, then reached down and tugged at the edges of her dress. “Help me get this off.” She murmured, a slight flush on her cheeks as Eros reached and began to help pull the garment off over her head.

“What are you doing?” Eros asked, however, his eyes lingering at every inch of revealed skin. Every scar, every curve, every muscle.

“All day I haven’t been able to think of anything but you.” Lorelei murmured, tossing the dress off to one side. “I waited so long...I want you to be my first.” She gave Eros a gentle kiss on the lips, then on the neck, making her intentions and consent well known.

“Well, if you insist.” Eros teased, shifting their positions so Lorelei was laying on the bed on her back. He leaned up, gently tugging her undergarments and leaving her exposed. “If you want me to stop just say so, okay? The moment you ask I will go no further.”

Lorelei nodded, flushing and covering her face a bit but clearly willing to continue. Eros pressed a kiss to her cheek, then her chest, then her stomach, working his way down her body until his head was buried between her legs. Eros couldn’t help but smile as he heard Lorelei gasp in surprise when his tongue started in, expertly caressing all her sensitive spots. His arms wrapped around her legs to keep her from squirming too much, and he savored her taste, her smell. All his training from the brothel kicked in and he worked Lorelei right up to the edge but didn’t let her go over, backing off and leaving her a wet, panting mess.

Standing up for a moment Eros removed his own clothes, well aware he was rock hard after listening to Lorelei’s moans. But he also knew what she said and took things slow, returning to her with his fingers caressing her vagina slowly. One slipped in and he watched Lorelei carefully for any signs of discomfort as he wiggled it around, finding her sweet spot and loving how she seemed to melt under his touch. Then two fingers, carefully as the gasp Lorelei let out showed everything she was feeling. Finally three fingers, Lorelei squirming and arching her back as Eros brushed against everything that was sensitive and pulled out when he felt her whole body clamp down to let her ride out the high of her orgasm.

Eros crawled into bed beside Lorelei, rolling her onto one side so he could cuddle. “Let me know when you’re ready” He murmured softly in her ear, teasing her by nibbling on it as well.

“You’re such a tease.” Lorelei huffed, her breathing slowly steadying. “I don’t love that you were forced to work in the brothel, but I see at least you’ve retained your skills.”

“Never let them get rusty, actually.” Eros chuckled. “I’ve been...pretty casual about sex most of my life, honestly. Growing up how I did, doing the work I did. When I finally got out it just seemed so natural. There aren’t a lot of nights that I’m not with someone, be it Cerreo or just a one night stand.”

“Cerreo…You mentioned him before. He’s your husband, right?” There was a bit of sadness in her voice, and Eros took the moment to slip a hand between her legs and start rubbing her again.

“He is, but that’s a conversation for another time. Besides, we aren’t married in the traditional sense, he has a wife too and neither of us expect monogamy from one another.” Eros kissed her neck, feeling how her body shuddered in response.

“I just -” Lorelei cut off as a long moan escaped her, Eros’ skilled hands knowing just how to draw that out and get her mind back into what they were doing.

“Later, love. I promise. Right now, though.” He pulled his hand back, letting Lorelei see just how wet his fingers were. “You’re practically dripping. So if you’re ready.” He shifted their positions again, laying her on her back and settling himself between her legs.

“Fine, later.” Lorelei teased, raising her hips a bit. “I’m ready.” Her voice was hesitant, but she trusted Eros as he positioned himself and pressed the tip of his dick into her.

Eros was slow and careful, hilting himself and waiting. Lorelei was already panting again, just the feeling of him sliding into her another dose of pleasure that seemed to jolt up her spine. He let her adjust and relax before moving at a slow pace, pulling out only a little before pushing back in. Soon enough Lorelei was a moaning mess as Eros started to play with her nipples, fingers expertly teasing them while he leaned forward and teased at her ears.

His own endurance and training let him guide her through two more orgasms like that, but as he went to pull out Lorelei’s legs wrapped around his hips and she looked up at him through the haze of pleasure washing over her brain.

“Inside.” She murmured, and Eros complied as he gave a few more erratic thrusts before reaching his own orgasm inside her.

After that he fell on the bed beside her, panting and sweating himself from the effort of using skills he hadn’t in so long. Lorelei rolled onto her side, pulling Eros close and holding him as her mind slowly came back.

“That was amazing.” Lorelei breathed, feeling her heart thumping in her chest.

“It was, and so are you.” Eros gave her a soft kiss, smiling. “Any time you want more, just ask.” He was half teasing but also very serious.

“Maybe...Once I’ve had some sleep.” Lorelei yawned, feeling drained now that everything was wearing off.

“Good idea. But first go clean up.” Eros sat up, pulling her with him. “I’ll change the sheets and put away the leftovers.” He stood, making sure Lorelei could stand despite her unsteady legs. Once she was in the bathroom he set about doing exactly what he’d said he would. Lorelei wasn’t out of the bathroom by the time he was done, however, and when Eros looked in on her it was clear that she had sat down on the floor of the shower before falling asleep in the warm stream.

With a joking sigh Eros turned the water off, picked Lorelei up with a towel and carried her to bed. He took his own quick shower just to wash off, half drying himself before grabbing both towels and setting them to the side. Then he crawled into bed next to her, pulling the sheets up and over as he held her from behind and eventually fell asleep himself.

Outside the world went on. The Scions sought answers, and Frederick had returned to Old Sharlayan to help them search. But for at least the next few hours, in the little room in Radz-at-Han, Eros and Lorelei slept peacefully. Even when the morning sun rose they did not wake, finding comfort in one another in what time they had before it was time to face another day and sort out getting Lorelei back to Ishgard.

******

Eros stared down the training dummy in the yard, holding the chakrams lightly in his hands. The job stone hung around his neck, clinking against the locket he always wore and filling him with an odd warmth. He was used to job stones and how they worked, and knew to just let himself flow with whatever energy it was giving him.

One step. Two steps. Arms swinging as the chakrams were let go, moving into position to catch the rounded blades as they swung back.

No one else was home for now, so Eros had left the front door open and turned on the orchestrion so he had music to help get more into the rhythm of things. Steps that came light and easy, movements that seemed unusually natural despite having no formal training in dancer arts. The dummy was struck time and again, the frozen grass crunching with every move Eros made, his breath coming out in even puffs as he performed the moves.

Then a misstep. One chakram bounced off the wood wrong, striking the side of the house. Eros wasn’t sure if it would return, and by the time he realized it was he wasn’t in a position to catch it. Nor could he dodge, though on instinct he tried to move out of the way. The blade caught him in the side, easily tearing through flesh as it was designed to do and sticking into the dirt behind him as he fell.

“Fuck...” Eros groaned, his hands holding the wound. It was bleeding pretty badly, even as he started channeling some aether to fix it – a process he had to be exceptionally careful with. He did just enough to stop the wound from being a gaping hole before dragging himself inside and finding the medical kit to patch up the rest.

Cerreo came home first, noticing something was wrong right away. The chakrams sat in the yard, now covered by a fine dust of snow, and there was obvious blood that had seeped into the grass. Some on the front door, which sat slightly ajar, and more inside among the strewn medical supplies.

The Viera turned his head as the door opened behind him, raising an eyebrow at his husband as Eros had finally made his way back.

“What happened?” Cerreo walked over, crouching to gently inspect the bandages in Eros’ side.

“Nothing. I was practicing and had a bad throw, that’s all. I went fishing for a bit so I could recover, I’ll clean it up.” Eros shrugged, but Cerreo was having none of it.

“No, you’re going to go lay down in bed. I’ll clean up.” Cerreo said sternly.

“Or what?” Eros half-teased, giving his husband a smirk.

“Or I’ll go get Frederick so he can patch you up, and then I’ll stick you in a cage so you can’t get any for a month.” Cerreo glared.

“Ouch, okay fine.” Eros pouted, sluggishly heading for the door in the back that led to the bedrooms.

Cerreo sighed before heading outside to pick up the chakrams and set them aside in the house to be cleaned later. The blood on the door was still fresh enough that wiping it off with a wet towel was good enough, and once the medical kit was repacked nicely he went to go check on Eros.

By then the white haired Viera was fast asleep, sprawled out on his stomach on the bed. Cerreo’s expression softened as he climbed into the bed as well, scooting Eros onto his uninjured side and holding him close. Cerreo worried about Eros all the time, especially when stuff like this happened. Eros was pushing himself too much, and being too hard on himself.

“You’re warm.” Eros murmured, half awake after being rolled onto his side.

“I know.” Cerreo held him a little tighter, feeling Eros’ hands move up to rest on his own.

“I love you.”

“Love you too.” Cerreo kissed the back of Eros’ head, breathing in the smell of sweat and blood and smoke that lingered after the training attempt.

Eventually Eros fell back asleep, and Cerreo slept quietly beside him as the winds howled through the walls of Emperyum. It wasn’t the first stupid thing Eros did and it would likely not be the last, and for now Cerreo was just comforted by the fact that Eros would heal and things would go back to normal in the morning.

******

Eros stared rather numbly at the door of the Free Company house, almost not daring to cross the threshold into the yard. How could he, after everything that happened? Pretend like he didn’t travel to the ends of the universe, like he didn’t see everything that had happened with Meteion, with his friends...Pretend that he hadn’t died to help give Frederick a chance to put things to rights after watching everyone else go one by one.

Frederick had been so battered after the fight, too. Eros had done everything he could without putting himself in danger to make sure Frederick held on and had a fighting chance to recover. He owed his brother that much, and Erranea would have been so devastated if Frederick hadn’t come home.

But it all weighed so heavily on him now, staring at the building in the middle of the snow of Ishgard. How many times would they have to do this? How far would they go? What would happen next time if...if there was no miracle to bring them back to life after their sacrifices? In that moment, with the fate of the entire star hanging in the balance, Eros hadn’t hesitated. If he had stayed dead he would have been happy, but instead everyone had been brought back and in some ways as much as he was relieved to see Frederick and everyone else again he also wished that he had remained in that blissful darkness.

“Eros?” He was brought out of his thoughts by a familiar voice, looking up to see Lorelei standing in the doorway of the house looking just as shocked as he was in that moment.

“Lorelei...” Everything hit him at once like a ton of bricks, and Eros wasn’t even aware he had stumbled until he felt Lorelei’s arms around him, helping hold him up.

“You’re cold, and probably exhausted.” Lorelei murmured, not giving Eros a chance to protest as she leaned down and hooked her arm behind his legs to pick him up and carry him inside. Down the long hallway to the room they shared, where Lorelei had a fire going already and quickly helped Eros out of his clothes before making sure he was snug under the covers.

Eros curled up, trying not to cry as Lorelei left for a few brief moments. She came back with the aroma of stew, setting the bowl on the nightstand before prodding Eros into sitting up so he could at least eat. It wouldn’t do much for the aether loss he was suffering, but it would be better than nothing.

“I’m not going to ask if you’re alright, because clearly you aren’t.” Lorelei reached out, gently running her hand through Eros’ hair. “And I won’t ask what happened out there. You’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

“Thanks.” Eros managed, setting the half-empty bowl aside before curling up under the sheets again.

Lorelei got up to put a few more logs on the fire and undress herself, climbing into bed beside Eros and holding on to him tightly. The mission was supposed to be a dangerous one, that much she knew; flying to the very edges of the universe in a ship that was never meant to go that far, the ship hastily modified to make the journey with an absolute unknown waiting for them out there. But whatever had happened, Lorelei had never seen Eros so rattled – and that said a lot, considering the life he had lived up to that point.

Lorelei held him until he fell asleep, and she was there when he woke up in tears. Comforting him as he rolled over and cried into her chest until he was too spent to keep going and passed out again. He would be in and out of that cycle for a few days while everyone else dealt with it in their own ways; Cerreo spent time with Mina, Frederick was with Erranea and Clover, and Kit had wandered off on their own as usual. They all had their own trauma to deal with after going tot he ends of the universe, and there was no telling how long it would take them to recover.

******

"So....you're real?" Eros stared up, tilting his head at the blue haired figure floating in the air before him.

"Very, and I've been watching you with much interest." Menphina smiled, leaning down and gently placing her hand on his cheek.

Eros froze as his mind raced. All the emotions came bubbling to the surface at the same time and he moved away from her touch, much to the goddess' confusion.

"How long?" He asked, and when he didn't get an answer he let the tears start welling up in the corners of his eyes. "How long have you been watching me?" He almost shouted.

"Since you were very young. You were born under my sign, after all." But the words held no joy, and the smile had faded from her lips.

"Then why did you let me suffer? Why..." Eros fell to his knees as the sobs wracked his body. All the people he'd lost, and all the suffering he'd been through. Ultima Thule came to mind right away, but there was so much more.

"Oh Eros." Menphina pulled him into an embrace, sighing quietly. "We cannot interfere in the lives of men, not in the way you are thinking. But remember finding Cerreo? Or Frederick, or how he helped you find Lorelei? Those things were not coincidence, I helped them happen because you deserve love and happiness just like anyone else. And all that you endured along the way only helped you grow stronger, strong enough to come to this point where we could meet. Strong enough to save countless lives. If you do not know the horrors of life then its joys are meaningless. How much more do you care for those you love now? How much more fiercely will you fight to protect them? Do you think that you could have overcome the Endsinger if not for all your experiences, both good and bad?"

Eros didn't want to hear it at first, but the more she spoke the more sense it made. His connection to everyone he loved was something he had always been willing to lay his life down for because he knew what losing them felt like. He always remembered how his heart ached when he found out Lorelei had been sold, or the anger he didn't think himself capable of when he knew that Cerreo or Frederick or Clover were in danger. But also how he had spent countless nights saying up late with Frederick just talking, all the times Cerreo had been waiting for his return after he ran out in the night, and finding Lorelei again after so long, to hear her say how much she loved him and had missed him...

"We view you all as our children, and we do our best to influence your lives in ways that keep the balance. You understand this now." Menphina almost whispered, still holding Eros against her.

"I....I do." Eros nodded slightly. Despite the fact that she was a goddess she felt surprisingly real and comforting, and warm. The energy she gave off spoke to her love for everything, and especially for him as the child that had made it so far despite everything that had happened.

"Good. Now, you still have a few of us left to fight. So hold your head high and remember you are loved. If you have need of me I will be here." She let go, taking a step back with a smile.

Eros found himself returning that smile before he left, standing on the shores of the lake near Mor Dhona and staring back at the grey-stone city that seemed so dull after the vibrancy of the gods realm. Still he held his head high and made his way back in - all of them had asked for some time alone with their respective deities, or just to chat with the gods in general, and now that Eros had his he knew they needed to move forward with the next steps. Thaliak, Llymlaen, and Oschon remained as the gods that had not yet come forward to challenge them and while there was no telling what they would be like Eros was confident. Nine others had been defeated so far, and he knew that they could take on the last three.

But something in the back of his mind knew there was reason to worry. The way they all spoke told him something was wrong, somewhat confirmed by the observation that their very aether was diminishing as they fought but he didn't know how those things connected to one another. Still that was a problem for another day, and for now Eros set his focus on getting some rest for the fights ahead.