Aaron and Margery - Friends and Lovers

I know in our hearts we agree
We don't have to be one or the other, oh no
We could be both to each other.

Raithen had practically bolted from the group, leaving Sherrill and Aaron to deal with Jai Noo. She was arguing with him over who would house the scoundrel when the shout came.

"Sherri!" a woman's voice cried joyfully. Her head snapped up, eyes searching-there she was-and smiled.

"Mari!" Sherrill ran up the road, leaving Aaron with Jai (effectively winning the argument, he noted). The Lilty wife broke into a run as well..

"Well isn't that romantic?" Aaron snickered as the two collided, the much taller Sherrill knocking Marina over in the dust. Ignoring the dirt, they kissed, and Aaron clapped Jai Noo on the shoulder. "And that's why your charm never worked on Sherri," he told the younger man, steering him toward the main path. He wouldn't house him, but they'd made enough gil that he could put himself up in the inn.

Jai watched the two speculatively. "Think they might invite a man to help?" he wondered.

"You?" Aaron looked over the handsome young Selkie. Long and lithe, Jai moved with a dancer's grace. Hell, he'd bed the guy himself if Jai wasn't so biased. Sadly it seemed he was firmly set on the ladies, and only specific types of ladies at that. "Nah. There's many a man in line before you." He didn't deign to mention that he was one of them, nor that he'd already been there and it had been absolutely incredible...no, he didn't want to stray off topic. "Rai's harem might take you, though."

Jai missed a step and stumbled. "Rai... Rai's what?"

Ah, there came that bias. "Rai has three wives and a husband. That's pretty normal for a magician of his status." Aaron shrugged. It seemed perfectly normal to him, but then, he'd also been in the middle of that group before, too.

"What does he do with them? Research?" Jai asked, and Aaron raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Really? Did the boy think he was the only one in the world trying to get some?

"I think he keeps them around for the kinky sex," the Lilty shot back, and was grateful to realize they'd reached the inn. He steered Jai inside and rang the service bell.

Genuinely bewildered, Jai made the worst mistake possible. He looked to Aaron for the answers. "But...how?"

For a moment Aaron contemplated telling him the truth. The moment passed quickly. "Oh, you don't know? Under their fur they have like a thousand little tentacles. When they get down to it it's like..." he paused to lean over the inn's counter. "Oy, Margie!" he shouted. "Get down here!" Lowering his voice, he continued,, "Anyway, tons of wriggling tentacles..."

Jai blanched just as Margery walked in. A Lilty woman with peach colored skin, she leaned against the counter and raised her eyebrows. "I heard something about tentacles. Judging by the lad's face, I don't think I really want to know."

"This is Jai," Aaron said, reaching up to clap the Selkie's shoulder. "And Jai, this is my best friend Margery."

Jai paid upfront for his room and hurried upstairs to his bath. Margery watched him go before rounding on Aaron. "Margie?" she asked.

"Aha, sorry," Aaron said, grinning at her. He leaned across the counter and hugged her around the shoulders. "It's good to see you. Missed you."

She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his. "And I, you."

They stood like that for awhile, simply enjoying the closeness. At last Margery smacked him gently. "How many beds did you crawl into this year?"

"A few," he told her, lightly headbutting her. They drew back, smiling. "My ego's the size of a house without you around to poke fun at me."

Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she grinned. "How ever did you get it through the door?" she teased.

"There was a lot of squeezing," he admitted.

She motioned for him to step around the counter and come into the inn's back rooms. "How about a hot bath?" she asked rhetorically, knowing exactly what the answer would be. Aaron was right behind her in a second. He couldn't wait to get off his feet. Margery always gave the best massages.

In the bathing room, Aaron watched tiredly as she drew hot water into one of the tubs. She had him sit down on the edge, then she stripped him of his clothes and boots, gathering them into a laundry pile. "Get in there," she said, pointing to the tub. "I'll put these in with my wash and be right back with some clean clothes."

He faked a gasp as he sank into the sinfully warm water. "Clean clothes!" he exclaimed. "Those exist?"

She laughed, then dipped her hand into the water to splash him. "Make sure you draw more water to rinse." Bending down, she kissed him lightly on the cheek. Aaron watched her skip from the room fondly.

She was his first and best friend, and his first love, though his feelings had not been requited. He would always regard her fondly, and he was sure, she him.