Once I moved Laz’s feet, sat down, and placed them on my lap, I said, “Norea’s going to issue Laz an enforcer blade and sheath.”
“What?” Laz asked at the same time Izzy said, “She seriously approved that?”
I nodded. “As long as we train him in how to use it, she’s giving him one.”
“Wow.” Izzy’s eyes were wide. “That’s amazing.”
I sent him a smile, but Laz distracted me by poking me in the chest with his toe and saying, “I still don’t know what you guys are talking about.”
I reached down and pulled my own enforcer blade from my ankle and held it up. “Every enforcer has an enforcer blade, and each blade has a magic of their own that we charge every day. We also have a sheath that holds magic itself to make it hard for someone to feel, sense, or find. Although, if they’re specifically looking for it, they’ll find it. Anyway, the magic builds up over time until you have a powerful weapon on your hands. It’s supposed to be a last resort type of thing, something you can use when no other options are left, something you use if you’re… taken.” Laz sucked in a breath, and I cringed, but continued on. “I’m hoping if you have one, it’ll make you feel safer.”
Laz closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, staring at me. “But I don’t have magic; I can’t charge it myself.”
“Iz and I will charge it for you. Every day.” I offered a small smile.
Laz stared at me for a long time before he asked in a timid voice, “You’re really going to stay in this town that long?”
Izzy said, “We’re not leaving you, Lazarus.”
I nodded in agreement. “Never.”
“But you have jobs. You have to go protect people and take down the bad guys. You have a million homes you have to travel to, you have—”
“None of that matters,” I growled, cutting him off. “The only thing that matters is keeping you safe.”
“But—”
“Lazarus.” Izzy cut him off this time. “This is where we’re supposed to be. Right here, with you. Everything else is small. You are what matters here. Let us take care of you, treasure, let us protect you.”
As Laz stared up at Izzy, and Izzy stared down at Laz, another strange emotion flitted through me. One I didn’t understand at first, but the more I concentrated, the more I understood. Happiness and… love. Seeing the two of them together was filling my chest with more warmth than anything I’d ever felt. Being close to them while they were so content and happy and intimate together made me overjoyed.
There was a word for this wonderful feeling, wasn’t there?
Compersion. Having joy at seeing my partner experience a romantic relation with another—or a sexual relation, but this was definitely joy and romance I was seeing here.
I watched them, and I could almost see how badly they wanted to kiss each other. It made me want to encourage it because this was Lazarus and Isiah we were talking about. These were the two most important people in my life having feelings for one another. I could see it, but what was more, I could feel it through my bond with Izzy.
And that was… that was amazing, but Izzy wasn’t in this relationship with me and Laz, not romantically at least. Not that I wouldn’t want him in it with us.
My eyes widened a little as that idea really took root. Isiah, Lazarus, and me. Together. All three of us.
As soon as I had that thought, Isiah shook himself out and a blush worked up his cheeks as he avoided my and Laz’s gazes. He didn’t kick Laz off his lap, though, and he didn’t stop running his fingers through his hair, either. Because he knew Laz needed it, and Iz would give our sweet human anything he needed.
The happy feeling remained, although it was tinged with sadness because they felt like they couldn’t be together in that way. That was something we were going to have to discuss, but not today, not when Laz needed us to help him heal.
With that thought in mind, I lifted Laz’s leg up and kissed his ankle, receiving a sweet smile for the effort, then I began massaging his foot.
He groaned. “So good.”
The deep sound made me smirk, and I saw Izzy take a shuddering breath as his cheeks pinkened further—adorable. He was definitely feeling all kinds of things toward Laz.
Izzy’s head jerked around to face me with wide eyes as he locked down our bond, trying to hide his emotions from me. I knew he was afraid I’d picked up on his attraction to Laz through our link. Since I didn’t want him to freak out and wind up feeling guilty, I locked down my own feelings as well and sent him a soft smile. I watched him scrutinize me for several seconds before a hesitant smile graced his face, and his shoulders sagged in relief.
We would definitely need to have that chat soon.
I found a gym to rent out a few times a week, so Iz and I had started bringing Laz here to train him with his new enforcer blade. He’d been really timid the first few times, but he was beginning to settle in and get comfortable with it.
We had a bunch of dummies that were magically enforced for him to practice actually stabbing someone, and we had a bunch of practice blades that weren’t sharp enough to penetrate skin so we could teach him some moves.
We’d been working on defensive moves, but this week, we were adding in some offensive strikes.
We’d also been working out, all three of us, which seemed to be helping center Laz’s mind. And mine as well because I was absolutely scarred from this whole experience. Iz seemed to get something out of it, too.
As I watched Laz try out a new move I’d just taught him, I smiled. Izzy had obviously been expecting the move since he’d been in here with us, but Laz had done a great job in the execution of it.
“Again,” I said, and both of them got back into position. “Go!”
Laz charged Izzy, managed to take him down to the mat, and had his fake blade against his throat in a flash.
Iz grinned up at him, saying, “Nice work, treasure.”
“Thanks.” Laz stood and pulled Iz to his feet before facing me. “Did I do okay?”
Stepping up to him, I snagged an arm around his waist and nuzzled his sweaty neck, murmuring, “Perfect, baby.”
He shivered before he pushed me away. “Awesome. Next move?”
I checked the clock and decided we had time to at least start the next one. “Yeah, sure. Iz, help me demonstrate.”
Izzy came over, and I kissed his cheek—just ‘cause—before smirking at his raised brow.
“Oh wait,” I said. “Laz, I forgot to tell you that I set up a time to go to the shooting range tomorrow.”
He chewed on his lip. “You guys know how to shoot?”
I scowled. “Of course, we do. We prefer our magic, but we carry guns as a backup.”
Iz added, “We can teach you better than some kid that works there. You know we have at least a hundred years on anyone there. More like two hundred, if you’re Raph.”
I punched his shoulder with a laugh, but I didn’t deny it since it was true.
Laz grinned. “Alright, cool. Show me this next move first.”
Iz and I faced each other, and I smirked. “Ready to get your ass kicked?”
Iz narrowed his eyes. “You wish, old man.”