The Sacrificial Love of an Immortal

by Kurtis Eckstein

  I mean, I figured I’d try to get them to help me stay out of the spotlight too, but I had no idea their preventative measures could go that far. It was actually a little unnerving to think they had that much control.

  “Wow Nick,” I replied. “Well, I guess congratulations. That’s technically a huge promotion.”

  He nodded, seeming a little more relaxed. “Yeah, the salary is astronomical. I’ve already signed a seven-year contract, but in one year I’ll have way more money than I know what to do with.” He scoffed. “Don’t worry though. I won’t blow through it. I’ll be saving it up in case I don’t want to renew my contract once it expires.”

  I nodded absentmindedly.

  Damn.

  Nick a superhero.

  “What was the reason you never pursued that route before?” I asked curiously.

  He took a deep breath. “I’m sure you can imagine.”

  I glanced at him, evaluating his slumped shoulders. “Your size?” I guessed.

  “Pretty much,” he admitted. “When people think of a strong guy who’s a hero, they want to see someone like Blaze, not scrawny me. But if I don’t have to worry about being famous, along with all the hate I might get, then I’m perfectly fine with helping out. Otherwise, the money isn’t worth the stress.”

  “I don’t think people would hate you,” I offered, though honestly I wasn’t sure how the public would react. I assumed he wasn’t worried about the majority anyway, but just the small group of trolls who would talk smack. “Honestly, the average person probably wouldn’t care how you look.”

  He scoffed. “It’s not just that either. I seem to rub most people the wrong way. At the very least, I’m not exactly charming. And even I can admit I’m pretty awkward sometimes. The problem is, often I don’t realize it until after the fact – like, days later.”

  Well, I couldn’t argue with him there. I knew there were times when even I had wanted to slap him in the back of the head…or punch him in the face…

  Or grind him up into tiny pieces, so that even his mother wouldn’t recognize him…

  You know, the usual stuff.

  “Well, I’m glad it’s going to work out for you.”

  “Me too,” he agreed. “Zoey’s not super thrilled about the danger I might be put in, but I promised her I’d be careful and not get carried away.”

  “She really loves you, doesn’t she?” I said without thinking.

  Nick froze, before giving me some serious side-eye. “What are you trying to say, Sam?”

  I angled towards him while holding my hands up. “Whoa, I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m just saying that most people show their true colors when money is involved. I’d be worried if she wasn’t concerned about your safety at all, and was only interested in your salary.”

  He continued to eye me for a second before sighing. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.” He scoffed again. “If she was after my money, there are plenty of other options. Unlike me, when she was single, she had guys lining up to date her.” He grinned. “Partly because she’s so wild in bed.”

  “Ugh, Nick. I don’t want to know that.”

  However, honestly, while I felt confident he was exaggerating about the ‘guys lining up’ thing, I could see the appeal. Zoey wasn’t exactly drop-dead gorgeous like Lily and Freya…or Heidi and Lexi, if I was going to name off people…

  Ahem.

  But, Zoey was undeniably pretty, unlike Camila’s illusion had been.

  Thankfully, before Nick could awkwardly emphasize his point, our meals came. He began eating right away, only speaking once his mouth was thoroughly full of food.

  “But you know, we did this premarital counseling thing, since we’re engaged and–”

  “Whoa! Hold up! When did you get engaged?”

  His eyes widened in surprise. “Oh.” He paused. “I guess I never told you, huh?”

  “Dude Nick! I thought we were friends! How could you let that one slide? How long have you been engaged?”

  He finally swallowed his food and coughed nervously. “Umm, like since last August.”

  “Last August?!” I exclaimed a little too loud, prompting the bartender to give me a concerned look.

  “Yeah, man,” he replied quickly. “It was shortly after the whole…” He lowered his voice, glancing at the bartender too. “You know, that time you needed my help last July.” He raised his voice again. “I was going to ask if you could record it, but you were still really stressed about the whole situation with Lily. So I just hired a photographer.”

  Wow, he was right. That had been a stressful time, since we still didn’t know if Lily’s case was going to go to trial, even though Blaze was gone. Originally, I hadn’t mentioned anything to Nick, but after that incident with Blaze, I ended up telling him what was going on since he didn’t understand why the cops would show up if Lily left her house.

  But damn, Nick had actually been really considerate.

  “Well congratulations,” I said breathlessly. “Sorry that I couldn’t have been there for you.”

  “Nah, it’s fine,” he replied, shoving more food in his mouth.

  “So, do you know when the wedding will be?”

  He shrugged. “Well, originally we were just going to keep it really small – like pretty much our parents. But with me getting this new job, we might decide to sink some money into something bigger.” He paused. “Oh, and what I was going to say about the premarital counseling. They had us rank a list of ‘needs’ by answering a bunch of questions – and, to be fair, some people do legitimately have the need for financial security – but Zoey’s number one need is safety. Turns out, that’s one of the things she likes best about me – the fact that I could protect her from almost anyone.” He grinned. “Not that she would need it when she’s so fast.”

  “Huh.”

  I took a bite of my burger as I considered that.

  Now I kind of wondered what result Freya and Lily would end up with. I had never considered premarital counseling, which I knew ironically was recommended to be done even before two people got engaged, but my lack of concern was largely due to the fact that the three of us worked so well together. But then again, it might be a great opportunity for me to understand more about them.

  I mean, if I had to pick out the most important thing for Freya it would probably be…

  Affection.

  Yeah, she loved the little things, like me randomly running my fingers along her shoulder, or a random peck on the cheek. And it had been affection that she had needed so desperately in the beginning, to the point that me giving it to her was what made her stop forcing herself on me…at least for a time.

  Lily loved affection too, but I wasn’t sure it was the most important thing. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what all the list entailed that Nick was referring to, but I felt like ‘honesty’ and connecting through conversation were both really important to her.

  Affection was probably what she would rate second though.

  But that one difference was why Freya and I could be comfortable in complete silence, just being near each other, while Lily was happiest whenever she was connecting on an emotional level through conversation.

  Which ironically meant that Lily was getting one of her most important needs largely from Freya, and had done so for the last sixteen years.

  Unlike Zoey, I didn’t think safety would be rated that high for either of them, even though I was sure they didn’t want to be put in dangerous situations. No sane person would.

  But, I mean, while I knew I could theoretically protect them from a lot of things, the shadow organization problem was still hanging over my head, which meant it would be safer to not get involved with me at all.

  Of course, what that meant was that someone like Zoey probably would have dumped me in a heartbeat when finding out, whereas neither Lily nor Freya did. And Lily only considered it for half a second because she was worried about me, rather than concerned for her own safety.

  And as for
Lexi and Heidi?

  I could see them both rating safety as a priority, especially Lexi. Although, having already been in a horrible situation, I suspected Lexi wanted to be around me because I was someone who could protect her from a person like Blaze. Alternatively, this shadow organization problem wasn’t as real to them compared to what they had already experienced.

  I mean, for all they knew, it could be a figment of our imaginations, with the two sisters not having directly seen anything bad happen as a result of this mysterious entity.

  So proximity to me could be perceived as safe from Lexi and Heidi’s perspectives.

  However, I honestly wasn’t sure what Heidi would put first.

  What else was there? Nick mentioned money, but I didn’t feel like financial security was something Heidi really cared about. It might be something more basic, like needing to feel like she belonged.

  And to be completely honest, I might be surprised by their answers if they actually took the test. All of them might end up with different results than my guesses.

  Still, I felt like I had hit the nail on the head for the most part.

  “So what about you?” Nick asked when I was quiet for a while. “When are you and Lily tying the knot?”

  Unexpectedly, Nick’s question made something ‘click’ as a lightbulb lit up in my head.

  Tying the knot! Laws!

  Shit! That’s it!

  Why hadn’t I considered it before?

  If Freya literally had the sovereignty of a nation, which meant that our laws didn’t apply to her in the same way, then what would happen if I gained that too?

  Could I be married to Freya and Lily at the same time?!

  I mean, the only reason why it wasn’t possible was because marriage was viewed through the lens of taxes, with married couples getting significant tax breaks compared to those who were either single, or who were filing separately. People would definitely abuse the tax system if they allowed for polyamorous marriages.

  But if the law didn’t apply the same way, then who was to say that we couldn’t all be married to each other?

  Shit! Could it really work?

  I mean, I knew all that stuff was just superficial. We were all committed either way, but still…the idea that I could be legally married to them both was kind of thrilling.

  “Umm, Sam?” Nick prompted.

  I glanced at him. “Sorry, I just realized something random.” I thought back to his question. “Umm, I think Freya has the venue booked for next fall sometime. She’s been the one to handle all that stuff, and I’m sure Lily knows the date, but I haven’t really asked. I’m not really worried about it though – they’ll make sure I know when it gets closer.”

  Nick spoke in a low voice. “And that doesn’t bother her?”

  I shook my head. “No. I mean, I’m engaged to her now too, so it’s not like this entire thing is one-sided.”

  His eyes widened. “Uh, Sam. I didn’t know that.” He scoffed. “And here you were just yelling at me for not telling you I was engaged! When did that happen?”

  Oops. I supposed he had a point.

  “Oh, sorry. I proposed on January 3rd. I had proposed to Lily on June 3rd, so she and I decided to just make the 3rd a thing. Not to mention Rose’s birthday is on July 3rd. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the marriage ceremony is planned for the 3rd of whichever month they picked, but I could be wrong about that.” I sighed. “I suppose I should ask.”

  “Wait,” Nick replied. “You mean like, you and Lily decided on January 3rd? For Freya?”

  I shrugged. “I mean, yeah. That’s how it works with us. Two of us are always ganging up to plan stuff for the third. Freya and I plan stuff for Lily too, and they often plan stuff together for me.”

  Suddenly, I had a flashback of all the amazing sex we had experienced together in the last two weeks, thanks to that little vibrator.

  Man, whoever invented that thing was a genius.

  Granted, we had to be more careful after that first day, since we couldn’t have Lily shrieking at the top of her lungs late at night from having a powerful orgasm.

  But still.

  Amazing sex.

  I quickly focused on my burger again, taking another bite.

  “Sounds nice,” Nick commented.

  Yeah, it was nice. Amazing in fact. But I didn’t want to go down that trail of conversation. I shifted back to what we had originally talked about as a separate idea hit me.

  “You know, Nick. Regarding your size, why don’t you just beef up a little? Or is the problem that nothing is heavy enough for you to work out with?” I considered.

  He shook his head. “No, my muscles are already at their peak. I know it seems counterintuitive, but the way my physiology works, this is the most efficient size for maximum power output.”

  “That does seem crazy,” I admitted. “How is that even possible?”

  He grimaced. “Hey, look. I don’t like making this comparison, but it’s the easiest way to explain. Certain insects, like ants, have tiny little legs and yet they can lift sometimes fifty times their weight. Now, before you ask – No. My body isn’t like an ant’s body. But the chemical reactions that happen in my muscles work best at this size. For a normal human body, the muscle fibers responsible for strength can only handle so much before they reach their limit, which means that gaining more muscle fibers is the surest way to keep increasing strength, because then you have more muscle doing the work. However, with my body, I don’t need more muscles doing the work. And in fact, if I did somehow add a few pounds of muscle, rather than getting stronger, my body would just become more inefficient. I’d have extra muscle that I didn’t need essentially.”

  I just blinked at him for a few seconds. “Umm, okay. That’s different.”

  “Yeah, it kind of sucks when society puts such a strong emphasis on certain body-types, such as looking like you, for example. But I do like being strong too. I just wished I had ended up with a body like Blaze’s. He wasn’t as strong as me, but I’d trade a little strength for a nicer physique.”

  I cleared my throat, wanting to make him feel a little better. “Well, to be honest, I probably wouldn’t look this nice if it weren’t for my age and ability. I mean, I didn’t even really start lifting weights until I was in my fifties. And I’ve never taken it too serious, probably only gaining like a couple of pounds of muscle a year for a long time. Like, it took me more than ten times as long to get the gains some dudes obtain in just a handful of years. Granted, I stopped trying to gain muscle a long time ago, and sort of made working out just a hobby to pass the time.”

  “Yeah, but at least you can get bigger,” Nick retorted.

  Well, he had a point.

  I sighed. “Anyway, I’m happy everything is going well for you, between your engagement and this superhero deal.”

  “Yeah, sorry I won’t be seeing you around at work anymore, but I figured we can still hang out every once in a while.”

  I resisted the urge to smack my palm against my forehead, realizing that the shock of finding out he was quitting had caused me to completely forget to mention that I was too. I cleared my throat. “About that. I was actually planning on letting you know I wasn’t going to be returning to work after all.”

  He seemed unsurprised. “Different job lined up?” he wondered, taking another bite. “Or I guess you could probably retire for a while, couldn’t you?” he considered.

  I sighed, not really wanting to tell him that I had been made an offer by the CDS too. I didn’t want to get his hopes up, because that would technically mean we would be working together again. Considering that Lexi’s daily activity involved just keeping up with intelligence, it meant she went to a local office most days like any other job. The difference from a normal job was the business trip aspect, in which she might do a lot of traveling for certain missions that came up.

  “Honestly, I think I might just take some time off,” I hedged, not wanting to get more into it.


  He nodded, grabbing some fries before working on another slider. “Well, my last day isn’t for another week, so I’ll be sure to pass that along.”

  “Thanks,” I said appreciatively. I then lowered my voice. “Oh, and you haven’t heard any news from the ‘you know who’ regarding another meeting, have you?”

  Nick immediately looked over his shoulder, before replying just as quietly. “No, not at all. Usually they would have contacted me by now, but I haven’t seen anything.” He paused. “And, you know, now that I’m going to be taking a position as a superhero, they might never contact me again.”

  I shook my head. “I guess I never told you that our very powerful friend was working with them too. It was a large part of the reason for all the problems that came up last summer.”

  Nick looked shocked. “Oh. Well, I’ll continue to keep a lookout then, and be sure to let you know if something comes up.”

  I nodded. “I appreciate it.”

  And I certainly did appreciate it, although I was a little less stressed knowing that Nick’s contact with them might not be our only chance to take down this shadow organization.

  The only problem was that I would have to commit to being a superhero for a minimum of seven years, which might involve a lot of time away from my family.

  If only I could have the best of both worlds.

  14: Stalling Bereavement

  Lily Dodson

  March 9, 2735 – 3 Weeks Later – Morning

  Lily groaned as she slowly woke up, stretching out in her cherry red FRIL sheets. Without thinking, she reached over, subconsciously trying to touch Sam or Freya, only for her hand to land on the empty bed. She rubbed her eyes then, and turned her head to see that she was, in fact, alone in the room.

  Wondering what time it was, having no idea since her large bedroom didn’t have a window, she glanced at her fireproof digital clock to see that it was already a little past 9 AM. Not too bad for a Saturday, but she had gotten accustomed to waking up by seven every morning even though she didn’t work anymore, which meant nine felt really late.

  She was tired for a reason though.