Orc Boyfriend: Cupid & Hector (special preview)

On your way to work you pass by a store that sells leather goods called Heck & Arrow. It’s never been a store you’ve gone into before, but it’s caught your eye all the same. In their window they feature shoes, chaps, and several other clothing items. It’s things you felt you would never wear, but the scent that came from within always smelt amazing. That scent of leather, mixed with the scent of the cafe you worked at, always mingled together to make something magic.

You hadn’t lived here long, so you were still familiarizing yourself. You had moved here a few months ago when your brother needed some help. His long time partner had left him abruptly, running off with someone else. Your brother went into a depression after that, so you moved in to help him pay bills, get him on his feet, and make sure he was alright. It was fine with you, it wasn’t like anything was going on back home anyways. 

You worked a cafe job there too, lived at home with your parents, and didn’t have much going on aside from the occasional hang outs with friends. You’d stopped attending courses at the local community college because you didn’t have the time anymore, let alone the money. It was okay, but you also had to pay for other things which seemed more pertinent than an education. You preferred working than sitting in a classroom all day anyways. 

You were leaving work late one afternoon, the breakfast rush had been murder, and then the lunch rush was even worse. You had been on your feet all day and it felt like you were dragging painful cinder blocks around. Just outside Heck and Arrow there was a bench,s o you plop yourself down there to rest for a moment. 

The bench is really old though, and that rough plop of your ass causes it to sway and crack, leaning to one side so that you fall to the ground. 

“Oh shit, Heck!” An Orc comes from inside the shop, stooping down to help you rise. “Are you okay?” He looks back at the bench then you. “Are you hurt at all?”

You have your palm to your temple, but when you pull it away you see blood in your palm. “Oh fuck,” you grumble.

“Can you stand up?” The Orc asks.

Another comes to the doorway as the first one helps you up. Your leg does hurt a little, but it’s mostly your hip that causes an issue.

“I told you, Cue, that bench needed replacing!” The second Orc fusses.

“Oh shut up, Heck,” Cue snaps. “You were right, fine. But right now we have an injured little duckling here.”

“I threw myself on the bench,” you huff. “It’s okay. It wouldn’t be the first chair I ruined.”

Cue helps you into the back room while Heck pulls out a first aid kit. “Let me take a look at this cut here.” He moves your hand away. His deep, brown eyes have flecks of gold in them. He’s clean shaven and has a long, thick braid draped over his shoulder. His skin is greyish red and tattoos peek out from under his shirt. 

Heck walks over, taking out an alcohol wipe from a wrapper. Using a pair of tweezers, Cue dabs it to the skint cut above your brow. “I don’t think she’ll bleed to death.”

Cue chuckles. “The scare probably did he more damage than the sidewalk.”

“I’m not going to sue or anything,” you sigh. “I shouldn’t have thrown myself down on it the way I did.”

“Frustrated?” Heck asks.

“Tired.” You pause a few beats. “Okay and frustrated.”

Cue places a bandaid over the cut. “I see you walk by a lot. You work at the cafe?”

You nod, touching your forehead to feel the bandage there. “Yeah. It was a long day among other things.”

“Well, at least you can say now that work wasn’t the worst part of your day,” Heck jibes.