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Back and forth, Back and forth. Ahm was pretty tired of the continual disruption of his schooling at Amityville, though the Elders all seemed to find it acceptable. Especially the twin's grandfather, who kept pulling him back not only for the learning of council related things or some new tidbit that was supposed to help him when he took over...but for Jacking marriage prospects He had taken being pulled back for 'work' related things, for learning and being 'educated' on the stuff his Gramps thought was important (whether it actually was or not he really couldn't have said at that point)...but having marriageable ghoul after ghoul paraded before him?

No thanks.

Ahm was perfectly capable of choosing his own bride, thanks. He did not need the Elders getting all up in his business and trying to set him up in some sort of marriage that would benefit the deVarr Clan. The first few he'd even taken with good humor, even if the whole business did put him further behind in his studies - he and Nahm had arrived together, but Nahm had already passed the exams for the first year. Ahm had not, despite them both being quite clever fellows. It rankled, sometimes, but at the same time he was proud of his twin and glad that if one of them had to deal with these things, it was himself.

Granted, it took time to find and negotiate even those meetings and he sometimes just ate the letters from home before reading their contents (or tried playing with Mr. Snappy using them), so it hadn't been a literal parade of prospects. Just a few, here and there. Actually, Ahm found he'd rather liked the second, but the first and third weren't even remotely the type he'd have done more than sleep with (a much lower standard, if he was being honest - attractive and potentially willing to be shared generally did the trick).

But the last two? Prospective brides number four and five had actually annoyed him, no matter how hard he'd tried to be kind to them. One had even seemed afraid of him! The fifth Grue ghoul had been...well, she hadn't been like the others. At all. There should never have been a ghoul brought to meet him that couldn't hold up under the stress of the life she might end up living, but either she'd been misrepresented or someone had terrified her. Perhaps someone had told her that Ahm deVarr ate creeple, or worse.

It wasn't as though Ahm and Nahm didn't have quite the name for themselves back at the stronghold. But neither had quite gotten to the point where they could shadowmeld and actually devour creeple whole. Not yet, anyway.

The whole thing had been utterly embarrassing and horrible for Ahm and the frightened ghoul; he'd done his level best to be charming and courteous (as he did with all those introduced to him by his Grandfather) but it had been extremely difficult and at the end he'd just gotten up from the table and walked out, leaving the Elder Grue and the ghoul alone. Normally, Grue weren't timid or easily distressed like that...so it was something that piqued his curiousity but nothing more.

And then there was the bigger problem: he and Nahm were a set. Full stop. The qualities that had put the boils in the spotlight (however dubious) weren't singularly made. Sure, they could operate just fine on their own, but they preferred not to and when they got together they made s**t happen. None of the potential brides had any idea that Nahm was part of the deal - in fact his stating that had caused their Grandfather to narrow his eyes in a way that said 'boil, don't make me eat you' (which he had ignored completely, of course) - and completely non-negotiable.

It always had been.

Still, being back home was nice in some ways, despite the fiancee parade. He got to pick up the latest news, see family, torment the Elder and do some shopping...but he always found the lack of Nahm's comforting presence stressful. Enough so that his sleep was disturbed and his mood steadily went downhill. And lately, with Merry in the mix? Ahm found it even harder to go on those little 'trips'. He missed the pair terribly and had even found it difficult to not tell his Grandfather to stuff the marriage prospects up his arse because they had already found themselves the best ghoul there was in Merry. They didn't need to be meeting eligible ghouls, they had one!

But it hadn't been time to reveal just how close they were with Merry, not then. Not yet. Someday soon, because they were serious about her, but...it would be something approached as Ahm and Nahm had always approached things: together and with a well-worked plan. It would be necessary if they wanted the bright chimera to be accepted - she wasn't a Grue. She wasn't approved. She'd be with them both. A trio wasn't unheard of, but with Ahm in the mix...well, it would be somewhat tricky.

Ah well, it was all worth it. Ahm knew this. He just had to hang in there a bit more...work things out a bit more. And of course, continue to rely on his two beloveds for strength. He'd always relied on Nahm - and visa-versa - and now they could both rely on Merry as well, add her strengths into the mix and grow from there.

He really was one lucky boil.

Now, if he could just get through to exams before the old man tried to toss another ghoul at him...