Ethan’s dorm room was dark, lit by the lamp on the desk. Sparsely furnished with no more than a desk, bed, and loveseat. Ethan, Alice, and Penny were together waiting in silence as the moment they were waiting for approached. The past few hours of excited speculation were finally coming to a head.

Ethan’s heart pounded in his chest as he looked at his twin sister Alice and his girlfriend, Penny. They had been through a lot together over the past five years at the Guild training campus, countless hours of practice and studying spent together. Tonight was what it had all been for. Five years since they had been Class Marked. Five years waiting to see what their Marks would resolve into and discover what Classes they had been granted.

Penny sat next to Ethan on the edge of his bed, her legs crossed underneath her and her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She had received her class a month early, becoming a D-ranked Dark Weaver. She was eager to see what her friends would receive. Would Ethan get a defender class like they had spoken so much about? Would Alice end up a mage like herself or, as she was hoping, something weapon-focused?

Minutes left on the clock, Alice began pacing back and forth across the small room, her steps quick and restless. She had been born just a few minutes before Ethan, and her Mark would be resolving first. Her hands twitched at her sides, as if the wait was driving her to want to spring into action.

Ethan took a breath, trying to calm his nerves. He could feel the weight of their expectations covering the room, weighing down both of them. Whatever happened tonight would determine their future as a dungeon raiding team. He glanced at his girlfriend waiting next to him, her dark hair falling down her shoulders, and she gave him a reassuring smile.

“Alright,” Ethan said, looking at the clock. How he managed to keep his voice steady despite the butterflies in his stomach, he would never know. “Let’s do this.”

Alice nodded and turned to face Ethan as he stood. His ever-so-slightly older sister took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She focused inward towards the Mark on her back, awaiting the moment. You could see her twitch as she first felt it, the power surging in her Mark.

She opened her eyes, her mouth spreading into a wide grin. “Shock Blade, D rank!” She shouted. “I can’t believe it!” She spun around, lifting up the back of her shirt to show the others her new Mark between her shoulder blades.

Ethan felt a surge of happiness for his sister, seeing eyes filled with joy as she looked in the mirror at the Shock Blade Mark on her back. He’d known how much she was hoping to end up with a Striker Class, and Shock Blade was perfect for her. “You’ve been hoping for this, Alice. I’m so happy for you.” He congratulated her.

“That’s amazing, Alice!” Penny exclaimed, her voice filled with joy for her friend. “I can already see you out there, kicking ass and taking names. Or should I say zapping?”

Alice laughed at Penny’s joke, her cheeks flushed with pleasure. Out of nowhere, she blurred across the room. “Surge! I have a speed skill!” She proclaimed, testing her new abilities. Holding out her hands, a loud crack of electricity rang out as it arced between her fingers. Her grin got even wider. “Shock. Maybe you’re right, Penny, as lame as that joke was.” She teased her friend. “Oh, I am just going to love this.”

Ethan looked back at the clock, seeing his moment was approaching. He closed his eyes, turning his attention inward towards his Mark. A sense of trepidation came over him, worry about what he might receive for a class. Something that wouldn’t fit with Alice and Penny, or maybe- His thoughts were interrupted as he felt the surge of energy in his Mark as it began to change. As the energy receded, he felt it, searching for his class.

“Essence Bonder?” He questioned out loud, unfamiliar with the class title.

Moving to the mirror, her turned around and lifted up his shirt as Alice had done, looking at his Mark. It had resolved itself into an intricate circle, full of complex patterns. In the four corners sat empty circles, as if waiting for something to fill them in.

“Ethan? What is it?” Penny asked, seeing the look of confusion on Ethan’s face.

He hesitated a moment before speaking. “Essence Bonder. I’ve never seen it before.”

Alice leaned in closer, her eyes narrowing as she studied the mark. “What does it mean?”

Ethan closed his eyes again, reaching inwards towards the Mark and the abilities it would grant him. “It’s S-rank,” he whispered, his voice full of disbelief.

Penny’s eyes widened in surprise, and Alice looked at him with a mixture of excitement and joy. “S Rank! What can you do?” Alice nearly screamed at him with excitement.

Ethan hesitated as he went over his newly granted abilities. “It means I can create bonds with others through essence. It’s a support class.” His voice was tinged with a hint of shame.

Penny picked up on his tone. “Ethan, what’s wrong?” She asked with concern. “You’re S rank! This is unbelievable.”

Ethan paled as he continued reviewing his abilities, shaking his head as he continued. “The cost of my abilities is.. High.”

“What do you mean by ‘the cost is high’? Alice questioned him, picking up on Ethan’s odd behaviour.

He was at a loss for words, unsure how to describe what his class did. “It means that the bonds I create are sexual in nature.” Ethan finally spoke.

The room fell silent, and Penny and Alice processed this revelation. Ethan could see the confusion and shock in their expressions, and a wave of guilt washed over him.

“I’m sorry.” He began to apologize. He could see all of their plans for forming a team together falling apart as he spoke. “I never wanted something like this.”

Penny reached out for his hand, holding it tight. “Ethan, it’s okay. Whatever it is, we can figure out a way to make it work.”

Alice nodded in agreement, but Ethan could see the uncertainty in her eyes. He knew she was thinking the same thing he was; the plans for their team that they had talked about for nearly a decade were shattering.

“But what does it mean? That your class makes sexual bonds? I don’t understand.” Penny questioned him as she felt the mood of the turn turning downwards.

Ethan began laying out how his class worked. “I can buff or heal, but I have to form bonds with others; without them, my skills are useless.” He hesitated. “The bonds are formed by creating ‘Essence’ with someone...” He trailed off.

“But what does that mean, Essence?” Alice asked him.

“It’s my class resource, instead of mana. I can generate it slowly over time, but the primary source of it appears to come from being ‘intimate’ with someone. The more I am, the more Essence is created.” Ethan croaked out.

They sat in silence, Ethan feeling a greater and greater sense of foreboding as it stretched. The implications were clear to all of them. His class demanded that he have sex with someone, and he’d be useless on a team if he didn’t. That wouldn’t be a problem with Penny. They’d been together for years, now. But Alice? How was he supposed to bond with his sister?

“I’m... going to go think about this,” Alice said, making your way to the door. “I’ll talk to you in the morning, okay?”

“Meet us here, and we’ll go together to register your classes?” Penny asked.

“Uhm, yeah, okay,” Alice responded, quickly making her way out the door.

Penny turned to Ethan, not sure what to say. The silence stretched on again. “I know this is crazy, but we can figure something out, okay? Classes all have crazy mechanics we can test out.” Penny spoke, trying to find a silver lining somewhere. “It’s already late, why don’t we just sleep on it and plan on finding some ways to test out your class tomorrow? You’re S-ranked, there must be something great about your class, it can’t be all downsides, right?” She suggested, sounding like she was trying to convince herself.

Ethan nodded silently, beginning to get undressed mechanically. They climbed into bed, and all Ethan could think about was how his class had ruined everything. The more he looked into his abilities, the more certain he was. Penny climbed over him to lie down, her head resting on his shoulder, and started to trace patterns on his chest like he loved, trying to comfort him.

“Tell me about your class?” She whispered.

Ethan nodded, beginning to explain. Penny remained silent as he spoke, letting him go over every detail. Sex generating Essence? Bonds that tied him to others? This vague ‘Imbuement’ of Essence that was supposed to make people stronger over time? As he finished the laid there, both thinking over everything that his class represented.

She knew she loved Ethan. They had been together nearly five years now, with plans to marry. The idea of something getting in the way of that was unthinkable to her.. So what then? Demand that Ethan give up on raiding because of his class? He was an S-rank. There was no way the guild would allow him to sit on the sidelines. She could count the number of known S ranks in the country on her hands. That meant... that meant she’d have to be the one he bonded. There wasn’t any other choice, right? It made sense as they were already together, what was sleeping together again when they had already done so before? This time, she’d just be getting some crazy benefits from Essence, so what was she so worried about?

“You’re going to bond with me.” She finally whispered.

“Penny, I’m sorr-” Ethan tried to apologize before Penny cut him off.

“I’m serious. You didn’t choose your class, and nothing it’s asking for is something we haven’t done, right? So what’s there to apologize for?” She sounded like she was half trying to convince herself. Sitting up, she looked down on him and took his hand. “So let’s do it. Bond me.” She said, sounding more decisive.

Ethan sat up and placed one hand to the side of her head, pressing their foreheads together. “I love you.” He whispered to her, leaning in for a kiss. Moments after their lips touched, they could both feel it, a new sensation inside of them.

“Is that essence..?” Penny asked, pulling away from the kiss.

“I’m not sure, but I want to find out with you,” Ethan replied as Penny went back in to kiss him again.

Immediately, they felt the small surge of power from before. As the kiss deepened, both of them felt the essence as it slowly built up, growing greater as the kiss moved from one of love to one of need. Ethan pushed Penny down to the bed on her back, moving with her to not break the kiss, ending up on top of her. He moved to kneel over her, straddling one of her legs, he pulled his face away from hers, and Penny saw a hint of... something in his eyes as they looked at each other. He leaned in again, this time moving to kiss along her jaw, one hand holding him above her while the other rested on her side. As he reached her neck and began to kiss in the spot that always drove her wild, she felt a spike in essence that drove upwards in time with the feeling of his mouth on her neck.

The Essence caused her to arch her back, the sensation from what was always a sensitive spot this time driving her wild with pleasure. “Oh gods!” She let out as Ethan continued, her hands grabbing onto his back, nearly clawing him as she tensed. Ethan pulled away, looking Penny in the eye, both of them amazed at how powerful the creation of Essence had been from what had always before been no more than foreplay. Penny was already breathing heavily as Ethan cupped her head to kiss her again. As his hand ran up and down the side of her body, Penny reached to grab his hand and yanked it between her legs. Ethan was surprised when she held his hand against her panties, finding them already wet.

Ethan sat back in surprise, looking down at her body towards his hand. Looking back up at her, he saw her biting her lip, giving him a quick nod. He pressed his fingers against her, pressing her panties against her skin, sending shivers up her spine as she felt Essence spike again. “Ungh gods, Ethan! Just fuck me already!” She nearly screamed at him. He hurried to listen to her, grabbing hold of her panties and pulling them down and off her legs, throwing them to the floor next to the bed. Kneeling between her legs in just his boxers, Penny reached forward to grab his erection, squeezing it through the thin material. “Off!” she exclaimed, tugging them down. He sat back, pulling them down as Penny removed her bra at the same time. Penny held her hand out to grab Ethan, only for him to grab her by the shoulders and push her back down again, sliding up the bed. He placed his knees on either side of her hips, lifting her legs up into the air.

Ethan’s cock lay pressing against her mound, and they could both feel the heat coming off the other. He leaned forward, raising her legs further up onto his shoulders, hands on either side of her, and coming up on his knees. His cock was perfectly positioned to press into her, and he didn’t waste any time lowering himself and sliding his cock into her. As Ethan pushed into her, Penny’s eyes rolled back into her head, the pleasure of his cock being magnified to an unimaginable level by the feeling of the Essence his class generated. She nearly came right then and there, feeling herself squeezing tight around his cock as he slid into her.

Ethan paused, a mildly worried expression on his face. “Penny, are you okay?” He asked quickly.

“YES!” She said through clenched teeth, still feeling on the edge of exploding, head nodding vigorously.

Ethan lifted himself up, sliding until his cock was nearly out of her, before sliding back in, and the jolt of pleasure from doing so caused him to reenact Penny’s reaction to him filling her the first time. As he started working himself in and out, fucking her, he felt a level of pleasure neither of them had before experienced when they’d slept together in the past. As he continued fucking her, working up to a steady and firm rhythm, he began to feel himself approaching climax, and he could see all of the signs in Penny that she was feeling the same. Ethan reached inwards toward his class mark and felt for the Bond ability. Finding it, he willed it to activate and felt a bridge open between himself and Penny. It felt like the pools of energy that they had been building nearly came into contact with each other. Penny’s eyes shot open, finding Ethan looking at her. He gave her a nod, and she opened herself to the power that she could feel reaching out to her from Ethan.

The moment that she willed her acceptance of the bond, their worlds shattered. The pools of essence felt like they slammed into each other, and immediately, both Ethan and Penny began to cum together. Every squeeze she did of his cock was met with a throb as he filled her with his cum. Neither of them were coherent for what felt like minutes as the effects of the bonding, the essence, and their mutual orgasms faded. They collapsed together, Ethan’s weight pressing her down into the mattress while they both got ahold of themselves. Slowly, Ethan pulled his cock out of her, rolling to lie next to her on the bed. Penny moved with him, wrapping one leg over his and laying her head on his chest. They remained like that, catching their breath for another few minutes.

“I can feel you.” Ethan finally spoke aloud as the afterglow began to fade. “Through the bond, I mean. I have this.. awareness of you now.”

“It goes both ways, I can sense you as well. It’s like a warm presence, it almost feels like I could reach out and touch the bond.” Penny replied. “I wasn’t expecting it to feel like a hug!” She laughed softly.

Ethan finally opened his eyes and looked down at her, and his eyes went wide as he saw that her class mark between her shoulder blades had been altered. It was as if the intricate circle that represented his Class had been overlaid onto her class mark. “Your mark changed!” He exclaimed to her as he realized what it was. The two of them jumped up, Penny moving to the mirror to look at her mark.

She looked over her shoulder and gasped at what she saw. It was true. It seemed the bond Ethan had created had been integrated into her class mark. She felt a surge of pride as she realized this, that she had well and truly been marked not just for her class, but by Ethan himself. The notion that she had been claimed by Ethan in such a palpable way excited her, surprising herself at the feeling. “You claimed me.” She said aloud. “Turn around! I want to see if your mark changed!” She said, looking at Ethan. Ethan turned, and she could see that his mark had changed. In the upper right quadrant of the circular class mark Ethan had, she now saw her Dark Weaver’s class mark represented. “Look in the mirror.” She said, pulling Ethan to stand where she was.

Ethan turned and looked over his shoulder, and his jaw dropped when he saw Penny’s Dark Weaver class mark in the corner of his mark. Much like Penny, he felt a surge of pride and satisfaction at seeing their bond represented in such a visceral manner. Turning to look back at Penny, he grinned widely. The feelings of worry over his class banished for now, replaced with the feelings of love he felt for Penny.

“Now everyone will know you’re mine.” Penny laughed.