Growing apart could sometimes be quite a natural process. An inevitable. An unfortunate, but expected thing. That hadn't been the case for Ifrit and Dewdrop. No, one of them had changed far too much too fast, though he couldn't help it, and the other hadn't been able to cope. You had always supported Dewdrop, even through the elemental change that brought him to be a fire ghoul.

Wounded was an understatement for how he felt about Ifrit's dismissal. They were supposed to be partners. The three of you, unstoppable and all of that gross stuff with the power of love. Only, Ifrit didn't love him as a fire ghoul. He didn't love him now that his temper ran thinner than before, that he was still hurting from the painful change between water and fire. Dewdrop had expected a little more support. Reassurance, even. But he found it only in your arms.

So they split. Dewdrop and Ifrit, at least. Both of them were still dating you, they didn't want to give up the linking bond at the centre of their relationship.

Still, between it all, that longing for you had boiled into jealousy within them both. They each wanted to keep you as theirs, without each other. A difficult feat when they'd once been thicker than thieves.