Work Text:
It starts with a fight. Or, rather, it all comes down to the fight.
Linhardt is growing frustrated with his thesis. His experiment is nearing its end, the intermediary results are already sorted and exploited and there is nothing else to do now but actually write the thing. Put his brilliant ideas down on the paper, in intelligible words. For hours on end. So boring.
He has trouble keeping his ass on the chair and hands on the keyboard, and without the necessity of frequent visits to the lab at set hours his sleep schedule has somewhat… shifted. Becoming more akin to the hours of activity of some nocturnal bird and much less of a human being.
Which is fine, in theory. In reality, it means that he rarely sees anyone else, asleep when Caspar and Ashe are up and active when they are sleeping. They never forget to kiss him goodbye before leaving, but he misses their conversation. He loses track of what is going on in their lives, feeling more and more like he is some sort of ghost, haunting their apartment and intruding on their personal lives as a couple. He knows it isn't fair to them ; after all, he's the sole responsible person for his hectic schedule. Nonetheless, it grinds in the back of his mind, a constant irritation adding to his annoyance at his lack of progress with the writing and the ever approaching deadlines looming on the horizon.
Until he snaps.
Nothing exceptional happens that day, really. He's gotten up sometime in the afternoon, drags himself to the empty kitchen and consumes an unhealthy amount of coffee to try and dissipate the brain fog. He is alone, as is customary. Then a quick shower and to work he goes. The hours pass with little progress, the early winter sun has set. Ashe comes home first, stopping by to say hello, takes a shower and then leaves again. Caspar simply never comes home.
Linhardt keeps at his work, trying a voice to text app, but he keeps getting on tangents and forgetting at what point of the argumentation he was. Finally, when his stomach growls painfully, he puts everything down and wanders back to the kitchen to find something to eat. It is about midnight, and he half-heartedly puts together some kind of sandwich and jams it in the microwave, hoping the sliced cheese will melt and the bread won't sog.
He's waiting, looking at his sad dinner turn around and around in the microwave when the front door opens. Ashe and Caspar come in, talking enthusiastically but in lowered voices, careful not to disturb anyone at this late hour. It's a special kind of feat, for Cas. Linhardt calls out to them, popping his head from the kitchen.
"Hi, guys. Are you hungry?"
"Hi Lin! No, thanks, we just ate."
"Oh."
He normally would have left it at that. He probably should have. Yet, he doesn't.
"You went out to eat together?"
"Yeah, we tried a new restaurant actually. Some Brigid cuisine that Petra recommended. It was really good!"
"Well, happy you had fun. It was certainly more enjoyable without me, I gather."
Both Ashe's and Caspar's faces fall.
"Lin, we would never -"
"That's not what I-"
"It's fine" he cuts them.
They share a look, unconvinced. Caspar comes in the kitchen and gently guides Lin to a chair, Ashe following and blocking the exit, keeping him from bolting with the instant regret that seizes him.
"Lin, we're sorry that you feel this way, but we didn't mean to leave you out. We just thought you had to work."
He sighs. He does have to work, but he could push his schedule around for a nice dinner with his boyfriends.
"We should have asked, but it's kinda hard to get a hold of you these days" Ashe tries. He has his hand on Lin's miserable sandwich, discarding the bread and producing unidentified kitchen appliances in an obvious effort to make it edible and somewhat enjoyable.
Lin is presented with a choice. He could seethe and be disagreeable, and get this conversation nowhere, maybe even hurt his boyfriends' feelings, or he could force himself to spit it out and take a chance at resolving the issue. He knows the right path to take, but it doesn't make the process easy.
"You're right. It's just… With our schedules being so different, I feel left out. We barely talk anymore."
Caspar takes his hand and slowly, as softly as his calloused fingers allow him to, rubs soothing circles on his skin. Lin takes the silent encouragement and pushes through.
" You guys have so much in common I just feel like… I'm drifting away from you."
Ashe pops the remade sandwich in a preheated contraption, and a delicious smell immediately exhales from it.
"You and Cas have much more in common”, he counters. “You're childhood friends, you know each other in and out."
Lin and Caspar both look up at him in shock. Ashe keeps his gaze steadily on the cooking sandwich.
"I feel like an intruder sometimes too. Like, I'm a phase that you will grow out of."
"You're not!" Caspar protests loudly, and Lin nods his head in approval. "And if anyone has more in common here, it's you two. You're both super smart, gorgeous, classy, well educated and polite and I'm… not."
Lin opens his mouth to say that none of it is right but Ashe shakes his head and puts a plate down in front of him, sandwich perfectly grilled and golden, complete with a side of salad.
"We respect your feelings, Cas. I don't personally think any of that is true, but I understand the sentiment."
Linhardt decides to take the cue and nods again. He thanks Ashe for saving his dinner and digs in, while Ashe puts on the electric kettle to brew some tea and Cas pouts. The silence isn't hostile, though, and they all stay for the tea.
"So", Linhardt breaks, "we all feel a bit left out and insecure. What now?"
"You want to feel more included in everyday life, that's easy", Caspar declares. "We could put up a big old calendar and all mark down what's going on!"
"That's a good idea", Lin approves.
"Yes", Ashe nods. "It would make it much easier to keep track of your shifts as well."
Caspar is already looking up calendars on his phone.
"Are we going with custom pics of us or cats?" he asks.
Ashe smiles and Lin responds.
"Customized, of course. Although I know how much you both enjoy kittens and felines, it would probably help us all more to see pictures of us as a family."
"Alright! Send me your favs then, and we'll have a vote."
"I don't know if I can choose only twelve… There are so many good ones", Ashe laments, scrolling through his camera roll.
"Come on Lin, you too!" Caspar demands.
So Linhardt goes looking for his phone and discovers that he does, indeed, have a few funny and fond pictures of them on it. Enough to compete with his boyfriends' selections, and the midnight dinner turned argument transforms into a full blown debate and vote night to make the perfect calendar.
The result is breathtaking, they all agree. Ashe puts it up in the kitchen, suspended in all its glory so they are met by a picture of a group hug with smiling faces anytime they walk in. Linhardt adds colored pencils attached with string next to it so they can each mark down their activities and schedules, and Caspar scribbles down on any blank space with his atrocious handwriting. It's barely legible, but it doesn't need to, as every single one says the same thing.
"Date night?"