Work Text:
At first, Shu did not mind anything at all.
“Oh, Shu,” Ike greeted, voice tinted with surprise. He probably didn’t expect Shu to be home.
Shu waited for the door to close before looking up and giving Ike a smile. “Hey,” he said, not even removing his headphones. He nodded towards the occupied bed on the other side of the room. “Waking him up?”
Ike shook his head as he gingerly sat at the edge of the other bed. “Nah, I just want to see Luca for a bit since I have to leave for a while to complete my novel.”
Shu nodded and turned away, trying to immerse himself again with playing on his tablet. Beyond the background music and voiceovers in the game, he could hear Ike’s soft whispers and the rustling of sheets on Luca’s bed. He tried to shut out the soft yet invasive sounds, willing himself to concentrate on the game.
But when the tell-tale wet sounds and Luca’s sleepy groans and whines started, Shu paused his game and tugged his headphones off. He looked up to tell them that he’ll be leaving, but the words died on his throat as he watched Luca deftly slide a hand down Ike’s pants.
“Luca!” Ike urgently scolded him. Luca stopped moving his hand and blinked sleepily at Ike. When Ike turned his head slightly to gesture towards the other occupant of the room, Luca seemed to finally remember that they weren’t in a very private place.
“Oh, Shu! Eyyy!” Luca greeted with a small smirk as he removed his hand from dangerous territory. “I’m sor—“
Shu laughed awkwardly, picked up his stuff, and dismissively waved a hand at them. “I’m gonna go to the workroom. Lock the door, please.”
As he closed the door with a click, he could hear Ike reprimanding Luca and Luca whining that it was both their fault. Shu silently agreed.
He was fine about it before. When Luca told everyone that he was confessing to Ike and that he wanted to date him, none in the group had any problem about it. Both Mysta and Vox shrugged, saying that as long as the two didn’t disrupt their streams and sleep schedules or make a mess of the rooms, they didn’t really care whatever they do in the house (Luca had a rueful smile on his face while Ike looked mortified.). Shu was a supportive as he could, giving them the assurance and validation that he knew they needed.
Back then, Ike gave him a tight and grateful hug that made Shu feel warm inside. He hadn’t forgotten how it felt.
Shu plopped down in front of his PC and rested his chin on his hands, the memory of Ike and Luca on the bed making his stomach do flip-flops.
--
“What are you doing?” Ike asked as he joined Shu in the couch. The news was on TV, but Shu was busy checking Twitter and watching clips in Youtube. “You’re just sitting there laughing at your phone.” He handed Shu a bottle of sparkling water, which the sorcerer thankfully accepted.
“I’m watching some of our clips on Youtube,” Shu said, chuckling as he showed Ike his phone.
“You watch those?”
“You don’t search for our names in the site and see what comes up?” When Ike shook his head, Shu had to laugh. “You really only use your phone to tweet and load work chat, huh?”
Ike lightly punched his arm. “Excuse me? Sometimes I send mail and call, too!” They both laughed at themselves, teasingly hitting each other.
Suddenly, there were sounds of padded feet running across the carpet and Luca’s large frame landed on one side of the couch, half of him almost on Ike’s lap. “What’s up, guys?!”
“You,” Shu said. “And Vox’s terrifying ASMR clips.”
“Ewww,” Ike said as he laughed, gently pushing Luca off his lap. Soon, however, Ike and Luca were in their own world. Shu tried to focus on scrolling through twitter and thinking of new spells to work on, but it was hard to ignore Luca cuddling Ike to his chest and Ike weakly protesting and giggling.
“I’m home!” Mysta’s voice resounded in the hallway. As fast as lightning, Luca had let Ike go and was already walking towards the kitchen, giving Mysta a loud “Pog!” and knocking fists with him as they passed each other. Ike smoothed his shirt and looked at Shu with a small, embarrassed smile, the corners of his lips slightly turning up.
Shu sighed and started to stand from the couch to greet Mysta, but Ike held him down by placing a firm hand on one of his thighs. “Uh…Ike?”
Ike looked around before speaking. “I’ve wanted to apologize for…many things. We must’ve made you really uncomfortable and…”
“It’s fine!” Shu replied maybe a little too quickly and too loudly. Then he saw the shock in Ike’s face so he tried to say it again, this time a little slowly and softly. “It’s fine. You shouldn’t feel sorry for wanting to show affection to someone you like.”
Ike frowned, his lips pursing into a pout as he kept silent. Slowly, he nodded, then looked up once more to meet Shu’s eyes. “Do you…I mean, would you…”
“Ike, you’re stopping my circulation,” Shu said jokingly as he winced and pointed at his thigh.
“Oops! Haha!” Ike moved his hand away. After a bit of looking around and stealing looks at Shu, who busied himself with his phone, Ike got up. “Thanks, Shu.”
“Sure.” Shu didn’t even look up as Ike left the room. For some reason, he didn’t really want to meet Ike’s eyes. He could feel his thigh throbbing on the spot where Ike tightly held him. It was bothering him, feeding him both confusion and guilt, but he didn’t know what to do.
“I’m home! What’s up with the world today, huh?” Vox sauntered into the living room and patted Shu’s shoulder.
“What’s up….you mean the news?” Shu absently asked.
Vox laughed and made his way towards the bedroom. “Why are you asking when you’re the one watching? You’re sitting there with your ears and eyes covered, my guy?”
Shu wished he had his ears and eyes covered, yeah.
---
A few days later, Shu came home to find Ike sitting on the kitchen counter with Luca standing between his legs. They smiled at each other before their lips met. Ike’s legs stretched out before wrapping around Luca’s waist. The soup simmering on the stove started boiling, but neither of them noticed it.
It was like a scene from a romance film. And Shu felt like crying.
--
Shu glumly spread some toothpaste on his toothbrush. “They only make out when I’m around. They immediately stop when you or Vox comes home. It’s really…”
Mysta stopped toweling his hair and picked up the hairdryer. “Maybe they want you to join them, hahaha!” He stopped when Shu almost swallowed his toothbrush. “Want me to tell ‘em that you’ve moved on from watching porn to watching your gemmates?”
Shu gave Mysta a hard shove and violently brushed his teeth. Mysta laughed and said something else, but his words were drowned out by the whirring of the hairdryer.
--
Shu asked Ike to switch rooms with him, feigning the excuse that he wanted to have space to practice spells and work on his experiments. He did have his own workroom but he explained that he wanted a bit more privacy when experimenting with his stuff. It was almost true anyway, and since he was almost always at home than the others, it would be better to have a room to himself instead of sharing.
But the real truth was that he was afraid of getting used to it. He was getting used to opening the door to his room and catching the strong smell of Ike and Luca and what else. He was getting used to the sight of Ike hurriedly shuffling out of their room, hair and clothes disheveled. He was getting used to Luca’s lopsided grin from under the blankets.
Ike said no. Instead, he apologized and said he’d be more careful from now on. He and Luca started meeting outside their home instead. Whenever Luca had his own missions, Ike would also go out and meet with him halfway, sometimes not even going home for days.
Shu told Ike to just come back and stop being stubborn. Then, taking essential things from his room, he moved completely into his workroom at the attic.
--
It has been a few weeks when Shu visited his old room, dropping the books he collected from his attic, and looking around. Nothing much had changed, except for the fact that the bed across his also looked as unused and pristine as his. He wondered if Luca even slept on the bed anymore. They didn’t meet much except during collaborative works and weekly dinner. They all had different schedules, so it was normal for them to not see each other even though they live in the same house. But somehow, the untouched bed and eerily clean bedroom made Shu feel weird.
He walked around the house and found Luca in Ike’s room, empty since Ike went out of the country to do research for a novel he’s writing. Luca’s face was buried in the pillows, as if trying to catch every last whiff of Ike’s scent. He looks like a cute big dog, Shu thought as he sat on the bed and patted Luca’s head.
Luca looked up at him, gaze blank. “I’m leaving for a bit, too…” he said, voice raspy.
Shu knew. It was apparently a mission against another gang in another city. Sometimes, Shu forgot what Luca’s real profession was, especially after seeing him curled up in the sheets like this. “It’s just for a week, though, right? You’ll be home again before you know it.”
Luca quietly nodded, neither of them mentioning the danger of Luca’s mission. “This doesn’t smell like Ike anymore,” Luca softly said. Patting the pillow into place, he got up and left the room with a small wave, leaving Shu staring at his back and fumbling with the blankets as he also tried to untangle his thoughts.
---
Shu went down from the attic and tiptoed through the hallway, yawning despite not feeling sleepy. It was 2 am. He had forgotten about the time because he was too engrossed in his research about curses.
He found Luca sprawled on the couch, his suit torn up pretty badly and splattered with blood and mud. Quickly, he checked the young boss for any injuries or wounds, and thankfully there weren’t any severe ones.
“Wake up, Luca,” he told the other man, trying to haul his big body up. “You need to take a bath and wash off the grime. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Luca staggered up with a groan. He carded his fingers through his hair, wincing when he noticed how tangled they were. He ran a hand down his face and wiped some of the blood. “What time is it?”
“It’s 2 a.m.,” Shu said as he led Luca to the bathroom and helped him get out of his messy clothes. “Work was pretty messy, I guess?”
Luca nodded and yawned, tugging the tie around his neck and grumbling. “Some guys brought big guns and there was a scuffle. But no one was badly hurt and we got what we went there for.” He sighed as he steadied himself on the tiles and sat at the edge off the tub. “I’m so tired. I still have to wake up at 10 a.m. tomorrow because…” He looked at Shu with half-closed eyes. “Shu, I’m so tired.”
“I know, Luca. Hang in there and take a bath first, okay?”
Luca looked up to the ceiling and stretched out his arms, opening his hands wide and then sighing. “I need Ike.”
Shu froze, but he caught himself and pretended not to hear it. Instead, he busied himself with putting away Luca’s clothes and looking for their bath stuff. The soap he got kept slipping out of his hands and he was getting impatient. “You…you didn’t see him recently? Don’t you meet up after work?”
“Can’t,” Luca replied. “It was too dangerous for him and he left the country immediately after getting the permission.” Luca stopped stretching his arms and instead draped them over his head. “I miss him. Don’t you miss him, Shu?”
Shu dropped the soap to the floor—again. “I’ll help you clean your wounds after you take a bath,” he announced, standing up and resting the soap at the rack. “I’ll get the first aid kit.” He turned around and opened the door.
“Wait, Shu.” A hand fisted the hem of his shirt. Luca looked at him, eyes dripping with need. “Shu, can you kiss me just once?”
“What? Luca….?”
“Please?”
Shu swallowed and closed the door of the bathroom once more.
--
A few days later, when he found himself settling on bed between Luca’s knees, Shu realized that it was not “just once” anymore.
--
Ike looked exhausted but inspired, Shu thought when he answered the video call from the novelist. Apparently, his book was taking a bit longer to write, but he’d be home soon.
“How are all of you?” Ike said, the video seeming to lag as his mouth’s movements didn’t sync with the sound in the video.
“We’re fine. Luca’s doing less dangerous missions these days, too.” Ike nodded with a happy smile and Shu felt the need to elaborate. “He said he wanted to be healthy and safe until you come back so he hasn’t been going out much and delegated the dangerous stuff to his uh…assistants.”
“That’s good!” Ike said. “I hope he gets some rest, too. I read your tweets. You guys kept bantering on Twitter.”
Shu blushed. Ike had read those tweets—those tweets he made right after he made out with Luca, those tweets he wrote to make Luca laugh while they sat together on the couch. He hadn’t told Ike anything, and Luca probably hadn’t too.
“Thanks for everything, Shu.”
“I…I didn’t do anything,” Shu replied. “It’s just normal routine for us, right?”
Ike just smiled. Shu had a feeling that Ike wasn’t thanking him just for those tweets. He could feel guilt bubbling at the pit of his stomach.
But why would he feel guilty, a side deep inside him asked. He was just Luca’s temporary relief in place of Ike after all. He was a moment’s reprieve, Luca’s right hand.
The guilt disappeared but what was left was a hollow ache in his chest.
--
When Ike came back home, it was like Christmas.
Shu felt a lot of emotions seeing Luca almost knock Ike down in the doorway and making Vox and Mysta laugh. Although if the emotions were because he was happy or because he felt alone, he couldn’t really tell.
--
“What are you cooking?”
Shu nearly jumped out of his skin and Ike laughed, holding the cupboard at the side as he almost collapsed in laughter.
“I was just cooking instant ramen and you had to scare me!” Shu exclaimed, joining the other man’s laughter. “Aren’t you supposed to be catching up on sleep?”
Ike studied the stuff boiling on the stove and wrinkled his nose. “If I don’t get up and move around, I might become an invalid.”
Shu stared at Ike. His hair was slightly longer and his fringe was almost covering his eyes. Suddenly, Ike turned to look at him and he caught himself. He cleared his throat and turned off the stove.
“About Luca…” Ike started and Shu stiffened, knowing what Ike was about to say. “He told me what happened between the two of you.”
Shu wrung his hands together and looked at Ike. “Yeah. I’m…sorry I didn’t tell you before. But….but don’t worry! I was….just helping him relieve stress, you know?”
“Shu…”
“I mean, he was too tired most of the time so I’m like his replacement hand.” Shu laughed, but the laugh got caught at his throat into a cough. Ike didn’t look amused. “I only…slept with him once. I swear the rest are just…”
“Shu.” Ike moved towards him and pinned him against the counter. “I’m not mad. I’m not scolding you.”
Shu looked down to stare at their shoes, refusing to meet Ike’s eyes. “I just…he needed you, and the only thing I can do to comfort him was that…”
“I know. Thank you.”
Shu looked up in surprise. Ike’s gaze was warm and comforting. He had a little smile forming on his lips. But as soon as their eyes met, Ike’s expression turned solemn.
“You…you don’t look at people like that,” Ike whispered before leaning in and kissing him on the lips.
Shu opened his eyes wide in surprise, his hands automatically reaching up to grab Ike’s arms so he could push him away. But Ike’s mouth was wet and warm and inviting, just like his eyes. Shu found himself parting his lips and tilting his head back. Ike raised a hand to hold Shu’s cheek gently and Shu found it hard to breathe.
It was just like a romance movie.
A door slammed from somewhere in the house, surprising both of them. Shu took the opportunity to push Ike away, muttering something about making noodles, and leaving the kitchen.
He didn’t see Ike sit on the table, then take off his glasses and cradle his face in his hands.
---
The house was empty even in the middle of the night.
Shu checked all the rooms to confirm, but everyone seemed to be out.
After the kissing incident, Ike seemed to have taken the initiative to stop stepping into Shu’s private spaces. Instead, he and Luca often left the house. Vox was busy meeting up with people, and who knows what’s keeping Mysta out of the house these days.
Shu stared at Ike’s bed, big and inviting. He knew that it would smell like Ike’s new shampoo. Swallowing, he closed the door and quelled the urge to roll in the sheets.
Inside their room, Luca’s empty bed greeted him. It was messy, with the sheets and pillows all over the place. Even without sitting on it, he could feel the just recent heat emanating from it. Shu abruptly turned away and left their room.
He sat in the middle of their lounge, on the floor, his phone and tablet strewn over to the side. He was supposed to be gaming, but he just found himself staring off to space.
--
“Shu, why the heck are you out here with the heater off?”
Shu suddenly sat up in surprise, groaning as he felt a sudden pain in his neck. He must have snoozed in a weird position while sitting on the floor.
Luca was squatted in front of him, looking at him with concern. “Let’s get you to bed, Shu. You can’t sleep here, you know.”
Shu sleepily thought that Luca’s hair was extra silky tonight and it must be nice to touch. And he told Luca so.
Luca’s laugh was cheery and contagious. Shu had to smile. Suddenly, Luca’s face was too near, and his warm lips pressed against his own. Shu flinched, but the feeling was so natural that his body eventually relaxed against Luca. He could feel Luca helping him stand up as they kissed, and pulling away only when Shu was able to balance on his two feet.
“Your lips are really cold,” Luca muttered against his mouth before removing his hands on Shu’s shoulders. Shu wanted more, but when he fully opened his eyes, he saw Ike standing few steps away from them.
Oh god.
Shu immediately straightened up and moved away from Luca. “I wasn’t thinking right. I think I’m still asleep, I wasn’t completely awake when you spoke to me.”
Ike had a serious expression on his face. Shu wondered if he’d end up getting punched (or worse, stabbed). He deserved it for being an ass, though. He had no self-control and kept hoping for more from Luca when Ike’s already there.
Actually, he deserved to be shot by the mafia, too, for being an ass and yearning for Ike when he already had Luca.
Somehow, his two thoughts converged and he blinked in confusion. What was he thinking just now? But before he could organize his thoughts, Ike was up in his personal space (like old times) and kissing him gently. He resisted, but he subconsciously knew what he wanted. It was very hard to resist Ike’s lips. He let out a small whimper and Ike delved more into his mouth.
“Luca’s right. Your lips are too cold.”
Shu felt his knees weaken, but Luca was right behind him to hold him up. “Easy. Ike’s mouth really has that effect.”
“Luca!” Ike scolded. Luca let out a laugh.
Shu stared at them like they’ve grown two heads. He looked at Ike, then at Luca, then at the floor as he ran his fingers through his hair. “What….”
“We’ve been meaning to ask,” Ike said, and Shu could see Ike’s slippers tapping nervously on the floor. “….if it’s okay with you.”
“Okay with me?” Shu echoed, his head still muddled in confusion.
Luca placed his hands on either side of Shu’s head and gently pushed him to look up at them. “Look, Shu. Even before Ike and I started going out, I knew all about it.”
Shu’s mouth was dry. “About what?” he croaked.
“About your crush on Ike.”
Those five words hit him like a sucker punch. It was like a part of him he wasn’t even aware of burst open and spilled out. He liked Ike. Yes, he had liked him for a long time. He wanted to be sucked into the ground.
But Ike spoke. “And Luca…he really needs you. You supported him so much when I was gone that he sincerely depended on you. And well….you give him something I cannot give him.”
Shu stared at Ike like he was insane. What could he give Luca that Ike couldn’t? That seemed impossible. Ike Eveland was everything.
Then again, it could be his “crush” speaking.
Shaking off his other thoughts, Shu swallowed. “So now you’re asking me…”
Luca nodded. “If you would go out with me.”
Ike smiled. “And with me.”
“That’s impossible.”
Luca laughed. “How hard can it be? We’ve already done most of it.” Ike and Shu gave him withering looks, but he just shrugged and grinned.
“I’ve never…” Shu started, at a loss for proper words. “I mean…relationships usually only involve two persons. I’m not….I don’t want to be a cause of a fight or a breakup…”
“There would be no breakups,” Ike assured him. “We both want this. And we’ve been together for too long to know that you want it, too, Shu.” For a while Ike looked like he lost his confidence. “I mean…you do, right? Shu…?”
Shu’s heart wanted to jump out of his chest. His hands wanted to grasp Ike’s and Luca’s. His body…his body was responding more excitedly than he had been expecting. And inside him, warmth was spreading more quickly than he could think.
But he needed to think this through and not be influenced by the way Luca was running his fingers up and down his arm or how Ike was smiling at him with all the gentleness and kindness that could make mothers cry.
“I…” He rubbed the aching part of his neck. “I might need to be more awake to think about this, to be honest.”
Ike was fast to agree. “I understand. We’ll wait.” He moved to help Shu back to his room, but Shu just shook his head. Ike moved away, looking forlorn.
As Shu entered his room, Luca called out after him. “Hey Shu, I’m really bad at dealing with heartaches, okay!”
---
A few days later, Shu said yes.
Luca tackled him on the bed while Ike smiled and offered to celebrate by giving him his first reward.
--
“Wow, Vox’s girly voice is so bad,” Luca said as he comfortably reclined on the couch, his head resting on Ike’s lap and his feet up on Shu’s thighs. It was a weird position, but everyone felt at ease.
“Mysta’s girly voice is worse,” Ike laughingly said, making the other two chuckle, too. Shu watched as Luca tugged at Ike’s collar. Ike leaned down and lightly kissed Luca on the lips.
“I heard that!” Mysta yelled as he walked to the bathroom. “My girly voice isn’t bad and it’s actually in demand! Speaking of in demand, stop acting all spoiled and mushy with Luca, Ike. Don’t you feel sorry for Shu who has to see all that cringe?”
As Mysta stomped to the bathroom, Ike looked at Shu. “Poor Shu,” he said. “Luca, you should show some consideration to our other companion after all the trouble we gave him.”
Luca grabbed Shu’s arm as leverage to sit up. Then, without even a pause, he grasped the back of Shu’s head and crushed their mouths together.
As Luca let him go and fell back on Ike’s lap, he laughed. “Hey, Ike, Shu’s making that face again.”
Shu sputtered. “W-what face!?” Luca just laughed and squirmed around.
Ike looked at them fondly and smiled. “Shu, don’t you know? When you look at us sometimes, your face tells us that you want to be loved so much.”
Luca nodded. “That’s a face you shouldn’t show people. Ever.”
Shu looked at them in confusion. What on earth were they talking about? “What? Why?”
The other two just laughed at his stupor. Playfully, Ike’s hand caught Shu’s and placed it on Luca’s hip. “You know, if you want to be loved so badly, just say so. We can show you exactly how, once Mysta leaves.”
Ike and Luca exchanged teasing smiles.
Shu suddenly felt nervous. Though truth be told, he didn’t mind it at all.
-- END --