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Ever since the day he watched Atsushi walk off with that brown-haired boy, Kinshirou had not been able to shake the cold seeping through his veins. But now, now that the whole otherworldly confrontation was behind him and Atsushi was back in his life, he could feel warmth spreading through him, melting away the chilly barriers he'd maintained all these years. Of course, he was very much willing to let Atchan in, but he had not expected (or more like, had conveniently forgotten about) the continued presence of that brown-haired boy he'd harbored a grudge against.
Yufuin En.
He'd hated the boy's laziness, hated his sloppiness, hated everything he stood for. Whether he'd despised these qualities because of some innate need for proper order, or because they reminded him of that boy, he wasn't sure. Regardless, he soon realized he would have to put up with it all, as he knew he could not expect Atsushi to simply drop his new best friend for his old one.
He knew that.
It didn't mean he had to like it. And yet, every time the three of them would hang out together, Yufuin would show no animosity towards him; Kinshirou saw none of his own jealousy reflected in the other's sleepy gaze. In fact, the ease with which Yufuin had accepted him was really rather unsettling.
The overgrown cat would lie across Kinshirou's and Atsushi's laps when they watched movies at Atsushi's. He would lean on Kinshirou's shoulder when they were seated around the kotatsu. Sometimes he would visit the student council room with Atsushi just to nap on the couches. He would heckle the two of them about their thin waists, while wrapping his arms around them and pulling them both to his sides. His very warm sides. Yufuin En was a very warm person, Kinshirou noticed, trying desperately to ignore the flutter of his heart every time Yufuin initiated physical contact.
He didn't want to believe what his heart was telling him, but when he recalled his reaction to Yufuin during that summer camp incident, he should've known it was no use. The more the three were around each other, the more halfheartedly Kinshirou protested Yufuin's antics. His messy hair and crooked clothes became enticing. His tired expressions became inviting. Even the way he begged for someone to bring him a coffee laden with sugar while coming up with every excuse not to budge from his spot became endearing...not to mention his secret amusement at how Yufuin seemed to immediately crash after drinking it, never experiencing sugar highs.
The brunet soon became undeniably attractive, but Kinshirou didn't think he could ever get over Atsushi either. Atsushi, the kindest person he'd ever known and the one who'd been the focus of his life for a long time, for better or for worse. Just seeing his familiar smile at any time of the day put him at ease. Being with the two of them was something he never wanted to give up-- he felt happier than he'd been in years, awash with feelings nostalgic and new all at the same time. But he was afraid of what they would think of him for wanting both of them like that.
He needn't have worried.
Atsushi, of course, was ecstatic that his two closest friends got along well enough for such an arrangement, and relieved that "us" could mean all three of them. He admitted that he hadn't even thought a poly relationship was a thing and had been feeling rather conflicted the past couple of weeks, loving them both and unwilling to prioritize one over the other. He’d internalized that there was nothing to be done but remain by both of them as friends. Yufuin’s eyes flashed with happiness, then twinkled with mischief as he bent down to playfully murmur in Kinshirou’s ear, "I look forward to being in your care, Prez."
Kinshirou had mixed feelings about that response, but, like Atsushi, he did like feeling needed.
He hadn't anticipated just how needed he would be, though. He began tagging along on Atsushi's morning routine to wake up En-chan (the endearment slipped out one day, after hearing it once too often from Atsushi's mouth). On school days, En seemed relatively easy to wake up; a couple of calls to his cellphone were usually enough, and he'd be ready to leave once they reached his house.
It was the weekend now, however: they'd made plans to go shopping at the department store. En had mentioned needing new formalwear and some other things, so they decided they'd go together on Saturday.
Atsushi seemed determined to go to En's place particularly early, despite the initial agreement to meet up around noon, and Kinshirou wondered why. As someone who was strict in his own self-discipline, he couldn't fathom how difficult it could possibly be to drag someone out of bed, especially when that someone was the one who needed to go in the first place. Surely there was no reason to have to start the phonecalls at nine in the morning--but when he voiced his confusion, Atsushi answered in a tone Kinshirou wasn't sure was exasperated or fond, "It's worse on the weekends."
As soon as they reached En's house half an hour later and let themselves in with Atsushi's duplicate key, Kinshirou began to see why. En was nowhere to be seen, and the only sound to be heard was Atsushi slipping his shoes off and heading to the kitchen, his voice trailing, "Kin-chan, can you go see if you can wake En-chan?"
"Of course, At-chan."
Having been to En's enough times after school to know his way around, Kinshirou padded over to En's room, knocking a few times before entering when no response sounded. As always, the room was a mess, and the boy in question was no better--curled in on himself as if to conserve heat, though the blankets were kicked halfway off his futon. Kinshirou figured that even in sleep, his body was just too lazy to try to reach out to retrieve the blankets. He gingerly stepped around the scattered magazines and schoolpapers and made his way to En's side, bending down to shake the sleep from him.
It worked, marginally at least. The lazy bum merely shifted his head in his direction and opened his eyes a fraction. And then he gave a tiny smile, giving Kinshirou no chance to feel irritated at him. But instead of actually getting up like he'd expected (or at least hoped, since he figured he couldn't expect it to be this easy, after all), En shifted himself back, closer to the wall. Kinshirou thought he might just be trying to get away so it'd be harder for him to reach over and shake him, but En smiled a little wider and reached out to tug at his arm.
"Join me?"
Kinshirou froze, turning this request over in his mind. They'd all snuggled on the couch before, but being in a bed with someone, on a narrow futon no less, was new to him. This whole relationship business was new to him. His uncertainty rose when he looked over En again, taking in his shirtless torso. It wasn't like they hadn't leaned on each other in the baths before, but somehow...somehow this seemed like a much more daunting prospect.
At least En was wearing his boxers, and Kinshirou realized (and chided himself for not thinking of it before) that En was probably too lazy to even put on proper sleepwear. He probably couldn't even find them in the disaster zone of his room. Honestly, he was surprised there weren't more cushions lying around on the floor like in the rest of the house--he wouldn't have put it past En to be too lazy to reach his futon before passing out. Kinshirou let out a soft snort at the thought of En falling asleep a couple centimeters from his futon, then turned his attention back to the matter at hand.
It was a tempting offer, and they did have plenty of time before their shopping date. As his mind wandered to the thought of being enveloped in En's body heat, he knew he'd reached a decision.
Not wanting his dress shirt to get wrinkled, he unbuttoned it and laid it across the back of En's chair. Then he contemplated his skinny jeans before he decided they'd be too restrictive and shuffled out of them, ignoring the parts of his mind laughing at him for thinking the "restrictiveness" was the real reason. And finally, he toed off his socks because really, who wore socks with their underwear?
With a slight shiver, Kinshirou carefully stepped onto the futon and lay down next to En, remembering to pull the blankets up over them. Almost immediately, he felt an arm wrap around his chest and move him so his arms were tucked between the two of them and he was faced with En's collarbones, those wonderful collarbones he always got to see framed by his undone uniform collar. Legs wormed their way around Kinshirou's as he was hugged closer, causing the burst of heat in his face to stand out against the warmth surrounding his body.
Something tickled at his hair; Kinshirou could feel the rhythmic puffs of En's slow breathing displacing his bangs. He had no intention of falling asleep, knowing that that could potentially ruin his internal clock, as well as keeping in mind their trip to the department store in a couple of hours, but it was so warm and safe and welcoming that he really couldn't resist the pull of slumber.
He was stirred from his sleep some time later, how much later he wasn't sure, by the blankets being lifted up and another warm body lying down behind him. Kinshirou craned his neck and squinted, trying to focus his eyes and clear his mind enough to comprehend what was going on and finally recognized that the newcomer was Atsushi, most of his clothes similarly removed.
"W-what are you doing, At-chan?"
Atsushi voiced his reply much more quietly, mindful of Kinshirou's grogginess and close proximity. "I came in to check on your progress with En-chan, but found you two like this... We still have some time before we ought to go, and you two were just so cute, I couldn't help wanting to join in..."
Kinshirou's face burned furiously at that, already having started heating up when he'd seen Atsushi's unclothed state.
"Why did you undress too?"
"Well, I didn't think you'd want to feel my scratchy clothes against your skin...You always had really sensitive skin, Kin-chan."
"I guess..." That didn't change how embarrassed he was, and neither did his embarrassment change the fact that he really liked this, being sandwiched between his two boyfriends like he was being protected from harm. He supposed he was, in a way--protected from self-harm, protected from the doubts that occasionally chilled his blood, full of stabs of uncertainty about how he could even deserve these two amazingly kind human beings when he himself had been so...unkind. But like this, all he could feel was contentment and belonging and like all was right in the world.
They ended up going later than they planned to the department store anyway, and Kinshirou scolded everyone, including himself, for that.
"En-ch-- En," the name still felt foreign on his tongue, "this wouldn't have happened if you woke up the first time. At-chan, you shouldn't have indulged us! Now we'll have less time to look around..." And Kinshirou, you shouldn't have indulged, either.
"Kin-chan, it's okay! It's not like the department store will go anywhere any time soon, there's always other days to browse!"
"Yeah, Prez, don't pretend you didn't prefer staying in bed with us."
"..." Kinshirou had to look away because he really did enjoy it, though he clutched at En's and Atsushi's hands as they walked.
"Really, we're not as late as we could be, Kin-chan! En-chan prefers to stay in bed until four on the weekends, and look!" Atsushi glanced at his phone, "It's only three!"
Kinshirou glowered a little because their schedule was completely off, now. And he didn't point out that it was past three-thirty, of course Atsushi would optimistically round it back. The reason for going early was so they could leave way before the closing time and grab dinner at a normal hour... but now it seemed they would be there until almost seven.
The sun had nearly set by the time they left the department store, and En was grumbling about his empty stomach while alternately clinging to Atsushi's back, then Kinshirou's, then back again as they walked.
"Atsushiiii... I'm starving..."
"Kinshirouuuuu, feeeed meeeee...."
En tended to call Kinshirou by his first name when he was especially needy, which made the student council president all the more vulnerable to his pleas. It really wasn't fair how much En could affect him, saying his name like that when any other time he'd call him 'Prez' in a teasing manner. Sometimes he'd even drop a 'Kin-chan' when he was being ridiculous, and Kinshirou would think nothing of it, wouldn't be budged...but a simple 'Kinshirou' in that smooth deep voice...well.
"We can go to my house, then, for dinner. It's nearby, and it'll save money over going to a restaurant." As Kinshirou talked, he eyed the bags Atsushi was holding for En, the rather expensive contents of which he'd also ended up choosing for the lazy boy, since he'd been, well, too lazy to take the time to find anything that actually looked nice. To En's credit, he had spared the energy to hand Atsushi his wallet so the latter could check out for him at every store.
Atsushi started to protest that an impromptu visit was too much of an imposition on Kinshirou's parents, but En cut in excitedly (by his standards), "Really? Awesome! I haven't been to your house before... I wonder what we'll get to eat..." He sidled back over to Kinshirou and loosely wrapped his arms around the shorter boy from behind, nuzzling into his neck. “Onsen manjuu…”
With the hand not carrying the small bag of his own purchases, Kinshirou gently held onto one of En's hands. "It's okay, At-chan, my parents are both on business trips; besides, Mom is always after me to have people over." Especially after he’d practically isolated himself following the incident.
“Well…all right, then! I would’ve liked to greet your parents again, but I suppose that’ll have to wait for another time, right, Kin-chan?” Atsushi leaned closer to him as they walked, and Kinshirou once again reveled in the peacefulness he felt alongside the two.
“Damn, that was delicious! I didn’t know you were such a good cook, Pres!” En flopped onto one of the couches, sprawling out while Kinshirou and Atsushi took the other couch.
Kinshirou had offered to cook something for them, but Atsushi had wondered if there was any leftovers they could just heat up so Kinshirou wouldn’t have to go through the trouble. The student council president had said there was curry he’d made two nights ago, the mere mention of which made the other two perk up with interest.
“Third day curry?! I’m down for that!” En had called from his perch on one of the stools at the counter, his head in his arms lying across the marble, hands toying with his phone. Both he and Atsushi had texted their parents to let them know they’d be having dinner at Kinshirou’s.
Atsushi’d agreed wholeheartedly to the suggestion of curry, excitedly observing from his stool next to En. Kinshirou had asked them to stay put, and while En had no problem with that request, Atsushi had wanted to help him set out dishes or fix the rice. Kinshirou’d firmly insisted that he take care of it himself, since they were the guests, but really, he’d just wanted to be able to do something for his boyfriends.
“En-chan’s right, I never knew you cooked, and so well! You must have practiced a lot, Kin-chan!” Kinshirou’s face flamed, a feeling which he thought was becoming more frequent as of late. He was relieved, though, exhaling deeply to interrupt the nervous shallow breaths he’d been taking while bracing himself for their reaction towards his curry. He himself liked how it came out, but he felt that he wasn’t as much of a curry connoisseur as the other two seemed to be, so he couldn’t be sure if it was actually good. But with their delighted admiration, Kinshirou’s tension washed away.
After chatting on the couches for a while, Atsushi had checked his phone and was shocked to find it already nearing midnight. He’d panicked, and wondered how dangerous it might be to walk home at this hour. Sure, their town was pretty safe, but the mother hen in him always had all sorts of awful scenarios pending in the back of his mind.
Kinshirou had noticed his distress and without another thought, he suggested that they just spend the night. It was Saturday after all, so there was no school the next day.
“Are you sure, Kin-chan? We don’t want to be a bother…”
“Oh, come on, Atsushi! It’s obvious he really wants us to.” En’s eyes sparkled with mischief, as always, making Kinshirou’s heart skip a beat…as always. But he could almost hear En’s mind add, And I’m too lazy to walk home right now.
“Is that so?” Atsushi looked at Kinshirou, who turned red (again, he cursed) and looked away. Atsushi smiled and put his hand on En’s shoulder, “Okay, well, we’ll have to hurry up and take our baths, then, before it gets even later. En-chan, you go first! Don’t dally in there, because we’re after you!”
At that, Kinshirou realized something important. “Wait…what about a change of clothes? I…I’m afraid I don’t have anything that would fit either of you…” All of Kinshirou’s clothes were specifically tailored to him, and both Atsushi and En were quite a bit taller and more built than him, even Atsushi. There was no way any of his stuff would fit comfortably.
“Oh, that’s all right! We actually bought pajamas at the store today, didn’t you know? En-chan gave up trying to find his and decided to buy a new set—“ Kinshirou laughed inwardly, “—and my favorite set was getting a little worn out.”
Kinshirou did not know. He’d wandered off to pick up miscellaneous items while Atsushi wrestled with En in the changing rooms. Not only did he think he wouldn’t have been able to survive in such a tiny space with them without spontaneously combusting, he didn’t think the changing room could have fit the three of them anyway. As a result, he didn’t actually know anything about what they’d bought, aside from the total price he’d observed at the cash register from the side.
Kinshirou laid out towels for them to use, and retreated back to the couch with Atsushi, sitting in comfortable silence next to him while his childhood friend texted both his and En’s parents about their staying over. With that task accomplished, Atsushi lifted the remote and flipped through channels on the huge flatscreen mounted on the wall. The smaller boy leaned into Atsushi’s body warmth, on the edge of dozing off, when Atsushi suddenly nudged him, moving to get up from the seat.
“It’s been twenty minutes, I should drag En-chan out of there. Do you have a hair dryer for us to use?”
“In my room, it’s in the top drawer of the shelf near my bed.”
“Okay, thank you, Kin-chan!” Atsushi walked off into the direction of the bathroom, and Kinshirou could soon hear voices echoing through the hall.
“En-chan, I told you not to dally—please get out!”
A muffled whine followed, too low to clearly make out any words from his spot in the living room.
“Come on, give me your arms!” Several grunts and a dull thud later, Atsushi gave a loud sigh. “Okay, En-chan. Go put on your pajamas and dry your hair while I take my turn—Kin-chan has a dryer in his room, in the top drawer of his shelf near his bed.”
Kinshirou leaned back into the couch cushions, not wanting to get up. He felt the urge to watch En grope around his room, since he’d never been there before, but he couldn’t find the energy to do so. “Now I’m catching his laziness…” Despite the fact he thought he should be irritated at that, a smile tugged at his lips and he decided it really wasn’t so bad.
Atsushi had finished his bath and went to wake Kinshirou up from his dozing on the couch, and now Kinshirou had finished as well and was padding off to his room to change into his black silk pajamas.
The bedside light in his room was on, and he could hear Atsushi’s voice and En’s mumbles, so he knew to expect them lying on his huge king-sized bed.
What he didn’t expect was En’s choice of pajamas.
“What…what is that…?”
“What is what?”
“That.” Kinshirou pointed at En, who appeared rather confused and sat up to look down at himself.
“This?” Kinshirou nodded. “They’re ducks. You don’t like ducks?”
He didn’t know why he felt so offended, and later he chalked it up to a habit he hadn’t yet broken, but Kinshirou couldn’t help the slightly high-pitched agitated tone his voice took on. “That’s not the point! Those pajamas are just so, so, so low-class!” Not to mention it wasn’t even buttoned up, En’s bare chest on wonderful display.
“Hey! Don’t diss the ducks, they’re really cute!” En pouted and looked to Atsushi for support.
“Kin-chan…they’re just ducky pajamas, there’s nothing wrong with them.” Although Atsushi himself preferred the silky feel of his pajamas, the only clothes he frequently used that even suggested “high class,” he allowed En to at least pick his own pajamas. And he’d chosen duck-patterned ones.
“Nuh-uh. You are not coming into my bed with those…those things on.”
“I could take the couch, then…”
“No!” Kinshirou’s outburst surprised even himself. The thought of En not being with them while they slept was infinitely more painful than those pajamas. But he would not relent. He was nothing if not stubborn, though he knew he was being unreasonable. “No. You’re sleeping with us. In my bed.”
“Then I’m wearing these.” En gave him one of those infuriating, lopsided smirks, challenging him to make up his mind properly.
“Then…Then! If you’re going to wear those, I’d rather you wear nothing at all!” As soon as those words left his mouth, Kinshirou’s face blazed as he stood slack-jawed, wondering what the hell he just said. Atsushi’s and En’s mouths looked no different, staring wide-eyed at their worked-up council president.
Finally, En’s mouth broke into a wide grin, and his hands moved to shrug out of his top. “As you wish, Prez.”
“Wait, I…” Kinshirou’s mouth stopped working as he eyed En tossing the pajama top onto a nearby chair, then turning around almost shyly before slipping off the pants.
Kinshirou’s brain stopped working this time, but his mouth stuttered to functioning levels again. “You…you…your…why aren’t you wearing any underwear?!”
“You know me, that extra step seemed pretty unnecessary when I already had pajama pants. But since you didn’t want those, well. And besides, neither of us bought any today.”
The red-faced boy whipped his head in Atsushi’s direction, but he simply shrugged, a little embarrassed. Kinshirou had no idea why any of this would affect him so much, seeing them naked as often as he did in the Kurotama baths, but somehow it was just…different. Kind of like how Akoya would raise hell upon seeing a spider in their council room, yet shrug indifferently if he saw one outside in the yard. It was all in the setting.
The awkward silence (Kinshirou felt it awkward, at least, trying to look anywhere except at En), was broken by Atsushi’s yawn. “Let’s just go to sleep, okay? It’s getting pretty late, and I know you don’t want to ruin your sleep schedule.”
Kinshirou couldn’t argue with that, and moved toward the bed, climbing in and shuffling toward the middle.
There was a dip in the thick mattress to his side, and En’s voice rumbled near his ear, “Prez really likes the middle, huh?”
“I…It’s the warmest spot! And I don’t want to risk getting kicked out of bed by either of you.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, Kin-chan. Neither of us move much in our sleep, as far as I know.” Atsushi had sat down on his other side, placing his glasses down on the bedside table next to him. “I’ll turn off the light now, okay?” With two affirmative replies, he reached over and tugged the switch on the lamp.
With the darkness surrounding them, Kinshirou turned his neck and pressed a kiss on En’s lips, then turned the other way and did the same to Atsushi.
“Thank you, At-chan, En-chan.”
En’s arm wrapped around his waist from behind, hugging his chest, and he snuffled at the bare nape of his neck. Atsushi lay his arm across the two of them and touched his forehead to Kinshirou’s, murmuring a contented response. And Kinshirou let a silly smile creep over his face as he basked in the warm cocoon made by his lovers.