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There were pros and cons to dating a professional athlete, and dating two professional athletes at the same time multiplied both the pros and the cons exponentially.
Tony loved his boyfriends, so much, but watching them deal with PR bullshit, paparazzi, trade rumours, and losing streaks was enough to make him want to bundle them onto a plane and fly them to Fiji for three weeks. There were also too many late nights with Steve on one side of the country and Bucky on another, multi-timezone video chats easing the ache, but not by enough.
So Tony kept a house in LA and another in New York. Neither of his boyfriends lived with him in either, wanting to make sure it was fair. He went back and forth whenever it made sense for Bucky and Steve's game schedules and Tony's obligations at work. And it was good. It was worth it. It was especially worth it for the day each summer when they all got to meet up in Malibu for their off-season break. Tony obviously wanted either of them to win the cup, but he sure wasn't complaining about getting to see them sooner if their teams got kicked out early in the playoffs.
They were months away from that now, though, and Tony was starting to wonder if they were going to make it that far, this year.
"They're acting weird," he whined to Rhodey, in the back of his town car on the way to the rink. "Both of them. The last few days they've both been really hard to get a hold of, short and awkward with me. What did I do?"
"What did you do?" Rhodey asked. "Is it possible one or both of them is mad about something?"
"I don't think so." Tony groaned and scrubbed his hand over his face, slumping down in his seat. "At least I can't think of anything. And neither of them is the type to sulk sullenly. If I pissed them off, they'd tell me."
"It's mid-season. Maybe the pressure is just getting to them."
"I guess… It's just -"
"What?"
"The thing about dating two people at once, is that usually if one of them is in a bad mood, the other one isn't. And we can gang up and cheer up the sad one. But I feel kind of…outnumbered."'
Rhodey made sympathetic noises.
"Also, I hate to say this, and maybe it's just my paranoia speaking, but… I feel like they've talked about it between the two of them?"
"Sounds like you're feeling kind of left out."
"I guess I am. And it's weird because I never have before. You'd think I might, being with these two guys who have their entire lifestyles in common with each other and almost nothing with me, but I haven't. They've always made me feel included."
"I'm sure it's nothing, Tones. It's probably just bad luck and they're both feeling tired and grumpy at the same time. Those two idiots both love you so much. It's almost gross."
Tony snorted out a laugh. "Thanks, Rhodey. I'll see you next week, yeah?"
"Yeah. Have fun at the game."
"Thanks."
But Tony didn't think he would.
Usually he lived for the times Bucky and Steve played each other. It meant one of his boyfriends was guaranteed a win, and it meant they would meet up after, get dinner, then retire either to a hotel room or Tony's place, if it was a home game for one of the two of them. Today, it was like all Tony could think about was the guaranteed loss instead.
What if he went to the locker room after the game only to find out there was a hotel booked after all, and it wasn't in Tony's name this time? Could he hold it together until he made it back home? He didn't know it was possible to love like he loved Steve and Bucky, and he was more than willing to snatch up the little pieces of them he got until they both retired and he could focus on spoiling them every minute of every day.
They'd talked about it; they had a plan. Bucky was older and he'd had more injuries than Steve, so they all expected he'd retire first, and he hated L.A., both living there and the L.A. Hydras. So as soon as he was done, they were all going to buy a new apartment in New York, together. Bucky and Tony would go to every one of Steve's games until he joined them in a life of leisure. They'd get a cat. Or a dog. Maybe both.
It was a nice dream. And it felt totally out of reach, as Tony sunk into his seat in the family and friends section of the stands. They were probably going to break up with him. It was really the only thing that made sense. What didn't make sense was that they'd put up with him all these years. He was about to get traded right off their little team of three, and he didn't know if he could handle it with dignity.
As the lights flashed and the music started, Tony wondered if he should just go, skip the game, text the boys that he was sick and delay the inevitable pain that awaited him in the locker room in a few hours. But he couldn't do that. He loved hockey, he loved Bucky and Steve, and he'd scrape up every last second as their boyfriend.
The game was a good one, tight and fast-paced, both teams playing well, though Tony could hardly enjoy it, sinking deeper and deeper into despair as the clock counted down. An assist from Steve snagged the New York Howlers the win in the last period, the horn blaring at 3-2, and Tony couldn't help leaping to his feet with the rest of the home crowd, though as soon as the initial hit of adrenaline faded, his stomach flip-flopped with anxiety again.
Bucky was the first one to offer Steve a handshake, and they tugged each other into a hug, Steve's lips moving against Bucky's ear. Tony wondered what he was saying.
The seats started to clear, but Tony waited until his aisle was totally empty before shuffling his way to the end of the row and turning towards the stairs that led below to the locker rooms. He was well-known behind the scenes at the Howlies' arena, and he'd brought treats and expensive champagne to enough win celebrations that the guys didn't mind if he slipped into the locker room after a game.
"Tony!" Steve had his sweaty, post-game glow, his damp hair a twisted mess from his helmet, half his kit on and half off, and Tony's heart clenched painfully. What if this was his last time drinking that sight in?
"Hey, sweetheart." Tony let himself be drawn into a hug. "Great game."
Steve's eyes scanned Tony's face and he frowned, looking hesitant. Tony winced internally, Steve had figured out that he'd figured out that things were falling apart. There was an awkward silence, something they'd never shared, and then Steve cleared his throat. "Bucky's going to head over as soon as he can get away."
"Sure. Great."
"Back to your place tonight?" Steve asked.
"If that's what you want, yeah."
Steve's frown deepened, his cheeks flushing pink. His discomfort was palpable. They'd probably agreed they'd wait to break up with him until all of them were alone together so there was no chance of a public scene, but Tony felt like there was a volcano bubbling up inside him. He didn't want this to be over, but he also couldn't stand here much longer waiting for the inevitable hammer to fall.
"Steve! Tony!" Bucky trotted in, stripped down to his shorts and a long sleeved shirt, sock straps flapping around his thighs. Even as Tony's heart broke, he couldn't tamp down the desire to lick his way up under the hem of Bucky's shorts. "Hey."
"Hey, Buck." Tony held back while Steve and Bucky shared another hug and a kiss.
Bucky's hand twitched out towards Tony, then fell away after he examined Tony's face. His frown soon matched Steve's. "Everything okay?"
Tony opened his mouth to lie and say it was, to cling to as many minutes as their boyfriend as he could, but instead, what came out was, "No."
Both men's faces fell, confusion and concern warring together. Tony wondered if they thought he was going to drop some bad news that would make them feel too guilty to break up with him, but Tony realized he couldn't fake it any longer. He would rather just rip the bandaid off and go home to lick his wounds. "We should probably just break up now," he said, unable to stop his voice from cracking.
Steve reeled back in shock and Bucky grabbed Tony's arm, wobbling towards him. "What?" Bucky asked.
Steve swallowed hard. "What are you talking about?"
"It's -" Tony had to admit, their reaction wasn't quite what he'd expected. "I don't want to drag it out anymore. Just say what you need to say."
"What do you mean what we need to say?" Bucky shared a look with Steve.
Tony sighed, all the fight draining out of him. He just wanted to go home and get drunk. "Don't pretend it's not happening," he told them. "You've been distant and secretive all week, talking to each other and not talking to me. I promise I won't make a scene, just tell me the truth and let me go."
"Oh, sweetheart," Steve murmured, his hand coming up to cover his mouth.
"Come here." Bucky grabbed both their sleeves and pulled them off into a quiet area, between the stalls and the showers, where no one would overhear. "Tony, you're right that we've been keeping something from you."
"But it's not that," Steve added softly. "We don't want to break up with you."
"But we do have some news. Or rather, I have some news, which Steve found out about. We didn't want to tell you until we were sure it was happening."
Steve's hand came out and wrapped around Tony's wrist. "Do you want to break up?"
"No!" Tony squeezed his eyes shut, trying to make sense of everything. "No, I don't want to break up. But if you guys want to break up with me, I'd rather you just get it over with."
"Breaking up with you - with either of you - is the very last thing I want," Steve said.
"Me too. I love you," Bucky agreed.
Tony's heart did a complete three-sixty in his chest. "Then… what's all this about?"
Steve and Bucky shared another look. "It's not out to the press yet, not even fully official yet, but I've been told it's definitely happening…I'm being traded," Bucky said.
Tony withered. "Oh god. Where to now?" He was already mentally selling his house in L.A. when he realized Steve was smiling, not a small smile either: grinning. "What -?"
Bucky took both of Tony's hands in his. "To New York," he said, voice rough. "The Howlies want me. I'm going to share a line with Steve. And we can all live here in New York, together."
"Oh my god." Tony looked back and forth between them. "Are you fucking with me?"
Steve shook his head. "We're not fucking with you, Tony. It's really happening."
"I'm going to get to cheer for both of you at the same time," Tony gasped.
Bucky stepped forward and cupped Tony's face between his hands. "It's a good thing, right? Do you want this?"
"More than anything."
Steve still looked uncertain. "I still don't know why you were trying to break up with us."
Tony leaned into Bucky's arms and looked up at Steve uncertainly. "I'm sorry. I wasn't really. I just thought you guys were going to break up with me and I panicked and figured I'd better rip the band-aid off."
Steve stepped forward and wrapped his arms around both of them, making Tony the filling in a hockey super-star sandwich. "I'm sorry we made you feel that way, Tony."
"It wasn't on purpose."
"It never occurred to me you'd notice us being secretive and think something bad was happening."
Bucky pressed a kiss to Tony's temple. "I love you like crazy. I don't want to break up. I want to live together, spend the summers together, and when I retire, I want to be coming home to you. Both of you."
"That's all I want," Tony said. "I just want to keep getting to make both of you half as happy as you make me."
"You make me so happy." Steve's fingers curled up into the back of Tony's hair. "You two are the most important things in my life."
Tony just hung there for a moment, comfortably squished between the two loves of his life, coming down from the panic of earlier and realizing how silly he'd been. "This means I'm going to be dating an entire Howlies defensive line."
Bucky barked out a laugh. "You would get stuck on that."
"Well, it may or may not have been a recurring fantasy of mine in high school."
Steve tipped closer, his lips coming down to kiss Tony's ear. "How about making out with an entire Howlies defensive line in the back of the locker room?"
Tony hummed and leaned back until his shoulders hit the metal locker door behind him. Steve and Bucky pressed in on either side, then came together in a heated kiss, giving Tony a front row seat to the two hottest men in the NHL making out. When they turned to him, eyes bright and lips pink, Tony decided then and there that he was the luckiest guy in the world, and he drew them in for a silly, three-way shared kiss, even as a delighted laugh burbled out of his throat.