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It's almost bizarre how easy it was to fit Hugo into their existing relationship dynamic, but it was less like finding the right size glove and more fitting in the missing gear of a machine. It simply felt right to have him there; it settled something in Lycaon and encouraged Wise to be even more forthcoming with his thoughts. Plus, Hugo was getting a lot of enrichment between the two men, with his own smart mouth, petty nature and attentive demeanor drawing out so many different sides of them.
So it made sense that as they eased further into their relationship, they would begin to share their affectionate names for one another. For one Hugo Vlad though, these words would be held against the other two men for his own personal amusement.
Case in point being what happened today.
They had just been talking over how Wise would get Lycaon to sleep over some nights, especially when his insomnia was being persistent. The Proxy and butler teased one another over things like Lycaon's huge frame barely fitting in the Wise's bed the first time, Wise finally being convinced to swap the mattress for a larger one when Lycaon nearly fell out one night, and the various sleeping positions the two discovered they each preferred. It's then when Lycaon speaks up almost absentmindedly, "Then you were my little backpack that—"
Wise is quick to smack his hand onto the dining table loudly, face flushing hotly with the slip, but he can see off to his right Hugo start to break into a teasing grin.
"Excuse me?" The phantom thief presses cloyingly at Lycaon, who's now mortified by his reference, before then turning his sharp smile toward Wise. "You were his little what?"
"Can we please not talk about it?" Wise weakly protests but Hugo is nothing if not persistent.
"No no, I absolutely want to hear this story~" He purrs, leaning forward with his chin in hand as he eyes both of his boyfriends. His grin gets sharper as he sees Wise sink in his seat, the red not leaving his face and Lycaon awkwardly clears his throat, avoiding all eye contact. "Hmmm, if neither of you want to say, I suppose I could take a guess~"
Wise now covers his face with his hands, "Hugo please—"
"No no, let me guess, I'm good at this~"
"Hugo please spare our dear Proxy," Lycaon finally intervenes, if only to save Wise. "If you have to know, it was just…spooning. I was…the little spoon."
There's a beat of silence, before Hugo starts chuckling.
Then laughing.
Then laughing maniacally (not really).
It takes a good while before Hugo can finally catch his breath and wipe the tears from his eyes, not caring about the exasperated wolf Thiren or the perishing young Proxy at the table with him.
"OH-! Oh that is just too precious! I can already picture it in my head, our dear littlest Partner trying his hardest to encompass the overbearing frame of dear Lycaon!"
"Hugo please, it's not that silly, it was very endearing."
"Yes! Endearing enough that Wise was deemed your backpack of all things!"
Wise finally revives what little dignity he has left to speak up, "Alright, no more talking about this you two. Hugo, you know now, and Lycaon, you've said enough. Can we move on?"
Not wanting to completely upset their lover, both men cease their words and let Wise lead them away from the topic all together.
But just because he told Hugo to stop then didn't mean he had to stop entirely.
In the following days, Hugo would take every chance he could to bring up the 'backpack' reference where ever they went or did. Whether it was when they were out grabbing coffee or deep inside a Hollow, if it was only one or both of them, he would just find a way to tease them about it.
Lycaon would be mostly unamused by the teasing, overlooking the couple of times he almost physically throttled the other man when he pressed on the large, fluffy Thiren being the little spoon. Wise was much more avoidant, running away every time it would be brought up, and if he couldn't run, he'd threaten to lock Hugo out of Random Play when he would come over for 'Quiet Time'. Yet it was nothing that a little bit of sweet, simpering words from the other man couldn't fix. Wise would quickly take back his threats soon after.
Eventually, it seemed like it was going to become a part of Hugo's everyday lexicon, as nothing could really deter him from holding this sensitive information over his lovers. Lycaon and Wise simply accepted their fate, and it was only when that happened that things took a turn.
One night, while Wise was once again saddled with a bout of insomnia, he caught the faint sound of a knock coming from the back door of their store. Quickly, he pulls up store surveillance and witnesses the downtrodden form of Hugo nearly hunched over the back doorstep, propping himself up with one hand against the door frame. The Proxy steps out swiftly, worried over the fact that the phantom thief has dragged himself to his door at the darkest hours of the night. Carefully, he opens the door so Hugo doesn't come stumbling into his shop, looking him over to make sure there isn't anything else to be concerned about. He can see the blonde man's disoriented state, and the cause becomes apparent with the faint scent of alcohol.
Wise is able to take one look the tall thief's bleary, unfocused eyes and immediately know it is one of those nights for him. He gently reaches out toward Hugo when Hugo finally noticed him, allowing the other to come forward to grab onto his form, and takes him inside. He loses his breath when Hugo leans most of his weight on him, but bears through it and guides the lanky man up the steps toward his room. Once he's able to settle the other on his bed, he debates calling Lycaon to let him know about their lover, turning to go for his phone but is caught by his hand.
Hugo clings onto him with a barely conscious glance, looking almost pouty in some way but would probably deny it on the account of it being dark in the room. He tries to speak but Wise only catches the slurred words of "leave" and "dear", yet it's his sad tone that is able to keep the other by the bed. Softly, he sits on the edge and leans over Hugo, free hand coming up to gently brush his blonde bangs back behind his ear. His fingertips trail down to graze the underside of his jaw, following the motion of mismatched eyes briefly drifting shut.
"I'm only going to get my phone. I'll be right back, you won't even know I left." He whispers to Hugo, smiling when he gets a muffled 'hmph' in response.
True to his words, Wise nabs his phone from where he left it on the small drawer beside his door, writing a text to Lycaon that Hugo is with him while making his way back. When he hits send and looks up, he gets the treat of watching Hugo flop around to try and remove his shoes and jacket, his tie already gone somewhere and shirt coming untucked on its own. The Proxy chuckles under his breath, tucking his phone away as he quickly comes over to help the dazed man, managing to get him to sit up to make things easier. He stands between long legs, helping the elegant man dress down and getting rewarded by clingyness once more when finished.
Hugo, despite his inebriation, tangles his fingers with Wise's and begins play fighting with their pinkies while Wise still tries to remove his accessories. When he gets a sigh from the smaller man, Hugo buries his face into the other's chest as if he's trying to hide from his own uncooperative actions. He burrows further when a hand pets his head, feeling that hand trail down to untie and unwind his hair. His body loosens with every brush through his long blonde hair, practically melting back into the bed when he finally lets go of the Proxy.
The laid-out man makes no move when hears the sound of rustling clothes, nor when he feels the bed dip under the weight of Wise climbing into bed with him. He feels the smaller body curl up against his side and relax with a sigh, filling him with a floating sense of elation that he was able to do that for his boyfriend.
The quiet then settles around the two figures, Hugo drifting in and out of sleep intermittently with nothing else to do. The last time he rouses, he notices that he managed to roll himself over to face the wall, with his back toward the open room. The thief starts to tense, but he notices something— someone— move, and a soft warmth encompasses his back, with arms coming around to loosely wrap around his torso. Wise's hands come up to press on the others chest, pulling him further into his own embrace with a quiet sigh.
"It's alright, I'm here…" Wise coos softly in his ear, unabashedly burrowing his face into the back of blonde's neck. It felt like he was being embraced by the softest cloud, caressed by the most delicate and warm blanket and kept hidden from the darkest, coldest parts of the world.
He felt safe. He felt comforted. He felt precious.
Hugo does not speak to these feelings, and he ignores the slightest tremble in his shoulders that Wise picks up on, nuzzling further into him in response. He simply lets himself be, and falls into the night with his Proxy lover wrapped around him.
When two-toned eyes blink awake with the morning sun, he sees that he still remains facing the wall, and feels that his dear partner is still spooning him in his own slumber. Somehow, this fact sends his heart into a staccato beat and for all his effort to dampen the act, the man's slim hands come to the others own, gently holding them. He fights past the lump in his throat to take a steady breath, eyes drifting closed again to contemplate how he was going to get out of this position.
Well, the problem wasn't getting out, it was that Hugo didn't want to be let go of. Wise's form, lax with sleep and softened with the morning warmth, felt so nice against him, so kind. The fae-like man was determined to keep this up for as long as possible. And he might know just how he could.
Lycaon quickly came up to the back steps of Random Play, quick to arrive once he was back within range of the Phaethon's living area. He's about to knock when the door opens and the younger Phaethon, Belle, comes out.
"Oh good, you're here. Maybe you can get them to stop doing whatever that is they're doing." She said with a mildly disgusted tone, one Lycaon knows is mostly jest. Mostly.
He raises a brow before she pushes the door open and steps out, "I'm heading out for a delivery, if Wise finally asks. And please remind them to be courteous about our neighbors."
She leaves, while Lycaon is left wondering just what is going on between Hugo and Wise that has her responding like this. Since his answer lies inside, he gets out of his thoughts and steps in, closing and locking the door. He makes his way to the tucked away kitchen that the siblings sparingly use, thinking about cooking a small breakfast for his lovers. Yet when he enters the small space, he's left stunned at the doorway.
At the stove stands Hugo, doing his best at cooking some simple eggs with fresh toast waiting on the side. He is still dressed down, though a couple of top buttons have been undone on his shirt and his hair is gathered over his right shoulder, loose and unkempt. He looks so much gentler in the morning light, face softened with simple affections as he makes a meal. And yet, that's not what floors Lycaon, having been the most familiar with all sides of Hugo.
It's what is behind him.
As Hugo stands at the stove, he appears unbothered by the form that clings onto his frame, pale legs tucked around his slim waist while arms curl up under the blondes own, hands clutching onto broad shoulders as the soft, resting face of Wise lays against the other man's back.
Lycaon watches in absolute silence, letting the image burn itself into his memory with Hugo wrapping up cooking a small breakfast. The wolf butler doesn't make himself known until Hugo has safely turned off the stove and removed his hands from the hot surface.
"…Ah, good morning then."
The leader of Mockingbird goes stiff while the Proxy sleepily raises his head to look toward their missing third with bleary, barely open eyes.
"Mnhm, good morning Lycaon…" Wise drowsily greets the other with a small smile, letting his head fall back onto Hugo's shoulder, unfazed.
Unlike Hugo, who looks like he'd rather disappear into a puff of smoke but is unwilling to leave his dearest Wise behind. His eyes start to dart around, looking for an escape but it's too late for him and his pride, with Lycaon stepping further into the room and quickly getting to his side with long strides.
"L-Lycaon, how…wonderful to see you this fine morning." The phantom thief drawls, still not meeting his partners eyes.
Lycaon lets out a gruff hum as he looks over Hugo, then Wise, before reaching up to lightly rub at the gray hair of the Proxy. The dapper Thiren gives a small smile when he feels the other lean into his hand, amusement starting to overtake his outward expression.
Hugo remains so still, one could almost believe he just petrified himself, only gently softened by the pleasant hum that reverberates through his back from his smaller boyfriend. He swallows when his much larger boyfriend's red eye pins him down, hand going up to hold onto one of the Proxy's for his own sanity.
"I see that you two were having a lovely morning."
Hugo chokes out a laugh. "Y-yes, quite."
There's a beat of silence.
"And that's quite a lovely backpack you have—"
"D-Don't you start, I will have you know—!"
Before the two could really go at it, Wise shushes them both, hand slipping from where Hugo grasped it to wave between the men. "If you can't keep the peace until after breakfast, then not only will I kick you both out, I will revoke all backpack privileges until further notice."
That manages to take the fight right out of the two, falling back to a peaceful quiet.
In the end, Hugo and Wise take a seat at the kitchen table and begin eating the blonde man's humbly made breakfast while Lycaon makes a delightful, more filling breakfast for them all. Once done, they all eat together at the table, Wise between the two large men with his head leaning on one's shoulder and his leg tangling with the others.
If Lycaon sneaks some praise to both men for the nice morning, then that's just between the three of them.
If Hugo maintains some kind of physical contact with Wise and Lycaon throughout the morning, then no one says anything about it.
And if Wise gives both men kisses as a reward for their cooperation, then that's only for him to savor.