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Porter hated making popcorn.
Unfortunately, it was a necessary evil for movie night, and he was the only one he trusted to use that wretched microwave that Hydra had salvaged a few months back.
He crossed Rusty's shed, idly shaking the bowl of popcorn, coating it evenly with butter and salt, watching as Rusty picked out one of his old DVDs, pushing the disc into the player, before collapsing into his usual spot on the sofa. The sound of the disc reading filled the air, mixing with the quiet chuff of Rusty's engine, before the TV lit up with a bright scene of an animated rainforest, a menu showing up.
Porter set the popcorn bowl down, sitting next to his boyfriend, making himself comfortable. "This is a new one," he murmured, draping an arm across the back of the sofa, kicking his legs out. "Was Slick in the scrapheap again?"
"Mhm," Rusty grinned, leaning forward to grab a handful of popcorn. "She dragged me out. I saw the cover, and figured Hy would like it." He reached for the remote, thumbing the button, but he didn't press play yet. Not until-
"Sorry I'm late," Hydra's voice reached Porter, wheels rumbling on the floor. They sounded a little put out, but that wasn't too unusual these days. Cold weather wasn't as comfortable for a cryogenic tanker who struggled to keep themself warmer. They paused inside the room, eyes flicking to the screen, before looking back at the couch.
Rusty instinctively shifted a little to make more space between him and Porter. "You're not late, Porter's just finished the popcorn." He nudged it with a skate. "It's still warm."
Porter snorted softly, shaking his head as Hydra stepped fully inside, everything lining up the way it always did. He glanced back at the screen, waiting for the usual drop of weight, the familiar half-sprawl as Hydra wedged themself between them both, making the most of the warmth there.
But today, it didn't happen.
Hydra hesitated, gaze flicking away, muttering a quiet thanks. They grabbed a bit of popcorn, chewing on it absentmindedly as they moved towards the far end instead, settling onto the empty cushion. Their knees were tucked up under their body, and Porter frowned as they hunched slightly, head tipped to one side as they stared at the menu, watching little cartoon birds flying around.
Rusty faltered, finger hovering over the play button as he stared at the empty spot next to him, before he made eye contact with Porter.
Huh.
Porter cleared his throat and reached for the remote, suddenly feeling the urge to keep the quiet from getting awkward. There was the flutter of birds as he pressed play, before the movie opening played, a chorus kicking in. "Rus picked an animal movie today, your favourite." He glanced at Hydra, smiling as he patted the spot next to him. "Do you-"
"You didn't need to pick something from me," Hydra said, absent minded, eyes glued to the screen. "I don't mind watching whatever you want to put on."
"And that's what makes you the most thoughtful partner ever," Rusty grinned. "I mean, even Porter won't sit through my old VHS collection." He nudged the bowl of popcorn closer to them. "Want more? It's good, and if you don't, I'll probably eat half the bowl before you get the chance."
Porter huffed softly, elbowing Rusty in the side gently. "That's before half your tapes have been watched so much that you're watching more static than film. And the other half look like they were recorded off a recording of a recording."
"They've got charm," Rusty shot back, huffing. "Better than watching old war movies, anyway."
"You said you liked my war movies!" Porter gasped, indignant. "Were you lying?"
Hydra laughed quietly, reaching out to take another small handful, before tucking themself back into the corner. They were taking up basically no space at this point, and Porter found himself missing Rusty's response entirely because he was too busy watching them.
He shot the steamer an apologetic look, before shifting, stretching his arm further along the back of the couch, fingertips just behind Hydra's head.
They didn't move, instead keeping their attention on the film.
On screen, the jungle opened into bright colours, birds flying around singing, the sound filling the shed. It was bright, and cheerful, and the kind of thing that would normally have Hydra grinning, giddy as they nuzzled into Porter.
But today, they watched without saying anything, leaning their cheek against their fist, their other hand folded politely in their lap.
Porter kept his arm draped along the back of the couch, close enough that he could feel the chill radiating off of them. Normally, they'd have leaned into him by now, stealing warmth, complaining quietly about how cold it was out there, and how it's Rusty and Porter's fault that they hate the cold now.
They stayed apart though.
Rusty noticed it too, joints creaking a little as he moved to rest his legs over Porter's knees, one skate nudging the sofa cushion next to Hydra. "Careful," he muttered, lightly bumping their knee with a wheel. "You're drifting off to another postcode over there. "
Hydra glanced at him, offering a small, distracted smile. "I'm fine here."
Porter swallowed, eyes flicking between them and the screen. The movie had changed scene now, a bird in a bookstore instead of the rainforest. Rusty chuckled under his breath at something, tossing a piece of popcorn into his mouth.
"If you drop any of that, you're picking it up," Porter murmured. "Before we end up with ants in here again."
"I won't drop any, I'm skilled," Rusty shot back, before catching another bit of popcorn, earning a small laugh from Hydra.
Porter shook his head, as the onscreen bird had a mug of hot chocolate in front of him. He waited for a comment from Hydra about chocolate being toxic to birds, but it never came. The moment passed without any fanfare, and Porter glanced over at Hydra, watching them instead.
The movie continued in the background, but he wasn't following it right now. He was too busy trying to figure out what was going on. Why Hydra was so distant today.
They were focused on the screen, but they didn't seem to be really watching it. Every so often, their gaze would dart towards the door, before returning to the TV.
Onscreen, the scene was changing. A plane, and then a crate on the back of a car. The bird was in the crate, watching the world in awe, everything so bright and colourful compared to the shop he had grown up in.
Porter glanced at Hydra again, biting back a comment about how the bird reminded him of them a little. Instead, he picked up the bowl of popcorn, holding it out for them, smiling in relief when they took a slightly bigger handful this time.
Rusty breathed in, before grabbing the blanket from the arm of the sofa, scooting a little closer to Porter, before tossing one end of the fabric over to Hydra's knees. "Here, before you freeze."
Hydra huffed quietly. "I'm not cold."
"Sure," Rusty replied easily. "That's why you're sat like a folded deck chair."
Hydra rolled their eyes, but they shifted, tugging the blanket over their lap. They didn't move towards the centre though.
Porter frowned, before tugging Rusty a little towards Hydra, before brushing his hand against their shoulder slowly, thumb drawing a circle there.
Hydra stilled under the touch.
They stayed like that for a while, Porter tracing mindless patterns until he felt them relax a little more.
On screen, the bird was in a big enclosure now, meeting another of his kind.
This time, Hydra did at least huff. "Shouldn't introduce birds like that…" they grumbled, before quickly shoving a bit of popcorn into their mouth, glancing apologetically at Porter.
Porter smiled back, tipping his head to one side. "You're miles away tonight."
Hydra's gaze flicked to him, then away again. "I'm… just watching."
"Yeah," he replied. "You usually do it from over here though."
Hydra hesitated, before they turned back to the screen, focusing hard, like the conversation would move on if they didn't look at him. And for a while, Porter did let it slide, wrapping his other arm around Rusty's shoulders.
Eventually though, Hydra spoke, not looking away from the screen, where the two birds were now on the streets with a chain connecting their legs. "I didn't want to crowd you," they admitted.
Rusty frowned immediately, head tilting as he looked at them. "Crowd us?"
Hydra shrugged. "You were already settled. I was late. Didn't want to come in and make you both shift so I could get comfortable."
Porter's hand stilled, then continued its slow, absent circles. "You usually do though," he said, regretting it when hurt sharpened in their expression. "That's what we love about you!"
Hydra gave him a sideways look, before shrugging. "Let's just watch the movie," they muttered, looking away. Every muscle had tensed back up, and they chewed on their lip.
Rusty tucked his head under Porter's chin, sighing. His engine was sedate, and Porter knew he was just as worried about Hydra here.
But neither of them could push, as long as they didn't want to risk Hydra just leaving.
The movie continued on, through dramatic sequences, before settling on a party, a bunch of birds gathering, dancing to a samba song.
Hydra watched, but they didn't react the way they normally would, instead watching the romance unfold onscreen, before being interrupted by more drama. They just sat there, shoulders drawn in, chewing on their lip.
Porter let the silence stretch for a moment longer, before shifting closer again, sliding his arm a little more around the shoulders. "C'mere," he murmured, voice low.
Hydra's head shot around to stare at him, blinking. "Huh?"
"You're sat miles away," Porter said quietly, frowning. "We're missing you."
"I'm right here," Hydra said.
"Yeah," he responded. "But… you're not here."
Rusty lifted his head slightly, humming. "Tell us if we're pushing too much," he sat up, making a little space. "But… I don't think you're as comfortable there as you'd be here."
For a second, Hydra didn't respond. They sat there, gaze flicking from the screen, to the space between Rusty and Porter. They bit their lip, looked down at the blanket, darted their tongue out to wet their lips, looked back at the movie.
And then slowly, like they were afraid of being told to stop, they shifted. They moved an inch at a time, until their shoulder rested properly against Porter's side. They didn't sprawl like normal, but at least they weren't distant now.
Porter's arm wrapped fully around them, and he gently tugged them closer. "There we go," he murmured, pulling the blanket around them, enveloping them in warmth.
Rusty picked himself off the sofa, walking around, before flopping on Hydra's other side. The movie continued in the background, but none of them were watching it now. The couch dipped as he tugged the blanket up from the other side, then went still.
Hydra let out a slow breath, shoulders easing just a fraction. Their hand hovered slightly, before they pressed it against Porter's side, fingers curling around the fabric of his jacket.
Rusty bumped Hydra lightly with his knee. "Better?" he asked, voice low, full of concern.
Hydra nodded hesitantly. "Yeah."
Porter frowned, squeezing them gently. "Want to talk about it? The reason why you didn't want to take up space?"
Hydra stiffened a little, caught off guard. For a second, they looked like they wanted to retreat. But instead, they shook their head. "It's nothing, don't worry."
Porter didn't buy that. "Didn't feel like nothing," he said quietly.
Hydra swallowed, jaw working for a moment. And then they finally spoke. "I know I'm a lot," they sighed, closing their eyes. "I talk too much. I'm loud, and arrogant, and… and I don't think anyone wants to work with me on the rails. So I didn't… didn't want to barge in and ruin things with you both too."
Porter's frown deepened, as he made eye contact with Rusty. He shifted, turning slightly so he could see them better. "You're perfect for us, you…" he nudged them gently. "You don't need to make yourself smaller for us, we love you the way you are."
Rusty nodded immediately. "Yeah! I mean, Porter acted annoyed about your hydrogen talk when you first got here, but he was still rambling about you like you were his first crush every night, and— hey!"
Hydra laughed as Porter moved his arm to gently bap Rusty on the head. But they didn't seem completely convinced.
Rusty ducked with a grin, rubbing the spot dramatically. "Worth it," he muttered, still smiling as he leaned in to press against Hydra's side.
Porter rolled his eyes dramatically, before turning his attention back to Hydra. "I mean it," he said. "You don't have to go quiet around us. We're in this relationship with you, not what a few arrogant diesels say about you."
Hydra looked back at the screen, eyes glassy.
Rusty nodded, smiling. "I mean, they used to yell at me to stop whistling. And I did, for a while." He pressed a kiss to Hydra's cheek. "Until you and Porter helped me fall in love with my whistle again. And now, I never want to give it up again."
Hydra swallowed, throat working as they kept their eyes on the screen, insecurity showing through. "You're not just… tolerating me? Or…" they looked down. "I don't want to wake up one day and realise you've both been waiting for me to shut up."
Porter didn't hesitate, leaning in to press his forehead against theirs. "We don't want that, we fell in love with you, Hydes." He pulled back, eyes filling with tears. "Starlight, I was so worried when you didn't come in and start talking about your day."
Rusty hummed in agreement. "It felt wrong, for you to come in here without using us like a climbing frame."
Hydra let out a shaky breath, finally looking at them both properly. They looked from Porter to Rusty, searching for reassurance, or lies, or anything.
"It's okay if I take up space?" they asked, voice barely loud enough to be heard over the movie.
Porter wrapped his arms around them in response. "We always make space for you for that reason."
Rusty grinned, nudging them. "Yeah, we love it. Why do you think Porter sat down to watch War Horse with us? He just wanted his Hydra blanket to cuddle with."
That earned a real laugh from Hydra, a little wet with tears, but real. They scrubbed at their eyes quickly, then leaned back into Porter's side fully, relaxing. "Thank you." They looked at Rusty. "Thank you both."
Rusty beamed, before picking Hydra up a little, shuffling closer so he could deposit them half on his lap. "Maybe we should restart the movie," he laughed, gesturing to the TV, where the film had continued on without their attention.
"Nah," Hydra shook their head, burrowing into Porter and Rusty. "It's perfect like this. We can watch it again later."
Porter laughed, relieved. "Yeah," he smiled, wrapping the blanket around all three of them. "We've got all the time in the world."
Rusty adjusted a little, head resting on Hydra's shoulder, and Porter mirrored his position on their other side.
The movie continued on, but none of them paid it any mind. They cuddled closer together, popcorn cooling on the table as they dozed off together, too comfortable to care about the end credits starting to roll.
"This is where you belong," Porter whispered, kissing Hydra's cheek. "Our perfect tanker."
Hydra flushed, shooting him a shaky smile. They curled into him, tangling their legs with Rusty's under the blanket. "I love you both."
"We love you too," Rusty responded, eyes slipping shut.
Porter hummed softly. "Always."
Hydra smiled, and they finally loosened up completely, body going slack against Porter and Rusty, as they settled down. Rusty's engine settled into a purr, a quiet rumble as he started to doze off.
And Porter adjusted the blanket to keep them all warm, letting himself melt into it too.
In the morning, they'd kick themselves for sleeping in such an uncomfortable position, but right now?
Right now, it was perfect.