Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Caelus moves to pick, but his finger ends up on the edge of two papers.

On the edges of both Aventurine’s and Ratio’s papers specifically.

Oh, something purrs in his chest in contemplation as an idea rolls through his head. Two was always better than one, right? Twice the man and twice the pleasure or something. Caelus can figure it out as he goes.

“Caelus? You haven’t picked one.”

“Oh, I have,” he says to Sunday, who glances between his face and where his finger lays. “You never said I had to pick one person.”

And Caelus has to pat himself on the back at the dumbfounded looks he receives from both of his guardians who can only blink at him. A two for one type of deal, the echoes of the past whispering to him about the hints of intimacy between the two intimidating men.

Sunday opens his mouth, closes it, and opens it once again just for nothing to come out.

Caelus, however, has a mouth full of words, and he pushes away from the table with a cheery, “Well, I better go tell them!”

Sunday watches him leave, words still lost and mind a jumble of ‘what the fuck just happened?’

“He’s in for a wild ride.” Next to him, Gallagher starts to laugh. “What a greedy boy we’ve raised, but he must get that from you, angel.”

It knocks him out of his thoughts, and with a shake of the head, the Halovian muses, “No, I’m pretty sure he got his perverseness from you and all those horrible books.” Sly eyes slide over to the older man. “Don’t think I didn’t read the one about the threesome that is just a thinly veiled fanfiction of me and you times two.”

The grin he is given is filled with dark promise as the man slides around to face him, large hands cupping his hips and dragging them forward to feel the bulge that waits for him.

“You would love it, angel,” the hound muses as he sets his whiskered mouth into the slope of his neck, biting nips turning the pale skin red. “Just imagine having both ends of you filled, weak to the pleasure and my power.”

And Sunday can visualize it, but he does not verbalize his agreement. It would inflate Gallagher’s ego too much if he was to learn that the book had inspired a rather luxurious bath time that had lasted a good hour or so, much too long for the bubble bath he had poured into the tub to last.

He pulls away from the wandering mouth, an admonishment on his lips, but it cuts off into a gasp as the fingers of his lover grip onto his ass tightly, the sounds of the seam that runs between his cheeks tearing with a subtle sound.

“Galla—”

“Bought a machine for you to ride, angel, if you wanna try it out.” A finger touches his mouth. “But this is mine.”

And damn him for being weak, for his face saying what his mouth refuses to as he glowers and flushes up at the man who grins down at him. In retaliation, he bites the tip of the finger.

The grins smolders into something far crueler, and Sunday is ready for his punishment as the finger presses deeper into his mouth. He even craves it.

~*~

Caelus strides determinedly into Aventurine’s office, a common sight now in their years of knowing each other. No one bats an eye, and Caelus is free to make his way along the polished corridors of the IPC building.

And his luck is strong today, he sees as he enters Aventurine’s office, spotting both the gambler and the doctor as the ponder over something on the monstrous desk. They look up at him at his entrance, but before either can question why he is here, he plants his fists on his hips and declares confidently, “I choose you both.”

Both men blink owlishly (well, one owlishly, the other peacockily). When a moment passes, Caelus reiterates, “Your notices of intention. I chose both of you.”

Now the two men look at each other. They do that silent communication thing he often sees Sunday do with Gallagher, and he sits and waits patiently. There’s many a raised eyebrow or frown, so many things spoken that Caelus isn’t privy to.

“You…choose both of us? Huh,” Aventurine hums, leaning back in his chair. “Not exactly a scenario I planned for.”

But Ratio is far more direct, focusing his eyes on him. “Is this merely to sate your curiosity? I admit, I am not fond of the idea of sharing, but neither am I a fan of being tossed aside when you’ve had your fun. I am not privileged to know the riotous emotions of competing, finding them a waste of my time and energy. If I am not your first pick, then I shall be withdrawing my notice.”

Okay, maybe twice the man was going to be twice the problem. Because twice the man also meant two the emotional constipation that smart men often displayed. But Caelus is ready, was born ready!

He stands from his chair, and under the two curious gazes, strips. Aventurine makes a noise like a wounded animal, but Ratio is silent as his eyes follow the dips and the unblemished skin of his torso with a keen look that means to dissect him. And Caelus would allow the scalpel to part his skin if it meant seeing that his intentions were true.

And what better way to strip away uncertainties than to actually strip!

The intensity in which both men stare at his naked body make him tremble, but he remains resolute and does not cover himself, even when that little voice in his head asks him to. He can’t! He won’t! He needs to show them that he is there, in mind, body and soul!

There’s a polite knock at the door, and the head of the secretary pops around the edge as it opens.

“Mr. Aventurine, your meeting—”

The secretary stops, seeing the bare ass of Caelus shining at her and, without missing a beat, says, “I’ll reschedule it for you.”

“Gotta give that woman a raise,” Aventurine mutters as he pinches the bridge of his nose as she walks back out. “Caelus, put your clothes back on.”

“But—”

“Sex, while thoroughly enjoyable and desperately wanted at this moment, does not make a stable relationship.” The blonde-haired man gestures to his coworker. “What makes you think I want him in the equation?”

“Because…you two have already had sex with each other?” Caelus phrases it like a question, unsure as both men snort, pausing in the middle of sliding his pants back on. “What?”

“Desperate times calls for desperate measures,” the gambler replies cooly, electric eyes scanning over his body. “With the help of alcohol, anyone can be attractive. But in the cold light of day nothing can change the fact we are not compatible.”

“For once, I agree with my esteemed coworker. Hence, allow me to put forth an idea that might quell this silly little thought of yours.” Ratio stands up, the main presence in the room now as he walks towards Caelus. “Let us have a friendly competition of seeing who can rile you up the most.” Carmine eyes flicker to Aventurine. “It will help with his decision.”

Aventurine doesn’t look convinced. “Sure, sounds like a sure-fire way to a quick divorce. Doll, this man is colder than an ice cube, I doubt he could make you feel anything.”

“Oh?” Ratio steps in front of Caelus, tilting his chin up. His words, however, are for Aventurine. “Since you’re so sure…”

A mouth seals over his, and Caelus blinks in surprise just as Aventurine snarls and stands from his seat. While the man might appear cold and distant, his kiss is anything but. It’s molten, deep and searing as a tongue bullies itself inside of his mouth and licks against his.

It’s perfect and just a touch feral, and Caelus is ready to drop his clothes at his feet for a second time in ten minutes when the doctor pulls away and looks at him questioningly. And even though his eyes are trained on his face, the words he speaks are not for him as the doctor says, “Kiss him, Aventurine. Taste for yourself the thing you’ve been dying to consume.”

And before Caelus can even turn to face the second of his choices, hands grip his shoulders and spin him around before he has a chance. The world tilts, and Caelus finds himself dipped as Aventurine takes his mouth.

It's all passion and heat, the years of yearning between them reaching a fever pitch. Aventurine drinks from him his breath, tongue dipping inside to lick over teeth and palette. Caelus feels like a meal, bones picked clean by a vulture that sets itself upon his sun bleached bones and partakes in the last bits of him that are left exposed.

It doesn’t last for long, however, cut short by Ratio clearing his throat. Rather loudly. And again when Aventurine doesn’t remove himself right away.

Aventurine pulls off with a low growl, glaring up at his coworker as he rights Caelus to his feet gently. Which is good, because Caelus can’t feel his legs at the moment. So he might lean a little too heavily against the shoulder that is at a perfect height for him, cheeks flushed and a crooked smile on his face as an arm wraps around his waist.

“Seeing as there is compatibility between us, I think we should discuss something important.” Carmine eyes flicker over to him. “I apologize for the bluntness, but my esteemed coworker and I have something important to discuss in relation to this. Let me call you a car to take you back home, and we will be in touch.”

It would be an almost painful dismissal, but only if Caelus wasn’t well versed in socially stupid habits of the man. This was him being polite, so he doesn’t feel rejected as Ratio pulls him from the safety of Aventurine’s arms and leads him from the room.

~*~

Aventurine leans back against his desk as his door opens, his longtime coworker slipping inside as silent as a shadow.

“So, you have me alone, doctor,” the Avgin purrs, a sneer coming to his face as he looks over the tempting form. “What are you so desperate to tell me?”

“Something that will benefit us both.”

One golden eyebrow arches in doubt. “What are you proposing?”

“That we accept he wants both of us.” To cut off the argument he knows is coming, the doctor continues. “We know of our own compatibility, and just imagine having Caelus between us to make it better.”

The gambler doesn’t look convinced, the pinched brows showing his disagreement. So Ratio sighs and presses his mouth to the Avgin’s ear and murmurs his fantasies. “I want to see him overwhelmed with two lovers who are so desperate to have him they both submitted their notices the day they met him. To break his pretty little mind with pleasure, to see your mouth around his cock and my fingers up his pert little ass. Imagine him on his knees trying so hard to please both of us with his hands and his mouth, the tears in his eyes when we both sink inside.”

Ratio knows he has won when he sees Aventurine shiver, and the grip he has on the other man tightens in victory. “I’m looking forward to teaching him now to ride you, see if he flushes when I praise him.”

Still, Aventurine puts up token resistance even as he melts. “But…you said it yourself. You don’t want to be second choice or share.”

“I’m choosing the lesser of two evils. And I never said I would be second choice. And before you blow up and say you refuse to be second choice, why can’t we both make it so he can’t live without us, hm? Let us show him how well we can take care of him. But first, let me show you how I can take care of you,” the doctor murmurs as he sinks to his knees, eyes knowing as teeth tug at a zipper and button. At the inhaled gasp of surprise, the eyes smolder into sparks. “I know just how you like it.”

“You…bastard,” Aventurine sighs out as he tilts his head back, but there are no words to stop on his tongue.

There are no words for a long time after that.

~*~

They plan their method of attack in the afterglow.

Sweaty and with bare skin pressed against each other, they lay out their plan.

If only they could agree on a single thing.

“No, not that,” Aventurine sighs as he swipes the tablet from the doctor’s hands. “Elopement, are you crazy? Sunday would eviscerate us.”

“How is that any better than the golden monstrosity of an engagement ring you want to present to him?” the doctor returns, the usual acid in his voice softened by post-orgasmic numbness. Still, his mind is sharp. “We’re thinking too far ahead. We need to soften our approach. This is merely…dating.”

“But you don’t date. You have fuck buddies.”

“I admit my experience in actual relationships is somewhat lacking, but I’m at least willing to learn.” Ratio, with his sex-mussed hair and bedroom eyes, looks over at him. “Not like you’re any better either.”

Except he is, has been dying to experience what it would be like to be supportive boyfriend to the young man since he had first laid eyes on him four years ago. It probably made him no better than all the other people who slobbered over Caelus like he was some treat, but he couldn’t find it inside of him to care, because he knew he was the best option. And if that meant playing nice with Ratio because he had somehow also been picked, well, then he was going to be the nicest asshole he could be.

~*~

Aventurine didn’t particularly like dealing with the Halovian. Gallagher was easier in that regard, knowing their world and how to play the game, but the angelic guardian didn’t play by their rules. No, if anything, Aventurine would go as far as to say he feared the Halovian more than his hound of a lover, if only for the unsurety in every meeting.

He sits along with Ratio in the Watchmaker’s manor, an audience granted to him out of respect for Caelus’ choice, but the eyes that look at him are cold and distant as Sunday scans him and tries to parcel out his worth. And it must not be a lot, because the voice that speaks to him is cold as it bites out, “You want to what?”

And in the face of such coldness, Aventurine can only smile through his charming mask as he purrs out, “Move in temporarily.”

But the Halovian is a snake with a venomous bite, fangs dripping poison as he spits out, “And just where do you think you will be sleeping?”

“Why,” and here he lets his smile grow uncannily, “with our intended of course.”

“The hell you will—”

Aventurine doesn’t cower, even if he wants to. But with the warm and strong chest of Ratio pressed against his side, Aventurine doesn’t feel the need to.

“You are not playing house in my home,” Sunday sneers. “Especially with my young ward who has never been in a relationship before.”

Well, that certainly wasn’t Aventurine’s fault the boy had basically been confined to a tower most of his life or watched over heavily whenever he managed to make a trip outside. If not for their respective Families ceasefire, then Aventurine doubts he would’ve ever seen the young man again.

He can feel his smile harden just a bit, eyes flickering over to where a silent man sits, looking at ease despite the tension in the room.

“Well, why don’t we ask the true leader of the Watchmaker Family for his opinion on this matter?” Aventurine turns to the man who has stayed quiet throughout all of this, watching them with dark, contemplative eyes. “What do you have to say, Gallagher?”

Sunday bristles, objecting to being cast aside, but a gentle hand on his back quiets him. Gallagher runs his large palm up and down, but his eyes are dark and heavy as he sits up properly to regard them.

“I don’t think it’s our place to decide what Caelus wants,” he starts, smiling over at the venomous glare of his lover. “If the boy is okay with it, I’m okay with it. However,” is the continuance that cuts off the victory Aventurine feels, “nothing will happen without his permission.”

Ratio rolls his eyes. “We aren’t monsters.”

“No, but you’re part of a dark underworld that has done far worse to people less deserving. Let us not forget your Jack the Ripper phase.” Gallagher leans back, grasping his hands together as he kicks his feet on top of the desk. “Inspired a conspiracy theory that lasted months, a scare to the general civilian population, but all it was in the end was some young teenager with too much intelligence and not enough empathy. And you,” wine dark eyes slide over to Aventurine, and he had felt judged for his worth before, now he feels the claws of doubt sink into his sink and pull out every inadequacy, “an Avgin, cursed from birth. Of course Caelus would pick you two. He always had a tender heart for charity projects.”

Oh, if that doesn’t rankle some feathers, but Aventurine is used to push back. He keeps his smile on his face.

“How kind of you to say,” he says, fluttering his lashes. “But is it really just a tender heart that brings us together, or is the boy his own type of monster that you fear being unleashed?”

Aventurine had done his research. It wasn’t much, because there wasn’t much to go by. Caelus had never existed before the estimated age of twelve, and the few moles he had inside the Watchmaker Family had only managed to sniff out a few clues, but nothing concrete.

Yet this doesn’t seem to anger Gallagher in the least, and he only gives him a grim smile.  

“Fine then. I give you permission to run your little ploy in our home, but if you break his heart,” and here his voice drops into a guttural growl, “I’ll throw you at Sunday.”

The smile Sunday gives them is tinted with far too many teeth to be considered kind. In fact, it looks downright hungry, and not in a way that makes Aventurine’s pants tighten. If anything, it makes cold fear sink into his veins, but he is a professional at staring down the barrel of a gun, so he merely smiles as he stands.

“We understand,” he says, noting how Ratio sticks to his side as he also makes his way to his feet. Despite his mask of detached respect, Aventurine knows he feels the same as he does when faced with Sunday’s cruelty. “May we speak to Caelus to confirm this is something he wants—”

And before he can even finish his sentence, the door opens, Caelus tumbling in with flushed cheeks and wild hair, a vision that reminds Aventurine how badly he wants to press that body into silk sheets and fuck him until he couldn’t stand, and maybe even beyond that. He is charmed at the thought that the young man had been listening at the door, apparently pleased given the flush of his cheeks and the brightness of his eyes as he hurriedly says, “I accept!”

Gallagher laughs while Sunday sighs, all traces of disapproving parent gone, replaced with exasperated parent. “Were you listening at the door, Caelus?”

“No.” Yes.

But bright eyes turn towards him and Ratio, smile innocently wide as he suddenly falls shy, and Aventurine could just eat him where he stood, bones and all. Just tear off his clothes and lick and suck over every inch of blessed skin. Worship on his knees with tongue, teeth, and mouth and delight in the noises the young man would make.

Pink lips form words, and Aventurine has to focus on what they say instead of the daydreams that threaten to take him under.

“So you two are gonna stay with us?” And then, more hopefully, “With me?”

Ratio is the first to step forward, his stoicism melting away like butter under the beaming sun as he reaches forward to grab Caelus’ hands. “We’ve taken your words into consideration and want to try to make it work.”

~*~

Really, Ratio has meant for this to be a slow seduction, a buildup of weeks of pent up frustration that would burst into a lubricated rodeo of sex and fulfilled lust, but he had never taken into consideration the unknown variable of Caelus’ hunger.

Aventurine and himself are barely past the threshold of their new bedroom when the door slams shut and the locks slides into place with an almost ominous click. The sweet, angelic innocence of Caelus melts away into pure sensual sin as the young man prowls forward, each step dragging a piece of clothes from skin to drop to the floor. He can feel Aventurine beside him freeze, jewel-colored eyes rapidly taking in the dwindling space between them and the bare skin as it is bared to them.

Now, naked bodies are nothing new to Ratio. He’s seen them both in the throes of passion and in the calm cadence of death’s peaceful slumber. He has parted thighs as easily as he has parted the skin over a ribcage to inspect insides, knows how to strike against the prostate with unerring accuracy or how to make sure his scalpel doesn’t touch the gallbladder. He can name every single bone in the body and how to make each nerve sing with pain or scream with pleasure.

Yet when faced with Caelus and his body, he feels off kilter somehow. That his knowledge isn’t able to fully comprehend the lovely beast that prowls towards him with the skin of a lamb mixed with the intent of a wolf. It’s a potent brew that leaves him feeling almost inexperienced as the beautiful body slides up to him to throw arms around his neck, a mouth finding his.

Slim hips fit perfectly in his hands, like they were made to be pressed between his palms. Caelus isn’t small by any means, but he somehow feels breakable. He’s all liquid silk skin and desperate kisses, tempered by his inexperience but made up for by his enthusiasm. He tastes of sunshine and stardust, addicting and life ruining if he lets it.

Caelus pulls away with a hum, golden eyes sliding over to the stunned gambler with a wicked smile. He pours into the waiting arms easily, tongue licking over slack lips before sliding inside the warm cavern of the Avgin’s mouth. And Aventurine has been in love for his entire acquaintance with the beautiful young man, half mad from the ferocity of his feelings, so Ratio can’t blame him when the blonde-haired man grips the naked hips tightly and presses the arching body against his possessively.

Ratio watches as Aventurine lets the mask fall, exposing the soft and tender nerve of his feelings as he drinks from the willing mouth in deep pulls, sees the wandering hands dip into the valley of a pert ass to press a gloved finger to the furl of muscle that hides away. It’s a delicious sight, watching two beautiful men attempt to consume each other, leaving him the spectator as he takes a seat at the edge of the bed and watches ravenously.

Maybe sharing wouldn’t be so bad, he thinks. Maybe, just maybe, he could get Caelus to help him bully Aventurine enough to make him cry.

Yet something still feels…off somehow.

And his coworker must feel the same, because Aventurine pulls his mouth away with a gasp, tilting his head back to avoid the hungry mouth, sighing as it attaches to his neck to suck and nip. “Caelus, wait.”

But the boy doesn’t listen, and the nips become bites.

Ratio stands, coming to stand behind him, which Caelus takes to mean he could grind back against his groin.

“Caelus,” he says, more forceful than his fairer counterpart. When the boy just moans, Ratio winds his fingers through his starlight hair and grips lightly, tugging just as gently. “Caelus,” he tries again, and the young man peels away from Aventurine to plaster himself back to his front, destructive and beautiful mouth red and wet as it tries to latch onto his. “Caelus!”

It is far from the deep, dulcet tones the young man is expecting, and he stops to look up at him with wide eyes.

Ratio breathes through his nose and counts to ten. “What is the meaning of this?”

And the question must confuse his future lover, because brows draw together in confusion above golden eyes. “Isn’t this something we have to do?”

It’s heartbreaking to witness. It hurts worse to know he was the one who had put the doubt there.

“Sex is fine, but not if you think it is the only way to solidify a relationship,” he explains as softly as he can, because he wasn’t built to be soft. But he was willing to learn.

“I just don’t want you to reject me…I thought the only thing to get you to stay would be this,” Caelus explains, the furrow of his brow deep and confused. “Unless…you don’t want me?”

Aventurine is quick to grab his shoulders, a moment away from shaking him as he whispers harshly, “I have wanted you the moment I saw you, make no mistake.” His tone softens, his touch gentle as it moves to cup flushed cheeks. “But I want you for more than just your body, more than just sex.”

And Ratio must hand it to his coworker, because Aventurine masterfully evades an impending misunderstanding as he presses a light kiss to a pouting mouth. It says everything words don’t, of the want and the passion, but also the need for the slow and the aching. And not to be left out, he slots himself once more along the lean back, pressing gentle kisses along Caelus’ shoulder as he drags a blanket around the trim waist. It’s a pity to hide away something so pretty, but it would be well worth it when the time came.

“Get to know us a bit more, Caelus,” he murmurs against the slope of Caelus’ neck, the light brushes of his mouth making the young man shiver. “Then you can decide if this is truly something you want…or if you just want one of us.”

He and Aventurine share a look over Caelus’ head, one that is heated and lined with the intention of not letting that happen.

~*~

Caelus is confused, but a happy sort of confused.

The men redress him, plying him with sweet compliments and heated kisses as their fingers linger over his skin, but they do not tread into intimate territory. It’s all very bizarre, not things he has read about in Gallagher’s books. Between those pages are nothing but sweaty bodies pressed together in passionate coitus, usually three paragraphs after the main characters meet each other for the first time. Even Gallagher’s and Sunday’s story of how they had gotten together had been a short affair, if you didn’t count the years before.

So wasn’t he supposed to just walk in, drop his clothes, and get bent over the nearest piece of furniture while his ass was played with and his mouth was taken?

Instead he finds himself pressed between the two as they take him out to the gardens, their voices low and soothing like they are attempting to soothe a wild animal into not running away. It’s not what he expected, but he finds no fault in it. It’s sweet, in a way some novels might be with a shy protagonist and a gentlemanly lover.

But Caelus really, really wants to get to the part of sweaty bodies and the coitus. Maybe they hadn’t been swayed by his body? Despite their insistence they wanted him for more than that, could it be they couldn’t see him as more than a child or a younger brother and they were just trying to save him from the pain of rejection?

No, he reasons, trying to cast away the doubt that settles over his heart. Aventurine and Ratio wouldn’t have kissed him otherwise. Wouldn’t have submitted a notice of intention if they viewed him with platonic feelings. They were too brilliant to be shackled to someone like that if there were no feelings involved.

And maybe his face gives away his feelings, because a gloved finger pokes between his eyes at the deep furrow.

“Why the long face, doll?”

Caelus blinks and refocuses on Aventurine, whose smile is kind but eyes are guarded. Who is always guarded, but has never lied to Caelus, so he has no reason to think the IPC Stoneheart would start now.

He smiles. “Still sorting things out, but it’s nothing bad. I’m glad you two are here with me.” He squeezes their hands. “I’m so happy.”

Under the Weeping Willow they take turns kissing him, sweet pecks and low voices that speak of the future, of how they will take care of him. It’s all things that make him flush and feel shy, and maybe there is something in those other books that aren’t Gallagher’s, that the slow and sweet makes the embers of lust in his stomach smolder hotter.

And to think this was only the beginning.

~*~

It’s only the beginning, but Aventurine is already at his wits end.

It doesn’t help that Caelus is innocently seductive, unknowing of his attractiveness when he looks up at him from lowered lashes that frame his wide eyes. Or how his shirt keeps slipping down his shoulder temptingly.

And while Aventurine has already seen what lays underneath, the tease and the temptation make him want to sink his teeth deep into the skin that calls to him so.

At dinner the hunger grows, and he only wishes it was for the food placed in front of him.

Caelus is sat between him and Ratio, regaling them with stories of his young past, though with a suspicious avoidance of any of the years before the age of twelve. How can he eat when he’s too busy staring at the things he’s wanted for the past four years? Ever since that fateful encounter outside of the IPC, fending off the unwanted attention of paramours, Caelus has only ever been his. Beautiful and innocent, caring and strong, he is everything Aventurine has ever wanted in a partner, and the long dead part of him that he had thought would never beat again unfolds with new life.

When his eyes catch Ratio’s over Caelus’ head, the man gives him a knowing look, and maybe at one point it would’ve been the fuse that ignited into a snarky fight, a battle of wits and words, but it’s hard to feel that urge when Ratio reaches around behind Caelus to stroke down his back comfortingly. This is not a Ratio he is acquainted with, who has softened the barbs of his words with cotton and sweetened them with honey, even if the dryness has remained when he turns to answer something for Gallagher or Sunday. It isn’t bad, per se, just a hidden facet he has yet to completely explore.

“Mr. Aventurine?”

Aventurine looks down to his side where the youngest member of the family sits, pale hair and magnetic eyes making the young Misha glow amongst all the darker colors of the intimate dining room. He sees the young boy hunch down under his gaze, and he does his best to soften it as he smiles.

“Yes, Misha?” he says gently.

And his softened tone is enough to bring the boy’s chin away from his chest, enough for his small mouth to say, “Do you love my brother?”

The entire table falls quiet, intense eyes on him as they wait for his answer. Aventurine has been put on the spot many times in his life, a performer at his core – but unlike those times, he is truthful as he replies, “Very much so.”

Here he doesn’t expect the crack of a whip over his back or an unkind hand grabbing his chin, demands to repeat his false words of love until they sound truthful enough to pass muster. Even when Sunday’s eyes narrow in judgement, he does not fear them. And the gentle clasp of a hand over his, of Caelus weaving his fingers in between his own, well, it makes it worthwhile, even if he does end with a knife in his back.

But the young boy isn’t completely appeased, his curious, bright eyes looking over to his coworker and repeating his question. “And you, Mr. Ratio?” Yet that isn’t the end of his inquiry, continuing with, “Do you love both of them?”

If Aventurine hadn’t known better, he would think the child sly and cunning, perhaps a touch manipulative, with his question. But the bright innocence in his eyes as he waits for the answer tells him otherwise. That his young mind desires to see unconditional love for his brother figure, because anything less would end what they had right here. So he turns his own questioning eyes towards Ratio, whose polite mask has yet to fall. Under the face of innocence, the older man is soft in his reply.

“I would destroy the world for both of them,” is the answer, and Aventurine is frustrated to see that he can find no falsities within the statement. Yet surely the man only truly means it for Caelus, their past history between the sheets notwithstanding. Aventurine is just an add on.

They might have had a few passionate nights tumbling around, their loneliness drawing them together, but it was a sparse, fleeting thing.

Misha’s eyes brighten, his mouth curling into a pleased smile. And yet before Aventurine can think it the end of his questioning, the young boy says, “What do you like the most about them?”

Ratio is not caught off guard like he is, or maybe he just hides it well, because he is quick to answer, “They are both the most beautiful men I have ever encountered, though their beauty pales in comparison to their innate kindness and compassion.”

Yeah, see, it was all lies to appease the child—

But carmine eyes flicker over to him, and as if sensing his thoughts, the usually neutral mouth curves into a suspicious grin.

“Take Aventurine for example,” the doctor continues, and Aventurine chokes on his water that he takes a sip from. “A man who has fate fighting against him to fail, yet he has managed to overcome those challenges to be in the position of power he is in today. His casino funds food kitchens and orphanages, giving back to the people whose position he was once in. He is a rare star that burns brightly in this dark world, and I am honored it has chosen me to cast its light on.”

Aventurine stares at him uncomprehendingly. He has never doubted his coworker’s intelligence before, but his own secret forays into philanthropy were well guarded and kept away from his work at the IPC. Naturally it just had to be Ratio who had figured it out, but to use against him or to hold it over his head he isn’t sure. Nothing that came from the man was ever said out of the need to compliment.

Between them, Caelus claps his hands, tears in his eyes as he turns to Aventurine. “I didn’t know about that,” the young man says, leaning forward to kiss his cheek adoringly.

From across the table, Sunday has softened his edges somewhat. “I also didn’t know,” the Halovian says gently.

Really? Was that all he needed to turn Sunday to his side? Mention his humanitarian efforts to pull people out of poverty and taking care of parentless children? Many people in their dark world knew of the Halovian’s beginning, of the orphanage and the adoption by a larger Family to harvest his wings, but Aventurine never sought his favor by throwing his own good deeds into his face like some slapdash medal to be gawked at.

“Ratio,” he says, voice full of calmness and delighted purrs even as his heart trembles in anger. “May I speak to you for a moment?”

The darker haired man raises a brow, but stands in agreement with his request.

To everyone else at the table, Aventurine throws a cheeky, “We’ll be right back, don’t wait for us,” before he grabs the older man’s arm and drags him into the hallway.

Aventurine rounds on him, eyes bright with anger as he spits, “And just want do you think you’re—mmph!”

There is no power on Aventurine’s side. What he thought was going to be a heated whispered argument and maybe some childish stomping to get his point across ends up being swept away by the tide that is Ratio, who pins him to the wall and sets his mouth against his own. It isn’t gentle, but it isn’t rough, all deep pulls and lingering tongue as his mouth is invaded, large palms groping over his ass and gripping the cheeks to pull him closer to the taller man’s body. And he means to push the doctor away, to demand answers for what he is doing—

But his body is weak to pleasure.

In his life that is filled with work and pain, struggles and fights, it is a welcome thing he doesn’t often have the chance to experience.

Ratio’s body is warm, almost obscenely so, and pressed against his he can feel the steady heartbeat under his palm as he grips the collar of the doctor’s shirt to pull him closer, legs spreading to accommodate the leg that presses between them. Ratio had been the first person he had slept with consensually, and the only one after he had allowed into his bed. Despite his appearance and other’s gossip about him, he didn’t trust others to see that side of him, so he didn’t sleep around.

Even if their moments of intimacy were rare and rough, just a night to take off the edge of desire, he could allow himself to crumble into Ratio’s arms without fear of falling.

Somewhere down the hall, Aventurine hears a noise, and it pulls him back into the present, about why he had dragged the doctor out in the first place. He pulls his mouth away from the devouring one, words on his tongue that die a slow death when teeth press to his neck instead.

“Ratio,” he says, trying to sound serious, but the tone of his voice is breathy and weak, the name panted out on a sigh.

“Kakavasha,” the man returns, and if Aventurine hadn’t been hard before, he was now.

“That’s not fair,” he whines, grinding down on the leg, seeking friction. “You can’t use it against me like this!”

The larger man huffs a laugh. “You never should have told me then.”

“I told you in confidence!”

“And I am confident of its use right now.” And then, no longer speaking to him, Ratio calls out, “Do you like what you see, Caelus?”

Startled, Aventurine whips his head to the side to see the object of his affection only a few feet away, eyes burning with intent as they scan over their bodies.

“I like it,” the young man says plainly, stepping closer. “I like seeing you two together.”

“So jealousy does not cloud your mind?”

Caelus shakes his head, close enough now that he can reach out to cradle Aventurine’s cheek, leaning up to kiss his panting mouth.

But Ratio isn’t done, tangling them together further as he twists them once more into another formation, Aventurine in the middle with Caelus pressed against his back and the doctor still in front of him. He is the filling of this lustful sandwich, with oddly sharp teeth biting his neck while the doctor licks into his mouth. Against his ass is a hot bulge of an erection, mirroring the one that pressing to his own groin from the doctor who grinds filthily against him.

“Really?” comes the droll voice full of tired disapproval. “In front of my salad?”

Sunday stands there, looking over their writhing display with his arms crossed and a downwards slash of his mouth. Gallagher stands behind him, more amused than his fair-haired counterpart, but there is still a line of tension in his shoulders that reminds Aventurine just how important the young twilight-haired man is to the leader of the Watchmaker Family.

“Shoulda expected this,” Gallagher says, wrapping a large hand around Sunday’s hip to pull him closer, and the husky chuckle is more menacing coupled with the smile on his face. “Misha was so excited to have dinner with his potential new brothers too.”

The shame lays heavy on Aventurine’s shoulders, and he hears Caelus give a low whine as they start to pull themselves apart, Gallagher’s words having the intended effect. It takes some minor adjustments to hide the bulges that tent their trousers, though Aventurine knows his flushed cheeks and wild hair are a lost cause as they all shuffle back into the dining room – but this time there is a hand carefully wrapped around his own, while another larger one palms his hip.

When he retakes his seat, he barely flushes as Misha asks him if his stomach hurts.

It’s just the beginning, he thinks wearily. And he is already exhausted.

~*~

Ratio watches the two fair-haired men as they kiss, the argument of showering alone abandoned for the moment as Caelus climbs into the Avgin’s lap and lays waste to his hesitation. Together they are a blend of gold and silver, of beauty and charm, and he leans back to lounge on the bed as he palms over his cock, trapped in the confines of his loose pants.

Aventurine is the more dominant one of the two, having more experience on his side, but Ratio can picture holding him down with a hand to his neck as he plowed and plundered the golden body. He’s had the body underneath his a few times in their career as coworkers, but he’s never had his heart splayed open for Ratio’s perusal. The only moment of weakness between them had been when Aventurine had told him his given name in the throes of passion, begging him to use it. And Ratio can recall the heat and tightness of the body when he had uttered the name, how unraveled the Avgin had become as he cried out his pleasure and came.

It was the first time Ratio had truly seen the other man, and since then a seed has wedged itself into his brain that has taken root and sprouted odd thoughts. Periodically he would relive that moment over again, remembering the way Aventurine arched his back at the call of his name, how electric eyes that were usually so cunning clouded over into lust as he painted both of their torsos with his pleasure. He thinks of the expression of having your cake and eating it too – he wasn’t one to overindulge in sweets, but the aching of his teeth to sink into the strained neck while Caelus watches is something he could indulge in.

Golden eyes flitter over to him as if sensing his thoughts, and Ratio watches as Caelus’ eyes look over his pleasing form, settling on where he strokes himself through his pants. The apparent innocence and naivety he thought the young man to have is gone as the beautiful beast peels himself away to prowl over to him on hands and knees, slithering up until he can press his flushed cheek against the bulge.

“Ratio,” is the petulant whisper that reaches his ears, swollen mouth tempting, “Aventurine is being mean to me.”

Chuckling, Ratio pulls the beautiful creature up higher to gain access to his mouth, which tastes of Aventurine and dark desire.

“We can’t have that, now can we?” he asks against the wet mouth, and Caelus nods his head in agreement as the both turn to look at Aventurine.

Despite being steadfast in his want to bathe alone, Aventurine is quick to shed his coat and gloves as he makes his way up the bed, leaning forward to bite at Caelus’ shoulders. But the trap is spung, an ignorant foot stepping into the ring of metal and latching around his ankle as they grapple him to be pressed in between them. Ratio holds tight to the thrashing beauty, delighting in his sneer and his crumbling mask as Caelus presses along Aventurine’s back and cups a hand loosely over the bulge that tents his trousers.

The young man is curious and thorough in his explorations, and Ratio is a patient teacher, showing how to pinch nipples until they are cherry red and swollen while Aventurine remains the subject of their ministrations that makes him whine and buck up. His weak spot, he thinks angrily, and he bites his displeasure against Ratio’s mouth.

Caelus watches, eyes wide and wondrous, as he says, “Can I watch you two?”

The two older men blink in surprise and turn to look at Caelus, who squirms under their gaze but maintains his confidence.

“You want to…watch us?” Aventurine asks, voice weak and whispery.

Caelus nods, gesturing to them. “You won’t let me in yet, but I really want to see you two…together. Please,” he begs, when he sees Aventurine shift his eyes away. “I promise I’ll be good the rest of the night!”

Ratio pets over Aventurine’s back, knowing the other man has his own inner turmoil about this, but his mind is already made up. He nuzzles his nose and mouth under Aventurine’s chin, words low and comforting and only heard to the one he speaks them to as he says, “I want you. You don’t have to worry about rejection here, Kakavasha.”

The sudden grip on his arms is tight with warning, but the angry eyes that turn to him don’t deter him. If anything, they make him burn hotter, and he slants his mouth across angry slash of Aventurine’s. The Avgin slams his hands to his shoulders, but the push he expects is instead a pull, pressing their bodies tightly together in a tangle so knotted it would take a knife to separate them. The mouth under his is biting, but he licks and suckles until it gentles into deep kisses that make the younger man in his arms moan as he clings harder.

In their previous times together, there hadn’t been much need for gentle exploration. It had been all about fulfilling a desperate need, to scratch an itch in the quickest, roughest, filthiest way possible. There had been no time to gently disrobe him or trace over the faded scars of his old life, to spend an hour edging him until Kakavasha broke and begged. But now, with their charming and enraptured audience of one, he was going to take his time pulling the man apart.

It's easy to sink to his knees, pressing kisses to the flat stomach as he drags the golden-haired man’s shirt up to expose his skin. He hears the questioning noise the man makes, and his response is to bite marks low on his torso, next to where the trail of golden hair descends into his trousers. It’s a tempt and a tease, and he licks over the ridges of abs as his fingers undo a zipper and button.

It purrs as it is pulled down, and Ratio follows it with his mouth, over the fabric of his silk underwear that probably costs too much money. But the price must be worth it, because it hugs and cups the straining erection in emerald green, a priceless picture he defiles with his mouth. Aventurine lets out quiet sighs as he leans back on the bed, biting his knuckles to stem the sounds. But hands reach out to pull them away, and Ratio lets out a pleased sound as Caelus holds them tightly to the Avgin’s chest in a grip that looks to be unbreakable.

But Caelus doesn’t stop there, turning Aventurine’s head so that he can kiss the gasping mouth and drink down all the noises he makes as Ratio pulls his briefs down to swallow him whole as his lubed fingers press against the ring of muscle between his legs. Aventurine jerks and arches, but between the grip Ratio has on his hips and Caelus, the Avgin has no chance to throw them off.

He has to surrender to the push and the pull, to the fingers and the mouths and the hands that rove his body. Not like there is much fight in him to begin with. His body shakes under the ministrations, bird bone brittle and prone to breaking.

Ratio is unerringly dedicated to stretching him, three fingers deep inside his body that knowingly avoid his prostate, an annoyance that he knows is on purpose. And the doctor is devious about it, pulling off his cock with a hum as he pulls his fingers out, pressing the head of his own erection against the prepared entrance.

“Show Caelus how beautifully you unfold for me…for us,” he murmurs before he seats himself inside with one simple thrust.

Kakavasha breaks, tears on his cheeks as he arches, but it doesn’t stop Ratio from setting a perfect rhythm that borders on punishing. He watches as Caelus murmurs praises against the blonde hair, mouth kissing over wet cheeks as the Avgin unravels under the pressure and love that is pushed upon him. It’s overwhelming, he can see, but that makes him just want to bully his dear coworker a little more.

It's a dance they’ve moved to before, but there is no alcohol in his system, nor is there the desperation that usually finds them when they tumble into a bed together. It’s a performance, their rapt audience of one watching with his tongue stuck between his teeth as he watches the man underneath him fall apart. Ratio knows all of the secret, sensitive areas his fair-haired coworker tries to hide, and he uses them to his advantage as he slows his thrusts and drags his cock in and out in a destructive tempo that pulls at the puffy entrance enticingly.

From where his head is pillowed against Caelus’ golden thighs, a cock smacks against his cheek, seeking attention. And lost as he is in the tidal wave of lust, he opens his mouth and drinks it down.

Ratio hums in pleasure, watching as spit-wet lips spread apart to take the erection deeper, the Avgin’s electric eyes hazed and distant as he falls into the comfort of his own mind. But a sharp snap of his hips clears the fog, a startled noise stuck in the fair-haired man’s throat as he turns wet eyes to glare accusingly at him. Ratio merely smiles back, which is not a good thing, because Kakavasha finds himself pulled further down the bed, the cock slipping from his mouth as Ratio sets his feet to the floor, and starts to hammer home his intention.

“Wait—!”

There is no waiting. There is only savage lust that overwhelms him as the beast bears down, pressing his knees closer to his head as destruction is wrecked against his prostate. It’s a slippery slope down to hell, and Kakavasha rides it all the way down as his eyes roll back in his head as he cums, his lover following him a short moment later.  

In the aftermath, Caelus comforts an overstimulated Aventurine while Ratio moves away to gather a bowl of warm water and a washcloth. He leaves his two lovers to kiss and soothe each other, a warm pressure of protectiveness weighing heavily inside his chest. As he waits for the warm water to heat up to an acceptable temperature, he hears the soft sighs and low groans that he can only equate to passion as he steps out of the bathroom.

Ratio can feel his eyes widen as he sees Aventurine licking at the space between Caelus’ thighs, the dick they had seen before gone, replaced by the soft folds of a wet cunt. Aventurine is drunk on lust and desire, sloppy as he licks and fingers the new addition to Caelus’ body. And the noise he makes is beautiful when Ratio winds his fingers through golden hair to yank him back and away from the tempting creature.

“Patience, darling,” he murmurs smooth and low into the Avgin’s ear, but his eyes are on Caelus and the wetness on his thighs. “What happened to waiting? Not even a single night has passed and you’re already breaking your promise?”

Aventurine whines, but it cuts off into a gasp as Ratio slides his cock back inside his body. His body slumps forward, face falling into Caelus’ thigh as Ratio uses his body once again. But his mouth is still hungry, and it descends once more upon Caelus with renewed vigor. Licking open the petals, up to the bead of the red, swollen clit that lingers above, sucking it into his mouth until Caelus arches and cums.

~*~

Aventurine feels like death warmed over the next morning as he wakes, the ache in his lower back and hips leaving him to stare blankly at the ceiling as he wishes for death or coffee, which ever would come to him first. Instead of either of those two, it’s Caelus that finds him first, leaning over him with a smile so bright it physically blinds him.

“Morning,” his sweet lover boy croons as he leans down to kiss his slack mouth. “Was getting worried about you for a moment.”

“I live,” Aventurine croaks, voice cracked and wrecked. He clears his throat as he sits up, wincing. “Where is the good doctor?”

“Over here,” is the dry answer from the corner of the room, and when Aventurine manages to turn, he sees Ratio lounging in a chair, reading some book with a scandalous book cover that he recognizes as Gallagher’s work. He’s clad in a silk robe and little else, the crossing of his legs letting the short hem drift up his thighs daringly. If tilted a little more in his direction, Aventurine would have a perfect view of his cock.

“Enjoying your book?” he says, trying for acerbic, but with his destroyed voice it comes out comically raspy.

Ratio hums in agreement and turns the page. “Indeed, I am. It’s about three men figuring out a relationship together.” Carmine eyes flicker over to him, amusement deep in their depths. “Would you like to read it after I’m done?”

“I’ll wait for the movie version.” Feeling the dried tackiness between his legs, he winces. “First I need to clean up.”

Caelus sits up straighter at that, his face speaking what his mouth does not as his eyes practically glow. And Aventurine could be mean and ignore the young man, but the look on his face melts his ice.

He sighs. “Yes, Caelus?”

“Can I help you?”

He had expected it, knows the words to gently let the young man down even if it’s something he so desperately wants, but his rejection is cut off by Ratio, who slaps the book closed and stands.

“What an idea,” the older man says as he sets the book off to the side. “I’ll join and help as well.”

Ratio gathers him up, lifting him with minimal strain, ignoring his yelp as he holds him in his arms like a new bride on her way to be deflowered. Aventurine can only cling, mind still dampened by sleep and limbs weak. Oh, he was going to get the bastard back.

And he knew just the thing.

As Ratio sets him down on a padded stool and turns to fiddle with the knobs of the tub (cheeks oddly flushed and excitement in his eyes as he dumps a whole bottle of bubble bath in), Aventurine gestures Caelus close. The young man pours against his side like silk, molding to his shoulders as he tilts his head in question. And Aventurine gives him a simple kiss, unable to hold back the craving now that he is allowed to.

“Oh, doll,” he purrs, delighting in the shiver he gets in response. He lowers his voice, casting mischievous eyes over to where the doctor tests the waters of the bath. “What say we overwhelm our darling doctor together?”

Caelus, so eager to please and touch, nods his head.

He was so perfect that Aventurine can’t help kiss him again, deeper now, winding his fingers through the back of Caelus’ hair and pulling them closer together for another hit of that irresistible bitter sweetness at the back of his throat that he couldn’t get enough of. Still, he manages to pull himself away enough that his lips brush against Caelus’ as he speaks.

“Follow my lead.”

For being such a brilliant man, Ratio is still just a man.

It takes nothing at all to press his naked body against Ratio’s back, whispering naughty things in his ear while tugging at the formidable cock as it hardens. But if Veritas thinks just some light hand play is all this is going to be, he was very, very wrong.  

Because when Caelus comes into play, slipping down to his knees in front of Veritas, doe eyes filled with determination, Kakavasha tightens the grip he has on the doctor’s torso when he feels muscles tense.

“No, no,” he chides as he hears the angry hiss of breath escape through clenched teeth as Caelus leans forward to lick over his cock. “Our pretty baby is hungry. Let him eat, Veritas.”

“Kakavasha, you—”

Whatever admonishing words Veritas was going to say are lost as Caelus swallows him down to the root. Kakavasha blinks in surprise as he sees the ease in which Caelus holds himself, throat bulging, eyes watering, and pert little nose pressed into the neatly trimmed forest of curls at the base of the doctor’s cock. Surely this was supposed his first time giving oral, especially deep throating, yet the boy sits patient and waiting like a champion of the sport as he holds his position steady.

A lack of gag reflex? Kakavasha has hit the lottery with his new lover, and he couldn’t wait to test it out himself.

But first, it was time for the good doctor to experience it.

It takes some effort to grapple the larger man back onto the seat he had vacated, but it helps that he is weakened by the pleasure Caelus gives with his mouth as it bites over strong thighs and licks over Veritas’s naval, dipping inside briefly. The young man follows on hands and knees, pressing his body between Veritas’ spread thighs and humming as he sinks his mouth back over the bobbing erection that is still shiny with his spit.

Kakavasha presses his cheek to Veritas’, grinning in devilish delight as they watch together the head of twilight hair dip down to take it all in.

“Look at him,” he coos, the body he keeps trapped trembling in restrained desire. “Look at how well he takes you. Just imagine how he’ll feel when you finally sink inside that tight body. And knowing what we do now about his body, we can take him at the same time. We’ll feel each other through the thin separation of tissue.”

Veritas sneers, white teeth fierce and sharp, but it is not in anger. No, if this had been anger, Kakavasha would expect words and to be easily pushed away. Oh no, this is the doctor wanting to be restrained, and is doing his best to be a good boy.

It is not a Veritas Ratio he is used to seeing. The doctor has a drive to be dominant and a bit cold, prone to fucking hard and rough and barely remembering the aftercare of his partner. With Kakavasha, he had been better about it, liking to tease him more than hurt him, but there was no lack of gossip about the man’s particular preferences in bed. So to say he is surprised to see Veritas holding back when he could easily push them all away…Kakavasha doesn’t think too much about it. Surely it is for Caelus’ comfort, seeing as it was his first sexual relationship.

Still, it pleases him to watch as the doctor’s large hands wrap around the edge of the seat to hold onto something to keep himself from just grabbing the head of silver hair and using his mouth as he pleased. If he had doubts as to Veritas’ want in keeping Caelus and even loving him, it’s gone, replaced with a warmth that almost makes him wish he was a part of that small circle of things that Veritas loves.

…even if that small circle of things included evisceration and dismemberment. He wouldn’t mind being next to the blood-soaked medical tomes, as long as he was there at all.

But thinking like that was dangerous, and he pushes it from his mind as he parses out praises like they’re candy, watching as the flush on Caelus’ cheeks extends down his neck and onto his chest. The young man is so pretty with his mouth stuffed full, and Kakavasha can only imagine how it will be when both sides of him are filled and is between the both of them.

When he knows Veritas will not try to escape the lustful hold, Kakavasha slithers down onto his knees next to his twilight lover, looking up from between the frame of strong thighs and fluttering his lashes teasingly as Caelus lets up his attack to allow him to press his mouth to the saliva-wet flesh in turn. He doesn’t look away from the face that tries so hard to remain stoic, but he can see the twitches of carmine eyes and the flare of nostrils that give the good doctor away.

Together, Caelus and himself drive the doctor to madness with suckling nips to thighs and kittenish licks to his cock. All things Kakavasha knows are too light to really bring him to orgasm, having been under the doctor for hours previously, gleaning the knowledge that light thrusts do nothing for the older man except to tease his victim.

He can’t help but give pity in the form of allowing the cock to press inside of his mouth, pillowed against his tongue as he sucks, teeth expertly hidden and eyes imploring as he stares up at his old time lover.

A large hand curls around the back of his head, oddly gentle as it strokes over his scalp…and he should’ve known it was meant as a misdirection, because Veritas’ eyes twinkle in mischief as he pulls him hard down on his cock.

His throat tries to rebel, but he knows this game, and he relaxes it to the best of his ability as he swallows around the intrusion. He can feel Caelus’ wondrous eyes as they no doubt stare at the bulge of his throat where the cock rests, feel his tongue as it licks over the tears that fall from his eyes. It’s a comfort as much as it is a punishment, and he lets Veritas know he understands the rules as he grazes his teeth over the base.

His reward is a feral showing of teeth, and it is then that Veritas starts to fuck his throat in earnest.

Kakavasha closes his eyes and lets himself be used. Better him than Caelus, who would no doubt break under the pressure. And it’s not like he dislikes the roughness in which he is used, but he would rather spare the younger man the roughness when he deserves all the softness instead.

Caelus presses himself against his back, his touch gentle and comforting as he presses kisses to his shoulders. His wandering hands, however, are devilish as they wrap around his cock and give it a gentle stroke. In the back of his drifting mind, he wonders who will come first – himself or Veritas?

It’s answered for him when he hears the older man give a guttural growl, forcing his head further down onto his erection as he reaches the peak. Kakavasha is unable to taste his spend, but he can feel the warmth of it as it floods his stomach. It’s enough for him to follow, the inexperienced hands of Caelus unexpectedly stimulating as they twist over him.

Ratio breathes heavily through his nose, closing his eyes for a brief second as they sit there in the afterglow, as the cock in his mouth softens. Against his lower back he can feel where Caelus remains hard and needy, aborted little thrusts like the young man is trying to hold himself back. If Aventurine weren’t busy floating through the clouds, he would have no problem turning around and offering the same services to his young lover. As it was, he was content to lay with his cheek cushioned against Ratio’s thick thigh, the warm, hot weight of Caelus draped along his back like some living weighted blanket.

When he becomes aware that his limbs do in fact work, he blinks open his eyes and sees the canopy of the bed above him with the gentle humping of Caelus grinding against his hips rocking him gently. And between his own legs, with one hitched up over the broad shoulder of the doctor, he can feel himself be fingered thoroughly as his renewed erection slaps against his belly.

Aventurine reaches curious fingers out, touching the wetness on his skin before making contact with the wet cunt that rocks against him.

“Doll,” he croaks out, not so sexy with his voice wrecked and sounding like a frog. “What do you need?”

It’s too soon, he thinks, his conversation with Ratio coming back to him. Weren’t they supposed to take this slow? But how can he, the little devil on his shoulder asks as it makes him look down to where Caelus has laid himself out on the bed, the spread of his legs an invitation to stare at the glistening wetness between his thighs, when his baby looks this good?

And he is helpless as he watches Caelus reach down to spread the lips of his pussy open, to show the virgin tightness like he was selling it to the highest bidder. And Aventurine can feel the coins fall from his fingers as he moves to hover over the beautiful beast, Ratio moving with him.

“Fuck me?” Caelus asks, the question so soft and gentle it almost sounds innocent. But coupled with the filth of those words and the wetness of his thighs, Aventurine can’t hold back anymore.

He sets his mouth and fingers to the pulsating junction like a man starved. Finesse and experience fall to the wayside, leaving just pure animal instinct and desperation in its place. Was this the difference between love and lust? The aching yearning that carved a cavern in his ribs, desperate to be filled with warmth and desire? Aventurine wanted to upend the roots of his dead heart and put it on a platter for Caelus, knowing it would never be good enough with the rot and wilting of its petals, but he wanted to try. He wanted it to be worthy.

“Ka…Kakavasha,” Caelus says hesitantly, but beneath the tremble of his voice there is a core of steel. “Kakavasha.”

Aventurine pauses, eyes dilating as he looks up at the flushed face.

“Kakavasha, please.” Caelus reaches down to replace the tongue that had been inside of him with two of his fingers. “Please.”

And who was he to ignore what his sweet lover wanted?

He seats himself inside the molten heat with a single thrust, and it leaves the both of them to groan.

Ratio hooks a chin over his shoulder, looking down at where they’re connected with carnal possessiveness mixed with intellectual intrigue.

“Look at you two,” he murmurs low as he reaches around to flick Caelus’ clit with his thumb. “Divine.”

And the praise makes them both shiver under the older man’s gaze.

Ratio settles more firmly against Aventurine’s back, the hard nudge of his erect cock brushing against soft skin. He gives into the need to grind roughly into the valley of his ass, but he makes no further move as he puts his mouth to Aventurine’s ear and purrs out, “Kakavasha.”

And damn him for knowing his weaknesses, because the Avgin gives an aborted thrust as he whines low in his throat. He feels overstimulated, a nerve worked too hard, despite his experience with intimacy. He had been trained from a young age to be able to go long lengths of time, but this just felt like too much somehow. It doesn’t help that Ratio nudges fingers wet with lube against his entrance, methodical and thorough as he stretches him.

He hates the man as much as he…as much as he loves him.

Fuck, he thinks as he presses his face to Caelus’ neck at the nudge of a cock head to his prepared entrance. Fuck, because it had always been something more, hadn’t it? Despite his best efforts, he had fallen in love, hadn’t he? Even when knowing sex didn’t mean there was love involved, he had to fall, didn’t he? Oh, if his previous owners could see him now.

He expects the derision, for the doctor to see through his thin veneer he uses as a shield. He waits, breath stuck rattling in his chest, as he feels the lips of the older man press to his ear. He could laugh it off, he thinks, readying his smile and feeling the brittle edges of it crack.

“Kakavasha,” the older man breathes as he gives a shallow thrust.

~*~

Had Ratio always known?

Oh course, he wasn’t stupid. The Avgin might’ve worn a plethora of masks, but Ratio was a deft hand at sorting truth from fiction. It was all too easy to see how Aventurine smiled around him despite the poison of his fangs, how they meshed well together and often found themselves on missions because of it. Ratio had never gotten along well with others, but the Avgin knew how to bend and flex, easy to work with even given his ability to lie and scheme and going off to do his own thing.

So he knows the fragile road he steps upon now, seated inside the warm body that welcomes him as Caelus catches his eye over his shoulder.

The little devil, he thinks fondly as he remembers their conversation from days ago. How Caelus had called him after his attempt in Aventurine’s office to accept both of their offers, voice thin but strong as he asked how they could overwhelm the Avgin, because the only person holding back from this relationship was the blonde-haired gambler. It was not himself and Aventurine showing how much they could care for Caelus – it was Caelus and Veritas showing Kakavasha how much they needed him to make this work.

There was never any real intent on taking this slow. Slow just meant more time to over think things, and Ratio was tired of waiting. He wanted them now, and he wanted them fast, and he picks up the rhythm that forces Aventurine’s hips to fuck up into Caelus. Not too brutal, since it was Caelus’ first time being penetrated, and Ratio didn’t have the knowledge of his anatomy currently at hand, so if there was a breaking of a hymen or a cervix to fuck against he didn’t know, and he kept that in mind as he flexed his hips and whispered all the dirty, lovely things he had kept in check.

“Look at him,” he says into the flushed ear, eyes on where Kakavasha fucks into. “See how wet he is for you.”

His finger drifts down to touch the split open seam, dipping inside alongside Kakavasha’s cock. Both of the men underneath him moan in tandem. He can feel the pulse of both of them beat wildly, and he presses deeper in curiosity.

“Caelus,” he says, voice drawing on his profession and sounding almost clinical. “Are you able to get pregnant?”

Under him, Kakavasha freezes even as his cock twitches, and Caelus shrugs his shoulders the best he can.

“I don’t know,” the youngest of them admits, flexing his hips to take both of them further.

“I see. Would you allow me to give you a complete exam then?”

The look Kakavasha and Caelus gives him equates to you want to do this now? But he doesn’t cow under the gazes, merely nodding as he slips out of the hot body and drags Kakavasha back. The gape of the pussy is quickly filled by two of his fingers, and the disappointed sigh that Caelus attempts to give tumbles into a gasp as Ratio searches around with his fingers.

“Hmm,” he hums as he adds a third, widening the passage as he stretches them out. “I might need another tool for this.”

“Another – ah!”

Caelus throws his head back and shrieks as Ratio fucks into his stretched channel in a quick and rough thrust of his cock.

“Ah, that’s better.” Still so composed, Ratio wastes no time and sets a pounding tempo that starts to shake the bed. “Do you feel what I’m hitting? That’s your cervix.”

Next to him, flushed from either anger or arousal, Kakavasha makes a startled sound. “So he can…?”

“Well, that depends on his fertility.” Ratio doesn’t ease up, hands on Caelus’ knees to spread him wider. “I’m curious as to the expected rate of pregnancy should we both cum inside of him over the next few hours.” Carmine eyes slide over to the startled face of his coworker. “Are you willing to be my lab partner?”

He watches, looking for any sign of disagreement.

He finds none as the Avgin lowers his head and suckles the tiny bead of a clit into his mouth.

Veritas smiles, the stretch of it cruel as he drowns out the sounds of begging as he continues to rut, rough and hard, into the willing body.

~*~

Caelus doesn’t know how many times he’s cum or how many times they have emptied themselves inside of him. He’s sore and tired, the bed wet from a decent finger fucking that had made him experience an orgasm that had led to what his blonde-haired lover had adoringly called quirting. He feels used in a good way, his belly full and his thighs wet as his pussy entertains Kakavasha while Veritas has taken command of his ass.

The men are beasts, he decides as his eyes roll in his head. Their stamina is unparallelled, grossly so, as he ragdolls between them. There is no pain, only pleasure, even if it skirts around the edge of too much.

He holds little doubt that when he finally able to leave the room that he will be pregnant, and the thought has a grip on his mind that he is surprised to find tempting. It feels more permanent than any agreement or marriage, proof of their love in the form of a child that he will shelter and protect.

“Oh my darling,” Kakavasha whispers against his neck as his cock pump in and out of his abused channel, “I want them to look like you.”

There was a higher chance of him conceiving Kakavasha’s child, Veritas had explained somewhere between the second and fifth orgasm, and Caelus really can’t remember the particulars, not with his brain turning to mush, but it had left his golden-haired lover in the position to take his pussy more times than the scholar. Something something about Avgin properties and genetics, something something about being compatible – whatever, Caelus didn’t care, he just wanted everything they could give him.

When the lust has satiated and Caelus has been more times than years he has been alive, they carefully pull themselves out of him. It’s useless, however, and he can feel the trickle of their spend on his thighs and pooling into the sheets below him in a puddle. It certainly doesn’t feel as good outside of his body as it does when inside, the texture sticky as it cools, itchy as it hardens.

That doesn’t stop his lovers from pushing it back inside, thick fingers plugging him up as he whines at the overstimulation. They keep him like that as they gather him up and return to the place where it all began – the bathroom.

Veritas’ discarded robe still lays crumpled to the floor, long forgotten in the heat of passion. The previously filled bathroom water is freezing, and they clear it out to refresh it with hot water, drops of lavender bath oil scenting the air as they all slide down into the welcoming water.

Here, away from their lustful marriage bed, can Caelus start to see the first signs of doubt. Veritas, despite the healthy glow in his cheeks, is back to being stoic-faced, while Kakavasha broods. Despite how tenderly they touch him as they clean him, he can sense the fracture, and he is much too tired to deal with emotionally constipated men.

“Enough,” he says, voice oddly strong despite the weakness in his limbs. “I wanted it, and if it takes, I want that too.” He sits up and out of their laps, turning to face them. “I didn’t go into this expecting it to be just good times and no commitment. I want both of you, would go as far to say I love you two idiots. So if you think you can sit there and think of the ways to get away from me,” and here his voice loses all humanity, centuries old as it resonates, “then I fear you’re already too late.”

And maybe, just maybe, he is a little cruel in teaching them that.

In the corner of his domain, he sits and watches as Kakavasha is bound by his golden strings, the fabric of reality torn by his own hands as he remakes the body writhing on the bed. Where Kakavasha had been a proud owner of a cock, now nestled between his thighs is a pretty pussy of virgin tightness, all pink and glistening as Veritas ruts against it with his cock.

Both are bound in the threads of fate that come from him, and Veritas snarls and jerks in the restraints that bind his arms behind his back. But not a single command to stop falls from his mouth, and his cock is unerringly hard as it slaps against Kakavasha’s clit.

In his dark little world, Caelus glides over and drags golden-tipped fingers down to touch the engorged lips of the pretty pussy as he kisses the mouth that begs for him so prettily, drinking down his name and the words of love.

“Kakavasha,” he sighs in his galaxy distant voice that makes the stars shatter and worlds collide, knowing they can’t understand him. His fingers dip inside the hot heat of his lover, the sound lost as Kakavasha screams at the unknown feeling of invasion. He is sensitive, obscenely so, and Caelus can’t help but smile at the rapid rise and fall of his lover’s chest as he tries to breathe. “My darling Avgin, carrier of my genes.”

His fingers drip with essence as he pulls them out, only to wrap them around Ratio’s cock to guide him forth to the wanting gape. Golden threads keep Kakavasha’s legs spread and ready to receive the larger body, and Caelus watches raptly as the tip sinks inside. Both of the men groan, but Caelus sees the strain of Veritas’ muscles as he tries to hold back, the shaking thighs of Kakavasha as his vaginal virginity is pulled apart.

He uses his fingers to pull the lips of the pussy apart further, leaning down to lick over the quivering flesh as the cock sinks inside deeper and deeper, until he knows it presses to the place that would welcome the rush of hot semen. And Veritas is too weak of a man to not give into the pleasure of a tight pussy, given the fact his soft pushes give way to long pushes and rough grinds that leave the Avgin gasping at every plunge.

The juices Kakavasha’s leaks taste sweet on Caelus’ tongue, bitter from what spills from Veritas and mixes in deep inside the hot body. When he sets his lips over the bead of his clit, he can feel the orgasm shake the body. He is unrelenting in his hunger, not letting it go even as Kakavasha starts to beg and cry, but it easy to silence him by bracketing his face with his thighs and sitting down on his face.

He abuses the clit with suckling kisses of his mouth, licking over the thrusting cock that still pistons inside of the quivering channel. He licks up the hard shaft despite the movements, nibbling over the veins of Veritas’ lower stomach as he reaches under to roll his balls in the palm of his hand. It doesn’t take much more stimulation before he hears the telltale grunt and the stilling of the beautiful body as it fills their fair-haired lover.

And as Ratio is pulled away by his golden threads, Caelus there to replace him, slotting his cock to the leaking slit and sliding in to keep it all inside. With the restrictions he has placed on the others not holding him back, he sets golden legs over his shoulders, leans his body forward, and starts to fuck in earnest.

It’s all wet slaps of skin and escaping essence that stains the bed, but Caelus’ mouth manages to find Kakavasha’s that sobs and begs for release. But the human that Caelus was isn’t here at the moment, and he can only look adoringly down at his lover with the eyes of a creature who can only hear the pleading and take it to mean don’t stop. He does not have the same limits that he possessed with his eyes closed and human skin on, and he is unrestricted in the passion he releases as he fills the body underneath him with gold.

After that the world falls into a haze of wet skin and his teeth sinking into thighs, and the face under his changes from Kakavasha to Ratio, the body he fills moving from pussy to ass, the body under his hands changing to how he wants it.

~*~

“So,” Aventurine manages to croak out as he passes the cigarette to Ratio, who takes it silently and takes a deep drag, “what the fuck was that?”

Between them Caelus slumbers, his ancient form gone.

Ratio, hair a riotous mess of sticking up strands, breathes out his cloud of smoke and passes it back. “The best fuck I’ve ever had.”

The smoke is acrid and bitter, but it can’t wash away the taste of sweetness in his mouth that reminds him of stardust. “No shit, but he’s…”

“An Aeon, yes, but not yet Ascended. We both figured he was not fully human previously.”

“But we never factored in an apparent ability to change our bodies to his will.” Aventurine lifts the sheet that covers his waist, but his cock stares back at him. “Or the fact he can possibly get pregnant.”

“Does that change your feelings for you?” Ratio takes the cigarette. “My, four years in love with him, and it just takes some extraterrestrial eldritch abomination tentacles to make you stop loving him? Weak.”

Aventurine rolls his eyes as he takes back the cigarette. “Excuse me for apparently not having my brains fully fucked out of me. I love Caelus, and nothing can change that…except alien pregnancies.”

And from the space between them, there is a muffled, “Don’t worry, I’ll ask before I impregnate you,” before it drifts away back into snores.

The cigarette has been burned down to the filter, and Aventurine glares at it before he redirects it back to the body curled next to him, that slumbers so sweetly he wants to push a pillow over his face and hold it down. And Ratio just chuckles as he reaches over, but instead of taking the burned down cigarette, he takes Aventurine’s cheek in hand and pulls him closer so that he can murmur over his mouth, “I wouldn’t mind fucking you full of my children.”

“Not if I fuck you first,” he grouses, but accepts the kiss regardless.

~*~

It is an interesting thing to tumble down the stairs what feels like a week later and finding a small armory of torture devices waiting for them. Sunday stands there, resplendent in pale violets and pure whites, smile so fake that Aventurine would never be able to sell it as the real thing if it was a painting.

“Boys,” he calls, despite the fact Ratio is older than him, “so good of you to join us.”

Us, he sees, is Gallagher who lounges nearby, his gun harness hugging his wide chest and exposed to their eyes. Two people, but it feels like the firing squad as both he and Ratio nudge Caelus out in front of them like a shield.

Except Caelus is nothing but a pure beam of sunlight, who lights up and smiles at his guardians like they had hung the moon.

“Morning!” he chirps. “Or, well afternoon? I’m not sure of the time.”

Sunday laughs, running a hand over Caelus’ hair adoringly. “I imagine it would be hard, seeing as you were fucking each other’s brains out for over the course of three days.”

No wonder Aventurine was starving. Three days, he ponders, looking over at his companion. No doubt his phone must be filled with missed calls and text from work, asking if he was dead and if they could give his office to someone else.

The Halovian continues, and though his voice is soft, his eyes are narrowed daggers as they hone in on them. “Lunch is already set out, but I would like to speak to your two chosen. Privately,” he adds on when he sees Caelus open his mouth, ready to argue. “Misha wants to see you.”

It’s manipulation, and it works well, because Caelus only casts them a doleful look over his shoulder before his slips away. And it leave him and Ratio to stare down the barrel of a shotgun as the Halovian turns to face them, smile so tight it looks like it physically hurts.

“So,” he starts, tone polite, “I take it you understand what Caelus is now.”

They nod.

“Good. Then pick your side, because if you think I’m going to allow the IPC to destroy his life or experiment on him—”

And maybe he still has orgasm brain, but Aventurine is solid in his stance as he says loud enough, “I choose Caelus. I’ll always choose him.” He pauses for a moment before tossing a thumb over to the man next to him. “And him too.”

The doctor gives him a sardonic eye brow raise but says nothing as the Halovian looks over them.

“I’m serious,” Sunday says. “I’ll let you walk out of here now if you side with the IPC, but this is your only chance. After that means war. I will do whatever I have to if it means protecting my Family. So I give you one more chance.”

Sunday gestures with one hand to the front door, the other towards the dining room that Caelus had walked into.

“Pick your poison. Either way, one of them will kill you.”

Aventurine knows the weight of such a choice. He had been in this same position before, but with a different person asking him to choose and a leash around his neck. Anything to get away from his past, he had reasoned as he had taken the other way out, but now he is presented with another choice.

He looks over to his sometimes lover, who stands tall and blank-faced as he usually does. Aventurine can’t glean anything from his posture or his eyes, the wheels that churn silently in that beautiful head silent for him. But carmine eyes slide over to him, and seeing his indecision, takes the reins of the conversation.

After a kiss that sears all the bad thoughts from his head, of course. Sunday is unamused at the display, but is other wise silent as Ratio pulls away with a devouring lick over his debauched lips.

Voice a low rumble, the doctor declares, “I do not intend to betray the IPC.”

“Then there’s the door—”

“However,” the doctor continues, cutting Sunday off. Gallagher’s gun clicks off the safety. “I also do not intend for any harm to come to Caelus.”

The Halovian looks unconvinced. “So you want your cake and eat it too?”

“What I’m proposing is…well, just that. A proposal. A marriage of our Families,” and there it is, his odd attachment to putting ring on that finger, and Aventurine sighs through his nose, “where they will protect each other instead of coming to blows. Yes, the IPC would be very interested in Caelus as a test subject, but they would be even more interested to see how he carries to term the offspring of two top officials, one of which who comes from Avgin blood.”

The smile Ratio gives makes a shudder run down Aventurine’s back. The man’s face was not fit for it.

“They will do all they can to protect him once they know of his pregnancy and see if he carries another Aeon. He will be revered, and no harm will come to him.”

But Sunday remains unconvinced. “And if there is no pregnancy?”

The smile on Ratio’s face simmers into something sinful, and the shudder Aventurine feels is not filled with dread this time. “Then we keep trying.”

And Aventurine expects Sunday to shoot him dead in between the eyes right there at the thought of desecrating his boy anymore, but to his surprise the Halovian looks contemplative. Surely not, he thinks. There was no way Sunday would ever agree too—

“Very well,” and there goes Aventurine’s expectations right out the fucking window as Sunday agrees. “So this is your choice.”

Ratio inclines his head. “It is.”

“Very well.” And the tenseness of his shoulders fall, leaving Sunday to look younger and weary as he gives them half a smile, leaning on Gallagher who comes to support him. “Welcome to the Watchmaker Family, boys. We’re grateful to have you. Oh, and,” yet the smile hardens, showing teeth, “I’ll be in charge of your wedding.”

And that’s the first time Aventurine feels true fear.  

And it’s only the beginning, he thinks wearily.

But beyond the weary is an odd sense of…hope. Of happiness.

Of love.