SO, THEN

Emily Moreton

So.” Mike waited for Danny to settle back in the bed, then curled into him, thigh against Danny’s damaged leg, where the warmth would soak into him. Danny made a small, contented noise and pulled the dark green covers tighter over their shoulders. One arm stayed around Mike, holding him in place.

In Mike’s opinion, post-sex cuddling was one of the best things about being on land. Navy bunks really weren’t made for two people, and anyway, it was one thing to fuck around with a shipmate. Flaunting it in front of a ship full of people who’d left their own partners behind always felt sort of cruel.

“So what?” Danny asked.

Mike pushed aside his sleepy fuzziness, his drifting thoughts about his shipmates and the warm closeness of his oldest friend, now sort-of boyfriend, trying to remember what he’d intended to say.

“You know we’re only shipping out for three weeks this time?”

Danny stiffened slightly under him, probably at the reminder that this was their last night together. Considering they hadn’t seen each other in two years, a week had been more than enough time to feel like this was how things always were. Which didn’t make a lot of sense, even in Mike’s head, but was true nevertheless. Leaving Danny this time was going to be easily as unpleasant as leaving him right after college to go into the Navy.

“Yeah,” Danny said softly.

Mike swallowed the urge to say something about leaving. It would either come out maudlin or overly cheerful, and he wasn’t sure which was worse. Also, it really was only three weeks, and he was determined not to let himself get stupid over it. “So, we’ll be back a couple of days before Pride. And I thought maybe we could go watch the parade. Hit a couple of bars after.”

Danny tensed even more; so much so that Mike was half-grateful for the excuse when Danny nudged him away and sat up. Danny was frowning, which looked really weird under his sex-mussed blond hair. Not that Mike’s position, looking up at Danny from on his back, really helped.

“You really think no one else from your ship will be there?” Danny’s voice clearly implied that Mike was a naïve fool, which was not exactly Mike’s favorite iteration of Danny’s personality.

“Nooo.” Mike drew the word out in lieu of rolling his eyes. “I think it’s been okay for me to be gay in the Navy for a good couple of years, and that anyone from my ship who is there won’t care.”

Danny didn’t stop frowning, but his blue eyes were more worried than annoyed, and it melted most of Mike’s faint irritation. Mike rolled over, resting his chin on Danny’s hip. He could just about see Danny’s face from that position, though it felt like he was straining his eyeballs looking up. “It’s fine,” he said firmly. “I’ve got good friends out there, I’m safe. I mean, I’m not planning on hitting on my CO anytime soon, but that’s mostly because he’s married and old enough to be my dad.”

“He kind of makes it work,” Danny said thoughtfully. Mike couldn’t really argue with that—the colonel pretty much epitomized silver fox in a way that had featured in more than one of Mike’s fantasies.

“You hit on him, then.”

Danny laughed softly, his stomach twitching with it, and Mike smiled into Danny’s skin. “You don’t have to worry about me, you know,” he said.

“You’re in the Navy; it’s not exactly the safest profession ever.” Danny petted Mike’s hair, which never failed to make Mike feel like purring.

“You don’t have to worry about me being gay in the Navy,” he amended. “I want you to meet some of the guys. They want to meet you, too.”

“You talk about me to them?” Danny asked, more surprised than Mike would have expected.

Mike tipped his head up, dislodging Danny’s hand down to the back of his neck. “Of course. Tell them how brilliant you are, tell them how gorgeous you are, tell them they should all be jealous of how good you are in bed…”

Danny flushed bright red, which was adorable and weird and made Mike want to kiss him. Danny really was brilliant and gorgeous and amazing in bed, and Mike could kiss him if he wanted to. He pushed himself up to his knees and leaned in, cupping the back of Danny’s neck.

“You trying to distract me?” Danny asked, mouth quirking up in a smile.

Mike stroked Danny’s good thigh, not quite soft enough to tickle as he rubbed the hairs the wrong way. “Is it working?”

Danny’s breath caught when Mike brushed fingers over his half-hard cock. “Not so far.”

“Ouch! I’m naked and feeling you up and you’re, what, thinking about your dry cleaning?” Mike curled his hand loosely over Danny.

“I’m an academic, I can’t afford dry cleaning. But, now that you mention it, you do need to pick up your uniform.” Danny stared hard at Mike, obviously trying to look unaffected. It didn’t quite work, given how his face flushed slightly when Mike cupped his palm over the head of Danny’s cock. “I don’t want you to forget and have to head out naked.”

Mike ducked his head, laughing against Danny’s neck. Being back with Danny was great; there were years of history between them that he couldn’t replicate with his closest friends on his ship. “I missed you.”

“I—” Mike felt Danny draw in a deep breath, but he didn’t say anything, just kissed Mike’s ear, then down his jaw. Mike lifted his head to meet Danny’s mouth on his, one hand moving to Danny’s shoulder for balance. Danny slipped his tongue into Mike’s mouth, and Mike tightened his hold on Danny.

“Fuck,” Danny said against his mouth. Right, Mike still had one hand on Danny’s dick, now hot and hard in his hand. “You gonna do something there, or what?”

Mike loosened his grip so he could straddle Danny’s thigh, then stroked slowly up the length of him. Danny made a small, pleased sound and kissed Mike again, a hand returning to the back of his neck to hold him close. Mike kissed him back, palming the head of his cock on every stroke. He couldn’t stop himself grinning at the little noises Danny made, the way his hips twitched slightly, pushing him into Mike’s hand.

Danny wasn’t going to last, Mike knew—he couldn’t always get it up for a second time in one night, but when he did, he never lasted. Mike leaned in, pushing Danny back into the headboard, looming over him just a little, just enough to make Danny’s breath catch again as he came.

Mike eased him through it, kissing the corner of his mouth and the edge of his cheek until Danny fumbled to knock his hand away.

“You were saying?” Mike asked.

Danny rolled his head against the wall till he and Mike made eye contact. Danny’s hair was a mess, his eyes heavy and his face flushed. “Fuck if I know.”

Mike grinned, rocking a little against Danny’s thigh, caught between wanting that, and wanting to jerk himself off, his hand wet with Danny’s come. Danny caught his hips, pulling him in till his dick was tight against Danny, and okay, maybe Mike did know what he wanted after all.

“Just like that,” Danny said, low in his ear. “That’s it, just like that, you’re so hot.”

Speaking of not really lasting long the second time around—it took Mike less than three minutes to come all over Danny’s skin. Best three minutes he’d had since the last time, though.

And he wanted to, so he did, putting an end to any kind of conversation not including the words yes, more, or right there, fuck, don’t stop.

“So,” Freddie said, when Mike got back to the tiny cabin they shared with two other guys. Freddie’s stuff, to Mike’s complete lack of surprise, was already put neatly away, and Freddie himself was back in uniform, sprawled on the top bunk, one leg dangling in Mike’s face. The guy really was too tall to be in the Navy, which was all about tiny spaces. “He’s the guy.”

Mike automatically checked for James and Luke, even though their stuff was conspicuously missing. Not that either man would care if they walked in on Mike and Freddie talking about guys, but they kept the chat about women to a minimum, and Mike always felt he owed them the same courtesy.

“Yeah, he’s—hang on, you’re here, how did you even see us?”

Freddie raised one eyebrow, which he said made him look mysterious and Mike thought made him look like a loon. “I see everything.”

“Not through three decks and more walls than I can be bothered to count.”

“Saw you getting out of a cab when I was on deck,” Freddie admitted. “He’s cute. Always figured he’d have glasses.”

“Why?” Mike rolled up his now empty duffle and closed his locker. They had another two hours before they were officially back on duty and he hadn’t slept much the night before. He dropped onto the bunk below Freddie’s and contemplated a nap.

“You talk about him studying all the time; I got a mental image.”

Mike didn’t ask whether the cane and Danny’s limp had been part of that. It wasn’t something he usually mentioned, though he was always at least a little aware of it when they were together. So long after the accident, compensating where Danny needed him to was almost as much second nature for him as it was for Danny. “He doesn’t have any jackets with elbow patches. Or geek slogan T-shirts.”

Freddie made a noise that could have meant almost anything to someone who hadn’t bunked with him for two years. Since Mike had, he knew what that noise meant. “You’re picturing him without a shirt right now, aren’t you?”

Freddie’s head appeared over the side of his bunk, upside down and only faintly repentant around his dark eyes. “He’s built, for an academic.”

Mike blinked. It didn’t do a great deal for the sudden image of Danny and Freddie together. Freddie was tanned, like Mike, in sharp contrast to Danny’s pale skin and freckles, and had a good foot of height on Danny. They’d look good together, Mike thought, Freddie on his knees sucking Danny off, Danny’s hands trying and failing to grip Freddie’s even-shorter-than-regulation dark hair while Freddie’s eyes went nearly black with how turned on he was. Or, even better, Freddie prepping Danny for Mike’s cock. Freddie didn’t have the kind of overt muscles that some military guys had, but there was a sort of clean definition to his body regardless. When he wasn’t wearing any clothes, it made every movement very compelling. When he wasn’t wearing any clothes and was working Danny open… “Huh,” Mike said intelligently.

Danny would love getting a blow job from Freddie, who had possibly the best mouth of anyone Mike had done that with. Mike stuck himself into the fantasy, curled behind Danny where he was sitting on the bed, rubbing his dick against the small of Danny’s back, smudging precome over the smooth skin there as Danny gasped and Freddie did that thing with his tongue that had made Mike’s vision go fuzzy, the first time Freddie had done it.

Freddie cleared his throat very pointedly. “You want me to give you a minute?”

When Mike looked up, Freddie was checking out the bulge in his pants. “No,” Mike said, letting his hand drift down to rest against his semi-hard dick. “I want you to give me a hand with this.”

“Jesus,” Freddie groaned, not looking away. “I don’t know whether I’m more bothered by your terrible lines or by the fact that you’re trying to get me into your bed after spending a week fucking your hot friend.”

Mike very carefully didn’t tease—Freddie had the worst luck with men, something that he preferred to talk about only when he was very drunk. “Which one is more likely to help persuade you to get me off?”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Freddie rolled his eyes, but he did it while he was swinging down into Mike’s bunk, so Mike didn’t call him on it. “You want me to suck you off?” Freddie asked.

Mike’s dick twitched in his uniform pants. “Will you do it on your knees?”

Freddie didn’t answer, just slid down to his knees and reached for Mike’s fly. Mike patted his head a little, but the angle was awkward. “Hold on.”

Freddie leaned backward, one hand on the floor behind him. It pushed his hips up, distracting Mike for a moment. He really was hot, especially on his knees in his uniform. Mike dropped his left foot to the floor, giving Freddie room to get his hands onto Mike’s thighs, ducking his head to breathe warmly over Mike’s cock.

Mike made a low noise in the back of his throat, resting his hand on the back of Freddie’s head again. “That’s nice.”

Freddie huffed a low laugh. “Gonna be better than nice,” he promised, and pulled Mike’s cock out of his underwear. His hand was dry and cool on Mike. “You got a condom?”

Mike blinked, swallowed down the first words in his head, that he’d used them all up with Danny. It was true, but not exactly tactful. “Do you?”

“No.” Freddie huffed out a breath that did approximately nothing for how turned on Mike was. “Maybe I could—” Freddie pushed into a crouch like he was meaning to stand.

Before he could, Mike caught his shoulder, tugging. Freddie half-caught himself on the edge of Mike’s bunk, then, when Mike tugged again, tipped forward to sprawl over him. Both of them groaned at the press of their bodies together, and Mike took advantage of their new proximity to kiss Freddie, putting a little teeth into it so that Freddie gasped. “Take your pants off.”

“Yes, sir.” Freddie pushed himself up, only just avoiding hitting his head on the underside of the top bunk. “Um.”

Mike laughed a little, pressing another kiss to Freddie’s neck so he wouldn’t be offended. “Maybe let me do it.”

Freddie shifted his weight until he was in something more like a push-up. Mike took a moment to just admire how he looked doing it, before fumbling at Freddie’s pants. He was already hard, maybe from talking about Danny, maybe from being on his knees for Mike.

“Gonna hold that position?”

“Hell, no.” Freddie dropped out of the push-up, but carefully, so his full weight didn’t land on Mike. “Now what?”

Mike didn’t bother to answer, just got his hand around both their cocks, stroking firmly. “Yeah?”

Freddie snuggled closer, mouthing at Mike’s neck above the collar of his shirt. “Yeah.”

The first few strokes weren’t quite right, too dry, but getting off on a ship full of people meant learning how to do it quickly. It didn’t take long before they were leaking against each other, Mike’s hand slick as he worked both of them. Freddie rolled his hips into their hands, his breath huffing against Mike’s neck. Mike was pretty sure they were going to regret doing this while fully dressed, but he was equally sure that he didn’t really care.

“You close?”

“Yeah,” Freddie said, sounding almost sleepy. “Yeah, close.” Mike squeezed, gasping a little at how good it felt, Freddie’s dick against his. Even with Freddie’s words, the first pulse of come over his fingers was a surprise, warm and slick and—“Fuck,” he groaned against Freddie’s hair as his own orgasm washed over him like an echo of Freddie’s.

Unfortunately, he’d been right: hot and sticky was great for about thirty seconds, and then he was mostly dressed with come on his pants and the blanket scratchy against his bare skin. “Ugh.”

“Yeah, that’s what a guy wants to hear,” Freddie said, but he was already climbing to his feet and reaching for a towel. “Come on, before the others rock up.”

“So much for the moment,” Mike grumbled, swinging his right foot down to join his left, but he was smiling, and the thought of sailing away from Danny wasn’t as bad as it had been.

Still on 4 Pride? Mike texted Danny, while trying to come up with a way to explain in the report how his team had ended up nearly drowning during an exercise.

It took Danny fifty-three minutes to text back, which probably meant he’d been in class. Yes, if you promise not to wear your uniform. Mike only rolled his eyes a little bit at the way Danny always texted in full, perfectly grammatical sentences, which Danny said was on account of being in academia, and Mike said was on account of not being able to figure out the acronyms.

U think im hot in my uniform. At least, Mike assumed that was why Danny’d talked him into having sex while wearing it. The buttons against Danny’s bare skin couldn’t have been comfortable.

Why do you think I’m making you promise?

Mike hesitated, turning the phone end over end twice. On his screen, the cursor blinked a reminder that he was supposed to be finishing the damn report, not engaging in fairly pornographic fantasies of his two closest friends. Thought id ask Freddie if he wants 2 come w/, he texted eventually. That was probably vague enough.

Tell me what you’re planning before I say yes or no.

Or not. Danny knew him way too well not to be suspicious.

U’ll like him, he’ll like u, Mike sent. Then, in case Danny somehow got the wrong idea, I like both of u.

The pause was long enough after that for Mike to check the clock, wondering if Danny could have gone back into class already. No, it was three thirty, and he finished early on Thursdays.

You are exactly what the conservatives were worried about when the repeal went through, Danny texted back eventually, with a smiling face to take the sting out of the remark. Mike was pretty sure the conservatives had actually been worried about gay soldiers seducing their straight teammates over to the rainbow side, but thinking about that stuff still made his heart ache. Ask me again when I’ve met him.

Mike sent back his own smiling face, knowing the sound of Danny capitulating, even if it was just in a text message.

“So, tell me again why I’m here.” Freddie frowned at the crowds of people, the rainbow flags and glitter adorning every available surface. The noise was more than Mike could ever remember at Pride, shouting and music and those damn noise-makers going off in his ear, but the contact high he was pretty sure he was getting just by walking down the street made it a lot less painful than it could have been. “The decorating scheme could use a little work.”

Mike stopped and stared, as much as he could in the crowd. It wasn’t like he never saw Freddie out of his uniform, but he still got a weird little jolt of surprise every time he looked at Freddie. Which may, in fairness, have been because Freddie was wearing a very tight pair of dark blue jeans, the kind that showed off every line and curve. Of course, because he was Freddie, he was wearing a checked shirt over a loose white T-shirt and his uniform boots, but the jeans were a pretty good concession to the event. Mike was probably embodying the stereotypes enough for the both of them, in well-fitted black pants and a tight white T-shirt, hair gelled like he never bothered on ship. “I can’t tell if that comment makes you so incredibly gay you should bleed rainbows, or if it makes you the least gay person I know. Who doesn’t like rainbows and glitter?”

Freddie shrugged, hunching slightly like that would help him hide in the post-parade chaos, awkward being out in the gay community in a way that he wasn’t on the ship. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been asked to have a personal opinion one way or the other.”

“Yeah, well—” Mike caught Freddie’s arm, finally spotting the bar Danny had said to meet at. Trust the Navy to run late the one time he had somewhere to be; he couldn’t believe he’d missed the parade, it was the best part of Pride. “I’m asking you to have one now, and it had better be that you want to get naked and drape yourself in them.”

“I don’t think ‘drape’ is the right verb for glitter,” Freddie said, mock-seriously. “Also, if I’m naked, it’s going to get in some damn awkward places.”

“Rainbow tattoos,” Mike told him. “More than one, and glitter nail polish. Even on your toes.”

Freddie pressed too close, arms going tight around Mike’s waist, pulling him back against Freddie’s solid body. Mike tipped his head up without thinking about it, his breath coming short. Even lost in the crowd, made anonymous by all the people around them, this felt dangerous and obvious, sending a burst of arousal through his veins. “I’ve always been more of a glitter eye shadow person,” Freddie said, close enough for Mike to feel his breath. “But whatever works for you.”

“That”—Mike cleared his throat—“That really, really works for me.”

Freddie stepped away before Mike could say anything else. His grin was smug and pleased, and Mike had no idea why so many good guys overlooked Freddie when he looked like that. “Buy me some, and I’ll wear it to the company Christmas party. Come on, your friend will be wondering where we are.”

“So, he’s the bunk-mate,” Danny said, when Freddie excused himself to use the men’s room.

Mike glanced in the direction Freddie had gone, though there were way too many people to see him. He figured Danny had picked the bar for its selection of microbrews, or maybe because the chairs actually had backs he could lean into. Either that or he’d picked it because there wasn’t a twelve-song club mix playing loud enough to do permanent damage. He sure as hell hadn’t picked it for the quiet, not with what felt like half the gay men of San Francisco packed in with them, all trying to communicate by yelling, and an occasional holler.

“He’s the bunk-mate,” Mike agreed, leaning in so he didn’t have to join the general shouting.

Danny made a small, considering noise that Mike could barely hear. He and Freddie had eyed each other suspiciously for the first ten minutes after Mike introduced them. It had been just long enough for Mike to decide this had been a huge mistake, and that he likely wasn’t going to be getting any sex at all tonight, let alone sex of the hot threesome variety. Then Danny had mentioned his freshman engineering class, and Freddie had said something about working in his father’s garage as a teenager, and that had been the end of Mike’s involvement in the conversation as they geeked out over cars and engines like the total nerds they both were.

“Taller than I thought he’d be.”

“I showed you a picture.”

“Taller in person, then.” Danny shrugged. “I like him.”

“Told you so.”

Danny kicked his ankle. “Don’t be smug, it doesn’t suit you.”

“I brought you home the best present ever; I deserve to be a little bit smug.”

Danny’s expression went weird, somewhere between charmed and faintly irritated, with something else mixed in that Mike found hard to read. Danny reached over, one hand covering Mike’s. Mike couldn’t quite make himself hold Danny’s hand; he held Danny’s gaze instead, waiting. “You’ll always be the best present I can have,” Danny said, completely serious. “You don’t ever have to bring anything else.”

It sounded closer to a declaration than they’d ever made. Mike smiled, uncertain. “But an extra present is always good, right?”

The words broke whatever moment they’d been having, and Danny laughed, letting it go. “Sure. An extra present works.”

“Tell me you’re not talking about Christmas already.” Freddie made a face as he threw himself back into the third chair, narrowly avoiding tipping it completely when someone bumped into him. “It’s way too early.”

“Never hurts to be prepared.” Mike spun his empty bottle once between his hands, careful not to send the rest of the empties flying.

“We’re not talking about Christmas,” Danny said firmly, draining his own beer. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“You want to find a quieter place?” Freddie kept one hand near Danny as they both stood, but didn’t grab for him the way some people did in crowds. It got him a grateful look from Danny that made Freddie smile, small and pleased.

Danny shook his head. “Thinking about heading home.” He looked over at Mike with the words, checking in about the evening, about Freddie. Mike nodded back; Danny had really been the only wild card in this situation.

“Right,” Freddie said, all of the humor and warmth gone from his voice. Even his shoulders were slumping again. “I should—you think I’ll get a cab back to the ship somewhere near here?”

Danny frowned at him, and Mike felt the tension ratchet back up, not in a good way. He’d been so sure about Freddie. “Look, no, don’t—” Mike started.

“Just—” Danny interrupted him with a sharp hand gesture to Mike without looking away from Freddie. “Mike’s an idiot,” he said, so softly that Mike was amazed he could hear the words over the roar of conversation in the bar. Danny was smiling though, so something must have been going right again.

Danny grabbed Mike’s wrist, pulling him close, the edge of the table digging awkwardly into Mike’s hip. “For the record,” Danny said, still looking at Freddie, who seemed as confused as Mike felt, “Next time you decide to invite one of your shipmates into a threesome, it would probably be a good idea to actually invite him.”

“I did!” Okay, that had come out a little high-pitched. Mike tried again. “I said, ‘Come to Pride with me and Danny.’ Did I not say that?”

Freddie’s eyes went wide, then closed for a moment, the way they did when he got a particularly ridiculous order. “That was supposed to imply, ‘And then come home and have sex with us both?’ Yeah, I’m with Danny here. You way undershot the invitation part of that invitation.”

“Hopeless,” Danny said, voice warm with affection, and okay, maybe the two of them had a bit of a point. Apparently Mike had been too subtle. “So, Freddie, in the interests of reducing the amount of inanity going forward: would you like to come back to my apartment and have sex with me and Mike?”

Freddie looked between the two of them, then down to where Danny was still gripping Mike’s wrist. “If this is just because of the last guy I hooked up with,” he started.

“For the love of—” Danny let go of Mike, shifted his grip on his cane, then leaned in to wrap a hand in Freddie’s shirt. “Let me make this very clear,” he said, and dragged Freddie down into a harsh kiss.

Freddie’s hands flailed for a moment, then settled lightly on Danny’s hips. He tilted his head slightly, deepening the kiss. Somewhere in the crowd, someone wolf-whistled. Mike kind of wanted to echo the sentiment. The two of them were exactly as hot together as he’d imagined, and this was while they were still wearing clothes. He was pretty sure the sight of them both naked would lead to spontaneous human combustion, especially given the way Danny always relaxed completely into the first few minutes of being naked and in bed, not worried about his leg and his balance.

Mike was totally willing to risk human combustion for that.

Danny and Freddie drew apart slowly, grinning dumbly at each other. “Yes?” Danny asked.

“Yes,” Freddie said. “Oh, most definitely yes.”

“So,” Mike said, when the three of them were standing in the doorway to Danny’s bedroom, shoes and jackets discarded in the living room, glasses of water politely offered and refused. Danny hadn’t turned on any lights, just left the curtains open, so the streetlamps cast a weird, orange glow over the neatly made bed and orderly bookshelves. It felt far more intimate than Mike would have expected, especially with the street noise muffled by the windows. “How exactly are we going to do this?”

“You didn’t think about that already?” Danny rolled his eyes before Mike could answer. “What am I saying; you didn’t actually tell Freddie why he was meeting up with me, of course you didn’t think about the actual mechanics of the successful outcome.”

Mike put a hand on Danny’s waist, then stepped in close enough to wrap his arms around Danny, anchoring him against Mike’s body. The whole move took less than ten seconds, which was till ten seconds longer than he wanted to wait before nuzzling Danny’s neck and saying, “I love it when you get all forceful.”

Danny laughed, sounding as utterly relaxed as Mike felt. Freddie had been designated safe since practically the moment they met, but like this, about to get naked with him and Danny, Mike felt like the last of the fear of being outed and thrown out of the Navy was physically lifting away from him. Freddie, leaning in the doorway and watching the two of them, looked like maybe he’d understand that as well, if Mike said anything.

“We’re going to take our clothes off,” Danny said, making no move to do so. “Because there is no sexy way to get three full-grown men naked on a double bed.”

“Speaking from experience?” Mike teased.

Danny turned his head enough for Mike to see his quirked eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Mike hesitated, caught between two polar opposite answers.

Danny continued before he could decide on one. “Then I’m going to lie back, and Mike’s going to ride my cock.”

Mike made a small noise, totally unable to contain it. Somehow, Danny’s matter-of-fact tone was more of a turn-on than any attempt at sultriness.

“Freddie’s going to suck Mike’s cock, and I’m going to suck his.”

Mike glanced over at Freddie, who was watching them with greedy eyes, then down at Danny, who was visibly turned on by what he was saying. “Good thing you’re an engineer,” he said.

As it turned out, even the combined spatial awareness of an engineering doctoral student, a sailor with a background in car mechanics and a sailor who specialized in navigation wasn’t quite enough to avoid a few elbows and knees in awkward places, or a couple of moments of wrecked rhythm. About the best that could be said for them, honestly, was that they didn’t manage to jolt Danny in any way that would hurt enough to lose the moment.

When they finally got it figured out, though, it was totally worth the bruises. Mike couldn’t work himself on Danny’s cock the way he usually did, not when Freddie’s mouth was on him at the same time, but the roll of his hips, Danny deep inside him, was a whole other order of intense pleasure. Freddie was tentative at first, moving in tiny jerks of his hips, obviously uncertain of his welcome.

Mike reached down, smoothing a hand over the defined lines in the backs of Freddie’s shoulders. He meant it to be soothing, but it made Freddie moan around his cock, and Mike had to do it again. Freddie’s skin was so warm under his hands, damp with sweat already. Mike bent low. “He can take it. Come on, Freddie.”

Freddie shuddered all over, but his next move was smoother. He dug his feet into the mattress, ass flexing as he rocked into Danny’s mouth, Danny groaning around his cock like it was the best thing ever.

“You look so good like this,” Mike told Freddie, resting one hand on the back of his neck to feel the way his muscles shifted as he moved. “Your mouth is—fuck, amazing. So good.” Freddie didn’t say anything, which wasn’t a surprise at all; he was always near silent during sex, even when his mouth wasn’t full of cock. “Are you sucking me the way Danny’s sucking you? I bet you are. He’s so good at this, man, you don’t even—taught me everything I know about sucking cock, Danny, you’re so—”

Mike bit his lip, words he didn’t say clamoring in the back of his throat. He couldn’t say them, not like this; not when he wasn’t even sure who he’d be saying them to, pinned between the two people he cared most for in the world, loving every second of it.

“You’re so good,” he said instead, low and soft in the darkness. “You’re perfect.”

No one said anything at all after that, too intent on driving each other to climax, spiraling up and up on the smell of sex and sweat, the sound of harsh breathing and skin rubbing against skin. Freddie came first, shuddering hard and pulling off Mike’s cock to gasp for breath.

Mike moaned, reaching for him, pulling him back. Freddie cried out—probably Danny doing that thing with his tongue that he did when Mike was almost done coming, that made him feel like he was having his orgasm all over again—and Mike took advantage of it, dragging Freddie’s mouth back to his cock. “Don’t stop, so close,” he managed, not even caring whether Freddie was really sucking him anymore, and then Freddie slid a hand back to rub at the place where Mike was sinking down onto Danny’s cock.

It was more than enough to tip Mike over the edge. He heard Danny keen something sharp and cracking as he went over, felt Danny’s cock pulse inside him, but he was already mostly gone, swept up by pleasure.

He came back to himself to find he hadn’t collapsed on anyone like he’d thought, but also that his thighs ached from kneeling for way too long. He winced as he climbed off Danny, Freddie wisely sliding off the bed as he did so. Danny looked most of the way to sleep, which was pretty unusual; whatever it was that made most guys pass out after sex, Danny didn’t have it. He was soft-eyed now, though, watching Freddie and Mike from under lowered eyelashes.

Mike grabbed a spare shirt to clumsily clean himself and Danny up. Freddie took it from him when he finished, looking like he was planning on making a trip to the bathroom. Mike caught his arm before he could and pulled Freddie down for a kiss. Freddie’s mouth tasted familiar, like every blow job they’d shared in the Navy.

“No more sex now,” Danny said, the command totally lost to the slow drawl of his voice. “Sleep now.”

“I don’t know that this bed is made for three people,” Freddie said doubtfully.

“Sure it is.” Mike flopped down, tugging on Freddie’s arm enough to make the intention clear, but not so much that he’d fall on any of Danny’s damaged parts. Freddie took the hint, and they wound up on either side of Danny, pressing close. After a long moment, Freddie pulled the covers over them all. “See?” Mike asked.

“Whatever,” Danny said. “Sleep now. Sex in the morning. And waffles.”

“Coffee,” Freddie added. “I know a place.”

And kisses, Mike thought as he slipped down into sleep. He didn’t say it, but that didn’t matter; he didn’t need to say it to know that he’d get to have them. That they all would.