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With a groan Chris blinked his eyes open, trying to focus on his surroundings. Distantly he remembered getting like three dozen stitches along his side, but that was about the extent of it as both the grogginess and the painkillers he was on made it difficult to catch a coherent thought.
A laugh caught his attention and he turned his head, realizing that Leon was in the hospital bed next to his own, grinning at him. “As nice as it is to watch you sleep,” Leon said, amusement obvious in his voice, “I’m glad you’re awake. It’s boring as hell in here.”
Chris snorted, immediately regretting it as with even the smallest movement the pain made itself known, as dulled as it was by the painkillers. “So you were just waiting for entertainment?“ he slurred, kind of proud of how he managed to make all of the words actually understandable. He was slowly waking up properly, but this was a far cry from how he usually woke up in two point five seconds and was ready for his day. That made him groan again and he sighed. “We’re getting too old for this shit.”
“Well,” Leon drawled, and it pulled Chris’ attention to him. Leon gave him a crooked, almost apologetic grin. “Then I have some good news for you.” He nodded downwards, and only then Chris realized Leon’s left leg was entirely encased in a thick cast. “With the amount of screws and bolts they put in there, I’m …probably out of the game.“
Chris knew Leon well enough that it was obvious he was masking genuine hurt in the levity of his tone, trying to joke so he didn’t need to face the realities of the situation just yet. It wasn’t that Leon would’ve wanted to spend the rest of his life going out there, fighting the undead, but it was different to be forced out of it than being allowed to let it go on his own terms. Yet he also knew Leon well enough that he didn’t even try to start that conversation now. There’d be time for it later.
So instead, Chris changed the topic entirely, the leap absolutely logical to his groggy brain. “You know,” he mused. “I’ve always wanted to be a mechanic.“
“You what!?” Leon laughed. “Like… do it for a living?”
“Well, think about it,” Chris went on, gaining confidence now that he’d said it out loud to begin with. “Being elbow deep in the engine of a car? Building one of those classics up from scratch? All original parts?” He’d always loved working with engines, enjoyed knowing what made machines tick and how to fix them when he needed to. When he’d been a teen and Claire was just a kid they’d spent time at a family friend’s garage learning how to do small jobs, and it was a skill he’d tried to not entirely lose during the years.
“I guess I can see the appeal,“ Leon agreed, turning a little more serious. The hint of a smile was still there, though, an affectionate sparkle in his eyes as he looked at Chris. “What’re you suggesting? That we buy a garage?“
“Why not?“ Chris responded with another question. He reached out his hand, and their beds were just close enough that when Leon did the same he could link their fingers and give Leon’s hand a small squeeze. “Just a small one. It’s not like we either one of us can just kick back and do nothing.“
For a long moment, Leon held Chris’ gaze, but then he slowly nodded. “Yeah. Why not.” He squeezed Chris’ hand in return. Then he smirked. “I’m kind of looking forward to you in greasy jeans and a sweaty t-shirt.” At that Chris snorted, and immediately Leon went on with a laugh. “C’mon! Mechanics are hot!”
“Sure,” Chris agreed, shaking his head slowly. “Focus on the essentials.“
Thinking about a future that was not necessarily filled with fighting gigantic manmade monsters made Chris almost giddy, and suddenly he didn’t know what to do with it. It’d be a process, letting go of the life he’d had for literally decades wasn’t going to happen overnight. Yet for now, the light at the end of the tunnel was more than inviting.
He could do it, he thought. Especially with Leon’s hand in his.
*
Contrary to the popular belief, Chris and Leon had not actually been sleeping together for the past decade, but it became even harder to debunk the rumors when they suddenly invested in a property together. While Leon learned to walk again on his shattered leg, Chris threw himself into a mechanics course and into renovations, to get the garage up and running. To stay busy, Leon looked into the financial aspect of it all, making sure that there was absolutely nothing they hadn’t considered.
Of course the fact that they both moved into the quaint two storey family home on their property did nothing but add water into the rumor mill. Claire showed up to tell them they were idiots, but helped them with the renovations anyway for the few days she spent around, wishing them luck when she departed. What the luck was for, Chris steadily refused to acknowledge, flipping Claire off when she told him to pull his head out of his ass.
Things were good, though. Chris still woke up most nights from nightmares and he was fairly certain it was no different for Leon. His room was upstairs, while Leon’s was in the ground floor, because Leon had moved in when his leg hadn’t yet been functioning well and he’d never bothered to move rooms later. They got to spend time together during the days like never before, though, and Chris couldn’t deny he was enjoying the casual intimacy of just eating dinner together or crashing in front of the TV after a long day.
It was the kind of companionship Chris had never thought he’d get. Sure he might’ve had a small crush on Jill in the times before Umbrella had turned everything upside down, when he’d been young and bright eyed, but after that?
There’d been Leon, who had always been an unattainable beautiful dream. Their paths crossed often enough to form a friendship but rarely enough that building something else out of it felt like a flimsy chance at best. And maybe Chris had been a coward, hadn’t wanted to put himself out there and get rejected. Mostly though, they hadn’t led lives suited for happy endings, then. They met on jobs and hastily in between, and it wouldn’t have been fair for either one of them.
Then there’d been Piers, who had stood by Chris steadfastly until he’d gotten his career ripped away from him after Chris got him injured in China. Piers was a lot like Leon in the way he was idealistic and stubborn, would stop at nothing to do what he thought was right. But Piers had been Chris’ subordinate, and that had alone been enough for Chris to firmly shut the door on that potential. It wouldn’t have been right, period. And after losing his arm and being released from the BSAA hospital, Piers had been whisked away by his family to recuperate at home, and now all they had were increasingly rare phone calls or texts.
Both of them, Chris had let go, figuring that it wasn’t in the cards for him. So sharing space with Leon like this, now, was a lot like a dream come true for him. Even if he sometimes ached with the longing to kiss Leon mid-breakfast, or to hold him after his nightmares, or to feel his skin on his own. Even if he sometimes imagined how it would be to call Piers and ask him to… he didn’t even know what he would’ve asked for.
But he gratefully took whatever domesticity he got. Even if it never got anywhere from here, this was more than enough. Besides, he enjoyed working on cars even more than he’d thought he would. Thus far he’d only fixed a few as favors to friends, and spent the rest of his time building an old Chevy from scratch, restlessly waiting for business to pick up.
With a groan Chris straightened, stretching his back until he felt it crack. He’d stayed in one position too long, not noticing anything around himself except for what he’d been working on. His stomach growled as he washed his hands, and he figured he’d head to the house to see if Leon wanted to grab a bite. Only when he stepped outside and locked the garage, he realized there was a light on in the small office building.
Curious, he changed course. Of course it was Leon, sitting by the desk, fiddling through some papers. He looked up the second Chris walked in, though, greeting him with a bright grin. “Hey,” he said, shifting the papers into a neat pile, before placing his palms on the desk and pushing himself upright. “Guess what?”
Leon seemed excited, and Chris couldn’t help but smile back, his heart doing a little jig in his chest. “What?”
“We just got our first paying customer!” Leon announced with a laugh. He went to the mini-fridge in the corner, filled mostly with soft drinks and Chris’ protein shakes, and pulled out the small bottle of cheap champagne they’d bought when they’d purchased the property. “I think the occasion calls for this.”
“Agreed,” Chris said with a laugh. They might’ve had better glasses for it in the house but neither of them wanted to go find them, so Chris grabbed their mugs from beside the banged up coffee maker. He held them out once Leon got the bottle open, and when they both had a full mug they held them out for a toast. “To new beginnings?” Chris suggested, and Leon smiled at him in a way that was worth everything.
The champagne was shitty, but neither of them cared, it was the thought that counted. Leon grimaced after the first sip but then practically downed the rest in one go, making Chris laugh and accidentally get the liquid in his airways instead. It of course caused a coughing fit, during which Leon kept patting his back, patiently waiting it out.
Once he was able to breathe again, Chris looked up at Leon. Their faces were only an inch apart, Leon still smiling at him – probably laughing at him, too, that asshole – and Chris couldn’t stop his heart from constricting. Before he knew what he was doing he leaned in, and Leon didn’t move away.
The first kiss was soft, something almost tentative, and a part of Chris was expecting to be pushed away any second. Instead of that, Leon grabbed a hold of Chris’ shirt and pulled him in for another kiss as soon as the first one ended, and there was nothing of the innocence of the first kiss in the second one. They stumbled in their haste, kissing like their lives depended on it, as Chris pushed Leon to the desk and hauled him up to sit on it.
Leon’s left leg hadn’t regained full mobility but he used his right to hook it around Chris’ hips, as if it was imperative to pull him close in every single way possible. And Chris’ heart was soaring, his mind going a million miles a minute, as he tried to commit every single little detail to his memory, from the way Leon tasted of coffee and cheap champagne to the calluses on Leon’s fingers where he brushed them down Chris’ neck, from the breathy little sounds Leon made to the hotness of the kisses.
They ended up jerking each other off right there in their cramped office space. For round two, they hastily made their way to Leon’s bed.
Chris didn’t think things could ever get any better.
*
Surprisingly fast they started building a small but loyal clientele, and Chris felt like he was on top of the world. Not only was he actually enjoying running a garage, but he had also pretty much permanently moved into Leon’s bedroom. The shift from friends to something else was so easy that a part of Chris regretted not trying it earlier. Now he got to sit with Leon when they’d been woken by nightmares, got to pull Leon close and press a kiss to his temple, like he had always dreamed of.
Maybe it was because things were going so well for him, but somehow he kept thinking about Piers a lot. The last time they’d seen face to face Piers hadn’t even gotten his prosthetic arm yet, his face marred by angry scarring that looked more than painful. He knew things had gotten better, but he hadn’t actually seen it, and he didn’t dare suggest a video call or ask for a picture. But a large part of him was dying to see Piers again.
So when Leon was out on a grocery run, giving Chris too much time to think alone, Chris picked up the phone and made the call. Already the dial tone made his heart thrum nervously. It had been months since they’d actually talked.
Finally, a familiar voice replaced the dial tone. “Chris? What’s up?”
“Just,” Chris started, his throat too dry. He had to stop to swallow, before he could go on. “Just wanted to catch up. It’s been a while.” He partly blamed himself for it. He’d felt so guilty over Piers’ injury that at first he’d been barely able to even visit him at the hospital, and even after contact had been sporadic at best. Although Piers was on the short list of people Chris put above everyone else in this world.
“Yeah, it has,” Piers said. He sounded tired. “I… I heard you opened a garage?.”
That was at least an easy topic. Chris launched into a long winded explanation on how that had happened, although all the while as he talked he knew he was only babbling to avoid the actual topic he wanted to breach. He tried to be very casual when he mentioned his new relationship with Leon, although it wasn’t a secret it still somehow felt like he might jinx it if he spoke too freely of it. Eventually, Chris ran out of things to say.
There was a brief silence, during which Piers was probably processing all the information, but it felt way too long to Chris anyway. So, finally, he blurted out what he’d been dying to ask. “What do you do, these days?”
The silence dragged on for a few seconds, almost awkward. And when Piers finally spoke he didn’t sound all too happy. “I’m kind of in between jobs right now. Haven’t really… found my thing.” They were both all too aware that for years and years the BSAA had been Piers’ Thing. What he’d dedicated his life for. And after being unceremoniously kicked out, useless to fight in the eyes of the superiors… Chris could only imagine the struggle.
“You could come here,” Chris said, quickly, like ripping off a bandaid. “You always liked cars. And we could use the help.” He held his breath, waiting for a response. Every single second felt like an hour.
“Chris,” Piers started, warning in his tone. “If this is some fucked up guilt thing I’m going to fly there and kick your fucking ass. It wasn’t your fault. And I don’t need your pity. I can—”
“No, no pity,” Chris hurried to cut Piers off. “I would just. I think you’d be good at it. And I…” He glanced up and saw Leon pull the car into the driveway. He watched for a second, reminding himself of how good things had turned out the last time he took a leap of faith. Maybe it was worth it to put himself out there? So he took the leap. “I would really like to have you here. I miss you.”
Again a cursed silence. Chris didn’t think their conversations had been this awkward before. Or had they? He watched Leon get out of the car and grab the bags of groceries, and when Leon bumped the car door shut he looked up, met Chris’ gaze and smiled. At that same moment, Piers cleared his throat and finally replied. “Alright. If you mean it, I guess I could. I could try..”
“Good,” Chris said, honest relief washing through him. “Tell me when you’ll arrive, okay. We’ll set up a room for you.”
They didn’t say much, after that. When Chris recounted the conversation to Leon, later, Leon just shifted closer on the couch and rested his head on Chris’ shoulder. “Good,” he said, definitively. “I miss him, too.”
*
The first time Leon met Piers, Piers had been twenty-three and full of determination and drive to make the world a safer place. He’d been bright-eyed and openly admired his Captain, but at the same time never took shit from him and wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. He’d also been drop dead gorgeous, if one asked Leon, radiating the kind of confidence and genuineness that had immediately drawn him in.
Now, ten years later, a lot had changed. A web of scarring covered the entire right side of Piers’ face, the largest of them going through his eye that was clouded over. His right arm was replaced by a mechanical one, and although the top was covered by a sleeve, Leon knew that the prosthesis reached all the way to a good chunk of Piers’ shoulder too. Most of all, Piers seemed exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes, the corners of his mouth perpetually turned down wherein he’d been quick to smile back in the day.
“It’s good to see you,” Leon offered as Piers stopped in front of him, his bag slung over his shoulder. Somehow Leon had expected a lot more luggage, but Piers only had that one bag, so either he wasn’t intending on staying for long or then he simply did not have a lot to bring. Leon hoped, so intensely it kind of surprised him, that it was the latter.
“Ditto,” Piers said, obviously sincere. “How’s the leg?”
Leon shrugged a little. “As good as expected.” He turned to walk to the car, and easily Piers fell in step right next to him. “Kind of strange, not being allowed to run, though,” he added. “I guess I’ve spent enough of my time running and it’s time to slow down, now.”
The words startled a short laugh from Piers. “That was surprisingly poetic.” He hummed, something strange in his voice as he went on. “I get it, though. I don’t know when I’ll get used to all this. It’s been seven years and I still wake up some mornings and panic when I remember what happened.”
That was a surprisingly direct admission, and although a part of Leon didn’t know how to react to it, another part of him was just reminded of why he’d always liked Piers. The man didn’t sugarcoat things, he didn’t beat around the bush, he always called a spade a spade. “How does the arm work? Gotten used to it?” he asked, figuring that if it was too direct Piers would tell him so.
“Mostly,” Piers said without hesitation. “I can do almost all the same things I could, before. Took a long time to learn it, though.”
They kept talking throughout the drive back from the airport to the garage, and Leon didn’t even have the words to describe how he’d missed something like this. He loved Chris, had loved him for a long time as a friend and now things were shifting to encompass all new things, too. But Chris and he didn’t really talk about things like this. They circled around the topics, alluded at things, covered every admission into so many layers of faked nonchalance that it wasn’t really possible to dig deep into the root of the hurt.
Piers, though? The drive took less than an hour, and already Leon found himself opening up. He talked about things he’d never talked about. Maybe in a twisted way it helped that Piers had gotten mangled so badly, because Leon could talk to him about the pain of rehabilitation and know that he’d understand. Had had it worse, really.
As Leon parked the car next to the house, he didn’t immediately get out but instead turned to Piers, reached out to lightly touch his arm. “I’m glad you’re here,” he said, and if he didn’t imagine it, some of the tension around Piers’ shoulders eased up, “I really am.”
*
For the first month, Piers seemed to always have one foot out of the door, like he wasn’t entirely sure if he was going to stay or not. Then, suddenly, it was as if everything shifted. It was like Piers relaxed and finally believed that he was wanted around, that it wasn’t only some misguided guilt from Chris or a charity case from Leon. It was like Piers finally decided that he wanted to be there, too. His smiles started coming easily, again. And he seemed to genuinely enjoy the work.
It felt like confirmation that he was staying for good when Piers grumbled about the garage not even having a name, and then one day he came home with a huge sign reading Last Chance Garage and hung it above the doors. Chris laughed, Leon just smiled and went in to change the paperwork to officially name the place. Neither of them really understood the reference.
The summer kept getting hotter, and even with the three fans running nonstop the office building was stifling. Leon’s shirt was glued to his back with the way he kept sweating, and he’d been trying to read the same document probably already four times without really understanding any of it. With a groan he got up, stretching his limbs, and stepped to the mini fridge to grab a drink. After downing half of it, he grabbed two more bottles, heading towards the garage.
Already from outside he could hear the bickering and it made him grin. It was never really silent, nowadays, when both Chris and Piers were working on something. Sometimes they took on a project together, and disagreed on pretty much every single step on the way, while still miraculously making it work in the end. Sometimes they worked side by side on their own projects, and then it always became a competition on who would do a better job. Of course, a continuous flow of thrash talk was an integral part of it.
Leon stopped in the doorway, laughing at the sight. There were two cars side by side, Chris under one and Piers under the other, only their feet visible. “You boys too busy with your pissing contest, or would you like a drink?” he asked, raising his voice slightly to be heard.
Immediately Piers slid out from underneath the car, sitting up and holding out his hands. “Hit me,” he grinned, easily catching the bottle when Leon threw it at him. He wasted no time in uncapping it to take a long drink, obviously in need of it. His shirt was like second skin, glued to him, and not only sweaty but also greasy and dusty.
Leon took his time admiring the sight, the way sweat was glistening on the tanned skin of Piers’ long neck, and when their eyes met and Piers flushed, Leon knew he’d been caught staring. Not that it was the first time. So Leon only shrugged and flashed a quick grin that even widened when Piers ducked his head to hide his own smile.
Chris’ shirt was no cleaner, as he finally hauled himself out from under the second car. “Goddamn it’s way too hot for this,” he groaned, grabbing the hem of his shirt to pull it up and wipe some sweat off his face with it. Normally Leon would’ve enjoyed that sight, too, but now he got distracted by how Piers almost choked on his water before quickly guiltily averting his eyes.
In some ways, it wasn’t news at all. Leon had known all along that there’d been some sort of lingering attraction between Chris and Piers for …forever, really. Even if neither of them had ever chosen to do anything about it. A lot the same way that it had taken Leon and Chris almost two decades to take the first tentative step. A lot like Piers had always looked at Leon, and how Leon had found himself returning the looks.
Somehow, in that moment, it really clicked. There was potential there, for something none of them had really acknowledged before. The three of them all lived together already, anyway. They already worked together, ate together, spent their evenings together… so why should Piers be the only one who’d need to go to bed alone?
For now, Leon decided to hold on to his revelation. He wasn’t sure if the other two were ready yet, wasn’t sure it was the time. So he’d wait, he’d see, and when the time felt right he’d bring it up. For now, he smiled to himself as he watched Chris steal Piers’ water bottle and Piers bitch about it.
This felt like home.
*
Cooking wasn’t something that came easily to any of them, but they’d put up a rough rotation so that no one had to deal with it every day, and with time they all picked up enough skills that they were able to put together decent meals. Leon usually went for simple pasta dishes, casseroles and such, so that he could just mix the ingredients and throw it in the oven. Besides, it was handy for times like this when one of them wasn’t home for dinner. Chris could just heat some of it up when he got back from fixing Mrs. Cameron’s old jeep for probably the sixth time this month.
When the casserole was almost ready, Leon cracked the front door open enough to call “Dinner’s ready!” towards the garage, trusting that Piers would finish up what he was doing and get inside. He didn’t set the table, they mostly ate in the living room, but he did make a quick side salad for them.
There was no sign of Piers when Leon pulled the casserole out of the oven, so Leon toed on his shoes, heading outside to the garage. He found Piers easily, bent over the hood of a car that he knew wasn’t a client’s, but something they’d all been working on slowly whenever they had the time. Although Leon had to admit he was the least enthusiastic worker. He liked classic cars and bikes, but he didn’t get the kind of joy from working on them as Chris and Piers did. So he mostly worked on the property, on paperwork, anything useful that wasn’t actual mechanic work.
“Didn’t you hear me?” Leon asked, pushing his hands into his pockets as he approached. “The dinner’s ready.”
Even evenings were hot, still, and Piers shamelessly used the same rag he’d just used on the car to wipe sweat off his forehead. It left a black streak across his forehead, and Leon pushed his hands further into his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted to reach out and wipe that away.
“Sorry.” Piers flashed a sheepish grin, gesturing vaguely towards the car. “I just wanted to finish this while Chris was out,” he explained. “I found the last part we’ve been trying to hunt down, and I fixed the carburetor.” He ran his palm along the door of the car, visibly pleased with how it was coming along. “I figured it’d be a nice surprise for him.”
Leon couldn’t help but smile, warmth flooding in his chest. “He’ll love it.”
That made Piers’ smile widen slightly, and he leaned his sideways against the car, patting the door they’d still need to paint at some point. “Can you believe this baby was such a wreck when we got her? And now she keeps getting more and more gorgeous the more metal we add to her.” His mouth twisted downwards, barely noticeably. “The exact opposite to some of us.” It would’ve been obvious what he was referring to even without the way he instinctively rolled his right shoulder a little. He probably didn’t even realize he was doing it.
“Hey, don’t,” Leon tried, but Piers refused to even look at him. So he gave in and pulled his hands from his pockets, grabbed Piers’ head between his palms to make him look up. “You’re stunning,” he said, with as much emphasis as he possibly managed. “No amount of metal is ever going to change that.”
Even with the way Leon was holding on to him, Piers looked to the side, snorting derisively. It was obvious he didn’t believe a single word, even before he spoke with, “I know what I am, you don’t—”
Leon couldn’t hear the rest of it. So he shut Piers up with a kiss.
They nearly stumbled, until Piers leaned back against the car and Leon found his balance by leaning on Piers. Instinctively Piers brought his arms around Leon, the mechanical arm at his waist, his left hooked under Leon’s arm with his palm in the nape of Leon’s neck. The simple touch alone made Leon tremble, went straight through him and made him forget everything else except the closeness. Piers was like a furnace, as always, and Leon placed both his palms on his chest as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss.
It was like a dam broke, all of the pent up desire and yearning bursting out of them in one go. There was only the slick slide of their hot mouths, their harsh breaths mixing in the brief gasps of air in between, and every time a kiss ended they seamlessly moved to another one. Leon tangled his fingers into Piers’ shirt, holding on to him like he was drowning, and in return Piers yanked him even closer with his mechanical arm, giving as good as he got.
Until Piers pulled back. Leon instinctively chased his mouth, tilting his chin to try to recreate the connection. But Piers dodged it, turning his head so that their temples were pressed together, his mouth so close to Leon’s ear his hot breath made gooseflesh rise on Leon’s skin. “We can’t,” Piers rasped out, his voice barely audible. “You and Chris—”
“It’s fine,” Leon tried, his brain not fully online yet. Piers was warm and solid right there against him and all he could think of was how he wanted to kiss him again. He slid his palms up Piers’ neck to the curve of his jaw on each side, gently pushing him back so he could initiate another kiss. This one was softer, less urgent, and for a few seconds Piers let it happen before he tried to protest again.
“Leon—”
Leon hushed Piers by pressing a finger to his lips, but he kept his left hand where it was, his thumb slowly stroking Piers’ cheek. “Just, answer me one question, okay,” he said, forcing himself to focus. He had to do this right, he didn’t want to screw up things for all three of them. But before he could make his suggestion, he needed to know where they stood. “Do you want this? Do you want me?” His heart was in his throat as he waited for the answer. He didn’t think he’d misread things but… “And I mean for good. Not just a quick fun fling.”
For a moment Piers was silent, just met Leon’s gaze straight. Then he let his eyes fall shut and shook his head dejectedly. “It doesn’t matter,” he whispered. “I don’t want to come between you. You both deserve better than that.”
“Piers,” Leon said, using his hold of Piers’ jaw to make him lift his head again. “Answer the question.”
Distraught, Piers made a soft little noise in the back of his throat. Then he nodded. “I do. So badly.”
A small laugh escaped Leon, the rush of relief that went through him so intense he was glad they stood so close, otherwise he might’ve stumbled. He brushed his smile against Piers’ mouth, unable to stop himself, before he finally managed words. “How would you like to get between us, not to break us up, but to have both of us?” he asked. He more felt than heard the sharp intake of breath that Piers took. “I mean it. Chris has been half in love with you for like… forever. And honestly?” He pulled back enough for their gazes to meet again, smiling softly. “So have I.”
There was something like hope in Piers’ tentative smile, and he huffed out the tiniest of laughs. “So I inhaled too much fumes while working here and now I’m hallucinating, right? That has to be the only explanation.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Leon answered with a grin, his heart alight in his chest. “You’re a catch.”
“You really think Chris would be..?” Piers trailed off, still hesitant.
“I’ll talk to him as soon as he gets back,” Leon promised. “But if I know him at all, he’ll say yes.” He brushed his fingers over Piers’ cheek, finally giving himself permission to rub off the streak of black smudged on Piers’ skin. “Don’t worry about it, it’ll be fine. Now come on,” he pulled back, reluctant but knowing that the talk with Chris should happen before they’d continue. After that? He had a feeling that he wouldn’t be the only one who was eager to make up for lost time. “Let’s go. Dinner’s getting cold.”
Easily, Leon caught Piers’ hand in his own, pulling him along. All of the pieces were falling together, and he wasn’t even afraid. He knew they’d make it.
*
The garage and the house were both dark when Chris finally got home, so he figured Leon and Piers must’ve both headed to bed already. Some distant part of Chris imagined how nice it would be to fall in bed between the other two, to have them both close, but he shut it up and told himself to be grateful for what he had. Leon alone was more than enough, more than he’d hoped for, and his stupid heart should stop wishing for more.
With a sigh Chris kicked his shoes off, heading straight for a shower. Mrs. Cameron had offered him dinner as a thank you for coming over again, and as an apology for it taking so long, so he wasn’t hungry. All he needed was a hot shower and some sleep.
To Chris’ surprise, Leon was still awake when he stepped into the bedroom after his shower, in his fluffy bathrobe and a towel slung around his neck. “Did I stomp too loudly again?” he asked with a grin, mostly joking as Leon didn’t look like he’d been sleeping at all. He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, a magazine in front of him and his reading glasses propped on his nose.
“Yes,” Leon answered with a matching grin. “But that’s not why I’m awake.”
Chris frowned in confusion. “Oh? What’s up?” He reached under his pillow and dug out the t-shirt he usually slept in, shrugging the bathrobe off so he could pull on the shirt and step into fresh boxers. There was a hook on the closet door that he hung the robe on, before finally taking a seat on the edge of the bed to focus on Leon. “Something happen?”
The answer took him by surprise. Enough that he was glad he was sitting down.
“I kissed Piers,” Leon said, meeting Chris’ gaze straight.
There was dread building in the pit of Chris’ stomach, making him uneasy. Not because of the admission itself, but because he had no idea where this was leading. “…okay?” He offered hesitantly, but that was all he managed to get out before Leon went on, obviously wanting to put Chris out of his misery one way or the other, instead of toying with him. Something that Chris appreciated immensely.
“I don’t know how to say this so I’m just going to… say it,” Leon said with a low chuckle. He took a deep breath, but the way he looked at Chris was so painfully sincere that some part of Chris relaxed even as he still didn’t know what this was about. “I have feelings for him. And I—”
“So you’re breaking up with me?” Chris cut in, instinctively.
“No!” Leon’s answer didn’t even take a second. “No, I’m not. Unless it’s what you want. Just hear me out, okay? Without jumping to conclusions.” He rolled his eyes, a small grin tugging at his lips as he added, “you’re both so fucking impatient, you never take the time to just listen to me.”
“Guilty,” Chris admitted sheepishly. “Okay. I’ll listen.” He could see that Leon was nervous about this, so it meant that it was something important to him. Talking feelings didn’t come easily to either one of them so maybe he just needed to breathe and let Leon have his space and say what he meant without interruptions.
“Look, I know you’ve always had a thing for Piers,” Leon said, then. And again, Chris was taken by surprise. He held his tongue, though, now even more curious where this was leading to. “I know you’ve always had feelings for him, and you just didn’t want to make a move because you were his commanding officer. But the feelings are there, right? Still?”
Technically, the fact that Piers had been his subordinate hadn’t been the only reason Chris hadn’t made a move, back then. There’d also been his confusing feelings towards Leon, the chaotic nature of their lives and jobs, and like a million other small reasons why it had felt like a shitty idea. In essence, Leon’s assessment was correct, though, so Chris didn’t bother to add the other reasons. He also didn’t bother to lie about his feelings. They might not have talked everything through with each other but they’d also never actively lied to each other, and Chris wasn’t about to start now. “Yeah.”
“So here’s the deal,” Leon went on, something clearly relieved in his expression, “you want both of us. I want both of you. And Piers wants both of us.” He laughed, something a little disbelieving in it, as if he couldn’t fathom that he was saying this out loud. “Other people have done it before and made it work so… Why not the three of us?”
That was… Chris truly had no idea what to say to it, at first. Had he fallen and hit his head on his way back home? Was he bleeding to death in Mrs. Cameron’s driveway, hallucinating this entire conversation? There’d been a time in his life when he’d resigned himself to being alone forever, and now he was offered not only one but two life partners who he’d been uselessly in love with for as long as he could remember? It couldn’t be true. It was too good to be true.
Apparently he’d been silent for too long, as Leon coughed a little, self-conscious. “Say something, Chris. If you hate it I’m not going to force it on you. I just thought that—”
“No, no,” Chris hurried to cut him off. “I don’t hate it. I just… can’t believe it.” He laughed, as now that the thought of it was finally sinking in he was hit with an immense wave of relief. He wasn’t being dumped, this was pretty much the exact opposite. “You really mean that? And you’re sure that Piers wants it, too?”
“Yeah,” Leon said. “I mean it. And he means it, too.”
Chris reached out and grabbed Leon’s hand, lacing their fingers together. Finally he let his grin break free, let himself believe that this was really about to happen. “We’re going to need a bigger bed.”
*
Eventually the summer was over, making way for the rainy and stormy autumn, and it felt like only a blink of an eye and they were already halfway through December. Personally Leon had never liked the cold months but somehow they were much more tolerable when he got to spend the nights tucked under the covers in their gigantic bed together with both Chris and Piers. They didn’t have set spots in bed, but more often than not Leon was the one who got to be sandwiched between the other two, as they knew how easily he got cold.
Even now, the first thought that crossed Leon’s mind as he stirred awake was how warm he was, and how much he wanted to just go right back to sleep. Something caught his attention, though, and sleepily he squinted at Chris over Piers, who was still fast asleep between them. “Chris?” he croaked, his voice not yet functioning properly.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Chris said, smiling softly. He was lying on his side, propped up with his elbow. Silently Leon watched as Chris ran his fingers over the curve of Piers’ shoulder, the one with webbing of nasty scarring, tracing around where the prosthesis would be attached if Piers felt like using it in the morning. Piers had gotten way more comfortable about it in the past months, and now he didn’t even use it a lot of the time at home, knowing that Chris and Leon didn’t mind either way.
With a soft sigh Leon shifted, getting more comfortable, but made sure he still maintained eye contact to Chris. Piers had shifted a little lower on the bed, his face practically smushed into Leon’s armpit, and he showed no signs of waking up. Not even when Chris moved course and traced up Piers’ neck, brushing his fingers through his hair. “Do you ever feel like the universe owes us for all the shit that we’ve been through?” Chris spoke softly, almost dreamily. “And now it’s finally time? Now the universe is finally balancing the scales.”
That wasn’t far off from how Leon felt, if he was honest, even if he personally still sort of waited for the other shoe to drop, waited for the second when the universe would decide they’d had enough compensation. Even though he hoped, with all of him, that he was wrong about that. Maybe they’d get to keep this. Instead of answering Chris’ question Leon just turned his head and pressed a soft kiss onto Piers’ hairline, using the arm around him to shift him a little closer in his embrace.
“Don’t mind me,” Chris said, chuckling. “I’m rambling. It’s just…” He shifted, leaned over Piers, and kissed Leon gently. Even then he stayed close, as he added, “I’m just happy.”
Before Leon had the chance to react to it, Chris was pulling back, slipping out of bed. “I’m going to get breakfast started,” he said, glancing at Leon over his shoulder. “Try to nap a bit. I’ll come wake you up when it’s ready.”
And Leon could’ve teased him for being an intolerable morning person, or he could’ve told him how happy he was, too. He liked to think that was obvious, though. They kept reminding each other of how important they were, kept making sure everyone felt included. So he just grinned. “Try not to burn the bacon.”
“For that,” Chris shot back, “you’re not getting any of it.”
That was a lie, but Leon didn’t call Chris out on it. Instead he chuckled softly, letting his eyes slip shut again. Chris’ heavy footsteps headed out the room, and then there was only Piers’ steady breathing. Leon let it lull himself back to sleep.
*
“Yes, ma’am, your Corvette is ready to be picked up. No, ma’am. Yes. You’ll be compensated for the delay. Yes, tomorrow.” Piers was rolling his eyes, tuning out the rest of the conversation, even as he manfully resisted sighing and letting his annoyance be heard. Sure the client was right in that it took longer than the promised two days for her car to be ready to be picked up, but at the same time she was being such a drama queen about it that Piers had already used up all of his polite responses for the day.
Once he finally ended the call he leaned forward against the desk, eyes closed, and hung his head for a moment. How the hell had his life turned to this? They were supposed to be running a respectable garage, not taking too long with the customers’ vehicles just because some of them – okay, all of them, fine – thought classic cars were hot.
Grumbling to himself Piers headed towards the garage from their small office space, already gearing up to tell Chris and Leon off. The reason the Corvette had been late in the first place was that the two of them had spent more time admiring the car and making out against it than actually repairing it, and this was beginning to be a too common occurrence by now.
“You done with the Mustang?” Piers called out as he swung the door open, stopping in his tracks as he noticed the scene in front of him. This time he didn’t even try to hold back the sigh, or the groan, and rolled his eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn’t roll right out of his head. “Were you two fucking on a client’s car!? Again!?”
Leon coughed and tugged his shirt down, attempting to straighten it properly. Meanwhile Chris tried to subtly zip up his pants, failing miserably. They were giving Piers such shifty eyes and guilty looks, their cheeks flushed and Leon’s hair mussed up, that it was more than obvious that it had been exactly what they’d been doing.
“No?” Leon answered, anyway, trying to look as innocent as possible. Piers only gave him a glare, and with a sigh Leon relented. “Okay, we were going to.”
“You do realize that each time we get a classic in, I spend half of my days on the phone apologizing to people when you take twice as long as you should with their cars? Because you can’t keep your hands off each other?” Piers griped, hands at his hips, trying his damnest to look authoritative. He was also aware that he was exaggerating, a lot, but it had happened more than once and he was sticking with it. “What am I going to do with you two?”
That now made Chris snort. “What?” he asked when he got a glare, his grin widening. “Remember the bike from two weeks ago? When I—”
“Yes!” Piers squawked indignantly, his face reddening. He remembered. He probably would never forget that particular bike and what they’d gotten up to. “Don’t change the subject!”
“You’re hot when you’re annoyed,” Leon cut him off with a laugh. He’d noticed more than well how Piers wasn’t actually mad, more just frustrated about how he’d been the one apologizing for the delays. Slowly he approached, and when he placed his hands on Piers’ waist and pulled him close, kissing the frown right off his lips, Piers went without resistance.
“Now come on,” Chris said, suddenly right next to them, his palm warm in the back of Piers’ neck. “We can pick up right where we left off.”
“But I’m—”
“Piers,” Leon cut him off, gently this time, and when Piers looked at him he gave him a surprisingly soft smile. “I’ll handle all of the customers for the rest of the week. Okay?”
Piers sighed. “Okay.” And when the other two pulled him closer to the – admittedly gorgeous – car, he wasn’t even pretending that he wasn’t on board with the entire proceedings by now.
At least Leon kept his promise and Piers didn’t need to deal with a single customer for the rest of the week. Or the next.