goddammits | (no subject)

[ He can't help the little flare of jealousy at that, but he's the one who brought this up. And he wasn't just saying it, earlier, when he said he trusts M. He really, really does. So he stomps the jealousy out and smiles. ]

I might be a little cranky you didn't share earlier, but nah.

We did just have that whole conversation about your "us" issues, babe.

But I'm with you.

What brought all this on, anyway?

I was working with Eddie on his powers this afternoon, when you were texting me our plans for tonight. I guess it bombed his mood enough to make the exercises go wrong, and so I asked him what was up...

[ He shrugs. ]

...He kinda seemed sad about it.

Not sad, exactly. More like envy that turns into sadness.

[M pauses after that. He knows all about Eddie's problems, he's been noticing them for a while now, and he knows of the best solution for it...

The question remaining is would Cisco go for it?]

I think I know how we can help.

[ His worried expression quickly turns into a hopeful, expectant grin. ]

Oh yeah?

How... open are you to changing the current arrangement of our relationship?

[ As into the idea of including Eddie as he is, there's that flare of jealousy again. He slides his hand down M's side, just shy of possessive, and reminds himself again that he trusts and loves him. ]

What did you have in mind?

[M rolls over slightly so he can drape one arm over Cisco and pull him closer. He then presses his forehead against Cisco's.]

I think you already know.

But I won't pressure you into this. This isn't some clever way of me picking him over you, and if you say no, I'll never mention it again.

I don't think it would've been on my mind all day if I wasn't kind of into the idea of it. But if we just... start slow with it?

You're in charge.

[M leans in to give him another kiss, reassuring him that nothing about his feelings will change.]

[ He lets the kiss drag on for quite some time before he pulls back, soothing any nagging worries out of his mind. ]

So, how do we do this?

As interesting as my life may be, entering into a three-way relationship has not been one of my many previous interesting life experiences.

But the implants are saying we just ask.

[ He laughs. ]

Right, punching two guys at once, totally more your wheelhouse than dating two guys at once. Got it.

So... Let's invite him over tomorrow night, get takeout, see where things go?

I'll have you know you're only my third boyfriend. It's a very exclusive club.

[M leans in and kiss his nose.]

Like I said, you're in charge. If that works for you, it works for me.

[ He grins and kisses him again. ]

I'll be in charge inviting him over, you be in charge of the food.

[He smiles at that.]

Delegation, the sign of a true leader.

[ He grins, then pushes M back and shifts up to straddle him. ]

First, I think I've got some other things I can delegate...

[ The next day, Cisco texts Eddie while he's out at work, not sure if he can get through asking him over in person. It's an invite to hang out at M's place, and he hopes it's not too obvious or too much that might scare Eddie off. He's going to play this as casual as possible, just in case. Sure, Eddie said he was into both of them, but he never said anything about both of them together. If that's too much for him, the last thing Cisco wants to do is compromise a friendship he really cherishes.

So when Eddie gets home, there's a Door open inside his room, and when he steps through into M's apartment, Cisco's already there, flopped on M's couch watching cartoons. M is nowhere to be found. ]

[Cisco's text was unexpected and not at all obvious, frankly. It's simply not in Eddie to assume the kind of thing that they have in mind - he's aware that what he feels is wrong and he's making an effort to move past it. So all he's thinking while texting with Cisco is that he's going to struggle tonight, but that he wants to maintain his friendships, he cares about both of them enough, platonically, to work his way through this.

So when he gets home, he changes into something a little more casual - a Henley and jeans, and goes through the Door M left for him. When he steps out, it's Cisco that's there on the couch, with cartoons playing in the background. It's a little unexpected that M is nowhere to be seen, but he just waves, toes off the sneakers he's wearing, and crosses over to the couch.

Sitting down heavily, he glances over at Cisco.]

Heeey, Cisco. Thanks for inviting me over!

[ He sits up when Eddie arrives, making room for him on the couch. He can't help but take in Eddie's appearance, noticing now more than ever just how good he looks. He bites his lip, trying to resist the urge to spill the night's plans right then and there. ]

Yeah, sure, man! M just went out to get us some food. Way out of town because, y'know, he'll just bitch about shitty Chinese takeout from around Heropa or something.

[ He's so fond when he says it. M still hasn't gotten him to give up his dinosaur nuggets and cheap takeout, but it's mostly turned into an in joke between the two of them at this point. ]

[Shifting a little, Eddie gets comfortable in the space Cisco left for him on the couch, lifting his hips and then dropping them with a little sigh of contentment. Glancing away from the cartoons, he laughs softly - he gets the in joke, at least, because M's complained to him before about Cisco's taste in junk food.

With a wicked little grin, he nods.]

Not surprised, he's pretty fussy. [A beat.] The best dim sum is in Maurtia Falls anyway. So...movie night tonight?

Right, man, you keep mentioning that place. We should totally go sometime. [ Cisco still hasn't ever been to Maurtia Falls. Honestly, so many people warned him away from the city's bad reputation, he's mostly stayed away. ]

Uh, yeah, something like that! I figured we could all just, y'know... Hang out.

[ Smooth, Ramon. Real smooth. ]

Yeah, we should. It looks like a total dump from the outside, but the best Chinese always comes from places like that.

[He glances away from the cartoons, over at Cisco again - he was biting his lip earlier, now he's fidgeting a little. Eddie would almost think he was nervous if this wasn't a totally normal hangout. Then again, it's the first time they've hung out since Eddie spilled his problem, so maybe that's it.

He feels bad for making everything awkward, but bringing it up will just exacerbate the problem.]

Sure. We always find fun things to do, right? Maybe you can play a bit of Mario Kart with me later, I love that.

Isn't that also, like, almost every place in Maurtia Falls? The looking like a dump part, I mean.

[ He's doing his best not to fidget, which of course is making him fidget more. ]

Hey, I'm always down for Mario Kart. M cheats and Barry is just straight up awful at it.

Well, yeah, but the whole 'looking like a dump, but actually great' thing only really goes for Chinese, maybe Indian, and pizza places. Or donairs and shawarma. Anything else, and it's probably just a dump.

[A little grin, bright.]

Great, I'm really glad you got me into that game. You should show me some of the other ones you like sometime.

[A beat.]

I wonder if my ability works on how well I do at video games.

[It's idle chatter, and he knows it, mostly to try to defuse any anxiety about the situation. To distract if Cisco is thinking too much about what he said.]

Edited 2016-02-01 03:18 (UTC)

Ughhhhhh, no. [ He groans, dramatically sprawling back against the arm of the couch. ]

If your powers work on video games, you're not allowed, 'cause that's the problem I have with M! I'm going to have to find new friends.