the_deep_magic | FIC: Star Trek RPS -- About Last Night

Title: About Last Night
Author: the_deep_magic
Pairing: Chris/Karl/Zach
Word Count: 5,561
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: threesome, mild D/s, rimming, dirty talk, biting
Disclaimer: None of this is even close to true. Except Karl is actually from New Zealand, but really, that’s about it.
Summary: Zach needs to get Chris out of his system, but he needs Karl’s help to do it.
A/N: For jurisenpai, whose “coalition of awesome lady perverts” bought my help_haiti fic. This ended up a little angstier (and, in turn, shmoopier) than I had originally intended, but I hope you ladies enjoy it!

“Alright,” Karl says, setting down his coffee. “But why do you need me?”

“He wants you. He won’t shut the hell up about it,” replies Zach, praying that the jealousy burning in his gut isn’t betrayed by his voice.

Karl gives him a sideways look. “What is this exactly, Zach?”

“Look, I just…” Zach takes a deep breath, gathers his thoughts. “I need to get Chris out of my system, alright? It’s getting to be distracting.”

“So go seduce him or something.”

“How? He’s not into me. If I try, he’ll laugh in my face and never let me live it down. You, he’ll listen to.”

Karl gives him a look that has entirely too much of Bones in it to be comfortable. “I’ll talk to him.”

&&&

The next time Zach sees Chris, the younger man’s eyes are the size of dinner plates. He shoves Zach back into his trailer and shuts the door behind them. “How did he talk you into it?”

“Pronoun antecedents are your friends, Chris.”

“Karl. Us. Sex. Dirty, dirty sex with Karl.” Chris jabs him in the shoulder with each word.

Huh. Zach is a little unclear on exactly what Karl might have said. “So he, uh, told you the terms, did he?”

“He said he wouldn’t do me without you and you were already on board. Does he have dirt on you or something?”

Zach bristles a little. “Why would you think that?”

“No, no, I’m not judging,” Chris says quickly, holding up his hands in a defensive posture. “I just didn’t think you did the casual sex thing.”

“It’s not my usual M.O.” Zach treads carefully here. “But it’s Karl, right?”

The fact that Chris buys it only stings a little. But then Zach suddenly has an armful of Chris, who is babbling something that sounds like “Oh my god, this is going to be so fucking awesome” and Zach forgets everything that isn’t Chris’ body pressed against his.

&&&

Chris volunteers his place and Zach gets nominated to bring the booze. He looks over a selection of vodka before selecting the red wine he knows Chris likes – he hopes it won’t be too telling.

When he arrives at Chris’, Karl’s car is already in the driveway and Zach kicks himself for not meeting up with Karl earlier to figure out how this is going to go down. Or having some time with Chris before Karl arrived. Or just generally avoiding this whole fucking mess in the first place. But things have already been set in motion and Zach has to see this through for his own mental health. He’ll kiss Chris, they’ll all fuck, and Zach won’t have to spend half of his time on set staring at Chris’ hands, wondering what they’d feel like on his body.

He can hear Karl and Chris laughing as he rings the bell and quickly shoves down any resentment – Chris isn’t his, he has no right to be resentful. But Chris’ eyes light up when he opens the door, and when he sees the wine, he kisses Zach playfully on the cheek. “Classy as always, Quinto. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to seduce me,” he laughs, whisking the wine off to the kitchen while Zach stands in the entryway, still trying to figure out what just happened.

Fortunately Karl pokes his head in from the living room. “Hey, man,” he says with effortless casualness. “Get in here.”

Zach tries to copy Karl’s easy sprawl on the sofa, but can’t decide quite where to put his hands. His cheeks flush when he realizes Karl’s been watching him. “I was very clear with Chris,” the older man says evenly. “This is just sex. For me, at least.”

“Same here,” says Zach, a little too quickly, unable to shake the fear that Karl thinks he’s lying. He’s not. Maybe it will be good and maybe it won’t, but at least Zach will know and quit obsessing about it.

Just then Chris comes in with three full wine glasses balanced precariously in his hands. Surprisingly, he doesn’t try to cram himself onto the sofa, but rather sits in a chair across the coffee table so he can see both of the other men at once. His eyes are twinkling and it looks like he’s struggling to hold back a face-splitting grin. “So, any details to hammer out before we begin our evening of debauchery?”

Karl sips his wine thoughtfully. “I top, pretty much exclusively. You okay with that?”

Zach just nods, but Chris says, “Fuck, yeah. I’m into pretty much everything but, y’know, the gross stuff.”

Zach’s brain helpfully supplies various combinations of “Chris” and “pretty much everything” and he temporarily forgets to breathe.

Chris narrows his eyes at Zach. “You’ve been pretty quiet. You okay with all this?”

Putting on his most devious grin, Zach says, “Oh yeah, I’m… flexible.” He doesn’t miss how hard Chris swallows, and for the first time his body starts to believe that, yes, this is going to happen.

“Okay. Well,” Chris says, a little flustered. “I’m thinking that since this was Karl’s idea, he should maybe be in charge.”

Zach freezes, wondering if Karl will correct him about where the idea came from, but the Kiwi just says, “If that’s your way of saying you want me to boss you around, I accept.”

The flush in Chris’ cheeks gives him away, but he protests, “Hey, I didn’t say that. Zach, did I say that?”

“Not in so many words,” Zach replies dryly, arching an eyebrow.

“Oh, I see how it is. You two are in cahoots now.”

Karl just leans back and chuckles. “Don’t bring cahoots into this, Christopher. You’ll do what I say and you’ll like it.”

“Yes, sir,” Chris replies, his eyes going wide, and Zach can’t tell if he’s joking. He’s not sure Chris knows himself.

Karl and Chris have finished their wine, and though Zach’s barely touched his, Karl checks in with him with a quick glance, then says, “Alright, let’s move this to the bedroom.”

Chris is up and gone so fast that Zach is surprised he doesn’t leave a little cartoon dust cloud behind. Before Zach can pull himself up off the sofa, Karl turns to him and quietly murmurs, “You okay with bottoming?” Zach nods, his hands starting to sweat, and Karl continues, “Good. I’ve got a plan.”

Chris is sitting on the bed cross-legged, practically bouncing with energy when Zach and Karl get there. “What’s first on the list?” he asks. “Because I’ve got a few suggestions if you—”

Leaning down, Karl cuts him off with a hard, wet kiss, and Zach moves in to get a better view. Karl is completely overpowering Chris, who is making soft, helpless sounds in his throat that go straight to Zach’s gut. Chris finally gets enough leverage to push back a little, gets a hand in Karl’s hair, and Zach gasps as he sees Chris’ tongue thrust insistently into the older man’s mouth. Karl growls into the kiss and Zach can’t take it anymore; he has to touch.

Zach leads with his hands to feel the flex of Karl’s bicep as he holds Chris to him, but Karl suddenly breaks the kiss just long enough to haul Zach in with him. Zach’s never tried a three-way kiss before – it’s hot and wet and messy and completely overwhelming. Noses bump together and teeth clack noisily, but two different hands are holding fast in Zach’s shirt, two pairs of lips moving hungrily against his. Chris tongues at his lips greedily and Zach responds. He doesn’t notice Karl pulling slowly back from the kiss until he feels both of Chris’ hands on his face, and he’s kissing Chris, kissing him and sliding his hands through his hair and feeling Chris moan and shudder against him.

Eventually, they have to break apart to breathe, and then Zach is staring down right into Chris’ eyes, no pretense at all, just desire and need and it’s too much, Zach’s chest is going to crack right down the middle—

“Oi!” Karl says, and both of them jump a little as they turn to face him. He’s got his shirt off and he’s working on his belt. “I’m not doing all the work here. Strip each other.”

Chris yanks Zach’s shirt up to his armpits so fast that Zach has to laugh. “Easy, tiger,” he chuckles, lifting his arms so Chris can pull the shirt the rest of the way off. Zach does the same to Chris, spreading his hands to touch as much skin as possible as he goes. Chris sets to work on Zach’s jeans, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth like he’s concentrating impossibly hard, and despite how silly it looks, Zach’s cock twitches at the focused attention. Laughing as he shoves Zach’s jeans down, Chris palms Zach teasingly through his briefs and the older man’s hips jerk involuntarily into the touch.

Karl is on Chris in a second, a hand on his shoulder pulling him away from Zach. “Did I give you permission to touch, Christopher?”

“N-no,” Chris stutters, looking equal parts frightened and aroused, and damned if that doesn’t make Zach’s knees go a little weak.

“Since you couldn’t restrain yourself, you have to watch.”

“Watch what?” Chris all but moans as Zach kicks his jeans off and away.

“Me and Zach,” Karl says, a devious grin spreading across his face. Zach approaches him carefully, but is still nearly knocked off balance when Karl pulls him in by the back of the neck for a kiss. He’s still getting his bearings when Karl reaches down and squeezes him mercilessly through his briefs. Zach can’t help the wanton moan that leaves his mouth or the way his body sways forward into Karl’s. He’s left bereft for a moment when Karl pulls away to look at Chris, still kneeling on the floor a few feet away.

Through a haze of lust, Zach can see from Chris’ embarrassed flush that Karl’s caught him touching himself. “Well, we certainly don’t learn easily, do we?” Karl sneers. “Hands behind your back, Christopher. Touch yourself again and that’ll be the last hand you have on you tonight.”

Zach doesn’t even have time to watch Chris comply before Karl is crushing their lips together again. “Such a sweet mouth,” Karl mumbles against Zach’s lips. “Think I want to feel it on my dick.” He pushes Zach to his knees, unbuttoning his own pants and giving his cock a few rough strokes before putting a hand in Zach’s hair.

Zach is acutely aware of Chris’ eyes on him, so he licks his lips slowly, getting them wet to slide languidly over the head of Karl’s cock. Above him, Karl grunts his approval, and Zach bobs his head once before pulling off and pressing an open-mouthed kiss to the tip. He reaches up to get a fist around the base so he can jerk Karl while he sucks him and hears a pitiful moan from Chris’ side of the room. Zach sets up a slow, smooth rhythm with his hand and his mouth, sucking wetly to the running mantra of yeah Chris, watch, see how good I can give it. He takes Karl a little deeper, dragging his tongue against the underside of his cock on the outstroke until Karl’s abs start to tense and the older man pulls Zach off of him with an almost regretful moan.

He grips Zach’s shoulders hard for a moment, then straightens up and turns to Chris. “Mmm, that was amazing. I think we should reward Zach for his skill. What do you think?”

Chris nods eagerly, and Zach dips his eyes to see Chris’ cock straining against his briefs, a small wet spot darkening the fabric. “Yeah, reward. Can, um… can I suck him?”

Chuckling darkly, Karl says, “I think you’d better ask him.”

Zach begins to melt the second Chris’ wide, incandescent eyes turn to him. “Zach,” he says, so quiet it’s almost a whisper. “Can I suck your cock?”

As if Zach would ever, in any foreseeable circumstance, say no to that. “Yeah,” he says, his throat suddenly dry. “Yeah, Chris, I want that.”

“Let’s move this to the bed,” Karl says, hauling Zach to his feet. As Zach lies down, Karl strips him of his underwear and smacks Chris’ ass as the younger man kneels between Zach’s spread legs.

Chris runs his hands up Zach’s thighs, tongue poking out to lick unconsciously at his lower lip. His hands settle at Zach’s hips, thumbs massaging the soft spots just inside his hipbones. His voice is low, reverent. “God, Zach, you’re so… I don’t even have the words.”

Zach’s heart clenches painfully in his chest, easing a fraction when Chris finally lowers his head. He lets his lips brush over the length Zach’s cock – not kissing, just the soft friction of skin against skin. He mouths at the base, hot tongue flicking out at unpredictable intervals that have Zach fisting his hands in the sheets and staring intently at the flutter of Chris’ eyelashes as he works.

“Give him more.” Karl’s voice is softer, almost tender this time as he puts a hand between Chris’ shoulder blades to urge him on.

“Can I touch him, too?” Chris asks, lips still pressed against Zach’s erection and the older man can’t fight the shiver that makes his every hair stand on end.

Karl chuckles indulgently. “I don’t think he’ll mind.”

Zach has just enough presence of mind to be glad that Karl is speaking for him, but even that evaporates when Chris’ warm hand closes around his balls just as Chris takes Zach full in his mouth. Chris makes a greedy little humming sound and Zach throws his head back with a gasp, unable to look at Chris watching him with eager eyes. He tries to slow down time itself, to memorize the feel of Chris’ mouth around him, the playful way Chris’ fingertips tease the skin behind his sac. When Zach’s hips thrust up of their own accord, Chris pulls back – but then fits his palms against Zach’s hipbones and takes him deeper, the wet, lewd sound of it loud in Zach’s ears. It’s too good, too fast but he doesn’t have the strength to stop it – Zach’s toes curl, his calves starting to cramp in anticipation…

“Easy, Chris,” Karl says, coming to Zach’s rescue. “I’m not done with him yet. We’re not done with him.”

Chris backs off, getting in one last lick at the head of Zach’s cock, and Zach collapses back to the bed, the urgency slowly abating. He glances over to Karl, who is digging through a small canvas bag on the night table. “I brought everything we need,” he says, producing condoms and an intimidatingly large bottle of lube.

Zach’s eyes turn to Chris as the younger man watches Karl come to kneel on the bed behind Chris at Zach’s feet. “As you were, Christopher,” Karl growls, pushing Chris’ upper back until his hands are planted on either side of Zach’s torso. Chris is on hands and knees now, his face little more than a foot away from Zach’s so that Zach can’t see what Karl is doing.

“My apologies, Zachary, but I’m going to be the one playing with this ass tonight,” Karl says smugly before slapping an open hand against Chris’ right hip. Zach sees the ripples of it in Chris’ face – the widening eyes, the tightened mouth – and oh god yes, Karl can be forgiven for monopolizing Chris’ ass as long as Zach gets to watch this. Karl’s hands tug Chris’ underwear to his knees, then Chris shifts to let the older man pull it off him completely. Throughout this process, Zach’s eyes are glued to Chris’ cock, hanging heavy and untouched between his legs.

Karl must have spotted the look on Zach’s face, because he chuckles, “Don’t worry, Zach, you’ll get your turn.” With that, he drops his head to bite Chris’ right ass cheek, and Chris lets out a strangled moan. “He can’t see me, Christopher, so you’ll have to tell him exactly what I’m doing.”

“You want me to… talk?” Chris gasps out, every word looking like a struggle.

“Bright boy,” Karl snickers, and that’s all the warning he gives before descending again and drawing a sharp huff of breath out of Chris.

“Zach,” Chris moans, his eyes falling shut. “He’s— he’s licking me. Not my hole, not yet, just around. My tailbone, my—oh Jesus, my taint.”

Zach can’t close his eyes, not even to blink, not when he can see every flick of Karl’s tongue translated across Chris’ beautifully expressive face. “Does it feel good?”

Chris nods jerkily. “Yeah, so good, except… except he’s teasing me. His hands are holding me open, he’s— unnnh, he’s blowing air across my hole but he won’t touch it.” Chris is silent for the space of a heartbeat, then rocks forward with a gasp. “He’s biting me again, ah, little bites this time, all over.”

Unable to help himself, Zach murmurs “Bet your ass looks gorgeous like that, turning pink and red with his teeth marks.”

“It stings, makes my skin so raw. I can feel every breath. I can feel— Ah!”

As Chris’ eyes fly open, even before he says a word, Zach knows that Karl has finally put his tongue where Chris has been wanting it. Chris’ eyes are unfocused, his lips twitching but no sound coming out. “C’mon, Chris,” Zach urges, wrapping his hands around Chris’ wrists where they’re planted by his hips. “Keep talking, buddy.”

“He’s fucking me with his tongue,” Chris sobs. “Hot, shallow little thrusts.” He shakes his head. “I can’t. Can’t keep talking. ‘s too much.” His eyes meet Zach’s, instantly paralyzing the older man.

“Yeah, you can,” Zach says softly, unable to muster more than a creaking whisper. “Look what your voice is doing to me, how hard I am.” Chris looks – Zach’s cock is rock hard, leaking against his belly –and moans.

“He’s good at this, Zach. His fingers are pull— uh, pulling me open so his tongue can go deeper.” Zach can feel Chris’ fingers reflexively clutching and releasing the bed sheet, watches a bead of sweat roll down from Chris’ hairline.

“You’re gorgeous like this,” Zach whispers, unsure whether Chris can actually hear him or process what he’s saying. “Splayed open. Debauched. I could come just looking at you.”

Just then, Karl does something that makes Chris whine and lock his elbows, pushing back hard. Then Karl pulls away completely, leaving Chris panting and Zach staring helplessly at Chris’ swollen lips. “About time for the main event,” Karl says cheerfully, much too casual for someone who’s just had his tongue in Chris Pine’s ass.

Zach is watching as Karl gets up to finally pull off his pants and so is taken by surprise when Chris leans forward to rest his head on Zach’s shoulder. “Zach,” he huffs quietly, his breath hot on Zach’s skin. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this hard.”

“Me either,” Zach replies, unable to stop from lifting his hands and letting them run soothingly down Chris’ sides, over his back. Even damp with sweat, his skin is soft and he arches into Zach’s touch so wantonly.

“Been wanting this forever,” Chris whispers, and Zach has a sudden, irrational surge of hope for what “this” might mean. But then Karl is kneeling behind Chris again, tugging his hips until Chris is sitting back on his heels.

Karl reaches an arm around Chris and pumps his erection with short, hard strokes. “Would you like his cock, Zachary?” Karl asks casually, and if Chris minds his body being offered up like a piece of meat, his closed eyes and soft moan certainly don’t betray any disapproval.

“Yes,” Zach says evenly, reaching out for the bottle of lube, but Karl takes his hand off Chris’ cock, and when the younger man lets out a disappointed whine, Karl just grabs Chris’ hand and squirts a good amount of lube onto it.

“Get him ready, Chris. Do a good job and you might get my dick.”

Chris nods, his eyes hazy, and reaches between Zach’s spread legs. He’s surprisingly gentle at first, his trembling hand teasing Zach more than he probably means to. “More,” Zach says, flushing red when his voice cracks, but the rush of embarrassment is lost in the feel of Chris pushing a long finger into him. He squirms against it, but the younger man continues unhurried, tongue poking out between his lips again in a way that fascinates Zach. Unbidden, Zach’s hand rises to press against Chris’ face, his thumb sliding over the prominent cheekbone and Chris looks up to meet his eyes. Chris’ expression shows such sweet, open desire that Zach feels flattened by it, unable to respond at all. But Chris must sense how badly Zach needs him to continue, so he eases in another finger, scissoring them gently, and just when Zach thinks he’s going to go mad from the anticipation, Chris crooks his fingers, hitting all of Zach’s favorite nerve endings dead on.

Zach growls and grinds back against Chris’ hand, vaguely aware of Karl’s amused and encouraging voice in the background. Then Chris is pushing a third finger into him, and Zach is ready, so ready. But Chris continues, his movements becoming less smooth and rhythmic, and when Zach can finally get his eyes to focus, he can see that Karl is doing the same thing to Chris. The younger man’s fingers twitch hard inside of Zach when Karl grazes Chris’ prostate, and it’s an unholy tease. Zach lifts a foot to helpfully kick Karl in the thigh, and the older man just grins wickedly and gives Zach a slightly unsettling wink over Chris’ shoulder.

But then Zach hears the wet, sucking sound of Karl withdrawing his fingers, and much to his simultaneous disappointment and excitement, Chris does the same. Zach struggles to sit up a little, find a better position against the pillows as Chris and Karl don condoms.

“Now, Zachary,” Karl drawls, “I’m willing to bet that spectacular yoga body can bend in all kinds of deviant ways.”

It’s a line he’s heard before and Zach’s about to roll his eyes when he catches the look on Chris’ face. Entranced – there’s no other word for it, so he shoves down his brewing retort and instead swings his legs up, holding the back of his knees so that he’s nearly folded in half. And every hour he’s ever spent doing yoga when he’d rather be eating a cheeseburger or just lazily flopped on the couch is worth it for the barely audible whimper that leaves Chris’ lips.

“Go ahead, Chris,” Karl urges quietly, his lips brushing the back of Chris’ ear like the devil on his shoulder. “He’s ready for you.”

Chris leans forward on to Zach’s thighs, his eyes bluer and brighter than Zach’s ever seen them as he presses a tender kiss to Zach’s lips before reaching down and positioning himself at Zach’s entrance. His eyes fall shut as he pushes forward. It’s been a while since Zach’s bottomed, but it’s also been a while since he’s been with someone he’s wanted so much, had time to crave and fantasize about, so the burn of the stretch doesn’t matter nearly as much as the pleasure of watching Chris’ features go slack with bliss as he sinks into him.

Buried flush against Zach, Chris squirms and Zach can just barely see Karl’s face as he thrusts inside of Chris, stilling to let the younger man adjust. “You feel so good, Chris,” Zach murmurs mindlessly, feeling the deep ache in his own body ease as he watches the play of sensations across Chris’ face. “And you look so gorgeous, taking Karl’s cock. Tell me.”

“It’s—” Chris gasps, and he’s twice as intoxicating to watch when he’s so overwhelmed. “He’s big. Never done this before – fuck and be fucked at the same time. Too much.”

Karl cups Chris’ chin and turns the younger man’s head to kiss him. “Let’s have a little fun with Zachary, hmm?” he asks against Chris’ lips.

Zach barely has time to worry about what that might mean before Karl grabs Chris by the hips and yanks him back, still impaled on Karl’s cock, only to shove him forward again. He does it again, then again, fucking Zach with Chris as a living, breathing sex toy. Chris manages to look indignant for about half a second before his eyes slam shut and he moans, writhing in Karl’s hands, and it nearly does Zach in. When Karl’s grip relents and Chris finally finds the traction to thrust on his own, Zach sees stars. His eyes roll back and he has to clamp down hard to stave off his orgasm. It feels too fucking good to let it end just yet.

Chris’ weight is resting on Zach’s thighs now and the younger man’s jaw is working as he tries to find the right cadence between the two other men. He makes a stuttered little choking sound when they all hit their stride and Zach cranes up the best he can to kiss him. It barely counts as a kiss, since Chris is rocking roughly back and forth, pulled and shoved and clutched and pressed by two different pairs of hands and therefore too overwhelmed to kiss back, but Zach sucks on his delectably swollen lips when he can, nips lightly at his chin and the corners of his mouth when he can’t.

Chris is moaning steadily now, his thrusts becoming jerky, uneven, and Karl stops him, shoves forward until they’re all pinned together and growls, “Zach goes first.”

Chris groans even louder than Zach and pushes up on shaky arms when Karl backs off enough for him to move. He shifts as best he can, getting an arm under Zach’s backside and changing the angle so that the hard, flexing muscles of his lower belly press roughly against Zach’s cock with every thrust. “God, yeah,” Zach moans by way of encouragement. “Right there. So good.”

With a relieved little cry, Chris pistons his hips in quick, shallow thrusts, the head of his cock mercilessly rutting against Zach’s prostate. “C’mon, Zach,” he murmurs, his voice cracked and desperate. “You gotta come for me, please.”

Zach never could deny Chris anything. He erupts with a quiet gasp, the rush of blood in his ears nearly drowning out the sound of his name falling from Chris’ lips. When the motion of the other men’s hips matches up, Zach’s body jolts helplessly with the force and he lets it happen, riding the aftershocks, waiting for the inevitable moment when Chris keens and slams into him and stills, emptying himself inside Zach.

Karl is the last to come and he growls aggressively when he does, shoving a loose-limbed Chris hard into Zach’s still-folded body. Despite the yoga, he’s really beginning to hurt and he heaves a sigh of relief when Karl helps Chris pull back and out and his legs can go back to being where human anatomy intends them to be. He lets himself slide down the pillows, flexing his feet to get the feeling back. It’s one of the things he loves about bottoming – no need to deal with condom disposal or trying to get comfortable; just lie back and enjoy the afterglow.

His eyes are closed when he feels the weight and warmth of a body sliding into bed on either side of him. Since his breathing’s already slowed and he’s headed that way anyway, it’s easy enough to pretend he’s already fallen asleep as Chris and Karl settle in and pull the sheet up over them all.

“I think we may have killed him,” Karl chuckles, and Zach can feel him lying close but not quite touching.

Chris, however, seems to have no such compunctions, slinging his arm across Zach’s middle. “I don’t think it’s because of us,” he says, voice sounding as sleepy as Zach feels. “He once told me sex always knocks him out.”

Before he sinks into sleep, Zach has just enough time to wonder why the hell Chris remembers that.

&&&

The sound of a zipper wakes Zach from his sleep. He looks over to see Karl closing up the small black bag he’d brought and makes a soft, confused noise, reaching out to catch Karl’s wrist. “Whuh time ‘zit?” he mumbles.

“A little after four,” Karl whispers, and as Zach’s eyes adjust he sees that Karl’s dressed.

“Y’leaving?” he asks, brain trying to catch up to his surroundings.

“Yeah,” Karl says. “You should stay, though.”

“But—” Zach knows there’s something off, there’s a reason Karl’s leaving and probably a reason he should do the same, but his body’s warm and lax and his eyes are already trying to close again.

“Stay,” Karl says again, squeezing Zach’s hand and placing it back down on the bed. Zach’s asleep before Karl closes the door behind him

&&&

When Zach wakes again, the sunlight is filtering into the bedroom, turning Chris’ skin a soft gold.

Chris’ skin? Oh shit.

He doesn’t think he said it out loud, but he must have twitched a little because Chris is making a rumbling noise and trying to turn over. By the time he succeeds, Zach is too paralyzed with indecision to move.

“Zach?” Chris asks muddily, rubbing at his eyes. “You stayed.”

“Uh, yeah,” Zach says, not sure what the right response is to that.

“Good,” Chris gets out through a yawn. Then, as he glances around, “Where’s Karl?”

Zach’s heart drops in his chest. “He, uh, must’ve left already. I should get going, too.” He sits up, his face already starting to flush red, but Chris reaches out for him.

“You stayed,” Chris says again, something Zach can’t quite decipher in his eyes.

“I guess I should’ve asked first, but we didn’t really get around to discussing—”

“No, it’s… Zach, don’t go yet. Please.” He takes his hand back and stares pointedly at the pillow as Zach settles back down. “I’m, um. I’m really glad we did this.”

“Yeah,” Zach says, kicking himself for the little flutter of hope in his chest. “You finally got to live your Karl fantasy.”

“No. I mean, yeah, that, but also…” Chris shakes his head violently, muttering to himself. “Oh my god, Pine, just spit it out.” He takes a deep breath and looks Zach in the eye. “Ireallylikeyou.”

Zach is sure he misheard. “Whuh?”

“Look, I don’t know how Karl talked you into all this, but I was so stoked when I found out I could have both of you. And if you were only in it for the sex, that’s cool – that part was fucking insane, by the way – but there was a moment there, last night, when you touched my face and looked at me, and I thought maybe…”

He trails off, and Zach prods him. “Maybe?”

“Maybe we could, y’know, do it again. Without Karl. And maybe have dinner first.”

Zach chuckles unevenly to hide the surely-audible thump of his heart. “What makes you think I’m that kind of girl?”

“Zach, please.” Chris squirms. “This shit is hard for me, and you’ve given me, like, nothing to go on.”

Deep down, Zach knows it’s true – he usually likes to think his way of masking his nerves with a raised eyebrow or a well-timed smirk is charmingly droll, but maybe he’s just being kind of a dick. Zach shuts his eyes so he doesn’t have to see the pleading look on Chris’ face, but then he decides to come clean. “You think it’s hard for you… About last night? I was the one who talked Karl into it.”

He expects the look of shock on Chris’ face. He does not expect the next words out of his mouth. “Holy shit, you’re in love with Karl.”

At least it breaks the tension. Zach laughs genuinely and pops Chris upside the back of the head. “Where did you get that? No, you idiot, I’m in l— well, I’ve kind of got a thing for you.”

Zach watches as Chris’ expression goes from despairing to confused to elated, back to confused for a second and finally settles on mischievous. “What thing?” he asks, his hand dipping below the sheets to grope at Zach’s semi-hard cock. “This thing?”

“You are an utter imbecile,” Zach groans, but he also rolls so he’s completely on top of Chris, letting all of his weight press the younger man into the mattress. Chris lets go of him to rest his hands softly on the small of Zach’s back and Zach brushes his lips across Chris’ in the barest hint of a kiss.

He’s interrupted by a god-awful honking noise from across the room and he jerks back abruptly. “Jesus fuck, Pine, you hiding an evil clown in here?”

Chris laughs and pulls Zach back down on top of him. “Just a text message. I’ll deal with it later.” Zach shifts his hips so their hardening cocks rub together and Chris sighs, “Much later.”

&&&

They both receive the same text message at 9:04 am from a Karl U.

I’d better be invited to the wedding, bitches.