Brendon slept in on Friday; he doesn't wake up until three in the afternoon before getting out of bed to leave for Tyler and Josh's house.

Whenever he got the chance to sleep, he did. He is constantly drained by the cycle he's in. Work during the week and his mother's retirement home during the weekends, and now recently, he has been squeezing in two other people.

He never has days to himself anymore. He hasn't for years.

Brendon can barely open his eyes as he does his hair and brushes his teeth, still tired no matter how much sleep he got.

Truthfully, he didn't mind squeezing Tyler and Josh in, what he minded is not having time for them on the weekends like he wants. It would be so much better if he didn't have to worry about which day he got to see them, because if his weekends were free, it wouldn't be a problem.

His mother needs him though, he knows this.

It's absolutely dreadful he's the only person she really has left.

Brendon sighs, leaning into the sink and washing his face with cold, cold water to wake him up.

He's excited. He should be excited.

He changes into nothing fancy, and slips his glasses on while putting in the address to their home again. He doesn't remember exactly where it is, but he's sure if his Fridays continue to be consistent, he will.

Brendon toes into his sneakers before leaving his apartment, locking the door on the way out.

Lately, it's been pretty tame around the building. The homes kicked most people out for being so disruptive and getting too many complaints, even the people beside him. He's not mad about that at all, though. They would always keep him up at night because of how thin the walls are and much of a sex drive they had.

If anything, he's thankful.

He just hopes his new neighbors aren't as bad.

Brendon gets into his car quickly, more awake now than he was, and definitely much more ready to see Tyler and Josh.

He makes sure to turn some music on for the ride there.

***

Now that the sun is still out by the time he's there, he can fully see what their house looks like. It's a light blue with a white trim, and the lawn is so green it hurts his eyes. It's nothing like Brendon's home, it's much bigger and much nicer. There's even a flower bed full of daisies.

He gets out of the car, following the small path leading up to their door and timidly ringing the doorbell.

Again, there's barking. Instead of being worried like last time, he smiles.

It takes a moment, but soon enough Josh opens the door, just as happy. "Hey." He exclaims.

Jim comes running out to greet Brendon, tail wagging as he sniffs his shoes.

He laughs, leaning down to pet the dog who seemed more than excited to see Brendon again. He feels warm at the thought.

Finally, he looks back up at Josh. "Hey."

They're smiling at each other.

"Come in, we've just been watching TV and playing Uno." He says, chuckling and opening the door wider for him. Jim follows Brendon inside, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he does so.

As Josh closes the door, he holds Brendon's shoulder and says, "Oh, and just take your shoes off. We don't care if they stink." Which he ultimately blushes to.

He lets go of his shoulder and waits while Brendon slides his shoes off sheepishly, laying them down beside many others on the floor.

Afterwards, he and Josh walk side by side into the living room. Tyler's sitting down on the rug in front of the coffee table, one knee pulled to their chest while eating a bag of chips. They're wearing baggy, yellow, camouflage pants and a huge black t-shirt that hangs off their shoulder.

"Hey, Brendon." They mutter.

"Hi." He nods, biting his cheek.

He follows Josh's lead and sits down on the rug too, Uno cards spread out along the table.

Jim snuggles into Brendon's leg, begging for attention, and receiving it. He scratches the back of his ear, which the dog closes his eyes to pleasantly.

"He missed you." Tyler says quietly, hiding the bottom of their face behind their knee.

Brendon smiles at that. He missed him too.

He missed all three of them.

He and Josh are nearly shoulder to shoulder. He watches him gather all the cards and shuffle them while watching whatever is on the television. Brendon finds more interest in Tyler though, who's pulling up the neckline of their shirt because of how exposed they were.

It's no use, the sleeve falling right back down.

Their whole shoulder is hanging out, their collarbone too.

Brendon sucks in his lip looking at the chokers on their neck, a thick velvet one and a generic one beneath it. Their Adam's apple looks restrained.

Tyler looks his way, they meet eyes.

"Let's make brownies."

"Brownies?" Brendon questions.

They shrug. "I'm hungry."

"Yeah, me too." He hasn't eaten all day because he had been sleeping in. He wants a meal but brownies seem fine for right now.

Tyler stands, their pants so loose they have a belt on, a long one. It hangs down to their thigh and swings when they walk out of the living room.

Brendon turns to Josh for his input.

"Go, I'll be in there in a second." He nudges him slightly, still shuffling the cards. He's far too focused on what's happening in the show to get up right now. Brendon knows he most likely won't join them until the episode finishes.

He nods, biting down on his cheek again and standing, which Jim huffs to.

Brendon makes his way into the other room, hesitantly stopping at the entrance to look at all the photos hanging on the walls since he didn't get to much the last time he was here. The majority of them are of Tyler and Josh, he catches one of them at their wedding. They're both wearing matching tuxes.

He didn't know what he expected, but it also seems odd.

Brendon wouldn't guess Tyler would wear a classic tuxedo, maybe he just doesn't know them well enough yet.

He looks at another photo, there's many people in this one.

"That's Josh's family."

Brendon jumps at Tyler's voice, turning to gauge their reaction, afraid they might be upset at him for looking around.

They don't seem to care, they never do.

Brendon looks back at the photo.

Tyler points to someone beside Josh. "That's his brother Jordan." Then points to the girls beside him. "And these are his sisters, Abigail and Ashley." Tyler's in the picture, hair grown out while Josh's is pink. Brendon's eyebrows lift. "Oh, and his dad Bill, and mom Laura."

"Josh's hair. . ." Is all he says.

Tyler licks their lips. "He used to dye it all the time. Pink, yellow, blue."

"Why'd he stop?"

They fiddle with the waistline of their pants, head tilted in thought. "He said he's too old for it now."

Brendon doesn't speak up after that, he continues to look at all the pictures. There's so many, making him fully aware of the life they have together. They're so invested in one another, they're so domestic. It makes his throat feel tight.

Tyler seems to notice his uneasiness. "C'mon, let's bake."

Brendon breathes out heavily, nodding.

They walk into the kitchen together, the oven already on to preheat. He then looks over to the table, seeing the bouquets still in the center. He can't help the tug at his lips, happy to see them good as new and not dying.

Tyler pulls out a large glass bowl and a mixer, bag of chips in hand.

Brendon notices they never grab a box of brownie mix, his eyebrows furrow. "Are we making them from scratch?"

"Yeah." They answer easily.

"Oh." He's surprised.

Tyler brings out all the ingredients, knowing Brendon wouldn't know where any of them would be. There's sugar, butter, eggs, flour, and so much more all sitting on the counter, measuring cups included. They don't say anything but their eyes gesture him over, he slowly moves until he's right beside them.

"Measure for me." Tyler says, not asks. They seem to do that a lot.

Brendon utters an okay, taking his sweater off before anything.

"Half a cup of butter." They know this off the top of their head.

He takes the lid off the butter container and scoops the amount needed into a measuring cup, dropping it all into the bowl once there's enough.

"One cup of white sugar,"

It goes like that for a bit, Tyler telling Brendon all the measurements for each ingredient and him making sure he has just that. He keeps his head low as he does so, glancing at them every so often while his hands shake. This doesn't stop until Tyler cuts in to crack the eggs.

Brendon moves to the side, watching them hold the egg at the corner of the bowl.

"Ever cracked an egg with one hand?" They inquire.

He shakes his head, knuckles going pale as he grips onto the counter harshly. Tyler hits the egg, once, twice, on the bowl, cracking it open and seeing it fall into the rest of the ingredients with no pieces of shell lingering.

They grab another egg. "Here, try." They hand it to him, switching positions.

"I don't know," Brendon mumbles.

"I taught Josh. I can teach you." Tyler assures, carefully moving behind him.

Brendon's breath hitches as Tyler holds onto the back of his hand, guiding it over to the corner of the bowl and hitting it once, twice, again. They're pressed against his backside, completely unbothered, but Brendon is so unbelievably flustered.

Josh walks into the kitchen as this is happening, biting down on his lip and sitting at the barstool, snickering slightly.

Brendon's red, and Josh's eyes are on him.

"Lift your fingers." Tyler whispers in his ear.

He does, the yolk falling with no shell. He can feel his lungs deflating the entire time.

They both stare down at it, staying body-to-body. Tyler's hand is a lot lighter than Josh's but definitely not as delicate. It's much more demanding, rough, assertive, even.

Tyler pulls away. "You did it."

Brendon blinks, and blinks again. Looking at Tyler, then to Josh. "Y-yeah." He swallows.

The latter grins, swiping his tongue across his teeth before connecting eyes with his husband. They pull up their shirt from the neckline once more, the sleeve falling, once more.

Brendon breath is stuttering, quietly throwing the eggshell away and washing his hands while Tyler begins mixing all the ingredients together to form a batter.

He decides to sit down.

Jim is watching Tyler from the corner of the kitchen, ears perked up at the loud noise.

Brendon is still flushed.

Josh knows how to play him well, too, he squeezes his hand momentarily beneath the countertop, which makes the reddening in his cheeks worse. Brendon hides his face in his arms, shaking his head as a response.

The two of them sit there, listening to the sound of the mixer until Tyler finally turns it off. Brendon lifts his head.

They pop off the whisks, giving one to Brendon while licking the batter off the other themself.

He observes them, seeing Tyler move their tongue along the whisk to collect all the batter. Was he supposed to be doing the same? He doesn't know. He does it anyways, though, licking up timidly and humming because of the sweet taste.

Tyler hands Josh the rest.

They spray a pan, and pour the brownie mix into it. The oven goes off at this time, indicating it was done preheating.

Brendon continues to lick the whisk clean, feeling weird. He was always told when he was younger this was bad for him because he had a chance of getting salmonella, or something along those lines.

He doesn't care right now.

"Wanna postmate something? I'm fucking starving." Josh asks.

"Postmate?" Brendon's never heard of it.

Josh places the whisk into the bowl once it's cleaned off. "Yeah, someone basically brings food to your house."

Tyler slides the pan of brownie batter into the oven and setting the time. They lean down to pet Jim, running their fingers through his coat. "I want Taco Bell."

Josh lifts an eyebrow towards Brendon.

He pulls the whisk away from his mouth. "Yeah, uh, Taco Bell sounds good."

Josh nods, pulling out his phone. "What do you want?"

Brendon hasn't been to Taco Bell in a while, he nearly forgets what's there, or what he buys. He doesn't want anything too special, because he's postive Josh will be paying, again. "Uhm, two doritos locos tacos, if that's alright."

Josh is typing, looking up at Tyler. "Babe?"

"Crunchwrap supreme." They reply.

Tyler pulls their shirt up another time. Brendon wants to tell them there's no point, he doesn't.

Once Josh finishes typing everything into his phone, he turns to Brendon. "What do you wanna do while we wait?"

He's not the person to ask. This is their home, who is he to make any decisions for them right now? He only follows their lead, happily doing whatever they'd like him do if it meant they were able to spend time together.

Brendon nervously shrugs.

"You haven't seen the whole house yet, have you?" He realizes.

"No,"

Josh stands. "Well, come on, then."

Brendon walks behind Josh, being lead into the hallway where they were last Friday, this time, though, they go through another door. It's like an office, two desks, two computers, and many post-it notes strung along one of the monitors.

"This is our computer room, since we both are usually working online." Josh informs.

There's even a dog bed in the corner for Jim.

Josh closes the door, instead walking a bit further to another one where light was shining through. A backdoor.

"And our backyard. It's not very big, but," he and Brendon step outside.

Brendon almost gasps. There's too big trees and a hammock in the middle of them, grass just as green as the front yard. He purses his lips into a smile, seeing a small firepit and a few chairs around it as well.

"We make s'mores a lot." Josh pipes up.

Brendon hasn't sat in a hammock for God knows how long, he hopes he'll be able to again soon.

He has vivid memories of cuddling against his mother's side during the summer in their old hammock, the breeze tickling his skin and the sun peaking through the branches. It was nice.

"We'll have to sit out here and make them sometime."

"Definitely." Brendon agrees.

The two of them walk back inside, heading up the stairs once they're out of the hall. Tyler's in the living room once again, watching TV with Jim at their side.

Josh points to one of the doors once they're on the second level of the house. "This is the other bathroom." He turns to the next door, opening it for Brendon to see inside. "This is our bedroom."

Brendon feels awkward looking into their room. This is where they sleep together, this is where they make love. He swallows roughly at the thought, knowing more than just that has happened in here, too.

They walk further inside.

"Oh, and you know how I told you the majority of the closet is Tyler's? Yeah, I wasn't kidding." He gestures to the opened closet, most of it being filled with clothes Brendon could never see Josh in.

"Wow. . ." He mumbles.

"There's more. It's just in the hall closet." He shakes his head, chuckling.

"They like to dress, uh," Brendon stops himself, not wanting to say something he'd regret.

"Differently? Yeah."

"Oh, I thought I was just being mean." Brendon whispers, eyes shifting downwards.

Josh titters. "They know." He tries to reassure him. "They don't care, really. They just like wearing stuff that makes them feel comfortable." His shoulders lift.

"They pull it off well." Brendon admits.

"For sure." Josh says, smirking.

They don't spend any more time in the bedroom, which he's extremely thankful for. Instead, they head back downstairs, until they're in the living room. Josh sits down on the couch beside Tyler, who immediately lays their socked feet in his lap, eyes glued to the television.

Josh stares up at Brendon as he continues to stand there in an uncomfortable manner.

He sighs, reaching up to grab his hand, and carefully pulling him down onto the couch until they are hip-to-hip.

"Don't be scared." Is all he says, hand resting on his knee.

Brendon exhales heavily, letting Josh's words sink in. He knows he has nothing to be afraid of around them, yet he can't help it. Tyler's curling their toes into Josh's thigh, fingers resting at the nape of his neck, gently tugging at the small curls there. Josh is leaning into their touch, and that's when Brendon notices a dark hickey that had been hiding behind his hair.

His eyes go wide, examining it subtly.

Brendon has an idea of why Tyler hung up so fast the other day, now.

He licks his lips anxiously, far too focused on Josh's touch than anything else.

Everything is so casual, like they've done this before.

Everything is so casual, like the three of them are already together.

He moves his hand towards Josh's in apprehension, turning his head towards him. Josh looks down at his lap, then back to Brendon. He smiles while connecting their hands, fingers lacing together and thumb running over his knuckles.

Brendon's heart skips a beat, grip becoming tighter.

This is okay. He wanted this.

He worries his hands might be clammy, or that Tyler might feel excluded. The thought makes his stomach ache, knowing he's already mistreated them so much.

He reminds himself that Josh wouldn't do anything to hurt them. This is okay.

***

They sat like that until their food came, Josh slowly pulling his hand out of Brendon's to answer the door. The brownies finished baking and Tyler had set them out to cool down a bit beforehand.

Now, though, the three of them sat around the coffee table, food in front of them and stomachs grumbling loudly.

Tyler doesn't waste time, already unwrapping their crunchwrap and taking a big bite, humming in a pleased manner. Josh is doing the same, he got nacho fries that Brendon has never seen but definitely wants to try.

Brendon sluggishly begins eating his taco.

Jim is prowling around them, trying to sneak in a bite for himself. He already knows neither Tyler nor Josh would give him anything, so he crawls behind Brendon in hopes for some food.

When looking down at those big brown eyes, he couldn't help but cave, breaking off a piece of the taco shell and secretly giving it to the dog.

Josh and Tyler don't notice.

Brendon turns back around and watches the show, pretending nothing happened.

***

After finishing all their food, they played Uno and ate the brownies, which for some reason tasted so much better than usual. Brendon guessed it was because he and Tyler made them from scratch, or maybe Tyler really is just that good in the kitchen.

He doesn't know, he doesn't care, he only eats more than he should.

"Don't eat the corner pieces." Josh warns him.

"Why?" He asks.

"Those are Tyler's." He replies, snickering.

Brendon looks to Tyler who stares at him while grabbing a corner piece. Brendon laughs, nodding.

He avoids the corners and instead settles for the middle pieces. He preferred them, anyways.

***

It's around eight when Brendon starts becoming tired. The lights are off in the living room and he has his head resting against the arm of the couch while watching TV. Josh is laying between Tyler's legs, back against their chest as they run their fingers through his curls, eyes hooded.

It's been like this for awhile.

He sighs, sitting up straighter.

He didn't necessarily want to leave, but he also wanted to be able to get a good night's rest before having to leave for his mom's in the morning.

Brendon purses his lips, reluctantly tapping on Josh's leg to grab his attention.

He hums questionably, titling his head.

"I, uh, I think I should go. I'm really busy this weekend." He says quietly.

He's busy every weekend, this isn't new.

Josh nods, he understands. He grabs the remote to pause the show and whispers something to Tyler before standing up from their hold. Brendon does the same, sluggishly walking into the entrance to slide his shoes back on.

Most lights in the house were turned off, but the kitchen light is still on to help in the dark.

Jim walks into the entrance as well, plopping down onto Brendon's feet after he had gotten his shoes on so he couldn't move. The latter chuckles, squating to give him a few good head scratches before he leaves.

"Jim is already so attached to you." Josh laughs.

"I'm already attached to him, so it works." Brendon shrugs, standing back up and shuffling his feet out from under the dog.

He looks over to Josh, who's biting his lip. "I'm already attached to you," he mutters, smiling unapologetically and pulling Brendon into a tight hug faster than he could blink. Flushed at his chest and ears, he embraces him with just the same amount of affection.

It's overwhelming to have Josh so open about his feelings, he's trying to welcome them.

Yeah, Brendon's is undoubtedly attached to him as well.

He pulls away, clearing his throat with a small enough smile.

Brendon looks behind Josh only to see Tyler watching the interaction with a crooked face.

He doesn't need to think about it to know it's right. He walks towards them, wrapping his arms around their waist and pulling them close. Close enough to where his ear presses against their chest, close enough to hear the loud beat of their heart.

Tyler might be in shock. It takes them a moment to register what's happening before they're hugging him back. Their fingers dig into his back like their chin to his shoulder, he doesn't mind, he's overjoyed.

"Thank you," Brendon whispers into their shirt.

They audibly swallow. "Y-yeah. Of course."

Maybe he holds onto them longer than he should. He's only trying to savor it.

He finally pulls away, looking into their eyes. He's made them blush.

"I'll see you soon." He finishes, turning around to open the door.

The look on Josh's face has proven he has nothing to worry about. Brendon's suddenly engulfed by this flourishing feeling, knowing, for once, everything is good. More than good. He's pushing himself in the direction he should have been headed a long time ago.

Josh nods, confirming. "Bye."

Brendon breathes. Free. "Bye." As he leaves, walking out of their home.

It's cold still, yet Brendon has never felt more warm.