Linder couldn't just swallow his nerves and relax. He rubbed his hands together and frowned at how slow the vehicle was going.

"It'll be fine," said Eden. He did his best to reassure him as he drove the car towards Alexander's gates.

Linder smiled a small smile on his direction and tried. "Okay," he said.

Although Linder didn't know how he was going to keep up the smile when he faced Pierre.

He'd opened up to Eden and told him everything, what he'd expected to see was a flash of disappointment on Eden's face, some type of ridicule, perhaps even a little hatred or a scornful look. But he received none of that.

Eden's gaze had softened as he rubbed his arm. "You need to make things right," he'd said.

Linder breathed in relief and nodded. "Yeah... I know. I just don't know when."

"That's fine," Eden had said. "I can find out when they'll all be there so you could speak with them."

"Really?" Asked Linder.

"Yeah it's no problem," replied Eden.

          Lately whenever he kissed Eden's cheek, it made the other man look at him softly and set his blood alight. So he did it again.

"Hey Linder," was what everyone literally said. They asked how he was doing, they were being really nice to him and he hadn't expected that.

"You don't have to be nice to me, I know what I did was wrong, I shouldn't have said that. I am so sorry especially to you Jet and you Pierre. It was disgusting of me. I have no excuse and please don't make one up for me. I hope you can forgive me."

Pierre looked at him and pursed his lips before releasing them again. Even now that Linder didnt hold any special feelings towards him anymore, he couldn't help but feel a little shaken by how beautiful he was.

"It's okay Linder. I got over that. I'm not insecure anymore," said Pierre.

Linder knew that Pierre could never be mean, even if he tried, but the words still felt like a jab, even if he was happy to hear that.

"Still, I'm sorry," said Linder.

Pierre nodded. "It's fine. I'm not trying to make an excuse for you, but I know it was coming from somewhere. That wasn't the real you, at least from my perspective."

Linder felt relieved as he nodded, aware of Eden's comforting warmth next to him.

"Jet," he started again. "I used you, to fight my inner demons. Just because you looked like someone I hated, didn't make you them. I realised that, and I never should have victimised you."

Jet shook his head, "As long as you don't hurt anyone I love, again. And as long as you're okay Linder. I don't blame you. That...Carl, I know he put you through a lot."

"I wouldn't," replied Linder. "I'd never want to hurt anyone again."

"Then it's all good," said Jet.

"Could I, um... speak to Mason?" Asked Linder.

"Sure," Jet answered. He whipped his phone out and after tapping for a few seconds, pressed it to his ear.

"Hey baby, where are you?" Jet asked. The rest of everything he said was muffled because he walked away to continue talking to Mason.

Jet walked back while putting his phone away. "Well, he's actually here, just driving up front."

As they waited for Mason to get in, Eden rubbed the back of Linder's hand to make him feel better. Linder leaned his forehead at the side of Eden's neck for just a few seconds. It made all the difference, and gave him another dose of courage.

"Linder! You look down," said Mason.

"Well..." Linder drifted off, not knowing what to say. Thankfully, Mason changed the subject.

"How is Tadashi now?" He asked.

"He's almost as good as new now," said Linder. "Can I speak to you?" He asked nervously.

"Yeah, of course," said Mason. He kissed Jet, then Pierre, and then led the way out of the room.

"It's been a while since I last spoke to you, you know," said Linder, unable to meet Mason's face.

"Yeah, a lot has happened since then, hasn't it?" He replied.

"Yeah, uh... Mason, I'm sorry for hurting you," said Linder.

"You didn't–"

Linder expected him to deny it. "I did, and I know, because I did it on purpose. I'm sorry." Linder adjusted his glasses and pushed his hair back. "When you told me that you had feelings for me, I told you I held no feelings for you. I lied at that time. I only said it so you would hurt. And the day I got disqualified, I acted like a major asshole to you."

Mason's lips twisted in a manner that showed he was a little confused. "You don't think I know that you were trying to protect me?"

Linder quickly snapped his head to him. "What?"

"Yeah, I know," He said. "I figured it out later, but I know you lied about not feeling for me, because you held yourself in such low regard that you thought you were doing me a favor." Mason looked him in the eye. "You were so fragile Linder. Seeing you hurt, always hurt. But through it all, I knew you cared about me."

Linder's mouth hang open.

"But that's all in the past now, don't you think? Yes, granted, there had been feelings involved, I think Jet more than anyone else.  But as I said, past," said Mason. He made a motion with his hands like he was shooing a fly away.

"It's Tadashi, isn't it?" Mason sat across from him and smiled. "Tell me all about it."

Linder couldn't help it, his eyes watered and soon, the tears escaped his eyes. "Aw, no," said Mason. "Don't–"

"No... you're all being so nice and I don't deserve that. I've been such..."

"It's okay now, things do happen," said Mason.

Linder sniveled and wiped his tears, then looked to Mason who smiled again.

"So, are you going to tell me?" He asked.

"Well, you are partially right," replied Linder.

Mason leaned in. "What, there's more?"

"Yeah," said Linder.

"What?" Mason wiggled his eyebrows.

"Eden too," said Linder.

Mason gasped and Linder felt his own face heat up. "Let's grab lunch sometime, or brunch, and you'll give me all the juicy details. Deal?"

"Deal," said Linder. "Thank you."

"We're friends now, so stop being all formal," said Mason.

Linder chuckled despite himself and nodded.

Riley was just walking in when Linder and Mason got back to the room where the others were.

"Hey," said Riley.

He always knew Riley was the jovial type. The look on his face wasn't hostile, but it wasn't friendly either.

"Come on," said Mason. "You can do better than that."

Riley immediately faltered and rubbed a hand against his neck. "Hey Linder," he tried again. "How are you doing?"

"Uh... I'm great," Linder answered, a little shocked at how a few words from Mason just  changed Riley's entire demeanor. He seemed shy, even. 

"That's more like it," Mason said and tiptoed to kiss him. Linder watched as the never-shaken Riley he knew, became a complete mess.

•••

Eden felt Linder wrap his arms around him and lean his head on his chest.

Linder had asked him to join him in the backseat for just a short moment and he obliged immediately.

It should have been fine, except it wasn't. Why was his heart beating so fast? Why was Linder slowly turning and looking innocently up at him? He was so fucked.

"Eden?" Linder said and he was forced to look back at him, his heart beating wildly now.

"Yeah, baby?" He answered as if he was calm; he was anything but.

          "What if I'm growing to..." Linder blinked and shook his head.

          "Growing to wh–" Eden didn't get to finish his question.

          Linder's lips were so soft as they slid over his own. His heart hammered this time, as he kissed back.

          Linder's hand sought his and he intertwined their fingers. A gesture so sweet that Eden nipped his lower lip and kissed him more impatiently.

          The man in his arms whimpered as Eden tried not to lose it, but unable to break the kiss at the same time.

          "I think I... I think I could kiss you all day..." Linder blushed. "Am I going crazy?"

          Eden was flushed too as he answered him. "That would make two of us," he pushed Linder's hair away from his face and tucked it behind his ear.

Linder too, pushed his hair away too and smiled shyly at him.

Eden couldn't really smile back. He was trying his best to count backwards in his head before his desire for the other guy could overpower everything.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Linder asked and turned away. "It's making me feel self conscious."

Eden chuckled and pulled him close. He pecked his lips. "You don't know what you do to me."

          He watched Linder flush again. He acknowledged the fact that he was getting addicted to his smile at an alarming rate. But he wanted it so bad.

•••

When the two got back home, they found Tadashi cleaning up broken pieces of glass. "What happened?" Linder asked and they were immediately at his side.

"A glass slipped from my hand," Tadashi shook his head. "I need to talk to you both."

They got to his bedroom and all sat on the bed, the two watching Tadashi expectantly.

"I've been zoning out a lot lately, and I don't want to keep it a secret anymore," said Tadashi.

"What are you talking about?" Asked Eden.

"Thoughts of Carl have been filling my head a lot and sometimes, I can't really concentrate. I keep thinking about what I could have done better. I mean I literally killed him. How does that make you both feel?" Asked Tadashi.

"Glad," said Linder immediately.

"Happy," said Eden without a second thought.

Tadashi was taken aback. "But, with my bare hands..."

Eden took those same bare hands into his own and kissed them. "Shush it, Tadashi. What were your thoughts at that time? Did you just kill him because you felt like it?"

"No, of course not," he replied.

"Well, yeah. He was a psychotic asshole and I really wouldn't want it any other way. you'll probably feel guilty but that's because you're a good person. You are a good human being," Eden cupped his cheek. "You're so amazing Tadashi."

"I'm not saying I'm the one who decides if he deserves to die or not, but I genuinely think it's for the best. And you don't have to worry about us thinking of you any less, if anything, I..." Eden hesitated.

"What?" Asked Tadashi curiously.

"Nothing, but... you did what you had to," said Eden.

"I want you both to know why I was so paranoid about Carl getting anywhere near Mikky," said Linder.

He immediately had the attention of the other two. "Did he get violent with him? asked Tadashi, already annoyed.

"Not exactly," answered Linder. He bit his lip like it was painful to say it. "My grandfather died, but a little before that, I'd had to go and take care of him for a while. It would only be for two weeks," Linder paused. "At that time, I was already dating Carl. I was genuinely in love with him, he was the first person I ever fell for. Everything was perfect, until that time."

Linder suddenly looked uncomfortable as he continued. "He complained a lot, saying he'd miss me too much. I called him cute and left anyways. And after the first week, he took Mikhail."

The two men listening to him, froze.

"Just took him. Lily went crazy. No one knew where Mikky was. No one even knew Carl had taken him. When I got back," Linder said with a somber expression. "I found that Mikky was with him. I asked him what was going on and he tried to distract me by kissing me, but I was already too distracted by the look on Mikky's face. Normally, it is hard to tell what Mikky is feeling because he is hard to read, but I know my brother. Something was terribly wrong. I pushed Carl out of the way and grabbed him. He'd never hugged me so tight in his life." Tadashi cupped his cheek and stroked with his thumb as Linder leaned in to the touch for a moment before continuing.

"When I asked him what was wrong, he just didn't speak. I demanded the truth from Carl, asking him what was wrong with Mikhail and why he wasn't talking to me of all people. Even sometimes, Mikky could fail to speak to Lily, but never to me," said Linder. "I took Mikky back home and got back to Carl immediately. I needed to get to the bottom of it. I pestered him and took sex off the table, he wasn't even allowed to touch me, I wouldn't let him close until he caved in, quite easier than I thought he would."

Linder shrugged. "Then he told me everything he'd done to Mikky in detail. He'd... molested him in all ways he could think of. His fucking excuse was that he'd missed me and my brother looked so much like me, he couldn't resist."

"I'd never been so shocked in my life. This was someone I loved, and was sure loved me back. And I'm away for two weeks and the first thing he thought to do was molest my baby brother!" Linder could feel his blood boil. "I'd never been so violent in my life. I beat him up."

"Did he–" Tadashi began to ask.

"No, it's probably the only reason I can say I beat him up. He was obviously stronger than me but he never fought back. Carl has never raised a hand against me, he's never caused me any physical pain. Not even once. So I hit him and he let me. I hit him till he was bloody. I used everything I could get my hands on against him, but never once did he hit back," said Linder. "I broke up with him right there. I still don't know how I did it, but that same day, somewhow, I got him locked up. Until he somehow found a way to resurface in my life."

"After getting him locked up, Mikky did not speak for a month after that, not even a word. Sometimes, he flinched when I touched him," said Linder. "It took a while for him to come back to even a little bit of himself, to even let me take his shirt off, so that he could shower."

"So Tadashi," Linder looked to him. "If you said you killed Carl, and I tell you that I'm glad you did, then you better believe me. I am so glad he's dead."

Eden looked so shattered as he couldn't take his eyes off Linder. He almost looked mad, like he'd lost his mind. Linder got the feeling that if Carl was alive right now, he'd wish he wasn't.

There were two soft knocks on the door. "Come in," said Tadashi.

The door opened to reveal Mikhail. He got in and locked the door behind him. The boy didn't take his eyes off Eden as he got onto the bed next to him.

"Eden, why are you crying?" Asked Mikhail.

Eden quickly grabbed him and engulfed him in a tight hug, refusing to let go. Mikhail just patted Eden's back softly. "Don't cry," he said. "I hate it when you're sad."

Eden shook his head. "I love you, Mikky," he said.

The little boy struggled to say it back. "I...I–"

"It's okay, sweetie," said Eden. "Take your time."

This time, Mikhail shook his head fiercely. "Love... Love you too."

•••

Tadashi lay awake thinking that night. A lot. He was thinking so much he didn't hear Eden come in.

"Hey," said Eden, nuzzling him.

"Hey," Tadashi welcomed him with open arms.

Linder came in next and climbed onto the bed, until the three of them were cuddling and holding each other close.

Eden reached a hand across Tadashi and cupped Linder's jaw before turning his face and kissing him, causing Tadashi to curse under his breath.

Linder then grabbed Tadashi and pressed their lips together, letting out a sigh.

And then it was Eden kissing Tadashi, and everyone kissing everyone as their bodies rubbed and moved against each other.

It felt like the sound of lips smacking went on for hours and hours. No one could tire of the other, and with every second the desire intensified.

"I think we should give this a try," said Linder as he watched Tadashi's tongue glide into Eden's mouth. He licked his own lips.

"It'll hardly be a try," Tadashi broke away to say. "We fit so perfectly together."

"Agreed, I'm in love with the idea of calling you both mine," said Eden.

"Well it's not an idea anymore, is it?" Linder smiled cheekily.

"No," said Tadashi. "Definitely not."

Tadashi only knew that this moment existed in his wildest dreams and yet, it was here. His heart close to bursting.

He couldn't tear his eyes away as Eden and Linder kissed, there was just something so sweet about it he couldn't bear to look away.

Until they both pulled him in, and he was lost in their touches and kisses.

Goosebumps broke out on Tadashi's skin when Eden massaged his crotch. He hissed and cussed with his eyes closed.

Linder decided to tease him but fondling him too. They teased him so much he'd had enough.

Tadashi spun them around and pinned the two men down. They both smiled like they both got just what they wanted.

Tadashi was already leaning down when he stopped. His head turned towards the direction of the door.

"Tadishi!" Mikhail said from the other side.

"Yes, honey," answered Tadashi. "What's wrong?"

"I want Eden!" He replied.

"Right, we have kids," said Linder, earning quiet laughs from the two men.

"Coming sweetie!" Eden said before kissing the other two. "This isn't over."

Tadashi slumped back onto the bed and sighed. Linder brought his head to rest on his chest. "I miss him already," he said.

"Tell me about it," Tadashi agreed.