When Ricky first woke up to find his face burried in EJ's chest, he was a little disoriented--not at all disappointed, but it took a moment to register everything that had happened last night. Gina's arm was drapped over his waist, and he was happy to play the little spoon. The morning rays shone against the comforter, and as Ricky yawned, he found it a little cruel that the sun would come in so soon, just when this was starting to feel like something common.

But he was dating both of them now, so soon enough, these things would feel commonplace--which was something that seven-thirty-in-the-morning Ricky could simply not process.

Oh. Seven-thirty.

EJ's phone alarm was blaring, and Ricky groaned, leaning over to his side to turn off that obnoxious jovial ring. At that moment, of course, EJ's eyes fluttered open to see Ricky hovering over him with no context, pratically chest-to-chest.

"Well," EJ cleared his throat, his morning voice low in a way that made Ricky's stomach drop as if he were still on those waterslides from yesterday. "It's pretty early in the morning...and in our relationship...but I'll hear you out."

"I'm trying to turn off your phone alarm, you perv," Ricky fired back, tapping the snooze button before settling back down in the sheets.

"What's going on?" Gina asked with a yawn, sitting up blearily. "We gotta get going, right? To see the, uh...the..." she made a movement with her finger in the air, like a Disney channel star drawing the mouse, but only drawing one elongated ear.

"The arch," EJ supplied with venom, his mood suddenly shifting as he swung his legs off the bed, reluctantly sitting up. "Come on, let's go."

Gina, sensing the shift in tone, frowned. "It's still gonna be a fun day, I'm sure. I'm excited to see the arch."

EJ sighed, then put on a smile. "Yeah, I know you're right, I'm sorry--it's just the whole thing with seeing my dad afterwards...but I'm not gonna let it get me worked up, I still want this to be a fun trip."

"It will be," Ricky added.

The pair looked at him, and Ricky suddenly felt as if he were in the spotlight again--people were looking at him, expecting something from him. But what was he allowed to say? How much could he say? What if he supported EJ too much and left Gina in the dust, or the other way around?

"I mean, I think I'm starting to understand why you're going through with this whole trip in the first place." Ricky started. "I think, even if it doesn't go well...you'll have your answer for what you want to do."

EJ hesitated, then smiled again, the look slightly sad. "Yeah--yeah, I'll figure it out. And in the meantime, I won't even worry about it--we'll see the arch, get some lunch...it'll be fun..."

He went over and kissed Gina's cheek, then Ricky's, then went into the bathroom for what Ricky could only assume was his nine-step morning skincare routine. Honestly, doubt settled into him at the sincerity of EJ's claim--but as his fingertips traced the spot on his cheek where EJ had kissed him, he wanted nothing more than to believe him.

---

Admittedly, the weird museum exhibit that has stretched across the entire ground floor of the arch was a little boring--not that Ricky was going to admit that out loud. EJ had said he'd been here before--his father had shown him around years ago, a memory EJ seemed to have mixed feelings about. He'd taken a newfound interest in the architecture, but based on the looks Gina sent Ricky's way, the pair of them didn't feel quite the same way.

Even once the self-guided tour was over, there were tons of videos they were made to watch in line before getting into the incredibly cramped elevators; Ricky couldn't help but think that this was not the way he wanted to initiate physical affection with either of them, but luckily it was minimally awkward.

When they finally reached the top, though, it was totally worth it. The buildings felt like they were from a whole other world, and Ricky could spot some kind of ad playing on the nearby stadium's giant jumbotron.

"Wow," Ricky whistled, taking in everything he could from the tiny window. "I can't believe Percy Jackson jumped off this thing."

EJ laughed, nudging Ricky's shoulder with his own. "You're at the top of a national landmark that thousands of people visit every day, and you're thinking about a middle-grade book?"

"Not just any middle-grade book," Ricky replied, bumping him right back. "Percy Jackson, the greatest series of all time--of course, I'd understand if you never read them, so you just don't get it."

"I was actually also thinking about Percy Jackson," Gina commented, sliding in on EJ's other side, making the tiny space quite cramped--but it was worth it, of course. "The description of the water on the other side was pretty accurate, it looks like actual mud down there. And how were they supposed to have such a big fight in such a small space? If I swung a sword around any way, I'd probably knock out one of the windows."

Ricky found himself dumbstruck; he supposed in all his conversations with Gina, of everything they had in common, Percy Jackson never came up--which was preposterous, because he could talk fabout it for hours.

"If you keep talking about Percy Jackson, I might just pop the question," Ricky joked--then the moment it came out of his mouth, he wished he could just reel it back in. That was totally uncool and too soon to joke like that, right? Once they got back to the room, they'd probably say that they 'did some talking' and realized 'they weren't ready' for this type of relationship.

To his surprise, though, Gina laughed, and EJ joined her, not seeming to mind at all.

"For your information, Bowen, I was a huge Percy Jackson fan as a kid," EJ said. "I was just surprised to hear you mention it here of all places."

"Well of course I had to--that chapter in the first book was one of my favorites." Ricky replied. "But I also really liked the fourth book as a whole..."

For the rest of their viewing time (minus snapping a few pictures) and getting back into that unreasonably tiny elevator, Ricky felt like he could continue to ramble about his interests to Gina and EJ. Not only ramble, but they would actually talk with him about these things in a way Nini and Big Red never did. Not that there was anything wrong with them, but Gina and EJ were just...different. It all just clicked in a way nothing had before.

After the arch, they all made their way down to a well-known local pizza place. While it was cool to try St. Louis style thin crust pizza, it did bring up one of the other dangers of polyamory that Ricky should have seen from a mile away: they all liked different pizza toppings. Ricky liked all meat, EJ liked a supreme, and Gina liked Hawaiian (to which Ricky, reasonably, stated his opinion that any fruit on pizza should be illegal). So, they worked through a way to split the toppings by thirds, probably confusing the poor waiter (which they made up for by pooling together a generous tip).

"I'm surprised you can even eat pizza anymore, after what happened at camp," EJ commented, dabbing at some of the grease on a slice with a napkin.

"Ugh, don't even mention that," Ricky shook his head, remembering that one part of his birthday bucket list that didn't go quite as expected. "Still, I can't give up pizza--it's an integral aspect of my personality." he paused, thinking back on the more fun aspects of camp. "You know, I really miss camp. It was some of the most fun I've ever had--I can see why you love it there."

EJ nodded. "I plan to keep going as long as they'll have me--and they said they might have a paid position for me next year, if I were to direct, but I'm not really sure..."

"You should try it!" Gina said, "I think that sounds perfect for you. Didn't you say you were thinking about going to college for directing?"

"Yeah, maybe..." EJ trailed off, a distant look in his eyes. He took hold of the salt shaker, rolling it between his fingers. "I don't think I'll be doing a gap year, whatever happens...I got a scholarship from that one state school I got into, but I have to start immediately in the fall or I lose the money. My dad said that if I went there, I'd be considered a 'failure on the family name' or whatever, so I have to go to the Success School...or else..."

Ricky let out a tense breath. He couldn't imagine—his parents divorce had been horrible, and Ricky kind of hated the whole mess of his parents dating other people, but at the end of the day, they were still his parents. They still loved him, they were still supportive of him no matter what. They didn't neglect him and then not show up like some...like some...

"You're dad's an absolute cartoon supervillain," Ricky blurted out, then covered his mouth.

EJ, luckily, laughed and nodded with an exasperated sigh. "Yeah...but he's the only one I've got, so..."

"My dad..." Gina started, and Ricky and EJ looked over at her, ready to listen despite how quiet she'd become. She grew an increased interest in the parmesan packets, fiddling with them between each hand. "My dad's dead."

A tense silence spanned the table, and Ricky reached over and took her hand.

"It's not a big deal or anything," Gina continued. "I never knew him—he passed away before I was born, from cancer...he was kinda in-and-out before that, from what I was told. He was a music producer, always chasing the next big star. But my brother...he was in first grade, then, and he loved dad. I think that was part of the reason he seemed so quick to jump ship, to get into music production, so it was like he was close to him again. At least, that's how I try to reason it. Anyways...sometimes I wonder what my dad would be like if he were here...and I just can't seem to think up anything that sticks. But I hope he'd be nice—like your dad, Ricky."

Ricky suddenly felt a nice little stabbing pain, right in the heart. Yep, that'd do it. But she was right, in a way. Ricky didn't give his dad enough credit sometimes—he was a really good dad, when one could look past his cooking skills.

He spared a glance at EJ, and based on the look he gave back, he already knew this about Gina—she was just catching Ricky up.

"I'm sorry," Ricky started.

"No, I'm sorry," Gina replied. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad, it's just that we were all talking, so I figured...now we all know."

Ricky nodded, and EJ leaned in and pressed a kiss to Gina's forehead.

"I'm sorry, too," EJ said, "I keep complaining about my dad, and it's like I'm not even thinking—"

"Your dad is literally the devil, and you have to meet up with him today to discuss his Secession-esc ultimatum—it's pretty justified, Eej." Gina patted his arm. "Speaking of...didn't you say we'd meet him at two? It's..." she checked her phone. "One thirty-six."

"Yeah," EJ started out of the isle seat, suddenly looking as though he wanted to transport himself back home—or maybe back to camp. "I'll try to make it quick. Let's get going."