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The sun had long since gone down, but the lamps in the Matheson-Monroe house were still burning, a soft beacon of light in the night-black forest. Within, Charlie was tucked into Miles' side, her head leaned against his collarbone and his arm warm and heavy across her shoulders. Charlie's fingers moved with easy, practiced motions, braiding the thin threads of wool she had bought from the local spinner into the thicker rope needed for her hunting traps. Miles watcher her work, one hand idly playing with the ends of Charlie's hair, his eyes soft. The hour candle on the table was burned low, barely more than a stub now.
“Do you think he decided to camp for the night?” Charlie asked, glancing up at Miles. Miles shook his head, leaning down so that he could press a kiss to Charlie's forehead.
“He said he'd be home tonight, so he will be. Bastard doesn't like being away any more than either of us. Probably less, actually.” Charlie nodded, pressing her head into Miles' shoulder, her eyes soft as she looked up at him.
“You two are the only people I know who can make 'bastard' an endearment.” Miles chuckled, the arm around Charlie's shoulders tightening slightly as he pressed his lips to the crown of her head, inhaling the smell of her freshly washed hair with a hum.
“Hey, you knew what you were getting into from the very beginning,” he replied, voice teasing. Charlie laughed, turning her head and kissing Miles gently, her lips tasting like the glass of whiskey they had been sharing earlier. Miles returned the kiss easily, unhurried in the soft light of the oil lamps. There was no heat to the exchange, just the warm comfort of love and safety and home. Charlie hummed contentedly when the kiss broke and tucked her head back into the crook of his shoulder.
“I've just noticed that the more you miss him, the gruffer you get,” she said, tilting her head so that she could look up at him, her fingers long since gone still from their braiding. “Which honestly explains everything about the way you were when we first met.”
“Are you saying I was a grump?” Miles asked, grinning down at her. Charlie snorted.
“I'm saying you were an ass intent on drinking himself to death,” she replied, bumping her head lightly against Miles' jaw, taking any sting out of her words. Miles laughed softly, pressing a kiss to Charlie's temple, then letting his head rest on top of hers, his arm wrapped tight around her where she was tucked into his side. They sat like that for several moments before Miles spoke again, his voice low and raw.
“It nearly killed me, leaving him. I thought I couldn't live with what he was turning into, but... when he opened his eyes and saw the gun, I watched his heart break. He wasn't the monster anymore, wasn't the rabid dog I thought I needed to put down. He was Bass, my brother, the man I had loved since... god, since I knew what love was. And I had just put a gun to his head.”
Miles voice faltered, and he felt Charlie press closer to him, her hand reaching out and lacing their fingers together, steadying him. She didn't try to look at him, for which Miles was painfully grateful. After carrying this shit silently in his heart for so long, it was still hard to let down his walls, let someone see the pain that had scarred him so badly. But Charlie had never been just 'someone' and from the first moment they had met, his armor had been useless against her. Her steady presence against his side gave him greater strength than any hardness ever could. So Miles found the words pouring out of him, edged with pain but grateful to be spoken.
“The worst thing was that I knew he would have forgiven me. He didn't know any other way than to forgive me for the pain I had caused him. But I... I couldn't forgive myself. So I ran. I left my home, everything I had killed and fought for. I found a bar and crawled into it and eventually realized I didn't have to pay for booze if I ran the place. And so I let that become my life. I crawled into the bottle and never crawled out again. Until a girl walked into my bar and asked me for my help.”
Miles reached up and gently placed his hand on Charlie's jaw, lifting her head up so that he could look at her, his brown eyes dark with all his swirling pain and heartache, but also with a love so deep it stole the breath from Charlie's chest.
“You saved my life that day, Charlie. I think I knew it, too, because I was terrified. Here was someone else for me to love, someone else for me to fail. I couldn't stand the thought of breaking someone else's heart like I had broken Bass'. I was ready to run, but Maggie... she knew, too. She told me you would save me, if I let you. And you did. In so many ways you saved me, baby. You forced me to live, forced me to be a part of the world again, forced me to love with every beat of your heart. And the biggest miracle of all... you brought Bass back to me. You undid years of pain and anger and now... god, now I have the two most important people in the world by my side. We built a home together, something I never thought I would have again. And that all happened because you – the most passionate, fierce, reckless, stubborn woman I have ever met – didn't let an ass in a bar tell you no.” Charlie was grinning now, though her eyes still held a hint of the moisture that Miles' raw emotions had evoked, the hand twined with Miles' squeezing tightly as she looked up at him.
“Damn right,” she replied softly, stretching up so that she could press her forehead against Miles', a gentle, loving pressure that he leaned into gratefully. “I'm a Matheson. Stubbornness is in our blood.”
Miles chuckled, tilting his head so he could press a long, slow kiss to Charlie's soft, eager lips. In the soft glow of the lamps, it almost felt like a dream, the peace that was settled so deep in his bones. Sometimes Miles swore when he opened his eyes he was going to be back in his bar in Chicago, his life in this house nothing more than a desperate whiskey dream. But Charlie... he could never have dreamt up Charlie, this fierce girl of his blood that kissed him so tenderly, who wrapped herself in his arms just as confidently as she slit a man's throat. She fit against his body as if she had been made for it, sliding into the space between him and Bass that he had never even known was there and locking them together as surely as three pieces of a puzzle.
Sometimes his mind tugged on him, hissing about how she was Ben's daughter, his own flesh and blood, taboo and untouchable. Sometimes he couldn't even look at himself in the mirror, disgusted with himself for letting his corruption spread to her, this child that he had vowed to keep safe. But then Charlie would look at him. She would look at him and he would see... something. Something bigger than words. Something even bigger than love. Miles was not a man who believed in fate, but sometimes... sometimes when he looked up and saw Charlie in Bass' arms, both of them smiling at him, their hands reaching for him, golden and beautiful and perfect... well, it was enough to turn even the most stubborn man into a believer.
Hoofbeats pulled Miles from his thoughts. He and Charlie looked at each other, Charlie's face breaking into a shining, beaming grin.
“He's home.”
It didn't take Bass long to make his way to the house. By the time they heard his boots on the front porch, Charlie was practically vibrating. The door opened and there was Bass, his hair mussed from travel and his eyes heavy with exhaustion. But the tiredness quickly faded as he saw them sitting on the couch, his face breaking into a smile that made Miles' heart twist almost painfully.
“You guys waited up.” Bass' voice was quiet, but the emotions in his eyes were anything but as he kicked off his boots. Finally Charlie could contain herself no longer, getting up off the couch and practically throwing herself into Bass' arms, making the other man stagger back with a huff of laughter as she crashed into him. He wasn't laughing long, however, for Charlie pressed her lips to his in a fierce, heartfelt kiss, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Bass returned the kiss with equal passion, his arms wrapping around her waist and practically lifting her off her feet with his enthusiasm. Miles pushed himself off the couch and walked over to join the pair at the door, smiling as he watched the two loves of his life greet each other.
“Of course we did,” Charlie replied once the kiss had broken, beaming up at Bass. “We missed you.”
“Oh you did, did you?” Bass asked, raising an eyebrow at her, a slow grin curling across his face. He looked up at Miles, his blue eyes dancing with mischief. “That true, Miles? You miss me?”
Miles looked at Bass, smiling and easy before him, and for a moment all he could see was the punk kid that had followed him into the Marines, who had spent every day, every hour at his side, watching his back, covering his off side, elbow knocking against his own, hands hot and desperate on his skin when they were able to steal a few moments to themselves in the barrack bathroom. Losing his family, losing Shelley and the baby, founding the Republic on nothing but death and blood... all of that had chipped away at that kid, that bright flame Miles had fallen so hopelessly in love with in his youth. But now... oh, now the spark was back, dancing in Bass' eyes like the sun through a prism, refracted by his brokenness but all the more beautiful for it.
His heart twisting so tightly he was sure it was going to stop, Miles stepped into Bass' space, chest against Charlie's back as he leaned forward and caught Bass' lips in a fierce kiss.
Bass inhaled sharply, taken by surprise, and Miles kissed him harder, his tongue flicking out to take advantage of Bass' parted lips. He felt Charlie slide away, her hand trailing along Miles' side as she hummed in happiness at the sight of them together.
Miles filled the space left by her immediately, one hand coming up to cradle Bass' jaw while the other slid under Bass' shirt so that Miles could splay his hands across the warm skin of the other man's hip. Miles pressed Bass backwards, pinning him up against the door without ever breaking their kiss. Bass moaned into Miles' mouth, body going pliant as Miles pressed them together chest to hip. Bass' legs had spread wide by habit when Miles pushed him back and Miles took ruthless advantage of it, grinding their cocks together through the fabric of their pants, making Bass gasp and grab at Miles' hips, both anchoring himself and pulling Miles closer.
When Miles finally pulled back, Bass chased his lips with a whimper. Miles grinned, leaning his head forward so that their foreheads rested together and he could look into Bass' eyes, the blue of them almost eclipsed entirely by his blown-wide pupils. Bass looked back at him, heart beating so hard that Miles could feel it in his own chest.
“Yeah,” Miles murmured, his voice dropped low as he pressed his hips forward again, letting Bass feel the hardness of his cock even as he looked at the other man with a softness he so rarely allowed to come to the surface. “We missed you, Bass.”
Bass looked at him for a moment, eyes searching. Then his face broke out in a smile so bright that it threatened to turn the midnight hour to noon. Miles couldn't stop his answering smile, the joy bubbling up in his chest almost too much to take. For a moment he felt lost, swept away by all the history, all the memories between him and Bass, the glorious highs and the terrible lows, so often one coming right after the other. But then he felt a small, warm hand press against his spine and smelled Charlie's honeysuckle soap and the world steadied.
“C'mon,” Charlie murmured, her voice low. “Let's show him.” Miles' cock jumped at the purr of her voice, the tantalizing promise of what was to come dancing in her blue eyes as she grinned at Bass from over Miles' shoulder.
“Fuck yes,” Bass breathed, his voice ragged with desire, eyes darting between Miles and Charlie with such avarice that Miles' cock jumped and it was all he could do not to spin Bass around and take him right there, pinned to their front door. But Charlie was already taking one of Bass' hands in her own and using the press of his body to pull both him and Miles towards the stairs and Miles had to let himself be spun around or else he would have tripped and cracked his head against a step and wouldn't that be an embarrassing way for the Butcher of Baltimore to die?
So instead he crowded behind Bass, pressing against his back even as the pair of them stumbled up the stairs after Charlie, and whispering, “She's been dreaming about you. Waking up soaking wet in the middle of the night and riding me like a fucking bronco 'cause she missed the way you always fuck her so good.”
“Jesus Christ, Miles, ” Bass whined, nearly missing the next step as Miles' lurid words made desire shoot straight up his spine.
“It's true,” Charlie added, looking back at them, her blue eyes dancing devilishly. “But he was just as bad. Fucked me bent over the table four times, hands full of my ass.” Bass moaned, eyes dropping to said beautiful ass, hugged so perfectly by Charlie's dark jeans.
“I did,” Miles agreed, grinning as he pressed his hips into Bass' ass, letting him feel the hardness there and nearly tripping in the process, though it was worth it just to feel Bass jump and moan under his hands. “Filled her up so full you would have slid right in.” Miles reached around and cupped Bass' cock through his jeans, making the other man moan. Lowering his voice, Miles added, “Or maybe we both could have.”
“Fuck.” Bass practically convulsed under Miles' hand. “Bed, bed, now, or I am fucking you both on these stairs.” Miles grinned and Charlie laughed, giving Bass' hand one last tug and finally managing to get all three of them up onto the second floor landing.
Immediately Miles began to attack Bass' clothes, shoving his shirt up while at the same time pushing the other man in the direction of their bedroom. Charlie was already there, pulling her tank top up over her head and tossing it carelessly aside, then giving her jeans the same efficient treatment, so that she stood there bare and golden before them. Miles paused – caught off guard as always by the beauty of her and the knowledge that yes, he could touch – and Charlie used his momentary distraction to pull Bass to her and into a hard, searing kiss. Bass moaned, hands coming up to caress her, but Charlie stopped him, pushing him backwards so that his knees hit the bed and he fell in a sprawl across the mattress.
Giving him no to time to recover, Charlie immediately went to work on Bass' jeans, letting his straining cock spring free. Bass moaned as she dropped a kiss to the flushed head, then Charlie looked over her shoulder at Miles, her eyes dancing like sin incarnate.
“You're wearing too many clothes, Miles,” she said, then stripped Bass' jeans off in one smooth, practiced motion.
Miles' fingers felt like they were made of concrete, so clumsy was he as he tried to fight free of his clothes. But it was hard to focus on anything else when Bass and Charlie were all shadows and gold in the flickering light of the bedside lamp, Bass sitting up so that he could pull Charlie into his lap and kiss her like he wanted to devour her.
“So, I hear you dreamt of me,” Bass murmured, voice rumbling up from the very bottom of his chest, his eyes turned molten by the heat of his desire as he looked at Charlie. “That it made you wet.” Bass emphasized the word with a sharp jerk of his hips, pressing his pelvis against her clit and making her gasp. Charlie grinned, pressing another hot kiss to Bass' lips.
“I was practically dripping,” she whispered against his lips, looking at him with a heat that matched the inferno swirling in his own chest. “Miles slid right in.”
“You should have felt her.” Miles had at last managed to fight free of his clothing and joined them at the bed, pressing up against Charlie's back as he slid his hand down her side and around to cup one of her breasts, thumb brushing across her pebbled nipple gently. “So slick it felt like you had already come in her.”
“Yeah?” Bass asked breathlessly, eyes darting up to Miles and then back down to Charlie, the hands splayed across her thighs tightening as arousal hummed through his veins. “What were you dreaming about, Charlotte, that got you so wet for Miles?”
“You,” Charlie replied huskily, her voice loosing some of its smooth edge as Miles stroked her nipple with his thumb, making little sparks dance down her nerves and into the growing heat at the base of her spine. “Your cock inside me, fucking me like you were trying to pour your soul into me. Filling me up so full of your cum I couldn't hold anymore, then flipping me over and doing it all over again. Miles fucking us both, buried so deep inside you I could feel his every heartbeat through your cock. Fuck, I missed you so much, Bass...”
“I missed you too, Charlotte,” Bass murmured, pressing a soft, sweet kiss to Charlie's lips. “Missed you in my arms, missed you in my bed – ” one of the hands on Charlie's thighs shifted, sliding upwards and around so that Bass could press gentle fingers against the wet heat of her sex, making Charlie practically purr “ – missed feeling how wet you always get for Miles and I, our beautiful girl, so fucking perfect for us...” Charlie moaned, grinding her hips down on Bass' hand, huffing when he refused to let her drive herself onto his fingers and instead just rubbed gently around the slickness of her opening, teasing her.
“I'm gonna open you up, Charlotte,” Bass continued, his voice dropped low and rumbling, stroking across her skin just as surely as his fingers along her sex. “Gonna get you so wide and ready for me, I'll sink right in. Maybe let Miles fuck you first, show me what I've been missing.”
“Oh no, Bass,” Miles countered, a sly, shark-like grin spreading across his face as he looked down at Bass, the hand not playing gently with Charlie's breasts reaching down and sliding between Bass' sprawled legs, fingers brushing along his cock and then farther, pressing into the soft muscle just behind his balls in a way that made Bass choke on his groan of pleasure. “She's not the only one who's missed you.”
“Oh really?” Bass teased, arching an eyebrow, grinning up at the other man with a fierce playfulness that matched Miles' own sharpness perfectly. Miles rolled his eyes at Bass, Charlie laughing at her boys' antics. Leaning forward, Miles caught Bass lips in a hot, biting kiss, then used the hand that had been on Charlie's breast to shove him backwards so he was once more sprawled on the mattress, Charlie and Miles looking down at him like lions who had gone too long between hunts. Bass' heart stuttered in his chest and not one goddamn ounce of it was from fear.
“Fuck, I missed you guys.” The words came out of his mouth rough and reverent, almost raw with how honest they were. But Bass wasn't afraid. How long had these beautiful people been inside his armor, twined with the core of him? They knew everything, every dark crevice of his soul, every blood-stained thought and twisted fantasy. And they still looked down at him and smiled, shadows and gold, hands soft and hungry on his skin.
“We missed you too,” Charlie murmured, smiling down at him, rocking her hips so that his fingers slid against her wetness. “Every night. Every morning. In bed. At the dinner table...”
“...on the dinner table,” Miles added dryly, smirking. Bass chuckled at his obvious satisfaction, but the laugh quickly turned to a moan as Miles moved his hand even farther between Bass' spread legs, fingers pressing gently into the hot flesh bared by Bass' sprawl. Charlie grinned down at Bass, her eyes dancing with amusement as Miles teased him. Raising an eyebrow at her, Bass shifted his hand and curled two fingers upwards, pressing them into the dripping heat of her sex.
Immediately Charlie moaned, the hand that had been resting on Bass' arm spasming as Bass slowly sank his fingers into her. The roughness of his callouses against her soft, sensitive walls pushed the fire already burning inside her to full blaze. Her thighs trembled as Bass flexed his fingers, curling them forwards and rubbing against the spongy spot of pleasure just inside her.
“That feel good, beautiful?” Bass asked, his eyes molten as he looked up at Charlie. “Feeling me opening you up, getting you ready for me? So fucking wet...” Bass punctuated his statement with a twist of his fingers, making Charlie gasp and arch her back, pressing her ass down onto Bass' weeping cock and making him swear, hips jerking upwards unconsciously.
“Miles,” Bass growled, looking at the other man who was still smirking down at him, fingers playing idly along the cleft of Bass' ass without actually reaching the spot Bass most wanted him in. “I swear to god, if you don't hurry the fuck up...” Miles rolled his eyes at Bass, but he was grinning.
“He's so impatient, isn't he?” Miles asked Charlie, pressing a kiss to her temple at the same time as he stroked the underside of Bass' balls, making Bass bite off another curse and Charlie moan as Bass' fingers curled inside her.
“I – fuck – I'm kinda with Bass on this one, Miles,” Charlie replied, her voice breathy with small catches and moans as Bass continued to torment her. Miles rolled his eyes again.
“I swear, the concept of foreplay is lost on you two,” he grumbled, though his eyes held nothing but soft affection. “Fine, then you gotta lean forward, baby.” Charlie looked at him questioningly and Miles grinned at her, the flickering flame of the lamps casting him half in shadows, a lascivious denizen of the dark come to claim these two golden creatures for his own.
“I need some lube.”
Charlie remained confused for a moment, then his plan became apparent and she just about came right then and there. Looking back at Bass, she could see that he had realized Miles' intentions as well, his pupils blown so wide she could see only the slightest ring of blue around them. Sliding her hands up from where they had been on Bass' arms to brace on the bed beside his head, Charlie leaned forwards, baring her dripping sex, with Bass' fingers still buried inside it, to Miles' hungry gaze.
“Fuck, baby, you are so fucking gorgeous like this,” Miles murmured, the hand that had been teasing Bass' balls sliding up so that he could trace the quivering muscles of Charlie's thighs, his other hand coming up and stroking gently at her hip, marveling at the sight displayed before him. “Could watch this all night, Bass taking you apart piece by piece.” Both Bass and Charlie groaned, half with arousal and half with exasperation.
“Miles, I swear to – oh fuck!” Whatever Charlie had been about to swear to was lost as Miles sank two finger into her, burying them beside Bass' in the wet heat of her. Bass' breath caught in his chest, the feeling of Miles' fingers beside his inside Charlie hitting him with a wave of arousal he had not expected. There was something strangely intimate about it, especially knowing exactly why Miles was slicking his fingers. Looking over Charlie's shoulder, Bass could see the same thoughts running through Miles' eyes, hot and heavy as he slowly began to work his fingers in and out of Charlie, his knuckles rubbing against Bass' as he did.
“That feel good, baby, Bass and I opening you up together?” Miles asked, dipping his head so that he could drop a gentle kiss to Charlie's shoulder, though his eyes never left Bass'.
“Yes, yes, Miles, fuck – ” Bass could feel Charlie trembling against him and he reached up with his free hand, stroking it down her side soothingly. Charlie pressed her forehead against his shoulder gratefully, spine arched so that he and Miles had unrestricted access to her quivering, dripping entrance, fucking herself onto their fingers with halting, rocking thrusts of her hips. “Fuck, get Bass ready, Miles, I don't know how much longer I can wait.”
Miles grinned, smug at the desperation in Charlie's voice. Spreading the two fingers inside Charlie, he hooked them around Bass', encouraging him to do the same. Charlie keened, sinking her teeth into the meat of Bass' shoulder. Bass jerked, the sharp flare of pleasure-pain that knifed through his spine nearly ending the whole night before it began.
“Fuck, Miles – ” Miles cut Bass' growl off with a sharp, biting kiss, the fingers wrapped around his tightening. Then he was gone, standing up straight once more and sliding his slick fingers out of Charlie's trembling body. Charlie whimpered at the sudden emptiness and Bass soothed her with a kiss and a twisting curl of his own fingers, but he was quickly distracted, for Miles had chosen that moment to sink both of his Charlie-slicked fingers into Bass' ass.
“Jesus fuck – ” Bass spine jackknifed, the sudden burn of Miles' ruthless entry turned to a searing pleasure by Bass' already aroused state. Miles didn't give him single moment to breath, twisting his fingers and pressing against the spot inside him that Bass swore made his vision go grey around the edges.
“That fast enough for you, hmm?” Miles asked, scissoring his fingers, stretching Bass wide as he continued to rub Charlie's wetness into Bass, the hand that had been braced on the bed coming up so that he could grab Bass' thigh and pressing it farther back, spreading him even more for Mile's ministrations. “Impatient bastard, always greedy for my cock. Never let me take my damn time. You're lucky I missed you so damn much or I would spend hours torturing you. Make Tokyo look like a quickie.”
“I would fucking murder you,” Bass growled back, though the threat lost some of its credibility with him grinding onto Miles' fingers almost desperately.
“You'd love every fucking second of it and you know it,” Miles replied, his voice laced with a dark satisfaction that made both Bass and Charlie shiver. “Have Charlie ride your face so you couldn't even complain. Just lay there and take it.” Miles scissored his fingers almost viciously and the groan that crawled out of Bass' throat ended as a whine, echoed by Charlie as Bass' fingers curled inside her when his hands clenched at the lightning racing up and down his spine.
“That what you want, huh, Bass?” Miles continued, his voice almost a snarl, edged not with violence but with lust, working Bass open with sword-rough fingers in a way so familiar Bass would have almost thought they were back in the Republic's manor, if not for Charlie sprawled across his chest, pressing kisses to his neck.
“I want,” Bass growled back, “for you to slick up your cock and fuck me already, you teasing bastard.” He pressed upwards the heel of the hand buried inside Charlie, making her raise her ass even higher into the air. Miles stilled in his ministrations, looking at Bass, a slight question in his eye. Bass nodded, grinning. Then he bumped the side of Charlie's head with his nose gently, making her look up from where she had been busily sucking bruises onto his neck and shoulder.
“What do you say, beautiful?” Bass asked, his voice almost a purr as she looked up at him, her blue eyes heavy with desire. “Wanna help Miles get all nice and wet so that he can fuck me?” Bass flexed his fingers, emphasizing his point. Charlie sucked in a breath, looking at him. Then she grinned, an almost carbon-copy of her uncle's shark-like smile, and nodded, shifting slightly so that the arch of her spine gave Miles a perfect view.
“I think I could do that,” she replied, shifting again, this time in almost what could have been called a wiggle. Miles cursed softly and Bass smirked at him. “Just so long as he's not the only one that gets to fuck you.”
“Wouldn't dream of it, beautiful,” Bass assured her, tilting his head so that he could give her a gentle kiss. He started to slide his fingers out of her, but Charlie dropped her hips, pinning his wrist to stop him. Bass looked at her in surprise, head tilting in askance.
“Keep your fingers in me?” Charlie asked softly, raising herself up so that she could see him better. “I want to feel you both.”
Miles groaned and Bass had to take several deep breaths or else he would have come on the spot. Instead he nodded, spreading his fingers so that as Charlie arched her spine once more, she was pulled slightly open, giving Miles the perfect view of her. Bass looked up at the other man and was pleased to see the thick vein under his jaw hammering as he looked down at Charlie and Bass, his cock so hard it was almost painful to look at, flushed thick with blood and desire.
“Well c'mon, brother,” Bass said, arching his eyebrow at Miles and giving another twitch of his fingers, making Charlie hum and lift her hips even more, spreading herself wide in invitation. “We're waiting for you.” Miles looked at Bass for a moment, desire warring with a strange thoughtfulness.
“You... you really do like seeing me inside her, don't you?” Miles asked, all of the previous dark roughness gone from his voice.
Bass looked at him, his heart clenching. He knew what Miles was thinking, knew he was remembering all of the other woman they had had between them, when they couldn't face the desire humming in their veins without an excuse, despite all the years between them when they hadn't needed one. How Bass had pressed bruising, almost cruel bites into Miles' skin, how the snapping anger in his heart had been heightened by climax, not lessened by it. But this was so intrinsically different that Bass wondered how Miles could even compare the two. Charlie wasn't some chick from a bar, drunk on enough booze that she either didn't notice or didn't care that all of Bass' attention was for Miles. She was... she was Charlie. The other third of themselves that they hadn't even realized they were missing, the one who filled the shape between their bodies perfectly, locking them together like three pieces of a puzzle.
“Bet I'll like feeling it even more,” Bass replied, his words still their usual teasing, but his eyes... oh, he knew his eyes were saying so much more. How could I be jealous, brother, when I know your heart is not pulled between us, but bound together with ours? She completes us, makes us stronger, better than our broken selves, for she is broken as well and all of our edges together hold us up, not cut us apart.
Miles took a deep, shaking breath, his eyes reading all Bass had to say. Then, moving slowly, he sank his cock in between Bass' fingers and buried himself up to the hilt in Charlie's waiting heat.
“Oh fuck – ” Charlie's hands clenched in the sheets beside Bass' head, the sensation of Miles sliding into her so effortlessly between Bass' fingers making her whole body tremble. She felt full and stretched in all of the best ways, Bass' fingers rubbing perfectly against the humming spots of pleasure just inside her while Miles' cock pressed into the throbbing spot deep inside, filling every corner of her body until she felt surrounded by them, these two men she had claimed as her own.
“Fuck, baby, you feel so good,” Miles murmured, leaning down so that he could press a kiss to Charlie's shoulder. “Getting me all nice and wet for Bass. You're too good to us, Charlie.”
“Our beautiful girl,” Bass agreed, lifting his head so that he could kiss her heatedly, his fingers curling. Both Miles and Charlie moaned, Miles' hips jerking as the sensation of Bass' knuckles pressing into the underside of his cock sent pure lightning up his spine.
“Fuck, Bass, I can feel your fingers against my cock,” Miles growled, looking down at his lover with heated eyes. “Feels so good that I'm not gonna be able to keep this up for much longer.”
Bass grinned, spreading his fingers once more and stroking the sides of Miles' cock. Miles swore violently, then retaliated by scissoring the fingers still buried in Bass' ass so that he hit Bass' prostate and pressed.
Bass' hips jerked upwards, but Miles held him down, pinning Bass beneath his and Charlie's combined bodies. Bass, once his eyes could focus again, glared up at Miles. Miles smirked back down at him and Charlie rolled her eyes.
“As fun as watching you two tease is,” she drawled, pushing herself up so that her back was against Miles' chest, breasts bouncing slightly and making Bass' cock twitch. “I think our boy deserves his proper welcome home, don't you, Miles?” Bass swallowed. The look in Charlie's eyes... it was one part sin, two parts love, desire and adoration wrapped together in a heady cocktail that had Bass buzzing like a glass of eighty year old scotch. Miles was grinning down at him over Charlie's shoulder, his clean hand coming up and stroking across Charlie's chest, but his eyes were just as warm, all the dark teasing that had always edged their relationship gone in the light of Charlie's open heart.
“Definitely, baby,” Miles replied, kissing Charlie's temple gently, his hips rolling forwards so that he could press his length into her one last time, making Charlie sigh with pleasure and sink back into the strength of Miles' chest. Bass looked up at them, these two people who had stolen his heart so completely, and for a moment he couldn't breath through the emotions in his chest. But then Charlie smiled down at him and Miles squeezed his hip affectionately and everything in the world was as it should be.
Miles slid out of Bass and Charlie at the same time and they both whimpered at the loss. But Miles was already lining his slicked cock up against Bass' ass and Bass used the hand that had been inside Charlie to lift his own weeping, neglected cock and rest it against her fluttering entrance. Miles' hand on his hip squeezed slightly, stopping him for pressing up into the beckoning heat of her. Tilting his head, Miles whispered in Charlie's ear, and then suddenly Bass' world was on fire.
Charlie's wetness had slicked Miles so well that he slid into Bass with one long roll of his hips. At the same time, Charlie sank down onto Bass' cock, taking him to the hilt with a moan of pure pleasure. Bass couldn't do anything but gasp, the dual sensations of both filling and being filled short-circuiting every nerve in his body. He didn't know whether to grind down into intoxicating burn of Miles' cock in his ass or thrust up into Charlie's wet, perfect heat.
Thankfully he didn't have to make the choice. Sliding his clean hand down to press against Charlie's clit, Miles used his other hand to hold Bass steady as he began to thrust into him with long, powerful strokes that made pleasure spike along Bass spine. Charlie leaned back into Miles, letting him steady her as she spread her legs wide and rode Bass with rolling hips that were so obscene Bass had to dig his nails into his palm or else he would have come right then.
“Oh fuck, Charlotte, Miles...” Bass trailed off, the pleasure they were wringing from him stealing any cognitive thought or ability to form complete sentences. Charlie and Miles grinned down at him, twin smiles that were going to send him right to hell because fuck, they were so alike and he wanted them to own him, ride him and fill him until the only thing he could think of was the feel of their bodies against his, his beautiful Mathesons surrounding him.
Charlie raised an eyebrow at him, and Bass wondered whether he had said his last thought aloud, or if she had simply read it in his eyes like she had always been able to, right from the very start. But it didn't matter, he didn't care, they already knew how weak he was for them, how greedy.
Running her hand down Miles' arm, Charlie leaned her head back and, never breaking eye contact with Bass, murmured, “You should put your fingers inside me.”
Bass whimpered and Miles swore, his hips stuttering in their smooth rhythm at Charlie's purr. Miles looked down at Bass, seeking confirmation, and all Bass could do was nod frantically, unable to even move his hips in his sprawled position. Miles swore again, hand on Bass' hip clenching so tight that Bass knew he would have bruises.
“You two are going to be the death of me,” Miles growled, kissing Charlie's temple fiercely, then his fingers were pressing in beside Bass' cock and everything went grey.
Miles hadn't been kidding about the overwhelming feeling of it, how the added pressure of Miles' scarred fingers sent bolts of pure pleasure down Bass' cock as he slid them into Charlie. Charlie whimpered, stretched full and tight in the best possible way, her walls trembling around Bass in a way he knew he wouldn't survive. Miles must have felt it too, for his thrusts sped up, pounding into Bass like he was trying to forge them together like the swords they so favored. Charlie gave up any pretense of finesse, holding tight to Miles' arm and riding Bass with shameless, wild abandon. She didn't stop as the first wave of her orgasm hit, looking at Bass with molten blue eyes as her body milked him ruthlessly. Miles swore, yanking Bass half off the bed and tipping Charlie forward onto Bass' chest so that he could pound his cock into Bass' prostate with every stroke. Charlie braced her hands on Bass' shoulders, her whole body spasming as Miles' thrusting fucked Bass' cock into her.
The pleasure spiked almost to pain in Bass' spine, then he was coming, hands digging into Charlie's hips as he emptied himself into her, her body milking him for every drop. Bass' orgasm also sent Miles over the edge and he curled forwards with a grunt, burying himself so deep inside Bass' ass that Bass keened, his cock twitching half-heartedly and spilling even more of his seed into Charlie's quivering heat.
They lay like that for a moment, tangled together and panting, Bass nearly crushed beneath the combined weights of Miles and Charlie and loving every second of it. Then Charlie grumbled about not being able to breath and Miles laughed and they all fell to the side, bodies uncoupling, making them all shiver at the feel and grope mindlessly for the warmth and comfort of their lovers.
Silence reigned for several long, comfortable moments, each of them running their hands softly over the others' skin, petting each other down from the high of their lovemaking. Then Bass grinned and said, “If that's the welcome home I get, maybe I should be gone more often.”
“You ever leave for that long again and I'm letting Miles tie you up and torture you,” Charlie replied, looking at Bass balefully out of the corner of her eye. Miles snorted, grinning at Bass across Charlie's sprawled form. Bass rolled his eyes at him, but then suddenly his vision was filled with nothing but Charlie, who had rolled over and moved so that she was hovering over him, golden hair tickling his shoulder.
“We miss you too much when you're gone, Bass,” Charlie murmured, her blue eyes soft. Her words were simple, but they hit Bass' heart like a spear. He knew she wasn't lying, for Charlie had never been one to mince her words with him, in hate or love. To know that she felt his absence as keenly as he felt theirs...
Bass' eyes slid to Miles, who was watching them with such softness that Bass' heart twisted. Miles saw him look and shifted closer, filling the space Charlie had left at Bass side, his body pressing against Bass' in a way that was so familiar and yet still sent a thrill through Bass' nerves, something cherished that had been lost and then reclaimed through a miracle Bass knew he didn't deserve.
“We miss you.” The roughness of Miles' voice, the pure honesty of it, made Bass' breath catch in his throat. “Both of us. We love you.” It was almost too much, hearing the words with Miles looking at him like that, raw and open in a way he so rarely allowed himself to be.
“Bass, we love you,” Charlie echoed, and Bass couldn't breath. But Miles leaned forwards, catching his lips in a soft, tender kiss and Charlie pressed her forehead to his temple, anchoring him, surrounding him, steadying him in the storm he always fought.
“I love you too...” The words were jagged and raw, but so was he.
And that was okay.
They all were.