Part 4: "The Rhapsody of Things As They Are", Fringe, NC-17, Redverse /Charlie/Olivia/Lincoln

[eretria]

Charlie takes longer in the bathroom than he needs to. It doesn't help that the room still smells of Linc's soap. When tucking himself back in, Charlie handles himself rougher than he normally does just so his body doesn't get the idea that this is an appropriate time for another erection after just willing one down.

He throws water in his face over the sink and looks in the mirror, hands braced on the sink.

"This is a bad idea, Francis," he tells his reflection. "A stupid-ass idea." Doesn't change the fact that Pandora's box of possibilities has been opened and he has a damn hard time shoving everything that came out back in. He wonders if it would look strange if he just stayed in the bathroom. He can always sleep in the tub.

When he does leave the bathroom, he reaches for the remote first and switches off the TV as soon as he's back in the living room. He turns toward the couch … and breaks into a wide grin.

Linc is back on Liv's shoulder, with Liv looking extremely annoyed. If he didn't know better from previous experience, he'd think that Linc was just putting on a show, either to annoy them or to get closer to Liv, but Charlie has seen this countless times over the last two years. This is familiar. This, he can handle.

"Need help?" he asks.

"Unless you want to sleep on the floor, yeah," Liv answers.

Linc's couch folds out. He has a tatami for guests as well, which is what Liv prefers when she stays over, but Charlie's back isn't what it was ten years ago, and the mattress on the couch isn't half bad. So, yeah. Getting Linc into bed is definitely a given.

"Come on, sleeping beauty," Charlie says and shakes Linc's shoulder carefully, "Time to hit the sack."

"That's still a weird figure of speech," Linc murmurs but sits up a little at least.

It still takes Charlie and Liv three tries to get him to an actual upright position and eventually, they end up frog-marching him into his bedroom.

Linc flops down on the edge of the bed heavily and since he's not letting go of them, they sit down to his left and right. It's still not weird to be in such close contact, Charlie thinks. Hasn't been the entire night, in fact, he has preferred having them both in touching distance. He has no idea what that says about him or their professional relationship, but he's still willing to chalk it off to lingering side-effects of that compound and tonight's return of his libido. He's not going to say it out loud, but he wouldn't mind another night of having them skin-to-skin with him, even if it stays platonic. Yesterday in the cell … it had felt good. Right. The thought of sleeping alone on Linc's couch tonight has his stomach sinking.

Linc is listing against Liv when Charlie looks up, but it's not Linc who catches Charlie's eyes, it's Liv.

She looks at Linc and there's an openness to her face that Charlie hasn't seen in ages. He can read her face and he knows what she's thinking even before she lifts her hand and sets it against Linc's cheek. She strokes her fingers over his cheekbone and under his eye and Linc leans into her hand. Charlie hasn't seen a look so tender on Liv's face in a long time; it's different from the look she gave him earlier. Her touch grazes Linc's lips once, and she startles. After a deep breath, something in her gaze slots into place. She turns a fraction and repeats the movement, deliberate this time.

Linc keeps his eyes closed and doesn't move away from her touch. Instead, sleepwalker-slow, he turns his head and kisses the palm of Liv's hand. Charlie sees Liv go still. It's as if suddenly, all the air has fled the room. Linc exhales and glides his lips along Liv's fingers. At the pad of her middle finger, he parts his lips and nips, gentle.

Charlie's not sure if Linc knows what he's doing or if he's half asleep. It doesn't really matter though because it's damn gorgeous and erotic as all hell and Charlie feels the zing that must go through Liv's body going through his own. Linc's thumb presses against the center of Charlie's palm.

Liv's eyes go dark and all pupil. Charlie sees her suck in a deep breath and he knows what's going to happen before it does, he sees all the conflicting emotions flicker over Liv's face and finally settle into one and it's like a sucker punch when Liv leans forward and presses her lips to Linc's. Charlie's mouth goes dry and he wonders for a second if this is really Liv, but she hasn't closed her eyes and he sees everything in them. The mixture of bravado and desperate need reassures and worries him at the same time.

Linc doesn't open his eyes but Charlie feels him go still and his hand start to tremble where he is still holding on to Charlie's. His breath hitches.

Don't hurt him, Liv, Charlie thinks and strokes his thumb over Linc's knuckles. Charlie knows what he'd be in for, friends with benefits, but Linc doesn't. Or rather, that isn't what Linc wants. He hopes Liv knows what she's playing at. Charlie looks at her hard, his entire expression trying to tell Liv, Know exactly what you're doing here. Don't you hurt him.

She catches his look and holds it while she raises her hand to Linc's face and strokes along his cheek again. The rasp of her fingertips against his stubble is loud even over the rushing of blood in Charlie's ears. I know, her look says. I want this. I need this. She brushes over the deep, pained frown on Linc's forehead and the gesture is so gentle and knowing that Charlie closes his hand around Linc's tighter to keep himself from reaching out and trying to fix whatever is broken in both of them.

"Liv," Linc whispers against Liv's lips and he sounds wrecked, but she catches his bottom lip where it moves on the V of her name between her lips. She coaxes Linc gently, curls her fingertips around Linc's ear. Charlie sees her tongue touch Linc's bottom lip and a hot wave of arousal washes through him when Linc makes a broken noise under his breath. Liv continues to hold him to her and keeps moving her lips and tongue against his and Charlie feels heat climb in his cheeks.

Linc finally seems to wake from his shocked trance. He takes a breath like a drowning man, surges forward and then it's like watching a supernova because their kiss turns from gentle and slow to wet and noisy and incendiary within the blink of an eye. It's as if Linc puts everything he has into the kiss because he doesn't know if he'll ever get the chance again.

Charlie is getting hard just watching them and even if his base instincts scream at him to touch them, join them, lick Liv's taste out of Linc's mouth, he knows he should get the hell out of Dodge and leave them to it. Linc hasn't let go of his hand, though. In fact, the entire time he's kissing Liv, he's holding on to Charlie's hand like he's holding a lifeline.

Charlie tries to pull away and give them the privacy they so clearly need, but Linc laces his fingers with Charlie's and holds him in place. Liv breaks away from the kiss, leaving Linc open-mouthed and panting. Both their lips are swollen and wet and Charlie swallows hard. God, they're gorgeous. He wants them, their mouths and their hands on his skin, their skin, all of them, so much it hurts.

When Liv opens her eyes, with her temple resting against Linc's, they're dark. The smile that plays around her lips is joyful but scared and Charlie hates seeing the doubt it reflects.

"You know," he says and is aware that his voice has left gruff and gone all the way to husky, "first the hug in the kitchen and now this?" He doesn't feel as glib as his words suggest, but keeps going anyway. "A guy really could feel left out here."

"Can't have that," Liv says and her smile grows surer, more seductive and, damn it, Charlie's done fighting. He meets her half-way, cups the side of her face, leans in and … god. Her lips are still moist from Linc's and that's a turn on that has his mind reeling. He has to close his eyes so he can't see Linc looking at them. Since they're kissing over Linc, Charlie feels Linc's breath glide along his neck and shudders in anticipation. Linc's fingertips press against the back of Charlie's hand, his thumb strokes against Charlie's.

Charlie doesn't bother with keeping the kiss chaste - he knows what he wants and if it doesn't go any further, he wants to have at least this to remember and feed his fantasies. He teases his tongue against the seal of Liv's lips and she opens up on a gasp. Charlie tastes both her and traces of Linc's red wine taste and it just fuels the low burning fire in his gut. He licks into Liv's mouth and her hand goes to his head, her nails scratch along his scalp as she attempts to bring him closer. She touches her tongue against his, quick, electric touches, gone too soon to satisfy. Charlie moves the hand that's not holding on to Linc to the back of her head, fists it in her hair and changes the angle of the kiss so he can suck on her tongue until he strips a low sound from her that goes straight to his groin.

She jolts suddenly and opens up to him even wider. Before Charlie can parse what happened, he feels warmth at his side, the tickling of hair against the side of his face and then Linc's lips are against the side of his neck, nipping and kissing and Charlie can't hold in the groan that rises from his throat.

Liv lets go of him and pushes him toward Linc and, hell, oh, hell, Linc is right there, kissing him, teasing and cock-sure as if they've never done anything but. When Linc licks into his mouth, Charlie makes a broken off sound. He tries to let go of Liv's face to reach for Linc but Liv laces her fingers with his and now both Linc and Liv are holding on to him, aborting his movements. It'd be claustrophobic and restrictive if he didn't trust them as much as he does.

Linc takes charge and pushes against Charlie's chest so he falls back on the bed. Linc moves with him and reclaims his lips as soon as Charlie's head hits the mattress. His kisses are possessive. The take-charge attitude is a turn on if ever there was one even if something niggles at the back of Charlie's mind. It's difficult to concentrate on that, though, when Liv's free hand glides along his thigh, nails scraping against the denim. He moves into her touch and up into Linc but almost slips off the edge of the bed.

Linc breaks the kiss. His face is flushed and his lips are kiss-swollen; he's unbelievably gorgeous. Charlie tries to follow, unwilling to stop.

"Greedy," Linc says.

Charlie is. He doesn't care. He has a year's worth of pent up sexual energy to get out of his system.

Linc's face brightens in a delighted smirk. "Scoot up," he orders and Charlie does without thinking twice. Linc straddles him and Charlie's hands go to his hips, kneading and flexing.

"God, I wish you could see yourselves." Liv's voice is husky; the sentence hangs heavy in the room.

Linc turns to her, and Charlie can feel him sliding out of the moment, so he looks over to where Liv is standing as well. Standing? When did that happen? Wasn't she just on the bed with them?

"Fleeing the scene of the crime?" Linc asks and it sounds light, but Charlie can feel the fine tremors going through Linc's hands and thighs.

"Hah," Liv looks honestly amused. "You wish."

"So what's with the retreat?"

If he wasn't one hundred percent sure that Olivia Dunham didn't even know the meaning of the word, Charlie would swear that what he sees on Liv's cheekbones is a blush. "I was hoping you'd be too occupied to realize I was gone for a few minutes." She pulls a put-on annoyed face. "So much for a threesome being easy."

"Why would you - " Linc starts but Charlie nudges his thigh to make him shut up. It's not the first time he's been in bed with a pregnant woman - never his own kid, sadly - and he knows where this is going. "Damn pregnancy bladder, huh?" He tries to sound sympathetic but fails to stop the grin from spreading over his face.

Liv crosses her arms over her chest and gives him a glare. "Hey, it's a better reason than your peanut-sized bladder. Remember who has to get rid of that second tea half way to every event?"

Charlie throws a pillow at her. "Go, pee, woman." He goes back to running his hands over Linc's thighs, trying to massage the tension out of them.

Liv's halfway through the bedroom when she turns around again. "Guys?" She waits until they both look at her. "You can play, but don't wear each other out."

She disappears into the bathroom and Charlie seizes what is probably his one and only chance to get the question that’s been burning inside of him off his chest, even if the last thing he wants to do right now is talk. "Hey Linc," he says, low and under his breath so Liv won’t hear. "Do you have all the variables here?" Approaching a subject scientifically is usually the best bet to get Linc to listen.

Linc gets up off the bed and walks to the papasan chair in the corner. He takes off his socks, rolls them up with military precision and places them on the chair. "Do you?"

Charlie ponders this for a few seconds while he tries not to get distracted by the strip of Linc's bare skin appearing when he bends forward and the cargo pants riding low on his hips. Charlie knows the answer, even if he's not sure he likes it. "I know what she needs and what I need. I know that this is a one-time deal. She needs us today, wants us today. I don’t expect her to feel the same way tomorrow."

Linc’s face is hidden in shadow where the lamp doesn’t disperse the night; Charlie just sees his shoulders straighten. "So?"

The unusually monosyllabic reply is answer enough.

Charlie sighs and murmurs, "Linc, buddy - "

"Drop it, Charlie. Please." Linc’s voice is low.

"I just - "

Linc has always been quick, you've got to give it to him. He's right there in front of Charlie suddenly, on all fours on the bed, grabs the back of Charlie's neck and pulls him into a bruising kiss clearly made to shut him up. Linc smells of fear and tastes of anger; no matter how his kiss has Charlie panting and craving more, this is something he can't ignore. Charlie reaches up, places both hands so they frame Linc’s face and he slows the kiss to something that’s gentler, something he can control.

Charlie pulls them into a position where they're resting side by side on the bed, leans his forehead against Linc's and tries again, "Linc - "

"Just let me pretend, okay?" Linc whispers against Charlie’s lips and his heart breaks.

Charlie heaves a silent sigh and fights the urge to wrap his arms around Linc while at the same time mentally hitting Liv over the head with the biggest clue bat possible. He kisses Linc instead, warm and steady, until Linc responds and relaxes, kissing back with enthusiasm, and they both lose track of time.

"Starting without me?" Liv asks, right next to them. Charlie hadn’t heard her approach, he's too invested in stripping small sounds of appreciation from Linc. At the sound of Liv's voice Linc's fingers bite into Charlie's side, clutch onto him. Charlie gentles his hands over Linc's back and says without missing a beat, "You were taking too long. I thought I’d get the grasshopper here warmed up for you." He curls his hand around Linc's waist and moves around him to kiss the side of Liv’s neck. "Feel like taking over?"

When he pulls back, Liv’s smile is brilliant enough to light the room and Charlie pointedly doesn’t look at the way Linc, after a split second's hesitation, responds in kind.

***

Charlie holds on to Lincoln when Liv returns, and that's probably a good thing, or he may have bolted after all.

What's happening here is one of his dirtiest and most recent fantasies, something he never really considered before the clusterfuck yesterday. But last night, as he lay in bed alone, desperately missing the sense of connection they'd all had in the lab, he allowed his mind to play through the scenarios he usually squashed with a ruthless efficiency. No good fantasizing about something you can't have, right? Only after what Liv said yesterday, maybe it wasn't so much what he couldn't have, but what he didn't allow himself to hope for from fear of getting hurt.

That fear is still there. It's lingering in every touch of Liv's hands and lips and if he's honest with himself, then he knows that without Charlie with him, he would have bolted after the first kiss.

Charlie… Charlie is like a rock in the sea, the one waves can crash against and break, but he won't. He'll never break. The unhurried, easy competence he brings into work is the same he has here, in bed with them.

Grasshopper, Charlie calls him, and Lincoln wants to grin and slap him at the same time. He's not in the headspace Charlie's in yet and the casual tease rubs him a little wrong. Charlie is relaxed, at ease with all this, and it seems like has no problem letting go. Even as he relinquishes control, he's still in control. The thought alone is bizarre, as bizarre as this reality is.

They're in bed with each other, literally and Liv is kissing him, open-mouthed and dirty, uttering low sounds of appreciation when he runs his hands over her breasts and kneads them, first careful, then harder when she responds with more guttural sounds and slides onto his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist and rocking up against him. Lincoln tears his mouth away from hers to suck in a huge gulp of air and fight a moan. He can smell her arousal and Charlie's skin and it's almost too much. Liv rocks against him more insistently and he bucks up into her, shuddering at the friction and at the same time terrified of what the hell it is they're doing here, of what it'll mean for the future. Terrified of having his heart broken into so many pieces he'll never put it together again. Liv throws her head back and Charlie is there, kissing along the long line of her throat but never taking his eyes off Lincoln.

Lincoln feels himself relax as he meets Charlie's gaze. The deep brown of his irises is calming and Lincoln loses himself in them for a few seconds. With Charlie in the game, it'll be all right, he can let go and allow himself the risk of opening up. With Charlie there, he'll never fall, because Charlie will always be there to pick him up, no matter in how many pieces. And he wants to open up. It's been too long since he felt a lover's touch and if he closes his eyes and pretends, then he can pretend that Liv wants him for himself, that Charlie does, too.

It's easier to believe with Charlie. He's seen the looks Charlie has given him in the past, when he thought Lincoln wasn't noticing. He knows that if he ever would have acknowledged Charlie in the past, he'd have had someone who would have given him exactly what he needed. But he'd been hung up on Liv, always waiting for the impossible, and Charlie had never once stepped over the line separating friendship from something more. Thinking about how tightly Charlie reigns in his emotions and the reasons for it makes Lincoln's chest feel constricted. He wonders how someone like Charlie, who must have an ocean full of need hiding inside him can be so steadying. It's not the situation for a heart-to heart, though, so he bends forward and sets his lips against the bare bit at the base of Charlie's throat where his pulse thrums fast.

Charlie buries his hand in Lincoln's hair, holding him close; his gun-callused fingers catch against Lincoln's hair. The low hum of Charlie's voice reverberates against Lincoln's lips. "You're driving me insane, you two."

"Nothing new there, huh, Charlie?" Liv answers, her voice sounding low and rough.

Lincoln looks up at her and when her eyes meet his, they're full of fond, mischievous, familiar laughter and he realizes that he has never wanted anyone more than he wants her and Charlie right now.

Lincoln decides in that moment. He curls his hand around the back of Charlie's neck, kisses Liv until they're both breathless and then does the same to Charlie.

To hell with tomorrow.

***

Charlie and Linc are kissing when she returns from the bathroom and Liv has to stop and admire them for a couple of minutes. They're unaware of her and they kiss gently, unhurried. Linc's hands are curled around Charlie's head, pale fingers a stark contrast to Charlie's dark hair, while Charlie's hands are on Linc's hips, kneading. Linc traces Charlie's ear, runs a nail along the outside of it and Charlie takes a deep breath and moves into Linc. His hands move from Linc's hips to his ass and bring their groins together. Liv sees Linc gasp into the kiss and Charlie chase that gasp. He grabs Linc's ass with a possessive move and rocks forward, making them both groan. The kiss turns from gentle to lewd and Liv is wet just from watching them. She thinks she might be content just to watch them have a go at it, but the sounds Linc makes are addictive and she wants to be the one causing them, together with Charlie. She wants to hear Charlie murmur encouragements in her ear. She wants them naked. With her, around her, in her. She wants it all.

She sidles close to them and drops the handful of condoms she found in Linc's medicine cabinet on the bedside table. The sound of them hitting the polished wood is loud and alien in the room but doesn't seem to faze Charlie and Linc. When they still don't acknowledge her, she asks, "Starting without me?"

Linc jumps as if he’s been slapped, but Charlie holds on to him and doesn't let him move away. He ghosts another kiss over Linc's lips and says, "You were taking too long. I thought I’d get the grasshopper here warmed up for you."

She watches Linc - face flushed, lips swollen, pupils blown so wide she barely sees his irises anymore - yeah, she'd say that Charlie did an excellent job of getting Linc warmed up.

Charlie curls his hand around Linc's waist, loose, just maintaining contact, and angles his body toward her. He slants her a look from under half-lowered lashes, and wow, Charlie really has those bedroom eyes down pat. Lips curled in a slow smile, he grazes the side of her neck in a soft, teasing kiss. His voice is velvet over rough stone and raises goosebumps all over her skin. "Feel like taking over?"

The grin almost splits her face. Hell, yeah, she does.

She pushes Linc to the bed and kisses him, first slow, then deeper, climbs onto his lap and wraps her legs around his waist. His hands kneading her breasts feel good. His cock, rubbing against the seam of her pants feels even better and she throws her head back to catch her breath and feel the rush of warmth spreading through her body from head to toe.

Charlie comes up behind her and kisses her exposed neck at the same time that Linc rocks up against her. She's ready to fly apart from this alone.

Their scents are familiar as breathing, though she's never perceived them laced with the musk of sex before. She's glad she has the chance now, because it makes them even more stupidly sexy than they already are. Linc's hair brushes against the side of her neck when he kisses Charlie and with them both pressed against her front and back, she can't breathe but she doesn't want to either. She wants to stay like this, in a moment out of time; safe, familiar, loved and if that's a sappy thought then she doesn't care.

Liv feels every inch of them touching her, takes in the feeling and the scent of Linc's hair and the roughness of Charlie's stubble against the back of her shoulder. She feels Charlie's heartbeat against her skin, fast. He's getting more into kissing Linc. His left hand is curled around her waist and caresses her skin but his right has slid into Linc's hair and pulls him closer. Little noises of pleasure escape Charlie's throat and the low hum glides under Liv's skin and goes straight to her clit. Linc's eyes are closed and he's kissing Charlie like he's drowning, all the while his hips are moving against her and his cock's an insistent pressure against her crotch.

She feels like an intruder between them in this moment, so she gently eases Charlie's hand off her waist and slips out from between Linc and Charlie as carefully as she can.

It's not careful enough apparently, since she has to wriggle and twist way too much to be subtle in any way. They stop kissing when she's slipped free of them. Linc's look is alarmed and Charlie looks a little apprehensive as well.

"What - ?" Linc begins but Liv leans forward to stop the rest of his question with a light kiss. She feels the flutter of his lashes against her skin when his eyes close.

"Don't worry, tiger, I'm not running away," she murmurs against his lips with a smile. "I just …" she trails off when Charlie lifts her hair and kisses the very top of her spine, distracting her. She turns to kiss him, too, lightly, then pulls back so she can see them both. "I want to watch," she says and barely recognizes her voice.

A delighted smile breaks out over Charlie's face. "Yeah?"

She doesn't have to fake any enthusiasm here, the answer is on her lips immediately. "Hell, yeah."

"Well," he turns to look at Linc, "what say you, boss?"

"Can't disappoint the lady, can we?" Linc answers with a half-smile. He doesn't look quite as sure as Charlie does, but he's still breathing heavily and his gaze keeps sliding back to Charlie's lips.

Charlie straightens his shoulders. "No sir."

Linc's pupils widen and it looks like Charlie knows exactly which buttons to push.

"Like that, don't you?" Charlie smirks. "Sir?"

"Put that mouth to a better use, Charlie," Lincoln says and pulls Charlie closer to kiss him again. Watching the kiss alone is a revelation. They're easy together, so easy, almost carefree. Charlie grins into the kiss and Linc's smiling, too. Liv still is amazed, because while she knew that Charlie swung the other way as well as hers, she had no idea that Linc did, too.

Their kisses are playful at first, then turn serious, and Liv couldn't look away if she tried. Linc reaches for the back of Charlie's head and runs his hands over the short-cropped hair over and over again. The bristling sound is loud over the sound of their heavy breathing and the wet sounds of their kisses. Charlie pushes and Linc goes down easily, as if they practiced this many times. Charlie abandons Linc's lips and kisses his way down to where Linc's shirt is pulled away from his throat by their movements. Linc bucks up into Charlie when Charlie brushes his lips just under Linc's ear and Liv files that away for later. He stretches his neck to give Charlie better access and Charlie uses the offering to his full advantage by sucking a bruising kiss to the side of Linc's neck. Linc's eyes roll back and his lips open on a subdued moan; he doesn't seem bothered by Charlie's attempt at marking him. His left hand bunches the sheets while his other keeps stroking the back of Charlie's head. Liv has a hard time staying on her side of the bed just watching because Linc looks like the very best kind of porn out there, already debauched and Charlie's just kissing him. She wants to hear Linc make the same noises when it's her turn, just more and louder.

She sees the muscles in Linc's arms and legs flex just before he moves so she has the warning that Charlie doesn't. Linc flips Charlie to his back and Charlie goes down with a surprised oomph. The bloom of Charlie's lovebite is a stark contrast against Linc's pale skin even in the dim light of the bedroom.

The smile on Linc's face is downright predatory when he moves to straddle Charlie and Charlie rolls his hips up to meet his. "Patience isn't really your thing, is it?"

"I haven't had sex in over a year, smartass. Right now, I think patience is completely and utterly overrated." Charlie actually looks a little put out. "Now get that shirt off."

Linc snorts laughter. "And here I thought I was the boss." He grinds down against Charlie and Charlie's eyes flutter shut for a few seconds.

"Shirt," Charlie repeats, a little strangled, and slides his hands under the soft cotton of Linc's tee.

Linc remains unhelpful and just gyrates against Charlie, his lips half open and smiling down at Charlie's reaction, so Liv decides to help. She moves up behind Linc and kisses the back of his neck. A soft sound of surprise escapes his throat, as if he'd forgotten she was there. Liv's not having that. She meets Charlie's hands under the body-warm fabric of Linc's shirt and pushes it upwards. Charlie takes her hands and together, they roam over Linc's skin, touch his back and the dips under his ribs, all the way up to his chest. Her palms brush Linc's nipples and there's no mistaking the jolt that goes through his body. This is still Linc's and Charlie's time, though, so Liv pulls her hands away from his and gently presses Charlie's hands against Linc's chest.

"What happened to watching?" Linc asks, breathless.

Liv smiles and pushes his shirt up so more and more of his back is revealed to her. His skin looks soft. From experience back in the lab, she knows that it is. "Oh, I'm watching. I'm just removing a couple of obstacles that are in my line of sight." She bends down to brush her lips against his spine and feels Linc's body wired with the need to move into Charlie's hands and against her lips at the same time.

She makes short work of the shirt and is glad when he obliges and allows her to pull it off over his arms and his head. It smells of him and Charlie, a familiar scent that causes a Pavlovian reaction in Liv. She tosses it on the floor and plants light kisses against every knob of Linc's spine until her lips reach the hem of his cargo pants. Linc jolts suddenly, throwing her off and when Liv looks up to see what happened, she feels her mouth go dry and her blood rush south. Charlie has curled up and is licking at Linc's left nipple and Linc makes a sound so broken that Liv worries for a second. It really only lasts a second, though, because Linc is all movement suddenly. He grabs Charlie's face and pulls him up to kiss him again, open-mouthed and lewd, then he scrabbles at the hem of Charlie's shirt to pull it up.

When it's off, Charlie laughs in between kisses and murmurs something that sounds like "Patience, huh?" Liv can't be sure because the sound of their breathing and their kisses and her pulse in her ears is just too loud in the otherwise quiet room. They rock together for what feels like forever, faster and faster, Charlie's hands clamping down on Linc's ass and squeezing, Linc's hands raking over Charlie's back, his short-cropped nails leaving pink trails.

Eventually, Charlie tears his mouth away from Linc's and says, "I'm too damn old for dry-humping. I vote everyone gets naked."

Liv can't help the laugh bubbling up. "We're voting now?"

Charlie rolls his eyes while Linc focuses his attention on Charlie's ear with his lips and teeth. The eyeroll turns into Charlie's eyes nearly rolling back in his head when Linc bites down on his earlobe. "Just strip," Charlie gasps.

Liv is well aware of the attention of both men on her when she divests herself of her shirt. She moves deliberately slow, teases at the button of her pants before she undoes the zipper and then slides them off her legs. Charlie and Linc have stopped kissing and are watching her with rapt attention.

"Come on, keep up and maybe I won't be done before you are," she says with a raised eyebrow. She pushes at the bra strap and feels it glide down her upper arm.

Linc and Charlie scramble to divest each other of their clothing and irrationally, Liv is glad that neither of them is still wearing their shoes. The process of taking off shoes usually takes too long and brings back too much of the reality that is blissfully absent in this bedroom. She very much appreciates the sight of Charlie pulling Linc's cargo pants off those long, lean legs and then hooking his thumbs under Linc's boxer briefs and pulling them down as well. Linc's ass really is a work of art. His cock is hard and Liv's mouth waters a little. She sees that he's narrow and circumcised and leaking pre-come, making her want to reach between her legs.

Linc's deft fingers make short work of Charlie's pants and boxers as well and she gets to see the full gorgeousness that is a naked Charlie Francis, the long, elegant lines of muscles and sinews and the tattoos curling along his arms and legs. He, too, is hard and the first look at his cock has her mouth watering even more. Charlie's shorter but wider than Linc. Her mind goes into a brief overload thinking what both men can do for her.

"One of us is still overdressed," Charlie comments, a little breathless from Linc's hand palming his ass.

"I guess someone should do something about that, huh?" she asks, eyebrows raised. She moves her shoulders so her other bra-strap slips down as well.

Both Charlie and Linc move at the same time and as though by an unspoken understanding, Linc goes for her bra while Charlie goes for her panties.

They're guys, so of course they're show-offs; she's just not sure whom they're showing off to, her or each other. Linc opens her bra one-handed and then catches the bra-strap between his teeth to pull it down her arms, kissing and nibbling down her arms in the progress. He gives Charlie a brief kiss when he has pulled the bra down far enough she can shake it off her hands. "Your turn," Linc says and Charlie's eyes flash with the challenge. He guides Liv to lie down but raise her hips a little, then he sets his lips against her belly and kisses his way toward the elastic band of her panties. He breathes deep and shudders a little against her. "You already smell good now," he murmurs into her skin. "Imagine how you'll smell later." It would be a crude remark if she wasn't sure that he's planning to go through with every single fantasy going through his mind.

Charlie, too, tries to get his teeth on the fabric of her panties, but fails, the elastic keeps slipping away from him and after the fourth try, he gives a frustrated huff.

"Suave, Charlie," Linc comments and the laughter in his voice is audible. "Real suave."

"He's just rusty," Liv teases.

Charlie harrumphs. "I'll show you rusty."

"Promises, promises," Liv retorts, and, oh, that was either the worst or the best idea of the night thus far, because Charlie pulls the panties down her legs in an impatient move that's nowhere near as gentle as Linc was and then Charlie's hands are there, opening her legs and his hair tickles the inside of her thighs. He dips his head so he can set his mouth against her, stretches her with one hand and licks a long, teasing strip along her clit. Just one, then he's gone. Liv bucks up as though electrocuted and falls back on the bed with a frustrated groan when Charlie rolls to his side and makes no more move to continue what he started.

"Tease," she pants.

Luckily, Linc steps up to distract her. He bends down to mouth at her breasts. She jolts when he sets his lips against her right nipple and guides his tongue, wet-warm-silky, over and around it. "Don't." She pushes Linc's head away from her breast. He looks up at her, alarmed; her tone must have been a lot sharper than she meant to. She strokes her hand along his cheek and trails his lips with her fingertips to convey she's not upset. "Breasts are fine, just leave the nipples out," Liv instructs. "Too sensitive." The pregnancy has them over-sensitive to the point of hurting, chafing against even the softest bra.

Something flickers through Linc's eyes but she's glad to see him shove whatever it is he originally meant to say aside. "I'm sure Charlie wouldn't mind the attention," she quips, but Linc is focused. He cups her breasts as he weighs them in his hands. They're fuller now than they were a few weeks ago, feel heavier already. Linc pays them a lot of attention, massages gently, presses soft kisses under them and over, blows air over the moist patches left by his open-mouthed kisses, touches everywhere, all around her nipples but never touching them, proving that he's good at following her wishes. His other hand has moved to her belly, strokes idly around her belly button, then dips lower, and, yeah, oh, yeah. He finds her clit and spreads the moisture already very present there. His breath comes fast against her skin, his hips move against her leg.

Liv sucks in a huge gulp of air when Linc's finger breaches her and his thumb presses against her clit in perfect counterpoint. Her breathing becomes shallow after that, interspersed with little moans. She comes for the first time when Linc pushes a second finger inside her. Her hand flails and reaches out for Charlie to anchor her. The orgasm is short and intense and nowhere near enough. Her body is ready for more, so much more, and she wants to tell Linc to fuck her right the hell now, but she catches Charlie watching them with rapt attention, his hand curled around his fully hard cock, thrusting into his own fist. His eyes are darker than normal, his mouth flushed and his lips are open.

The picture he makes is gorgeous and sexy as all hell, but she thinks that he's had only his hands as company for long enough. "Looks like Charlie's feeling a bit neglected," she murmurs as she runs her free hand over Linc's back.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm enjoying the show," Charlie husks.

"What if I want a show too?" Liv asks. "What if I told you to blow Linc for me?" She wouldn't mind it the other way around, either, but Charlie's bound to have more experience, and she wants this to be good for all of them.

Charlie's about to answer when Linc pounces. "Still the boss around here," he says and crawls over to Charlie, bats Charlie's hand away and bends over Charlie's cock to give it an experimental lick. Charlie's head thumps back on the bed and when Linc takes him fully into his mouth, he utters a very colorful expletive in Spanish. Charlie's hand nearly crushes Liv's. Linc's action just shows her that she can try to orchestrate things in this bed, but she's still dealing with two men who very much have their own ideas. The more Linc relaxes, the more creative he gets and Liv feels giddy and incredibly turned on with the knowledge.

Liv is reduced to staring because she sure as hell hadn't expected this. Seems that for all his talking, Linc has left out some key information about his experiences, because what she's seeing here is not an inexperienced blowjob. Linc's eyes are closed, his lashes fan his cheeks and he's hollowing his cheeks as if he's never done anything but suck cock. His lips stretched around Charlie's cock are beautiful.

Charlie's breathing fast, muttering encouragements and stroking Linc's hair. Liv feels a hollow ache between her legs; it grows worse the longer she watches them, and the closer she sees Charlie getting to release. When Charlie starts to thrust up into Linc's mouth, his eyes unfocused and his words no longer making any sense, Liv moves, unable to stop herself.

"Stop," she orders and pulls Linc away from Charlie and up to her. She kisses Linc deep and breathless, tasting Charlie in his mouth. "Don't get him off yet."

"Hey," Linc complains, but lets Liv take the lead again.

Charlie gives an inarticulate groan of protest and flops back, spreading his arms wide on the bed in defeat and breathing hard. His laughter edges toward hysteria. "Remember the part about not having sex in over a year? And you're cock-blocking me in the middle of the best damn blowjob I've had in ages?"

Liv blows him a kiss, winks and catches the light from the papyrus lamp in the corner on the foil package of the condom so it reflects on Charlie's face. She tears it open and rolls it on him.

"Ladies first," she declares with a grin.

"Oh, yeah?" Charlie Francis, she's glad to re-learn, has never backed away from a challenge. He goes to his knees, hauling her up, none too gentle, so her ass rests on his thighs, both her legs over his right shoulder. He takes his time spreading her legs wide, kisses the soles of her feet before draping one leg around his hip and handing the other to Linc.

Linc kisses his way from her knee to her hip, circling the point of her hip with mouth and tongue, making her squirm.

When Charlie enters her with one long rough thrust that steals her breath and makes her back arch off the bed for a second, Linc is there, his hand underneath the small of her back, supporting her. His hand is hot against her sweat-damp skin. Charlie's well endowed, his width stretches her almost to the point of hurting and she's glad they spent enough time on foreplay so that she's wet enough. He feels good inside of her.

Charlie stills, half pulled out of her, and a throaty moan escapes her throat when she feels Linc's mouth and tongue against her clit. "Oh, God." She's ready to fly apart but she fights it, lifts her head because she has to see, has to see Linc’s mouth go from her clit to Charlie’s cock and back again, and hear the sound as he laps at them wet and slippery. It’s both stunning and hot, the way Linc’s eyes are closed, long lashes fanning his cheeks, a look of rapture on his face that she’s never seen before.

"Fuck, you’re gorgeous," Charlie mutters. "Both," he swallows against his voice cracking, licks his lips and tries again, "both of you." His words, harsh with arousal and need, go straight to her core, her muscles clench around him and she rocks up against him, trying to make him move.

Charlie slides into her fully and Linc supports the small of her back, making her arch even more and her hands scrabble for purchase on the sheets and Linc's thigh while she loses her breath as her body tries to accommodate Charlie's cock. She moves once, meets Charlie's thrust and already she feels it begin to build. Selfishly, she chases after her own release.

"No don't," Linc says when her eyes begin to flutter shut. She forces them to re-open because his voice leaves her no choice. "Keep looking at him. Keep your eyes open when you come. I want you to see him."

Charlie's brow knits as if he's in pain. He grabs the back of Linc's neck, pulls him up and kisses him with so much force that she hears their teeth clack. Something unspoken passes between them, but she's not ready to read between the lines. She's hung up on the realization that Charlie must taste her on Linc's lips, and, god, that shouldn't be as sexy as it is. She clenches around Charlie's cock again and he gasps into Linc's open mouth.

"Look at her," Linc murmurs and both men direct their gazes at her. "Look at how beautiful she is, how she's straining for you." Linc's voice is like cool silk, but he's flushing, almost as if he's embarrassed. She can tell that he's not used to the dirty talk, so she saves him from attempting any more and claws her hand into Charlie's leg. She barely has any breath left as she husks out, "Look at how she wants you to fuck her into the goddamn mattress."

Charlie's eyes nearly roll back in his skull and he starts to move, each thrust shooting sparks along her spine.

Liv is never averse to dirty talk as long as it's on her terms. "I want you both to make me scream."

Charlie's thrusts stutter and his hands bite into her thighs to pull her up higher. The movement changes the angle he's thrusting into her and she gasps. "Yeah. Come on." Between one breath and the next, she reaches for Linc's hand, sucks his index and middle finger into her mouth, swirls her tongue around gun calluses and soft skin. When she releases them, she says, "Get your hand back on my clit, Linc."

His pupils almost swallow his irises when he does. Liv arches when his fingers touch her exactly where she wants him to. She throws her head back and moans her approval.

"You're gonna kill me," Charlie breathes.

Linc gives her a wicked smile and leans forward to set his lips against Charlie's chest and lick a broad stripe across his nipple. Charlie jolts, mutters incoherent Spanish and starts fucking her in earnest. It's not gentle, and she doesn't want it to be. It's hard and fast and exactly what she needs. She gives back as good as she gets, meets Charlie thrust for thrust. Linc's hand is merciless on her clit as well, and Liv feels it building inside of her, while her skin flushes with heat. Their bodies slap together, loud, and the sound of Linc licking and sucking at Charlie's nipple blends with Charlie's and her moans. Just a little more, just a little harder …

Charlie stiffens suddenly, just for a second, and makes a sound that seems to come from the very bottom of his vocal chords as he looses all coordination. His next thrusts are even deeper than before and Linc flicks at her clit faster and faster as he murmurs, "Yeah, come on, come on," and on a sensory overload that borders on pain, Liv falls over the edge. Her back arches and her body is set alight by the force of the orgasm racing along every nerve ending. She shouts her pleasure and clings to Charlie and Linc while she rides out the last aftershocks. She never closes her eyes and so she gets to see Charlie break open as well, his face twisted in near-pain but the relief and the happiness are so strong that she feels tears prickling in her eyes just from watching him.

Charlie slumps against her when he comes down from the high and she feels squished pretty soon, has a hard time breathing, so she moves her legs off his shoulders and slides away from him. He lists to the side with a smile playing around his lips that's downright dopey.

"If I die now, I'll die happy," he declares and relaxes into a boneless heap.

Liv catches Linc's gaze and grins at him. "Looks like we wore him out."

Linc nods but his smile doesn't reach his eyes.

Doubt. What she reads there is clearly doubt and Liv, still high on endorphins, has no idea how to deal with that except to kiss him. She goes slow, deliberately different from how she was with Charlie, and Linc opens up willingly, lets her push him to his back and climb over him.

"Are you sure?" he asks and Liv wants to laugh, because she has no idea why he'd ask her that now.

"The female body is a wonderful thing," she whispers close to his ear. "Give us one orgasm and we want more. And even better, we can have more."

It's not really what he meant, but she needs something to concentrate on that's not this sudden influx of insecurity on her end as well. His cock is at full attention, pressed all the way up against his stomach and it leaves wet smears against her belly. Liv moves up and drags her vulva over his cock and watches his eyes flutter shut in time with her body acknowledging the new sparks shooting along her spine.

She looks him straight in the eyes, eyes that she's never seen so damn blue before. "Lincoln Lee," she says, takes his cock gentle but firm in her hand and positions it at her entrance for one quick, enticing touch. "Will you please fuck me?" He shudders at the contact, tears his gaze away from hers and blindly reaches for the nightstand to grab a condom. It's Charlie who hands him one, already out of the foil package. Liv helps him roll it on and then, impatient, she lowers herself on him, feeling her body welcome him.

It's good. Different from Charlie, but just as good. She closes her eyes, leans back and just enjoys the connection for a few seconds. Once she bends forward again to look at him and moves her hips a few experimental times, she feels him aborting his movements, as if he's trying very hard not to lose control this early on. Always the gentleman, his hands come up to reach for her clit, fingers finding her sensitive spots within the blink of an eye, already expertly pushing her toward another release, but his eyes stay closed and she can't have that. Won't have that.

"Don't," she says on a gasp. "Don't close your eyes, Linc. I want you to see me."

So he does and she knows within seconds that her request was a clear case of careful what you wish for, because Linc … Lincoln can't keep a secret. Never could. He may hide and deflect and joke but here and now, with him buried inside her body, straining against her, she sees everything and it's like a punch to the gut to realize that he loves her. Not just as a partner, not the way she loves Charlie and the way she loves him. This isn't just camaraderie and lust. This runs deeper. It's devotion.

Liv stares at him for what seems like an eternity before her body wills her to move. He never breaks eye contact with her, lays it all out in front of her and she can't take it, so she bends down to kiss him, deep and desperate. Linc groans into the kiss, holds her close enough she'll feel the bruises in the days to come, and starts to move under her. They kiss and kiss, dirty, wet, and wild, while his hands move to her ass and press her down against him.

Lips against the back of her spine make her arch and tear away from Linc's mouth on a gasp. Linc groans when her position changes and so does she; he's deeper inside of her now and the aborted snap of his hips hits exactly the right spot. She bends back but keeps her hands locked with Linc's as she speeds up her movements, riding him faster. Not long now, just a little more and she'll, she'll -

Charlie's rough hands on her hips come as a shock when they stop her and force her to move slower. He draws it out for both of them, guides Liv's hips first slower, then faster, until Linc whispers heated obscenities and strains against her. His fingers nearly crush her hand but she's doing the same to him; they both know they won't break the other. The pain is a heady rush Liv didn't expect to like.

It starts to build momentum when Charlie lets go of her hips. Liv digs her knees into the mattress, bends forward and locks her gaze with Linc's again. The grin she gives him is probably manic but she doesn't care; he feels too good inside her. He grins back at her, wide and brilliant and real, all of the earlier shadows gone. With Charlie no longer holding her back, she can quicken her pace and she's riding Linc fast within seconds, making him bite his lip to suppress a moan, rushing toward her climax at a dizzying pace. The slap of their bodies meeting is loud in the room and she's laughing; this feels good, it feels right, so much better than she would have expected and she needs to stop thinking now and let everything else go. This isn't just for her, this is for Linc, too and she needs to, she needs -

Liv falls over the edge, unexpected, when Charlie's fingers press against her clit. Her orgasm blooms sharp and feral, racing out against her skin in an explosion of gold and heat that goes on and on. Linc's jaw goes slack as he watches her come, he licks his lips and whispers encouragements she can't hear over the rushing of blood in her ears. Charlie doesn't let up and Linc holds back still and she knows she can, so she speeds up again, fucks him harder than before and one orgasm slides into a second, even brighter one that leaves her wrung out and sagging forward. Linc follows her then, his face contorting as though in pain when he comes, his eyes losing focus but never closing. She watches him unravel and like it was with Charlie, this isn't awkward in the least - it's a gift. She gentles him with kisses as he comes down from the high and tastes his smile against her lips. He tastes happy and she's suddenly, inexplicably scared because she realizes that she is, too.

She doesn't linger in the afterglow. She slips from the bed and heads for the bathroom again to pee and clean up and to get a washcloth for Charlie and Linc. On her way to and from, her mind goes into overdrive, thinking about the consequences of what they just did. She switches off the light and lies down next to Charlie, feeling stiff and awkward, especially when she thinks of Linc and that look of wonder on his face. She's frightened by how much she wants to see it again.

Charlie pulls the sheets over them and loops his arms around both their waists, pulling them close to him. "Stop thinking, both of you," he orders, his voice gruff. Liv wants to smile at the underlying fondness, but it feels like a grimace; her facial muscles just don't want to comply. What if this is the last time he'll banter with them this way? What if the sex they had will now always stand between them? What if they can't go back to being friends? It's too late to worry about that but she can't stop the thoughts from cartwheeling in her head.

"I said both of you," Charlie says and pokes her side. "That includes you, Liv." This time, she does smile. She can hope, right? And even if it doesn't work tomorrow, he's still there now and so is Linc. She'll take what's offered. She kisses the ball of Charlie's shoulder and snuggles up against him, snakes her arm across his belly. Linc finds her hand in the dark and laces his fingers with hers. She squeezes back and is glad when he doesn't let go.

Charlie kisses both of their heads and his hand around her hip tightens. She imagines that he's doing the same to Linc.

Liv listens to Charlie's and Linc's breath even out into sleep. Even though she’s calmer now, the wild beast of panic back in its pen, it takes her hours to follow.

***

She wakes to early morning light filtering through the windows. It takes her a while to get her bearings and remember what happened the night before. She tenses, but Charlie still has his arm draped around her hip, and even in sleep he's solid enough to stave off what is on its way to becoming a round of buyer's remorse; his bare skin is warm and wonderful against her and she'll enjoy it as long as it lasts, damn it. She lifts her head to look toward the other side of the bed and something twists in her stomach to find it empty. Linc is nowhere to be seen.

Liv extricates herself from Charlie as carefully as she can so she won't wake him and looks around the room for something to wear. Her clothes are rumpled and need a quick tumble in the 'fresher. She contemplates pulling them on after all but after giving her shirt an experimental sniff, she drops it. Definitely 'fresher material. One of Linc's black shirts lies thrown over a chair so she pads over and pulls it on. He's always been just shy of slight, so it isn't too large on her, just too long, which suits her just fine.

Liv doesn't know what she expects to find in the living room. She hopes he hasn't left. She hadn't been able to fall asleep for the longest time last night and had had time to think and while there were no revelations, there were realizations. The bedroom door still in hand, she hesitates. She doesn't know what she'll do if she finds the living room empty.

Eventually, she squares her shoulders and pushes the door open.

There's noise in the kitchen and her relief is sharp enough to make her knees watery. She pads around the corner toward the open kitchen and leans against the wall to watch him while she waits for her knees to lock. He's wearing sweatpants that ride low on his hips and nothing else. His hair is tousled, though not in the artful way that she keeps on joking requires half a metric ton of product and an hour in front of the mirror each morning. No, it's tousled by sleep and, she swallows and feels a pleasant heat pool in her stomach, by hers and Charlie's hands.

The muscles in Linc's back and over his hips flex as he walks back and forth between the stove and the kitchen. There's a pitcher with a whisk in it next to the stove. A frying pan rests on the stove and a pot of tea sits on the counter, with three delicate china cups arranged meticulously around it. They're hand-painted. Liv remembers an artist in China Town giving them to Linc after he'd called off the quarantine of her block at the last minute. Linc had acted as if he didn't care back then, but she'd seen the delighted smile lurking in his eyes. They might be heroes to a lot of the people in New York City, but it was still rare that anyone gave them presents.

"Hey," she says eventually, her voice still low and rough from sleep.

He whips around, takes in her appearance and smiles one of those radiant smiles she saw the night before. "Hey," he greets in return.

Liv pads barefoot around the counter, takes a glass out of the cabinet and fills it with water from the pitcher standing next to the sink. The mundane task helps her to get some order to her thoughts even when she knows he's watching her. She empties the glass, sets it in the sink and says, "I was worried that you'd left."

"This is my place, where would I go?" The casual reply sounds too rehearsed, too carefree and Liv makes her decision then. He's standing in front of the fridge, his back to her and she walks up to him and hugs him from behind, her hands flat against his stomach, her face pressed against his right shoulder blade.

He freezes and she just holds on tighter, willing him to understand what she can't put into words. It takes him a long time to relax into her touch. When he does, his arms come up to cover hers and he leans back into her. She doesn't know how long they stand that way; she loses time listening to his heartbeat slow from a frantic thumping to a steady pace. It's not okay yet. She just hopes it will be.

"What is this?" Charlie's voice startles her out of the moment; she lets go of Linc. "No one told me there were free hugs available."

Charlie looks rumpled, the pillow has left a crease pressed into his cheek and without product to keep it in place, his hair curls and stands on end. He's bare-chested too, clad in just his loose charcoal boxers and he's … damn near floating. He looks like a cat that got the cream and seems completely oblivious of the tension between her and Linc.

"Only for those who don't sleep until noon," Linc quips, then turns around to catch her gaze, inviting her to join him in teasing Charlie and it's comfortable, the way it's always been between them.

"Then aren't we glad that it's barely nine?" Charlie rasps. "So, come here. Group hug."

Charlie engulfs them in a hug that smells of happiness, of bed-warm skin, musk and familiarity. He kisses first the top of Liv's head, then stretches a little to kiss Linc's, and Liv wants to weep at the gratitude she feels. It's going to be all right. Better than before.