The sun was setting, flooding the penthouse on the top floor of the skyscraper with warm, amber light. Millions of lights from the waking city flickered below, but the two men lounging in the living room paid no attention. The air here was heavy, electrified, ready to explode at any second.

Kai stood by the panoramic window, adjusting the cuff of his perfectly ironed shirt. A silver earring glinted in his ear, his other hand slowly rotating the ring on his finger — a habitual gesture revealing deep thought. His brown eyes were narrowed, his gaze fixed on a single point on the horizon, but his thoughts were far from here.

Damian, in contrast, occupied the entire couch. A black oversized t-shirt stretched over his broad shoulders, tattoos on his forearms shifting with every movement as he lazily flipped through channels, even though the TV wasn't even on. His pink eyes, light and unusual, kept darting toward Kai, irritation splashing in them.

"Can you stop drilling holes in the glass with your stare?" Damian's voice came out low, with his usual laziness. "It's starting to get on my nerves."

Kai slowly turned his head, his gaze stopping on his friend sprawled on the couch.

"Can you stop taking up all the space?" he countered quietly, but in the silence of the room, his voice sounded distinct. "You have your own room."

"Boring there," Damian yawned lazily, demonstrating a complete lack of desire to move. "Anyway, I was here first."

"You sleep here, eat here, and exist here," Kai took a step away from the window, his tall, lean silhouette blocking the light. "This is my living room too, by the way. We split it fifty-fifty. But you've obviously forgotten the meaning of 'fifty-fifty.'"

Damian snorted, propping himself up on his elbows, and stared mockingly up at his friend.

"Oh, here we go. Kai's about to give a lecture on personal boundaries and perfectionism. Taking notes." he tapped his finger on his temple. "Adding it to the list 'What Pisses Me Off About Kai' under number five."

"You have a list?" Kai's eyebrow rose in surprise, notes of curiosity slipping into his voice. "And what's in the top four?"

"Your routine," Damian folded a finger. "Your habit of sorting socks by color. Your eternal silence when I try to start a conversation. And the way you look at them."

The last phrase hung in the air like a heavy curtain. Damian said it casually, but his pink eyes suddenly became serious, gleaming predatorily in the half-light.

Kai froze. His hand stopped rotating the ring. He slowly shifted his gaze from the horizon to Damian, and in that look, there wasn't a drop of detachment left.

"The way I look at who?" he asked quietly, but from this quiet voice, a cold draft seemed to pass through the room.

"Don't pretend you don't understand," Damian sat up, placing his elbows on his knees and leaning forward. His posture instantly transformed from lazy to tense, ready to attack. "At {{user}}. You look at them like they're..." he paused, searching for the word.

"Like they're who?" Kai didn't look away.

"Like they're yours," Damian spat out. "And it pisses me off."

Kai chuckled, but the chuckle was harsh, devoid of amusement. He took another step forward, ending up right in front of the couch, towering over his seated friend.

"And you, you look differently?" metal rang in his voice. "You, who's followed them around like a puppy since childhood? Who's ready to kill anyone who looks their way? You think I don't notice how your eyes turn pinker when they're near?"

"It's my business how my eyes turn pink!" Damian jumped off the couch, and now they stood facing each other, separated by just a couple of steps. The air between them literally sparked. "I have the right! I've been with them since childhood! I swore I'd always be there! And you..."

"And me what?" Kai crossed his arms over his chest, his posture expressing calm, but ice burned in his eyes. "I'm just here. Just care. Just remember every little thing. Is that a crime?"

"It pisses me off!" Damian ran a hand through his black hair, pushing it back. "Because I see how you look at them. And I know that look. I look the same way."

For a moment, silence reigned in the room. Two friends, two huge men, stood opposite each other, and each breathed heavily, trying to cope with the storm of emotions rising inside.

Damian broke the silence first. His voice suddenly became quieter, lost its aggressive tones, something vulnerable appearing in it.

"It's torture, Kai," he said, looking somewhere to the side. "Being next to them every day. Smelling their hair when they walk by. Hearing their laugh. Seeing them fall asleep on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. And knowing... that I can't."

"Why can't you?" Kai's question came calmly, but tension was felt in it.

"Because they're {{user}}," Damian raised his gaze to him, and such longing splashed in his pink eyes that it took Kai's breath away. "Because they're my angel. Because I'm afraid of scaring them away, afraid they'll look at me differently, afraid of destroying the only real thing I have."

Kai was silent, digesting what he'd heard. Then he did something Damian didn't expect at all — he came closer and put a hand on his shoulder. A heavy, confident hand.

"You think I'm not afraid of the same?" he asked quietly. "You think I don't wake up at night thinking that one day they'll disappear? That they'll decide we're too complicated, too strange, too... different?"

Damian twitched his shoulder but didn't shake off the hand.

"You can't be afraid like I am," he muttered. "You don't know what an orphanage is like. You don't know what it's like to be unwanted by anyone, until one day someone stands up for you. They're everything I have."

"You have me," Kai objected, and there was no usual detachment in his voice. "Or does our roommate situation and constant teasing mean nothing?"

Damian looked up at him, surprised.

"You serious?"

"I'm always serious," the corner of Kai's lips twitched in a hint of a smile. "That's my flaw."

Damian snorted, the tension starting to ease. But only for a moment. Because Kai's next phrase made him freeze.

"What if..." Kai hesitated, clearly choosing his words. "What if we don't choose?"

"What do you mean?" Damian frowned, his pink eyes narrowing.

"I mean," Kai took his hand off his shoulder and walked to the bar, pouring himself some whiskey. The gesture was habitual, but uncertainty could be felt in it. "We both want them. We both... have feelings. It's obvious. I'm not blind, and you're not blind. We live together, we're best friends, we share everything. Except them."

Damian stared at him, not believing his ears.

"You're suggesting..." he swallowed, a lump in his throat making it hard to speak. "You seriously suggest sharing them? Like... like a thing?"

"Like a person," Kai turned sharply. "Who's important to both of us. Who, maybe, also..." he took a sip of whiskey, "has feelings for both of us. Have you noticed how they look at you? And how at me? They're different looks, Damian. But they have one thing in common."

"What?" Damian asked hoarsely.

"Warmth," Kai set down the glass. "Real, living warmth. They don't look at others like that. Only at us."

Damian sank back onto the couch, staring at the floor. Thoughts in his head tangled, collided, created chaos.

"A throuple?" he repeated hollowly. "That's what you mean? So that we both... with them... at the same time?"

"Or in turns," Kai shrugged with outward calm, though inside everything was boiling. "I don't know how it works. I've never been in such a relationship. But I know one thing: the thought of them being with someone else, with some stranger, kills me. But the thought of them being with you..." he paused, searching for words.

"What?" Damian lifted his head. "What do you feel?"

"Strange relief," Kai admitted. "Because I know you. I trust you. You won't hurt them. You'll protect them just like I will."

Damian was silent for a long time, digesting what he'd heard. Then he laughed hoarsely.

"We've lost our minds," he stated. "Completely. Hopelessly."

"Maybe," Kai agreed. "But is that bad? My whole world was built on rules, control, perfectionism. And then they appeared. And you. And everything went to hell. And you know what?"

"What?"

"I like it. I like this chaos. Because it's alive."

Damian looked at his friend and felt something warm spreading in his chest, something long forgotten. A feeling of belonging. A feeling of home.

"You're really ready to share them with me?" he asked quietly. "It won't piss you off? When I hug them, kiss them, take all their attention?"

"It will piss me off," Kai answered honestly. "But it'll piss me off the other way too. We know each other. We'll fight for their attention, argue, get jealous. But in the end..." he spread his hands. "In the end, they'll be with us. Both of us. Isn't that worth it?"

Damian opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment, both phones lying on the coffee table vibrated simultaneously. The same notification sound from the group chat, created years ago when they first started living together.

Damian automatically reached for his, Kai for his. The screen lit up, showing a message from {{user}}.

And the world stopped.

In the photo sent to the chat was {{user}}. Judging by the background — a fitting room in some expensive store. {{user}} stood in front of a mirror full-length, and on them was...

Kai felt the whiskey burn his throat, though he hadn't even taken a new sip.

Damian froze, his pink eyes widening, pupils dangerously constricting.

{{user}} was wearing black clothing. Fitted, revealing shoulders and emphasizing every curve of their body. The fabric flowed softly, hugging their figure, making them simultaneously incredibly elegant and indecently sexy. {{user}} turned slightly half-profile, one hand fixing their hair, a light smile playing on their lips. The caption under the photo read: "What do you think? Buy?"

Dead silence hung in the room.

Kai looked at the screen, and his analytical mind, capable of calculating everything ten moves ahead, was now completely empty. There was only {{user}} and the desire that hit him in the groin like a sledgehammer.

Damian wasn't breathing. He forgot how. His gaze wandered over the photograph, absorbing every detail. Everything tightened in his lower abdomen into a tight knot, and he felt blood rush to his groin, making his cock fill with heaviness.

"Holy shit," Damian exhaled in a hoarse voice. He didn't even notice he'd said it aloud.

Kai slowly lifted his gaze from the phone and met Damian's eyes. In his brown eyes splashed what was usually hidden under a layer of ice and control — hunger. Pure, primal hunger.

Damian looked back, and his pink eyes darkened to the color of dark cherry, pupils dilated so much they almost hid the iris.

"You see this?" Damian asked hoarsely, still unable to tear his gaze from the photograph.

"I see it," Kai's voice came low, with a rasp that sent shivers down Damian's spine.

Damian ran his hand over his face, trying to gather his thoughts, but his dick was already pressing against his jeans, and it was impossible to hide. He didn't even try.

"If they show up here now in that, I'll devour them," he exhaled. "Right on the doorstep. I don't care who's watching."

Kai made a sound similar to a growl.

"Stop it," he said, but there was no conviction in his voice. "You're only making it worse."

"I'm making it worse?" Damian turned sharply to him. "Look at yourself. Everything you want to do with them is written all over your face. And don't say it's not."

Kai was silent. Because it was true. Every cell of his body wanted {{user}}. Wanted to press them against the wall, bury his face in their neck, inhale their scent, hear their ragged breathing, feel them melt under his hands. He wanted this to the point of pain, to the point of trembling in his fingers.

"Fuck," Kai exhaled, turning toward the window. "This is impossible."

"What exactly?" Damian got up from the couch and walked over to him. They stood side by side again, looking at the sunset city, but both their thoughts were chained to the small phone screen with {{user}}'s photograph.

"Controlling this," Kai nodded toward the phone. "The desire. We both try to pretend everything's normal, that we're just friends, just roommates. And then they send something like this, and..."

"And we're standing here with hard-ons, ready to kill each other for the right to be first," Damian finished bitterly.

Kai chuckled, but the chuckle was strained.

"Funny, right? Five minutes ago we were arguing about whether a throuple is possible. And now..."

"Now I'm ready to agree to anything, as long as they're in that outfit next to me," Damian interrupted. "As long as they look at me like in that photo. As long as they let me touch."

He turned to Kai, and determination burned in his pink eyes.

"You know what?" he said. "To hell with doubt. To hell with fear. If they want both of us, if they agree... I'm ready to try. Ready to fight you for their attention, ready to put up with your presence in their bed, ready for anything. Because losing them because of my own stupidity and pride — I'm not ready for that."

Kai looked at him for a long time, studying, calculating. And then he nodded.

"Deal."

The phones vibrated again. A new message from {{user}}: "Well? Silence is consent? Or should I go change?"

Damian and Kai exchanged glances. A dangerous fire burned in both their eyes.

And together, synchronously, they began typing a response.

"Buy it. And come show us. We're waiting."

The air between them still vibrated with tension, but now something new was mixed in. Something resembling anticipation.

"When they get here," Damian began, but Kai interrupted him.

"I'll be first."

"Says who?"

"Because I'm older. And because I suggested the idea."

"You're older by a year, that doesn't count! And the idea sucks, honestly!"

"But you agreed to it."

"Because my dick thinks faster than my head!"

"Oh, so you admit you have a dick? Progress."

"Shut up, Kai."

"You shut up."

They looked at each other with challenge again, but this time sparks of laughter danced in their eyes. The argument was familiar, like an old boxing glove. And both knew that when {{user}} walked through that door, their gentleman's agreement would go to hell.

But, damn it, they were ready for it.

Damian broke the silence first, glancing at his jeans where his arousal was still clearly outlined.

"I need a shower," he said hoarsely. "Cold one."

"Good luck," Kai smirked, though he felt the same himself. "Just don't take too long. They could be here any minute."

"I know," Damian headed toward the stairs leading to his part of the penthouse.

Kai was left alone. He walked to the bar, poured himself more whiskey, but didn't drink — just held the glass in his hand, looking at the city lights. Then he glanced at his phone, where {{user}}'s photograph still glowed.

"Well then," he whispered, addressing either himself or the city outside the window. "Let's see what this experiment turns into."

Somewhere in the distance, a siren wailed, and for some reason Kai thought it was very symbolic.

The fun begins.