“I say if we move in, we pool all our money into a huge, good mattress for one bedroom while the other rooms can be used as studio space or a home gym.”

“I like the sound of that. We could get a cute little apartment with two bedrooms and a nice living room.”

“Big windows that’ll let a lot of light in and a cute little kitchen!”

“And a bathroom with a tub we all can fit in!”

“That’s kinky,” Deimos deadpanned.

Mira and Kalmin exchanged looks and Kalmin elbowed him playfully, both boys snickering.

“Hey, just stating the obvious,” Deimos shrugged. “We’ll also need to get a soundproofed place.”

Mira rolled her eyes and smirked at him. “We wouldn’t need to if you could be quieter.”

Deimos smirked back. “You love it.”

“We’re in Denny’s, you guys,” Kalmin whined, a little embarrassed.

Mira snickered and slid her hands across the table to lace into Kalmin’s. “You love it,” Mira repeated, cracking up Deimos.

“I’m dating perverts,” Kalmin sighed and shook his head in disbelief.

“Hey, takes to be one to know one,” Deimos pointed out.

Dramatically, Kalmin rolled his eyes. “Where’s the coffee, I need it before I break up with you.”

“Again?” Mira joked.

Deimos laughed out loud. “This is his fifth time threatening me this week.”

“What were the other times?”

“He won’t stop playing Halloween music when we’re driving,” Kalmin interrupted.

“That’s because you’re already onto the Christmas music and it’s the middle of November,” Deimos bickered.

“That’s a perfectly acceptable time, the holidays are now,” he replied back.

“No, finals are now, not Christmas.”

“They lift my spirits!”

“My spirit is dying.”

“Your spirit sucks.”

“I’m going to break up with you.”

Mira snorted. At one point, Deimos had stretched out his hand for Mira as well and she reached over to hold his hand as well as the two of them bickered.

“You’d never,” Kalmin sneered playfully. “You fought the moon and literal lightning to confess to me.”

“That’s metal as hell,” Mira commented.

“Fuck yeah it was,” Deimos barked. “I don’t believe I kicked the moon’s ass and its lighting cronies to get this six-foot-five jerk that hijacks my AUX cord to play All I Want for Christmas is You on repeat for an hour.”

“Ok, but you also wouldn’t stop playing This is Halloween throughout all of October,” Mira pointed out.

Deimos squeezed her hand. “Mira, I need your support.”

She shook her head. “I’m not picking sides. We don’t pick sides, we talk and negotiate,” she lectured. Kalmin snorted and kissed her hand.

“And dressing Deimos as the Red Hood, and me as Nightwing, and you as Black Bat for Halloween was a negotiation,” he said sarcastically.

Mira gasped. “It was the only choice!”

“Deimos and I were ok with being the Powerpuff Girls! And it was cheaper!”

“Lemme fulfill one fantasy, guys!” Mira whined.

Deimos blinked. “What was that?”

Mira blushed and snapped her mouth shut.

Deimos burst out laughing. “You totally wanna role play in our costumes,” he hissed playfully.

She prayed her hands weren’t too sweaty.

Kalmin groaned. “I’m dating perverts.”

Deimos rolled his eyes at him. “Ok, first of all, daily we make out in a bathroom in the English building-”

“And we’re done here!” Kalmin interrupted loudly, leaning back and raising his hands up in defeat. Deimos and Mira giggled at him, Deimos wrapping an arm around him and kissing his shoulder.

Kalmin glanced at him and smiled. He had that dreamy look that usually Mira saw before Kalmin made out with one of them. But unfortunately, they were in the middle of Denny’s and he could only make puppy-dog eyes at his boyfriend. Mira snickered and reached out for his hand again, Kalmin taking it immediately.

Soon after, they went back to bickering about costumes, comic book characters, and how next Halloween Kalmin needs to be Superman, Deimos needs to be Batman and Mira needs to be Wonder Woman. Once again, this was completely Mira’s idea, and Deimos complained how they could be something more simpler like the kids from Stranger Things, or something more well-known like the trios in Star Wars.

Their server caught them in the middle of a heated debate if Rey, Poe and Fin should be in a polyamorous relationship. All of them were technically on the side for team poly, but Mira decided to play Devil’s Advocate and go against Deimos who was getting insanely heated in their debate. Kalmin was just giggling at the two of them bicker with his head against Deimos’ shoulder and hand laced with Mira’s until the server popped in with the plates of syrupy goodness. His laughter was cut short and hands retracted away from his partners.

Mira kept a straight face as the server presented their brunch, glancing at Kalmin hesitantly. He made small talk with the server, thanking them immensely with his award-winning smile until they left their table. Then he dropped the facade and looked back at his partners.

“O-Oh, sorry,” he mumbled, embarrassed. He rubbed his neck, frowning and staring hard down at his waffles.

“No worries, dude,” Deimos elbowed him lightly. He gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s ok, I get it.”

Mira smiled at Kalmin as well, nodding thoughtfully. “All good here, too.”

Mira’s been with girls who were closeted. She knew how to act and how to present herself. But she couldn’t lie, being with Deimos and Kalmin was a completely different ballgame. They just clicked and Mira wanted to spend every aching second with her hands on them. But Kalmin wasn't like that and that was fair. He’s never dated a boy, and he’s never dated two people. He was on the same boat as her closeted ex-girlfriends. And Mira needed to unlearn all her bad habits from the past, just as Kalmin was learning how to love two people. They were polar opposites on the spectrum of PDA, testing day by day for a happy medium for all three.

Deimos, on the other hand, seemed to be just enjoying the ride. He was wild, unabashed, and snarky. He genuinely didn’t seem to be affected by Kalmin’s shyness in public, nor Mira’s obsession with them. He was their rock, going with the punches when Kalmin got a little colder or Mira got a little hotter, and the two of them appreciated him even more throughout this whole crazy new ordeal.

Kalmin traded looks at his two partners and smiled softly. “Ok, now you both seriously deserve unlimited waffles.”

Deimos laughed. “Don’t mind if I do,” he sang.

Kalmin rolled his eyes and shot an exasperated look to Mira. She giggled and bit into her breakfast.

“Kalmin! You’ve got a secret admirer!”

Kalmin looked up from his texts with Gabriel and Aaron to scan across the foggy change room. More than a dozen dewy men were either in towels, in the midst of getting changed or straight up buck nude; and in the middle of the chaos of pungent spray-on deodorant, rough-housing and the usual team bromance, a half-naked crowd emerged from the showers with one short pale-skinned freshman smack-dab in the middle.

Gregory was the one shouting, a third-year like him, with this big, shit-eating grin on his face. A little bit of dread ran through Kalmin.

Sighing, he plopped his phone into his locker and padded over in his sweats to the crowd of half-naked hooting hockey boys and the terrified freshman.

“Leave him alone, guys,” he hissed, waving off Greg’s arm that was slung over the poor kid.

Greg laughed heartily. “You two would make a great couple, you’re gay, aren’t ya?!”

Kalmin narrowed his eyes. “I’m bi.”

“Same thing.”

“Not really.” He rolled his eyes and glanced at the freshman. “Theo, wasn’t it?”

His big, blue, terrified eyes looked at him. He nodded hastily.

“What did Greg do now? If he’s being an ass, just tell me, and half the team will shame him.”

“You’re so harsh,” Gregory whined. “I’m only warning you that you might have a peeping tom on your hands.”

Theo’s eyes even widened even more and he looked at the ground in shame. His cheeks reddened and the cronies Gregory accumulated howled in amusement. Kalmin also caught sight of some of the other freshmen staring at him in shock. However, just on queue, Sebastian, Bailey, Ajax and Daren (one third year and three of the tallest team members) came to the rescue. The four of them created a wall between Gregory and his cronies, and Kalmin and Theo.

“Everyone checks out everyone, get with the program, dumbass,” Seb said bluntly. He slung an arm around Theo.

“Especially when Kalmin’s got that cake,” Daren joked, earning snorts and giggles. The tension in the room dissipated. Kalmin rolled his eyes at him and flipped him off.

“Keep talking shit Greg, and I’m going to train Theo to be a better offence man than you.”

Some second years on the benches hooted and laughed.

Gregory rolled his eyes. “I was only trying to be a Good Samaritan.”

“Not needed and never needed,” Kalmin cut it short.

“Dorm Mama speaks!” A freshman yelled in the back.

“And Dorm Mama is right,” the captain, Riley, interrupted. He walked out of the showers, towel slung on his hips, face twisted in disappointment. “Greg, stop bullying the freshmen; Kalmin, you’re one step closer to being captain.”

Greg’s jaw dropped and Kalmin’s buddies cheered.

“The captain lays down the law!” Bailey hooted.

Greg didn’t fight it and walked over to his locker. His cronies dispersed, some glaring at Kalmin and others at Theo.

“We’ve already talked about this before, I don’t give a shit who you fuck, just behave on the ice and be a good team player. You get us to the Nationals, then fuck all the men you want, I don’t care!” Riley barked sternly to the rest of the team. He patted Kalmin on the shoulder, a small smile on his face, and wandered to his locker to change. Seb and the fourth years patted his shoulder too, as well as giving Theo some words of encouragement before also retreating back to their hooligan ways. Then it was just Theo and Kalmin, and the hockey-playing barista glanced down at him warmly.

“If Greg or anyone makes you uncomfortable, talk to me, ok?” He said softly. “He’s an ass off ice, and from experience, loves to bicker and get under your skin. Call him out and usually he’ll back off.”

The freshman looked shot. Nervously, he nodded. “Yessir,” he whispered.

Kalmin smiled at him and slapped him in the back. “Good,” he smiled. “You did great at practice today. Keep it up and Ajax will seriously train you.”

“T-Thank you, s-sir,” Theo blurted out again. His face down to his shoulders were red. Cute kid.

Kalmin gave him a reassuring smile and went back to changing.

* * * 

“Kalmin!”

Kalmin paused and swirled around, his gym bag sliding down his shoulder.

Three freshmen jogged up to him from across campus. Watching them follow after him like ducklings kind of made him feel old. They were all so fresh-faced and new, some chubbiness in their cheeks and skinniness to their bodies still remaining from high school.

“What’s up?” He chirped, shoving his pockets into his bomber. It was getting cold out, cold enough to snow now.

“Are you actually bisexual?” The redhead said with wide eyes.

Kalmin blinked. Now that he thinks about it, he’s never told the new team about his sexuality.

He nodded. “I am.”

“Are you dating that guy?” The brunette asked excitedly. “The one who wears the pink sweaters all the time?”

Kalmin’s heart skipped a beat. “Deimos? Oh, no. We’re just good friends. He’s dating one of the visual art kids.”

The three of them looked confused and exchanged looks.

“We swore you were dating him,” one trailed off.

“I’m not,” Kalmin laughed. Yes he was. He was also basically living with him, which is why they never see him at the dorms at all. “Anyways, now that you’ve asked me a question, it’s time for me to ask you one as well.”

The three musketeers looked surprised.

“What’s up?” The redhead chirped.

“How’s Theo? I’ve got a sneaking suspicion this isn’t the first time the boys have picked on him.”

They looked at him bizarrely.

“What?” He frowned.

The brunette blinked. “Well, Seb did tell us that you do sleep over constantly at that one dude’s place, but I didn’t think you’d do it that often.”

“Just tell me, you three,” Kalmin sighed.

“Theo’s gay,” the third one said bluntly. “And he likes you.”

Kalmin couldn’t help but make a face.

“Wait, what?”

“We heard it from Nikola,” the redhead added. “His roommate.”

Nikola?

It took Kalmin a moment, but a face did pop up. Hot-shot rich kid from a big sports school. Buzz cut, piercings and tattoos. Russian accent. Great. He definitely remembers one kid body-checking him last Friday. That was Nikola. An over-confident, violent offensive player.

He rolled his eyes.

Poor Theo, roomed with him.

“And what did Nikola say?” He said, his words clipped.

“Heard him jerkin it moaning your name and gross shit like that. Saw him steal your dirty laundry and watches you shower after every practice.”

Kalmin’s eyes narrowed. “I haven’t lost any laundry last time I checked. I don’t even do my laundry at the dorms, I do it at my buddy’s apartment. They’ve got a quieter laundry room so unless he’s following me and has the keys to the apartment complex, he’s not stealing my laundry.” He rubbed his temples, a little annoyed. “Don’t believe everything someone says. Confront the person, don’t believe all the rumours, kid.”

“Are you going to confront Nikola?” The redhead gasped.

“Obviously,” Kalmin deadpanned. “Team unity is key. This high school drama bullshit does not stay within the team.”

The three of them looked surprised he swore. He softened up and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Thank you for telling me,” he said, finally. “Sorry, I got heated at you three when you didn’t deserve it. Just, be kind to one another, ok?”

Hastily, they nodded.