They didn’t need Kai. They had each other. Kai had heard on the news that the United States president had signed off on the professorial relationship bill.
It had become a law. There was nothing stopping Spike and Micah from holding hands in public, nothing stopping them from getting married, like Spike wanted.
Deep down, Kai knew the two of them would get closer. They’d forget about him, and then he’d be left relying on his teammates for company, whether he liked it or not.
When he returned in four months... would there still be space in Micah and Spike’s bed?
* * *
Two months into Kai’s contract in Colorado, they exchanged care packages. Kai had made Spike and Micah promise not to open his box until he could watch them on video, and they’d made him promise the same of their parcel.
Kai was sitting next to their box, at the head of his bed, when they began the next video call.
Micah beamed on the screen, his hair damp from a shower, his eyes lighting up. Gods, he was always so beautiful. So damn amazing. Maybe Kai was starting to sound a bit like Spike, but he didn’t care. Just cradled his phone in his hands, staring at that omega.
“He’s ogling you,” Spike said dryly.
“How are you so sure he’s not ogling you?” Micah asked.
“Because I’m still pissed with him.” Spike shot Kai the finger, but after a while, he smiled. “I miss you, you asshole.”
Kai’s breath stuck in his throat. Spike’s anger had faded somewhat, and now Kai couldn’t bear to look at Spike too long, either, because he wanted to press his forehead against Spike, and just breathe him in.
Micah elbowed Spike. “Blame me. I encouraged him. But Kai misses you, too. Don’t make this harder on him, Spike.”
Spike sniffed grudgingly. Kai’s heart swelled, though. “I miss you,” Kai said, his throat growing tight.
Spike blinked hard, looking away. “Open your box, damn it.”
Their box was bigger than the one Kai had sent, and just a little heavier. Kai cut through the shipping tape with a box cutter, peering inside. He found clothes in two separate, sealed bags. A sweater and a pair of pants in the first bag, rumpled and messy. They were familiar clothes—a couple of items Kai had left behind, since he shared all his clothes with Spike.
The only difference was that the sweater and pants smelled like juniper—all of it. Rich and earthy, like Spike had been wearing these for two whole weeks, his scent heavy on them.
Kai buried his face in Spike’s clothes, his heart thumping. They smelled like home.
“I guess he likes those,” Micah said, a smile in his voice.
Kai couldn’t even speak. His throat had closed up.
“Open the other one,” Spike muttered. When Kai looked back at his phone, he found a blush on Spike’s cheeks. Spike was smiling.
The clothes in the second bag were smaller, all gardenia and honey. Kai sniffed at them, too, filling his lungs with Micah’s scent. It was probably the best gift he’d ever received, with the way the scents sat around him now, as though Spike and Micah were right there with him.
“Micah and I thought you might like those,” Spike muttered.
“Thanks,” Kai croaked. “I appreciate it.”
He left the clothes on himself, so they felt like a hug. Further down in the box, he found boxes of chocolate chip cookies—his favorite—some packages of beef jerky, and a vacuum-sealed bag of dark-roasted coffee beans.
“For our star athlete,” Micah said, beaming. “Spike threw in the cookies.”
Kai cracked another smile. “I’ll eat them all. Slowly.”
At the bottom of the box, he found an autographed jersey from Phil O’Riley—one of the greatest basketball stars right now. Kai’s eyes grew wide. He’d been eyeing that jersey for a while.
“Happy birthday,” Spike and Micah said, smiles on their faces.
Kai looked back at them, his heart aching. The presents were all great, but... They were nothing compared to having Spike and Micah in his arms. “Thanks.” He swallowed hard. “Are you gonna open my box?”
And now his pulse began to patter, because he really wanted to know whether they’d like his gifts.
Spike cut through the tape on the box, before handing it to Micah. Micah’s eyes grew wide at the full set of cosmetics there. It wasn’t much, but Kai had peeked into Micah’s stash before he’d left for Colorado.
Kai shrugged. “Not that you have to wear it, you know. Just in case you wanted to. You’re beautiful straight out of the shower.”
A tiny laugh bubbled out of Micah. He leaned close to the camera, and blew a kiss. Kai stopped breathing. Could just imagine those lips on his skin. He’d been thinking about them a lot lately, in bed. The silicone tube was nothing compared to Spike or Micah in person, in his arms.
Spike pulled an organic chemistry textbook out of the box, labeled Spike. “Seriously?” he asked, flipping Kai off.
Kai coughed, unable to help his grin. “I asked Micah which one you needed next.”
Micah bit down his smile, his eyes sparkling. He’d been in on that joke, and Kai had smiled whenever he imagined Spike’s reaction.
“Micah gets things for looking pretty, and I get homework. Thanks.” Spike rolled his eyes.
“There’s something else in there for you,” Kai said. “Split it with Mom. You decide how much.”
Surprise darted through Spike’s face. He reached into the box for the last item—a small envelope, with just one check. When Spike pulled it out, his eyes widened. “You’re fucking kidding me.”
Ten grand. Kai had been saving up over the past two months of playing basketball—out of the fourteen grand of his pay, he’d taken a couple out for his daily necessities, and a couple out for taxes. The rest, he’d sent along to Spike.
Micah peeked over Spike’s shoulder, his eyebrows rising. Then he smiled. “That feels good, doesn’t it,
