Blue Eyes, White Lies

Chapter 16

Eric's eyes are teary again, but for another reason. Joy, hope, love. He brushes them off of his face, but we all know they were there. He looks like there's a weight off his chest, a burden he no longer needed to carry. 

"Thank you guys..." he wipes his eyes again. "Last time I dealt with this, I dealt with it alone. I did myself no favors by doing that." He fiddles with the hem of his shirt. "I've got something I've been meaning to tell you... sit down, and I'll explain." There's quite a bit of anxiety in his tone, this's probably been stressing him out for a little while. 

Instead of the usual serious Eric, he doesn't pull out his notebook.  No pens, no post it's. Just us three. 

He sighs, almost blushing. "I... like you two... in a sense beyond being friends..."

Oh. So that's what he meant.

Julian raises an eyebrow, confused. 

"...Close friends?" He asks.

Is it possible to get Sappho and her friend-ed while someone is confessing to you? 

"I was thinking romantic partners when I said that, but if that's what you're comfortable with, that's fine too." Eric says. 

Julian looks like he's thinking to himself for a second.

"Men... can do that? With each other?"

Eric smiles. "Yes, yes they can." 

His eyes almost light up. "Well then! If it's possible, I'd be very happy with that. I'm not sure if I've experienced this "romance" you're talking about, but something tells me it's that happy, fluttery feeling I get when you both come home. Or when we have conversations."

Eric nods. "It's different for everyone, but that would fit under that category."

I nod to his original statement and his last one. "I wasn't sure either of you would accept it, or would even reciprocate, but I feel the same. I love you two both platonically and romantically."

Eric nods again. "Now that that's set, we need to talk boundaries and what everyone is comfortable with. I haven't been in many relationships myself, I'm not sure if either of you have, but good communication gets skipped over by people quite a bit, despite being a crucial part of any relationship."

Julian scratches the back of his head. "I haven't been in any, as you might guess. I'm not exactly sure how to create boundaries..."

"I haven't really been in any either. College and high school took up a majority of my time." I reply.

Eric nods. "Well, I have a few basic things to go over. Are you comfortable with dating people outside this relationship? Are you comfortable with having more people in this relationship? Stances on people you do or don't know, things like that."

I haven't been in many relationships before, so this definitely isn't my strong suit. I mentally prepare a list to rattle off to Eric.

1. As for myself, I won't be. As for other people, that is your choice, not mine. I don't particularly care.

2. Assuming they're trusted, yes. We have identities to keep quiet, but assuming they're aware of that, I am perfectly fine. 

3. As before, date whoever you want, but I'm only going to start dating those I trust.

I rattle those off to Eric, to which he grabs a sticky note (as usual) and jots them down. 

Julian nods. "I'd like that too."

Eric smiles. "I can officially call you two my boyfriends." He stands up. "First official hug, anyone?"

He almost blushes saying it.

Julian and I stand up with him, nodding. 

"I'd like nothing more."

And so we do. Eric brings us into a hug, squeezing us. He gives great bear hugs. (For those who don't remember, he's at least 6'1, and thanks to his werewolf side, he's fairly strong normally.)

These are the kinds of moments I don't want to end. They're happy. They make that happy fluttery feeling (no, not anxiety.) All of us are smiling and blushing. Eric kisses the both of our heads. 

"I love you two."

—————-

I'm sorry but brain is going brrrr and I cannot find anything else to write but what I have-

Ironically, the actual chapter is 666 words-

Here's your wholesome-

Sorry it's so short-