Four's Company | Stucky / Marvel Polyamorous LGBT Romance

Chapter 13: Nicky

Nicky was grumpy. He was more than grumpy, he was feeling downright petulant. His night with Steve and then the later part of his night with Charlie had been amazing, but today he was exhausted and his body hurt. While he would usually revel in still being able to feel Charlie on his body the next day, today he was just sore and tired. He knew part of this was his fault for pushing Charlie to push him when neither of them had really wanted that, the first time around at least.

He had thought he had gotten all of his emotions out, if not the first time then the second time around, but he was still feeling off kilter for some reason. It felt like an axis in his life had shifted overnight and he couldn't tell up from down.

Everyone in their group chat could tell he was in a pissy mood, so they each texted him individually to check on him.

Steve was especially concerned that he had done something wrong. Nicky quickly assured him it was just him being cranky because he didn't do well with little sleep. They joked that really they should just blame Charlie for keeping him up, since their night together had been wonderful.

Nicky was glad he hadn't upset Steve, but he decided to turn off his phone and go home early. Charlie found him later that evening curled up on the couch with ice cream and a soap opera blaring from the TV.

He carried Nicky into their bedroom and they took a long bath together. When they had bought the apartment, Nicky had been skeptical of the need for a whirlpool bathtub in the master bath, but Charlie had said it was a luxury Nicky deserved. Tonight Nicky was inclined to agree with him.

They had a soft murmured conversation amidst the steam and heady, sweet smelling soap. Charlie tried to reassure him that he'd heard only amazing things from Steve about their movie date, and that Bucky had raved about him on their dinner date. Nicky didn't think that that was the problem, but he reveled in the compliments anyways.

Charlie gave him a deep tissue massage and then he actually made love to him. It was rare for them to be this gentle with each other but it, and maybe the cathartic crying Nicky did during and after, seemed to finally dispel his bad mood.

After he was showered and cleaned up, Nicky became a puddle of happiness in their bed. Charlie gently handed him his phone and said he should probably let the others know he was doing okay.

Nicky decided he could do better than that, and he invited Steve and Bucky out to dinner the following night. He wanted to atone for his bad mood, but he also desperately wanted to see both of them.

As he fell asleep in Charlie's arms, he thought that maybe this was where some of his angst was coming from. Never in all of his polyamorous relationships and arrangements had he successfully formed connections with three people at one time. It was a lot to balance and Nicky was feeling a little like he had figured out the balance between himself and Bucky, and himself and Charlie, but officially adding Steve to the mix threw everything off balance again. He hoped having them all in one room together would help.

The next night, Bucky and Steve Ubered to their place so they could go together into the city for dinner. Bucky looked a little sheepish as he placed an overnight bag on the floor of the entryway. Nicky suddenly remembered he had told Bucky he should leave some extra clothes and a toothbrush at their place.

Charlie and Steve exchanged a look and Nicky guessed they had had a similar conversation, and that there was more than just Bucky's things in the bag.

They all looked especially sharp at dinner, wearing variations of dress shirts, blazers, and jackets. The dinner was fun, flirty, and the conversations flowed as easily as the bottles of wine they ordered. They seemed to have established a new rapport, easier than they had ever experienced before.