Trinity

Protocol

They'd been in the air for around fifteen minutes before Mansk decided the kid ought to have some fun. Ten chose an island that was about an hour's travel from where their current home was and conveniently located in the opposite direction from the sunken SeaDragon. He glanced over at his mate with a growing smile, his only warning that he was probably about to stress Miles out.

With one hand wrapped around the kid's waist, he gave Spider the chance to adjust.

Nothing too crazy, Tiray. I'd rather not have Miles stressing out too much.

He leaned forward and patted her neck as she huffed in mild annoyance.

Quit pouting, let's give the kid a good time.

"Ready, kid?" Mansk asked, the words barely out of his mouth before Spider's head was nodding yes rapidly. One final glance at Miles. "Oorah."

Once they landed on the island Ten chose and Mansk sent the banshees off to hunt, Miles quickly sought out something he saw on the map before getting here. They didn't have to walk for very long before Spider was already jumping into it—a very refreshing looking lake. They'd barely been on the island for a few minutes, and he was already tired of the heat. The Pandoran jungle was hot; this was just sweltering. That said, he was already used to it, but damn. He would take any opportunity to not be sweating his balls off.

With Spider already enjoying and entertaining himself in the cool waters of the lake, Miles and Mansk decided to take the opportunity to enjoy some quality time with each other. However, since Spider was so close by, Miles hadn't intended on doing anything excessively intimate; he really just wanted to be in very close proximity for a while. Mansk didn't seem to have the same concerns. Once they were in deeper waters, he pulled Miles against him and wrapped Miles' legs around him with a sly smirk.

"Dey, we can't do anything." Miles says quietly, although he doesn't put the slightest amount of effort into resisting his touch. In fact, he's taking advantage of the closeness by running his hands over Mansk's toned arms.

"Why? Don't want your kid walking in on us?" He teases while leaving soft touches of his lips down his neck and to his claim. Miles' body goes slack within his hold. "Not trying to do anything, I just want you close."

"Yeah, because this isn't doing– ah..." Miles sighs as Mansk easily stops his retort with a light scraping of his fangs across his claim, which he follows with long-lasting kisses trailing back up his neck.

"I love you." He whispers against his ear, and Miles has to will the strength to move back into his pleasantly limp body to take Mansk's face into his hands. His thumbs gently stroke across his cheeks, tracing the speckled stars as he moves to push the glasses out of his way. He wants to see his eyes when he says it.

"Say it again." A whisper, a plea.

Mansk's fingers slowly run up Miles' spine until he's able to push into the hair surrounding his queue. Golden irises stare into his own eyes in reverence and disbelief, like he's still not quite sure it's real.

"I love you. Never thought I'd get this—this chance. Never dreamed it was possible, you least of all."

Latent sorrow, garnered from years spent watching the other two of their fated Trinity be together, trickled into their bond. There was no regret or jealousy, but instead a wanting ache that was familiar to Miles. And he realized it was familiar because it's what he felt when he was separated from them. And Mansk experienced it—lived with it for years.

He must have seen the look on Miles' face, or more likely, the change in his emotions, because Mansk was shaking his head and putting his free hand over Miles' heart.