Two heads immediately snapped in the direction of the opening door, twin smiles blooming on handsome faces, love and joy battling for supremacy in their eyes.

“You’re home!” Tao exclaimed, immediately rushing forward.

Kris chuckled, holding Tao with one arm as he snuggled into his neck while manoeuvering himself out of the way so that he could close the door. He accepted Tao’s enthusiastic kiss, his eyes meeting Yixing’s where he still stood in the kitchen, preparing dinner he assumed.

That was them in a nutshell, he thought. Tao the affectionate puppy; Yixing the mellow, self-contained observer. He loved them both despite, or perhaps in spite of, their differences.

Yixing looked at the pair of them, his smile widening when he saw Tao nuzzling deeper into Kris’ neck. He, Tao, had been talking about how much he’d missed Kris that day and how he wished he would come home soon just before the door to the apartment opened. It always warmed his heart to see them together. They made a very cute couple and he adored their love, how much Tao seemed to need Kris and how Kris protected Tao fiercely. Only he knew that more often than not, the shoe was on the other foot. Kris needed Tao as much as, if not more, than Tao needed him and it had taken immense inner strength for Tao to invite his partner’s lover into their home and accept him as part of their family.

Sighing softly to himself, Yixing returned to the task at hand.

“Taozi, give him room to breathe, geez. And come set the table. Dinner’s almost ready.”

Dinner was always a comfortable gathering where they talked about their days, allowing whatever stress lingered to slip off their shoulders, and tonight was no different. Tao was especially clingy, especially touchy-feely towards Kris, however, and Yixing knew what that meant. He tried, as he always did, not to let it bother him but there were times…

Dinner came to an end and he offered to clear the table and wash the dishes, giving Kris and Tao – and himself – an easy way out of what sometimes became an awkward situation. It wasn’t like he and Tao ever boldly put the other out of the bedroom when their libidos kicked in. They’d developed an unspoken system of signs and signals and so far it worked well.

Kris looked at him uncertainly, torn between pacifying Tao’s silent demands and soothing the storm he saw brewing in Yixing’s eyes.

Yixing smiled encouragingly. “It’s okay. I’ve got it.”

Kris nodded and took Tao’s hand, leading him in the direction of the bedroom.

Tao sent an apologetic smile Yixing’s way before he disappeared down the hall.

Washing dishes was, unfortunately, not much of a distraction when one was used to the task. The body worked purely from sense memory, leaving the mind free to wander down alleys it was better off avoiding.

Yixing knew that he was the last person who should have a problem with their situation and for the most part, he was content. Grateful even since had Tao not been as nice and accepting as he was, Kris could have been lost to him before they’d ever really had a chance to see what could develop between them. But sometimes contentment simply wasn’t enough and having to share Kris was a bitter pill to swallow, especially on nights like this when he was politely kicked out of the bedroom and had to spend the rest of the night thinking about what was going on in the bedroom before he fell into a restless sleep.

As he made his way to the spare room, he couldn’t help thinking that Baekhyun would be shocked to see the actual goings on in their bedroom. He’d told him many times, mostly in exasperation, that their relationship did not actually include threesomes of the ual variety but he knew that his friend was still skeptical. Even though he himself was now blissfully happy in a committed relationship with Chanyeol and had opened up considerably towards accepting Tao/Kris/Yixing’s unconventional relationship, he would still make the occasional snide remark implying that they were ual deviants of some nature. Nothing could be further from the truth.

For one thing, he had never even seen Tao , had no desire to whatsoever. They’d never kissed or touched each other intimately. Whenever they were in bed together, all three of them, Kris was always in the middle. If he and Tao wanted some privacy, like tonight, Yixing made himself scarce. When Yixing and Kris wanted alone time, Tao was always more than willing to accommodate them. The reality was that rather than a relationship, as the name implied, what existed was actually just two relationships running concurrently with one common thread: Kris. Tao was like a brother to him, definitely a friend, but he wasn’t physically or ually attracted to him in the least and he was certain that the feeling was mutual.

Standing beside the bed, he slowly undressed. The room was dark since he hadn’t bothered to turn on the light upon entering and suited his mood. In his boxers now, he climbed into bed and settled on his back, the covers pulled up to his chest. He stared up at the ceiling, at the myriad of shapes that the shadows threw onto the ceiling with the aid of the moonlight streaming through the window.

He didn’t allow himself to think about what was going on in the other room. What good would it do? He had no right to begrudge Tao anything, not when he was the one who shouldn’t be there. He felt like exactly what he was: an outsider, an interloper. This wasn’t his home, his life. He wasn’t entitled to anything. But even knowing that, thinking that, feeling that wasn’t enough to make him change his mind.

He often felt like he lived his life in apology, ever mindful of his place in their arrangement, always doing his best to be perfect so that Tao would never regret the decision he’d made. He was apologetic to Tao for ruining his happy home, for being selfish and greedy and not doing the right thing by refusing his offer. For not having the strength to walk away from Kris on his own. He’d never intended to fall for a taken man but knowing that Kris was unavailable hadn’t dampened his feelings in the slightest. The pull, the connection, had been irresistible and heaven knew they’d tried to stay away from each other. In the end, unable to give each other up, they’d turned to Tao and left the decision to him. And he, in turn, had made the greatest sacrifice of all, a sacrifice that should never have been his to make.

There were times where he found himself wondering what would have happened if Kris had been forced to make a decision. Would he have chosen? Or would he really have sent them both away/left rather than choose? And if he had to choose now, two years after the fact, would he? Could he? Would his choice be different now than it would have been two years ago? All of these questions, questions that would never be answered, tormented him on a regular basis. But he never gave voice to them and he was honest enough with himself to know why: he didn’t want the answer. The unknown was a lot easier to live with than being faced with an irrevocable truth. Once Pandora’s box was opened, there was no closing it.

Sighing deeply, he rolled onto his side to stare out the window.

Nights like this were always long for him. If he was lucky, i.e. exhausted, he would fall asleep quickly and be spared the mental and emotional torment. Unfortunately, this night was not one of those. Perhaps this was his penance for coveting what belonged to another.

How much longer did they have, he wondered. He was almost certain that they’d lasted far longer than any of them had expected and they were still going strong. But they couldn’t go on forever. It had to end, someday, somehow. Who would be the one to pull the plug on this fantasy they’d built for themselves?

The door opening and closing cut off his thoughts. He wasn’t surprised by it, didn’t react when the covers stirred, the bed dipped and a warm body curled into his back, a possessive arm curling around his waist as a bare leg was thrown across his thigh.

“Are you sleeping?”

Kris’ voice was low and husky but very alert. He obviously hadn’t been to bed yet, technically speaking.

“No,” Yixing whispered.

Kris’ arm tightened and he pressed a kiss to the back of Yixing’s neck, which he felt for a long time after as silence continued to reign over them.

“How’s Tao?” he finally asked, breaking the quietude.

“Asleep. He only wanted to talk a little bit,” Kris explained, answering the question Yixing had avoided thinking about. “I guess he just needed some attention.”

“It must have been hard for him.” The apology was there in his words, sprinkled with a heavy helping of guilt.

“I’m sorry,” Kris said quietly, his warm breath wafting into the shell of  Yixing’s air.

“What for?”

“For putting you in this position. For being selfish and greedy. For wanting you, needing you. For being unable to let you go so that you could find the life and the love that you truly deserve. For loving you when I had no right to. I’m sorry…for not being sorry.”

Yixing smiled to himself, his heartbeat quickening slightly. He shifted in Kris’ hold, rolling onto his back so that he could look up at him, paying no attention to Kris’ as he did so.

“I’m glad,” he whispered.

It was Kris’ turn to ask “what for?”

“That you’re not sorry. I’m not either.”

Kris’ expression turned heart-stoppingly tender and he cupped Yixing’s cheeks, lowering his face and capturing Yixing’s lips in a slow, gentle kiss. There was no lust or fiery passion in the kiss, just love and tenderness.

This, Yixing thought. This was everything.

No matter how tortured and conflicted he might be at times, no matter how apologetic he felt towards Tao, he genuinely had no regrets. Two, three, five years with Kris would be worth a lifetime of loneliness afterwards. He would rather be with Kris in this dysfunctional arrangement than not know what could have been. Had he walked away, he would’ve always wondered and it would have driven him crazy. Even if things didn’t last forever, which they ultimately wouldn’t, at least he knew. At least he’d had this. It was the only sure thing in his life, his love for Kris and Kris’ for him. And by loving each other as they did, they were honoring Tao’s sacrifice, ensuring that it hadn’t been in vain.

One day they would have to make a decision, one day one of them was going to have to make a choice, but today wasn’t that day and until that day came, he was going to continue to make the best of what he had.

No regrets.

A/N: Well, it's short but I think it gives a fair idea of their life together and what they all think and feel, even though it's entirely from Yixing's P.O.V.  We got each of their POVs in the main story anyway so there was no need to delve into them again and I guess I kind of empathize with Yixing.

I've never stolen a lover before but there are many ways in which we find ourselves sharing the person we love with something or someone else, be it drugs or personal demons of some kind, and that I have had to deal with. I think I would've preferred a relationship to be honest. This doesn't sound so bad. lol