Rating:

Explicit

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories:

F/M, M/M, Multi

Fandom:

Heated Rivalry (TV)

Relationships:

Cliff Marlow | Cliff Marleau/Hayden Pike, Cliff Marlow | Cliff Marleau/Hayden Pike/Jackie Pike, Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov

Characters:

Cliff Marlow | Cliff Marleau, Jackie Pike, Hayden Pike, Hayden Pike's Children, Original Siblings of Cliff Marlow | Cliff Marleau, Boston Bears | Boston Raiders Team Ensemble (Game Changers), Boston Bears | Boston Raiders WAGs Ensemble (Game Changers), Montreal Voyageurs | Montreal Metros Team Ensemble (Game Changers), Montreal Voyageurs | Montreal Metros WAGs Ensemble (Game Changers)

Additional Tags:

Polyamory Negotiations, Kink Negotiation, Self-Doubt, Introspection, Pregnancy, Pregnant Sex, Threesome - F/M/M, Established Relationship, Developing Relationship

Language:

English

Series:

Part 2 of saturated sunrise: soulmates au

Stats:

Published: 2026-09-22 Updated: 2026-09-28 Words: 8,448 Chapters: 4/?

you're ripped at every edge but you're a masterpiece

Notes

Rachel Reid: this is Cliff Marlow. He's Ilya's friend and the two things you need to know about him are that he's kind of stupid and he sends Ilya porn sometimes
Jacob Tierny: this is Cliff Marleau. He's Ilya's friend and he has 4 lines of dialogue
Me: my muse. my beloved. my green light in the fog.

Chapter 1: getting punched in the face

Cliff Marlow has just been punched in the face. This brings him to three realizations quite quickly:

1. He hit Hollander way harder than he meant to, because the other man is face down on the ice and not moving.
2. Hayden Pike, who yelled Cliff Marlow you motherfucker as he was punching him in the face, is his soulmate.
3. Blood really is red.

Pike winds back and punches him in the face again. His helmet goes flying and one of the refs orders Pike to stop trying to pulverize him. There are medics on the ice, and Connors skates over to him to make sure he makes it back to the bench alright. He doesn't feel dizzy, like he's concussed. But he does wobble on his skates, lean a little heavily on Con.

"You're alright, man," Connors whispers like an incantation. He gets him into the locker room and sat down, and one of the Raiders' assistant medics sits across from him, straddling the bench.

"Hi, V," he murmurs to Veroniqa, who always travels with them and who once told him she's sick of having to patch him up. "I didn't start it this time."

"And I definitely believe you," she says, opening a pack of alcohol wipes. Her gloves are blue, with a little white cross on the back that he knows denotes them as medical-grade. She cleans him up, bandages a small cut on his face, and makes sure none of his teeth have been knocked loose. The white gauze she uses to dab at his face turns red—big, bright red that he's sure has a specific color name.

"Blood really is red," he murmurs nonsensically.

"Sure is," she says, one eyebrow raised. "That new for you? Seeing color?" He nods. "Don't move your head."

"Sorry."

"How many fingers?" She asks, holding up 2. No double vision. No blurriness. His head doesn't really hurt, just his face where Pike had hit him. "Alright, you're probably not concussed, then. If anything changes—dizzy spells, weakness, vision problems."

"I'll let you know."

There's movement behind him as Ilya comes into the locker room. He stares at Cliff like he's never seen him before. Then, "Are you okay?"

"He'll be fine," Veroniqa says, and dabs at his split lip with a cotton ball soaked in something gross-smelling. The tweezers she's using to hold it are... is that grey? Grey but shiny? Is that even a color?

"I'm sorry, Cap," Cliff says. Veroniqa is only a little annoyed at him for moving his mouth. He really hadn't meant to hurt Hollander.

"I know." It's a relief to hear him say it. "I know you didn't mean it. But you make it up to me, hm? Tell Coach I'm going to hospital."

Cliff salutes. Ilya moves to his stall, starts stripping off his gear. He's going to the hospital. Obviously, he's going to the hospital.

Would Pike go, too? He and Hollander are buds. If Ilya was in Hollander's position, Cliff would go to the hospital.

"I think you're good to play," Veroniqa says. Cliff winces. He doesn't want to get back on the ice, against a team who knows he just took out their star player. Everyone fucking loves Hollander—he'll be torn to pieces.

He also—

Well, he wants to find Pike and say his name.

Veroniqa narrows her eyes. "You know, on second thought, maybe you shouldn't get back out there?" She says it like a question. Cliff nods. "Yeah, you still might have a concussion. I don't want to risk it."

Ilya is checking his phone. Cliff watches him take a deep, calming breath, and then turn on his heel to leave.

"Gotta talk to Coach," Cliff says.

She nods. "I'll go with you."

LaClaire isn't happy with losing both Cliff and Ilya, but he doesn't stop them either. He almost texts Ilya, asks if he wants to ride to the hospital together, but he kind of needs the time alone to clear his head.

Cliff hadn't really been invested in finding his soulmate. He had Ilya to go out with, pick up girls at clubs, flirt, dance. Sometimes, the women he met would ask his full name, would want him to say theirs. He always did, even if it could result in them not being interested anymore.

A little while ago, Ilya had stopped flirting with people when they went out, and gone out of his way to tell Cliff he wouldn’t be joining him if he found a girl who’d be down to take a trip to Paris. Jane is my one and only, he'd said. And they'd had that long phone call about "Jane", about Russia, about Ilya's fears about the future. I'll always be here for you brother, Cliff had told him.

And it's fine—Ilya isn't even the first of his friends to pull back from their normal routine after finding and committing to their soulmate.

But it had been... lonely.

In the back of a cab on the way to the hospital, he googles Hayden Pike. Cliff knows he's Shane's wing and alternate captain, a solid forward, dependable player. He wonders what he’s like off-ice, if he does sponsorships or charity work the way a lot of guys do. The first auto-complete for his name is wife.

Wife.

Cliff knows, logically, that lots of people get married before finding their soulmate: they fall in love and don't want to reject their own happiness just because the stars have shit to say about it, or they don't care about soulmates in the first place.

Is Hayden like that? Will he not care that he and Cliff are destiny?

He had a friend in high school who got rejected by his soulmate—he'd had to take an entire year off school because of Severing Syndrome, the nebulous, unpredictable side-effects of being rejected by one's soulmate. Some people got hives, or went into anaphylactic shock. Others developed heart conditions, or vertigo. Tony had never been the same after being severed; his speech slowed, his cognition buffered. It reminded him of when his grandmother had a stroke.

Well, at least he would already be at the hospital, right?

He should go home. He should leave. He shouldn't risk being out for the rest of the season because his soulmate is a straight man with a wife and kids.

Do they have kids?

Cliff's always wanted to be a dad.

Not that—

Not that Hayden's kids, if they exist, would be his kids.

Obviously.

He swallows, closes his browser and then his eyes. Veroniqa had given him ibuprofen for the pain, but his face still hurts when he moves his jaw or blinks too hard.

He has the impulse to text his mom. Ma Marlow is a big believer in the power of destiny, in the importance of soulmates. But she is also... kind of a lot. She'll demand to meet Hayden right away, to know what he and Cliff will be bringing for the Christmas potluck.

"Here you are, sir," the cabbie says when they pull into the hospital's horseshoe drive. He says thank you, over-tips him to spite his stingy father, and gets out of the car.

He thinks about texting Rozie—asking if he's alright.

Instead, he ducks in quickly and asks if there's a designated place that's okay to smoke outside. An orderly points him toward a patch of parking lot, and Cliff recognizes the shapes of both Ilya and Hayden in the distance, the former clearly taking a drag of what must be his first cigarette in months.

If they don't count that one he had when the two of them were both shift-faced and Ilya had nearly cried he missed Shane so badly.

And Cliff doesn’t count that one, frankly.

He walks toward the two of them, trying to think of what the hell he's going to say. He hasn’t figure it out by the time Roz spots him walking up. “Marley,” he says with a nod.

“Hi, Rozie.”

“Marlow.” Hayden nods at him. He’s… pretty: strong jaw, high cheekbones, blue, blue eyes.

Cliff looks away from him, tries to make his mouth form the sound of his name. Instead, he asks after Hollander. He isn’t out of surgery yet, which makes sense. “Wanted to come apologize.” Roz comforts him, because of course he does. Say whatever the hell you want about Ilya Rozanov: he’s a good friend.

“I’m not sorry for that right hook,” Hayden says. Cliff has never wanted to kiss a man before, he doesn’t think, but Hayden has soft, full lips, a perfect little cupid’s bow.

He presses his fingers into the bruise on his face, trying to ground himself. “Yeah, you got me good, man.”

He scratches at the back of his neck, stares down at a pebble on the ground. It’s an orangey-color, shiny and wet from recent rain. "Um... sorry, I... I came here to do something. More than just apologize to Hollander. I... fuck."

“Cliff?” Roz must be concerned about him if he’s using his first name. “You are okay?”

Cliff looks at Hayden, at his soulmate, at the man the universe wants him to be with more than anyone in all of history. “Hayden Pike.”

Hayden’s pupils dilate. He blinks, stumbles backward. “Whoa. Whoa, holt shit.”

Roz is staring at Cliff like he just turned his entire world on its head. “Pike said my name on the ice,” Cliff tells him. “I… we’re…” He really should’ve figured out what the fuck he was going to say.

Roz looks at Hayden. “Your wife is not your soulmate?”

Wife.

Wife.

’Til death do us part.

“No, we’re in love, but we’re not soulmates,” Hayden explains. He’s staring at Cliff, eyes darting around like he’s taking in Cliff’s features. Does he think Cliff is pretty too? Is he pretty enough?

“Oh,” Cliff says without knowing what the end of his sentence is. “I didn’t…” Didn’t what? Didn’t mean to do this to us? Didn’t think as hard as he should have about approaching you? Didn’t think at all, because that’s not really something he does? “Didn’t realize you were married.” A stupid lie, but believable enough. He’ll just go. He’ll go, and neither of them will formally reject each other, and the universe won’t strike either of them down with a terrible affliction for rejection their destiny. Simple as.

Hayden grabs his arm as he turns to leave. “No! I mean—wait. It’s alright. Can we talk?”

“I am going to check on Shane,” Roz says. “You two should talk.”

Chapter 2

Hayden

"I am married," Hayden explains. Marlow's really fucking tall; definitely taller than Hayden, and maybe taller than Shane, who is 6 feet. Hayden has to look up to talk to him, and he takes a step back, so Hayden doesn't have to crane his neck. Instead of thinking about how, if he were to sit in Marlow’s lap, the two of them would be eye-to-eye Hayden pulls out his phone and shows him a picture of Jackie with the twins. "Her name's Jackie."

Marlow's features shift, soften. He smiles, says in the most earnest tone Hayden has ever heard from a hockey guy, "She's beautiful."

"Yeah," Hayden breathes. "She's my best friend; I love her so much." Hayden falters, thinking maybe that isn't the best thing to say to your soulmate, but Marlow's smile widens. "We... we've talked about it," Hayden explains. "One or both of us meeting our soulmates after we got married, I mean. She actually met hers."

Cliff nods, some of the tension easing out of his shoulders. "So, you're already versed on integrating someone into the..." He interlaces his fingers together.

Hayden shakes his head. "It didn't go well. He didn't want to be in a poly thing. He made her choose between me and him, and she chose me." It still makes Hayden angry—like genuinely, seeing-red-mad—to think about how dismissive he had been of Jackie's feelings, or her entire life. She'd been pregnant with the twins at the time, and the idea that someone could look at a woman in her 3rd trimester and make her choose to abandon the father of her children—and maybe the children themselves—for them is fucking unconscionable.

"Is he stupid?" Marlow knocks Hayden out of his rage-filled reverie.

"Wh—"

He shakes his head. "His soulmate's a hot MILF with a rich husband who travels for work, and he doesn't want a piece of that? The fuck?" He looks disgusted, like he could find Jackie's soulmate and beat his ass. It's fucking hot. "Sorry," he says quickly. "That was a rude way to talk about your wife."

Hayden has to laugh. "No, she is a hot MILF, you're right." Marlow—Cliff—smiles and Hayden finds himself... charmed? Smitten? It's a nice smile. "How long are you in town?" He asks.

"Team flight's tomorrow afternoon."

"Wanna have dinner with us? We always get takeout after I have a home game. You like Indian?"

Cliff's Adam's apple bobs. "Sure. Yeah, sure. If you want me there."

Hayden begins Operation: Make Cliff Comfortable in his head. “Yeah! You can meet Jackie, meet the kids. See the house.”

“Like an audition?" He asks.

“An audition implies you might not make it in,” Hayden says. Cliff chuckles. It’s a deep, rumbling sound like a sleeping dragon in a movie. Something zings up Hayden’s spine at the sound. “I never... I never really expected to meet my soulmate, not after Jackie and I got together. Definitely didn't expect them to be...”

“A 6'7'' bruiser with a broken nose?”

Hayden pretends to appraise him. “I donno, I think the nose is kind of distinguishing.”

He runs a hand through his dark hair. “Distinguishing?”

“Yeah, makes you stand out from all the other 6'4'' bruisers.” The two of them laugh. Hayden is still holding his phone, and Cliff points to it.

“Can I give you my number?”

He opens his contacts and hands it over. “Yeah, go 'head.” Once Cliff is done, he sends himself a text and hands Hayden back his phone. “I um... I'm gonna call Jackie real quick, if that's okay?”

Cliff nods. “Yeah, 'course.”

Hayden steps a few feet away. Jackie answers on the second ring. “Hey, is Shane okay?” She’d been matching the game with some of the Montreal WAGs and their kids, he knows. He can hear quite conversation in the background.

“We haven't been able to see him yet. Ilya's checking on him,” Hayden explains.

“Is everything else okay?” The sound of conversation gets fainter as she presumably moves away from the couch. Someone—Claudia, Taylor’s wife?—asks her if there’s an update. She repeats that they haven’t been able to see Shane.

“Yeah, yes... um...” He runs a hand down his face. “I met my soulmate, Jacks.”

There’s the click of a door. “What? Oh my god—wait, at like the hospital? Is she a sexy nurse? A sexy neurosurgeon?”

Hayden laughs. “No, uh... he plays for Boston.”

“Boston! Wow, now you can't make fun of Shane anymore.”

“Yeah, that part sucks.” He looks over at Cliff, who is standing near a parking space looking down at the ground. Hayden realizes he’s looking at a puddle on the tarmac. He’s wearing a jacket and jeans in two different shades of… blue? Is that blue? The sky is supposed to be blue, too, but it isn’t either of those colors.

“But, wait,” Jackie continues. “Did you talk to him? Is he okay with...”

“He thinks you're hot, for starters, so I think he'll be okay with there being three of us. “

“Wow, I'm glad you two have something so important in common.”

“He might come to dinner tonight, if that's okay.”

“Of course! I’ve been looking forward to chickpea vindaloo. Get your guy's order. What's his name?”

“Cliff Marlow. His jersey number's 07, you've yelled at him in the stands before.”

“Ohhhh, yeah, okay. Wow.”

Hayden hesitates. It occurs to him that Jackie might also need… he doesn’t know, easing into this idea? Even if they’ve discussed it before, they’d also been burned by fucking Mason. “Good wow or bad wow?” He asks.

“Just wow. He's... tall.” Oh, thank fuck.

“Tell me about it.” Hayden smiles, looking back at Cliff, who is kicking pebbles into the puddle, maybe to watch the way the colors change as the water ripples. Hayden is curious, too. “Kinda rugged too.”

“Tell him I'm looking forward to meeting him.”

“Can do. Love you.”

“Love you more.”

He hangs up and walks back toward Cliff. Closer up, he can see that there’s motor oil in the puddle he’s so fascinated with. Hayden had heard that the effect of oil and other car stuff is very colorful, but he couldn’t imagine how such a thing could be true. Dingy, gross parking lot puddles are not pretty, right?

But there’s a rainbow streaking through the dark liquid. Hayden doesn’t know what most of the colors are called, but they’re all vibrant and bright and contrasting against each other in the sludge. “Whoa,” he says.

“Yeah,” Cliff agrees, but when Hayden looks at him, he’s looking at Hayden. Hayden swallows. “Coffee?”

Cliff nods. “Lead the way.”

Chapter 3

Chapter Summary

my students are doing their peer review today. posting fanfic in class never ends

Hayden

He is okay, Ilya texts Hayden. Not awake, but he is okay. He texts back that he’s grateful Ilya is there, in case Shane wakes up, he won’t be alone. Ilya hearts the message, and Hayden can imagine him sitting in Shane’s hospital room, looking at his soulmate and trying not to fall apart. That’s what he would be doing in the same situation, anyway.

By the time he and Cliff come back with coffee, the Hollanders have arrived in the waiting room. He apologizes for not getting them anything, but Yuna shakes her head like that’s the stupidest shit she’s ever heard.

“No, don’t be ridiculous, the—” her eyes land on something behind Hayden and her features harden suddenly, expression sharp like broken glass. Hayden furrows his brow. He looks behind him and finds Cliff standing a few feet back, eyes on the floor. Ah.

“Yuna—” Hayden tries.

She interrupts him: “It’s nice that you’re here,” she says. “I’m sure Shane would appreciate the show of sportsmanship. We’ll tell him that you came to apologize.” She’s leaning forward, probably subconsciously, and David reaches out and touches her arm, subtly pulling her back.

“I am sorry,” Cliff says quietly. “I misjudged the angle.” He really hadn’t; Shane had been looking the other way, not anticipating Boston’s forward line.

“It happens,” Yuna says in a way that might also mean leave now or I will kill you with my teeth.

“Part of the game,” David says, meaning if shit breaks bad, I will not be holding her back.

“Cliff is actually here to see me,” Hayden says, though he doesn’t know where he’s going with that. Yuna’s gaze lands on him and it takes everything in him not to flinch. He clears his throat. “Will you, uh… give Lily her coffee?” He hands Yuna Ilya’s latte. “She’s in Shane’s room.” Yuna takes the cup, nods. Her eyes flick back to Cliff. “I’ll stay out here, make sure the guys know what’s up when they get here.”

Yuna’s expression shifts and Hayden knows he’s said the right thing: the team coming means Shane and Ilya might get outed. Yuna needs to be there to guard the door, and Hayden can run interference in the waiting room, tell everyone that Shane is fine but unconscious, no need to go visit him just yet.

She nods. “Okay. We’ll go and see him and Lily now.” She turns on her heel and strides away with the energy of someone trying very hard not to break a chair over Cliff Marlow’s head.

Hayden understands how she feels, obviously—his knuckles are bruised from punching Cliff in the face—but he also doesn’t think Cliff deserves to be torn limb from limb for what was clearly an accident. David looks at Hayden, then Cliff, and back again. Hayden knows he played hockey for McGill; his perspective will be similar to Hayden’s, probably.

“Thanks, son,” he says graciously. He nods at Cliff. “We’ll give Shane your best wishes.”

“Thank you,” Cliff murmurs.

David touches his own chin, in the same place Cliff is bruised. “You should ice that.” He looks at Hayden and gives him an approving nod before turning to follow Yuna.

There. Hockey ritual complete. No need for bloody retribution. He looks at Cliff, who takes a deep, cleansing breath. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” he says. “Never had to confront a guy’s mom after laying him out on the ice.”

Hayden chuckles. “Yuna can be intense. It’s just ‘cause she loves Shane.”

Cliff nods. “My Ma would be the same way, probably.”

The two of them sit along one wall of the waiting room, sipping their drinks. He’d gotten himself an Americano, but Cliff, like Ilya, had ordered an iced latte, caramel instead of vanilla. It makes Hayden smile, knowing that Cliff likes sweet coffee, the same way Jackie does.

“Tell me about her?” Hayden asks. “Your mom.” Cliff hesitates for a moment. Hayden keeps his expression friendly but neutral. He doesn’t know anything about Cliff, besides some high-level stats—he hopes his mom isn’t a sore subject.

“She’s um… she was a teacher, when I was a kid. Retired a few years ago,” Cliff explains. He says more: his parents are soulmates, he’s the youngest of five, he’s the first professional athlete in his family. Hayden nods, smiles, asks a few leading questions.

Cliff started playing hockey when he was ten, which is actually pretty late for a pro. He spent some time in the A before working his way up. He was Ilya Rozanov’s mentor when he first joined the Raiders.

“How did that go?” Hayden asks, thinking about Ilya’s asshole persona, and how much of it is real and how much isn’t.

“It was alright,” Cliff says. “We lived together for his first year, just to get him settled. He’s a lot different as a friend than he is as a player.”

Hayden nods. “I get that impression.”

The two of them talk more—Hayden tells Cliff about his strict Catholic upbringing, about meeting Jackie, deciding to propose despite the two of them not being soulmates. Cliff doesn’t ask about Jackie’s soulmate again, which is sort of a relief because Hayden can never stop himself from getting heated over that asshole.

When JJ and Miiti arrive to check on Shane, they’re outright angry that Cliff would be there. Hayden shoos them away, tells them Shane isn’t awake yet anyway. He updates Ilya and Yuna, uses his authority as Shane’s other emergency contact to ask the receptionist not to let anyone but himself, Ilya, Yuna, and David into Shane’s room, even if they’re teammates.

Eventually, Jackie texts and asks when he’ll be home for dinner. He shows Cliff the menu from their favorite Indian place; he orders chicken curry. Hayden files that information away in a box labeled “things about my soulmate”, next to Cliff’s coffee order and the way his right eyebrow goes up a little bit when he smiles.

Chapter 4

Chapter Summary

Jackie's experience as sexually active pregnant person (and also all the stuff coming up above baby Amber's birth) is based on that of a friend of mine who's a seahorse dad, so if anything is inauthentic I'm blaming Moth.

Cliff

The twins, Ruby and Jade, are incredibly suspicious of this new adult moving into their space, interrogating him from the moment he takes his boots off in the foyer. He answers questions about who he is—Hayden introduces him as "dad's new friend"—what he does for work—they're thoroughly unimpressed by "I play hockey like your dad"—what his favorite animal is—Ruby thinks sea lion is a bad answer (because sharks are better and they eat sea lions), but Jade disagrees (because sea lions are like mermaids in real life)—and how long he's going to be here.

For this answer, he glances at Jackie and Hayden. Hayden answers: "Cliff's staying overnight with us, and then he has to go home to Boston, where he plays."

Jade wrinkles her nose. "Ew, the Raiders."

They have dinner. Cliff helps feed little Arthur his mushed sweet potato and peas. He imagines doing this more often, for Arthur and then for the new baby. Hayden helps the twins mix rice into their orders, shows them how to load a bite onto a piece of naan. Jade makes up a little song about how much she likes butter chicken.

After the kids are bundled off to bed, Jackie takes Hayden in her arms and murmurs something in his ear. Cliff continues to gather plates and cutlery to take to the kitchen. He’s giving everything a good rinse before it goes into the dishwasher when the two of them join him in the kitchen.

“Hi,” he says, for lack of anything else to say. He feels a little out of place, in their space like this, with their kids and their whole life wrapped around him.

Jackie puts a hand on his arm, and Cliff can tell she gets distracted by his bicep for a moment, squeezing gently. It’s hot that she likes his muscles. He doesn’t really know what the two of them are to each other, but he supposes that’s part of what he’s here to talk about. “Do you wanna sit down and chat for a bit?” She asks. He nods, lets her and Hayden lead him over to the couch. He moves a stuffed unicorn out of the way to sit down.

“Sorry,” Jackie takes the toy from him.

“It’s fine,” he says. “I have nieces.” Kids tend to spread themselves out everywhere; they haven’t learned yet to make themselves small, to shrink in and make room for a other people.

“How many?” Hayden asks.

“Four,” he says. “And a nephew. My sister met her soulmate in college, and they absolutely love their kids. All my siblings stayed around Boston, so we get to see each other a lot.”

Jackie frowns. “Do you think you would want to stay in Boston?”

“No,” he says automatically. “I mean—not necessarily.” The Pike twins are six, which means they’re in school, making friends, turning into fully-fledged little people. Uprooting them and moving them to another country doesn’t sound like the best idea in the world. “I’m just one guy; I can do the moving.”

“Oh,” Hayden breathes. He’s sitting on the other side of Jackie, bouncing his leg like he’s nervous.

Is that the wrong thing to say? Had they been expecting a different answer? Hayden is his soulmate; they should be together. “Um—”

“So, that’s something you want?” Jackie asks. “To be up here, physically, with Hayden?”

“With all of you,” Cliff says because he’s trying to be clear. The two of them stare at him for a moment. He swallows. “Um. Hayden told me about what happened with your soulmate. I think that guy’s an idiot. I want to be with Hayden, and if he’s married to someone he loves, that’s awesome.” He’s definitely saying this wrong, right? They’re still staring at him. What else can he say? How else can he convince them that he wants this? “I’ve always wanted to be a dad.”

Jackie blinks. “Oh.”

Wow, Heathcliff. Open mouth, insert foot. He closes his eyes for a moment. “I mean—”

And then Hayden’s mouth is on his. He hadn’t even seen the other man move. He’s never kissed a guy before; he expects it to be a little different than kissing a woman, but it isn’t: same warmth, same gentle pressure. The thing that’s different is the rightness of it; not because Hayden is a man, but because he’s his soulmate. They slot together perfectly, Hayden crowding into his lap, one hand on Cliff’s cheek.

There’s a hand on Cliff’s arm again. He pulls away from Hayden and kisses Jackie. Her lips are soft, and she smells like citrus and summertime. She pulls away from him, looks at him wide-eyed.

Oh. Maybe he shouldn’t have done that without asking if it was okay. Oops.

“Fuck,” Hayden breathes. The two of them look at him at the same time. “That was so fucking hot.” He runs a hand through his hair. Jackie smiles, surges toward Cliff to kiss him again.

The three of them continue on like that for a bit, taking turns pressing their lips together. Watching the two of them kiss sends warmth flowing through Cliff. He sinks a little lower into the couch; he’s supposed to be here, supposed to be with these two people, supposed to love them.

Eventually, Jackie pulls away from one last kiss with Cliff. He watches the way the light plays off her blonde hair, the way it falls over her shoulder, streaks of brunette running through it. She kisses him on the cheek again. “Why don’t the two of you get to know each other a little better in the guest room?” She slides off the couch; standing up as a heavily-pregnant woman seems to be a whole-ass fucking production. He and Hayden both reach out to help her, and she brushes them off. “I’m fine, I’m good.” She kisses Hayden, standing above him for a moment. “I’m so happy for you, baby.”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Hayden sighs into a sweet, lingering kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she kisses his cheek again, then his forehead. Cliff finds himself holding back a groan. Why is seeing the two of them show each other affection so good for him? “Have fun, okay? I’ll be in our room if you need anything.”

He nods, watches her go. Once she turns the corner down the hallway, he turns back to Cliff. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Cliff touches their foreheads together. Hayden slides out of his lap. He leads him down another hallway to the other end of the house. The guest room is decorated in spring green and pale pink—apparently, Jackie had originally wanted the main bedroom to be this color scheme, but Hayden had wanted dark colors to help him sleep—and Hayden sits on the edge of the bed as soon as the door is closed behind them.

He takes both of Cliff’s hands in his, looks up him with those big, blue eyes. Hayden is a lot smaller than him, shorter and slighter, but still fit. His arm muscles flex as he lifts his shirt over his head. Cliff's eyes land on his chest. He's always been a boob guy, and he supposes... Hayden kind of has boobs. His chest isn't exactly flat, anyway. Cliff reaches forward, cups his pecs, thumbs flicking across Hayden's nipples.

"Mm," Hayden sighs, putting his hands over Cliff's. "Have you ever... with a guy before?"

"Mm-mm." Cliff shakes his head. There are pink tones in Hayden's skin, browns and beiges of an uneven, unintentional tan. His nipples are dusky pink. His eyes... "Your eyes are so blue," he says.

Hayden smiles. His lips are also pink, but lighter, brighter. "Me either," Hayden breathes, eyes traveling over Cliff’s face and torso. He scoots up the bed, taking Cliff with him as he lays down. Cliff pauses long enough to shed his jeans, then climbs onto the bed, straddling Hayden’s waist.

"Mm." Cliff isn't really interested in having this conversation, if he's being honest. He's never been with a guy, and he's never going to be with a different guy than Hayden. This is it: his soulmate, his true love, the one the stars picked out for him. He doesn't give a shit what's between his legs.

Well, he does, but not in that way. He cares quite a lot that Hayden is hard against him, already leaking pre-cum just from making out for a bit. He thumbs the waistband of Hayden's boxers.

"I've only ever been with Jackie," Hayden says, pulling away from Cliff. "She—I—sorry, I'm doing this wrong." He closes his eyes for a moment. Cliff looks down at him, cocks his head to the side. What could he be doing wrong? They’re just making out, maybe gonna screw around. Tonight had been so perfect, getting to meet Jackie and the kids. When Jackie had suggested the two of them get to know each other privately, it had felt like getting complimentary drinks at a beach resort: just one more perfect thing to cap off a perfect evening.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Cliff murmurs, feeling a little stupid. Obviously, he’s missing something.

Hayden looks down at his hands. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being difficult, I guess?" He touches Cliff’s chest, slides his hands slowly down to the hem of his shirt. He lifts it up and over Cliff’s head carefully, like he’s afraid of spooking him. Cliff kisses him, cupping his face in one hand, opening his mouth and moaning so Hayden knows, knows, knows that Cliff isn’t going anywhere; he’s right where he wants to be.

Hayden pushes him away gently, pants against his mouth.  "Is something wrong?" Cliff asks. Does he not want this? Has he changed his mind?

Hayden shakes his head. "No, nothing's... I mean, yes. Something is wrong, but it's a me problem. I don't..." he breathes out. "Fuck, that feels good."

Cliff sits up, not letting his weight fall on Hayden’s hips even though he really, really wants to grind down on the other man’s hard cock. "Talk to me," he murmurs, though he's never been much of a talking guy. A feelings guy.

"I want Jackie," Hayden says quietly. "I don't—I want both of you, here, with me. Doing this." He gestures vaguely. "I don't want to kiss you in our guest room, I want to make love to you, in my marriage bed, with my wife."

Cliff nods. "Okay, let's go." He stands, searching the floor for his jeans.

"What?" Hayden squeaks.

Cliff looks at him. What now? "You wanna go hang out with Jackie, right? She said she'd be in the main bedroom. Let's go." He steps into his pants and pulls them on. Hayden leads him back through the living room in just his underwear.

Jackie is in the bed with a facemask on when they get there, cozied up with her Kindle. Hayden freezes in the doorway. "Hi, babe."

"Hi!" She says brightly.

Cliff stands behind Hayden, wondering what his hesitation is. Jackie's doing her skincare thing—maybe that was a sign she wouldn't be in the mood? The whole being seven months pregnant thing probably didn't help that much either, but Hayden would know better than him. They could always just hang out, maybe watch a movie. He likes the idea of waking up with them in the morning.

"Is something wrong?" Jackie asks. Her eyes land on Cliff for a moment.

"Hayden missed you," he says, gently pushing Hayden into the room. He leaves him lingering by the door as he drops his jeans again and climbs in bed beside Jackie. He sees the way her eyes follow his movements, eyes lingering on the half-chub in his boxers for a moment. "What're you reading?"

"It's a YA fantasy romance," she explains. "I mow through them like chips." She explains a little more, about a prophecy and a century-long war, the chosen one and her maybe-almost girlfriend. Somewhere around the explanation of the sign-language based magic system, Hayden climbs into bed with them, slotting himself between Cliff and Jackie.

Jackie sets her Kindle on the bedside table. "Baby? You okay?" Hayden is looking at his hands again, and she takes one of them in hers. Cliff takes her cue and weaves his fingers with Hayden's. He feels the other man relax.

"I just wanted to be with you," Hayden murmurs. "Both of you. Is that selfish? Is that greedy?"

Cliff and Jackie start talking at the same time. "No, honey of course not!"

"That's the dumbest shit you've ever said." The two of them look at each other over the top of Hayden's head.

Hayden laughs, shakes his head. "Okay. Yeah. Okay." He lets his head thunk back against the headboard, eyes squeezed shut.

“You okay?” Cliff asks. Hayden looks a little like he might cry.

“Yes,” Hayden tells the ceiling. “Sorry, I get in my head and I—sometimes I have trouble believing that I deserve good things? It's something I'm working on.”

“Fucked up,” Cliff says.

Jackie points at him. “I'm always saying this.”

Cliff smiles at her. Maybe the stars picked out Hayden just for him, but they knew Jackie would be there too, the three of them side by side. He tells Hayden, “I know I tried to start shit back there, but we don't have to do anything tonight, not if you don't want to, or you're not ready. I mean it: I just wanna be here with you. With both of you. Okay?”

“Okay,” Hayden sighs, finally relaxing.

“Okay!” Jackie sounds like she’s just been offered a free plate of her favorite dessert.

Hayden smiles at her. “Sorry, baby.”

“Don't be sorry, love. You're okay.” She pats his thigh. “I'm gonna take this thing off my face and then I wanna make out.” She slides out of bed.

“With who?” Hayden asks.

Jackie shrugs. “Whichever.” As she turns to leave for the en suite bathroom, she drops her night shirt off her shoulders and lets it flutter to the floor.

When Cliff looks at Hayden, he’s staring in Jackie’s direction, mouth hanging open slightly. Cliff leans toward him. “Hey, your wife's hot.”

“She sure fuckin is.” He turns toward Cliff so the two of them are positioned with their mouths a breath apart.

“You're hot,” Cliff tells him.

Hayden lets out a tiny laugh. “Wow, I landed a real Cassanova. A romantic genius.”

“Fuck off.” Cliff rolls his eyes. It hurts, a little, to think that Hayden thinks he’s stupid. But he is stupid, so it shouldn’t hurt the way it does. Maybe he’s stupid and sensitive.

“A true wordsmith,” Hayden teases.

Cliff presses his mouth to Hayden's, making a tiny noise in the back of his throat. Hayden scoots closer to him, shifts so he's straddling Cliff's lap. Cliff wraps his arms around Hayden's waist, hands snaking down to grab at Hayden's ass.

"Fuck," Hayden breathes against Cliff's mouth.

“You like that?”

“Yeah, fuck.”

The bed dips and Cliff turns to see Jackie crawling up on the bed. She sits up at the headboard with him, and immediately cups his face, brings him closer to her. She tastes like toothpaste and raspberry chapstick. He reaches toward her and pulls her closer, her pregnant belly bumping into Hayden's thigh.

She makes an oof noise and he pulls away. "Shit, sorry."

“You're okay.” She smiles, kisses the tip of his nose.

“Jackie,” Hayden pants. She looks at him. “That was so hot, oh my god.”

“Mm." She kisses him, tender at first and then deeper, filthier. The two of them grab at each other, groping and squeezing.

Cliff puts a hand on Hayden's chest, kneading and massaging the muscle there. His other hand finds Jackie's hip; he wonders if she never wears panties to bed, or if he’d just lucked out tonight. She makes a noise into Hayden's mouth as Cliff squeezes her ass.

"Fuck," Cliff breathes, just watching the two of them for a moment. The two of them pull apart to breathe, and Hayden touches her belly, murmuring something Cliff can’t understand. He must’ve been checking in on her because she nods, sighs, and he looks relieved. Cliff has never slept with a pregnant woman before, like, obviously. And he hadn't really considered how that would factor into fooling around like this—but like.

Yeah, Jackie's pregnant, 7 months in, and Hayden is looking at her like he worships the ground she walks on.

Cliff—

The realization hits him like a smack to the face.

He wants to look at her like that, too. He wants to love her the way Hayden does. He doesn’t really know what to do with that; he definitely shouldn’t tell them. Not right now. Not on their first night together.

Jackie looks at him, smiling. “You okay?” She touches his face.

He nods. “Yeah, I’m okay.” He kisses her. He feels her scooting closer to him and after a moment, they’re making out in earnest. She tastes like toothpaste and something citrussy. One of his hands is still on Hayden’s waist, drawing patterns on his skin. He reaches up with the other one, cupping one of Jackie’s breasts. Jackie gasps against his mouth and massages her breasts, thumb flicking against her nipple.

“Careful,” Hayden breathes.

Cliff pulls away from her, thinking he’d hurt her again. Her face is flushed a beautiful, delicate pink. It takes a moment for him to realize that his hand is wet, liquid leaking from Jackie’s breasts. Arthur is about one and half; he remembers his sister talking about how some babies stay on breast milk for longer than others. Jackie must still be breast-feeding him.

She pulls away from the two of them, arms crossed over her chest. “Sorry.”

Cliff isn’t sure what to say; he genuinely doesn’t mind, and it’s not like she can help it. Hayden reaches past him and grabs a cloth from their bedside drawer. Jackie’s looking away from them, the pink in her cheeks turning into a deep, embarrassed red.

“You’re okay,” he murmurs, taking the cloth from Hayden. He wipes gently at her skin, coaxing her arms away from her breasts so he can clean her up properly. She makes a tiny noise when the cloth swipes over her nipple. “Did I hurt you?”

She shakes her head. “They’re just tender.”

Cliff nods, looks at Jackie, tries really hard not to look down at her puffy nipples. He feels kind of perverted, lusting after her like this. "Do you want me to not touch them at all?"

She makes a face. "Ah, well—”

"Whichever way is fine with me," he assures her. "I just don't want to hurt you or make you uncomfortable."

There's a pause as Jackie closes her eyes, cheeks going bright red. This is probably the first time she's ever had to talk about this kind of thing with anyone but Hayden. Cliff cups her cheek, brings her in for a gentle kiss.

Hayden kisses her cheek, the movement causing him to grind against Cliff's hardon. "Tell him, Jackie," Hayden breathes.

Jackie hand comes up like she wants to hide her face. Hayden pulls it gently away, presses a kiss to her palm. “I kind of... like it? When Hayden would play with my tits when they were tender and sore.”

“She loves it,” Hayden breathes. “She gets so squirmy and cute.”

“I didn’t want you to think I was gross ‘cause I was leaking,” Jackie says.

Cliff shakes his head. “I think you’re beautiful. I think your body’s beautiful.” He can hear himself getting too big too fast, too earnest, too intense. He shrugs one shoulder. “And I’m kind of a boob guy, so…”

“Ha, same." Hayden high-fives him and it feels like a success.

Jackie laughs and rolls her eyes. “Wow, amazing.”

Cliff leans forward and kisses her on the cheek. "Anything else I should know? About... anything?"

She worries her lip again, like she doesn't want to say. Hayden touches her hand. She mostly looks at him when she explains: "I know some women are fine with getting penetrated when they're pregnant, but I really don't like it." Her averted eyes make him feel like--like she thought he would bully her? Or be upset somehow?

He swallows. He will be safe for her. He will prove that she can trust him. “Above the belt only?”

Jackie shakes her head. “Oh, no, my hormones are also going crazy, and I think if I don’t get eaten out tonight, I might go insane.”

“Understood.” Cliff gives her a mock salute.

Hayden kisses his cheek. “Anything you want us to know about you?”

Cliff touches his right shoulder. "This shoulder's kinda fucked, so don't pull or grab it, or yank my arm."

"Should you be playing?" Jackie's reply is the automatic concern of a hockey wife.

Cliff nods. "It's fine—it's a chronic thing, and I'm managing it. Just can't take any rough treatment without a brace on."

She nods. "Okay."

She kisses him again, then Hayden. Cliff likes this, the rhythm of the three of them taking turns kissing each other, of the two of them both kisses his cheeks at the same time, the corners of his mouth. Eventually, Hayden shifts and Cliff opens his eyes to see the two of them negotiating the finite space of his lap, each of them straddling one of his thighs.

There's a heady, buzzy feeling in the space behind Cliff's eyes, like when was 19 and drafted to his hometown team, like when he plays the ponies with his dad and their horse actually does well for once, like when the Raiders won the fucking Cup.

The two of them are his. They want him. They want his hands on them, his mouth. Jackie leans in and kisses him, her hand reaching down to palm his cock. He's been hard since he'd gotten into bed with Jackie, and the contact sends a jolt of electricity running up his spine. Hayden muscles in on Jackie's territory, tilting Cliff's head in order to get at his neck, kissing and nipping at the sensitive skin there. Cliff lets out a low groan, still kissing Jackie—the two of them moving their mouths together, their tongues tangling. Jackie takes his lower lip between her teeth and tugs, and fuck.

He feels his cock twitch like he's going to cum, lets out a groan that sounds like he's dying. Another hand reaches down, cups his balls as Jackie continues fucking her tongue into Cliff's mouth. It feels like her and Hayden's hands are everywhere—his groin, his chest, his thighs, his face. He's so fucking close—

Hayden sinks his teeth into Cliff's neck and it's fucking over. He moans into Jackie's mouth, briefly sucking on her tongue as she and Hayden pump him through his orgasm.

"Fuck," Hayden pants. "Fuck, I'm fucking close."

"Cum on me," Cliff says automatically. "Fucking cum all over me."

Hayden wraps a hand around himself and Jackie bats it away with a gentle smack. Hayden moans at that, and Cliff wonders if this is part of their usual dynamic, if it’s Jackie views it as her job to get Hayden off like this, to wrap her hand around his shaft and move agonizingly slowly, stroking him to pre-cum pours from his tip like a leaky tap. He’ll ask later, when he’s done being mesmerized by the up-and-down movement of her hand, the high-pitched whiny sounds Hayden is making.

“I—I’m—” Hayden pants, his hips canting forward once. Cum stripes across Cliff’s belly, landing on his softened cock, and fuck if that isn’t the most erotic thing he’s even experienced, someone else’s spend cooling on his skin.

“Jackie,” Hayden whines. She’s still working him, thumb swiping over the flushed-pink tip of his cock.

“Hmmm?” She hums, teasing.

Hayden whines again, head tilting back to expose the long column of his neck. Cliff can’t resist latching onto the corded muscle there, nipping and worrying a spot above his pulse point.

“So good for us baby,” Jackie murmurs. Hayden moans one last time as she finally lets go of him. Cliff kisses a line from his neck to his mouth. The two of them kiss slowly, languidly for a few moments before Cliff feels a hand on his abdomen.

He lays back, letting Jackie clean him up with the same cloth he’d used before. Hayden kisses her on the cheek. “I’m gonna grab a towel.” She nods.

Cliff doesn’t say anything, because he’d kind of been enjoying the feeling of being covered in himself and Hayden, but that’s kind of gross, he figures. He watches Hayden go, his swaying as he walks. Man has a fucking ass on him.

Jackie cuddles up against his side. "Hi."

He kisses her, slow and quiet, just their lips touching, just their breath mingling. "Hi," he sighs. "Nice meeting you, by the way."

She chuckles, cupping his face in one hand. "Mm, very nice meeting you."

They're still kissing when Hayden comes back, damp towel in hand. Cliff feels him carefully cleaning off his belly and chest, but doesn't turn away from Jackie. He snakes a hand down between her thighs and finds her dripping wet. “Fuck,” he breathes, one finger swirling around her clit, engorged and throbbing.

She moans and whines, hips moving against his hand. He sees movement out of the corner of his eye as Hayden moves to get down on his belly between her legs. He starts to take his hand away, but Jackie grabs his wrist, demanding he stay exactly where he is even has Hayden presses his face into her folds.

“Yes ma’am,” he whispers against her ear. She whines, thighs squeezing Hayden’s head, wrist still guiding Cliff to where she needs him. “Feel good, baby?”

“So, g—” she breaks off in a moan as Hayden tilts his head. Cliff presses a little harder against her clit, fingers opening her folds a little wider.

“You sounds so good,” he tells her. “I wanna hear you like this all the time. So beautiful.” Stupid thing to say, but—

“Hayden!” Jackie cries out, back arching as she cums, legs shaking. Her head drops back against the headboard, lolling to the side as she looks at him. “Cliff,” she sighs. And fuck, he does want to hear her like that all the time.

Hayden sits up on his elbows, panting for breath. He lays his head against Jackie’s thigh, hand coming up to pet the other one as it shakes. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Jackie runs a hand through his hair.

Hayden’s eyes flick to Cliff for a moment, but he can’t—

He can’t have meant it to him too, right? He watches Hayden sit up again. He kisses Jackie, asks if she’s okay. When she nods, he retrieves another cloth from the bedside drawer and wipes his own face, then the insides of Jackie’s thighs. She sighs, relaxing against Cliff’s side.

The three of them fall asleep together, Jackie between Cliff and Hayden. He has to get up way too fucking early to make the Raiders’ flight back to Boston. Jade gives him a hug goodbye; Ruby accepts a high five, though she’s clearly still suspicious of his whole deal. Cliff finds himself missing them and the baby the most.