Rakan thrust into Sett one more time before he came with a groan. He took a moment to recover his breath before pulling out using the wall for support, then he removed the condom and tossed it in the trash. He watched as Sett grabbed Xayah's hips and lifted her from the counter to fuck her. She bit Sett's shoulder to keep herself from moaning too loud and Rakan's cock twitched in interest: watching them always gave him a thrill he could not explain rationally.
He knew Xayah came because she moaned anyway, loud enough to be heard from outside, but she clearly didn't care at the moment. Sett followed not too long after with a filthy moan that had Rakan wishing they'd never come to this party to begin with.
Xayah squirmed in Sett's hold and he quickly put her back on the counter and pulled away, a small frown creasing his forehead.
"Everything okay?" Sett asked.
"Let's get the hell out of here," Xayah said, fastening the buttons of her blouse. When neither Rakan nor Sett moved, she added "I don't think either of you fancies getting caught by the director, right?"
Rakan pulled his pants up, picked up his t-shirt and fixed his hair in the mirror. He helped Xayah down from the counter, then he watched her put on her underwear and shorts, wondering what happened to make them so desperate for each other that a public toilet at a work function became a valid option when it came to getting down and dirty.
They left the bathroom together, but there was no one in the hallways waiting so it went unnoticed by the rest of the party. Rakan took a brief detour to thank their director for organizing the party, then ran to catch up with Sett and Xayah who couldn't be bothered to wait.
He found them making out against the car, Xayah sitting on the hood while Sett's hand slid under her hem of her shorts.
"A little eager, aren't we?" he joked as he unlocked the car, making them spring apart. He laughed at their surprised faces. "I'm impressed you guys didn't trigger the alarm. It looked urgent."
"You were taking too long," Xayah said, smoothing her clothes down. Rakan raised his eyebrow at her. "Come on. Sett's band mates want him at rehearsal bright and early tomorrow, we should make the most out of tonight."
Rakan agreed. He also thought it would be great if no one saw them getting handsy and called the guards for public indecency.
"Then what are we waiting for?" he said, walking to the driver side.
Xayah and Sett celebrated, then got in the back of the car, where they made out for the whole duration of the ride home.
The next day, Sett left at the crack of dawn, but not before leaving a note on their fridge promising to cook breakfast next time. That was a thing now. They kept promising each other next time: next time I'll cook you breakfast, next time I'll blow you so good you'll pass out, next time this, next time that. Rakan liked it, it gave him something to look forward to when it came to Sett, whose presence had become such a constant in his life that he couldn't imagine how it would be if the man disappeared all of a sudden.
They were getting ready for their morning run when Rakan brought it up.
"So, Sett left a note," he started.
"Sett always leaves notes," she replied, tightening her ponytail in front of the mirror.
"That he does. He said he'll cook us breakfast."
"Like proper breakfast or will he give us one of those protein shakes he drinks?"
The fact that they knew that much about the man they were supposedly just hooking up with tipped him off. They had never gotten to know anything about one of their one night stands. Suddenly, he saw all their interactions under a new light. Seemingly out of nowhere, he blurted out, "are we dating Sett?"
Xayah turned to look at him with a frown, then something dawned on her. "Oh my God, we are dating Sett, aren't we? What— how? Don't answer that. Oh my God, does Sett know we're dating? Should we, like, ask him?"
"We might break his heart if he already thinks we're dating. Wait, what tipped you off?" he asked.
"We were making plans for his summer break. He said he'd let us know if his band mates agreed to take a break so we could go down to Busan."
"To meet his mother?" Rakan raised his voice slightly.
"No, it can't be, right? Fuck. I'd know if we were dating someone. It can't be that he thought we should meet his mother already? How long have we been dating for him?"
"This is a disaster," Rakan said, trying to recall if they'd ever talked about their situation with Sett. "Wait, are we on the same page? You like Sett? Romantic styles?"
"Romantic styles?" She raised her eyebrow at him. "Really?"
"You know what I mean."
Xayah rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Yes, I like Sett. Romantic styles."
"I had a suspicion, but that's because I know the faces you make when you love someone," he teased.
"Don't say that," Xayah replied, serious. "I love you."
"I'm not saying how, but you really care about him. Who says you can't have feelings for more than one person?"
"Who says I have feelings for him?" she countered.
"Well, I know I do."
He had only figured it out the previous night, as he fucked Sett with abandon after Xayah rode him. He remembered the face Sett made when, balls deep inside him, Rakan called him babe. It slipped out as Rakan coaxed a second orgasm out of him, natural as breathing "come on, Sett. Come for me, babe."
Sett looked surprised by the force of his own orgasm, a moan stuck in his throat. Rakan stroked him until the man trembled, then he chased his own orgasm, one of the best he's ever had.
Later, as they basked in the afterglow, Rakan watched Xayah and Sett cuddling and felt an overwhelming sense of relief, because, for all the feelings Sett stirred in him, Rakan knew Xayah felt something for him as well.
Rakan knelt to tighten his shoelaces, then stood up and grabbed Xayah's hand. "We should get going."
She nodded but didn't speak a word until they were back from their run. Then, all she said was "we need to let him know we take him seriously."
A smile bloomed on his face and Xayah shook her head before heading for the shower.
After a minute, she called from the bathroom, "Rakan! What are you waiting for?"
He was lucky he didn't trip in his haste to get to the shower.
Sett came back a day later and he was fuming.
"I don't get why he's being so stubborn about this," Sett said, digging into his takeout. "He's usually much more open minded, I swear."
"Did you send him the songs you showed us?" Xayah asked.
"Yeah, I did. I even mentioned that you guys liked it but all K'sante said was 'it's good' which means he barely glanced at the message."
"But he liked it?"
"Nah, he probably didn't even listen to him. I swear he wasn't like this when we found out about Kayn through Ezreal. He keeps saying we need a producer, but he's missing the obvious choice because he's mad at me."
Rakan frowned and put his own takeout on the table before continuing. "What do you mean K'sante is mad at you?"
"He says I've canceled on him one too many times and he's right. I keep finding other things to do lately." He looked at Rakan, then at Xayah. "Two things, apparently."
"So really, he's mad at us," Xayah concluded —correctly if Sett's tired sigh was anything to go by.
"He doesn't know you, that's all."
"Maybe we should hang out. All of us," Rakan suggested. "At least be friendly, keep it civil, I mean."
Sett laughed. "Thanks Rakan, but I think he just needs to cool off. Besides, there's no reason to make a fuss."
Xayah looked like she wanted to argue but was thinking better of it. In the end, Rakan broke the silence saying "sorry, babe. Wish I could do more."
Sett frowned but nodded.
Later that night, when they dropped Sett home, Rakan asked him "are you sure we can't do anything else about the K'sante thing?"
"Nah, we'll be fine," he insisted. His voice was even, but he looked a little sad when he added "we're going to be laughing about this in the gym in no time."
"Okay."
He was about to get out of the car when Xayah said "no goodbye kiss?"
Sett's forehead creased with a small frown but he leaned forward to give Xayah a kiss before turning to Rakan and asking, "can I kiss you goodbye as well?"
Rakan's heart fluttered. "You don't even have to ask."
They kissed for a long time before someone yelled at them from the door. "Come on, Sett! You'll see them in like 3 days or less!"
Sett huffed when he pulled away. "Duty calls. We're watching Kayn's last solo performance in like 30 minutes."
Rakan watched as Sett greeted K'sante and told Xayah "we need to up our game. His friends gotta like us too."
"We're not dating his friends."
"But they're important to him, their opinion matters. I want Sett to stay, I really do."
Xayah looked at him for a moment before saying "me too."
A couple of weeks later, after Yone and Aphelios joined the band, Sett was waiting outside of their building when they got back from rehearsal.
"Hey, is everything okay?" Rakan asked as soon as he saw him.
Sett looked up and his face broke in a big smile. "I just really wanted to see you guys."
Xayah took one look at him and ran in his direction, hugging him tight when they collided. Sett lifted her and spun her around before setting her back down and kissing her softly. Rakan, for his part, unlocked the door behind them before Sett gave him a similar kiss.
Once they were upstairs, their clothes came off before they could talk about whatever upset Sett before he came over. They were lounging on the living room in several states of undress when Xayah spoke up. "Will you tell us what happened?"
Sett sighed. "Nothing terrible. K'sante thinks we need to bond before we can make music together. Apparently we're all pulling in different directions."
"Is bonding a bad thing?" she asked.
"He suggested we all move in together," Sett said.
Xayah looked at Rakan, a question clear in her eyes. Rakan voiced it for her. "Do you not want to?"
"It's not that. What if we end up moving far away from where K'sante and I live now?" His voice raised in panic. "What if we move out of the city altogether? What if—"
"Babe," Xayah put a hand on his arm to stop his spiral. "We'll figure something out."
Sett seemed unsure about how to react, but there was pain in his eyes as he looked at Xayah. He stood up, pulling pants up. "That's not helping."
Rakan frowned. "What's wrong, Sett?"
The man looked between the two of them and shook his head, moving away to look for his t-shirt. "We don't have to talk about it."
"Then we definitely do," said Xayah, grabbing Sett's hoodie and putting it on. It was big on Xayah's narrow frame, and it reached her upper thighs. Then she sat down on the sofa expectantly.
Sett looked at her wearing the hoodie and sighed. "Xayah."
When all she did was arch an eyebrow at him, he deflated. Rakan watched him sit next to Xayah looking defeated and quickly zipped up his pants. Then he sat up and waited for Sett to speak.
"I think I need you to stop with the pet names and the long term plans. It's making it harder to remember that you're going to leave."
"What do you mean leave?" Rakan asked.
"You know. Don't make me spell it out for you." When Xayah and Rakan exchanged a look, he continued, "you'll realize that you're ready to settle down, so you'll send me on my way.
"And I get it, I knew what I was getting into when I said yes that night, but it turns out K'sante might've been right when he said I have it bad for you two."
Rakan sat up straight. "You're saying we're not dating?"
"Come on, let's not be delusional." He almost managed to mask his self-deprecation with a humorless laugh. "You were a couple before me and you'll be a couple after me."
"Sett." Xayah waited until he looked at her before continuing in her serious voice. "There's no version of 'after you' that doesn't include you in the picture."
Rakan's heart beat faster. Maybe Sett didn't want to be in a relationship to begin with. Maybe they were asking for too much. Maybe they were too much to deal with. Rakan looked at Xayah, but she was focused on Sett, so he added, "but only if you want to."
Xayah glanced between the two of them and echoed Rakan's words. "Of course. Only if you want to."
"Is this a joke?"
Xayah shook her head once, incredulous. "We've been so fucking stupid. This is why people have relationship meetings."
"What relationship?" Sett asked, confused but hopeful.
"Okay, we need to start over. All over." Rakan said, trying to hide his smile. "Hi, Sett, I'm Rakan and I'm crazy about you."
"I'm Xayah and I'm crazy about you."
Sett huffed a laugh. "I'm crazy about you two as well. What are we doing?"
"Right now? Talking." Xayah grabbed a hair tie from the floor and put her hair in a ponytail. "Later? Having mind blowing sex."
Rakan loved the smile that bloomed on Sett's face as he said "I can get behind that."