Chapter Text
Morning came soft and unhurried. Jakob returned from his daily mission to the breakfast buffet holding four cups of coffee in a cardboard tray and a fifth extra one just for himself. “There was a huge queue. I won the battle.”
Axel emerged from the bathroom in one of the cruise spa’s complimentary robes, which he had definitely not been authorized to keep. He was wearing two.
“Why are you double-robed?” Kevin asked, rubbing sleep from his face.
“I contain multitudes,” Axel said.
You were all lounged across the room’s king-size bed, half-dressed, wrapped in blankets, one of Kevin’s socks on Jakob’s foot, no one sure where the TV remote had gone. It was bliss.
You hadn’t talked about the night before any more, at least not directly. But at night Jakob had curled into Axel’s side without hesitation, Kevin had tugged you close by your waist, and Axel had whispered, "I love you, you know," into Jakob’s ear. It was healing. Gentle. Still messy.
“I’m bored,” Axel declared later, sprawled across the carpet in the shared cabin. “Someone entertain me.”
“You’re literally wearing stolen spa luxury,” you said. “You’re peak cruise core.”
“We could play a game,” Jakob offered, already pulling out the strange deck of cruise promotional playing cards he'd bought at the gift shop. They had trivia printed on them, most of it about sea safety.
“Cards are boring,” Axel pouted.
“Then suggest something.”
“Truth or dare. But make it sauna edition. Truth or löyly.”
“That makes no sense,” Kevin said.
Axel beamed. “Exactly.”
It started innocent. You asked Kevin to hum a love song into your ear. He did, blushing just slightly.
Axel dared Jakob to do his seductive trivia voice, which resulted in him reading some of the cards of the boat deck in a deep whisper that made Kevin choke on his drink.
Jakob, red-faced but determined, then dared you to kiss whoever you thought looked more handsome that morning. You kissed him, then Axel, then Kevin, strictly in proximity order.
Axel dared you to sit on Jakob’s lap. You did, and Jakob looked up at you like he could barely believe you were real.
“I love you,” he whispered, too soft for it to be part of the game. You kissed him, messy and open-mouthed, right there on the floor.
Axel, who had just started shuffling the cards for some reason, dramatically let them fall in a flutter between you all. “Okay, now we’re losing the kissing balance again.”
You grinned and pulled him down beside you, then dared him to kiss Kevin like he meant it. He did. Kevin blinked afterward, looking slightly dazed. “Okay. That happened.”
Axel grinned. “I love you, too, killjoy.”
Then Kevin dared you to kiss all of them, because clearly the game had already reached a point where originality and subtlety were not needed nor expected. You didn’t even pretend to hesitate. Jakob was first, with hands in his hair. Then Kevin, slower, steadier, his thumb at your jaw. Then Axel, who tasted like mints and mischief.
Then they dared you to choose. You refused.
“I want all of you,” you said, half breathless, half laughing. “God help me.”
Axel whispered, “No one can help you, there is no turning back.”
Jakob murmured, “We’re yours.”
Kevin touched your back and said, “Love you.” Just like that.
The game ended after that, but the kissing didn’t.
You never got up from the floor. Kevin grumbled something about the carpet and dragged the blanket from the bed down with him, throwing it under and over all four of you. A makeshift nest. A pile of limbs.
You laid back against a big pillow that Jakob had tossed down, your head resting on Axel’s thigh. Kevin sat at your side, still watching you like you were something holy. Jakob traced a finger along your collarbone. Axel played with the ends of your hair. Kevin pressed a kiss to your knee.
Jakob leaned over to kiss Kevin, sweet and firm. Axel leaned down to kiss you again, hands framing your face. Kevin kissed the inside of your wrist. You reached for Jakob. Clothes shifted. Not all of them came off. It didn’t matter.
Axel bit your shoulder. Jakob whispered beautiful against your neck. Kevin held your hips still while his mouth dragged over your chest like he was memorizing it.
It wasn’t about who had what. Who touched what. It was all of you, together, figuring it out in real time. You whispered I love you once. Then again. Different voices echoed it back, soft and wrecked. You felt full. Felt known. Felt needed.
After, the room was a mess. The cards long forgotten. The dare game long over. You were under the blanket again, this time breathless and sleepy and tangled in the best way.
Jakob curled against your chest, cheek warm. Axel draped himself across Kevin like he’d been knocked out. Kevin just kept his hand on yours like an otter.
“Okay,” Axel whispered. “I forgive you all for beating me at that game.”
“You didn’t lose,” Jakob mumbled. “There were no rules.”
Kevin kissed your temple. “We all won.”