"...Sousuke?"

"Rin?"

"Uhm…"

Considering the situation, there was not a shred of animosity in the air. Other than the awkwardness that was radiating off of Aiichirou in waves, the atmosphere was oddly composed.

Rin scratched the back of his neck. Tucked under his arm was a small, narrow package that was wrapped in festive paper. Sweets were inside, a flavor he knew at first glance that Ai would like. Currently his crimson eyes were fixed on the small bag Sousuke was holding that also undoubtedly contained Christmas sweets. The bag's logo was from a bakery… A cupcake, perhaps? A small Christmas cake?

Sousuke broke the silence. "So the person you were set on asking out was…?"

"I figured that'd be kinda obvious by now…" Rin said with an embarrassed chuckle.

Ai covered his mouth and nose with his scarf, mostly to hide the blush that was blooming from cheek to cheek. As if to make more sense of the situation, Ai pulled out his phone and re-checked the two most recent texts he'd received - literally seconds apart - from Rin and Sousuke. Both texts were nearly identical. [Hey, where are you right now? I need to talk to you.] [You're not in the dorm? Where are you, I needed to talk to you.] Twenty minutes ago, Ai assumed they would be arriving together to tell him something crucial concerning the swim team. He hadn't been expecting both of them to show up with gifts for him, and he really hadn't been expecting the entire event to be unplanned.

"So Rin-sempai and Yamazaki-sempai are both here… To…?" Ai was having a hard time wrapping his mind around what was happening, and an even harder time mustering the confidence to convince himself that it was happening to him. It was like something straight out of a rom com.

Rin heaved a deep sigh, his lips stretching into a toothy grin. He extended the package he was holding, and Ai stared at it with large eyes. "Since I got here first, I guess it's only fair I get to give you mine first," he said, and Ai slowly and disbelievingly took the parcel from Rin. He held it in his gloved hands, mouth open to say words that were having a hard time coming out on their own.

"Rin-sempai… Thank-"

"It's only fair. I hope you can accept this one, too," Sousuke cut in, handing Ai the bag he was holding. Shifting Rin's parcel under his arm gently, Ai took the bag, his face rosy.

"T-Thank you both," Ai said, unable to meet their eyes. "This is really unexpected…"

"I'll say," Rin said with a click of his tongue. "You should have told me, Sousuke."

"I told you I was planning on asking someone out on Christmas. You never asked who it was."

"I-" Rin immediately went quiet and glowered, realizing he was right. "Well… Still…"

"Hold on," Ai silenced both of them with an uncharacteristically stern tone, and both men turned their attention to the smaller silver-haired boy. "I need to get some things straight, or my brain might explode." Ai sucked in a deep breath, letting it out as a puff into the cold evening air. "You're both here… To ask me out?"

Rin and Sousuke exchanged a glance, and then both looked back at Ai with firm nods.

"No sense in lying about it, or anything like that." Rin said.

"We're both here because we like you. It's Christmas, and I suppose we both had the same idea to ask you out. But now…" Sousuke trailed off, looking to Rin for help. Rin sighed.

"It looks like we accidentally put you in an awkward situation."

Ai shook his head. "It isn't that exactly…" he said, as if he were thinking hard about something. He glanced up at the two of them, brows drawn in worry. "You two aren't… Angry at each other or anything, are you? This won't affect your friendship…?"

Rin stuffed his hands into the large pockets of his jacket, smiling. "Sousuke and I have always had similar interests, so honestly I'm not all that surprised. It actually doesn't bother me."

"Me either. I don't think something like that would make me think negatively of Rin. We're already been through a lot, after all." Sousuke added reassuringly.

"A-Ah…" Ai looked down, still looking deep in thought.

Sousuke's lips pressed into a thin line. "We won't pressure you into answering either one of us. And we won't have any hard feelings if you decide to answer one of us and not the other, either. Right, Rin?"

"Definitely not," Rin affirmed.

Ai was silent for a time longer, ignoring the sounds of far-off Christmas carols and the hustle and bustle of the romantic Christmas evening. Finally, he cleared his throat and looked up to meet both the men's stares.

"If that's… the case…" He swallowed, his face dusted pink, "H-how about we all spend Christmas t-together?"

He was met with wide-eyed stares from both of his taller teammates. "...Together?"

"As in, both of us?"

Ai nodded firmly. "The truth is… I was shopping tonight for both of you. I haven't been able to make up my mind for a while now, but since it was Christmas, I definitely wanted to come to a decision. Even so, I couldn't. I l-like you both, so…" his voice trailed off and he distractedly fidgeted with Sousuke's gift. "That sounds really greedy, huh?"

The sensation of a hand slipping into his hair startled Ai out of his thoughts and he looked up in surprise to see Rin grinning at him, ruffling his hair playfully.

"Rin-sempai…?"

"Most people would just give up on both or settle for one or the other, and both of those options suck. Honestly, what you're saying doesn't sound so bad."

"Wh- whaa…?"

"I agree with Rin," Sousuke said with a smile, adding his hand on top of Rin's to doubly tousle Ai's silver locks. "If people aren't true to their own feelings, it just makes things a lot more complicated and painful."

Ai stared at them both, pale blue eyes sparkling from the Christmas lights strung above them dangling from the street lights. "...You mean you really wouldn't mind? That would make it… That would make us…"

"...pretty fucking happy," Rin finished with a cocky wink, sharp teeth glinting under the lights. Ai flushed. Sousuke chuckled.

"Seriously, what a thing to say so casually…"

The tension broken, the three of them dissolved into peals of laughter, all of them mutually relieved at the turn of events. It was a startling prospect, but somehow it felt right. Rin and Sousuke had always known each other, always slipping into each other's presence as easily as if they were coming home to something very familiar and natural. It had always been that way. They supposed it was a form of love, but those words had never been said. Now that they realized they both liked Ai, an arrangement like this wasn't nearly as unnatural to them as it ought to have been.

"If that's how it's gonna be, we're leaving it to you to decide what we do. Anything you want." Rin said to Ai once they'd all calmed down. Ai glanced at the gifts in his hands. Decisively, he pocketed Rin's and slung the handle of Sousuke's bag around his wrist. Once his hands were free, he boldly sought out both Rin and Sousuke's hands in his own, only slightly disappointed that their first time holding hands had to be through thick gloves.

"Then… Let's do as much as we can! Let's see the big tree they set up in the square, let's buy some KFC for later, let's eat the sweets you both got me together…" He looked down, smiling. "As long as we're together, anything's fine."

At nearly the same time, both Rin and Sousuke squeezed Ai's hands before exchanging a grin over their dates' head.

"Well then… Let's get to it! The night is still young, right?" Rin said, tilting his head with a smile.

Ai giggled. "Yes!"