Trois
He's waiting for them when they arrive back home.
"Successful night?" Jake Rosenbloom asks from where he's lounging on the sofa. He has been reading one of the depressing gothic novels Ian has recently taken a fancy to, although when she asked about his rather suspect taste in literature, he'd simply waved her off, saying "It's a classic darling, a classic."
Amy responds to Jake's query with a simple "Yeah," while Ian lets out a dramatic sigh that lets the other two know he's about to expound on his various issues with the party they have just returned from.
"Well first, the hostess was an absolute hag-"
"-That's sexist," Amy points out.
(But she's not even remotely offended, because she secretly agrees).
"And nobody cared that I would rather be anywhere but one of these stuffy soirees, and I was accosted by multiple branch leaders about that little tiff in Germany-"
"-Was it about the new, slightly fascist Chancellor threatening to blow up one of your strongholds?" Jake inquires mildly. Despite not being a Cahill himself, years of experience combined with having direct access to high-ranking members (read: Amy and Ian) has made him quite knowledgeable about the goings-on within the family.
"I miss Angela," Amy mutters.
(This time, everyone secretly agrees).
"And then," Ian continues on with his tirade, barely acknowledging Jake's question, "some Ekat that looked barely out of the nursery had the gall to try and chat up Amy, as if he didn't very well know she was my wife!"
Amy sighs and rolls her eyes. "It was less dramatic than that," she insists. "He only offered to get me a drink, and then, well, kind of never left."
She makes her way over to where Jake is sitting and curls up next to him so that her head is on his shoulder and her legs are in his lap.
"Love, he looked as if he wanted to shag you right then and there," Ian says indignantly from where he's standing. Amy wrinkles her nose at his vulgarity, while Jake simply chuckles lowly, sending pleasant vibrations through Amy's skin.
"Well to be fair, our Amy is a very attractive woman, married or not," he says and then adds with a wicked grin, "Not that it stopped me."
Amy snorts.
Jake caresses Amy's bare back with his hand- a possessive motion- and in response she sighs and simply leans into his touch.
"And this dress," he whispers into her ear so only she can hear it, "is sexy as hell." She feels her face get heated at the comment, but doesn't say anything, instead choosing to watch Ian, who's in the process of shedding his suit jacket and yanking off his tie.
"Yes, well if he wanted to be in your position, he'd have to seduce me as well as my wife," Ian says irritably, prowling over to them, and he sits on the other side of Amy, who switches from Jake's shoulder to his, pressing a kiss on his cheek as she does so. His features visibly relax at the feel of her lips against his skin.
"True," Jake agrees. He stretches his arms languidly so that his hand brushes lightly against Ian's shoulder.
"Can we not talk about me like I'm a piece of meat?" Amy huffs, and the two hasten to apologize, almost perfectly in sync.
"We're sorry"
"Sorry love."
Now Jake has slipped off her heels and is massaging her aching feet while Ian is stroking the exposed skin in the area between her neck and shoulder, and Amy can only sigh happily as they continued their ministrations.
"Well, at least you two don't fight over me," she says, closing her eyes and relaxing between them.
"That's because we're more evolved than that."
"And there's the added attraction of each other, apart from you of course."
"Oh yes, how could I forget," she says wryly, but is secretly amused at both their quick answers. She's always been a sucker for a man with a quick mouth- in
every way.
They work well together, Amy muses as Jake slips her dress off and Ian manages to deftly move it to the side while leaning over her to catch Jake's lips in a heated kiss that she aches to be a part of. She's almost positive she hears him murmur "I missed you" somewhere in between, but has no time to ponder on it.
It had been a rocky start for the two of them as there was still some latent jealousy over the fact that both of them had dated, and in Ian's case married, her. Of course now that they were older, they wanted different things in life. Jake was happy to be a bachelor professor, while Ian and Amy had married to consolidate their power within the Cahill family, amongst other reasons.
Was it callous? Amy liked to think not, especially since (like Ian had said) they were much more evolved than to engage in petty jealousies and monogamy.
In fact, it had been Amy who had brought up the idea of a third person in their relationship, and to her immense surprise, Ian had agreed… at least, until he'd met the proposed third person.
It wasn't that it was a man - no, he had long since confessed to her that his sexuality was fueled by power and desire, not gender- it was that it was Jake.
Amy had gone to see the Harvard professor and her ex-boyfriend with a question about an international situation regarding antiquities that she thought he'd he able to assist with. The moment she'd met her old flame, it was as though the spark had been rekindled almost instantly, and within hours, they'd found themselves kissing (well, making out, if one wants to be specific, but they're adults and Amy hesitates to use such a juvenile term) against his desk.
It was Jake that had pulled away, guiltily taking note of the diamond ring on her finger, and when he had said as much, Amy had only laughed, and told him not to mind it.
Jake had been conflicted- of course he had been. This was either cheating, or husband-sanctioned cheating, and he wasn't sure what was worse.
But what Jake didn't know was that Ian was well aware of Amy's little project. Of course she had told Ian everything-
Just not who it was.
She presented their proposal to Jake after a few "dates", if one could call heatedly arguing over foreign policy and other such affairs, and then kissing equally heatedly as such.
A part of her was nervous. No one wants to risk jeopardizing a friendship (or whatever it was, in their case) by, to be blunt, suggesting a ménage à trois with her husband.
But he was surprisingly receptive once she'd delicately laid it all out, especially the part about her husband, none other than Jake's rival for Amy's affection once upon a time, Ian Kabra.
But Amy was anything if not perceptive, noting in their teenage years the way he had eyed Hamilton, and even Jonah sometimes. She has a feeling that if she wasn't in the picture, Jake's attentions would have turned to Ian much quicker, after all, the two play extremely well off of each other.
Ian is spirited and passionate, despite the Lucian mask he often puts on, while Jake is more calm and cool. Ian has the British standards of propriety bred into every fiber of his being, while Jake is the embodiment of the American free-spiritedness.
If Ian is fire, then Jake is ice, and Amy is the lucky recipient of both their attentions.
As they move into the bedroom- onto her and Ian's marital bed- she can't help but think that maybe this is how love was always meant to be: not two halves that make a whole, but a third person that completes the other two.
They complete each other.
They complete each other, and it's in ways that are far more than the sex.
For what they have seen, what they have gone through when they were barely more than teenagers… it once felt like warmth and affection had no place in their world, and now, for Amy to receive it from not one, but two people- two people she has always loved more than anyone- she feels like the luckiest woman in the world.
And when they finally come undone, bathed in heady ecstasy and sweat, that's the last thought she has before they drift into blissful slumber.
Amy wakes up to find herself sandwiched between the other two, a tangle of limbs and legs. She wriggles a little to sit up, the bedsheets falling off of her nude form, and takes a moment to observe the two sleeping men sprawled on either side of her.
Ian is slim, bronzed, and darkly handsome, while Jake has more rugged features and all-American good looks. And with her auburn hair and jade eyes, she's sure the three of them can't make a more striking contrast on the crisp white sheets of their king-sized bed.
Outside, the sun is slowly but surely rising, the golden light illuminating on their faces and bodies, and sure enough, she feels Jake begin to stir as Ian sleepily mumbles "Come back to bed darling" and tugs lightly at her arm.
For a moment, she is struck by the domesticity- the sheer normality of a scene that most people would consider anything but, by virtue of the third person in the bed.
But for her… this is everything she could have ever wanted and more.
Another day, Amy thinks, smiling softly before allowing herself to be pulled back down into both their embraces.
This is probably the most interesting relationship I have written to date, considering there's Ian, Amy, and Jake. Also, was anyone aware that this site allows you to put more than 2 people in a pairing? I didn't- at least, until I tried for the first time.
I feel like people are a little too quick to villainize either Jake or Ian, depending on whose side you're on in regards to with whom you want Amy to end up with. The thing is, we all just think about them as kids- literally teenagers- and the relationships they have then, giving no thought to be people they might become as adults, and the changes that may occur between them.
While I took liberties with making Ian and Jake bisexual and there being a degree of attraction between them, there is no reason to believe that this scenario is not plausible. The two of them probably do play well off of each other, and Amy was, I believe, always attracted to both- although perhaps not necessarily at the same time (again, I took liberties with that).
Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed it, and let me know in the comments- especially how you feel about their portrayal. Thanks!