When Elizabeth arrived at the door, wearing her workout gear and bearing six bags of miscellaneous supplies, Ryder didn't hesitate to offer help. "Can I get those for you?" he said, taking the bags off her shoulders. She smiled at him.

"Those go on the back deck," she told him. "And would you ask Tanisha to get the lawn mower out of the garage?"

The lawn really did need mowing, tall and dry and shaggy as it was, but hardly anybody was bothering at this time of year anymore. Rather than bother Elizabeth or Jake's mom, who were clearly busy with preparations of some kind, he asked Jake.

"What's up with the lawn mower?" He pulled up a chair and sat at the table across from Jake. Puck was shuffling a deck of cards with far too much skill for someone who'd had as much to drink as he had. "It's too cold for anybody to camp in your backyard this weekend, isn't it?"

"Yeah, we mostly don't bother to have outdoor circles after Samhain. But this one's important to do outside. It's kind of a journey."

"I told you, they're making a labyrinth," said Puck. "Like a maze, only with one path. No choices about where you go, until you end up in the center."

Marley looked at Puck with surprise. "Do you care about this stuff?"

"I don't." He riffled the cards and dealt four neat hands. "It's all bullshit. But I helped mow the labyrinth last year."

"I think Elizabeth's doing candles in paper bags this year. The ones stuck in the ground almost caught the grass on fire." Jake accepted the cards from Puck. "Anyway, it'll still be cool."

Ryder looked at the cards, trying to bury his disappointment. This was not the way he'd planned to spend his Friday night. Well, okay, maybe he sometimes played cards with Jake and Marley, but it was well mixed with kissing and casual touching, the kind of things they didn't get all week. "What are we playing?"

"Hearts." Puck dug three cards out of his hand and passed them to Ryder on his left.

"Elizabeth's got a bunch of extra setup today. Normally she wouldn't be here until Saturday, but..." Jake glanced at Puck, then away.

Puck said loudly, staring at the cards, so Elizabeth would have no choice but to hear, "She's here for me, okay?" In a more normal tone of voice, albeit a drunk one, he added, "And I don't need a fucking confessional with the priest. Priestess. Whatever."

"There's nothing to confess," Elizabeth said from the doorway. Ryder looked up at her, standing there unsmiling in her workout shorts, her long grey hair tied up in a bun on her head. "There's no sin in our religion. And even if there were, it's not your religion. I wouldn't hold you to any of our standards. I'm just here to put the labyrinth together."

"Surrrrre you are." Puck snorted, accepting three cards from Marley.

Jake gave Elizabeth an apologetic look. To Ryder, he said, "She's more like Ms. Pillsbury. No pamphlets, but... a different perspective, maybe."

"I'll be outside, marking the grass with spray paint before it gets dark. Best to mow it this evening, before the dew falls." She disappeared into the kitchen.

Ryder had pretty good cards, but he hadn't played hearts enough times to feel confident about it. He watched Marley lead with the two. When he took the trick with the king of clubs, he wasn't sure what to lead next. "I can't lead a heart, right? Not until hearts have been played?"

"What a fucking stupid rule," Puck muttered. He ran a hand over his head.

"No, that's right," Jake confirmed. "Play something else."

"I'm just saying, it's stupid," Puck said again, louder this time. Marley reached out a hand for Jake, and he took it. Puck stared at them, holding hands on the table. "See, that's the way it should be. Lead with the hearts. Don't keep them in your fucking hand. Because..."

There was a long silence, while Ryder decided to play a low club. Safer, he thought. Somebody else could take the lead.

"Because why?" Marley asked softly. Puck looked up at her, appearing surprised to be asked. Maybe he'd already forgotten what they were talking about.

"Because," Puck said. "Because, if you hold back, someday it might be too late." He tossed a five of hearts down, on top of the pile of black cards. "Ha. There. Let it all hang out."

This was feeling far too personal for Ryder's comfort. He wondered if he could justify giving up the game and going outside to help Elizabeth with setup. It wasn't his religion, either, but Elizabeth was pretty cool, for an old lady.

Puck gathered in his cards and stacked them neatly in front of him. He played the ace of hearts and glared at everyone defiantly. "There. Give 'em to me."

Everyone put their low hearts in. Marley shrugged as she played a club. "Sucky hand."

"You play what you're dealt," Puck said, sounding magnanimous. He surveyed his own cards. "Looks to me you've got a pretty good hand, huh?"

"What do you mean? Those are your cards."

"He's not talking about the cards," Jake said. Puck cackled, tossing out the ace of diamonds.

"He's fucking right. I've got all the good cards today. But my hand in life, Marley Rose. My hand in life sucks donkey balls. And yours..." He waved a vague hand at the table. "Is looking kind of awesome."

There was an awkward silence. Jake cleared his throat. "Puck..."

"Hey, Santana and Britt and me had threesomes," he went on. "What's the big? So what if people call you fags? People called me all kinds of things." He looked sidelong at Ryder. "So, what, are you boning my brother? The three of you, you getting it on?"

"Puck!" Jake said again, outraged. Ryder sent a silent appeal to Marley.

"I'm not," Marley said. "I mean, you're right, the three of us, we're together. But I'm not ready for sex."

Ryder couldn't even look at her. He fixed his eyes on the tabletop where the ace of diamonds waited, taunting him. He looked at his miserable three of diamonds. I have to follow suit. That's the rule.

"Huh." Puck looked at her. "I was totally ready for sex when I was, like, fourteen."

"Well, everybody's different," Marley said, her voice steady. "Some people don't want other people in their business."

"That's bullshit," Puck scoffed. "That's just code for I'm scared what people will think."

"So what if she is?" Jake said. He held tighter to Marley's hand.

She shook her head. "I'm not scared. I love Jake." She smiled across the table at Ryder. "I love Ryder, too."

It wasn't the first time any of them had said the words, but mostly they'd been spoken within the boundaries of Jake's room. Ryder kept his eyes on his three of diamonds as he played it.

"It's not your turn," Puck pointed out.

"So what," he said. "It's the card I have to play. Who cares if you guys see it a little early?" He took a deep breath and looked at Marley. "I love you too, Mar."

"See, that's what I'm talking about," Puck said, nodding emphatically. "Lay the cards out there. Lead with the heart." He patted his own chest enthusiastically.

It was hard to tell if Jake was blushing or not, but he looked a little flustered. He set his own diamond on the pile. "Not everybody's as brave as you, bro."

"Brave?" Puck hooted, loud enough to make the walls of the dining room ring. "I'm not fucking brave. If you hadn't noticed, I'm fucking drunk. And that means I get to say allllll the shit I don't usually say. Well, except that I'm mostly drunk these days." He snickered. "Come on, Marley. You put your card down."

"It's Jake's turn," she said.

He looked at her. "I already played."

"I'm not talking about the cards." She looked meaningfully at Ryder. Now Jake was definitely blushing. He opened his mouth.

"Me and Jake," Ryder interrupted. He looked over at Puck. "We're together."

"Yeah, I know," Puck said. "I could tell. I'm kind of an expert at being in love with your best friend."

They all stared at him in shocked silence while Puck reached over and took the card Marley was holding, a six of diamonds. He threw it on top of the pile and raked the cards into the pile in front of himself.

"You and Finn?" Jake said, his voice subdued.

Puck rolled his eyes. "Well, what other fucking best friend would I be talking about?"

"Were you guys, you know?" Marley asked. She made a little finger touching gesture.

"No, we were, you know," Puck mimicked. His own hand gesture was a lot less subtle. Jake choked on a laugh.

"Oh my god, Puck." Now she looked sympathetic again. "Did anybody know?"

"Our fraternity guessed. They didn't care." Puck tossed the jack of diamonds onto the table. "But we never told our parents or anybody from high school. Kurt figured it out, and he was pissed at us for not saying anything." He sighed, resting his head on his folded hands, the cards tucked inside. "Turns out he was right."

"You wish you'd come out?" Marley was talking to Puck, but she was looking at Jake. He was looking at his cards.

"Yeah," Puck said aggressively. "Of course I do. I fucking wish I'd told everybody in the fucking world how I felt about him."

"I think people could tell," Ryder said. Jake looked up at him. "I mean, not that you guys were... but I mean, how you felt. It's hard to hide that stuff."

"That stuff." Puck's voice was bitter. "It's not stuff. It's fucking love. Just call it what is is."

He was glaring a challenge at Ryder. Ryder cleared his throat.

"I love... Marley," he said. "And Jake. I love Jake, too." He looked over at Marley, who was smiling. "I'm okay saying it."

"You are?" Jake said, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, I'm okay with people knowing. I didn't think you were." He set his cards down. "I mean, I don't have to be all those things people say. They can say what they want."

"You be yourself," Puck said. "If that's not good enough for them, fuck 'em."

"I think I'm gonna go help Elizabeth in the yard," Ryder said, pushing his chair out. Jake stood up too, and he saw Marley nodding, letting go of Jake's hand.

"I'll come too," Jake said. "We can finish this game later."

"Whatever." Puck waved them along.

Jake waited until they were all the way in the hallway and around the corner before he grabbed Ryder's arm. "What the fuck was that?"

"Hey, sorry, man, if I embarrassed you in front of your brother," Ryder snapped.

Jake shook his head. "No, no, that was - okay, that was a little embarrassing, but so what. I can totally deal. I'm talking about you and me." He looked hurt. "You didn't tell me you wanted - that."

"What? To tell other people?" He squirmed away when Jake nodded. "I don't... I mean, I do. I'm just... the two of you, you've got something. Everybody knows it."

"No, man." Jake's voice was gentle now. "We've got something. All of us, but... especially you and me. You know that, right?"

It still took his breath away to have Jake looking at him like that. He grinned, moving in close against him, placing a hand on Jake's chest. "Yeah. I know it. I just didn't want to ruin what you and Mar had, at school."

Jake nodded soberly. "I'm not gonna lie and say it wouldn't be hard. But I think... I think it would be worth it."

He kissed Ryder and it was just the kind of kiss Jake knew he liked, enough to make him lose whatever words were left in his brain and just lose himself in the feeling of Jake's hand, touching his cheek, Jake's tongue, the sensation of Jake's breath against his lips. He let out a long sigh.

"You love me that much?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jake whispered. "Not too scary?"

"No," he said immediately. "Not too scary. Way less scary than what we've been doing, at least for me."

"Scary stuff is easier when you've got somebody to do it with." He took Ryder's hand and pulled him along the hallway, smiling.

"So, Puck and Finn," said Ryder.

"I know. Now I feel even worse for him. Losing your best friend's one thing."

"I think that'd be about the worst thing," Ryder said. He pulled Jake to a stop beside the back door and hugged him, hard.

"Oh," Jake said. He stood there and hugged Ryder back. "Yeah."

"Yeah," Ryder echoed. He felt the tears just behind his eyes, and realized they'd been lurking there all day. He sniffed, burying his face into Jake's neck. "I don't know what I'd do if you -"

"Hey. I'm not going anywhere. This time of the year, right now especially, it's easy to feel death kind of strongly." He kissed Ryder again, just on the cheek this time, but it made Ryder feel better.

"You think Puck's here for a reason?" he asked.

"Maybe." Jake shrugged. "Maybe it's just coincidence, but... who knows."

They walked out to the back yard, where Jake's mom was standing in the center of the big yard beside a string tied to a pole. The string was marked at regular intervals, and Elizabeth was spraying the grass with bright orange spray paint in the shape of a maze.

"That's about all of it," she called to Jake's mom, who nodded. She made her way through the long grass to Jake and Ryder. "One of you boys want to help me with the mowing?"

"Sure," said Jake. "I was thinking, Puck might want to be in circle with us tonight. He's got some things to let go of."

"That's a good goal," she agreed. "He's welcome. It's up to him, though. I wouldn't ask it of him." She looked keenly at Jake. "You, though. You have some goals. Tonight might be a good time to address them."

Jake looked suddenly uncomfortable. He glanced at Ryder.

"Your boyfriend should know," she said. "Especially if he's going to be in circle with you in the future." She made a questioning look at Jake, and after a moment, he nodded. She turned to Ryder. "Jake's asked for initiation to become a priest of the Wicca."

"Oh." It wasn't what Ryder had expected, and he wasn't sure what to say. "Uh... that's good?"

"He can't begin until he's eighteen," she said. "And it would be with a different group. I can teach him, if he wants, but he can't make that choice until he's an adult."

"I'm not totally sure yet," Jake said. She nodded.

"That's okay. You don't have to know. I just wanted you to know I spoke with your mother, and I support you in that choice." She looked over at Ryder. "Just as I support you in your relationship with Marley and Ryder."

Jake smiled. He reached for Ryder's hand, and Ryder took it, only a little surprised.

"That's the first time anybody's called him my boyfriend. But... yeah, he is."

There was a satisfied noise behind them. Ryder jerked his head around to see Puck standing there, his arms crossed, a grin on his face.

"That's what I'm talking about."

"You're welcome to join us in circle tomorrow, Puck," Elizabeth said. Puck shrugged.

"I don't think I'll be going anywhere. Tanisha told me I can't go home until I'm sober, and she'll be waiting a long time for that."

"You'll have to be sober if you want to be in circle," she said. After a moment, he nodded.

"You want me to mow the labyrinth for you?" he offered.

She looked at him sternly. "What are your chances of getting it right, in your condition? You don't get a second chance to do it right."

Puck appeared to be offended, but Ryder could tell he was kind of laughing, too. "Look, I know I'm a screw-up, okay, but I can cut the fucking grass."

In the end, he did it with Jake's supervision, and it came out great. Ryder looked over the patterns cut into the lawn with interest.

"This is really cool," he said, "but I don't see how it's much of a maze. You kind of just... walk it, and you get there eventually."

"That's the point." Jake gestured at the entrance. "There's all kinds of scientific studies on the effect of walking a path like this. You can even just do it with your finger on a paper and it works the same way. Something about the way your brain interprets it, I guess."

Ryder took a couple steps in, looking at the grass dubiously. "Okay?"

Jake nodded. "A labyrinth can be a lot of things, but tomorrow, on Samhain, it's a trip into the underworld. You go down, you come out changed." He touched Ryder's arm. "Trust me."

There was no question about that. After Elizabeth went home, they had dinner, the five of them, and finished their game of hearts. Ryder hung out with Jake while he played guitar and they all sang, but he couldn't stop thinking about the labyrinth, and what Elizabeth had said about Jake and initiation.

"Puck and I will clean up in the kitchen," Jake's mom told them, nodding at the hallway. "You three go on. Marley, your mom will be expecting you home by eleven."

"I'll turn off the porch light on my way out," she said. Puck watched them go with a clearly envious expression, but he didn't say anything.

"I feel kind of bad, leaving him out here," Marley said to Jake. "It's sort of rubbing it into his face, what he doesn't have anymore."

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't appreciate it," said Jake. He closed his bedroom door behind them all, taking Marley into his arms. "Just because other people don't have something doesn't mean we shouldn't have it."

She laughed. "Yeah, I don't think anybody else has this."

"Maybe they do, but they're all hiding, too," said Ryder. He sat on the edge of the bed. "Maybe they're scared to tell people, just like we are." He looked at Jake, who was watching him with that expression again, the one that made him feel like the luckiest guy in the world. "I'm kind of sick of hiding, guys."

"Yeah?" Marley turned to him, pushing him down onto the bed and climbing onto his legs, smiling. "You want to do this in front of everyone?"

"Uh, well," Ryder said, laughing, "maybe not this. But - this." He gestured at the three of them, and reached out for Jake, who joined them on the bed. "This, I want everyone to know about. Because you're so awesome."

"I'm game," Marley agreed. She kissed Ryder, then Jake. "That's two of us."

Jake was smiling, but he shrugged. "We might take a lot of heat, if we came out at school. I've never even said the words to anybody. I don't even know what words to use."

"I think we say we're together," said Marley, "and let everybody else draw their own conclusions? I'm not even sure there's a name for somebody who thinks it's hot when her two boyfriends make out."

Ryder laughed. "I think you don't need a name for that. You get to like what you like."

"Yeah." She sounded so pleased. "Lucky me."