Bonus Scene Ash
Ash rocked in the chair on the back porch, his gaze on the two men inside his home.
He was lucky to have them there. He'd almost blown everything.
His greed and determination, his trauma, had made him into exactly the kind of person he'd never wanted to become.
It made him like the parents who'd raised him, whose footsteps he'd sworn never to follow.
Yet that is exactly what had happened.
It took Ethan quitting for him to see the light, to understand that he'd lost his reason for waking up in the morning.
The person he cared for had shaken loose the cobwebs, clearing the haze he'd been living in.
All those self-imposed rules were gone. He had the Little curled up in his living room watching cartoons to thank for it.
He took a sip of whiskey, careful not to overindulge.
He wanted a clear mind for the rest of the evening.
Ethan and Jacob were staying over for the first time.
They'd agreed to his place because Ethan felt comfortable there.
He hadn't been to Ash's home often enough for it to hold the bad memories the office did.
The office that even Ash no longer wanted to be inside.
He took every chance he could to be out of it.
He wanted to be anywhere that Ethan and Jacob were.
And yes, it was both of them who held his attention — not just the man he'd been working alongside for years and quietly denying himself.
Jacob kissed Ethan on the forehead, then dimmed the lights and walked towards the back porch. He grabbed his beer off the counter on the way, and when he came outside, Ash took a slow, deep breath. He loved the way Jacob smelled.
The man was a chef, so he often carried the scent of whatever he'd been cooking on him. He'd complained aloud about feeling greasy and stale, but to Ash, he smelled like warm chocolate chip cookies and a rich pot roast. He was the homemade bread he baked and all the comfort that came with it.
Ash waited for Jacob to sit.
He thought he knew what he was going to say, thought he had the words, but his mouth didn't move.
What do you say to someone you look up to?
He might have been older than Jacob, older than Ethan too, but both of them had their lives together in a way Ash hadn't managed until recently.
Every day that passed, though, he found more and more of himself.
“He's happy, you know,” Jacob said, before taking a pull of his beer.
“I'd like to think he is, yes. A big part of that is you.”
Jacob shook his head and wiped his mouth. “It's us. Sure, he was happy with me for those few days before you came around, but it's clear to me that the three of us work. We make sense. Even if we shouldn't, it's really the perfect fit.”
Ash didn't know what to say to that. Hearing Jacob talk about them being together had his mind racing to places he hadn't let himself go. He hadn't been lying that day when he groveled at Ethan's feet. Jacob was handsome. He held no qualms about acknowledging that.
The fact that both of them were Dominant meant a romantic relationship between just the two of them wasn't really in the cards. But in his journey of growth, Ash had realized he didn't mind deferring to Jacob from time to time.
In the kitchen, Jacob was calm and collected. He didn't demand things of others, just moved about with quiet purpose. But in his private life, he was pure Daddy. He made decisions and took no argument when something mattered.
Ash admired him as much as he was attracted to him.
“I'm not sure what to do around you,” Ash admitted, after a long bout of silence.
Jacob tilted his head. “What do you mean? There's nothing you have to do. You don't have to act a certain way. Just be yourself.”
Ash shook his head. “I don't know what that means for me anymore. When you're around, I want to listen to what you say. When you give Ethan direction, I want to follow it too. It’s that or I wait for you to give me my own. When I watch the two of you kiss or hold each other, I feel jealousy, but also pure relief and joy.”
Jacob straightened. He leaned forward until his elbows were on his knees, his beer bottle dangling loosely between his fingers. It was an effortlessly attractive pose. Ash had to look away. He knew his cheeks were already red, but he didn't need to let Jacob see the want in his eyes too.
“Look at me,” Jacob said softly.
Just as he'd admitted, Ash couldn't resist. He looked back over, and what he saw reflected there was like looking in a mirror. His mouth opened, but only a choked sound came out.
Jacob grinned. It was the same kind he always gave Ethan right before asking for a kiss, or before pulling Ethan into his lap.
“I don't understand,” Ash breathed.
“I think you do understand, and that's exactly why it scares you.
I have seen the change in you, Ash. I know you're not the person you tried to be for so long. I know you care about our boy in there, and that at the end of the day you just want family and love. You have all the money you could ever need. None of us would have to work a day in our lives if you wanted to bankroll this relationship. But since we all like to stay busy, we keep pace.”
Ash swallowed. “Yeah. I guess that's true.”
“And it's really not about money,” Jacob continued.
“It's about feelings and connection. About the way you look at me when you think I don't notice.
The way you look at Ethan when he's being adorable.” He paused.
“I would never do anything without Ethan's approval and encouragement. This—” Jacob motioned between them “—has to wait. I have to know that he wants everyone to be together. The moment he says that, the moment he lets me know, everything changes.”
Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing. He thought maybe he was dreaming, so he pinched himself, and then jumped when the pain registered.
Jacob reached over and rubbed his hand over the spot, scowling. “Don't do that. This is real.”
His touch made Ash dizzy. He didn't quite know what was going to come next. He'd always been the kind of man to plan ahead, but meeting Ethan had changed all of that. Working with him, losing him, and fighting to get back into his life was all worth it.
He was no longer that person, no longer lived by those old rules. Jacob was just another beautiful spin on everything he hadn't expected.
It would take only one night for Ash to see the truth in Jacob's words.
The moment Ethan guided Ash's fingers toward Jacob, it was over. They were bound after that, building a connection that centered around Ethan but also featured the two of them together at times, just the pair of them. Ethan never once complained. He never seemed bothered by it.
And when the two stepped off the dance floor at Koa's wedding many months later, Ethan was there with a wide smile and open arms.
“You looked perfect out there.”
“Oh really?” Ash asked.
Ethan nodded, squeezing them both as they wrapped around him. When he pulled back, Ash saw Ethan's genuine smile, the kind he only gave when he was truly ecstatic.
“Happy looks good on you,” Jacob said warmly, his hand moving to rub at Ash's lower back.
“It looks good on all of us,” Ash added.
Ethan hummed, swinging gently from side to side. He looked beautiful. The moment he'd put it on, Ash had known it was a perfect complement to the natural glow his boy carried.
Ash looked between his two men. He was content beyond measure, happier than he knew what to do with.
Koa and Manny strode up, as did Dill and their partner. Briar swept by with her girlfriend, shouting out congratulations as she moved to the dance floor to what she'd declared the sapphic summer song of the year. Her words, not Ash's.
More bodies joined the group, and they hovered together, talking, reminiscing, and simply sharing in the good time.
“And as I was saying,” Koa announced dramatically, “I could not believe Ethan was even listening to me. He was staring at his dazzling Daddies like they were the center of his whole world.”
“Dazzling Daddies?” Ash choked out.
Jacob laughed as well, pressing a kiss to Ethan's temple.
Koa put his hands on his hips. “Yeah, dazzling. I said what I said.”
Dill snorted and shook their head. “Dazzling Daddies? Sounds like a children's program where dads dance with their kids in tutus or something. Really, Koa?”
Koa hummed, unbothered. Manny pulled his new husband to his side. “My boy can call them whatever he wants. Besides, Ethan seems fond of it.”
Looking at his Little, Ash could see just how pleased Ethan was with the nickname.
“I guess we're Dazzling Daddies, then,” Ash said to the group, who all promptly broke into laughter.