I was hiding under your porch because I love you.

Can you tell me more about Dom Seth Jones and his two subs? Like, just anything.

Things rapidly (well, actually, really slowly) got out of hand, but it's still not coherent enough to be a real story, so it seems like a good excuse to try that whole cross-posting to DW thing.

Rebloggable version.

What kills me about that picture is how Roman is smiling up at Seth, so open and happy, but Shea is more reserved, his head bent, his smile soft and small.

Which makes me think that Seth and Roman were together first and they invited Shea in later.

Seth develops the biggest crush on Shea when he stays with him that first summer. Shea is a great hockey player, and he's hot, and he gives off this vibe that he doesn't need a dom, that if he kneels for someone it's because he wants to, and Seth is so into that.

(Seth's heard the gossip about Shea, the way the media likes to speculate about what it means that Shea hasn't settled down with a nice dom yet, that he hasn't even -- as far as the media knows -- had a long-term relationship with a dom since he joined the league. Seth's even heard the fan theories that Shea and Suter had a secret relationship and that's why Shea never dated anyone publicly. It's all bullshit as far as Seth is concerned.)

Whatever, it's just a crush, lots of doms fantasize about older subs, Seth's not going to do anything about it. Shea is his captain and has been nothing but kind and friendly and completely appropriate.

Unlike Roman, who flirts outrageously with him.

*

Roman does it because right from the start, Seth treated him like a veteran, not a sub. Because he likes the way Seth gets blush-y and tongue-tied at first, likes the way Seth teases him back as the season goes on and Seth gets more comfortable with the team. It's just joking around.

At first, anyway.

Roman thinks of Seth as a rookie at the beginning, not a potential dom. He is a rookie, hesitant, eager to please -- wanting to make a good impression on the veterans and the coaching staff. Roman can tell that the pressure and attention and responsibility of the NHL, both on and off the ice, has him off-balance and struggling to adapt.

And then Roman comes back from the Olympics and sees him flirting for real with a sub in a bar.

She's tiny, delicate, with dark skin and candy-pink hair. She looks like she's a couple years older than Seth, old enough to not need a fake ID to get served at least. She's giving him a skeptical but not unfriendly look.

Seth is standing in a way that shows off his height without crowding her or making her feel intimidated. He smiles, a deep flash of dimples, and says something that makes her laugh. Everything about his body language is easy, confident, dominant without being a pushy asshole about it.

Roman's never seen Seth like this before, and suddenly, he's the one who's off-balance.

Fisher elbows him, and Roman jumps, takes the pitcher Fisher's holding out and follows him back to their booth. He can't help glancing back at Seth and his tiny sub, though. It needles at him, and he doesn't know why, until he sees Seth lean in, duck his head down to hear her better, and he realizes that he wants to be the focus of all of Seth's attention like that.

He yanks his gaze away and finds Shea watching. Shea's eyebrows go up, and Roman feels like Shea knows exactly what he's thinking. It makes his whole face go hot.

Seth leaves with her, his hand wrapped around her wrist. He doesn't so much as glance at their table on the way out the door.

*

The next time Roman flirts with Seth, it doesn't feel like a joke.

*

Shea helped Roman so much when he first got called up, in his first full season. He was the one Roman talked to about being an out sub in the NHL. Shea gave him advice on how to deal with doms on the ice, both the assholes on other teams and his own over-protective teammates, about dating and how courtship and hook-up culture was different in North America. He made Roman believe that there wasn't anything wrong with him for wanting to play hockey and he shouldn't settle for a shitty dom that told him otherwise.

(Roman's heard all the gossip about Shea, and he thinks it's bullshit, too.)

Shea's the kind of sub Roman's grandmother would call difficult. He hooks up with doms, but he doesn't date anyone -- it's not worth the stress and misery when it doesn't work out, when he can't give them what they're expecting.

Roman likes casual sex just fine, but he doesn't understand how Shea can trust a stranger enough to truly go under for them. He tries to ask Shea about it once, and Shea grimaces, looks away.

"It's not--" he says, and stops. "I don't need it to be like that."

Roman doesn't get that, but he lets it go.

*

The first time Roman and Seth hook up is after a road game, a win that snaps a four game losing streak and makes the whole team giddy. Seth gets the game-winning goal in overtime, and to Roman, it seems reasonable, necessary to go to his knees for Seth afterwards.

Seth looks shocked, almost awed when Roman kneels for him, but he takes what Roman offers with a kind of fierce attention that leaves Roman breathless.

Maybe if Roman had thought about it, he would have guessed that someone who made the NHL as a defenseman in his first year would bring that same confidence and maturity and focus into the bedroom, too. But he's got to admit, he's not expecting it. It's not like Seth is some experienced and skilled dom, of course -- his ropework is objectively terrible and that's the most advanced thing they've done so far -- but he's a fast learner. Roman likes teaching him. He likes that Seth doesn't act like he knows everything, that he asks what Roman wants instead of trying to bluster his way through with cockiness and aggression.

It's fun, casual. They hook up after good games on the road, or on off-days or after practice at home. Seth will nap with him, but he doesn't stay the night. Roman gets off on it, but he doesn't really go under for Seth.

Not until they're officially out of the playoff race.

They lose to Dallas in the shootout at the beginning of April, and that's it, they're done.

It's not like they were that close, Roman knows that, but as long as it was still mathematically possible, it was something to fight for. The whole locker room is subdued afterwards. There's something cold and heavy in the pit of his stomach, but he feels strangely light, like he's going to blow away in a stiff breeze. He goes through the motions of showering and changing. He thinks he talks to the media, but he doesn't remember what he says.

Seth looks as gut-punched as Roman feels, but when he sees Roman's face, his shoulders straighten and his expression sharpens.

He catches Roman on the way to the bus. "Are you okay?" he asks.

Roman smiles mechanically. "Yeah. Just sucks, you know?"

"Yeah," Seth says. He reaches out and grips the back of Roman's neck, just a brief squeeze, then his hand drops away.

Roman misses it immediately.

Seth stops at Roman's room when they get back to the hotel, hovers in the doorway. "Roman," he says softly. "What do you need?"

For just a second, Roman wants a dom who knows what he needs, who won't make Roman ask for it. He makes himself exhale slowly. "Could you -- just, hold me down?"

"Yes," Seth says immediately, steadily.

Roman takes a couple of steps back so Seth can come in.

"Take off your clothes," Seth says."You can leave your boxers on."

It's a relief to get out of the suit. He doesn't mind them normally, but it feels smothering tonight.

"Lie down on the bed, on your stomach," Seth says.

Roman obeys. He can hear the rustle of Seth taking his own suit off, then the mattress dips and Seth straddles Roman's waist. He settles all his weight on Roman's lower back, his thighs pressed against Roman's sides. He runs his hand over Roman's shoulder, down his arm.

"Your shoulder isn't bothering you anymore, right?" Seth asks.

Roman shakes his head against the pillow.

Seth wraps his hand around Roman's wrist and twists Roman's arm up behind his back.

Roman sucks in a sharp breath. It's just the right side of painful. He is suddenly, intensely present in his own body, and that floaty, ungrounded sensation disappears. Seth puts his other hand on Roman's shoulder, leans his weight into the hold. His thumb strokes back and forth over Roman's skin in a slow, steady rhythm. Roman's breathing evens out to match it without conscious thought. He trusts Seth. It's easy to stop thinking, stop worrying, and just sink into that feeling of being pinned down, held steady.

Seth lets go of his wrist eventually, carefully unfolds his twisted arm. Roman makes a small noise of protest; he can take more, longer--

"Shhh," Seth says. He stretches out on top of Roman and hooks his chin over Roman's shoulder, his whole body a comforting press of weight and heat. "We still need your arm. We're going to finish strong this season. We'll be in the hunt next season."

He sounds so sure about it. Roman sighs and closes his eyes.

*

When Roman wakes up, Seth is sprawled out on his back next to him, snoring unevenly, his ankle hooked over Roman's.

He's starving. Seth doesn't wake up when Roman gets out of bed and gets dressed. The only other Pred at the breakfast buffet is Shea.

Shea studies his face when he sits down with his plate of eggs and potatoes. "How are you doing?" Shea asks.

Roman thinks about it. "Good," he says. The loss still stings, but he feels lighter, settled in his skin in a way that he hasn't in a while. "Seth took care of me."

"Good," Shea says.

He looks tired, and Roman wonders who's taking care of him.

*

They're still together when the new season starts.

Shea gives him that considering look again. Roman's a little surprised, too. None of his other attempts at dating lasted through a summer or his return to Nashville. But he likes being with Seth.

Seth understands what it's like to be a professional hockey player. Roman never feels like he's disappointed Seth when he can't kneel too long without stiffening up. He never has to argue about what they can and can't do before practice or after a game. Both of them need too many calories to dick around with hand-feeding on a regular basis. (But Seth will feed him popcorn when they're just hanging out, watching movies, Roman's head in Seth's lap.) Seth doesn't care about the hockey bruises that Roman picks up as the season goes on, doesn't care about Roman going out of town on a regular basis or not being available for dinner dates because of night games. Roman's weird schedule is the same as Seth's.

It's not just that, obviously. Roman likes Seth, likes spending time with him. They go to baseball games and Taylor Swift concerts, hang out together and play video games and watch movies. They have a lot of really good sex, the kind that leaves Roman feeling boneless and content and centered.

Roman's playing great hockey, too. He and Shea are finally clicking as partners on the ice.

("Because you stopped trying to treat me like your dom," Shea says, very dry, and Roman makes a face at him, but can't argue.)

Roman catches Shea watching them every now and then, face unreadable.

"What?" Roman says finally.

Shea shakes his head. "Nothing, just -- you look happy."

It's a question, and Shea's body language makes it clear he's asking a sub, a friend, not as Roman's captain.

"Yes," Roman says. "He's a good dom for me. He's--"

He stops, trying to put it into words. Roman's grandmother would maybe call him difficult, too. He's met a lot of doms, especially other hockey players, who are aggressive, pushy, wanting space and attention and submission even when they're not flirting. He knows that a lot of subs like that, but it makes his knees lock and his spine straighten, makes him want to push back and refuse to submit. But Seth is...

"--calm," he says at last. "He makes it easy to kneel, makes me feel calm and steady, too. You know?"

"Yeah," Shea says, almost reluctantly. "I know."

Roman's attention catches on Shea's tone of voice. Oh, he thinks, and Shea looks away.

*

Maybe it's just because Roman is getting what he needs this season, but he worries about Shea. He thinks Shea is going out more on road trips, letting himself get picked up by doms more often, but it's definitely not something he's going to ask Shea about.

He asks Seth if he thinks Shea is hooking up more, and Seth hesitates long enough that Roman lifts his head off Seth's shoulder to see his face.

"Maybe," Seth says. "I don't -- I try not to pay too much attention to who Shea's kneeling for."

*

Shea gets hurt in the second game of the playoffs, gets off the ice without putting any weight on his leg and doesn't come back for the rest of the period.

When they go back to the dressing room, the trainers and the team doctor pull Roman aside.

"Does Weber have a dom?" Barrett asks.

Roman's stomach clenches.

Barrett shakes his head at the look on Roman's face. "He'll be all right, but we need to give him something stronger for the pain, and combined with the stress of the injury, it can cause sub drop. Even if we could get someone on the phone to talk to him..."

"No, no one," Roman says.

"A teammate, then?"

Roman doesn't even think about it. "Seth."

*

Seth's not really paying attention when they pull Roman aside. He's thinking about the game and what they're going to do if Shea can't play the rest of it, but then they're waving him over, too.

They're talking about how Shea needs a dom to keep him grounded, about how Roman suggested him -- what? -- and one of the trainers is saying something to Laviolette. Laviolette signs off on it apparently, because one of the trainers takes him to an exam room.

Shea's laying on his back on one of the tables. They've taken most of his gear off, and his legs are bare. His right knee is swollen, and his whole body is tense with pain. Seth feels a surge of protective rage, wants to go out there and slam each and every one of the Hawks into the boards.

Maybe he makes a tiny noise, because Shea opens his eyes and looks over at Seth. Seth takes a deep, slow breath and reaches for calmness, tries to let go of that anger.

"Hey, Webs," he says, coming over to the exam table. "They said you might want someone to keep you grounded."

"So they sent you?"

Seth puts a hand over his heart. "I'm a responsible and trustworthy young dom, who is very mature for his age."

"Who says that? Roman?"

"No, my mom," Seth says, and the corner of Shea's mouth curves into a ghost of a smile.

Seth reaches out and strokes Shea's hair back from his forehead, lets his hand rest against the crown of Shea's head. Shea's eyes dip shut.

"Is this okay?" Seth asks, low and quiet now.

"Yeah," Shea says.

The trainers give Shea a shot of something. Seth ignores what they're doing, focuses on Shea instead. He rubs tiny circles against Shea's scalp with his fingertips and tells him about the game, what he missed.

The tight lines of pain on Shea's face ease and his breathing gets deeper and steadier. Seth keeps an eye on the clock.

Finally he has to say, "I gotta go soon."

Shea blinks his eyes open slowly. His face is soft and unguarded, and it takes him a moment to focus on Seth.

Seth swallows hard. It's not real -- it's just the drugs and the pain that are making Shea react like this, but it still tugs hard at something in Seth's gut.

"Just relax, okay?" he says. "Let them take care of you. We got this."

Seth stays until Shea is focused and alert again, and then he has to hustle to get ready for the second period.

They get the win, and it's almost enough to make Seth forget that this whole thing was Roman's idea.

Almost.

"We need to talk," he says, under the chaos of the locker room.

"Okay," Roman says, with a confused look, like he doesn't understand what's bother Seth.

Maybe he doesn't, maybe Seth is just overreacting.

They don't get a chance to talk privately until they get to Chicago the next day. By that time they already know Shea isn't coming with them.

Seth knocks on Roman's door, halfway convinced he should just let it go, but when Roman smiles at him, he can't help blurting out, "I don't want to share you with another dom." Roman blinks at him, and Seth feels his face heat, but he keeps going. "I thought -- I thought you felt the same way."

Roman frowns. "I do. I don't want another dom."

"But you were fine with sharing me with another sub, with me acting like Shea's dom." Seth's face is burning up now, and he feels young and dumb and inexperienced. "It's fine if--"

Roman swears under his breath in German. "No, wait, it's not." He reaches out to touch Seth's hand. His eyes are on Seth's face, and Seth lets Roman tug him over to sit on the edge of his bed.

Roman goes to his knees in front of Seth. He's gorgeous when he moves like that, when he looks up at Seth like that. Seth knows himself, knows he still has a crush on Shea, warm and secret in the depths of his heart. But Roman is his, and next to that, a crush is nothing.

Roman's still watching his face. "I wouldn't share you with any other sub. But it's Shea. Shea needs a dom to take care of him."

Seth shakes his head, and Roman makes a face.

"Okay, he doesn't need a dom, but -- he deserves someone to take care of him."

"And you don't care if it's me?"

"I do care. I want it to be you." Roman frowns again, thinking it through. "I want it to be us."

And now that he's letting himself think about it, Seth wants it to be them, too. But--

"He doesn't, he wouldn't want--"

"He would," Roman says. "Ask him."

"You ask him," Seth mutters.

"Okay," Roman says with a grin.

Seth's heart stutters a little in his chest, and he doesn't tell him no.

*

They don't ask until after the Preds are eliminated from the playoffs.

It sucks, to work that hard and not be good enough. And Seth can't help feeling they let Shea down in some way.

Seth finds Roman on the plane, sits down next to him. He wraps his hand around Roman's wrist and squeezes, then slides his palm down to tangle their fingers together.

"Hey," Seth says quietly. "Can I come over tonight?"

Roman nods and leans into Seth's shoulder.

Seth texts his mom before they take off. im staying with Roman tonight He can't quite bring himself to ask permission, but he can't leave it as a statement. if that's ok

Of course, honey, his mom says. Bring him over for brunch tomorrow.

Seth makes an embarrassed face at his phone, but says, k

He can feel Roman smiling against his shoulder.

Roman drives. It takes Seth a while to realize they're not going to Roman's place, but he doesn't say anything. Roman pulls up in front of Shea's house and looks at Seth, his expression cautious and hopeful.

Seth sighs. "Okay, but you're still asking."

Shea opens the door eventually. Roman's on the doorstep, but Seth hangs back a few feet.

Shea looks exhausted and in pain. Before he can tell them to fuck off, Roman hugs him. Shea's arm comes up around Roman's back automatically, his hand tightening in the fabric of Roman's jacket. After a long moment, Roman leans back. Their heads are still ducked close together. Seth can tell Roman's saying something to Shea, but he can't make it out.

Shea's mouth twists and he looks over Roman's shoulder to meet Seth's eyes. "I'm not going to be kneeling for anyone any time soon," he says, loud enough for Seth to hear.

Roman huffs out a breath. "You don't have to be on your knees to kneel."

Seth takes a few steps forward, stops just close enough to touch. "I'm sorry we couldn't win that series for you," he says.

Shea makes a small hurt noise. Seth grips his shoulder, right where it meets his neck, his thumb brushing against Shea's throat. Shea's muscles are tight under his hand, and Seth can feel his pulse jump against the pad of his thumb.

"We'll go if you want, but please, let us do this for you." Seth tries to sound calm and certain, like he knows what he's doing, tries to put all of their conviction into his voice.

Shea closes his eyes. He nods abruptly, and steps back from the door to let them in.

Shea looks at Seth, and Seth says, "Living room."

Shea sits down on the sofa, and stretches his bad leg out in front of him on the ottoman. There's a couple of ice packs on the coffee table, and Roman puts them back on Shea's knee, leans over Shea to adjust the pillows behind his back.

Shea grabs the front of his shirt and pulls him down into a kiss.

Seth stops breathing. Heat shivers through him as he watches Shea kiss Roman. When Shea pulls back, they both look at him. Roman's eyes are wide and startled, but there's something almost challenging in Shea's.

Seth would swear they didn't come here for sex, but now it's all he can think about. He steps up to the sofa. Roman is frozen in place, his hand braced on Shea's shoulder, one knee on the sofa next to Shea's thigh.

Seth kisses Roman, soft and careful, and feels him sigh into it. Roman's eyes are closed when Seth breaks the kiss.

"You've been watching the games, right?" Seth asks Shea.

Shea nods, looking off-balance.

"So you saw how good Roman did for us."

Shea nods again, understanding sliding across his face. "Yeah."

"He should get a reward, right?" Seth says. His stomach flutters but he doesn't let himself hesitate. "Can he fuck your mouth?"

"Yeah," Shea says, and this time his voice is low and rough.

Roman shivers. Seth slides a hand down Roman's back. "Clothes," he says.

Shea lets go of Roman's shirt, and Roman steps back. He strips with smooth, easy motions. Seth watches. It's weirdly comforting, the familiarity of it.

Roman's half-hard when he slides his boxers off. He studies Shea for a second, then climbs back on the couch. He settles a knee on either side of of Shea's hip, so Shea has to tilt his head back to look up at him.

Roman looks at Seth, for approval or permission.

"Webs, you good?" Seth asks.

Shea nods, his hands coming up to rest on Roman's waist. Roman rolls his hips forward, and Shea opens his mouth, lets Roman's cock slide over his lips.

"Go ahead, Roman," Seth says.

Roman guides his cock into Shea's open mouth, slow and easy, just the head. Shea watches his face. Roman's flushed pink already, and he lets out a shaky breath, almost a laugh.

"Fuck," he says.

Seth's thoughts exactly. He stands next to Roman, rests his hand in the small of Roman's back.

"He can take more," Seth says. "Right, Webs?"

Shea makes an affirmative noise in the back of his throat, and Roman's hips stutter, pushing in deeper.

"You played so good for us this series, you deserve this," Seth says. He ducks his head to kiss the curve of Roman's shoulder, but he keeps his eyes on Shea's face. "You left everything on the ice, the whole team did, and that's what matters. It just wasn't our year."

Shea pulls Roman in deeper, and Roman gasps, braces his hands on Shea's shoulders.

"You did so good this season, babe, I'm so proud of you," Seth says.

Roman turns his head and Seth leans in to kiss him. Roman kisses back fiercely, until Shea does something that makes him moan.

Seth pulls back. He taps Shea's wrists. "Hands behind your back," he says.

Shea lets go of Roman's hips and does as Seth says. Roman's holding him down, fucking into his mouth, and it's the hottest thing Seth has seen basically ever.

"Fuck, you guys," Seth says. He runs the pad of his thumb over Shea's mouth where it's stretched around Roman's cock. "You look so hot, you have no idea."

Roman makes a thin, needy sound. "Seth, please, can I--"

Seth kisses his shoulder again. "Anything you want."

Roman shudders all over and comes in Shea's mouth. Shea chokes, trying to swallow. Roman sways like his knees aren't going to hold him, and Seth slides an arm around his waist, steadying him.

He eases Roman down onto the sofa to sit next to Shea. Roman moves like all his muscles have turned liquid. He looks wrecked. Seth smooths his sweaty hair back and kisses his forehead, that warm, possessive, protective instinct filling him up.

Roman sighs and turns his head, presses his face into Shea's shoulder.

Shea's mouth is red, wet with spit and come. Seth can't help himself. He braces one knee on the couch and leans down to kiss him, to lick the taste of Roman out of his mouth. Shea makes a noise in the back of his throat, almost a moan.

His eyes are heavy when Seth pulls back. Seth can see the hard line of his cock, obvious under his worn grey sweats. That sharp-edged wariness has faded, but it's not true submission. Seth doesn't really care about that, he just wants to make Shea feel good, make him feel like Roman does when Seth gets it right, protected, cared for.

He palms Shea's cock through his sweats. Shea shifts up into the pressure. Seth puts his free hand on Shea's shoulder and leans into it. "Don't move around, you're gonna hurt your knee."

Shea stops moving. Seth's thumb rests in the hollow of his throat, and just for a heartbeat, Seth thinks about shifting his grip, about what Shea's throat would feel like under his palm. Instead he traces the outline of Shea's cock through his sweats, rubbing the fabric against the head of it until a wet spot appears, until Shea's abs are tense and he's breathing fast and uneven.

He tugs the waistband of Shea's sweats down, eases his cock out. He's cut, his cock heavy and hot in Seth's hand.

"Let me," Roman says. Seth holds out his hand and Roman takes it, licks his palm, his eyes on Seth's. It's a little showy, over the top, the corners of his eyes crinkling up in a smile, but he does a careful, thorough job.

Seth wraps his wet palm around Shea's cock, and Shea drags in a ragged breath.

"Hey, you know 'm not going to do anything you don't want, right?" Seth says.

Shea meets his eyes, and after a second, he nods.

"Is this okay?" Seth asks.

Shea nods.

Seth strokes him slow and consideringly, watching Shea's reaction. All of his attention narrows down to trying to figure out what Shea likes, what gets the best response, until he's almost shaking with it, mouth open and panting. His hands are still behind his back, and Seth can see the flex of his biceps as he holds himself still. Seth eases up, just barely touching him, until Shea isn't right on the edge.

Then Seth does it all again. Roman pinches Shea's nipple through his t-shirt, and Shea's whole body jerks. Roman likes that reaction enough that he pushes Shea's t-shirt up and gets his mouth on Shea's nipple.

Shea moans, his cock jerking in Seth's hand. Seth loosens his grip, and Shea makes a tiny noise of protest.

Seth can feel his heart beating like crazy in his chest as he stares down at Shea. "Ask," he says, low and steady.

"Please," Shea says.

It makes something twist in Seth's chest, fierce and hot. "Anything you want," he says.

He slides his hand down Shea's cock, his grip tight and not quite slick enough, and Shea comes all over his exposed stomach.

"Fuck, Shea," Seth says, and kisses his open mouth.

Shea kisses back, deep and slow. All the tension gone from his muscles, his eyes heavy and soft when Seth lifts his head.

Seth is so hard it hurts. He fumbles to unzip the fly of his pants.

Roman wiggles down on the sofa, so he can slide Seth's cock into his mouth, his cheek pressed against Shea's stomach. Seth comes like it's his first time, hard enough to make his abs curl and his vision white out. He's gripping Shea's shoulder so hard he'll probably leave bruises. Roman smirks at him, and Seth doesn't even care.

Seth wedges himself between Roman and Shea. He wants to be touching both of them. He makes Shea unfold his arms, roll the stiffness out of his shoulders. Shea's still in that deep, quiet space in his own head. Seth grips the back of his neck, lets him slump down and tuck his face against Seth's throat.

Roman's already pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa, curled up on his side with his head in Seth's lap. He tucks Seth's other arm around him and threads their fingers together.

In the morning, Seth brings both of them to brunch.

*

(It takes Shea a while to believe that Seth and Roman really want him to be part of their relationship, that it's not just a pity-fuck or a casual sex thing, and when that picture was taken, Shea's still not completely there. But Seth and Roman are willing to wait.)