Work Text:
It was pure luck that Max and Lucas got accepted and went to the same college, it was a twist of fate that Will also ended up at the same school, and it was just economic for them all to live together. They landed on a quaint but homey two bedroom apartment just outside of campus. It could've been awkward, like a permanent third wheel situation, but it was an oddly perfect fit.
On the nights Max's nightmares couldn't be quelled by Lucas, Max had Will who understood what it was like. Will had Max to talk sense into Lucas when he was sure they needed a large dog in their 750 square foot apartment. Lucas had Will to laugh at his dorky Yoda impression while Max stared at them disapprovingly. Will had Lucas to assure him that his art final was perfect when he was ready to scrap it and start over. Lucas and Max had Will and Will had Lucas and Max.
Max was in the small living room head resting on Lucas' shoulder. They sat watching Cheers waiting on Will to come back with dinner. Max snickered quietly to herself for a moment. Lucas gave her a look. "You never find Cheers funny," He said. "What's up?"
Max shook her head. "Nothing," She started. "I was just thinking about Will." Lucas' look persisted. She continued. "It's just funny, it's like he's our third or something."
"What?" Lucas burst out laughing. "How?!"
Max giggled. "I don't know, we're sitting here waiting for him, and despite not talking to him since this morning we know he's getting dinner at that Thai place like he does every Friday. We trust that he'll get our orders right and we know he wont expect us to pay him back no matter how much we try." She listed out, punctuating her sentence with her hands.
"So?" Lucas asked.
"So," Max mocked. "That's boyfriend behavior!" She explained. Lucas opened his mouth to argue but stopped. He thought for a moment and had realization descend onto his face.
"Oh my god." He paled. "Will's our boyfriend." He admitted.
"Who's your boyfriend?" Will entered the front door, causing Lucas and Max snap their heads towards him. He was placing two plastic bags with the logo of a Thai restaurant printed on them onto the counter. Lucas and Max just started cackling.
Will's face was painted with confusion and looked at the couple with a lopsided smile. "What?" He questioned amusement staining his voice.
Max stood and walked to the kitchen, Lucas followed behind. "We're just having realizations." Lucas stated as he grabbed a to-go container from the bag.
"Which would be..?" Will urged as he handed Max and Lucas each a plastic fork unasked for.
Max noticed the gesture and smiled. "You're our boyfriend." She said and poked Will with the back of the utensil softly.
"What?!" Will blubbered out.
"That's what I said!" Lucas pointed at Will as he opened his food. "But, then I thought about it, she's totally right."
Will just looked between the two. "I don't think so." He smirked, moving to sit on the couch with his food. The couple followed him and settled into their usual spots.
"Deny all you want Byers! You know it's true!" Max argued. "You're sweet on us!"
Will scoffed. Lucas piped up. "Don't roll your eyes! You treat us like a spoiled girlfriend in the first months of a relationship." He spoke between bites of his pad thai. "You buy us dinner, you take us out to the movies, you carry our books to class-"
"I did that one time! You were carrying your basketball stuff and I wanted to be nice-" Will interjected.
"Our point exactly!" Max mumbled through the food in her mouth.
"Ew, Max, gross!" Will threw a napkin at the girl. "Swallow before you start talking!"
Max brought the napkin to her mouth and finished her half chewed shrimp. "Do I need to remind you I'm gay?" Will remarks, finally eating some of his own food before speaking again. "So, I'd only be attracted to half of you two."
The half in question snorted. "So you admit I'm attractive." Lucas waggled his eyebrows teasingly.
"I mean, yeah, I'd have to be blind to not find you hot." Will answered a bit too fast for it to be a joke. He seemed to realize that as he looked up from his curry to see both Max and Lucas looking at him with wide eyes.
"You think Lucas is hot?" Max repeated, slack jawed.
Will tensed up. He wished so bad to take it back but it was a little too late now. "Well, I-" He attempted before deciding to just cover his face with his hands. "Yes?" He relented.
"Hey, I'm flattered!" Lucas put his hands up. "It's good to finally confirm I'm attractive to both genders." He joked. Will removed his hands from his face to give an incredulous look at Lucas. He just shook his head with a smile and looked towards the TV.
"Oh, Cheers? Really?" Will's face crumpled in disgust. "Are we 50?"
"Thank you!" Max agreed and reached for the remote. The discussion died out as they channel surfed while they finished their food. But Lucas' mind felt a bit stuck.
"Alright, I can practically hear your brain churning." Max sat up in bed and turned on the lamp. Her and Lucas had been settled in bed for an hour or two by now but Lucas was weirdly tense and it was driving Max crazy. "What's going on?"
Lucas hesitated for a moment. "I'm thinking about what Will said earlier." Max had to think about it for a moment before she rolled her eyes.
"Don't get a big head about it, you're hot-" She began.
"That's the thing, it's not the compliment itself that's sticking with me." He said. Max raised her eyebrow, silently spurring him on to continue. He sighed. "I think I liked that it was coming from Will. Like, really liked it." He twisted the blankets between his hands.
"So, what? You have a crush on Will?" Max asked sarcastically. Then Lucas looked back at her seriously. "Oh." She softly spoke.
"Oh." He echoed. He watched Max's face drop slightly. "Hey, wait," He brought his hands to hold hers. "I love you. Nothing will change that. I'll drop it, I'm sorry-"
"No-" Max interrupted. "I'm just-" She let out a frustrated groan, Lucas held back the urge to laugh. She took a deep breath and a moment to organize her thoughts. "I'm just dealing with the fact I'm not mad."
Lucas searched her eyes for dishonesty and found nothing. "You're serious? You're okay with that?"
Max shrugged. "I don't mind sharing you." She smiled. "At least with Will. I don't know if I could deal with you dating anyone else." Lucas scoffed lightly.
"Will really does get special privileges doesn't he?" He ran his fingers over Max's knuckles.
"Hey, if anyone is worthy of you it's Will." She observed and snuggled close to Lucas. "Now, the question is if you're worthy of him." She bumped her shoulder into Lucas'.
"Ouch." He flatly said. "But, fair." He rested his head on Max's. A soft silence filled the room as the pair reveled in each other's company. A while later Lucas spoke again. "So, you really wouldn't mind if I asked Will out?" Lucas checked.
"Yes, Lucas, I am 100% for you asking Will out." Max affirmed and stretched her arm out to click the lamp off. "You'd make a cute couple." She pressed a kiss into Lucas' cheek and noticed warmth flood his skin. "Now, get some sleep, dork." She slid down the bed to lay down, Lucas following suit and wrapped his arms around her middle.
"I love you." Lucas whispered into the back of Max's neck. She smiled fondly and let her eyes close.
"Love you too." She whispered back. The two of them drifted to sleep holding each other.
About a week later, Will and Lucas stood in the kitchen preparing dinner while Max was studying. Will at the counter chopping vegetables for the soup as Lucas prepped the meat. Will hummed along to whatever cheesy pop was playing on the radio and dumped the last of the carrots into the bowl with everything else. Lucas cleared his throat. "All done over there?"
"Yup!" Will gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Anything else you need me to do?"
"No, but," Lucas stumbled. Will furrowed his brow at him. "I need to talk to you." He walked closer to Will.
"Okay…" Will said, suspicion in his tone.
"I was talking to Max about this and I finally decided to toughen up and say it." Lucas rambled. Will's stomach dropped to his feet. He worried about this.
"If you guys need me to move out I can-" Will looked down to the floor.
"What?" Lucas exclaimed. "No, no-" He brought his hands to hold Will's arms. "Nothing like that, I just-" He struggled to speak. Will looked at him once again, his deep hazel eyes stared into his own. Lucas dragged his hands up, resting them on the sides of Will's neck. The confusion on his face amplified.
"Will," Lucas finally started. "I love you. Really love you." He spoke tenderly. Will's eyes widened and his face went pink. "And I really want to kiss you right now." Lucas admitted with a slight chuckle.
Will brought his own shaky hands to Lucas' neck and inched closer to him. "And I really want you to kiss me right now." Will coaxed. Lucas let out a breath of relief. He moved one of his hands to hold Will's cheek. Lucas rested his forehead on Will's before planting a soft, chaste kiss to his lips. It was electric, it felt like they slotted together perfectly, like this was a long time coming.
They broke apart and looked into each other's eyes, a giddy grin on both their faces. "You said you talked to Max?" Will asked the elation obvious in his voice.
Before Lucas had the chance to respond someone else did for him. "I'm fine sharing him if you are." Max stood a few feet from them.
"Jesus," Lucas grasped at his heart. "How long have you been there?"
"Not long." Max tried to snark, but she looked just as happy as Lucas and Will. "So, you down?" She questioned Will. Both Max and Lucas looked at him expectantly.
"Yeah," He beamed. "Yeah, I am." Max ran over and hugged the both of them hard.
"I'm so happy for you two!" She congratulated and pecked both their cheeks. "My two dorks are together, it's a dream come true." She teased.
"Hey, I'm dating one of those dorks." Will knocked his elbow into hers.
"So am I, what bad taste we have!" She said with faux disdain. Lucas just grabbed both of them and held them close.
"I love you. Both of you." He whispered into their hair.
"Love you too." They answered at the same time and giggled. "Jinks!" They spoke in unison again, causing the laughter to bubble over to Lucas.
"C'mon." Lucas gestured with his head. "Help me finish dinner."
So they did. The three of them in their tiny kitchen, in their tiny apartment, orbiting each other, and singing along to the radio. A perfect fit.