CHAPTER 93: PROFESSOR

Chapter 92

Nolan

We’ve reconciled.

That thought alone makes everything feel... different.

Ciel’s hand is warm in mine, and sure , we’ve held hands a thousand times before but today it feels new. More real. Like something inside me has shifted from fragile hope to something I can finally touch.

I glance at the sliding door and hesitate. How exactly do we let Jack know we’re ready to be released from his little balcony hostage situation? I push at the door experimentally—

It slides open with a quiet shhhk.

"Oh... it’s open?" I say dumbly.

Ciel snorts softly. "When did he open this?"

I shrug. Probably the moment he realized we wouldn’t claw each other’s eyes out.

We head downstairs hand in hand, and the moment we round the corner to the dining room, the sight waiting for us is peak domestic chaos:

Jack, the ever-handsome devil, is sitting at the table, spoon in hand, facing off against a very stubborn and very food-smeared Lanny.

"Took you guys long enough," he mutters without looking up. Right then, Lanny smacks the spoon away like a tiny tyrant. It clatters to the floor, joining a graveyard of fallen spoons already down there.

Jack exhales like a war veteran. "You little demon, I’m begging you to eat."

I crouch down to collect the spoons, amused. There are four. How many rounds of this spoon war has he fought?

"Here comes the choo choo train," Jack says in his most patient dad-voice, guiding another spoon toward Lanny’s mouth like it’s a peace offering.

I can’t help but watch him.

This stupid, infuriatingly handsome alpha.

Honestly, I hate to admit it—but if it wasn’t for Jack, Ciel and I probably wouldn’t be here, standing side by side like this.

He’s the cog in our messy machine, the piece we didn’t know we were missing.

I look up just in time to see Ciel lean down and press a soft kiss to Jack’s temple. Jack looks up at him, and that rare, genuine smile spreads across his face.

And for the first time since he came into our lives, I don’t feel that sharp, ugly pang of jealousy.

Instead, it’s warm.

Steady.

Huh. That’s new.

Then Jack turns to me, catches my gaze, and winks.

And I smile back.

His eyebrows shoot up, surprised, like he wasn’t expecting that. The look on his face is so hilariously startled I can’t help but laugh.

Ciel turns toward me too, probably wondering what’s going on, but I just hold up the spoons in my hand. "I’ll deal with these," I say with a grin I can’t wipe off.

I head toward the kitchen, the sound of Lanny’s stubborn giggles and Jack’s patient sighs following behind me.

As I turn on the tap, I overhear Jack’s voice:

"Wow, I don’t think Nolan’s ever smiled at me like that. What did you do, sunshine?"

Ciel’s soft laugh trails after his words, but whatever he answers gets lost under the sound of running water.

I stand there for a second, rinsing spoons, feeling stupidly happy.

Yeah. This?

This is good.

***

Jack

Since they’ve sorted shit out, I call everyone to the living room and place my laptop on the coffee table with the seriousness of a man about to declare war.

They settle on the couch—Ciel tucked against the armrest, Nolan with Lanny on his lap. I drag a chair closer, decide it’s not good enough, and then climb onto the sturdy hardwood table itself. It’s imported oak or something fancy like that; it can handle my weight.Maybe.

I plant the laptop on my lap, the screen facing them like I’m about to pitch a billion-dollar business plan.

"I call the first of the family meetings to order," I declare solemnly.

Ciel and Nolan exchange wary looks. Lanny babbles, drooling slightly. At least someone’s supportive.

"Today’s topic," I continue, clearing my throat dramatically, "is how to build a healthy relationship."

"Jack, what are you—" Nolan starts, but I fix him with a death glare and he clamps his mouth shut immediately

I nod approvingly. "Good. Respect the speaker."

Ciel snorts into his sleeve. Nolan rolls his eyes. Lanny waves a tiny hand like he’s in on it.

"Relationships," I say in my best professor voice, "are not easy. Especially at the beginning stages. This is the honeymoon phase, but also the best time to form a solid foundation. A base. Without it, everything will eventually crack like a badly baked cake."

I press the spacebar. The slide changes. A perfectly even triangle appears on the screen with neat little names on each corner: Jack, Ciel, Nolan.

"This," I say, pointing, "is what our relationship should ideally be. Three solid sides. Mutual trust, communication, and emotional balance."

I press next. The triangle warps into a disaster of uneven lines and mismatched colors.

"This," I say dramatically, "is what our current relationship actually looks like."

The neat, equal-sided triangle disappears, replaced by one with uneven sides, jagged edges, and mismatched colors.

"As you can see," I continue, deliberately slipping into my lecturer voice, "this is far from ideal."

I press next. My stomach twists a little because this part is uncomfortable.

"There’s a multitude of reasons why we’re currently such a wobbly triangle," I say, gesturing toward the slide like a professor who’s done this a thousand times before.

"Reasonnumberone: affection and romantic interest."

Ciel and Nolan both tense. I push through.

"I hate to say this, but there’s a difference in the amount of affection we feel for each other," I say evenly.

"It’s all... a mess."

I click again, and Nolan visibly flinches while Ciel shifts in his seat.

"It’s been determined," I say matter-of-factly, "that I’m in love with Ciel. Nolan is also in love with Ciel. I like Nolan too, and I’m sure he likes me too—but that feeling pales in comparison to what we both feel for Ciel."

Ciel’s eyes flicker downward, his shoulders tightening.

"And my beloved sunshine," I continue, softer now, "I know you like me. And Nolan. But I also know the romantic interest you feel isn’t on the same level...It’s... different."

Ciel shifts again, visibly uncomfortable, but he doesn’t speak.

"I know this is uncomfortable, guys," I say gently.

"But we have to talk about it. I don’t know about you two, but I’m kind of seeing something forever here. And forever doesn’t work if we don’t look at the ugly parts."

Nolan exhales, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah. It’s not pretty to look at."

I give him a small smile. It’s not much, but it’s something.

"Secondreason: connection level," I say, clicking to the next slide.

"Ciel and Nolan... you two have history. There’s nothing I can do to compete with or take away the years and experience you’ve had together—the hardships, the joys, the trust you’ve built."

I don’t say the next part aloud, but I think it anyway: I just hope one day, I can stand in that space with them. Not outside it.

"Thethirdreason," I continue, clicking again, "physiological differences."

My voice drops slightly.

"Ciel and I are omega and alpha. I hate bringing this up, Nolan, but there will be times when the biological and chemical pull between us will be stronger—during ruts, heats, pheromone spikes..."

Nolan flinches hard, his knuckles whitening where his hands curl into fists. I wince internally. I didn’t want to bring it up today—after everything they just resolved—but honestly, when would be a good time?

Lanny babbles from Nolan’s lap, shattering the tension for a split second.

"Fourthreason: our sex life," I say.

Nolan stiffens. Ciel goes still.

"This whole thing started with Ciel deciding Nolan should be a replacement for him in bed," I say bluntly.

"Which—newsflash—was a pretty stupid idea. No one can replace anybody. You’re both your own people."

There’s silence. Thick, heavy, but not suffocating.

"And that concludes," I say, closing the slide with a click, "the reasons why we’re currently a wobbly triangle. Now..." I inhale, meeting both their eyes. "Solutions to rectify our unstable shape."

I glance between them expectantly. "Anyone?"

Silence.

Lanny chews on his tiny fist. Nolan stares at the floor. Ciel’s throat works like he wants to say something but can’t find the words.

I sigh softly. "Okay. Processing time. Fair enough."