Call Me Yours [BL]

Chapter 3

Ardyn arrives early, fifteen minutes till 9 o'clock. He spends another five minutes standing outside the restaurant, trying to psych himself into just yanking the door open and walking in. He texts Prince instead, because he's early okay, and he's definitely not stalling.

Ardyn

8:48 pm

its so fancy im gonna cry

im underdressed

Prince

8:49 pm

maybe they'll see ur clothes and buy u new ones

Ardyn

8:49 pm

Ardyn waits one minute, then two, then realizes Prince isn't going to respond. He pockets his phone with a huff.

The inside is just as, if not more, fancy as the outside. There's a host in a full tuxedo to greet him right away and it makes Ardyn's sweater and jeans seem even more simple than they are. He swears the host looks down and judges his outfit—he doesn't—and it makes Ardyn fidget with a million nerves. "For Tine," he smiles unsurely, voice nowhere as confident as he hoped.

"Party of 3, yes." The host grins attractively. "Right this way, sir. The rest of your party arrived earlier."

Ardyn's head spins as he ventures into a completely different tax bracket.

His eyes survey the restaurant cautiously as if waiting for someone to jump up and accuse him of being poor. And he'd truly have no retort, he has more debt than he can stomach to think about. Nobody frames him as a fraud, but he can tell the host is judging his appearance—he's not—so Ardyn's extremely grateful when he stops at a table and holds his arm out. "Sir."

Ardyn breathes a lot easier when he sits down. Just barely remembers to muster up a shy smile, and says a little breathily, "Hi."

They looked.. expensive. And so incredibly attractive it blinds Ardyn, makes him want to shield his eyes and ask if it's okay if he looks at them. He cannot afford any more debt.

Kahili rubs at his lip while Ardyn situates himself in the booth across from him and Valen. Ardyn scoots in and smooths out his oversized sweater, looks around the table, then scoots to the middle of the booth. His eyes click up, dark and a little unsure. Still, he smiles.

Kahili's hand falls back to the table. "You look nice," he says. Nice is an undeserved understatement, he realizes after he says it. It plays down Ardyn's boyish beauty. He's young, Kahili knows, and it shows in his unsure smile and bubbly personality.

Kahili's finger taps the table as he looks Ardyn over. He fixates on the neckline of Ardyn's sweater, delicately white and loose, the beginnings of his collarbones exposed. And Ardyn visibly warms with the compliment, pretty pink settling on his cheeks as he utters a little thank you.

Beside Kahili, Valen reaches over and sets out Ardyn's utensils for him. "Did you eat yet, sweetheart? I know we texted you late."

Ardyn shakes his head quickly, and Kahili watches as he has to brush his bangs from his eyes. "I could eat."

He fumbles with the menu for minutes.

Kahili watches him get lost in it, sees the gradual pinch to his eyebrows while he scans the pages. Ardyn's concentrated expression shifts to one of pure shock. He reads over the same line two times, then three, just to be sure he was reading the seventy-dollar price tag right.

Kahili watches his lip catch between his teeth. He looks overly concerned and steadily grows more and more perplexed with the outrageous prices. This can't be right. Kahili sees him flip the menu over, and wow, these prices are even worse. He flips it back and makes a little noise of distress that he doesn't realize he's even made.

But Kahili hears it.

Kahili takes a breath in and taps his finger.

He feels a hand on his thigh, and when he looks at his lovely husband, Valen is giving him a look. You're staring, it says.

"How about some drinks?" Kahili proposes.

Ardyn perks up and finally peeks up from over the menu. "Drinks? Um.." He dives right back into the pages and squints at their wide alcohol selection. Kahili watches his expression somehow manage to look equally shocked at those prices. I can buy a whole bottle for this price- three bottles!

Kahili feels a squeeze on his thigh again. He looks away, because yes, he is staring.

But Valen understands.

Ardyn is, in every possible sense, their type.

"I'll order for us, yeah?" Valen says, and Ardyn breathes a little better for it. He looks so visibly relieved that Valen hides a little laugh behind his hand. How cute, Valen's chin falls in his palm as he observes Ardyn. He doesn't stare so obviously like Kahili. No—Kahili is blatant and so expressive with what he likes.

He's simple in Valen's most favorite ways.

Valen observes quietly. Ardyn looks up as he does, catches Valen's eye, and Valen gives him a sweet smile. Ardyn's quick to look away, his stomach swooping with the unexpected attention on him, but he can't help himself. He peeks back and Valen's still right there, pretty and light, and God, Ardyn can smell cologne on him and it's addicting.

Vanilla.

Ardyn wiggles with both of them watching him. He's not sure what to do with his hands, much less his body. Am I breathing weird?

Valen's smile widens. "I wasn't sure you'd be free tonight," he says. "I'm glad you made the time for us."

"Oh- yes! It's my day off, so," his cheeks puff awkwardly. "This sounded fun."

Fun, Valen thinks.

Kahili feels hungry.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to text..," Ardyn admits, flushing in the prettiest of ways.

"No?" Valen muses. "Why would you think that? You've been on my mind all week."

Ardyn's shoulders rise, he makes himself a little smaller, and his emotions consume him in ways Valen can't look away from. He's so expressive in everything he does.

And this is what Valen wanted, this is why they didn't text him until now. How cute, Valen thinks. Let him get flustered. Let him get so confused and consumed with their attention that he's begging for something he doesn't understand.

"He's not a great texter," Kahili says. "He doesn't see the urgency in it," his finger taps the table, once, twice, "but trust me, we're glad you said yes."

Valen orders drinks and food. He's seemingly in his element while Ardyn feels so out of place. But this feeling eases as the night progresses. It lessens when he sips at his flute of something French, and it's completely gone by the time they've finished their food. Ardyn mostly picks at it, still full from his outing with Prince, but he enjoys the alcohol. He thinks it calms his nerves and he enjoys the warm sensation of it settling in his stomach.

He tells Valen as much, good choice, and Valen is all smiles for him.

It makes him dizzy with emotions.

"Your last name," Ardyn says. "It's Tine? Like, Valentine?"

"Pretty, isn't it?" Kahili says. He looks at his husband. "It suits him almost too well."

And Ardyn can't help but agree. "You took his last name then?"

Kahili hums. "He models and a name like that is marketable. Plus, he gave me no choice."

Valen's lips twitch up. "He's exaggerating."

Ardyn stares in surprise. "About which part? You're a model, really?" And at Valen's nod, that feeling of not belonging almost creeps in again. They're incredibly wealthy and attractive, and a career like that is unimaginable to Ardyn.

He's fascinated. But yes, he can picture Valen in front of a camera so vividly. Ardyn thinks it's the only way he'd be able to truly admire Valen for the beauty that he is. Hidden, secretive, unremarkable behind the camera—and he was jealous. What he would give to photograph someone so...

"Can I- Is it okay to look it up sometime?"

Valen drawls a soft hum as he stares at Ardyn. It weighs him down, pins his attention as Valen's, and quite frankly flusters the f**k out of him. "What do you think right now?"

Ardyn startles. "Huh?"

"I'm right here," Valen's lips stretch into something so attractive that Ardyn thinks it must be practiced. "You can look at me all you want."

Ardyn dies, resurrects long enough to look at Valen, then dies all over again.

Valen bites back his smile and reaches for his wine.

Dinner runs long. Their plates were taken long ago and they're slowly bleeding through their bottle of wine. The taste burns on Ardyn's tongue far tarter than anything he's ever tried before and he thinks it must make it more expensive. His tongue traces his lip and licks off a drop of wine. He likes it more and more with every sip he has. It makes him feel loose—more expressive with his words.

He tells them about school when they ask. "You're in college?" Kahili asks.

For psychology, he answers, to be a social worker.

He doesn't try to pass it off as his dream or pretend he's passionate about it, because he's not, but he's proud of the work he's done until now. He doesn't tell them about his passion for photography, not about his camera filled with thousands of photos sitting on his bedside table, and certainly not about the time he borrowed money from his older sister so he could afford new editing software.

Because that seems silly compared to a psychology degree. He thinks about it sometimes, when he envisions life past just trying to get through college, but Ardyn is too poor for his passions. He can't—won't—live like this his entire life.

He grew up watching his parents live from check to check and he sees their reality of having no retirement plan. Ardyn is barely an adult and feels an immense weight on his shoulders from the debt he's in for school. He can't, no matter how vividly he can imagine a life following his passions, live to just barely scrape by.

Ardyn doesn't say any of this, but he does tell them he's graduating this Spring. Smiles bashfully when Kahili teases that they'll need tickets. Front row, Valen adds.

"Are you twenty-two, then? Twenty-one?" Kahili asks, and only then does Ardyn realize that he has no clue how old they are.

"Oh- yes! Twenty-two. How old are you two?"

25, Kahili says.

Valen adds, 26.

Ardyn's mind reels a bit. He wasn't quite sure what he was expecting, but that sounded so young. Three years older than me, he thinks. Ardyn, no matter how expertly he plays the cards he's been given, would never be able to amount to this much success in three years.

Kahili is a fashion designer, he comes to find out.

"He made me this," Valen grins. His fingers, slim and adorned in rings, play with the collar of his silk button-up. Ardyn watches them share a look and sees how their eyes linger fondly. Valen breaks away to sip at his wine but Kahili watches him longer. Like he can't tear his eyes off the gentle bob of Valen's Adam's apple when he swallows.

Ardyn truly can't blame him, but he's more focused on Kahili.

Those hands could create something so delicate, he marvels.

Kahili's finger taps on the table once, twice, three times, and Ardyn wants to reach over and feel them. Are they calloused? They were big, his fingers long and slim. Ardyn's eyes rise and they trace over the veins in Kahili's arm. His arm subtly flexes with every finger tap and Ardyn is so utterly consumed in the motion. Is this my kink?

Ardyn doesn't mean to stare, but he can't help it.

The tapping stops. Kahili grabs his glass of wine and brings it up to his mouth. Ardyn tracks the entire movement until their eyes meet, and Ardyn suddenly feels like a kid caught stealing from the cookie jar. "Sorry," he flushes. Doesn't know why he apologizes, but he does. He feels stupid after he says it and is forced to sit with the heat creeping up his neck.

Kahili watches him smile sheepishly and frankly, he hasn't been this attracted to someone in a long time.

His finger taps on the table again, purposeful, and Ardyn immediately tracks the motion. Kahili smirks a little and decides to tell him as much. "That's okay. I was staring, too."

Kahili sees Ardyn fidget like he can't contain himself before he admits, "It was making me nervous."

"Was it?" Kahili chuckles. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Ardyn says softly. He steals a look at Kahili, "..I don't mind."

"Do you still feel nervous?" Valen asks, and Ardyn's attention darts to him. Calm, patient, collected Valen. He doesn't stare like Kahili, and he doesn't fidget like Ardyn, he sits calmly. And when Ardyn nods and admits, a little, Valen smiles softly. "That's okay. I feel a little nervous, too."

"You do? Really?"

Valen drawls a gentle hum. "Of course. I was worried you might not like the place I chose. Kahili was thinking we should go somewhere smaller."

Kahili nods. "He was adamant we go here."

"I thought about it," Valen says. "But I wanted to spoil you. You're so sweet, letting us take up some of your night."

Ardyn shakes his head quickly, hands splayed in front of him. "Oh, no! I love it, seriously. I've never been somewhere so fancy, and the food was great. I can't stop drinking the wine, it's so good! Even the music," a soothing jazz song played in his ears, "-everything has been great." He's almost breathless by the time he finishes. Still, so earnestly he adds on, "Really."

Ardyn's entire body feels like it's burning. The wine sits in his stomach heavily and he's too aware of every breath he takes. He can feel every beat of his heart and he's worried it will burst right through his chest.

Please don't, he begs, let me get home first. He wants this to play out longer. He needs to see why they seem so interested in him.

"Yeah?" Valen smiles. "Can I keep spoiling you then? Will you let us?"

Please, Ardyn begs again, at least until we're outside.

"It's... unconventional," Kahili starts, "but we enjoy taking care of people occasionally outside of our marriage. It's not romantic," he clarifies right away, "but it's an arrangement where we all benefit and have some fun."

"It's not romantic," Valen repeats. He stares at Ardyn, so intentionally that Ardyn can do nothing but bob his head. "But there should be some attraction, right? I'm sure you've been able to tell, but we're very attracted to you. Your mannerisms, your attitude," Valen compliments, "you fit into what we look for so perfectly that I think we got a little excited to progress this further. I'm sorry if our marriage was ever confusing to you while we showed our interest."

Ardyn's head is spinning.

He registers the disappointment first. It's not romantic, they made that plain and clear, and Ardyn truthfully already considered they only wanted to have s*x with him. Still, this disappointment sits heavily with him.

He registers his attraction to them next. There should be some attraction, right? And God was he attracted.

The irrational part of his brain only focuses on them being attracted to him.

The rational part unfortunately died about four paragraphs ago.

Ardyn reaches for his water, because he can't imagine adding any more liquor to his system and trying to piece together what the f**k is going on, and takes a much-needed sip. He delays while trying to quickly process what they're saying.

"Showing your interest—what exactly is the arrangement?" he finally asks.

"s*x," Kahili answers. Ardyn guessed as much, and still, his stomach does a little flip. He swallows, his tongue feeling so heavy in his mouth. "Being frank, I want to have s*x with you. I've thought about it, Val and I have both talked about it, and I think from the interactions we've had that you've shown some interest."

"If any of what we've said is wrong or you feel uncomfortable and want to shut this conversation down we-"

"No," Ardyn cuts Valen off. It's a little too rushed, a little too loud, and far breathier than he means. He blushes with a mixture of emotions and shakes his head, still firm in his decision. "I'm not uncomfortable. So.. you can keep going."

Please, Valen can see it on the tip of his tongue. The beginnings of a sweet plea.

And Kahili almost groans - wanting nothing more than to continue this conversation at their place. He'll tell Ardyn every detail of their arrangement, as detailed and thorough as he's done in the past, and he'll etch every one of his intentions into Ardyn's skin until he cries out. Kahili's high off the rising tension but he does his best to quell the urge.

He's a patient man, after all.

"This doesn't work if you're not attracted to us," Kahili says. "We don't—I would never want you in a position like that knowing you aren't enjoying it, too. Putting the money aside-"

"What money?" Ardyn asks.

It quiets Kahili. He looks Ardyn over and his confused expression truly shows he didn't even consider money would be involved.

"We'd pay you," Valen supplies and Ardyn's lips form a little o. "We can help pay for your tuition, books, classes, we can help with your bills and other little things you may need. But like Kahili said, if you aren't interested in s*x then that is completely okay, but it wouldn't be able to work out."

Ardyn fidgets all over again, can't help himself and the abundance of emotions coursing through him. He feels so unbelievably hot and he can hardly meet their eyes, not when they're both watching him so intently. He tries. Ardyn looks up now and then, his head bobbing with every new piece of information because he wants them to see he understands.

But it's hard, he internally whines.

They both never waver with eye contact and Ardyn absolutely falls apart under their stares.

He can't even imagine both of them watching him if he said yes and they were to... His face burns brightly. Oh my God, Prince was actually right.

"And.. what if I am interested?" Ardyn asks. He tries his best to look confident but he's sure even his neck is blushing at this point.

"Well," Kahili's finger taps the table, one, twice—it stops. "We all get to have some fun."

"Would that be fun for you, pretty?" Valen asks. "All you have to do is let us spoil you, that's all."

"That's all?" Ardyn repeats, hanging onto his every word.

Valen smiles sweetly. "That's all."

"So, like," Ardyn flushes, "A sugar baby?"

Valen considers this, then nods. "Of sorts. I want it to be fun for you, baby."

Baby, Ardyn melts into the booth.

"There's no pressure with anything," Kahili adds. "Anything you don't want to do is immediately off the table, no questions asked. And you can walk away from this at any time." Ardyn just barely registers the unspoken, and so can we.

Ardyn chews at his lip to distract himself from the warmth gradually trickling down his body. I want this, he realizes, I really, really want this. To be wanted so openly, he's never experienced this sort of attention before.

He feels like he could drown in it.

"I like a lot of things," he confesses shyly and hopes it comes off flirty. "Is there, like, a contract..?"

He feels stupid as soon as he says it.

Ardyn sees Kahili's lips twitch up and it makes him want to whine from embarrassment. This is his first time doing this okay, he doesn't know.

"No, no contract," Kahili says. "We're all adults, but if you feel more comfortable with one then I'm sure we can come up with something." He looks over at Valen who nods. Kahili's eyes linger on his husband, taking in his straight posture, neutral expression, and relaxed hands folded in his lap. He watches Valen twist his wedding band around, then absentmindedly pinch his finger.

Someone's in a very good mood.

And because Kahili can't resist touching his husband, he places his hand on Valen's thigh under the table. Valen doesn't break conversation with Ardyn, but Kahili feels the coolness of his hands cover his own, and Valen's fingers twisting at Kahili's wedding band.

"Is that a yes?" Valen coaxes. He's irresistible, the softness of his voice paired with the intensity of his eyes. He absolutely knows just how pretty he is.

Ardyn falls victim to that charm just like Kahili had.

🍃🍂🍃

i cannot not picture valen with jimin's mannerisms. it's unhealthy

i hope you like it so far, ily all and ty !