A new Star Wars movie has been announced and it sounds promising.

So of course Anna and Mike have to rewatch the old movies - it's their holy duty as the fans they are - and they invite Chester and Talinda over to join them. Two days, that's the plan.

It's day one.

Second movie. The Empire Strikes Back. (To be followed by The Phantom Menace and the rest of the "new" trilogy, before the rewatch will find its climax in Return Of The Jedi; Mike and Anna experimented with several other viewing orders before finally settling with the Ernst Rister approach, and when Chester expresses his confusion they tell him to just trust them.)

As Luke collapses in the snow, Anna rests her head on Mike's shoulder and he puts his arm around her.

Chester, just coming back from the bathroom, can't help but grin when he climbs onto the couch, taking care not to knock the half empty Pepsi bottles or the popcorn bowl out of anyone's reach, before he puts his head onto Mike's other shoulder - just to mess with him and Anna a little.

But Mike just lifts his eyebrows.

And grins.

And puts his free arm around his friend, who in turn puts his arms around his wife's waist, pulling her closer until she can rest her head against his chest.

And they stay like that until they run out of popcorn.

And that's that.

*

They're in Disneyland.

Chester holding Talinda's hand, Anna holding Mike's, none of them having a clue where their kids took off to. They trust them to keep an eye on eachother, though, so it's alright.

Anna takes Talinda's hand in hers to get her attention and asks her to join her on Splash Mountain, and when she gets a Yes she beams and simply forgets to let go of her hand again.

And that's that.

*

A kiss on the cheek to say Hi.

Another one to say Bye.

Except that Mike just remembered something he forgot to tell Talinda and turns his head and their lips meet.

They blink at each other in a moment of confused silence, then grin sheepishly. And just when they're about to pretend it didn't happen, Chester opens his mouth to joke about it, but Anna is faster and silences him with a peck on his lips.

And from there on it's an innocent kiss on the lips to say Hi, and another one to say Bye.

And that's that.

*

This is where it stops progressing effortlessly though.

Because it doesn't feel quite so innocent anymore when Mike's and Chester's lips meet one day in the studio's underground car park, maybe because it's not just their lips but there's also Mike's hand on Chester's waist and Chester's hand on the back of Mike's neck. And it lasts two seconds at least, maybe three; an unusually long Hi, but they've missed each other and Mike just had a sip from a Salted Toffee Latte and there's still a bit of caramel on his lips and Chester's heart flutters softly when he tastes the sweetness.

And then he feels guilty.

And so does Mike (or at least he's aware he theoretically should).

And they decide to talk to their wives, just to make sure they're not on their merry way into forbidden territory.

Or at least Chester makes that decision; Mike would've been fine keeping it a secret, at least for a while, and enjoying one or two more of these kisses before risking Talinda putting a stop to them. But he doesn't want Chester to be uncomfortable and so he pretends to be on board.

Chester already is uncomfortable though, and once they really get the conversation going, everyone else is, too.

This... this thing between the four of them... this is supposed to be all casual, isn't it?

But where does casual end and where does not-so-casual-anymore begin?

What kinds of kisses are okay, how long are they allowed to last, and where to put one's hands during them? Isn't keeping track of all these little details more work than fun? Is it even worth the effort? Maybe they should just stop doing this - whatever this is - altogether?

Mike gulps at the prospect.

His lips still tingle when he thinks back to his and Chester's kiss that morning. He doesn't say that aloud, though. But he does admit to having liked it and liking the whole direction that thing between the four of them is taking overall. It makes him feel... (and there he blushes softly, looking at his hands in his lap, and Anna's and Chester's hearts skip a beat and Talinda feels the urge to hug him) - it makes him feel good. And it feels natural and like no big deal, although a little exciting, too. And he enjoys it and would be up for more of it.

If Chester is up for it, too, of course.

And Chester is. He admits to being a bit confused, having become quite disconnected to the full scope of his sexual orientation (which he still refuses to label) for the last couple of years, ever since he went to rehab for the first time. But... not everything he did and felt and was okay with before then was automatically "bad" just because it happened then. ...Or was it? He tried to pretend it was for a while, but that didn't work out well and ended in another trip to rehab, so...

He blinks, confused by his own words, and feels his cheeks heating up a bit too much for his liking. And grins sheepishly. Anyway. Yeah. Yeah, he is up for giving this thing a chance. He likes where this has been going so far, and they're already all like one big family anyway, so fuck it, why not?

Well. As long as Talinda is up for it, too, of course.

And Talinda is. She does clarify, though, that she trusts him to tell her if any of this ever makes him question his feelings for her.

He nods and promises her just that, they exchange a couple of flowery love confessions and kiss (Anna and Mike just exchange a deadpan look; they love these two dorks, they really do, but sometimes...), and Talinda seems relieved.

And admits to being curious where this thing between all of them might go to, as well.

As long as Anna is up for it, too, of course.

And Anna, still looking at her husband, just grins.

And he grins back.

She doesn't need to ask him about the impact this could have on his feelings for her.

It was fifteen years or so ago when he didn't just come out as not-completely-straight to her (today he's okay with the label bisexual; he loves its flag's colors, too) but also as being open towards the idea of, well, open relationships. Not the kind where they would fuck around with random people, but the kind that would include more than just the two of them in everything that defined a romantic relationship in the first place. He didn't mean to say she wasn't enough - fuck, no! - it was just... he was just aware that he could be in love with more than one person at a time and he hated how uncomfortable that had made his last girlfriend, so he wanted her to know about it in advance.

And maybe. Think about it?

It was okay if she wasn't into the idea, of course it was, also there wasn't anyone specific he had in mind for "joining" them, and right now he didn't have time for that anyway, being in the process of graduating from college and building up a band he planned to win Grammys with.

He just. He just needed her to know. Because he liked her, he liked her a lot, and could imagine them staying together long enough for the topic to eventually come up again one day.

He was so adorable during his little speech, all sparkly eyes, blushing cheeks, holding her hands in his, with such an urgent sincerety in his voice. It so obviously meant the world to him that she understood where he was coming from and accepted him.

How could she not just fall in love with him all over again, and nod, and kiss him, and tell him that she was okay with who he was and how he felt and would never leave him over that?

So it doesn't really come as a surprise to her that he's into all of that, and it doesn't feel like a threat to their marriage either. Even if she wasn't curious and excited about it herself (which she is), his excitement would probably be enough for her to go along with it anyway.

It certainly does help that she's queer, too, though.

And so she keeps grinning and nods.

And that's that.

*

Talinda has zero experience in making out with another woman, and it takes her about a month to come back to Anna's offer to "just try it, or not, no pressure".

It doesn't blow her away enough to make her question her sexuality, but she enjoys it anyway. She likes the way Anna kisses, gently but also somewhat daring. A bit teasing, too. Her kisses mirror her personality and make Talinda feel comfortable and safe.

They're still very different from Chester's kisses, and she wonders if Mike has noticed that, too, so next time they're alone she asks him.

He grins, bites his lip and nods, and they end up gushing at each other about their respective partners and exchange a tip or two.

And the next time they kiss, Mike pulls Chester onto his lap like Talinda told him to, and that soft, almost whiny sound Chester makes when he does that, and the way he seems to turn into wax in his arms, it sends a thousand shivers down Mike's spine and he's pretty sure he just fell in love a little. Or maybe a lot.

And Anna appreciates Talinda letting her kneel over her and pin her onto the couch the next time they make out, as well. And both of them smile into their kiss.

And that's that.

*

Mike wants sex.

So does Chester.

But then he gets scared and nothing happens.

And Mike smiles and promises him it's okay, because of-fucking-course it's okay, no consent, no nothing, anything else would only be disturbing and not sexy.

It's only to Anna that he admits how much it bugs him.

He's not used to not getting what he wants anymore - if he was ever used to it in the first place, that is - and struggles not to pressure Chester by suggesting giving it another try whenever they see each other.

So next time Anna and Chester hang out together, she successfully steers their conversation towards the topic sex, or rather, porn, and casually mentions that she wouldn't mind watching Mike give a blowjob to Chester, who furiously blushes at her words and tries to wave it off with a joke. But she knows him long enough by now to see the seed has taken root.

He's considering it.

Mike blushes, too, when she informs him of her idea (and can't believe he didn't think of oral himself).

He's only ever given a blowjob once in his life, at a college party. He was a bit drunk back then and it's been quite a while, too, so he doesn't remember it very well, but he thinks he liked it...?

Anna can only shake her head.

"What would you guys even do without me?"

Mike just grins.

He's still blushing a little and there's a bulge in his jeans now.

And that's that.

*

It's not exactly easy to arrange for the four of them to hang out with all the kids out of the house. But a few weeks later, they manage.

Anna has brought some toys and lube but decides to keep those in her luggage. At least for now.

Mike has only brought his macbook and a browser history full of research as to how to do consent right, especially with someone with a past like Chester's. He's determined to not fuck this up - to not fuck Chester up. If only he could put it past his friend to forgive him even if he did...

Chester can be an asshole, but deep down he's good, way too good even.

Mike is pretty sure it's the other way around with himself. At least in some regards, not all.

A lot of conversation happens before anyone (well, Chester) is even allowed to undress.

Mike and Anna are a bit taken aback by a certain naïveté they didn't expect from him.

Whenever they try to communicate the importance of him signalling if something makes him uncomfortable, he keeps expressing his trust in Mike, refusing to acknowledge even the possiblity of his friend doing something that isn't okay.

Talinda takes a while to catch on why the conversation won't move forward, but when she does, she feels somewhat unsettled as well and questions a thing or two she and her husband have tried in the past.

Mike sighs. He leans forward, cupping Chester's cheeks with his hands, and looks him in the eyes until Chester finally gets that it's serious, that he's supposed to listen. And then he tells him that this is not about Chester trusting him, but about him being able to trust Chester.

This is not the studio where it's okay if he just keeps pushing until he either gets what he wants or Chester flips him off and leaves. They don't have any routine here. Yet. And he just really really needs to be able to trust Chester to let him know if what he's doing is not enjoyable for the both of them. Because he is pretty sure that there are things he enjoys that Chester doesn't.

But he doesn't know what those things are yet.

"So Chaz. Chazy..."

Chester smiles when he hears this nickname.

"Look at me and promise me that you are going to tell me whenever I do anything that makes you even remotely uncomfortable. No matter what it is. Promise me!"

And Chester's smile grows softer and he puts his hands on Mike's cheeks as well and kisses him gently.

And promises.

And that's that.

*

Talinda thinks it's cute that her husband feels more comfortable having her and Anna watch Mike sucking him off than being alone with him.

She's also quite impressed by Mike's skills.

He puts thought into each and every of his movements, and effort into being as gentle as possible. She expected him to be a bit more... awkward? Something like that. But he takes his time, starting with a handjob first, and makes sure Chester never forgets who's touching him. Whenever Chester closes his eyes, he softly murmurs his name and whispers into his ear until he opens them again, and only proceeds after they shared a smile or grin or laugh or kiss.

Talinda's turned on by the sight, but it still stings in her chest. Jealousy. Probably.

Chester's first moan sends shivers down her spine.

She averts her gaze, feeling silly for kind of wanting them to stop, so her husband can be hers and hers alone again, when that's clearly not what he wants.

Later, much later, after all of them spent an hour or more lazily napping on the couch, she talks to Anna about that feeling - with their husbands still naked and snuggled up to each other underneath a fleece blanket between them.

And Anna smiles, pulling the blanket up a little higher so Chester's shoulder is covered before carefully brushing a strand of jet black hair off Mike's forehead.

And then she admits to being a little jealous every once in a while, too, which she considers normal under the circumstances though. And that she knows Mike has already felt somewhat jealous of Talinda as well, at some point or the other - and after all, he's the one of them who's into this whole poly-relationship thing the most. So if even he can get jealous without it being a deal-breaker, they're probably fine.

Or so she assumes.

Talinda is surprised.

Less because Anna and Mike understand her feelings from experience, but more because they generally seem to talk a lot more - and a lot more openly - than she was aware of.

She never figured Mike as the talking type. She wasn't even expecting Anna to be the talking type.

But Anna still smiles, this time looking her in the eyes, and shrugs.

Mike and her wouldn't be together anymore if they hadn't started to talk at some point.

It took them a while, quite a while actually, to learn. And they were still not done learning, since they were both the kind of people who felt safer inside of their heads, preferring to express more difficult emotions and thoughts creatively and sharing them with strangers instead of just walking up to a friend or partner and telling them straight to their face what's up.

They still danced around the core of what troubled them a lot before spilling it sometimes.

And every once in a while it would be a week or a month before they got it out.

But they got better at it; still are getting better at it.

And Talinda smiles, too, watching her husband scrunching up his nose a little in his sleep.

She doesn't feel silly over that jealous sting anymore. She's a bit nervous about telling Chester, mostly because he is so quick to blame himself for pretty much everything, but she doesn't want to risk resentment tainting what they have.

Because - and here she looks up at Anna - that thing between the four of them? She loves it. She loves how it feels like the most natural progression possible of the friendship they already had before, and she loves how it makes her feel like a teenager again, who's all new to exploring what a relationship even is, exploring another person's body, too, and just generally feeling close to people she cares about in a way she hadn't before.

And Anna just leans over their sleeping husbands and places a soft peck on Talinda's lips, and tells her that she feels the same.

And that's that.

*

They're in London, on their way to the venue with a River Bus chartered just for the band and their families.

It's drizzling outside, the Thames is a muddy brown and the sky just endless grey.

Mike is on his macbook, looking up destinations for a vacation they're planning.

Talinda is standing behind him, leaning onto his seat, absent-mindedly running her fingertips through his hair and occasionally pointing out things he hasn't considered yet.

Anna is taking notes for her next book. Nothing concrete. Just jotting down a few words about the feeling of the weather outside. And the sound of some of the kids chasing each other in the back of the cabin. And the soothing warmth in her chest, when Chester, who sits next to her and has her slightly sea-sick daughter on his lap and in his arms, softly sings to her to take her mind off how unwell she is.

Not long and the clicking noise of Mike's fingers on the keyboard and Talinda's murmurs lapse into silence.

And soon they're all just listening and smiling to themselves and at each other.

And they're happy.

And that was that.

<tbc>