Corey laughed a little at that, but it was short, because he seemed to grasp that Andrew was being serious. He was quiet for a while as Andrew tried to forget the subject, knowing it wouldn’t be a good conversation. If Corey didn’t like or want kids, then this three-way relationship really wasn’t going to turn into a three-way parent thing. Maybe Corey would hang around for a little bit, maybe he’d try to make it work, but then he’d walk out the door and their kids would be upset and confused at losing someone they thought was a father, as he had been whenever he got attached to whatever man his mother had convinced him would be his ‘new daddy’. Andrew would always be there, but still – he always said he would never have anyone in his kids' life unless they were a permanent fixture, which is why he desperately needed to be married to someone he knew would stick around.

And he and Sally were in it for the long run, he would make that possible.

And Sally was a responsible, kind, devoted woman. Okay, she needed...a little bit more variety than Andrew could offer at the moment, but she’d make a great, present mother. He was sure of that, just like he was sure that he was going to make his relationship with her last.

But maybe that wasn’t the same with Corey?

The way he seemed to talk about it, Corey really didn’t have a high opinion of it, anyway.

“I guess if you had the right partner, it could be,” Corey said quietly, squirming a little to get more comfortable. “But right now you aren’t ready.”

“Why?” Andrew asked sharply, feeling agitated. “Because I’m a ‘kid’?”

“Yeah?” Corey said with a chuckle. Andrew stilled, looking up at Corey in the darkness to scowl at him. “You’re a smart kid, I think – so you know that you should give your child the best life possible, right?”

“Yeah?” Andrew mumbled, listening.

“Then before you have a child, you need to be in a good place to have one.”

“I’m-”

“A student. You have a job, yeah, but it’s one that requires you to be there a lot of hours to make rent – not even a living, just rent. Can’t buy groceries, or school books, or-”

“Okay, I get it, my job’s shit.” Andrew sat up and went to shove Corey’s hand off of where it still gripped his thigh loosely, but instead just held onto his wrist with a touch that swung between tense and loose.

“It’s shit if you want to be a parent that actually sees their kid more than six hours a day,” Corey said in a calm, almost clinical tone. “It’s fine if you are young and single and need cash, but it’s not going to be able to give a child everything they need.”

“Well, there are going to be two parents!” Andrew said with a nervous laugh, “Sally will be there and she has a good job!”

“Yeah. Now.”

Andrew stared up at him, frowning.

“What if she gets fired? Or sick? Or hurt? Or dies?”

Andrew tensed.

“What if she is hit by lightning and disappears? How are you going to support a child alone?” Corey continued, “I’m not saying you aren’t going to be a great parent – God knows you really took care of my ass since I came back, and you were fucking amazing at doing that and the effort was appreciated,” His grip on Andrew’s thigh tightened a fraction as it slid down it further, then back up a little in an almost soothing sort of way. “But I’m saying before you start that chapter of your life, keep working on yourself first. Finish your education-” Andrew slowly laid back down, “Get your ducks in a row.”

Andrew let out a peal of laughter, giving Corey a bemused look in the darkness and Corey wrapped his fingers around Andrew’s thigh to pull his leg over toward him so it was laying on his own.

“-it means to prepare yourself for the next stage first before doing it. In five years, you should be done with school, working a better job, and will be able to give your kids a hell of a lot more than...if you had them now, you’d be a great parent, but the life you could give a child would be wildly different than the one you could give them once you’re...more established. If shit happened and you were alone, the situation you’re in now wouldn’t be ideal is all I’m saying.”

He’d be in the same exact situation his mother had been in, Andrew thought. Working at a diner. Trying to do the school thing. She always said the stress of trying to balance parenthood, school, and work was why she needed to drink to unwind, why she was desperate to get a ‘new daddy’ for Andrew-
So she could have someone to share the burdens with.

“So you're saying you don’t want to be a three-way parent?” Andrew asked dryly, feeling tired.

“I wouldn’t be a good coparent with Sally,” Corey said just as dry.

“Then I guess in five years when I’m in a better place to have a child, you won’t be around then?” Andrew didn’t know how he felt about that. He was starting to like Corey…

“I’ll still be around in five years time,” Corey said quietly. “But I’m sure as fuck not co-parenting with Sally.”

Andrew hummed at that. “I’ll keep that in mind, then.” He felt his face heat up as Corey pulled his leg further toward him. “Then I guess...it’s five years of this?” He said with a nervous little laugh. Corey grunted and Andrew felt the other man rub his thumb over the back of his thigh through the blanket.

“Um, what time did Sally say she was going to be home for our, ah, date?” He asked with another little laugh.

“Five at the latest, four at the earliest,” Corey mumbled.

“Then...I guess we have time to go to the gym?”

Corey made an amused noise. “Yeah. We can do that.”

Andrew nodded and inhaled sharply. “Then let’s do that...and then pick Sally up some flowers.”

“Are you one of those guys?”

“Hm?”

Corey sat up then and Andrew slowly rolled onto his back and the other back moved to lean over him. “One of those guys that get flowers and little random gifts for his partner?”

“Yeah,” Andrew breathed. “It’s good to show your appreciation for your partner. That way they know you are thinking about them. It’s one thing to actually think about them all the time, but it’s another to actually make sure they know it-” He winced, tacking on “In a non-creepy way, of course.”

Corey chuckled and slid out of the bed then, turning on the light on the bedside table. Andrew squinted against the light before he looked to see Corey giving him a sly look over his shoulder. “Did you ever give a girl creepy gifts to make sure she thought about you?” Andrew gave him a sheepish smile and Corey lifted his eyebrows at him before he turned to stare at him with a wolfish smile. “What was it?”

Andrew slid out of the other side of the bed then and stood, awkwardly finding a pair of pants – Corey’s, as it turned out – because it felt kind of strange being naked around Corey still. “I, um,” He winced, feeling especially awkward, “I made a mixtape CD about my love for her. It-” He felt his ears heat up when Corey mumbled that he didn’t think that was so bad, “It had Radiohead’s Creep on it?” He said with a nervous little laugh, “And...Every Breath You Take, by Sting?”

“By The Police, you mean, but I love those songs,” Corey said easily, and when Andrew gave him a tired smile, Corey returned it with a smile of his own.

“I thought they reflected how I felt, and -” He sighed, “She thought that she was being stalked and the CD was a threat.” He stared at the ground for a beat, blinking hard then. “She cried, and I never felt so awful.”

Corey stood then and Andrew got an eyeful of what a lifetime of military service got you. He had seen Corey naked before, but in the warm light of the bedroom, he looked so much more like a man and Andrew flushed at it. His thick, muscular thighs, his long, thick cock-

He had sex with that.

And he was going to have sex with it again.

And again.

And Corey was going to have sex with him. Oh so less impressive, Andrew.

Andrew puffed out his cheek before he exhaled slowly, making the same noise as a balloon letting out air as Corey stretched his hands over his head and tilted his head back, popping his neck and then running his hands down his side.

“If you want to make me a mixtape, I wouldn’t cry.” Corey teased as came over, slapping Andrew roughly on the ass as he passed him on the way to the closet. Andrew’s eyes widened as his mind blanked. “We’ll shower at the gym and get dressed for the date there.”

“Okie Dokie.” Andrew said lamely as stared at the bed.

Because – holy shit, he was going to have sex with Corey again.

And Sally.

And they would probably be having a lot of sex for a while.

Together.

And maybe putting off his plans to have kids as soon as possible was okay to enjoy this for a little longer.

Andrew inhaled slowly and puffed out his cheeks again, making the balloon noises again as his gaze darted over to watch Corey walk around the bedroom naked, tossing clothes to the bed. Andrew stared at the muscular globes of his ass, and when Corey gave him a sly smile over his shoulder, Andrew gave him a nervous smile before he turned away and hurried into the closet to hide his blush.