Page 72 of Complete Me

“Oh! Do you think he’s hangry?” That hadn’t occurred to me. “I have snacks tucked in with the garlic bread.” Kaino side eyes me. “What? I didn’t know how long we’d be staying, and better safe than sorry. Trust me. When I get hangry, I’m not just an overexcited and impatient toddler. It’s much, much worse.”

Kaino laughs. “Well, at least you know that.”

We turn the corner and see other people heading into the park. It’s a sea of rainbow clothing and hair colors even more intense than on campus. “Wow, this is more popular than I expected.” Everyone is smiling or laughing, greeting people they know. It’s a dreary day, but no one seems to be letting the weather dampen their mood. I glance up at the sky. It’s not raining, though the cloud cover says it might. “Should we look for seats in the pavilion or risk the rain and sit on the lawn?”

Kaino glances at the somewhat crowded pavilion. “Lawn. We can take cover if and when we need to.”

It’s such a Kaino choice that I want to squeeze them. They’d probably allow it, but they’d be happier if I don’t, so I refrain. “Sounds like a reasonable plan.”

We find a spot toward the edge of the crowd, still part of, but slightly apart from, the main group. I hand Bjorn a blanket from my pack, and he grins. “I love a person who comes prepared.”

“What else do you have in there?” Kaino tries to peek into my bag, but I twist, pulling it out of the way.

“You’ll find out soon.”

We settle on the blanket, and I pass out bottles of water. Bjorn opens his and takes a long pull, then puts the cap back on. “When do we get the garlic bread?”

“Patience, sweetheart.” I pass out forks and paper plates.

Bjorn holds up a fork. “Where’d these come from? And why do we need them for garlic bread?”

I know he means whose kitchen, though it must be obvious. They aren’t from his, and where else would I get metal forks from? “My kitchen. Plastic utensils pollute the environment.” I hand him a foil wrapped packet and then give one to Kaino, keeping one for myself. “Your garlic bread. But because it seemed a bit strange to eat it by itself this close to dinnertime, I also got us this.” I hand each of them a small foil takeout container with a cardboard cover.

Bjorn peels back the foil edges and inhales deeply. “Oh my god. Babe.” He pulls off the lid. “You got ziti with marinara and meatballs?”

“And salad.” I pass out the paper containers and the small compostable sauce tubs of dressing. “Kaino, this is ranch. Bjorn, you have Italian.” I keep the balsamic and olive oil combo for myself.

For several minutes, we busy ourselves with organizing our food, and then we dig in. It’s another few minutes before we swap eating time for talking. Kaino lifts their head from their food and glances around the park. “This is really nice. Thank you, Xander.”

The amount of pleasure the comment gives me is embarrassing. It shouldn’t matter so much, but it does. “You’re welcome. But I only organized our little part of this picnic. Someone else did the more involved organization of the entire event, and I don’t envy them.”

Kaino reaches out and puts a hand on my knee, and my entire body lights up. “Xander, you didn’t have to do this. We could have shown up for a bit, then gone home and made dinner, or stopped on the way, or any number of other options for feeding ourselves. But you thought about what we would like. You put effort into making sure we had something nice to eat.” Their eyes sparkle with mirth. “Thematically appropriate food, too. Something we all enjoy, and you even remembered our preferred salad dressings.” They squeeze my thigh. “It’s incredibly thoughtful. So, thank you.”

I stare at my food, ridiculously touched that they’ve acknowledged the effort I put into this. Not that it was a huge undertaking, but it wasn’t nothing. I lift one shoulder in a small shrug. “You’re welcome.” I look them in the eyes. “I enjoy doing things for the people I love.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I feel like I’ve been doused with ice water. Not because it isn’t true, but I hadn’t meant to tell them like this. Though, now that it’s out there, I won’t take it back. It’s the truth. I do love both of them. Perhaps a more romantic place might have made a better impression. Kaino’s eyes widen in surprise. Or shock. Hopefully it’s not panic. I quickly glance at Bjorn, who is staring at me, mouth open, so I double down. Because why not? Go big or go home. Right? “All the people I love.”

Bjorn practically tosses his container on the blanket and lunges for me, grabbing my food and setting it aside before gripping the back of my head, easing me backward on the blanket, covering me with his entire body. His eyes stare into mine. “Say it for real. You only kind of sort of said it. Say the words.”

The wonder in his eyes, and the… dare I say hope?... in his voice, give me the confidence to speak plainly. “I love you.” I turn my head so I can see Kaino. “I love both of you.” Even covered by Bjorn’s body, knowing he wanted me to say it again, which probably means he liked hearing it, my anxiety kicks in, and I start to squirm. “You both might not feel that way, but maybe you will someday. Or not.”

Before I can say anything else, Bjorn’s lips press against mine, kissing me hungrily as he laces our fingers together, squeezing tightly. I sigh into the kiss, parting my lips to deepen it, so relieved that I’m practically vibrating. Bjorn pulls back to press up on his elbows and looks down at me. “I love you, too. I’ve been trying not to blurt it out for the past two weeks because I wasn’t sure where either of you were with your feelings.” He turns to Kaino. “Get over here. I want to kiss you, too. Because I love you.”

He unlaces one of our hands and reaches for Kaino, who rolls their eyes but scoots closer. “I do love both of you, in spite of your antics.” A lovely pink creeps over their cheeks. “I honestly never thought I’d find anyone who would put up with a gender-neutral, demisexual, touch-averse loner. I was pretty much resigned to growing old by myself. Then I found both of you, and for some reason, you like me in spite of all of that.”

“No.” I shake my head and scowl at them. “We love you. Period. Just as you are.”

Bjorn tilts his head back and forth. “Well, we like you, too.”

Kaino snort. “May I say that this isn’t quite how I thought the ‘I love yous’ would go. I assumed it would be more private. Maybe with candlelight.” They look around at our surroundings and then at Bjorn and me, sprawled over the blanket. “But this is more us, I suppose.”

I start to laugh. They aren’t wrong. And hearing them both say they love me is everything. I’m so happy right now that it’s all but bubbling out of me. I blink away the prickling in my eyes. Someone in the general area wolf whistles, and a few others shout encouraging, if lewd, suggestions. It makes me laugh harder. “God, I hope none of these people are students of mine.”

“C’mon, Doc. It’s not bad to show them you’re human.” Bjorn leers down at me, waggling his eyebrows. “We should go home and get naked.”

Kaino nudges him. “We should finish our food.”

I put my hands on Bjorn’s firm chest and give a little squeeze before pressing him back so I can sit up. “Yes. How about we finish our food and then go home and get naked? And whose home?” I know Bjorn meant his, but I’m feeling a bit sassy. I expect a quick response, maybe something teasing, but there’s silence. As it grows, I glance at Bjorn, worried I’ve inadvertently said something wrong.

He glances between Kaino and me, expression completely serious. “Our home.”

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