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Ethan’s lips curved into a grin at the same time, and he nodded as if Adrien had just suggested the most reasonable thing in the world.

"Yeah," he chimed in, his voice carrying that same unsettling ease. "We could."

I blinked at them as they smiled as disbelief washed over me. I’d assumed they were joking because there was no way they were serious.

"Okay, very funny," I said with a nervous laugh, shaking my head as I reached for my tea, lifting the cup to my lips.

But neither of them laughed.

Why weren’t they laughing? This was a joke, right? Right?!

The silence that followed felt different again, heavier in a way that made something in my chest tighten, and I slowly lowered the cup without taking a sip, my eyes moving between them as the realization began to sink in.

"Wait," I said, my voice wavering slightly as I stared more closely at them. "You’re... you’re n–not joking."

Adrien raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk on his lips, but his gaze was serious enough to make it impossible to brush aside.

"Do I look like I’m joking, Prince?" he replied.

Ethan chuckled softly, but there was a warmth in it, not mockery, as he leaned back in his chair.

"You love us both, don’t you?" he asked, his gaze fixed steadily on mine. "And we love you too, so... it seems like an option."

I stared at them, my mind racing to catch up with what they were actually proposing, feeling like the ground had shifted unexpectedly beneath me.

"You really want to..." I trailed off, my cheeks heating up as I struggled to form the words. "To...to share?"

Adrien’s smirk widened slightly, though something genuine lurked beneath it now.

"Don’t make it sound like we’re splitting a dessert," he said dryly. "But yeah, something like that."

Ethan chuckled softly at that, glancing at Adrien before looking back at me.

"It wouldn’t be simple," he added, his tone thoughtful. "We’d have to work things out, but... I don’t think either of us is interested in pretending this doesn’t exist anymore."

I opened my mouth to respond but closed it again, my thoughts spinning in a dozen different directions as I grappled with the realization that this was the one outcome I hadn’t seriously considered, and there it was, right in front of me as though it had been waiting all along.

My grip on the cup tightened, and I let out a breathless laugh that felt more like disbelief than anything else.

There’s no way this was happening.

Perhaps this was a dream, maybe I accidentally feel asleep on my homework in my room.

"I... I don’t even know what to say to that," I said, my voice softer as I looked between them again, my cheeks still flushed.

Adrien leaned a little closer, his arm brushing lightly against the back of the couch behind me, and for a moment, that closeness made my heart stutter in a way that felt entirely unfair given the situation.

"You don’t have to say anything right now," he said quietly, still carrying that familiar edge. "Just don’t pretend you didn’t hear us."

Ethan nodded slightly, his expression gentler as he regarded me.

"We’re not forcing anything," he added, "but we’re not backing down either."

I swallowed, feeling my chest tighten again, but this time it wasn’t just anxiety, it felt like something more complicated, dangerously close to hope.

For the first time since this all started, the idea of not having to choose didn’t feel impossible anymore.

It just felt terrifying in an entirely different way.

I could feel the heat creeping up my neck long before either of them said another word. By the time I grasped just how serious they were, my whole face was flushed, making me wish I could just sink into the couch and hide behind the cushions.

The worst part? Neither of them seemed embarrassed.

Adrien had that little smirk on his face, just leaning back like he had proposed something totally normal, while Ethan sat there with his calm, steady expression, as if this was just another issue to tackle with some logic and patience.

And me? I was stuck in between, clutching my tea like it might tether me to reality, trying to wrap my head around the fact that these two, who’d spent so long either competing or outright disliking each other, were now casually suggesting they wanted to share me.

I let out a short, disbelieving laugh, shaking my head while staring at both of them because there was no way I could just nod and pretend this all made sense.

"Wait a second," I said, shifting a bit so I could actually face them both, even if it meant confronting whatever this was head-on. "You two idiots couldn’t stand each other. Like, really. I’m pretty sure if there were an award for mutual annoyance, you’d both take the damn prize."

Adrien scoffed quietly, not denying it, and Ethan’s lips twitched like he was holding back a laugh.

"And now you’re just... cool with this?" I pressed on, gesturing vaguely between them, my voice rising with disbelief. "What changed? Did I miss some secret meeting where you two decided to be besties or something?"

"Besties? That’s a crazy ass stretch," Adrien muttered, which got a small chuckle from Ethan.

I exhaled, running a hand through my hair as I tried to sort out my thoughts. This wasn’t something I could just joke about, even if part of me really wanted to.

"I’m being serious," I said, softening my tone a bit as I looked back at them. "How’s this supposed to work? Jealousy could rear its ugly head. Things could get messy. I’m still figuring out how to handle one relationship, let alone..."

I trailed off, waving my hands helplessly. "This."

The word felt way too small for what they were suggesting.

Ethan leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. He looked at me with that steady focus he always had when trying to make sense of things.

"You’re not wrong," he said calmly. "It could definitely get complicated. Jealousy could happen. There’s still a lot we don’t know."

Adrien tilted his head, his expression growing a bit more serious now, but that edge of his personality was still there.

"But that doesn’t mean it won’t work," he added. "It just means we’d actually have to put in the effort instead of assuming it’ll fucking fall apart before it even gets going."

I frowned, my fingers tightening around the cup again, mulling that over.