Theo was currently leaning forward, engaged in a heated discussion with their cab driver about hockey. The cabbie kept calling it ice hockey, which made Chris smile every time he heard it. They'd already covered rugby and football -- both the American and soccer versions -- and Chris gave a fleeting thought to what sport Theo and the driver would talk about next.

He couldn't get enough of the accent. He almost wanted to just sit back and listen. Which, come to think of it, was kind of what he was doing right now. Robin had already put his earphones in and was snoozing on the other side of Chris, so it wasn't as if he could talk to him.

Chris figured he should get a medal for not elbowing Rob awake. He was cutting him some slack considering Rob had barely slept on the plane. Chris, on the other hand, had put his head down on Theo's shoulder about two seconds into the flight, and about five seconds after that he'd been down for the count.

He'd never had any problems sleeping on a plane. Rob was the one who always had an issue with that. It was like his mind wouldn't shut off if he was in an airplane. Good thing they had their own TV screens, so Rob could watch as many movies as he wanted.

Chris wasn't sure what Theo had done, but he hadn't moved much. At least, he hadn't woken Chris up.

Turning in his direction, Chris studied the big man. He towered over both Chris and Rob at six and a half feet. His Inuvialuit features set him apart from the majority of people they'd seen in their journeys so far, and it was something Chris loved to study.

Theo was a beautiful man. He'd garnered his share of attention as they'd walked through the Frankfurt airport, and Chris figured it was because of how noble and striking he looked.

At least, that was what Chris thought when he saw him, so he just assumed everyone else felt the same way. He didn't mind showing off his mates. He was definitely a lucky man to be graced with both Theo and Rob. They seemed to find him attractive in return, so it was all good.

Even better, he realized they were soon going to be at their hotel room. He couldn't wait to get his mates alone in a room. It was difficult sometimes, being out in public with two men. He'd always been aware of it when it was just Rob and him, but it was worse now since he had to watch himself even more. He had a deep-seated need to touch his men. This need grew stronger the longer he was apart from them. He wanted to touch, needed to stroke their skin and press his lips against theirs. Only, he realized he couldn't.

He couldn't even do it with just one of them, because that wasn't fair to the other. Some of the places they were visiting might not be as openly friendly, and he honestly didn't know what to expect. Sure, there were Pride events in Oslo, but that didn't mean much more than that there was a gay community. Plus, they were going to be stuck on a ship with a hundred people for fifteen days before they arrived in Oslo.

This night in Edinburgh was going to be special. A night where he could just lie down with the two men he loved more than anything in the world and touch as much as he wanted.

"All right, I'm going to have to let you off here since this is a one-way street. Just go down the block there, and the hotel is on the right. Hope you enjoy your stay."

Chris elbowed Rob awake. Rob glared at him in return.

"Come on. I can't wait to explore. Look at these buildings and that castle!"

Rob craned his neck to look out the window. "Pretty spectacular. We want to drop our stuff and walk around now?"

Chris bit his lip. "Or maybe a quick 'nap' first?"

"I don't know. I'm kind of hungry," Rob answered.

He refrained from rolling his eyes. He wasn't sure if Rob was just tired, but that had gone entirely over his head.

Getting out of the cab, he let Theo take care of paying the driver since they were supposed to be taking turns. So far, only Theo had had a turn, but Chris figured at some point they would just tie him down so he couldn't reach for his wallet first. In the meantime, it made Theo feel better to pay so Chris was letting him get away with it.

Plus, it was kind of a test to see whether Rob would explode first.

"So, what should we do?" Theo asked, as they pulled their suitcases up the street.

Chris hummed. "Whatever you guys want to do is fine with me."

"I need a shower. And a nap. And sex. Lots of sex." Rob turned to grin wickedly at them.

"Great minds and all that. I was just thinking the same thing," Chris said.

Theo nodded. "Let me check us in since it's in my name, and you two can wait in the lobby for me."

"Did you get one room?" He wasn't sure they'd let you do that with three adults. Weren't the rooms supposed to be smaller over here?

"Booked a king bed. Figured you two could squish together. It's going to be roomy compared to when we get on the ship and our twin beds."

"Whoa. Hold on." Rob stopped dead. "Twin beds? As in separate beds?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "You didn't do more than glance at the itinerary, did you? I even gave it to you to read on the plane."

"I read the parts about where we're going, not where we're staying. I totally did not sign up for twin beds. Do you know when the last time I slept alone was?"

"That time when I went to Saskatoon for work, and you had to stay in Calgary to work on a different project. You bitched and complained so much they swore they wouldn't separate us overnight again."

Rob threw up his hands. "Exactly! That was years ago. Years!"

"You'll live." Chris realized Theo had kept on walking, so he tried to get Rob started walking again.

His frustrating mate wouldn't budge an inch. "Humph."

Trying to hide his smile, Chris tilted his head. "Okay. I'll make it up to you, then. Deal?"

Rob shrugged. "What sort of making it up?"

"Whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?"

"Promise."

"That's a pretty open offer."

"I trust you. Besides, Theo will protect me." Chris let out a peal of laughter when Rob mock-swiped at him.