Okay, this is super different from anything I've written before and I'm honestly not sure how well it will be received since this an OT3 fic between Rico/Kowalski/Julien. Which is why the title is Rule of Three despite it being in only two parts. This fic also contains some m/m mature content, which is another huge first for one of my fics. It's not explicit and only lasts about 500 words so it really is a small fraction of the fic as a whole, but I have it marked between asterisks *** in case anyone wants to skip through it, but I like to think my asexual ass handled it tastefully.

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Part 1

Kowalski had been fine with the idea of a party to celebrate their return to New York, in fact, he had even welcomed it, despite it being well known that he was not particularly fond of loud, alcohol-filled revelries. Their last mission had been a disaster, someone had leaked their mission information and they had walked into a trap. Of course, Alice had not been pleased about nearly losing some of CENTRAAL's best assets and even less pleased that it was an inside job. When they were all deemed stable enough to be shipped back to New York they had been granted able recovery time and a guarantee that until the leak was plugged, they would not be sent on any field missions.

Not that any of them cared about having an extended break from the field, they were still focused on the fact that they had been lucky enough to walk away from a trap they were not meant to walk away from. He was still struggling to shake the image of Private's twisted ankle and shredded leg. And at times he still swore he could hear the agonizing pop/crunch of Rico's shoulder dislocating in the mad scramble to leave no man behind has the building collapsed around them. He could even perfectly recall the fear in Skipper's eyes as he tried to stop the bleeding from a wound where shrapnel tore into his leg too close to his femoral artery for Kowalski to be comfortable with. The sensation of warm blood on his hands brought had too many bad memories and he had passed out from neglecting his own injures wondering if Private had managed to get out.

Waking up in the hospital of one of CENTRAAL's bases had changed something in all of them. Maybe it was a new appreciation for each other or a new appreciation for the people in their lives, either way, the second Marlene and Julien began discussing a massive welcome party during a group chat as they were gathered around Private's bed as best as they could, a small part of him had been looking forward to it.

But now a sigh escaped Kowalski as he looked around the room. Their homecoming was far calmer than expected and he suspected that Maurice had been a voice of reason that even if they were holding it at Julien's club, it did not have to be Julien's usual party scene. In a way, the softness punctuated just how close they came to not coming home at all and it showed with how everyone had rushed together, but slowly drifted off in smaller, more intimate groups.

He checked his phone to see if Doris had responded to his text since she had declined his invitation to come to The Groove. He had hoped that it would give him a chance to mend his and Doris's shaky relationship and clear the air between them. That he'd be able to ask her face to face what she had seen that he hadn't.

When their romantic relationship had fizzled out weeks if not months before the mission, Doris had ended it by cruelly citing that he was clearly already in love with someone else. That had shaken something in him, leaving him feeling like something was broken inside, because he knew on some level, she was right, but he didn't want to accept it.

He had confessed it quietly to Private one night, after the breakup and after a few drinks that he didn't think he had ever loved Doris, merely loved the idea of her. That he had only ever wanted to feel normal in someway after spending all his life as an outcast. Then he had gone so far as to admit that he had struggled with being able to find any of the women he had dated sexually attractive- that he had recognized that they were attractive, but they didn't do anything for him. Not like that one drunken kiss he had with a very male stranger one New Year's Party and that it hadn't so much been that that fact that it was a man, but the strange feeling that he had known the man in some intimate way. Private, of course, had been understanding and assured him that there was nothing wrong with him and more that there was something wrong with the expectations for men and women and too often people broke themselves to fit into molds that shouldn't exist in a first place. It was nice to hear that he was not, in fact, broken as he believed.

Yet, that broken piece continued to rattle around inside.

It hadn't been until the mission, until he watched Rico disappear under rubble and Skipper had dragged him away as he screamed until his voice failed, until he drifted into consciousness with Rico's name on his until he watched Rico's face light up when he walked into his hospital room, and until he really saw Rico's face light up when Julien answered the video call after one ring that the little broken piece he had been feeling floating around his chest had clicked into place.

Kowalski put his phone back in his pocket and looked around the room. Closer to the center of the room, where Julien had deemed a conversation pit straight from the 70s as the best option for a lounge area, Private had collected a small entourage. Roy and Bing were eagerly catching him up on what he had missed from the Lunacorn's current season while J.J and the rest of his siblings worked hard to cover any blank spaces left on Private's cast. It seemed they were particularly taken with coloring in the surprisingly accurate drawing of Princess Self-Respectra that Rico had done several days ago when they were still waiting to get released for travel. Of course, M.D. along with Phil and Mason were close-by ready to intervene should any of the kids get too rowdy.

However, those gathered at the bar, where Maurice continued to mix and serve drinks had either already greeted the team or like Burt and Roger were waiting for a better opportunity to do so, not wanting to intrude on more private conversations such as where Skipper and Marlene sat at a small table across one another talking in hushed tones with their hands clasped together.

It was so unlike their usual boisterous selves that snarked and ribbed each other in a never-ending battle of the sexes that Kowalski almost found it hard to believe that it was Skipper and Marlene. Yet, Marlene had broken down to tears the second she had laid eyes on them when they had entered The Groove, not unlike the first time Skipper had video called her after getting out of surgery. But this time they had been able to touch each other, and she had run to Skipper without hesitation, throwing her arms around him and continuing to cry into the side of his neck.

Of course, that reunion hadn't been the only one full of tears, but it did take center stage compared to Rico and Julien's, who had come together in the background. Kowalski had nearly missed it, caught up in the always surprising to see the softer side of Skipper, but he had caught a glimpse of Julien sprinting to Rico only to fall short at the sight of the shoulder sling. It had been mesmerizing to watch, it had been like the two had slipped into slow motion as Julien approached Rico, unsure what to do and not wanting to inadvertently hurt him. Under the dimmed lights, Kowalski had caught a glimpse of tears on Julien's face before Rico wiped them away with his free hand and tilted his head down ever so slightly to kiss the former king. Of course, Kowalski looked away before he saw the kiss and was then quickly swept up into a conversation with Maurice and Roger about what happened and how long they were going to be out of commission.

Now, Kowalski wasn't sure what had happened to the pair since then and wasn't sure if he wanted to linger on that thought for too long. He stood and slipped over to a darkened corner that hid the stairs that went up to Julien's even more hidden living quarters and a private balcony that was the best place to sneak a cigarette or two.

He had just reached the top of the stairs when he heard a burst of laughter coming from the end of the hall. Light spilled through the thin slats of the double doors that lead to Julien's bedroom that was at the end of the hallway. It answered the previous question of where the pair had disappeared and was probably a sign that he should probably forget about having a cigarette and head back downstairs to the party. He has always enjoyed talking to Burt and Mason.

And yet, he continued to walk down the hall and logically he should have turned right to go out on the balcony, but instead, he crept closer to the double doors listening for the quiet murmur to grow into something understandable.

***"-ish we had more time, so I could really take you apart, and show you how much I missed you." Julien's voice grew clear and Kowalski could make out some movement through the slats. He leaned closer and saw Rico sprawled across the bed in a state of semi-undress. His t-shirt was pushed up as far as it could go with the shoulder sling and his jeans were still around his knees while Julien straddled him wearing a loose knee-length skirt.

Kowalski's breath hitched at the sight and every brain cell he had screamed at him to walk away when Julien leaned down and kissed Rico deeply.

"You're beautiful," Julien practically purred when he pulled away for a moment. Then he was cupping Rico's jaw and pressing a kiss to the scar on the corner of his mouth as his other hand ran down Rico's chest to his abdomen, but not dipping quite low enough. In turn, Rico squeezed Julien's hip with his free hand and tried to grind up into the other man.

Even at a distance through the thin slats, Kowalski could see how flushed Rico had become under Julien's teasing touches and he vaguely wondered how long the two had been at this. Rico's lips parted as if to deny the previous statement, but instead, a soft groan escaped with a deliberate roll of Julien's hips giving him the friction he desired.

Kowalski's throat tightened and he felt his mouth go dry as he continued to watch Julien trail kisses down Rico's neck as far as he could with the t-shirt in the way. He had always been aware that Rico was attractive and to some degree, he knew that he found Rico attractive, but seeing him so vulnerable and watching him coming undone, well he couldn't help but agree with what Julien had said; Rico was beautiful. And the longer watch he couldn't help but think that both of them were beautiful.

"I love the sounds you make for me," Julien whispered against Rico's golden skin, now pressing a line of kisses down the thick vertical scar that ran down his chest. "I've missed hearing them."

Kowalski watched with interest as Julien traced the scar to where it stopped just above Rico's belly button and then continued down to stop at the waistband of Rico's boxer briefs. The floor creaked beneath his heel as he shifted to press a hand against his own growing arousal, but the sound went unnoticed. Kowalski wasn't sure if he wanted to be in Rico's position or Julien's as the royal heir mouthed at Rico's erection through the fabric.

Just as Rico arched into the touch, Kowalski palmed himself and stifled a groan into the crook of his arm and froze in horror as Julien sat up and threw a glance toward the door.***

He could see Rico say something, but his voice was so uncharacteristically soft and quiet that he couldn't make out what had been said. Whatever had been said was answered with a shake of the head and soft lingering kiss to lips that left Kowalski aching.

As the kiss broke, Julien whispered something against Rico's lips. Whatever it was prompted Rico to take Julien's hand and press it against his chest over his heart. He could see that Rico was speaking, but he could only guess what he was saying to Julien. The mood had shifted entirely and it struck Kowalski, as he watched Rico press a kiss to the back of Julien's hand as they laid together talking in hushed tones, that he had almost watched his best friend have sex and suddenly the flare of arousal and desire went out. He had intruded on an intimate moment. No. He had consciously decided to intrude on an intimate moment.

Despite how subconscious his actions had felt, Kowalski couldn't help but be ashamed of his actions and his stomach burned with regret. There was a part of him the knew exactly why he had ignored every instinct to turn away and leave the things behind closed doors alone.

Ever since Doris had pointed out that they could never work because he was already emotionally involved with someone else and ever since he had thought he had lost Rico on that mission, he hadn't been able to believe that he had in fact lost Rico, just in a way that Kowalski didn't realize he wanted him. And now as he made his way down the steps and out of The Groove, he knew that what he just saw made it real. Kowalski had lost Rico to Julien before had even managed to realize that he had wanted him.

Whoever had said that you couldn't miss something that you never had, Kowalski thought bitterly, had never fallen in love.