when rain went to the tea party at adrianus' house, jim was the one pouring the tea, all exactly according to adrianus' orders. he was dressed nicely, like a waiter or a butler, with a white button-up, a tie, a black waistcoat, and dress pants.

she knew jim didn't mind dressing up sometimes, but she definitely got the impression that this was something adrianus chose for him.

it wasn't the first time she'd come to hang out with both of them since they'd started dating. she was glad they'd invited her along so often, not just because she liked both of them and didn't want to feel left out... but also because she was kind of curious about their relationship. not that she was trying to be nosy, or anything. it just felt like they'd gotten together so suddenly, and jim wasn't someone who usually rushed into things like that.

"very good, jim," adrianus said when he was done serving everyone. "you can sit down, now."

he sat down next to adrianus, his posture and movements so weirdly perfect, even for him. for all he'd told her about how she should try to sit up straighter, and all the stretches he did for his spine, he still did have a tendency to slouch a little sometimes.

adrianus placed a hand on his shoulder, but they looked to rain. "he's quite a good subject, isn't he?"

she glanced over to jim's face. he didn't look as embarrassed as she'd expect, although he still didn't make eye contact with her.

"it... it seems like it," she said. "well, not that i really know anything about that..."

"he goes into trance easily, and takes to his training well," they said, still rubbing his shoulder. "and he's very serious and eager to serve, even outside of trance. isn't that right, jim?"

he nodded, his face slightly redder, but his expression didn't change.

"that's it. very good."

they finally took their hand off of him, having a sip of their tea, as jim watched them.

"it's perfect," they said.

"that's good," jim muttered, before having some of his own tea.

rain supposed she should have some of hers, too, instead of just sitting and staring at both of them.

jim was focused on her now. "does it have the right amount of milk and sugar?"

"it does," she said quickly.

it made her nervous, to feel his attention. not in a bad way, exactly. it was just different from usual. sometimes she'd catch glimpses of this kind of seriousness from him... but when he was like this, with adrianus... specifically when he was serving them like this... it was like he was always laser focused on something, like nothing else mattered. and when that was directed at her, even for a second, it was so intense that she almost didn't know what to do about it.

"let me know if you do need anything," jim said.

"i think i'm good for right now... but, thank you."

she realized adrianus had also been looking at her. that was the thing about sitting across from them... they would both just look at her. well, of course they would, they were talking... but feeling both of their gazes on her at once made her heart pound sometimes.

"you really don't need to hesitate to ask for whatever you'd like, rain," adrianus said gently.

the words struck her in a weird way, like they weren't just talking about the tea party. something tugged at her.

"it can be anything," jim said, again with that total and almost uncanny seriousness.

the atmosphere changed so quickly. she felt like she was in some crazy dating sim game or something.

"i- i really am fine," she said quietly. "what do you mean... anything...? like... i mean, you can't actually be saying that i can ask for... literally anything..."

their stares bore into her.

"is there something you're thinking of," adrianus said slowly, "that you just aren't saying, because you think you shouldn't?"

well, there wasn't anything normal that she was thinking she wanted.

"there's no need to hold back," jim said.

she took another sip of her tea, just to give her another second to think about how to respond.

"you don't have to think about it," jim added.

could he read minds?! it was such a weird thing for anyone to say in this kind of situation, anyway.

still, an odd sense of calm came over her out of nowhere. "i, um... i'd like to be hypnotized..."

that wasn't even one of the things that she'd been thinking about, but it slipped out, completely automatically.

neither of them seemed surprised by that answer, though. they both just stood up, stepping over to her, one of them on each side. adrianus gently pet her head, leaning close to her ear.

"welcome back, sweetheart," they murmured.

it came back to her. she'd been hypnotized by adrianus before. she'd been dating them before.

she leaned into their touch, warmth and love flooding through her.

"that's it... were you alright without me?"

"i was fine... well, i still got to see you, anyway... but i'm glad to be back..."

she had almost forgot about jim for a moment. blood rushed to her face as she turned to him.

"but... jim... um..."

"jim can join us, if you'd like," adrianus whispered. "you like him, too, don't you?"

"if- if it's fine with him..."

"it is fine," he said. "if it's fine with you..."

"there's no need for either of you to be so shy," adrianus murmured. "you've both wanted this... it's alright. and i have no complaints, myself... i'm fond of both of you."

she'd already felt so spoiled, even just being with adrianus... she didn't know what she was going to do with both of them. she'd had a crush on jim for so long...

jim held her hand, very gently. his breath was a little heavy.

"i'm... i'm sorry for not trusting your relationship... i know you had to be away from them for a while, and we didn't even ask you about it..."

"it really is alright," she said. "i mean, i let them make decisions like that... i really like... that kind of control... i guess it was kind of exciting. and it was kind of exciting to see you two together... you... you really like them, too?"

"i do," he said. "i like both of you..."

"kiss her hand, jim," adrianus said.

he slowly lifted her hand, his own hand almost moving like it was being pulled by a string, before gently pressing his lips to it.

it was such a little tender, romantic gesture, but the whole situation put her mind in a frenzy. he was so handsome like that, and there was something about the way he obeyed, something about adrianus controlling it... like they were both their dolls who they were playing with and pushing together.

all three of them being together was going to more than make up for the time she spent away from adrianus.