“It’s not my fault!” Kevin’s screeching tone said he honestly believed what he was saying, but the way Bryan seemed to be chasing him through the house said he might be deluding himself.

They sounded like thunder and Kevin’s shriek as Bryan might’ve gotten close enough to grab him said chaos was quickly incoming.

“Do you know what he did?” Kevin had done something. He might’ve thought otherwise but that didn’t make it true.

Maddox was barely holding back laughter as he shrugged, but he managed to look like a serious Dom as the troublemakers ran into my office. Kevin nearly crashed into my desk as he made a last-minute strategic shift and aimed for Maddox. “Master Maddox, I didn’t do it.”

Oh, interesting.

Should I?

Shouldn’t I?

It was a classic dilemma…let the subs tackle the Dom or save the Dom.

Whose side was I supposed to be rooting for?

Part of me said to save Maddox from being tickled and tortured because I was fairly certain I was supposed to side with the Dom, but when they were lying on top of him, wiggling and pinning him to the floor, I wasn’t so sure he wanted to be saved.

Kevin grasped that point first.

“It’s a peanut butter sandwich. Honest. I just toasted it.” Kevin looked too earnest. He sincerely believed he could claim it as a sandwich.

“That’s two slices of chocolate cake with chocolate peanut butter between them.” There was no way in hell I’d let him claim that insanity as a sandwich.

He huffed then walked over to the doorway of the kitchen and called out. “Maddox, what’s the definition of a peanut butter sandwich?”

Laughter floated through the house, but the bastard gave Kevin exactly what he wanted.

“A traditional sandwich means two slices of a bread-type substance and a peanut-based filling. With or without a jelly-ish or sweet substance like honey or a banana.” Maddox’s voice carried through the house as he got closer.

“I need your help.” Maddox’s voice coming from the shared bathroom wasn’t a surprise, but his nervousness and the fact that he’d come bearing gifts of expensive coffee and donuts was interesting.

Leaning back in my chair, I studied him. “If you were Kevin, I’d ask what you did.”

That cracked his nervousness, and he gave a rueful grin as he walked over to set the familiar white bag and cups on the desk. “I’d hold that thought if I were you.”

I couldn’t hold back a groan. “God, he’s corrupted you too.”

The troublemaker had to be contagious.

Maddox laughed as he sat down in his favorite chair and stretched his legs out. “It’s not Kevin-level trouble. It’s just potentially weird.”

“You heard that last night, right?” Bursting into Bryan’s side of the house as soon as he opened the door, I grinned when he groaned.

“And this morning.” He rolled his eyes. “You were deliberately loud this morning.”

“Because I’m the best alarm clock ever and you needed to start getting ready anyway.” We had shopping to do.

All our stuff had finally been moved into the house, but it was surprising how many random things we’d needed with so much extra space.

Especially all the bathrooms.

“When we first met, did you ever picture we’d be sitting here like this?” I tore my focus away from Kevin and Bryan in the living room and glanced over to Maddox to see his reaction.

He was shaking his head and grinning. “The only thing I was thinking when I first met you was that I was hoping you hadn’t given Bryan a heart attack and that you guys seemed insane.”

I fought to keep my laughter quiet so I didn’t disturb the Scooby-Doo fest in the living room. Bryan and Kevin were both completely worn out from their first week back at classes and Maddox and I’d both decided they needed a night in to be little and just relax.

That usually meant cartoons and subtly stealing cookies.