#fishpope

You tried to tell him that it wasn't. After all, you got your glasses when you were just a kid, so it wasn't like it actually had anything to do with how old he is, but that wasn't really the root of the problem and you all knew it. Santi had done his best to point out that he could just get contacts instead, but that hadn't helped either. If anything, it made the situation worse.

"Frankie, please," you whisper, voice straining. "The doctor wouldn't prescribe something you don't need and plus," you point out, leaning your head on your hand, "you asked me to turn the volume up on the TV last week because you couldn't read the captions."

It was meant to be funny, but he doesn't laugh, his eyes still closed, and another glance at Santi tells you that perhaps this time it isn't your battle to fight. It was like that, sometimes, with any of the four who returned largely unscathed from Columbia, but especially between Santi and Frankie. An invisible connection that had bonded them in ways you'd never really be able to understand.

There's the scrape of a chair as the younger man sits, his hands immediately reaching for Frankie's. He tucks them neatly between his, so much like the way Frankie holds yours that you wonder if that's where he picked it up. "Fish, you know..." Santi starts, but he's quickly cut off.

"I'm not wearing them," he insists, pulling away abruptly. He moves to the living room, his glasses abandoned on the table.

You let Santi go first, massaging your temple before you follow. Frankie's already on the couch, his head in his hands, and his friend moves toward him immediately. You, however, step in a different direction, your feet carrying you toward the stairs. There's a part of you that wants to give them privacy, but there's also the tether that binds you to him, the one that has you concerned enough this time that you want to keep your gaze on him. The same worry that you've felt so many times throughout your relationship and one so similar to a feeling you know Santiago shares. It's enough for you to compromise, settling yourself on the steps with your arms wrapped around your knees as you watch.

"Francisco," Santi whispers as he sits beside him, "listen to me. We can't just stop living because he's gone."

Your boyfriend doesn't say anything, but you know he's listening by the way his head droops just a bit further down, his palms pressed against his eyes. You want more than anything to hold him right now, to wipe away the tears that are likely threatening to fall, but then you see Santi move again, his hands firm on Frankie's shoulders as he draws him into his arms.

It's slow and it's intentional, the way Santi settles against Frankie's head, pressing a kiss to his forehead as your boyfriend presses against his chest. He curls into him until there's barely a breath between their bodies, and your heart flutters at the sight because it's beautiful, really, the way they cling to one another.

You mentally take a picture before quietly finding your way upstairs, your soul suddenly settled with the knowledge that he's okay. That Santiago will take care of him the way he always has.

And when Frankie appears in the kitchen the next morning with his glasses on, it's all you can do to press a kiss to his cheek and send a text to Santiago.

Thank you.

His response comes instantly.

Fandom: Triple Frontier (2019)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Series: Part 6 of YOTP 25

Relationships: Santiago "Pope" Garcia/Ben Miller/William "Ironhead" Miller/Francisco "Catfish" Morales, Santiago "Pope" Garcia/Ben Miller/William "Ironhead" Miller/Francisco "Catfish" Morales/Tom "Redfly" Davis, Tom "Redfly" Davis/William "Ironhead" Miller, Santiago "Pope" Garcia/William "Ironhead" Miller, Santiago "Pope" Garcia/Ben Miller/Francisco "Catfish" Morales, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Everyone/Everyone, Everyone & Everyone, Ben Miller/Francisco "Catfish" Morales

Characters: Ben Miller (Triple Frontier), Francisco "Catfish" Morales, Santiago "Pope" Garcia, Tom "Redfly" Davis, William "Ironhead" Miller, Background & Cameo Characters

Additional Tags:

Polyamory,

Alternate Universe - Reincarnation,

Alternate Universe - Soulmates,

Romantic Soulmates,

Platonic Soulmates,

Destined to meet in every life,

pre-divorce,

Cuddling & Snuggling,

Suggestive Themes, (It's brief and nothing explicit really happens so it just doesn't really feel worth tagging beyond that),

Alternate Universe,

Tags May Change, Tags Are Hard,

Mutual Pining,

(It's full OT5 but the individual ships are just to highlight focused-on pairings that appear),

no beta we die like lorea,

Year of the OTP Event 2025,

Prompt Fic,

(everyone is together but redfly isnt part of it romantically yet),