One, Two, Three
Chapter One
)O(
Ever since they were young, they called themselves the RRG - Richard, Raven, and Garfield. Raven had always suggested that they be called RGR instead since Garfield's name was the only one that didn't start with an 'R'. He argued that RRG fit better because she was the only girl and Richard, the eldest (though admittedly, not by much) agreed. It was one of the few times that Gar had ever outsmarted her, and he gloated about it for weeks.
They were her little princes for as long as she could remember. Smart, outspoken, bright, funny, and always quick to defend her if she needed a helping hand. Sometimes that were brash and rude and loud, but they always seemed to win her back over with those mismatched, charming smiles, and Raven could never stay mad at them for long. No, not when they pinched and teased her back into laughter..
They had both been there when she was five years old and getting bullied at the park for having practically violet hair. All three of them received matching scrapes and bruises from the basketball court's concrete floor when the two boys stepped in and she tried to stop them. But soon after that, she was the only one to receive cramps that day from laughing so hard when her boys started to beat those bullies up. Raven was a shy child, but she had to thank them, especially when those bullies couldn't even speak anymore, much less utter a teasing remark. So, she ignored the burning on her knee that she got from trying to separate them in order to thank them and she introduced herself.
"I'm Raven," she began a bit timidly, her feet shuffling as she looked down at the cement beneath her feet. "Thank you. But… you didn't have to do that. You could have really gotten hurt."
The one with blue eyes grinned. "Naw, they weren't that tough. Besides, they were being mean and that's not cool."
She picked up her head and smiled. .
The one with green eyes doubled over in a high, squeaky laughter. "Duuuuude, your hair's purple!"
Her smile fell.
Blue eyes punched him, green eyes apologized, they both introduced themselves, and that was where their story began. All three of them had been inseparable since. Raven wasn't shy for much longer after that - not when she was around those two.
They became her best friends - her boys - and they experienced everything together. Kindergarten, middle school, and high school. Crushes and relationships (good and bad). Raven's parents getting divorced, Richard's mother dying, and Gar finding out that he was adopted. Study sessions that turned into gossip sessions. Gossip sessions that turned into fights that turned into gigglefests. Stupid conversations that also turned into fights, which also turned into even funnier gigglefests.
Puberty and the pimples, mood swings, tampons (some of which ended up Gar's nose as a joke that only made Raven turn red and Richard laugh like a child), cramps (this time, not from laughing), cracked voices, teen angst, growing boobs ("Dude, when did you get those?" Punch. "That's not how we were going to ask, Gar."), hair phases, and growth spurts that came along with it. Well, growth spurts for the boys. Then, they graduated high school together and made it to college together.
They did everything together, and one night over late pizza and stale, cheap beer Gar had snuck from his parents' fridge, they decided to open up a business together, as well. A bar. Late nights, long shifts, but genuinely fun. Luckily, Richard's father was happy to support or fund anything that promoted entrepreneurism and so, he gave them the money to start it up.
At first, they took turns manning the bar station, but it soon became an unspoken decision and observation that this part of the establishment belonged to Raven. As a result, Richard would be in the kitchen with the cooks and Gar would handle the entertainment. Raven sold her fair share of drinks because there was something foreign and alluring about her, Richard was good with managing the house and knew how to make the business run well (his father's training, without a doubt), and Gar knew how to talk to people and drew them in with ease. Even though the business was small, it did well, and they all had to chuck it up to their dynamic. It was all them.
Together. Everything they went through, every plan they ever had, every dream that they could think of, they went through it all together. The three of them. RRG. That was the way that it had always been, that was the way that it was now that she and Gar were 20 and Richard was 21, and Raven didn't see it stopping any time soon.
Apparently, they didn't think the same.
"We want you."
Raven found herself struck dumb and frozen at Gar's suggestion, waiting for the other end of the sentence, such as "to close up for us" or "to let us walk you home". But nothing happened after that singular, three word sentence, and she began to realize the true implications of the words. We want you. Not, I want you or he wants you.
We want you.
The glass that she'd been cleaning slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor with a quiet crash. The crash was effective enough to snap her out of her daze and she clamped her mouth shut. Her eyes darted around, looking for any customers or employees still hanging around. It was empty, except for the two of them.
Thank goodness it was closing time. She didn't want anyone to hear this.
Professional as she was, Raven managed to push the broken glass at her feet to the back of her mind to stutter out an ever eloquent, "W-what?"
Gar acknowledged her stutter with a tiny snort and Richard offered her a smile.
"Princess," the eldest began, his voice warm over her skin in the chill of the shock. He had always called her that. Since she was the only girl, he decided that they would always be her knights in shining armor, or little prince charmings. She objected at first, but he'd already gotten used to it and by then, and so had she. "We said that we want you."
Raven swallowed and suddenly she was glad that she was standing behind the bar and they were across the counter, sitting on their stools. At least there was some semblance of space between them, whether it was real or not was left to be decided. This space, however, didn't help to alleviate any of her sudden anxiety, or subdue the loud pounding in her heart.
She swallowed again, but nodded in an attempt to seem as relaxed as they were. Then, she remembered why she was attempting to be so relaxed and it dawned on her once again: how were they so relaxed in suggesting this?! Her breathing hitched at her throat. "Wh-what do you want me to do?"
"I can think of plenty that I'd like for you to do," Gar muttered.
Richard looked at him, his eyes hooded as he pursed his lips. "Gar, be serious."
Gar nodded in apology before looking to Raven. "C'mon, Babe," he started.
That was his nickname for her. Of course, she fought harder against that one than she did against 'Princess', but Gar never was one to use his ears.
"All three of us had the talk of the birds and the bees-"
Richard reached out and smacked his arm. "I said 'be serious'!"
"I was just joking!" Gar rubbed his upper arm and pouted. "Jeeze, with you two stuffed shirts hanging around it's almost too serious in here!"
With an eye roll of his own, Richard looked back to Raven in complete understanding. He tried to look completely calm in her eyes, but there was a twitch underneath his skin, a subtle hint of excitement that ran just below his surface. It was as if every second was another second of party held only for them, and he never wanted it to end. He offered her a small, sympathetic smile. "You don't have to if you don't want to."
Gar nodded. "Totally. Or if you need some more time to think it over, we can give you that too."
Raven could only blink. Quite frankly, she was surprised that she hadn't fainted right then and there. How could they just spring this up on her and then tell her that she didn't have to do it, both without any type of explanation? They wanted her. It was not a matter of separation, it was a matter of them being… together. Unequivocally, without remorse, the three of them.
"Y-you guys have spoken about th-this?" It took all of her strength not to cover her face in mortification. She'd never stuttered so much in one sitting before. Instead, she held her head high and tried to keep her face expressionless, but Raven knew her face was hot enough to fry an egg on. Shifting her weight, she leaned forward on the bar, and forced herself to look into those two pairs of honest, bright eyes.
"Oh," she said when they nodded. "For how long?" Phew, she didn't stutter. That was one small win in this sea of disasters.
"A few months," they said together, shrugging.
This time, her heart stuttered. "Oh," she breathed out.
They wanted her for three months… for three months!? They had been planning this ambush of her sanity and sense for three months and never once gave away a hint of their attraction towards her? She wasn't sure if she should be astonished or proud that they managed to keep that information away from her for so long.
"Th-that long?"
Damn it! She was stuttering again. Just once in this conversation she wanted to look like she had herself together into some semblance of a coherent adult.
Once again, they nodded and there was a smile playing at both of their lips. Both of their stares shot downward, and Gar's smile grew brightly.
"We can totally see down your V-neck."
Richard smacked him again.
Raven blushed and pulled herself back up into a standing position, unsure if she wanted to tug the neck downward and tease them a little, or pull it back up and hold onto some semblance of modesty. She settled on crossing her arms over her chest as looking out the window to the empty street.
"Oh."
"Oh? That's all you can say?" Gar chuckled and leaned back on his stool, his teeth practically glinting like fangs in the night. "If that's all she can say when we bring up the proposition, imagine how eloquent she'll be when we're actually fu-"
"Gar." Richard's voice held a silent note of warning, and he gripped the beer bottle in his hand dangerously tight. "Don't antagonize her like that… give her space. You know better. This is a big deal and you're kinda being an ass right now."
Gar blushed and his ears fell as he looked back up at her. "Sorry, Babe. I didn't mean to upset you."
"I-It's fine." That stupid stutter.
Raven chewed on her lip and bent down to start picking up the glass that had shattered earlier. It was something normal, something basic. It was something that helped her avoid their heated stares and thin smirks, and bring her attention back on what was important: They wanted her.
It wasn't that she'd never thought about dating one of them, because she had before. Especially when they were in high school and she started to notice those broad shoulders and strong hands. She remembered nights of laying in her bed and looking at the little glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling, imagining that she was on blanket under real stars with one of them, somewhere far up in the mountains. Every night it changed.
Even in college, she had still indulged in a little fantasizing, although her fantasies had taken a decidedly less innocent turn as she grew older. Nights of hand holding underneath the stars had transformed into something a little more… sensuous, and Raven found her thoughts turning to the way those strong hands would feel on her skin as they slid under her shirt or down her-
She really didn't need to be thinking about this now. Not when they were anticipating a response from her.
She stood up and deposited the shards of glass in the wastebin. Chewing on her lower lip, she examined both of them as they stared at her expectantly. By now, both of her boys had grown up to become so handsome, each in their own way. Gar couldn't be described any other way than bright, like the sun reflecting off of the waves at the beach, his hair falling into his endless, green eyes as he laughed and teased at her. He was lithe and compact, like a gymnast or a runner, and had perfectly narrow hips that Raven often thought that her legs would look nice wrapped around them. Of course, she never told him that.
Richard was a stark contrast in comparison. His shoulders were broad, his hands callused and scarred from working on his motorcycle, and his smile was always a little bit darker. Not sad, but more like he was holding secrets in the back of his mind, far out of her reach and questions. He often would look at Raven and lift his eyebrow, never saying anything, but never looking away from her until she left his sight.
They were both different, but both beautiful in their own right, and Raven would be happy to say that either one of them was her own, but the fact remained that they were her best friends. Both of them. RRG forever, and nothing was going to separate that, certainly not romance. Although… it wasn't like only one of them wanted her. No, both of them did. At least, that was what they were telling her.
"I can't-" Her voice broke, and Raven looked away, embarrassment coloring her cheeks. "I can't just choose one of you. You're my best friends. We've been together through everything, and I don't want to lose what we have because of… well… this." She shuffled again. "It wouldn't- it wouldn't be right of me to do that to either of you."
They smiled so warmly for her then and she felt her heart stutter again. And again. And again. And again. Flashes of her innocent high school fantasies mingling with the sharp sins of her more recent ones, danced in the back of her mind, her eyes darting between them until Richard spoke.
"We're not asking you to choose between us."
Her brows knitted and she took a slow, shallow breath. "What?" Ha, no stutter that time.
Gar's smile grew and she could see that one particular canine glinting from the slight light that the dim bar provided. "We're not asking you to choose between us," he repeated casually, leaning on the bar in an attempt to steal a few inches between them. "We never wanted you to choose between us. I mean, why break up such an awesome team with stupid things like that. No, we want you."
Raven was thoroughly confused. "I don't understand."
"We want you," Richard repeated. "Together. We're choosing you. We just want you to choose us, too."
Oh.
Oh.
Oh! Hell, now even her mind was stuttering because they both wanted her for a few months, which meant that they had both been discussing this for a few months. Which meant they it was very likely that had been making plans about this for a few months. Meanwhile Raven was wiping down bars and cleaning glasses as if there was nothing this dramatic that was ever going to happen to her.
She gasped and put her hands down on the bar, eyes wide, and suddenly uncaring if either of them eyed her cleavage through her shirt. She needed a moment to pull herself together or she was going to implode under the weight.
"The three- the three of us in a relationship?" And she was back to stuttering, once again. "Toge-together?"
They nodded, they respective smirks practically playful in the silence..
"Are you-are you two...?" she left the silent question hanging between them.
They both shook their heads, but Garfield just shrugged. "Well, you and Dick always did call me…"
"Eccentric," Richard finished, rolling his eyes. "Or experimental. Whatever term you like best, Gar."
Gar just laughed and rested his chin in his hands, looking nearly innocent as he stared at her, waiting for Raven to fully understand what was happening between them. They wanted to share her? How could they be so relaxed in suggesting... This? She knew that they included each other in everything, from movie nights to camping trips they were best friends and practically inseparable. But she was not expecting... This!
She looked down to see the forgotten rag in her shaking hand balled up fist, the fabric keeping her nails from digging deep into her palm. Okay, she could handle this. This was something that if she took one day at a time, she might be able to handle. Even more than that, she would very likely enjoy it. Her eyes lifted again, and she saw those eyes looking at her, and her mind was suddenly humming with the thoughts of shoulders, and hands, and hips, and… lips. Their lips. Their lips on her.
What a fantasy indeed.
Raven had been wrong. Despite her worries about them falling apart under romance, the RRG gang wasn't going to quit anytime soon. RRG was going to be just fine. RRG was actually going to thrive.
If she agreed to this, RRG was going to flourish.
The rag fell out of her hand and she leaned forward, resting her forehead on the wood as she attempted to find her breath. Her lungs felt weak, her head felt heavy, her heart was practically racing through her entire ribcage, and through all of that, there persisted a painful, sharp feeling just below her belly button. It sat there and twisted for a moment before deepening and spreading through her veins like wildfire. It burned against her flesh as it slid lower, pooling between her legs in a silent promise.
Both of them.
They stood up with worried looks on their faces, hands reaching out to pull back her hair, or dab her neck with ice water. She was undoubtedly burning up, after all.
"Babe," Gar demanded, his hands soft but insistent on her wrist. "Babe, breathe."
Breathe? It took a minute for his words to click in her brain and for her to finally realize that she did, in fact, need to breathe because she was now hyperventilating. First, the stuttering and now she couldn't even breathe properly. Oh god, why in the world did she think she could handle this? She couldn't. This was too much. Too much. The acknowledgement of her lack of air only served to make it even harder to breathe. Frantically, she began to fan herself, her eyes pleading with them.
"I'm- I'm sorry- I'm so-sorry- I can't breathe- I can't-!"
Gar punched Richard's arm and ignored the 'Ow, Gar!'
"Dammit, pretty boy, do something! You're the one who wanted to be honest!"
Richard punched him back. "You're the one with the smarmy attitude, Gar!"
"This isn't my fault!"
"No!" Raven managed to gasp out as she looked into their face. "No… it's both of you. You're- you're not helping the situation."
"Okay, okay! We're sorry, but Raven," he began slowly, his hand tightening over her own, "don't apologize. We just need you to breathe, in and out."
"You're so-you're so- Stupid! Rich- You're so stup-stupid!" she managed to insult him through her shallow, heavy, and uneven breaths. "I'm trying!"
Gar took her other hand in his own and tightened his fingers through hers. Lifting her eyes, she choked out a quiet whimper trying to understand why in the world she just couldn't breathe. At least when she was fanning herself, she could pretend that she was giving herself some air. She could pretend that she had some semblance of control over the situation. She didn't actually have any control, but she could at least make herself believe that she did.
Richard took her chin into his grasp. "Hey, look at me. Just follow me, okay? In and out," he said before he took in a deep breath and exhaled.
"That's not helping!"
"You're not trying!"
"Shut up!" Raven snarled before taking in a shaky half-breath when he inhaled and releasing that same shaking breath when he exhaled. They repeated the process over and over until her breathing finally settled, her hands gripping both of their hands desperately as she tried to calm her mind. She didn't need to be thinking about hips or hands right now. No, right now, she needed to be thinking about how in the world she was going to get air into her lungs.
"There you go." Richard nodded in approval as her muscles started to relax and her hands started to ease up. With a chuckle, he brought the hand he was holding to his lips. "Good job. You okay, Princess? You're not going to die on us yet?"
Her breathing was prepped to start right back up again when she picked up her head and noticed how worried they looked. It wasn't like she was going to actually die, but that didn't take away from the fear that pooled in Gar's bright green eyes and Richard's icy blue ones, or the apprehension that laced within their knitted brows. Suddenly, she was very aware of how close Richard was, his hand holding her face, and how gently Gar's thumbs caressed the skin of her hand. She could practically smell their colognes mingling together and feel their heat pooling into her, creating something uniquely theirs.
With a quiet whine, Raven felt her stomach turn. "Y-yeah. I'm-I'm f- I'm fine."
Gar didn't look convinced, not even a bit. Nevertheless, he sighed with a shake of his head. "We didn't mean to scare you, Babe." He had always called her that, but this time it made her stomach flip. "If you're mad, be mad at Richard. It was his idea to bring this up to you. I told him we should wait a little longer, but noooooo…. he just had to go and tell you tonight."
Richard rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and cursed under his breath. "Damn it, Gar."
Despite how overwhelmed she felt, Raven smiled a bit, a small chuckle bubbling up into her throat. It was barely there and she wouldn't have been surprised if they couldn't see it, but she felt it. They put it there - her boys did. She tightened her fingers in their hands and slowly shook her head, swallowing the last bits of her fear and worry.
"I'm- I'm not mad."
When they looked to her, she swore that she had never been so caught off-guard by their eyes before this. It was like looking into endless pools of secrets and affection, waiting for her to come closer. They both studied her before Richard spoke first, his voice soft and low, like she was a frightened animal and he was trying to lure her out of a cage. "Princess, I applaud your bravery, but you don't have to do this if you don't want to. We just wanted to tell you."
"Yeah," Gar chimed in, his voice surprisingly serious. "We couldn't keep something like this from you… not anymore anyway."
Surprisingly, she understood. They never kept anything from each other no matter how big or small it was. This was something that needed to be shared. But still… this was big.
"Y-you two really want to share me?" Although her breathing had calmed down, her stutter had not. Nevertheless, when they laughed, she found herself entranced by how brightly Richard's eyes glowed and by that dimples on Gar's cheek. Her smile grew a tiny bit, and she felt her heart do the same… as well as that delicious feeling low in her belly.
Gar's canine glinted again as his laughs winded down into a chuckle. He leaned back a little and looked over at Richard, his expression melting from concerned to playful. "Well, when you put it that way, it doesn't sound as good as we imagined."
"No, it sounds a little bit better."
Now, it was her who finally released a quiet laugh, the sound bubbling up like broken chimes. They looked glad then, their teasing fading into relieved smiles as their hands stroked her palms. Her boys, after all, hated to see her upset.
Raven shuffled and pulled her hands back, weighing the offer in front of her with a clearer head. Could she really do this? Could she really just turn around and walk willingly into both of their arms? They were so calm about it that it didn't even seem as if it were really a question. But still, what if she had to say no? What if her heart couldn't take it?
"Would you guys still be my friends… even if I declined?"
"Of course," Richard declared. He looked insulted, but was adamant in his response. "You're our friend first and foremost, Princess. Right, Gar?"
The snort Gar released contrasted so greatly with the soft, gentle strokes he had been giving her hand only moments before. "Speak for yourself. Why would I want to continue being friends with someone who rejected me-"
Much to Raven's dismay, Richard released her face to punch Gar. "Damn it, Garfield Logan, I swear-!"
Gar shirked away from another punch. "I was kidding, dude! Jeeze, lay off me!" He looked to Raven, his expression softening as he rolled his shoulder to ease out the knot Richard had caused. "Babe, whether you want to do this or not, this is your decision and I'll respect it. You're my best friend and nothing will ever change that. I'll still be your friend. We both will."
She liked that answer. She really liked that answer. Honestly, she only asked because she just wanted to know before making a decision. They were making it harder to say 'no'.
She watched Richard reach for her hand again, his blue eyes darkening just a little as he rose the back of his other hand for her cheek. With a small hum, he drew the back of his knuckles across the swell of her cheeks, looking into her eyes. Raven was so distracted by the silent promises held in his stare, that she didn't realize Gar had brought her hand to his lips, and was currently kissing the tips of her fingers. He nipped at the flesh and Raven looked down at him, just in time to watch his take her thumb into his mouth, swirling his tongue over her.
Oh.
That pool of heat in her stomach suddenly burned into an inferno that threatened to consume her very soul. They just smiled those lopsided, secretive smirks at her and slowly inched into her space, ignoring her slow shifts under their stare. Raven thought that her boys were trouble before, but nothing that they had ever done before could ever compare to this… this… sin.
Richard leaned forward slowly and he nipped at her lower lip, sucking it between his teeth before releasing it with a smile. Raven thought her heart might possibly fall out of her chest and onto the floor, but Gar moved in and kissed along her jaw with quick, innocent kisses. Raven's eyes fluttered and she took a slow step back, hoping to hold onto her sanity before she collapsed under the weight of their emotions again. If they kept doing this, she wouldn't be able to keep herself together.
Gar nibbled at her ear and Richard kissed her lower lip again, but they both seemed to catch the hint, and pulled back before Raven's lungs had a chance to give out. With their dark stares watching her from behind their eyelashes, they waited patiently for any kind of response.
"I'll think about it." She felt a surge of pride run through her because she managed not to stutter that time.
With a dual nod, they both pulled back brought her hands up to their lips to place a surprisingly innocent kiss onto each one.
"Take your time," they told her with smiles.
She knew that many women would love to be in her position right now. Many of those same women would accept their offer in a heartbeat and rush to the closest (and probably cheapest) bedroom that they could find. But, together, they chose her. They would take such good care of her - she knew that they would because they always had. She knew how lucky she was, but they were still her best friends.
These were still her boys.
Raven returned the nod with a growing smile despite her sudden nervousness.
She was in so much trouble.
)O(
HELLO FRIENDS!
This story was written originally by the incredibly talented and wonderful D.T. Mars, and she was kind enough to let me adopt it. I am editing the original chapters (so that they flow a bit better with my own style), and plan to have a new chapter up in a few days. I hope I don't disappoint.
My cover art was designed by Megaira,because she is spectacular.
Thanks for being awesome, friends.