Mable: Hello everyone! This is a request fic for 'Random Person', a guest requester. XD Who is, I suppose, literally a random person. I hope you enjoy it regardless, my requester! I don't own 9, Enjoy!

When Having to Choose

Things had become extremely complicated after the Machine War in the most unexpected of ways.

The Stitchpunks were now all living in the Library together, trying to rebuild a home and a family. So far it had been working out well. One had calmed down, Eight helped the twins move heavy objects, Two had regained the ability to walk again, and Six had even started drawing things other than the talisman. Everything had seemed like it was going in the right direction for the Stitchpunks. Seven had even learned to relax and settle down more.

Unfortunately, there was one issue that was starting to grow into a big problem. As luck would have it, Seven was involved with it as well, and this was almost entirely reluctantly. In a way it was partially Seven's fault; she had known long ago that Five pined for her and saw the signs that Nine was doing it too. Yet Seven was reluctant to get involved in a relationship with anyone. It had seemed so confining, so risky, so she had not dealt with either. Now she was a different Stitchpunk, she was more comfortable with the idea, but the damage was done.

Or, more specifically, Nine and Five were starting to compete over her. She knew it immediately; suddenly both Nine and Five were too willing to tag along on a scouting mission, too ready to help move things that she could move herself, and always one would chime in after the other. At first it was childishly innocent, but it was starting to become more heated, and Seven had a suspicion why. It had been an incident that had alerted her to just how complex this. It had been when the three of them were out scouting.

Long story short; Nine and Five bickered about whether or not Nine should try to hop across a ditch. If they had been alone Seven suspected that the bickering wouldn't have even been present. However, Nine was determined and flung himself over said ditch, clearly trying to impress Seven. That is, until he plummeted into the ditch and twisted his arm. Five was on his side in a second; checking his arm and fussing over him. As what tended to follow injuries, Nine broke into apologies, Five as well, and they hugged to make up.

It was during this brief time that Seven realized there was clearly something going on between Nine and Five. She had never noticed it before, but when she wasn't in the picture the two tended to be rather affectionate. Hugs, warm smiles, and compliments were only few of the things shared. Seven still hadn't stepped in, not realizing that this was all a recipe for disaster until it was too late. Just the night before, Nine and Five, being such good and affectionate friends, had finally decided to sit down and discuss the situation like adults.

There had been no arguing, just some awkwardness and a chuckling here and there. They then came to an agreement to salvage their friendship. They would ask Seven who she wanted to be with and let her decide. This seemed like a fine situation, and would have been if Seven herself wasn't so indecisive. She had overheard the conversation and by time they were hugging again, she knew she would be stuck with a difficult choice. Realistically she only had three options and didn't consider asking for more time one of them. She couldn't put this off.

The first option was choosing Nine. Nine was friendly, outgoing, brave; he would be good to scout with and was great at making decisions on the fly. However, Nine could be headstrong and reckless, which was a trait Seven also shared and didn't believe was a good one to share. The second option was choosing Five. Five was warm, patient, down-to-Earth; he was an excellent healer and would be good to come home to. However, even with Five regaining more of a backbone, Five was still rather timid and didn't enjoy scouting as much.

Option three was to turn both down and hope that they get into a relationship. As selfish as it was, Seven didn't want to make this decision. They would be happy, yes, but she would be alone. Recently Seven herself had been imagining the prospect of having a mate. It was probably spurred on by the couples forming it the Sanctuary; Two clearly forgave One a bit too fast and Six was spending a few too many nights in Eight's room. It only made this more complicated. Seven didn't like the feeling of being trapped in a decision that would ultimately alienate one of them.

But she accepted it. So when Nine and Five finally asked to talk to her, stepping into her room, she agreed without hesitation. She would just have to make her choice as it came. "Seven, we… We both are interested in you," Nine admitted and rubbed his neck.

"And you've probably noticed it." Five chimed in with an awkward chuckle, "Yeah, these last couple of weeks have been a little… Out of character for us."

Seven couldn't resist a tiny smile, "I think I noticed something."

Both were awkward in their own way; Nine's hands kept moving while Five wrung his. "So we were just… Wondering if you were, you know, interested in one of us," Five offered and gestured between them both.

Nine nodded in agreement, then raised his hands dismissively, "But it's your decision. Five and I already talked it over and, no matter who you pick, we're all going to stay friends. It's really no pressure." In their own way, both was equally adorable. Both were perfect candidates to be her romantic partner.

"I'm glad that you did that. There's no point in unneeded drama," Seven responded. She let a small sigh slip, briefly revealing her uncertainty. "Just give me a moment."

Both nodded and chimed in. Nine with, "Of course," and Five with, "Take your time." For a few seconds Seven was completely unsure what to do. Every option had its downsides and led to someone being singled out. With the Stitchpunks' numbers as well, it was unlikely that the odd Stitchpunk would get another chance at having a mate. It was the sad realization from having so few Stitchpunks. It was almost too much to deal with and Seven tried to think of a way out.

Then it suddenly hit her. Her face brightened, she perked a bit, and she faced the two males with a confident smile. "Who says we have to make a choice?"

Nine and Five didn't seem to catch on at first. Nine gave a confused, "What do you mean?" while Five just looked perplexed.

To Seven, the idea seemed absolutely perfect. "You both are attracted to me, right? You said so yourself. But I know for a fact that I am not the only one that either of you love."

A blush hit Five's face immediately while Nine seemed to have not caught on. "T-That's not, we're just-," Five stuttered out in embarrassment, as though he did something wrong.

Seven was out to prove that this wasn't the case. "I see how you two are around each other," the warrior pointed out. "You're not just friends. I've seen how you take care of each other, how much you worry about each other, and I know there's something more going on."

Nine looked towards Five in surprise and the healer shockingly murmured a confession. "I…Yeah… I noticed that…" Five also noticed Nine staring and blushed harder. His face glowed with his green soul and he quietly added in, "I don't know. I just-… I know I care a lot about you too, Nine."

"Me too, Five," Nine gave a small smile. It was a little lopsided, a little awkward, and then he looked back towards Seven. "But I don't really understand, Seven."

The pale female was glad to explain the situation, "What says that there has to be a couple? Yes, it's traditional, but we could change that. What if… All three of us were together?"

Five looked flabbergasted, "What? But- But that's- One would-!"

Seven interrupted him, "Don't worry about what One thinks, Five. You've worried too much about what One thinks in your life." She reached out slowly and cupped his cheek, brushing his patch. "What about you, Five? Knowing that both Nine and I love you, who would you choose?"

Five still sputtered, "Nobody said-!" He looked between them both. Seven was clearly being honest and Nine wasn't arguing. "I… I don't know…" Now they both looked to Nine, silently asking the same question.

The zippered male looked between the two of them and then finally made a decision, "I don't either. I-I thought I was sure, but if we're really honest then I do feel something for you, Five." They were now both filled with doubt.

This wasn't exactly Seven's intention, but she could work with it, and she turned to smile at Nine. "Both of you have so many wonderful things about you, and for some reason you feel the same way about me. Why must we choose?"

It was now Nine who was questioning it. However, his was more from his own curiosity and from his lack of knowledge on the subject. "Why… Hasn't there been any three person couples before, though?" Seven decided to completely ignore human relations and stick strictly to Stitchpunks.

"Because neither One nor Eight are the kind to share," she responded with a somewhat coy smile. Five gave a light snicker at the comment. "I don't want to do this if you two aren't certain, and I don't want to complicate things if it will hurt you, but I think that this is the best outcome for the three of us… I really want this," Seven admitted to the two of them. It embarrassed her to show so much weakness about the situation, but she knew she couldn't hide it. Instead she waited for one of them to react.

This just happened to be Nine. He gained a determined look and gave a nod, "Then let's do it. There's no reason we can't, right?" He sent a more amused smile to Five, "What could One do? Ban us from seeing one another? It's not like that would work. All we have to do is suggest this thing between him and Two and he vanishes."

This caused Five's blush to return in full. Even he was a bit bashful thinking about his mentor being in a romantic relationship. He then noticed that Nine and Seven were staring at him. "It's, uh, my turn, isn't it?" He awkwardly shuffled in his spot, blushing heavily. Everything was extremely complicated to him and he was torn down the middle. "I… I don't know… I-Uh," he cut off as Nine's hand rested on his shoulder. It affectionately squeezed his fabric. "I mean, I want to, but I… I really don't know," Five admitted sheepishly.

"If we all want this then let's just… Let's just go for it!" Nine insisted with a giddy smile.

Seven nodded and agreed, "If it doesn't work out then we're not stuck, right? Let's just try this out. There's no risk."

Now Five seemed more convinced and gave a more present smile, "I… Okay. Let's try this." A few seconds passed, "…So what do we do?"

It didn't take Seven long to go with the flow. She sat down on her bed, "Sit with me. We'll… Figure out what's next later. For now, let's just stay together."

While Five was still hesitant, Nine stepped closer, "Sounds good to me." He lightly stumbled over Seven's foot but managed to fall on the bed in the sitting position. He got a rather goofy smile afterwards, but he didn't land himself sprawled across Seven's lap like in the past. Seven lightly laughed and reached out to cup his cheek, bringing him closer and nuzzling their foreheads together. Her helmet was pushed back and she coaxed it along. Eventually Five shuffled in a little and took the helmet off for Seven.

He then held it awkwardly, watching as Nine caressed the back of Seven's head. He eagerly traced the fabric that was so frequently covered by the helmet. "I… I always thought you were amazingly bold, but I never expected you were this bold," Nine playfully pointed out.

A slight smirk edged onto his lips, but faded away quickly as he kissed her on the forehead. "Let's just say I'm not afraid of trying new things. If I'm not afraid of Beasts, why would I be afraid of you and Five?" She sent her own look of playfulness, getting an immediate chuckle of a response. Five gave an awkward chuckle too, but still wasn't directly involved. He simply stood there and watched. Nine caressed over her back, tracing the remnants of her number with loving caresses. It only nudged Seven further.

She felt her own needs returning with vengeance and traced down Nine's zipper. She wanted more, but wasn't sure if she was ready to soul bond just yet. Her mind turned to more physical ways of expressing love. Because of this, she moved her hand away from Nine's zipper and instead moved it down to stroke over Nine's thigh. The younger male inhaled sharply, but responded positively. He needed it just as much and returned her need by lifting her face and meeting their lips together. The kiss was smooth, warm, and unrestrained.

Nine's lips were rougher, but his burlap also felt warmer. They separated soon afterwards and exchanged eager smiles. This was good. This felt good. However, something was missing, and they separated to look over at Five. Five was blushing even harder than before. His mouth was agape, his pupil was narrowed, and he shyly continued to watch from the side. As he saw them looking over, he quietly added in, "Don't worry about me! I'm just, uh… Just over here."

Seven raised a stitched brow in amusement and Nine chimed in, "Then why don't you just come over here?" The playfulness continued and seemed to help the healer get more relaxed. He sat on the edge of the bed. Seeing this, Nine moved to the other side of Seven to be closer to Five. He reached out and rested a hand on the one-eyed male's back. He coaxed him closer to them, affectionately moving in to hug him. Seven watched Nine comfort Five, feeling the warm continue to swell inside. Even though she was just watching, she still felt like part of it, and felt no disappointment in sitting aside to let Nine work with Five.

"It's just so weird. I feel so weird," Five admitted as Nine cupped over his patch, tracing along the stitches.

"I do too," Nine admitted. "…But I like it." His smile became more lopsided, clumsier, and then he boldly moved in to kiss Five. The buttoned male gasped into the kiss, but didn't pull back or push him away. He almost immediately relaxed into it. Nine held him close and continued the loving kiss as long as he could, wanting to convince Five through his actions to stay. Seven caressed over Nine's back and traced his number as he had to hers. Finally, the kiss was relented so that Nine and Five could get air.

"Wow…" Five gasped out. Nine continued to smile, now blushing as well.

This was when Seven tapped his shoulder, "I know you're getting a little distracted, Nine, but I'd like a turn with Five." Her tone was playful and as he shifted against the wall she scooted beside him. She reached out to take Five into an affectionate embrace, "We don't want you feeling like a third wheel, now do we?" She kissed his patch and rested her hands on his shoulders, lightly massaging them.

He slid his arms around her lower waist and hugged her closer to him. He was finally starting to lose himself to it and both Seven and Nine were pleased to see it. Nine, meanwhile, had moved to start kissing around Seven's neck. Seven gave a soft sigh against his patch and shifted closer. Her legs were folded on the bed so he wasn't in much control of them. She hadn't intentionally moved her knee between Five's in the way she did, but the response was immediate. Seven knew what she felt and Five responded by jumping back out of the way.

He scrambled to cover himself with the blanket, "Maybe this isn't a good idea! I-I mean we were just, we just decided to become this, so maybe we should wait?" Seven knew exactly why he was flustered. His true feelings on the touches could be felt in the obvious firmness under his fabric. Five had never been touched before, never tried something this intimate, so it only made sense that his body would react how it did.

Nine didn't see what happened and, thus, had no idea what was going on. "Five, what's wrong?"

"It's just, you know, so fast, and I-I just…" Five sputtered further.

It was now that Seven spoke up, "Five, it's nothing to be ashamed of. You're a healer, Five, you know that this is nothing to be ashamed of."

Five nearly glanced down, but stopped himself. "I…" he exhaled wearily. "I know, I just… This is just… Just really embarrassing. Nine's not- and you're not- Oh Creator, don't think it- it wasn't from me watching you!" Nine was starting to catch on and Seven gave a small chuckle, one of good nature. Trying to show that she thought nothing poorly of him.

"Even if it was, if there anything wrong with that? I mean, we're all mates now…" Seven suggested to him. He stood there, considering this, and then slowly sat down again. The blanket remained on him, though.

It was around now that Nine caught on and then he was starting to become a little hesitant. "Uh, I should probably forewarn you both that I…" He raised his hands almost defensively, getting an awkward smile, "Am going completely off of guessing. I have no idea how we mate or anything like that. You know, physically."

As though Five couldn't look any more bashful. Seven looked to him briefly, though, and the healer decided to force himself to explain. After all, Two had taught him about it before most of the others. "Well, there's actually two different ways to mate. The first- uh…" He cut off as Seven stood and switched places with Nine, putting him closer to Five. "The first is Soul Bonding, where Stitchpunks has their souls… Bond… But that's pretty- it's pretty serious. The other way is more physical and, uh, yeah…" He subconsciously pressed the blanket between his legs tighter.

Nine took a moment to process this. "Oh, so that's… Oh Five, you don't have to be embarrassed-."

"Nine-."

"No, listen to me! It's nothing to be ashamed of. Especially when we're… You know." Nine put an arm around Five and tugged him in closer. Five responded well to the touch and started to let his doubts slip again, embracing Nine affectionately. Noticing that Seven was notably left out again, Nine now focused on her, kissing her once again. She was feeling her need starting to grow and let impatience overtake her a little more firmly. She pressed her body further against Nine's, pressing their hips together. She could feel that he too was starting to become aroused.

With a purr of delight, she lightly ground against him, coaxing him further. Neither of them could hold back from the temptation. "Are we- Are we really doing this?" Seven asked now. She wasn't uncertain or doubtful, but she needed their reassurance. She needed Nine and Five to be the ones who were confident.

Nine accepted the challenge, "Yeah… I think we are… How do we…?" Five silently reached forward to stroke over Nine's hip. He knew that if he didn't make his presence known he would be left behind. He reached around Nine's body and traced his zipper track with his fingers. Nine gasped at the sensation and Seven leaned back against her pillow to watch them. Taking ahold of his zipper pull, Five slowly tugged Nine open and revealed his inner metals.

Seven hadn't seen them, but Five had frequently worked on him and did medical checkups, so he knew how everything was placed. He knew that, pressed against his back, Nine could feel Five's own arousal against his backside. Yet Five didn't move aside. Instead, he focused on opening Nine. Nine's rod slid out into the open and Five moved back to massaging Nine's hips again.

"Just, uh… Just trying to make you more comfortable," Five managed to choke out. The younger male turned his head to briefly press back against him, in a motion full of affection. After this, Nine turned to Seven, looking down at her with arousal in his optics. She knew he could see her arousal; Five could to if he would look upwards from his embarrassed gaze at Nine's back. The zippered male moved in closer and Seven eagerly hooked her arms around him, moving him closer.

"Five, why don't we… Show Nine how we do this?" she offered in invitation. This seemed to snap Five into gear and he moved tighter against Nine's back, kissing along his shoulder and neck. Nine, meanwhile, moved Seven in just a little closer, holding her by the hips and guiding her.

"I think I… I know what I'm supposed to do…" Nine was now the one who was more sheepish, but Seven still felt his rod press against her cylinder. She gave a suppressed groan at the sensation and tried to hold back from pressing herself further onto him. "Are you sure?" Nine asked her, kissing her pale cheek.

Seven nodded in clear agreement, "Yes. Go on." Nine didn't have to be told twice. Slowly he started to push into Seven's heat. The Warrior had expected a little pain, but the sensation of being penetrated for the first time was more uncomfortable than painful. It was more tight than she expected, but Nine was moving slow and she trusted herself to adjust to the new sensation inside her. He slowly moved in until he was fully concealed, panting as he waited for some sort of answer.

"Keep going," Seven muttered through a tightened mouth. He nodded and slid back, somewhat coaxed by Five's hands which were still on his hips. It occurred to both Nine and Seven that Five was not being equally tended to, but the Healer was not complaining. As Nine slid out and started to press back in, Five pressed firmer against his back, lightly grinding his eager rod against the softer portion of his backside. Seven gasped as Nine slid in a little faster.

"Was that- Did that hurt?" Nine asked with concern, his voice filled with his own pleasure.

"No," Seven choked out. "No, it was… It was something different; keep going. I want to feel more." Nine didn't argue or protest in the slightest and continued to thrust into Seven. Every time he pulled back he would press into Five, who now had his face buried in Nine's shoulder. The thrusting grew a little faster as Seven relaxed more, letting Nine enter faster. Her hands gripped at Nine's shoulders and she eagerly moved back against him. Five held his hips and continued to grind against his backside.

Between them both, Nine soon realized that he didn't have much control of the situation. Seven and Five were fully overtaking him and he was simply going along with it. As much as he shouldn't have been, he felt a sort of eagerness at this. Something about giving away more control only made it feel better. It didn't take him long to feel the pressure growing in his lower area. He didn't understand the sensation, but could only gasp and groan as the pleasure tightened around him. It was starting to drag him down as his hips trembled between his two mates.

It was Seven who pushed Nine to the breaking point. She seemingly decided at that moment to go a little faster and tightened her cylinder around his rod. He didn't even expect what happened. It was as though the pressure got more and more great until it abruptly burst. Nine couldn't even stop it as he frantically thrust a few more times, calling out in ecstasy as it all seemed to suddenly hit a white-hot end. It was only once Nine was coming down, his head numb and his body relaxing, that the same thing overtook Seven.

Nine pressed his lips to hers as she rode out her own climax. She tried to return the kiss, but she was obviously more distracted by the physical reaction. It is now that Nine realizes that only one of them has not hit some sort of end. Naturally it is Five, who wasn't engaging in something like the other two were. It only made sense that it would take him longer, but even at this pace his was becoming slightly erratic. Nine reached back to hold Five closer, grasping onto his backside unintentionally, and tried to rub back against him. Trying to give Five just a little more.

This seemed to help as Five gave a moan of pleasure and thrusted a little harder. It was strange to feel an object just like his own rubbing against him. Nine squeezed Five's backside a bit more firmly; he had always wondered if it was as soft as it looked, but never dared to even think of it for more than a second. He was more than thrilled to feel that Five was much plusher than he could've imagined.

It was then that Five suddenly hit his end. He gave a cry against Nine's burlap as something wet spilled out of him. Nine hadn't noticed the fluid exit him since he had been so lost in his pleasure. A short wave of embarrassment overtook him from the thought. Exhausted, Five dragged himself back and leaned against the wall. Seven was still laying back on the pillow, having watched Nine and Five's short display.

The zippered male was also exhausted and, after seeing that she left them enough room to do so, laid down beside her on the bed. He then boldly reached to grab Five's wrist, coaxing him to lay down alongside them. The Healer was smiling a bit shyly as he laid down between Nine and the wall.

"That's was… That was just- I don't even know what to call that!" Nine admitted in amazement as he stretched out on the bed.

"Yeah, it was… It- Yeah, wow…" Five was still a little too flustered to speak. He had turned to face the wall, but didn't sound disappointed or upset. More so he seemed to be embarrassed about his own portion of the behavior.

Seven reached over Nine and laid her hand on his shoulder, attempting to turn him over. "Come on, Five. Don't hide from us now."

"I-I'm not hiding!" Five responded, both amused and meek in the same sentence. Nine and Seven both knew better.

Nine slid an arm underneath him, holding him in a one-armed hug, and then looked to Seven. "So this is what being mates is like… It's not what I was expecting. It's much better than I was expecting," he joked playfully. This got a snicker out of Seven and a light chuckle out of Five.

"There's some other things, of course, but considering we handled this so well I don't see it being a problem," Seven explained, rolling on her belly and laying against Nine's chest.

"…Yeah, but maybe not tonight," Five added in matter-of-factly.

This got an immediate laugh out of Nine who pulled him closer to the two of them. "I don't know, Five. You didn't get as much attention as we did. Maybe we should try again and make sure you get the focus," Nine suggested. While he was being playfully flirty, both Seven and Five could detect honesty in his voice.

Seven gave in as well, "He's right, Love. You deserve a little more two on one time." The glow on Five's cheeks was brighter than ever before. There would certainly be another night, but not tonight. They had all the time in the world now that they were together. "Uh, I-I think we should get a little rest before we, uh, before it- You know."

Nine agreed and Seven sighed, "So I suppose this means no convincing you two to go scouting with me?" She was still teasing, but perhaps there was a little honesty in her voice as well. Scouting was going to be different from now on. She was going to have two people who she needed to be there for.

"Maybe after we rest a little? I wouldn't mind going out for a little while," Nine suggested with an affectionate smile. He looked to Five to double check, "What do you think, Five? Sounds good?" Five quietly agreed, still somewhat meek from the whole affair. Seven watched them with contentment in her optics.

Everything was going to be different, but this was their choice. Seeing Nine's soft chuckle and Five's shy smile, Seven knew she made the right one.

FIN

Mable: I had a lot of trouble ending this, so I tried my best to come to a resolution. I may add a second chapter or write a sequel to add a more satisfying ending later. XD For now, I'm still overflowing with requests, so I need to get on those right away! I hope you enjoyed!