Triple Threat
Prologue

Things were getting out of hand, I knew. It was time we settled this.

My hands twisted nervously in the skirt of my dress. Even in the cool air of the restaurant, my underarms were beginning to sweat – the way they always did whenever I was anxious – and my bare legs were sticking uncomfortably to my seat. I shifted, then glanced towards the door when I heard the bell above it tinkle a soft welcome.

Two forms appeared in the doorway, cast into shadow by the sun behind them. At a distance, it was impossible to make out the new arrivals' features, but I knew who they were anyway. My stomach clenched, especially when they moved into restaurant's soft ambient light and I caught sight of their expressions: irritated, aggressive, competitive.

This was not going to be an easy task.

They spotted me at the same time and headed for my table. I'm not sure if they realized it, but they moved in sync, their strides perfectly matched in length and speed. They reached me at exactly the same moment, but take the seats that had been prepared for them, choosing instead to glare at each other. You could practically hear the sparks crackling as their heated gazes met.

"Sit down," I said hurriedly, flapping my hands at them. One last challenging stare, a simultaneous huff, and they pulled out their chairs and sat down. Then their gazes were directed towards me, and I had to fight the sudden urge to shrink back and look as small as possible. I'd specifically chosen this table – a round one, with three chairs placed at regular intervals – so that we would all appear to be on equal footing, but it appeared that emulating King Arthur and his knights was not going too well for me.

For starters, I was going to need a bigger sword.

I forced myself to straighten my spine and sat up as tall as I could. Of course, when you're five-feet three-inches like I am, "as tall as you can" is not very tall at all. But, as Selena likes to say, it's not about how much you've got; it's how you use it. I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin, meeting their gazes as steadily as I could.

"Alright," the young man on my left said huffily. "Tell us why you called both of us here at the same time."

"I wanted to talk. About our…situation."

I was starting to lose my resolve a little; from the looks of things, neither of them really wanted to talk about anything, least of all that sensitive issue. The young man on my right rolled his eyes.

"I doubt that the three of us talking is going to resolve anything."

"Yeah," the other agreed hotly. "We've talked and talked, and so far, we've gotten nowhere. Right now, it all comes down to you. You're the one that needs to choose."

I bit my lower lip, hard. "I do?"

"Yes," the one on the right affirmed. His tone was cool, but I could feel the barely repressed tension raging just under the surface.

"But I can't," I groaned, dropping my face into my hands. "Look, it's really not fair of you guys to make me do this. Can't you see that I like you both equally?"

"Well," the one on the left said, with an air of finality, "if you can't choose – "

"There's no use in us being here," the other finished. They both stood, preparing to leave.

I panicked. This was not going quite the way I'd planned. "Wait!" I cried, flailing my arms out at both of them. Somehow – and I have no idea how – I managed to grab one of each of their hands in mine, stopping them from leaving. Both of them halted, and we stayed frozen in that position for a moment. I could feel both their heartbeats pulsing against my skin, oddly synced, until everything just seemed like one rhythmic throb of tension around me. I gulped.

"I-I might have a solution," I croaked out, then cleared my throat. "Will you guys listen to it, at least?"

They glanced at each other at the same moment, then back at me. "…Fine," they said at the same time, then glared at each other afterwards.

"Um. Okay." I took a deep breath – and the entire speech I'd had planned out flew straight out of my mind. "What if," I blurted out, "I didn't have to choose?"

Two pairs of eyebrows lifted. They didn't need to speak for me to understand their incredulity. Before they could open their mouths, though, I went on.

"What if…" I paused briefly, then said the rest in one quick rush of breath, "I could have both?"

A/N: FIRST OF ALL. This is not really meant to be taken super seriously…it's a crack!fic, obviously, with an equally cracky pairing. Mostly I just wanted to write a story involving my two favorite characters, because I discovered how much I liked writing interactions between Gill and Chase in Damn Everything But the Circus. The girl is the playable character, but her name has been changed for some variety. Also, this is a bit AU-ish.

If this kind of thing makes you uncomfortable, click the back button right now! Don't come complaining to me saying it's sick. I'm more focused on the emotional aspect of this whole thing rather than the logistics and the possible immorality of it all. I'm going to Hell anyway – why not have fun along the way?

This is the prologue (and sort of a teaser), so of course it's short. The rest of the chapters will definitely be longer, and will set up the scenario better. The other chapters will probably be in third person too, just to make things clearer...or more complicated...hehe.

Um…I dunno if this subject matter should be rated higher, but let me know if you think so.

Review, review, review, and see you soon for the next chapter!