A week had passed since Flippy's return. Everything seemed to have returned to normal but the truth was always hidden behind the masks. For Flaky and Sneaky, it was an absolute torment that they could hardly interact much in Flippy's presence. Despite bearing so much burden, there was no passage for them to speak for their apparently ruptured relationship. They could have endured more if it wasn't for this burning sensation that was waiting to burst out of their heart, right through their lips.

One fine, glorious day, when Flippy was called away by their neighbour Lumpy to help with his broken drain pipe, Flaky and Sneaky were eventually left alone. The male was sitting on the couch reading newspapers, though his mind was clearly going astray. He just couldn't comprehend a single damn sentence without reading it several times. Similarly, the redhead's mind was completely off track. She dropped a dish and the shards went spraying all over the kitchen floor. Abruptly, the boy rushed to check if she was alright. Flaky smiled slightly as he touched her bleeding thumb. It had been a while since they had ever displayed any physical contact. This reminded her how once she had dropped a coffee cup and he had grown so worried over her wound. He had always offered to clean up the mess. In fact, he was always there to clear the aftermath for her.

"S-Sneaky…" The redhead muttered. She couldn't describe her happiness as she was able to stare at him this close.

"Just a moment, Flakes. I'm going to get the kit." Sneaky said, obviously concerned about her cut.

"No, Sneaky. Stay." Flaky demanded, grabbing Sneaky's wrist. The boy blushed and frowned at her.

"But-"

"Please, I-I need t-to talk to you." Flaky said.

"Yes?"

"S-Sneaky…the other day…F-Flippy asked me to…to…" Flaky sputtered. "To…marry him."

"Is that so?"

The girl looked up at Sneaky anxiously. She was waiting for him to say more but those words never came. He was hardly blinking an emotion. What more could he say? He was interested in knowing her answer to Flippy's proposal though.

"I…I haven't replied him yet…" Flaky said, flushing.

"Why?"

"B-Because…I…I can't marry him…" The redhead trailed off, her face reddening so much that it looked as if it would boil in any second. The boy sighed. "Flaky, you should have said 'yes'."

"Why?" Flaky widened her eyes, flustered.

"You love him, right?" Sneaky said casually, his mindless tone enough to break the redhead's heart.

"No!" Flaky yelped. "I mean…yes…I love him. But… But I-I love you, too!"

"Flaky, you can't linger between two." Sneaky said. "You have to choose one and I'm sure you're better off with Flip."

"Why…" By then, the girl could hardly refrain herself from bursting into tears. She hated it when Sneaky told her to pick Flippy instead of him. She hated it when he was presuming her decision without acknowledging her own feelings. And she hated it when he actually reckoned Flippy was better than him! She knew Sneaky understood her but he was deliberately coaxing her to choose Flippy to make himself feel better. Even if it was never honorable to betray his own heart and it was a little bit too late to redeem his sins, he still preferred seeing her with another guy. How foolish and irritating…

"Why are you d-doing this to me?" Flaky bawled. "Why must I-I pick F-Flippy? It's my choice! Or did you s-stay with me just because he asked you to? You were only loving me in his place, right? You never truly wanted me… You were just returning his favor. And yet…and yet…you…you did it with me… You made me fall in love with you and now you're tossing me away as if nothing's ever happened… I-"

"I'm sorry, Flakes." Sneaky grunted, cuddling the sullen girl. "But we really can't stay like this forever. You have always loved him way before you fell for me. Now that he's back, you should be happy. And he's finally taking you as his bride, which is something you've always dreamed of, right?"

"Yes…but…but…" Flaky croaked. "It's different now… I… I can only think of you, Sneaky… All this time, I can only think of you!"

"Flaky, we can't do this to Flippy."

"Sneaky, you can't do this to me!"

"I-"

"Please!"

The girl crushed her lips against his. The boy flinched a little and attempted to push her off. Flaky pressed on, shoving him to the wall. He could feel her hot tears stinging his skin. Her eyes were shut and she was quaking in every breath. Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back. Those desires that had been accumulating within him were released at once. He could no longer suppress the urge to hold her in his arms again. She was his. She ought to belong to him only.

The redhead muffled a moan as he picked her up and seated her on the table, her legs circled tightly around his hips. As they plunged deeper into their passionate kiss, they were granted back the sensations they had once itched for so long. They grew completely ignorant to their surroundings, for there were only the two of them, making out on a kitchen table and their tongues swiveling in each other's moist cavern wrestling for dominance. Before long, they could hardly notice the young soldier standing at the door.

"What are you doing?"

The cold, raspy voice snapped the two back to reality. They withdrew from each other and glanced at the interferer. Flippy, burning with rage, glared at the couple. He wouldn't have made a noise if they weren't kissing so…passionately. It was more than a mere kiss. He was touching her and she was groaning in bliss. Tears welled up in Flippy's eyes as he scowled in angst.

"F-Flippy…" Flaky gasped.

"Flippy, we-"

"Don't say anything." Flippy said, sniffling in anger. "You two… ha, you two might as well tell me before you do this behind my back!"

"Flippy!" Flaky jumped back onto the ground, weeping.

"Flip, I-" Sneaky spoke but was again cut off promptly.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP." Flippy roared. "I don't need any excuses. I've seen enough! You…You're all traitors! Screw you!"

With that, the furious soldier stormed out of the house, leaving the place in utter silence.

Sneaky turned back to glimpse the girl who was crying uncontrollably in one corner. Rivers of tears were smearing her face which was torn in both regret and misery. The boy loomed closer to her and petted her cheeks.

"Flakes, can you tell me which one of us you love more?" Sneaky asked, determined to elicit a response from her.

The redhead could only gulp and shake her head. If she could slice her heart into half, she would have loved both males equally. Now that Flippy had found out their relationship, he was going to loathe them for sure.

"It's alright then." Sneaky smiled vaguely, ruffling Flaky's hair. "I'll settle things for us."

The boy stood up and marched towards the door. The girl panicked, tugging his jacket in uncertainty. "S-Sneaky…where are you going?"

"To make things right for us." Sneaky said. "Don't worry. I'll get him back."

The heartbroken soldier sat down on a bench, fierce voices reverberating in his mind. He clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white. He puffed and groaned. There was a beast inside him that was waiting to hop out and he knew well he had to stifle him. Otherwise, the result would be another bloodshed massacre. After nearly an hour of self-control, Flippy, at the very least, was able to restrain his inner monster. His heart, though, was still aching. His anger died a little as he began to ponder over why things had turned so bizarre and disarrayed.

He had, nonetheless, only himself to blame for what he had witnessed. If he remembered it correctly, he had written a letter containing his last will before he set off for his mission. When the army mistakenly thought he was dead, they must have sent the letter to Sneaky. It was reasonable that he had read through it and had done according to Flippy's wishes. Theoretically, he had never betrayed him. Flippy was the one who chose to go back to the military and leave his milady in the hands of his best buddy. He should have foreseen this long ago. He knew Sneaky had always been having a crush on her since they were early teens. Yet, a relationship could hardly accommodate three participants…or could it? Would Flaky be happy if both of them stayed beside her? Could the boys really resist their own beastly desires and jealousy?

Fighting and killing had never troubled Flippy as much as this tangled love issue. If only he was still in the battlefield, there was still a slight chance of escape. Although it wasn't a decent thing to do, he could still just flee and abandon his honor. But now, there was no way for him to dodge from the problem. And he swore he would rather die than resolve this twisted combination of love and hatred, grief and agony.

"Flippy…"

A voice he hated and yet loved so much cooed. Slowly, the soldier lifted up his head and gawked at Sneaky.

"Can I sit next to you?" The boy asked.

Flippy didn't answer. Assuming his approval, Sneaky sat down beside his friend. They both remained speechless for a while.

"Sneaky, you got my will, right?" Flippy asked. "They sent you the letter because they thought I was dead."

"Yes."

"But even before that, you've always loved her." Flippy concluded. "So it doesn't really matter."

"It does." Sneaky argued. "Flippy, she wants both of us and we know it won't work this way. You do remember what she promised us 12 years ago? We all thought she was having a joke but she was damn serious about it!"

"What?" Flippy said. "You mean the marriage promise?"

"Yea. She really thought she could marry both of us."

"Ugh, she…she's just innocent…I guess."

"She is." Sneaky corroborated his mate.

"It's my fault. I'm sorry." Flippy purred.

"How is it his fault?" Sneaky wondered. "I'm the one who bedded her!"

"No…" Sneaky stood up and squatted down before Flippy. "Flip, I ought to apologise to you. We should never fight over this matter. I'm sure she loves you much more. She's been waiting for you all this time. She just needs some adjustment to your return. The problem is, as long as we both stay beside her, she can never pick one out of us. So, I'll be going back to my home. Since you're now back and safe, I'll leave her to your care."

"No! Are you crazy? You're the one she loves! I saw the way you two kissed. I-I…" Flippy paused. "I could never kiss her that way…And she never moaned in my arms…"

"That's not true. The one she really wants to hold is you. She only sees me as your replacement." Sneaky said modestly, not caring how deceitful he might look. "She's never betrayed you. I'm the one who seduced her. I'm sorry, Flip. I'll be going soon."

Flippy didn't know whether he should smack Sneaky or applaud for him. How Sneaky had let those words out appalled him. He was not that stupid. How could Sneaky think he could get away with such a foolish excuse? Flippy knew better than anyone else his friend could never have seduced Flaky. They succumbed to each other because they were mutually in love.

"You should get back to her, Flip." Sneaky said. "You can't just leave her crying her eyes out thinking that you hate her now. And you've promised me that you would never make her sad again."

"Yes…" Flippy nodded. "You're right..."

The redhead lay silently on the floor, her eyes blinking idly ahead. Her sobs had ceased but her heart continued to bleed. She had ruined everything. She had made two best friends turn against each other for the pure reason that she fell in love with both and failed to choose one out of the two. She, herself, felt so ashamed and remorseful. She despised herself for being such an indecisive and selfish person. How in the world could she possibly think that she could live with two men underneath the same roof? It would be a joke. It remained so.

When the door was busted open and a shadow loomed towards her, she whirled around hopefully, expecting to meet a pair of friendly eyes, be it Sneaky's or Flippy's. Or even better, she prayed to see them both standing in front of her so that the three of them could finally negotiate something and come to a compromise. They had to sorted this out sooner or later.

And yet, the person before her was a complete stranger. Dressed in navy-blue army attire, the soldier glared down at the mystified girl. In a split second, a group of silhouettes that had been lurking about her threshold popped up and surrounded her. There was not a single minute for her to scream or to struggle. A sharp pain slapped her head and she fainted, her world enveloped in pure darkness.

The two green-haired boys reached the house some hours later, only to be stupefied when they couldn't find their lover. They searched the house and tracked down every street in the neighbourhood, eventually discovering a hand-written note on the kitchen table.

I am leaving this town. Don't come after me.

Love,
Flaky

The boys exchanged an obfuscated glance before running off to the direction of the town's boundary as fast as they could.