This fic was originally inspired by the first two lines of Teenland: a song by the Northern Pikes. Of course, as usually happens with these kinds of things, it became much more than that. Enjoy!

Warning: This fic is rated M for sexual content. Please do not read if this offends you.

Chapter 1

It was late.

Jun sat at the bar in the Snack J, Joe and Ken on either side of her. The bar itself was littered with two empty pizza boxes, crumpled napkins, and nearly two dozen empty beer bottles. A couple of Yankee candles burned low in their jars, providing the only illumination.

It had started out as a regular evening. Ryu and Jinpei were spending a week at Ryu's marina, and Ken and Joe had come to help her out at the Snack. But just as they were preparing to open, a power-out had struck the area.

At first, they had been on alert, assuming that it might be the result of a mecha attack, or some other Galactor plot. They had shut down the Snack for the night, preparing to go into action.

But the call never came.

It turned out that the power outage was due to an inept construction crew a block away, who had struck the wrong line when digging into the ground. By that time, it was too late to open the Joint, but Ken and Joe had stuck around anyway, buying the pizza while Jun had provided the beers.

Of course, Jun had gotten the short end of that stick, but she was used to the guys bumming drinks off of her, so she didn't really mind. She was enjoying their company, and having a fun time.

Once she had pulled out the first beers, the guys had just kept drinking. And, if she were honest, Jun had been drinking more than usual as well. Something about the relaxed mood, all of them letting their hair down, talking about inconsequential things, reminiscing about their shared childhoods, not to mention the intimate atmosphere of the candlelit bar, had prompted them all to drink, and open up more than they usually did.

Jun smiled to herself. Ken and Joe were her two best friends in the entire world. Jinpei and Ryu were more like brothers, and little brothers at that (even Ryu, despite his age, was more like a little brother to her). But Ken and Joe were different. Jun felt like she could talk to them, and like they could talk to her. They were on equal footing, and there was equal give and take in their relationship. Even as children, the trio had been close. Growing up training for, and eventually becoming, the Science Ninja Team, only strengthened that bond.

Jun tried to get up to clean off the bar, but the room spun a bit, and she sat right back down.

"Look, Ken." Joe grinned, "Our little Swan can't hold her beer."

"It's okay." Ken replied, smiling, "I don't think she's used to this many."

"I guess I did over-indulge, a bit." Jun admitted. "I've just been having fun. I love you guys." She threw her arms around the two men's necks, leaning their heads in to touch hers. She felt Ken's arm slip around her shoulder, and Joe's around her waist. She was actually quite grateful for the support, because she felt a bit wobbly again.

"We love you too, Juni." Joe said, placing a sloppy kiss on her cheek. Jun giggled, wiping at the wet spot with the back of her hand. Since her arm was still around the Condor's neck, this didn't work very well.

"I don't know what I'd do, without you two." she said, suddenly serious. "You keep me sane."

"Looks like we've done a great job of that, tonight." Ken chuckled. He appeared to be perfectly comfortable leaning against his third.

"I mean it!" Jun insisted, shaking her head at the Eagle's joking comment. "I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to settle down, once this war is over. I'll never find a man who would be able to measure up to either one of you."

"Oh, really?" drawled Joe, turning to look directly at her, his eyes staring at her intently. "And which one of us is measuring up to the other?"

Suddenly, the conversation had taken on an entirely different tone.

"What… what do you mean, Joe?" Jun asked nervously.

The Condor refused to let her break her gaze away from his, and continued to press her.

"I mean, there are two of us." Joe replied, "Surely one of us has more… attributes… than the other."

"Oh, come on, Joe!" Ken protested, obviously miffed that Joe was taking Jun so literally. Everyone knew she got emotional when she'd had a bit too much to drink.

Jun tried to lower her head, but Joe used his free hand to cup her chin, pulling her face upward.

"I… I don't know." she muttered lamely.

"Sure you do, Juni." Joe wheedled, pulling her slightly closer to him. "Which one of us do you like better?"

"How the hell do you expect me to answer that?" Jun cried, pulling away from the Condor. By default, she ended up leaning into Ken, who turned her body slightly and slipped his other arm around her waist, so that her back was pressed into him, her head leaning onto his chest.

"I have to admit, Jun," he said in her ear, "that I've been wondering about this, myself."

"You have?" Jun asked, her eyes widening with a sudden realization. "You guys have talked about this before… when I wasn't around!"

"Guilty as charged." grinned Joe wickedly. "We both know that you had a crush on me, back when we were kids, and that you had a thing for Ken around the time the Science Ninja Team was activated."

"I… I did not!" Jun protested weakly. Her cheeks flamed. Had she really been that obvious?

"Come on, Jun." Ken said softly into her ear again, squeezing her waist as Joe's hand began to caress her thigh. "You know it's true."

Jun's mind was awhirl with both the alcohol, and the implications of what Ken and Joe were saying. Almost imperceptibly, she nodded.

"The real question is," Joe continued, "which one of us do you like, now?"

"I…" Jun stopped and thought for a moment before responding. "I don't know. Honestly. I guess, the more missions we went on, the more I realized that there just wasn't time for that kind of thing."

"Oh, there's time." Joe grinned.

"We need to know, Juni." Ken whispered into her ear.

"But, how could I?" Jun asked, bewildered. "How could I ever make a decision, between the two of you?"

"I think you need to." Ken said, kissing her ear.

"We're not letting you go, until you do." Joe grinned, pulling her legs up, and onto his lap.

How had their fun evening ever come to this? Jun wondered, her mind still fuzzy from the beers. Certainly she was flattered, and excited… but this insistence… this pressure to decide between them, was making her uncomfortable.

"This isn't funny, guys!" she said, struggling to sit up and re-take possession of her legs.

When they saw that she was angry, the Eagle and the Condor immediately let go of her, sitting up in their own seats again. But Jun didn't trust them, anymore.

She slowly stood up, relieved to find that she could do so, now. This entire conversation was having the effect of helping to clear her head.

"We didn't mean to scare you." Ken said seriously. "We love you, Jun." Joe nodded emphatically.

"I know." Jun hung her head. "But, you can't ask me to make an impossible choice with two seconds' notice!"

"Impossible, huh?" Ken grinned.

"Not really." Joe added smugly. "Once those beers aren't clouding her thinking, her choice should be obvious."

"Ah, you're capitulating already?" Ken grinned wickedly.

"Oh, no, Commander." Joe drawled. "On the contrary, it is you who should be capitulating."

Jun held her hands to her head, wondering if this was really happening.

"You guys can't be serious." she protested. "I haven't thought about either of you, that way, in years!"

"But now that you are, you're interested, aren't you?" Joe pressed her.

Jun looked from Condor to Eagle, and back again. Slowly, she nodded.

"The idea is intriguing." she admitted, "But I'd have a hard time choosing one of you over the other."

"But you need to, Jun." Ken told her quietly. "This has been on our minds for some time, and it needs to be resolved."

"I can't keep living with this stalemate." Joe agreed.

"How… how can I do this?" Jun asked nervously.

"We'll just have to show you what we're made of." Ken declared.

"I like that idea." Joe nodded. "We'll give you a chance to learn about us."

Jun was dubious, but by that point she was eager to end this conversation.

"Okay." she agreed, against her better judgment. "Ryu and Jinpei will be back in two days. You guys have until then to… well, you know." Jun was embarrassed. This sounded so childish: fighting for the favor of the Swan. It wasn't how she had imagined things might be.

But then, her imaginings had been of a nameless, faceless man, years in the future. Wasn't a man she knew now, one of her best friends, much better?

Her mind a jumble, Jun took her leave of the two ninjas.

"I'm going to bed." she mumbled. "You guys can crash down here. I know you're too drunk to get home."

"Thanks, Jun!" they chorused brightly.

Waving at them, Jun walked on slightly wobbly legs toward the stairs, and up to the living quarters above the Snack J.